Several hours later, Vegeta took a sip of his coffee, his shades and the trees above giving him reprieve from the blinding sun. He was sitting like a man without a care in the world, one leg folded up over a knee while he reclined on a bench in the busy park. A myriad of people passed in front of him – joggers, bikers, couples on a stroll together, kids running as they played. No one paid him any mind, and he paid them no mind either.

His attention was past them – past the trees, past the sidewalk, and past the cars on the street. That is where the West City police station was. The bench he was sitting on provided him with just the right angle to see who went in and who came out from the main entrance. It was noon, and lunch time was apparently a busy time as folks scurried in and out of the station, police officers and civilians alike.

Vegeta took another sip of his coffee as he scowled. Going in and killing the eye witness wasn't a problem – the problem was the building full of police officers. Not that they could stop him, but he wasn't keen on killing any of them to accomplish his goal of eliminating the eye witness. Doing so would inspire the wrath of the WCPD in his direction, changing their pursuit of him from a routine work endeavor to a personal vendetta. He was the expert on personal vendettas, and he didn't need that additional pressure.

A less lethal approach would require some reconnaissance, which presented its own risks. However, he could gain valuable information in the process…

And, he may even get to see her again.

Not for the first time, Vegeta cursed himself for allowing the one night stand. He hadn't done such a thing since the first week he was discharged from the Marines, which was a few years ago. Even when he knew who Bulma was and where she worked, he hadn't been able to resist her, and found himself magnetically pulled until he wound up in her bed. She was smart as hell, good with a gun, great at her job, and she happened to be the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Not to mention, the sex had been terrific.

Vegeta sighed and downed his coffee in one shot. There were risks no matter what; and the biggest one was letting the eye witness live.

He then took out his cell phone to message Goku back, taking him up on his offer and asking him to get lunch together. That would get Goku out of the building…

Meanwhile, Bulma was quickly losing her patience in one of the interrogation rooms. A folder slammed down heavily in front of Cui. Bulma put her palms on the metal table on either side of the folder as she leaned forward aggressively.

"We have been in here for hours now," she said calmly, even though her blue eyes were dark with rising anger. "Witsec, full immunity, that's more than enough for the likes of you."

Cui chuckled, his hands cuffed in front of him on the table. "For the kind of information I'm sitting on, not likely. I know you cops have a lot of dough. I want money for what I know, on top of everything else."

Bulma's eyes shifted over to Krillin, who was leaning back against the door. He just shrugged at her, arms crossed over his chest. Bulma pursed her lips, brow furrowing thoughtfully as she straightened and started making her way around the table.

"Hey, if you don't like our terms, you're free to go. Just know, that there may or may not be some talks starting on the street soon about you talking to us about Frieza. You could work with us, and be in a safe house tonight, on your way to witsec."

She paused, just behind him, making him scowl when she leaned down so she was practically whispering in his ear.

"Or you can take your chances on the street. Choice is yours. We'll leave you to think about that for a while."

Bulma walked over to Krillin, and then they both left the room while Cui frowned and stared at the folder in front of him which contained the offer from the DA.

"What is his deal?" Krillin grumbled as together they headed down to the lab area of the department. "He willingly turned himself into us! Why won't he just talk?"

"He's more stubborn than I expected," Bulma relented. "But he'll talk. It's only a matter of time. The streets aren't safe for him anymore and deep down, he knows that. Anyway, there is more than one way to skin a cat. The new lab tech is running forensics on the listening bug we got from the last explosion. Not sure if we can get prints off there, but at least we can figure out what the brand is and where you can buy these things…"

While they were heading down, Vegeta was entering into the police station through the main entrance. No one paid him any real attention as everyone scurried about, with phones ringing, officers and civilians talking, printers working, the works. He kept his shades on, bringing up a fresh coffee he had just bought next door as his dark eyes started mapping out the building from what he could see: the main entrance opened into a large work space, with an enormous desk directly facing the front, like a reception area. That desk was manned by two uniformed police officers. Behind them, he could see smaller desks with more officers, all of them uniformed.

"Hi, can I help you?" a young, bored-looking officer asked behind the reception desk.

Vegeta lowered his drink. "Sure. I wanted to check on the investigation of a murder from last month."

"Ah, you'll want to talk to a detective working homicide," the officer said with a nod. "Here, I'll take you to find one. The detectives are all upstairs."

