A puddle in the street from last night's rain reflected the blue morning sky as perfectly as a mirror. This illusion was broken when the wheels of a speeding scooter went splashing right through it, sending up a wave of water to either side.

Traffic wasn't an issue this early in the morning, but all the same, the driver opted to zip down an alley. Not because it would get her to her destination faster, but simply to throw off any pursuers. The girl grinned as she revved the engine, ducking down over the handlebars. She could practically hear bullets whizzing past her ears. Weaving from side to side in an attempt to make a more difficult target, the determined courier threw caution to the wind and went full throttle towards the mouth of the alley. This was so exciting!

A dark form scampered out into her path. She gave a yelp and swerved sharply to avoid it, narrowly missing a row of trash cans on her way by. The teen turned her head around and saw the cause of this near-accident now crouched on a first floor windowsill hissing at her accusingly.

"Sorry!" Minette waved as she drove on. The cat merely looked away in blatant refusal to make amends. Oh, well. That'll teach me to keep my head in the game. With that the fish-girl sped on her way.

Minette loved the smell of the city after a rainstorm, all hot and wet. Like everything was washed clean. It made her feel as much at home as underwater. On top of that, despite being so early in the morning, the colorful district of Little Innsmouth was already alive with sights and smells. Clamoring market sellers set up their stalls or popped heads above the canals before climbing onto dry land. Some of them recognized her and called out as she went buzzing past. Minette waved cheerfully in return. No time to stop and chat. She was on an assignment, and somewhere out there, her clients were waiting.

Nadia Fortune draped an arm around her eager admirer's shoulders. The cat-burglar looked shiftily to either side before leaning over to whisper in a conspiratorial hush. "We're aiming for the big leagues tonight, kid! They'll never know what hit 'em. I can't let the cat out of the bag, but when we pull this off, we'll be sitting purr-itty! Gonna need a big breakfast tomorrow when it's done. Don't be late!"

"I won't!" Minette replied with fervent assurance. "You can count on me! Good luck!"

"Don't need it." Grinning confidently, the feral flicked the large golden bell around her neck.

*Ding-a-ling-ding*

Excitement at this prospect left Minette wound up tight in anticipation. Another puddle presented itself like a target in the street which she aimed for unerringly. The turquoise-skinned teen stuck her feet out and whooped with glee as she went through it, not caring that she got her pant cuffs soaked. Unlike humans, Dagonians didn't mind the feel of wet clothes. And she was proud of her heritage no matter what anyone had to say on the subject. Minette had a lot to look forward to, more than most girls her age. Dad had finally agreed to let her take a job as a way to get out in the world. He knew she could be a bit naïve (A fish out of water! Nadia would love it!) and this would serve to provide her with some life experience. Admittedly, Yu Wan's restaurant wasn't the first place a starry-eyed young sea-maiden could hope to find work. But soon enough the clientele proved more dazzling than she could ever have hoped for.

Turns out that small, steamy dive was a haunt of the notorious Fishbone Gang. Unnerved at first by the rough look of such wanted criminals, Minette soon learned that their reputations, while well deserved, did not tell the whole story. The crew had big hearts and quickly welcomed the newcomer into their circle of friends, of whom there were many as it turned out. Rather than cold-blooded scoundrels, this thieving lot was more like something out of legends, a five-man gang of merry men (and women) who contributed a share of their pickings to the community in which they lived. This served to engender a sense of camaraderie throughout the neighborhood of Little Innsmouth, making its citizens loath to cooperate whenever the police came calling. Nobody was about to rat out the Fishbone Gang.

Though Dad would pitch a fit if she even mentioned it, Minette liked to think of herself as an honorary member of the Gang. Whenever she delivered their orders after a successful heist, the waitress liked to pretend she was being chased by angry Mafioso or crooked cops, dodging into alleys to avoid pursuit and checking out any potential pursuers in her rear-view mirror. The rush made Minette feel invincible. Like nothing could scare her. Like she couldn't be caught and the world was her oyster!

