Prologue

When I was a newly minted detective being walked by Subaru into my City PD office, I was taught to never bite off more than I can chew. Don't be a hero, she said. This ain't the silver screen, she said.

Police Academy's detective school told us to call for backup on Dispatch. Let the Uniforms handle the fighting. If you do have to fight, use your baton first. If your baton can't handle it, draw your service pistol. If your pistol ain't enough, get the shotgun in the trunk of the cruiser.

But that theoretical stuff's for the classrooms. It doesn't hold up when a real fight breaks out. If the shotgun won't cut it, then it was nice knowing you, cowboy. It'll be a coin toss between the hospital and the morgue when it comes down to that. Every detective worth their salt, and even Subaru knows that.

So what happens when a fight does break out, you ask?

Right now, here in the Dicey Odds Bookmaker's Office, I see three goons and a rat with a bat. My head probably looks like a baseball to them right about now. I'm outnumbered, unarmed and I have my back against the wall. If I were just another detective, I would have been closing my eyes and thinking of Founding Mother Sora and Elysium - praying that my coin toss would let me live another day.

But I'm not just another detective.

I was a soldier once. I know how to fight. And I wasn't alone.

You see, Kiara, we don't pick the dance floor.

We just dance!

…

In the blink of an eye, Ame and Kiara squared up and sprung into action! They rushed their four foes like the soldiers that they were during The War. Bae her goons barely had time to react

Ame reached the tall Alfie Gosling first. She struck him with a right hook to the torso, then a lightning-fast left. The tall man winced and tried to punch back, but Ame bobbed and weaved like a prize fight boxer!

"What in the goddamn!?" Alfie goon cursed. He threw punch after punch, but Ame slipped past every single one!

Then, as soon as the tall man had tired himself out, Ame grinned. She threw a ruthless uppercut and struck his jaw, knocking him off his feet. Still, Alfie struggled to pick himself up from the floor. But when he looked up, it was too late.

Amelia Watson landed full-force on his chest, pounding him on the ground! The tall man was finally knocked out cold!

Kiara found her opponent next - a pudgy goon by a deserted betting table. She struck him with a right kick to the chest. The goon coughed in pain. The wind was knocked out of his sails, but he withstood the blow.

The pudgy goon tried to throw a punch, but Kiara stepped back and threw him off balance. Kiara then struck him with a left kick to the side.

"Ack!" The goon cried, "They're monsters!"

"Monster!?" Kiara gasper. Rage filled her face and fires burned in her pink eyes as she roared, "ICH BIN PHOENIX!"

Kiara promptly wrestled the pudgy man and overpowered him. She lifted him with incredible strength, and slammed him into the betting table - breaking it in half!

All of a sudden, Bae's last goon found himself sandwiched between the menacing boxing gremlin and the infernal phoenix still fuming with rage. Fear gripped him and frightened words escaped his lips as the two approached him.

"M-mommy! S-sorry! Mommy!"

His pleas, though, fell on deaf ears.

Kiara swept his legs with a low kick. Then, while he was falling to the side, Ame followed through with a haymaker that nearly crushed his face!

The third goon plopped down to the ground, unconscious. Ame and Kiara were about to search for the red rat, hoping to intimidate her into talking. However, diplomacy was the last thing on Bae's mind!

Bae rushed at Kiara with her bat and roared, "YOU MESSED WITH THE WRONG RAT, FOOL!"

She struck Kiara with the bat once, then twice in quick succession. Kiara scrambled to regain her footing, but Bae whacked her a third time!

"Oof!" Kiara groaned. The rat's assault was stronger than what she expected. Every strike left a bruise!

"Ki- I mean, Erika!" Ame cried, still in character.

Ame grabbed a metal ashtray from the wrecked table and hurled it at Bae. The rat caught the ashtray and threatened to throw it back at Ame. However, Ame pounced on her and punched Bae in the face!

The ashtray and the baseball bat slipped from Bae's hands. Bae touched her bruised face and saw the writing on the wall. She turned around and made a run for it, disappearing into the backroom door.

Ame clicked her tongue, but also saw her partner in pain.

"Kiara, you alright?" Ame asked.

"I'll… be fine." Kiara croaked, plopping down to sit on the floor. She picked up the baseball bat and urged her partner, "I'll keep watch over these goons. You go after Bae!"

