AN: Good day, fair people of Fanfiction! I'm glad to have gotten a reaction from you guys. Shout out to Ninja Shadow in the Night and Gracialoveme for reviewing, thanks so much! Though I'm quite happy for getting a reaction, could you guys pretty please keep it going? It might be hard to believe, but every Fav/Follow/(encouraging)Review really helps! It's really motivational. So anyway, on to the important stuff: May I present to you...Chapter 2!

Chapter 2

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I groan as the offending noise rings in my ears. I reach a hand out to my right, ready to whack the damned thing into oblivion. However, the only thing my hand comes into contact with is a large stack of files. The contact sends them flying across the small room, the papers scattering across the wooden floor. My eyes fly open as I realise that I'd fallen asleep in my hidden room. I peel my cheek away from the keypad its resting on and spin around in my desk chair. Oh, thank goodness. At least I remembered to lock the latch again. The one time I forgot to lock it, I'd almost sent myself into a panic.

Nobody knows about my private investigation or my history. In other words, they think my parents died in a car accident. They can't know about my parents' murder, otherwise I'd be taken off the related stories immediately. At WDT they don't allow you to look into a story if it hits too close to home. I'd say having your parents murdered by the bastard who's on every front page hits pretty close to home. If anyone finds out about this...

I take a look at my watch. Crap! It's already seven o'clock and I have to be at the office by eight. I fly out of my chair and quickly leave my hidden room, making sure to lock the latch. I'll clean up the mess of papers once I get home. After brushing my teeth and taking a quick shower, I rummage through my closet for something to wear. I decide on a long sleeved thin white blouse, a navy blue pencil skirt that ends just above my knees and my nude heeled pumps. I don't usually wear heels to work. They don't really mix well with the loads of travelling I do every day, chasing after stories and all. Today is an exception though, since I'll be working in the office for the most of the day. Besides, I have to wear these heels eventually. I bought them on impulse when they were on sale, but haven't had the opportunity to wear them yet.

I blow dry my hair and fix it into my usual french braid. After applying a light layer of make up, I grab my brown leather briefcase and head out the door. I'll get breakfast later. I squeeze into my Fiat 500 and I'm off. Don't judge the Fiat. Sure it's small and sometimes a bit of a tight squeeze, but it's just what I need. It's not like I have an entire family or a shipload of friends to chaperone. I can't afford a bigger car anyway. I'm not complaining about my salary at all. I mean, I make a fair amount of money. It's just not the kind of money that allows you to buy a Mercedes.

I park in front of the tall building in my usual parking space, which is under a roof near the enterance. I make it to the office with mere minutes to spare. I drop into my desk chair and breathe a sigh of relief. I see one of the more junior journalists, Rapunzel, peek over the shallow wall that divides our cubicles. She giggles at me.

"That was a close one. I was starting to wonder if you had driven off a cliff or something!"

"Punzie, I was barely late!",I laugh. "Besides, you aren't one to talk. You've had countless late mornings and each time I've had to cover for you."

"Well, it looks like I'm going to start repaying the favour. This is not like you. Wait, let me guess! You... had a guy over?", she guesses excitedly. She's been trying to hook me up with someone since the moment she stepped into this office.

"Was it Darryl? Please tell me it wasn't Darryl. I mean, I know you liked him and all, but he was kind of an ass. He had a hot body though. Oh, I know! It was Robert! You always did have this thing for European guys. Then again, his accent was so annoying! Not that I have anything against Europeans, but his accent was just downright peculiar. You know what? I bet it was Allen. I know you weren't too keen on him, saying he was pretentious and all, but maybe you followed my advice. You know, inviting him in after hours for a little -"

"Rapunzel Primrose Corona! Oh my gosh! No, I did not spend the night with any of your 'suitors'!"

Punzie simply rolls her eyes.

"Hopeless...", she mutters, thinking I can't hear her.

I shoot her a glare before turning to my desk. Just as I'm about to pull out my laptop, a voice interrupts me.

"Winters, would you step into my office for a moment?", Mr Micks calls.

I gulp and nod at him. Mr Micks is my boss. I'm not really sure why I'm nervous. He's actually very easygoing and hard to anger. However, the furrow between his brows is everything but easygoing. I walk up to his office and knock on the door. I hear his muffled reply.

"Come in!"

I step in nervously.

"You called me, Sir?"

"Oh yes, of course! You needn't sit down, Miss Winters, this will only be a moment of your time...and please relax! I feel like a damned school principle who's just called in a delinquent student!"

I chuckle at his statement.

"Now Miss Winters, you are one of our very few journalists who is working The Boogeyman story, correct?"

I nod.

"I just got a call from the NYPD saying that a new murder has taken place. They say it's The Boogeyman's work, no doubt. Apparently there's a witness this time, Ariel Waters. I want you to head over there and check it out. See what you can get out of the witness, assess the crime scene...You know the drill.", he says and hands me a sheet of paper with the adress on it.