Soon enough the take-out girl arrived at the agreed-upon drop-off site. In her delivery outfit of form-fitting blue-jeans, shiny red jacket and a baseball cap with the restaurant's logo printed on it, she set up the kickstand and hopped off to have a look around. Warehouses and canneries stretched along the narrow road. This was the fish district, after all, and you could smell it. Stomach-churning for more reasons than one in her case. The building in front of her had been abandoned years ago by the look of it. A perfect hideout for the Fishbones to lay low until the heat was off.

Minette checked the address scrawled on a scrap of notebook paper one more time to be sure. Yup; 1937 Charles Dexter Rawd. Yu Wan still had a bit of trouble with human spelling. But this was the place. She grabbed the straps of several plastic bags on her scooter's seat-basket. Still riding a 'totally spy' high, Minette looked warily up and down the street. There was no one around. With a decidedly more animated step she skipped over to a small door on the folded aluminum side of the building and knocked. Maybe Nadia will answer it? She always craved her favorite food after a successful heist.

A latch was thrown, and the door opened. "Yeah?"

Minette blinked. The human who looked down at her was a stranger; thin, maybe only a few years older than she was, with curly blonde hair and an angular sharp face. There was a wine-splotch birthmark on his right cheek. The dark eyes above it were mistrustful. They watched the small girl as though expecting her to make a remark about him.

Too surprised at this unexpected appearance to think properly, she could only stammer, "D… delivery, sir."

He squinted, taking in her getup and the bags of still-warm takeout. "Just leave it there." And he began to shut the door.

In a panic Minette heard herself blurt out, "Wait, I haven't been paid yet!"

About to close, the gap hesitated, then opened wide. Once more that menacing face studied her from head to toe. He wore a pinstripe mauve shirt with black slacks, white shoes and a canary yellow tie. There was something cheap about his clothes. Plus the fact it looked like he got dressed in the dark. After a bit of thinking that seemed to cost him more than it should, he stepped back and indicated for her to come inside.

When Minette hesitated, the man grimaced in frustration. "You want your money? You gotta come get it."

That was the wrong move. Even someone not so worldly like her could see that. But Minette had taken the time to think. And she wanted to know what might be going on here. Nadia and the others could be in trouble. If so, this might be an opportunity to help them out before things got bad.

That sense of fearless bravado from before could no longer be found. Instead she slunk nervously into the abandoned factory, gripping the bags in preparation to swing them at him if necessary. The guy locked the door once more, and Minette had to wonder if that was the only way out. He then strode by without a word, clearly expecting her to follow. After a moment in which she strove to calm her racing heart, the Dagonian did so.

They walked down a short corridor lit by a single bare yellow lightbulb. Another door at the end had an old-fashioned punch-card setup beside it. Her threatening guide knocked on the glass windowpane, and when it opened, he proceeded in. Minette did the same.

As soon as she did the door closed quickly and quietly behind her. She flinched and looked around nervously. They were in a huge room that was clearly the main area for a canning business. Disused equipment had been left to rust alongside conveyor belts. Chains hung from the ceiling. The reek of fish guts was everywhere here, having soaked in over long years.

The goon from before had now been joined by about twenty men. Whereas he had been intimidating, this lot was downright scary. Despite differences in age, dress and heritage, they all shared an impression of cold cruelty in the way they eyed her. Like it wouldn't take much to convince them she was just another catch of the day ready to have her head chopped off and guts pulled out. None of them said a word. All alone, surrounded by these eerie silent figures, Minette could do nothing but stand there shivering.

One of the men broke away from the rest and came marching over as her guide approached. Unlike the others, this fellow looked angry. Big and beefy with short dark hair, he drew to a halt before the skinny tough. Black eyes flashed over to a cowering Minette for a moment before settling back on him. "What the hell is this?" he demanded.

Skinny stuffed his hands in his pockets and scowled. "She knocked on the door. I let her in. Thought maybe she might know something."

A few chuckles came from the assembled men. "Struppiau," someone clearly muttered. In response the target of their disdain looked wildly all around, as if daring whoever had spoken to step forward and proclaim himself. None of the watchers proved interested in taking up his challenge, however.

His accuser swore. "Sanctissima!" He ducked his head, hands clasping tightly at the nape of his neck before looking up. "Rodolpho, Papa always said you were stupido, but I never agreed with him until right now!"