Vegeta said nothing, but he paid keen interest to the layout of the main floor as he was led to the back past the interrogation rooms, trying to memorize as much of it as possible – different entrances and exits in particular. When they turned to head up the stairs, he managed a glimpse of a door that led to a jailed area. He also saw a technician working in a utility closet – that would definitely be useful later.

He made his way upstairs behind the officer, coming to another sea of desks with computers in a large open space. The officer he was following waived a detective over to him.

"This here is Detective Jones," the officer said, gesturing to the man who approached. Vegeta removed his shades, folding them and letting them hang off the top of his white tank top. "He can help you."

"Hi, you can call me Mike," the man said with a friendly smile. He was bald, slightly overweight in a checkered shirt with a tie that didn't match. He extended his hand to Vegeta. "And you are?"

Vegeta ignored both the extended hand to him and the question, his gaze intense as he stared at the detective.

"My brother was killed a month ago, and I'd like to see how you're all doing in finding who did it."

That was partly true. While his little brother had been brutally murdered only a month prior, Vegeta wasn't interested in what the police had to say about it. After all, he didn't need the police to give his brother justice, when he was wielding his own. Frieza was responsible for it, because he had given the order, just like he had threatened Vegeta that he would; as such, Vegeta was prepared to burn the city down to make sure he paid for it.

In hindsight, it was what should have happened years ago, after his mother had died; if he had been brave in the past and taken action then, his brother may have still been alive. Vegeta scowled, not for the first time bottling up his guilt so he could focus on the task at hand.

He gave Tarble's name to Mike, then watched as the detective went off to find the paperwork. Vegeta took a sip of his coffee, taking in this floor of the building as the detectives went about their business. With no one currently paying attention to him, he wandered a bit, taking in the location of the windows, mapping it all to memory.

Finally, he found himself standing in front of a whiteboard. Vegeta paused, tilting his head in curiosity. There were newspaper clippings taped up, post-it notes, mug shots of Frieza's men that had been killed, map printouts of the areas he had struck. It was a whiteboard dedicated to the vigilante. Dedicated to him. He was morbidly amused; here they were bending over backwards to find him, and he was literally right in front of them.

Mike scurried over to him, holding a folder that looked too thin in Vegeta's estimation.

"Ah, I'm sorry," Mike apologized sheepishly. "We have tried to make some headway on this case, but we haven't had much luck-"

"Of course you haven't," Vegeta sneered as he turned away from both Mike and the whiteboard. "Regardless, I have to get back to work. I'll be back later," he promised.

"Oh, okay," Mike said in mild confusion, but he was too busy to linger much. "You remember the way out?"

"I do."

"Great, oh, and here." The detective handed him a small business card. "Please call me if you find out anything that can help with the investigation for Tarble."

"Will do," Vegeta drawled, turning and heading back to the stairs.

Meanwhile, a frazzled Bulma was carrying a bag of fast food and a lemonade, her phone nestled between her head and shoulder as she quickly walked back into the police department. The lab had been successful at giving her a vendor for the listening bug, and now she and Krillin had zeroed in on the stores in West City that made such devices available for the general public. She had briefed the chief, and then had sent Krillin to the first store on the list for answers while she herself finally broke and got something to eat. After all, she needed something in her stomach if she was going to resume the frustrating dance between Cui and the DA.

"And don't forget, you have to check for cameras," Bulma reminded Krillin.

"I know, I know. I won't forget."

"And don't let them give you any shit either," she huffed, making her way over to the back as she rounded on the stairs. "Sometimes, they can tell you're not as experienced, and they'll be jerks-"

Bulma then abruptly collided with a muscled chest, cursing as she almost spilled her lemonade. She instinctively apologized, and then her breath caught when she looked up and saw familiar dark eyes staring intensely at her.

"Uhh…" She blinked. "Krillin, let me call you back."

She hung up without waiting for a reply from her junior detective. The man before her was the last person she had expected to run into, having resigned herself to the fact that she probably wasn't going to see him again. And yet, there he stood, looking criminally sexy. Her blue eyes couldn't help but skirt over him – the snug white tank top he wore left his tanned arms deliciously exposed and showed off his sleeve tattoo in marvelous detail. The way the shirt tucked into his dark blue jeans held up with a belt, jeans that were sinful on his frame…her eyes shifted back up, and she loudly cleared her throat, hoping she wasn't blushing when she realized he must have noticed her wandering eyes.

