Prologue

Well, well, well. If it isn't Snake Oil herself - the two-faced snake who can't stand it when she isn't on the front page of the papers for too long. Without a doubt, she was here to get ahead of the newsies and their cameras. Her gold-trimmed suit and her smug smile conveyed that goal of hers to me clearly enough.

I knew there was a risk to calling the Cavalry - even if we went through Subaru - but we had no choice. We had to deal with the Owls or the Snake - and we chose to deal with the Owls. Chief Enma is keeping tabs on us. That much is clear now.

But if what Baelz told us earlier was true, then this whole operation could have been doomed from the start. What's your angle here, you slippery little snake? What does your bespectacled master want from us this time?

I guess there's only one way to find out.

…

Kronii watched Ame and Kiara enter Bae's shot-up office. Her sharp, blue eyes, watched the two undercover detectives with suspicion. She gave her orders to the Uniforms and had them escort Bae's Rat Pack out of the office to meet up with Subaru. However, she allowed Bae herself to stay behind.

Once the four ladies were alone, Bae sat down on Bae's swivel chair behind her desk and folded her arms.

"I see that you've caused quite a mess here." Kronii started sternly, "The back alleys of Parliament Road may be the roughest part of Central - but it's still Central. Chief Enma sent me here to make sure that tomorrow's headlines won't be about a fiasco that some loose-cannon gumshoe and her rookie partner caused."

"So, you are here to take the credit and smile for the cameras after all." Ame growled. She heaved a sigh and groaned with sarcasm, "Imagine my shock."

"How else do you plan to frame thousands of dollars of property damage and a dozen dead bodies inside Central District, huh?" Kronii demanded, "People are already on edge after the Nephilim Club shooting, you know! You'll have people crying for vigilante justice if this keeps up!"

"Compared to having corrupt finks like you mismanaging the Department, that might be a good idea." Ame scoffed, "The Shrimps and the Deadbeats, for all their flaws, do a decent job keeping the peace in their turfs."

"Say that again, Detective Watson." Kronii dared sharply, "Say that in front of the review board that will be deliberating on your job performance at the end of the month and see how that goes for you."

Kiara watched this exchange and frowned. She stomped her feet and cried, "Shut up! Both of you!"

"What did you say!?" Ame and Kronii lashed out at Kiara.

"You heard me." Kiara stood her ground. Her pink eyes burned with intense fire, "We don't have time for petty schoolhouse squabbling. There's a war that's about to break out in this City and we've got to stop it!"

"Tell that to the lackey of one of the gang bosses stoking the fires of that war!" Ame tried to chime in.

"AME!" Kiara raised her voice.

Ame locked eyes with Kiara. She took a deep breath, heaved a sigh and folded her arms.

"Take the wheel, Kiara." Ame leaned against the wall.

Kiara nodded, taking Ame's sassy reply in stride. She turned towards Kronii to ask.

"Chief Enma sent you here after Subaru deployed the Uniforms." Kiara started calmly, "We know about the PR and the goodwill aspect of it, but what is the real reason you came here?"

Kronii wrinkled her brow. Her eyes turned towards Bae seated on a sofa. The rat-girl stuck out her tongue.

"The rat-girl enlightened me on what she's told you thus far." Kronii spoke with a frown. She leaned forward on Bae's desk and continued, "As far as I'm concerned, she's told the truth. Chief Enma was there at the Nephilim Club. She's one of the players in the War that's coming."

"So, you're here to tell us that the jig is up." Kiara guessed, "You're gonna tell Chief Enma everything and have her pull the plug on our operation before we can meddle in your affairs."

"Correction." Kronii interrupted, "You're meddling in her affairs. Chief Enma's. Not necessarily mine."

"What do you mean by that?" Kiara asked.

"Allow me to throw you a bone - a little freebie for goodwill." Kronii starter, "A history lesson for the two of you - and for the rat too, I guess."

Ame, Kiara and Bae fell silent, listening to Kronii attentively.

"Before joining the Force, Chief Enma and I were actually doing pretty well for ourselves." Kronii explained with glee, "The law calls what we did 'War Profiteering', but I say that it's savvy investments and strategic partnerships - something legitimate businesses do all the time."

"That means you milked desperate people dry while the country was starving." Ame interjected, peeling herself off the roof, "You were making a quick buck while people like Kiara and I fought in Pekoland to save your hides!"

"Demand was high, and we had our fingers on the supply. That's all there is to it." Kronii shrugged, "Chief Enma and I weren't exactly mafia, but we sure had the power or one. Our efforts propped up the Owl Pals and turned it into one of the biggest gangs. We did business on the side with the Shrimps and the Deadbeats too - gave them seed money to get them started on their own empires." The senior detective laughed heartily, "Then, when the War ended, the Supreme Court and the Feds started looking into our finances. We had to cover our tracks."

"So Chief Enma made a bid for Chief of Police." Ame deduced.

"Yes - and Chief Enma took me along for the ride to the top. The view from a corner office of City PD is something else - I tell you!" Kronii gloated, "But there is something that I hold against the Chief." Her tone softened and she turned to Ame and Kiara with less hostile eyes, "Her crackdown of the Owl Pals was unwarranted. She had to put on a show for the Feds, but that pushed a dear old friend of mine over the edge."

"Mumei Nanashi?" Kiara guessed.

"Yeah." Kronii confirmed, "Chief Enma cut deals with Bloop and Death-sensei to crush the Owl Pals completely. The gang is gone, but they sure as hell haven't forgotten how they were given the short end of the stick - and then got beaten with it."

"That's why those bastards fight like maniacs…" Bae groaned, "They've got nothing else to lose."

"So, detectives. I've got an offer that you can't refuse." Kronii faced Ame and Kiara sternly, "For the right price, I can be convinced to keep this conversation - and the lion's share of what truly happened here today - a secret between us. It won't appear on my report to Chief Enma." The senior detective crossed her legs and she smirked, "Justice is blind - and I can be especially so."

"What's your price?" Ame snapped, "You take all the credit and get your face on the front page news?"

"That's a given." Kronii's expression became serious, "I want something more. I want in on this little 'peace plan' of yours." She stood up and looked into Ame's and Kiara's eyes wholeheartedly, "I want to make sure that Mumei has a way to get out of this one alive - a way for her to leave this life of crime behind."

Ame and Kiara turned to each other. They also glanced at Bae beside them.

After a short deliberation, the two detectives shook Kronii's hand.

For once in their long, hostile careers, Detectives Watson and Ouro saw eye to eye.

Mostly.

Kiara still had to make sure the two didn't break each other's hands, after all.

Regardless, planning for the Great Peace Conference between the Shrimps and the Deadbeats was about to begin.

…

Queenpins

Submarine Sandwiched

…

To Be Continued