"I ain't stupid!" the one called Rodolpho declared indignantly. "She wouldn't leave! What was I s'posed to do, huh?"

"She's a flippin' kid! What the hell were you thinking, letting her in here?!"

"Yo, Marco!" another man called out. "Your little brother got a thing for gill-girls, does he?"

"You a wide-mouth bass, princess?" someone else leered at her. "How much you suppose you can fit in there?"

This brought a round of laughter. Minette glanced about in rising dread. There was no sign of the Fishbone Gang anywhere. Did I really get the wrong address? Whatever the case, this right here is bad news for sure. "Um, excuse me?" she piped up, hefting the sacks to redistribute their weight. They were feeling heavier by the second, enough to make her shoulders ache. "Is anyone going to pay for this? Because if not… I should be going."

More unsettling laughter followed. The only ones not having a good time were Rodolpho and Marco. The latter continued to glare at his little brother. As he did, however, his gaze flickered off to one side, where a manager's office stood separate from the cannery floor. The door was shut and the blinds were drawn, but a light was on inside. As they watched, someone cracked the slats open and looked out, probably to see what might be causing such a commotion.

When he saw this, Marco's face twitched. He grabbed Rodolpho by the arm and fixed him with a furious stare. "You go wait by the car and don't move, got it?" He pointed over to a large delivery gate in the side of the building where several identical black sedans were parked. "I did not bring you into this just so you could throw it all away over some ragazza!"

His slender subordinate shook himself free but did as he was told. More catcalls followed in his wake, along with the word 'Rimbambito' which sounded like a nickname. At this the blinds fell down once more.

Minette's concern ratcheted up a notch when Marco made a peremptory gesture. For all their disdain towards his brother, apparently the elder sibling held a degree of authority among this crew, as two men detached from the rest without question to join him. All three came stalking towards her. The menace exuded by Rodolpho was nothing compared to this. More than her arms were trembling as they drew to a halt before her, and Minette stared up at them from under the brim of her baseball cap, fearing the worst.

"What do you want?" Marco demanded softly.

"I'm… the… d-delivery girl," she warbled in response. Tears were gathering in her large violet eyes. "We g-g-got an… order for here."

At this he lifted an eyebrow. The team boss looked to his flunkies and gave a quick nod in her direction. They moved towards her, and Minette was just about to scream, when all of a sudden she felt the plastic bags snatched roughly away. The goons then set them down and started going through the contents, pulling out white paper cartons and opening them to grimace at the sight of fried eel with noodles and sweet silver fungus soup. Minette watched them anxiously, a certain professional pride almost causing her to object to this rough treatment of her livelihood. Yu Wan put a lot of effort into that!

From the corner of her eye she noticed Rodolpho edging away from the cars and closer to them. Hands stuffed in his pockets, he looked cross and irritable. Maybe even a bit uneasy, for he glanced at her as though it had finally occurred to him bringing Minette here had put her in danger. Marco noticed and gave his brother a look that made him stop moving. He then focused on her. "You live around here?"

She gave a miserable nod.

His lips pursed tightly as he glanced over at his underlings busy with their tasks. "Got any family?"

Why was he asking all these questions? Minette could barely squeak out a weak, "Yes…"

One of the men finished his inspection and looked back to Marco, shaking his head no. The other took a little longer, rifling through the contents of Nadia's sack in search of something. But eventually he too gave a sign that the search proved fruitless.

Marco appeared to visibly relax at this. He reached into his jacket pocket, and Minette went rigid with fear. But all he pulled out was a money clip holding a wad of bills. He licked his finger and peeled off a few, holding them out to her. "Take it and get lost." At the same time he turned to the pair of thugs. "And get rid of that stuff, it stinks worse than anything in here."

Both nodded. Unthinkingly Minette reached up for the proffered payment. The goons stood. As they did, a handle slipped free from one man's hands. The plastic bag dropped to the floor, and suddenly oranges were rolling all over the place.