"Can I help you, Victor?" she asked, trying to sound as professional as possible.

His nose twitched the slightest bit, irritated at the name. Before he could really think, his next words tumbled right out of his mouth.

"The name is actually Vegeta."

A muscle in his jaw twitched, something inside cursing his own stupidity, but it was out there now and so he studied her response. Nothing is more dangerous to a man than a woman's beauty, the guys used to joke around and say. If he hadn't understood that then, he definitely did now.

Bulma looked surprised at first by the admission, then slightly offended, her blue eyes darkening. Her voice was quieter so her colleagues walking around wouldn't hear.

"So you lied about the name, huh? Well that figures. It's a nice cherry on top of you leaving my place before I even woke up," she said in annoyance, surprising herself with her own bitterness. A minute ago she had been content never to see him again, now suddenly she cared that he had lied about his name? She blamed being irrational on her hunger as she huffed with impatience. "Now if you'll excuse me…"

She stepped to her right to go around him, but Vegeta stepped to his left, blocking her. His dark eyes narrowed as he took a step closer, studying her closely, his vengeful mission briefly forgotten.

"The name thing…I didn't think things would go the way they did that night. I also didn't think you would want me to stay," he admitted. "If I'd known that you were going to be offended-"

"Is this what you came here for?" she irritably cut in. "It was a one time thing between us, Victor – er, Vegeta – whatever your name is. And I don't appreciate you coming to my workplace just to find me and-"

"Actually," he cut in, his whole face appearing to darken. "I came here because my brother was murdered and I was looking for an update on his case."

"…and, I'm an asshole," Bulma sighed. She looked at him apologetically, and it was almost endearing to him in a way. "I'm so sorry to hear about your brother."

His nose twitched again, and he finally broke their eye contact to stare at the side wall. "While I appreciate the sentiment, I'm getting really tired of the I'm sorry's."

"Yeah, I'm sure." She frowned thoughtfully, then her look softened a little. "Hey, why don't you come up with me and I'll look into it and let you know where the case stands."

Vegeta looked back at her, scowling. "I'm sure you have more important things to do."

"What, eat food at my desk while I take a break? I don't have anything more important to do right now than to help look into what happened to your brother."

It was true, after all. They were trying to make Cui sweat a while, and she did need to eat, which warranted a break.

Vegeta hesitated, almost tempted as he studied her. Her wavy blue hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail that had some strands falling loosely along her face. He put his hands in his pockets, scowling as he did, forcing himself to forget that he knew what her hair felt like. But her looking into Tarble's case could so easily lend itself to her having more questions about him, and he at least had enough sense to avoid that. Still, he felt oddly moved by the offer.

"Thank you," he finally said, his rough voice quieter than usual. "I got what I came for though, so I should go. I have work to do. I imagine you do too."

"Well, alright…" she relented.

There was a moment of silence while they stared at each other, and she couldn't help but wonder what his smile would look like. It was weird to her, that she had seen him naked, had been as intimate with him as a woman could ever be with a man, and yet she had no idea what his smile looked like. Hell, she had only barely just learned his real name.

"It was…" Vegeta paused, as if searching for the right word, "…good, to see you again, Bulma," he awkwardly said, breaking the tension. She gave him a half smile that made his heart skip a beat.

"It was good to see you too, Vegeta," she responded, before her smile grew teasing. "Ya know, that name really does suit you better. You should open with that name next time. Anyway, back to work. Take care."

"You too," he muttered, stepping aside to let her pass him.

He watched her for a few moments as she went up the stairs, and then forced himself to look away, letting out a breath he hadn't been aware of holding. It was good to have had that short interaction with her, because pretty soon, she was going to hate him. He suddenly felt cold, but his mission beckoned, and what she thought of him would not stop him.

Slipping his shades back on, he left the police station.


Finally, past midnight, the DA's deal had been accepted, and Cui was giving his statement as Bulma and Krillin captured every word with a tape recorder.

"Now then, the vigilante," Bulma prompted, her blue eyes serious as she and Krillin took notes. "You said you can ID him. Who is he?"