My curiousity spikes when he mentions the witness. There has never been a witness before. Except for me, that is, but nobody knows that. I nod and leave his office. While I pack away my things, Punzie comes up to me.

"Hey Els, what did the boss want? Did he find out about you being late? Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I really thought I -"

"Punzie, it's fine. Mr Micks didn't find out about it. He just asked me to look into something, that's all."

"Oh, okay. See you later then!"

I laugh to myself. I swear, sometimes that girl is just too perky for her own good. Once I'm in my car I check the address again. The neighbourhood is about an hour away, but I don't mind the drive. It gives me time to mull things over in my head.

I'm still in shock over the witness. Usually The Boogeyman just kills them off, but not this time. Why would that be? Did he not see her? Did he allow it? Does he see this as some sort of game? Many questions plague my thoughts. You see, this is why I'm a journalist. I ask all the questions and seek all the answers, no matter what. I have boundaries, of course. Just because I'm a determined journalist, doesn't mean I have no respect for the rules.

I'm brought back to Earth by a wall of black vehicles blocking my way. I park in front of them and walk across the street to the small group of people standing on the front law of the house. The ambulance is gone by now and all who's left are the police and, of course, the witness. A head of bright red hair draws my attention. The girl has long wavy hair, blue-green eyes and bright red lips to match her hair. She's wearing a sea green sundress and black flats. Bingo! I have found the witness. I start towards her with steady strides. Surprisingly, no one stops me.

Just as I reach out to tap her shoulder, a hand grips my wrist and pulls me aside. I'm about to give this jerk a piece of my mind, until I look up and meet the most brilliant blue eyes that I've ever seen. And is his hair white? Amazing... He looks to be my age, probably a bit older. He's much taller than me and his lean, yet moderately muscular, form towers over me. Not in an intimidating way, though. I actually find it quite comforting. He's wearing brown chinos, a dark blue t-shirt that compliments his toned biceps and black converse.

I snap out of my daze when I realise that a) I'm staring, and b) the guy is talking to me.

"Uh, Miss?", I hear his deep voice call.

"Oh, uhm, yeah. Sorry what?"

Great job, Winters. Tripping over your tongue in front of a hot guy. Rapunzel would be ashamed. The guy chuckles, then takes on a more serious expression.

"I was saying that this is a private investigation. You're not allowed to be here. If you want to talk to the witness, you're going to have to wait until we're done with her. Which is to say, if she isn't put into witness protection."

I almost scoff at this. Witness protection my ass. I'm a witness and do I look like I need protection?! But, of course, I can't tell him that. Then I process the rest of his sentence.

"What do you mean, 'I'm not allowed to be here'? My boss sent me here because he got a call from the NYPD saying that they had a witness. Your people need to get their shit together!"

Yeah, I like to swear when I'm mad. It's just a reaction I have when I'm pissed off. I start to feel an all too familiar chill work its way into my fingers. I clench my jaw and ball my fists, fighting it back.

"You know what? Fine! Call me when you're done."

I fish out a business card from my briefcase and hand it to him. I spin around and stalk over to my car.

"Damn vultures.", I hear him mutter.

I get into my car and slam the door shut. I take a couple of deep breaths to calm myself down. I can't believe that jerk! Telling me that I'm not allowed to be there. What a load of crap! I call Mr Micks and explain the situation to him.

"Don't worry, Winters. They probably just had a misunderstanding. I'll tell you what. Why don't you go someplace quiet and work on your other projects while you wait for them to call you back?"

"Shouldn't I come back to the office, Sir?"

"No, there's no need for that. You'll probably arrive here a minute before you need to leave again."

"Okay, thank you Sir."

I sit for a moment and think. I just met the sexiest Police Officer in New York, or was he a Detective? Oh gosh, that makes it even sexier. I'll admit, he's infuriating as hell, yet there's something that's drawing me to him but I don't know what. All I know, is that I'm begging to see those eyes again. Want to know what the strange part is?

I don't even know his name.

AN: Another day, another chapter. Yay, now we've got a story going here! In the next chapter we'll finally find out who this sexy mystery-man is, but I get the feeling that you already know. I just need to clarify a few things in this chapter:

1) Primrose is the Queen of Corona's name, so it seemed fitting for Punzie's middle name.#

2) Mr Micks is, in fact, Mickey Mouse! I just tried to humanize him a bit. I mean, having a mouse for a boss doesn't seem very realistic and Mr Mickey or even Mr Mouse seemed too weird and unoriginal.

So, I hope you enjoyed it! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter (hint hint) ;). Here's a little inspirational quote for you.

"The more you read, the more you know

And the more you learn, the more places you'll go."

-Dr Seuss

Until next time!

DDxx