"Hey!" Minette immediately dropped to her knees and tried to catch as many as possible. Those were Nadia's favorite! They can't just throw them away! She was so intent on rescuing the prized foodstuffs she failed to notice Rodolpho come running forward only to step on a rolling orange and fall flat on his face. People were laughing and cursing, some doing the same as her while others just enjoyed the show.

Amidst all this ruckus, few noticed the door to the office swing open.

Minette was not one of them. She had her arms full of citrus fruits and was crawling towards another one, dropping several in the process. So upset was she by this it did not occur to her when all sound in the room abruptly died.

The girl reached for an escaping orange. Before she could snag it, the globe rolled right into the foot of someone in front of her.

"What do we have here? A fish out of water?"

Surprised, the Dagonian looked up. At first all she saw was a big black leather apron slick with different types of blood. There came a snap as a long rubber glove was peeled off one hand. The other followed suit, the only difference being that the arm revealed proved to be mechanical. Cold steel fingers flexed in an elegant approximation of living flesh. And behind a veil, someone smiled.

Minette suddenly realized she was on her knees before Black Dahlia.

The oranges she held fell to the floor unnoticed.

In no apparent hurry, Dahlia passed her gloves off to a man who came up behind her. She undid the drawstrings of her apron, drawing the loop carefully overhead so as not to disturb her feathered pillbox hat before handing this off as well. Now attired in a purple evening gown, she accepted a white half-cape with a doily design and draped it over her shoulders.

"Well?" she asked casually to no one in particular.

Marco snapped to attention behind the paralyzed Minette. He stepped forward quickly, swallowing in a dry throat. No one else made any move to join him, distancing themselves as much as possible. Even his brother Rodolopho stood frozen, casting about in distress as though in search of help. The others didn't even meet his eye. "Sorry, Boss," the elder brother stated in as steady a voice as possible. "This kid showed up out of nowhere. We didn't want to bother you while you were… working."

"Hmm." Dahlia said nothing more. Through her featureless mask, she continued to watch the trembling child in front of her, arms crossed without any sign of being interested in anything else.

The target of her attention couldn't even move a muscle. Minette had thought she had been afraid before. This went far beyond it. No word could describe how bad this felt. She was light-headed and in danger from passing out. Minette wanted to die, she was so scared.

"She's clean!"

Virtually every head in the room snapped around at this. Even Minette tore herself away from that arresting gaze, so surprised was she at the realization of who spoke. Standing removed from the rest, Rodolpho added, "We already searched her, Boss! She didn't have it on her. I don't think she's with them, y'know?"

The colorful clown clammed up then. He was holding an orange for some reason, like maybe he intended to throw it. Across the way Marco's face was an agony of disbelief and fury. Rodolpho didn't acknowledge his elder's clearly horrified reaction at such foolishness on his part. He stood there stiffly, trembling and flicking glances between Minette and the Dahlia.

Out of all of them, only the Medici assassin had not responded in any way to his outburst. Black Dahlia continued to regard the tiny waif at her feet. Eventually, though, she slowly crouched down. Several people tensed as she came to Minette's eye level, Marco and Rodolpho among them. Minette heard her move and spun back around, immediately becoming transfixed again by the mere sight of the barely discernible face behind the veil.

A mechanical arm reached out. The kid whimpered. Moments later, Dahlia had picked up an orange. She held the thick-skinned fruit poised atop those deadly strong fingers.

"Did you look everywhere?" she asked lightly.

Almost as one, the mobsters realized what she meant. Anyone watching might have found it funny at how fast all those hardened toughs fell scrambling to pick up oranges and start peeling them open feverishly. Even Marco got busy in a hurry, purposefully not looking at the two women as he did.

Dahlia plucked the cap off the girl's head while the men were preoccupied, allowing fins to sprout up like spring shoots of an exotic black and orange flower. Her smile might have grown bigger then. Minette couldn't tell. Placing the hat off to one side, she laced her arms over her knees and leaned forward, balancing effortlessly on high-heeled shoes. "Got a name?"

Those violet and yellow eyes were so big they reflected the assassin in them. "Minette," she heard someone whisper, too scared to think.

Dahlia cocked her head slightly as though committing this to memory. Hidden lips might have moved then, shaping the name silently, before speaking once more. "Maybe you can help us, Minette. We're looking for something."