"Well, I don't know for sure," Cui replied, making Bulma feel like she was going to break her pen. "But I can tell you that I've been working for Frieza for the last 5 years, and he hasn't been in our ranks, at least not in that time. Internally, we were looking into surviving family members of victims over the last year to…investigate and find out who it is."

Bulma and Krillin exchanged a look, before she turned her fierce gaze back on Cui, who shrank back a bit. "I thought you said you saw him."

"I did! Not clearly, but I did," he asserted, leaning forward. "It's one guy for sure. He's either been a cop or been in the military, you could tell with the way he operated. He's got tons of experience. He had dark hair, and-"

Suddenly, the power went out, the interrogation room filled with darkness. Bulma and Krillin both looked up in surprise. She reached out and paused the tape recorder as she stood up.

"Stay here with him," Bulma ordered, going to the door.

Meanwhile, having killed the power, Vegeta tossed several smoke canisters into the darkened police station, before leaning back against the wall by the stairs on the main floor. He heard the gasps and the alarmed shouts from the cops as he gripped his bean bag shotgun. He was fully armed with two loaded handguns and a loaded rifle slung onto his back, just in case he needed lethal options with the cops, though he would do his best not to resort to that if possible.

After all, he had to save the rounds for Cui.

He let a couple of seconds pass, then tossed in a flash grenade to stun them. When it exploded with a flash of light, he rounded the corner, his shotgun in front of him. He couldn't see, but he didn't need to; he had the map fresh in his mind of the layout.

He saw motion in front of him and instantly fired a beanbag round low, catching someone's legs if the sound of pain was any indication. Turning to his right, he brutally kicked in the door to the first investigation room, saw it was empty, and kept moving.

Real gunshots suddenly went off in his direction, and he dove instantly to the floor behind a desk to avoid the gunfire as he heard shouting as the officers armed themselves. Reaching down, Vegeta grabbed another flash grenade, and tossed it over his shoulder.

"We gotta get him out of here!" he heard Bulma shout. Vegeta grit his teeth at the sound of her voice, but he was committed.

"You take him, I'll stay!" a male voice responded.

The flash grenade went off a second later, the sound loud enough to damage hearing, and then Vegeta went to work.

Either the smoke was clearing or his vision had adapted, but he could see the cop with a handgun in his face as soon as he stood up. Vegeta instantly grabbed it and smashed it back into the officer's face, making him drop. Vegeta raised his shotgun and fired another three bean bag rounds in succession where he saw motion, hitting three different cops as he followed the sound of Bulma's voice while he quickly reloaded.

One of the fallen cops was aiming a handgun at him from the ground while writhing in pain from the shot to his knee, but Vegeta kicked him in the face to end that threat.

Krillin suddenly bull rushed him from the side, ramming Vegeta into the wall face first and yanking his rifle off him. Vegeta threw his elbow back, slamming it into Krillin's nose, then didn't give him time to recover as he spun around and struck him hard with the heel of the shotgun, dropping him cold.

The distraction though was enough for Goku to get the jump on him. Vegeta cursed when he felt the very familiar stranglehold grab him from behind, wrenching him backwards and forcing him to drop his shotgun. He instinctively dropped down, forcing Goku to flip over his shoulder and land on his back. Goku was relentless though and didn't release his hold, forcing Vegeta to fall with him. He thrashed hard to break free, his back now on Goku's chest as Goku laid on the floor, his grip iron tight on Vegeta's throat as he held his weight.

"I got you," Goku panted, tightening his grip as Vegeta thrashed harder. The other cops were starting to recover and he heard one of the exit doors open.

Desperate, Vegeta shifted over as much as he could and rammed his elbow backwards into Goku's ribs as hard as possible, a few times for good measure. When his grip loosened the slightest bit, Vegeta took the opening and forced them both on their sides. He ducked his head then and with raw strength, broke the hold, before slamming his fist into Goku's face.

Vegeta quickly scrambled back up to his feet, but Goku was there a second later. For five good seconds, they each tried exchanging blows, but they knew each other too well; each punch was blocked, each kick knocked aside. Vegeta finally surprised Goku with another punch to the face, but he left himself open to a solid kick to the ribs that knocked the wind out of him and forced him to stagger backwards.

Then, in a move Vegeta was unprepared for, Goku took out his gun from his holster and fired three shots at him, hitting him square in the chest, all in under 2 seconds.