Ame nodded and sprinted towards the backroom door. There in the darkness, Bae tried to ambush the disguised detective once more. The rat girl toppled storage racks in Ame's way, but the war veteran dodged and rolled forward like she was hiding from a machine gun nest.

The storage racks and every little thing they held came crashing down loudly. Ame was covered in dust, but she was otherwise unharmed. So, she sprung up from where she laid and tackled the unsuspecting rat!

Ame and Bae wrestled in the darkness, trading punches to the sides, to the face and to the guts in a mad flurry. Bae's stubborn speed crashed against Ame's stubborn resilience until both ladies were battered and bruised.

And yet, Ame outlasted the rat. She managed to grab Bae by the collar and raise her up over her shoulder. Then, she slammed Bae back-first into the ground!

"Oof!" Bae groaned.

Finally, Ame pinned Bae down to the floor.

Beads of sweat formed on Bae's bruised face. Ame, on the other hand, struggled to catch her breath while she held Bae down. Bae closed her eyes, fearing that her time had finally come.

However, that time never came.

Instead, Ame kept Bae pinned and spoke to her.

"Baelz Hakos…" Ame started, wiping the blood from her own chin, "Your life is in danger."

"No shit." Bae spat, "Bloop sent you to whack me, didn't he?"

"Yes." Ame admitted, "But we're not gonna do that."

Bae's bruised face, illuminated by the light from the open door, twisted in suspicion.

"What the hell's your angle, blondie?" Bae demanded.

"I'm gonna conveniently fail to capture you here in this shop of yours." Ame proposed, "Stick to your shop in Central and lay low. Pretend that you've never seen us. My partner Erika and I will pay you a visit soon - and we're gonna have a talk about a lot of things, you hear?"

"And why the heck should I trust you brutes!?" Bae argued.

"Cause' the only reason you're still alive is because Irys Hopewell wants you alive!" Ame replied emphatically.

At the mention of Irys' name, Bae's expression softened.

"The jazz singer…" Bae reminisced.

"We're on the same side here, but Bloop and the Shrimps can't know about it. Otherwise, we're all sleeping with the fishes. Capiche ?" Ame stared straight into Bae's eyes now.

Bae fell silent for a moment, but the loud sound of knocking reached her ears. The furniture barricade that Ame and Kiara made was being tested. Bloop and the chauffeur were trying to get in through the front door of Dicey Odds.

" Capiche!? " Ame repeated, now with more urgency.

"I got ya, I got ya." Bae finally conceded, "Now get the frick off of me!"

Ame unpinned the rat and let her rise up to her feet once more. Bae then reached towards her side and pulled out a key.

"It's the key to the safe in my office." Bae explained, "It's not a lot of cash, but it should be enough to get that sharkboy off my scent. Better that cash than my tail."

"Good thinking." Ame swiped the key from Bae, "Now scram! We'll see you soon."

Bae stuck out her tongue. Then, she skedaddled out the back door.

Once Bae was gone, Ame leaned against the wall of the dark hall and sighed.

"I need a vacation."

…

A short while later, after the front door barricade was dismantled, Bloop sauntered leisurely into the smashed up Dicey Odds betting floor to inspect Ame's and Kiara's handiwork. The large shark-man lit up a cigar and puffed smoke into the dusty air. All the while, the chauffeur opened the vault in Bae's office and was bagging the stacks of cash inside - hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

"Masterfully done, ladies." Bloop praised, blowing smoke towards Ame, "Outnumbered two to one, but you still snagged victory from the jaws of defeat!" He eyed the bagman chauffeur doing his thing and hummed, "While the red rat slipped from our grasp, our 'return on investment' here is golden." He then turned to the three bound goons in the corner of the shop, "We might even be able to start charging double our usual rates to the shops in the area."

Ame frowned at Bloop's scheme and winced from the smoke he was spewing. However, she didn't dare speak up to the Lieutenant of the Shrimps. If this was the kind of person that was Gura's right hand, Ame thought, then the Shrimps truly would be on a collision course with Calli's Deadbeats.

Gura deserves better than this...

The disguised detective clenched her fist and dreamed of the day that she and Kiara could throw Bloop behind bars. But for now, Ame wiped the blood from her nose and tended to Kiara's bruises.

…

Queenpins

Nothing Beats A Ground Pound!

…

To Be Continued