The cybernetic arm rose, and for a heart-stopping moment she was certain Black Dahlia meant to take off her own hat as well, mask and all. The prospect almost caused the traumatized teen to start crying for some reason. Instead from the tip of one finger there came sliding out an angled razor blade, like a slim X-acto knife. Minette moaned when she saw it, however all the Dahlia did with this clearly lethal implement was to begin carving the skin of the orange.

"It resembles a blood-red sphere," she continued in a casual vein. Pieces of peel fell to the ground. "About the size…" one glowing white eye flickered to meet Minette's, "…of a human heart."

The naked fruit was now held in the palm of her hand. Pale fingers squeezed ever so gently.

"Have you seen it?"

Behind Dahlia, some impassive-faced men emerged unobtrusively from the office hauling big black garbage bags. They were obviously heavy judging by the way the hoods struggled on their way over towards the cars, where the trunks had been popped open.

Minette hardly noticed this. She stared at that juicy round orb. It had never occurred to her before how much they really did resemble hearts, with their white veins and distinct sections. The fruit seemed to pulse fearfully in the Dahlia's clutches. It's… alive.

The world started spinning around her, and Minette knew she was about to pass out. Not now. Please…

But it was… too la…

At that moment one of the goons deposited his bag in the trunk with a grunt.

*Ding-a-ling-ding*

A familiar chime swept away impending unconsciousness. Minette blinked several times as she came back to reality. Her head whipped around to locate the source of this musical interlude. Dahlia did the same. Together they stared at that incongruous black sack.

It came from there, Minette thought. I know it.

Oh…

"No…"

Slowly the Dagonian's head came around to stare at the inhuman creature before her. Black Dahlia returned the look. She smiled. Her fist closed, slowly crushing the orange until it was reduced to nothing more than wet messy pulp. Juice gushed out between her fingers and fell dripping between them.

The ruined fruit dropped to the ground. Still smiling playfully, the murderess lifted her index finger and held it before those trembling blue lips. A single drop of juice dangled from it.

"Are you sure?" she asked gently.

That abominable touch drew closer. Horrified, Minette realized she lacked the strength to even shut her mouth. Her eyelids slid closed, but this was no help. Tears slipped down both cheeks. Nadia… help!

"Boss!"

Her eyes opened. Dazed and sick to her stomach, Minette looked over to find Rodolpho standing a few feet off. He was shaking, his face almost as blue as her own. For only an instant the girl and the man gazed at one another. It seemed neither was certain what might be about to happen.

"We're done! I mean…" Rodolpho swallowed, clearly ill at ease. He turned back to the Dahlia. "We didn't find nothin'. It ain't here. Maybe we should get goin'? Y'know, before more people start showing up."

Was he… trying to help her? Minette couldn't believe it. Behind him, Marco had turned around with a half-peeled orange held in both hands. His face was completely white. He stared at his reckless little brother incredulously. Her heart clenched at what she saw in his features. The rest of the crew watched this display in a resigned fashion. There was no sympathy to be found in their expressions. Only fear at what might come next.

The mistress of this blood-soaked domain turned her head to regard the gangly youth directly. His voice failed him at this point.

Then she looked back at the girl.

"You have a point."

Dahlia retrieved the baseball cap and settled it atop Minette's fins. She stood up. From beneath her cape the frightening figure produced nothing more dangerous than a white handkerchief which she used to wipe her hand clean.

"We've finished our business here," the Dahlia stated crisply. "Pack up. Time to go."

Her henchmen practically leapt to obey. The scattered foodstuffs were retrieved and deposited in the cars. Trunks slammed shut on their gruesome contents. The delivery gate was opened, allowing bright sunlight and fresh air to come spilling inside. One man came over to take the soiled handkerchief and hand their leader a pair of white opera gloves which she slid on languorously. Dahlia did not so much as glance in Minette's direction during this procedure. But when she was finished…

"Rodolpho."

Halfway to a car, the youth froze. He turned back around.

"Ride with me," Dahlia stated. She proceeded towards where a door was being held open for her. "You can sit up front."