Despite the vest he was wearing for protection, Vegeta still dropped from the force, falling backwards. He was both in pain and in shock over Goku's audacity, but he had enough instinct to fire one last flash grenade before he hit the floor. It went off, practically in Goku's face. Goku winced and tried seeing after the painful burst of light as his ears practically felt like they were bleeding, but by the time he could see again, Vegeta was gone.

"Shit," Bulma whispered. She was driving now and had put some distance between them and the police station, but she was slightly shaken. Gunshots had been fired, and she had no idea what the situation was. She had managed to get Cui out though, and he was in the backseat now of the police car, her fellow detective Mike next to her. "Glad I asked a few guys to stick around tonight til we transferred this guy," she muttered.

"Yeah," Mike agreed next to her, as he texted on his phone. "That was wild."

"Who do you think it was? Frieza?" Bulma wondered out loud.

"It was the vigilante," Cui answered from the back, his voice shaken. "This ain't Frieza's style. Frieza is more…subtle."

"The vigilante?" Bulma repeated, her blue eyes glancing back at Cui through the rearview mirror.

"Who else would have the balls?" Cui mumbled. "I'm sure he wants me dead."

But if that's true, how did he know we had you? Bulma wondered to herself. She glanced over at Mike. "Can you text Krillin and ask him what the situation is?"

"Sure thing, but first, I think you need to stop the car."

Bulma's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Why-"

She stiffened when there was a gun suddenly against her head. "I insist," Mike said, his voice dark.

"So, you're on his payroll, huh," Bulma said through clenched teeth as she brought the police car to a stop on a deserted street. "Should have known, with your miserable record of closing cases related to him. And, I'm guessing that wasn't your wife you were texting…"

"Shift to park," he ordered, and she did as he asked. Cui tried in vain to open one of the rear doors to get out, but the rear doors would only open from the outside, and there was a grated barrier between them so he could do nothing about the gun pointed to Bulma's head. Plus, he was still handcuffed. "Put both of your hands on the steering wheel," Mike ordered.

A black SUV suddenly pulled up as Mike zip tied Bulma's hands to the steering wheel.

"You know that your career is dead now, right?" she stated.

"Well, at least I'm being well compensated," Mike said as he frowned. "Sorry, Bulma."

"Fuck off," she growled angrily at him.

Cui panicked when Mike then exited the police vehicle, right as the SUV rear door slid open.

"Shit, don't let them take me!" he cried as he tried moving away from the door. "Frieza is going to kill me!"

Bulma exhaled through her nose, but she had no time to respond to him before Mike opened the rear door closest to Cui and roughly hauled him out. He led him over to the black SUV, and forced Cui inside, climbing in after him. The door slid shut, and then the SUV tore off into the night, leaving Bulma alone in the police car.


An hour later, the bag that had been on Cui's head during the drive was roughly removed. He was on his knees, outside near the docks of West City. He was shaking with fear as he looked up to see the boss he had never seen in person before. Frieza was standing facing away from him, hands clasped behind his back as he gazed out at the dark water of the lake that bordered West City.

"So – Cui, is it? A little bird in the DA's office told me that you were going to turn against me," Frieza said, his tone as pleasant as if he was discussing fine dining.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Cui instantly said, desperation in his voice. "I didn't tell them ANYTHING, I swear it!"

Frieza chuckled. "You should know, Cui, that I have people everywhere. Cops, judges, people in the DA's offices. You name it, I own it. Nothing happens in my town without me knowing about it. And no one works against me without word getting back to me." He slightly turned, offering a chilling smile that made Cui shrink back. "You know what the punishment for this is, don't you?"

Cui was practically crying. "Please, I'm sorry-"

Frieza laughed, walking over to him. He put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing almost painfully. "Dear boy, what do you think? That I would come out here at this ungodly hour to see a low ranked man like you killed? If I wanted you dead, I assure you, you would already be dismembered in the lake."

At the words, Cui's raw fear started to turn into confusion as Frieza squatted down in front of him.

"Giving information on me was only half of the deal with the DA. I'm interested in the other half of what you had to offer," Frieza told him with a grin. "But instead of helping the cops, you are going to help me."

"Sir?"

"You're going to help me identify the vigilante, so I can kill him once and for all."