Her heels clicked against the stained stone floor on the way past a stunned Rodolpho. He looked over towards Marco, who stared right back, aghast.

Black Dahlia settled in the back seat. The door shut behind her, and the boy jumped when he heard this. Numbly he then turned and stumbled over to the same car. He opened the front passenger side, pausing a moment to look back at his brother. The birthmark on his cheek stood out luridly against bloodless skin. As if realizing he was holding up the show, Rodolpho slipped inside. The door closed loudly behind him like a coffin lid slamming shut. Moments later the long black car growled to life and peeled slowly away.

Marco saw Minette watching him with a frightened expression. Briefly a spasm of rage passed through his frame, as though he blamed her for all this and was about to leap forward and punish the helpless girl. Then the big man rushed over towards an idling vehicle and pounded on the roof. "Go, go, go!" he screamed, wrenching open the door and flinging himself inside. Briefly she heard him exclaim, "Trinity help me, if she lays a finger on my brother, I'll…!"

And then the car sped off.

Minette looked around uncertainly. She noticed the open office door and shuddered. Nothing could make her go inside that room, no matter what she might find. Instead the girl stood up and stumbled towards the exit. It had felt like hours in there, but when she got outside, the morning air still smelled of rain. She got on her scooter and drove off.

Yu Wan was startled when Minette came bursting into the restaurant and ran straight over to bury herself in his broad chest sobbing. He couldn't get a word out of her. The few customers around were as deeply perplexed as he was. Eventually he led her into a back room that served as his office and managed to get her to lie down on a couch. Covering the weeping child with a blanket, he turned the lights off and went back to the kitchen. There would be time to learn what happened later.

Minette wasn't sure when she fell asleep or how long it lasted. Upon waking it took a while to remember where she was. As she sat in the messy room surrounded by filing cabinets and old pinup calendars on the wall, everything came back to her. She cried for a good ten minutes until Yu Wan noticed and came in. The sushi chef coaxed her into the restaurant proper with the promise of a traditional kuay namuan dish, bananas cooked in coconut milk. It happened to be one of Minette's favorites, and in this way she was convinced to rejoin the world.

Desolate, the waitress sat in a booth staring sadly at her untouched repast. Yu Wan had been forced to wait on the customers himself as a result of her absence all day. This only served to make her feel worse. He closed up shop and turned out the lights a few minutes ago, leaving her in the dark as he went in back to clean up. It was nighttime outside, the red lights of the neon signs leaking into the darkened greasy spoon and lending everything a subdued crimson cast.

Minette shuddered. Until now, it had never occurred to her what a horrible world they lived in. Hard to believe just this morning she had been living in a fantasy of heroic thieves and bloodless escapades. The real world was different. It was terrifying, and murderous, and sometime soon she would have to walk out the front door and face it once again.

*Ding-a-ling*

Hope roared anew in her heart, until she realized this was nothing more than the bell to the front door. Minette peered over the edge of her booth. "Excuse me, we're clo–"

Framed against the blood-stained night there stood a dark figure in a trenchcoat. Glowing eyes burned like lamps in its head. Panic threatened to choke the girl, as her first impulse was that this was the Dahlia come to get her. Before she could scream, the mysterious intruder reached over and flicked on the lights.

"That's better! Cats can see in the dark… we just see a whole lot of dark."

Minette couldn't believe her eyes. After a while she managed to stand up very slowly. "Nadia?"

In response the feral felon smirked and flicked her bell. *Ding-a-ling-ding* "Hope I didn't cat-ch you cat-napping, kid!"

Swaying on her feet for a moment, an overjoyed Minette sprang forward and slammed into her hero in a big hug. "OH, NADIA! You're alive!"

*BONK*

Something hit the floor behind her. When the puzzled waitress turned around, she saw Miss Fortune's head lying on the linoleum.

"Dangit!" the cat burglar's eyes swiveled in irritation. "This is gonna take some getting used to." Then her face brightened. "Oh, I know! It just means I need to keep my head in the game!" She looked over at Minette. "Good one, nyah?"

Unfortunately, the girl had already passed clean out.

To be continued…