REWIND : TAKE 2

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CASE 001 : THE CASE OF THE CURIOUS CANDLESTICK

THE BIT BEFORE THE START

It was a typical night in the city: bright lights, affected crowd.

The scent of street food wafted into the air, mingling with the cigarette smoke and vanishing into the skies. The chattering was indistinct, but incessant: everyone had something to say. It was a busy night, but, in this particular district of Kowloon, this was the norm. Every night was another night for drinking; every night was another night to forget the troubles of yesterday.

And while the locals waited for their favorite vendors, tourists snapped a million photos of the same icons: neon Chinese sign, a curry fish ball stand, a hundred or so people walking up and down the streets. Everyone was having a good time. Everyone but a few, who, for one reason or another, felt a chill go down their spine.

It was the slightest of feelings—no longer than a fraction of a second—but it was an uncomfortable one. It made their hair stand on its end and their hearts beat a little faster. Their fingers itched and their legs trembled at an unidentified thought. It was only for a second (if even that) and then it was gone, over as soon as it had started. They took a deep breath, looked around, and settled on confusion. Everything was normal; everything was as it should be.

Some asked if their friends felt it (An earthquake?) and others didn't say a word. It wasn't anything, they told themselves. It was just exhaustion, they explained, comforted by their own justifications. They promised to take it easier in the future—fewer late nights, less overtime. But even though they were desperately trying to fight away the feeling of distress, there was a recess of their mind that refused. It knew something was wrong. It knew something bad was about to happen.

And it was right.

Of course, at the time, none of them could have known. It wasn't their job to know; they weren't equipped to handle the situation even if they had chanced upon it. They were simple, ordinary people—students, part-timers, salary workers. And because they couldn't act, someone lost a daughter.

Or would it be more emotional to say that someone lost a mother? In any case, someone died that night and the cops aren't going to be helpful. But they will end up taking the credit for solving the case.


THE CASE (WHAT THE CHARACTERS KNOW / WILL KNOW)

█ TIME / DATE: 0830 / 18 SEPTEMBER 2014
█ LOCATION: KOWLOON, HONG KONG
█ CONDITIONS: 82 DEGREES / 94% HUMIDITY / 3 MPH WIND

❶. The team was called in this morning (at a little earlier than 0830) and debriefed. The team was told that a suspicious death occurred late last night in a more remote area of Kowloon (an area known for its less-than-savory businesses). The girl was murdered, but, more importantly, her soul was missing: it never showed up for its check-in.

❷. A woman (Jane Doe, 20-25) was found dead; her body dumped behind a dumpster. There were third degree burns all over her body and no defensive wounds. There were no signs of a struggle: she had gone willingly with her attacker. (To learn this information, someone will have to visit the crime scene.)

❸. There are also no head wounds or ligature marks to suggest that her attacker had physically subdued her. The police suspect the attacker had used either a gun or a knife to persuade her to cooperate. They, however, have no real leads or explanation for the burns (someone, in jest, suggested a homemade flamethrower). (To learn this information, someone will have to visit the crime scene.)

❹. The Death God, over coffee, had suggested that the team, at some point of their investigation, should locate a particular antique shop. The owner should be of exceptional help. The shop is a tiny building sandwiched by depressed structures; it isn't in a pleasant part of town, but the exterior has managed to keep its glamor. Inside, the store is littered with interesting babbles, the owner can be summoned by a small bell at the front desk.

❺. The Jane Doe is a working girl or, in layman's term, a prostitute. She was out scouting for potential customers when it happened. Her name is Li Bai Lian and she is 24 and she has a son (6 years old this winter). She lives one stop away from where she died, but there aren't going to be any clues at her apartment. Of course, it might be a good idea to, somehow, let the family know what happened to her? It might also be a good idea to let the police know too. But do it discreetly. (To learn this information, someone with psychometry will have to figure out a way to touch something belonging to the deceased, but with all that police presence, this can get tricky. Don't want to appear on the detectives' radar, right?)

❻. This isn't the average murder and, word of advice, be careful at nightfall. Who knows what hides in the dark?

DIFFICULTY: ██████████

Ba da da ba ba ba da da ba ba da da ba da da da...

The call to enter the office came several hours before the actual meeting would take place, which honestly, was much more leeway than Leland remembered being given across the sixty or so years worth of cases that he had solved. It had given him an extra forty-five minutes to recover from last night's bout of insomnia and an extra fifteen to crawl from his sheets. Lucky for him, he didn't download anything distracting onto his smartphone (the one with functionality beyond reaching his boss) so he wasn't swept in the common habit of checking social media while lying under his sheets.

Instead, he opened one of the audiobooks on his phone and began getting dressed. The Instructions had been recommended to him by his manager and despite the mixed reviews by Amazon he found the first few chapters enjoyable if not a bit meticulous. He supposed it had to do with the fact that not everyone was a Jewish boy living in the United States and that the novel itself was hundreds (actually come to think of it, it might have been over a thousand) of pages long. Sure it was intriguing, but not everyone had the patience for the payoff. Their loss.

Glancing at the mirror, the blonde-haired boy made sure that both his face and clothing were spotless. If one couldn't be bothered to wear a suit a crisp shirt or sweater vest was often the second best option and Leland opted for the former option, throwing a tie on top of his pink dress shirt. His hair, as per usual, would be swept to the side and his eyes, only somewhat ruined by his perpetual scowl.

The rest of his preparation merely consisted of a quick meal (Leland had planned just enough time to pop a char siu bun into the microwave) and trip to the meeting room where his fellow investigators were. It wasn't a very far walk, perhaps a few blocks and a random portal into the Afterlife to arrive at the office. Well, a portal would be inaccurate, but it was the closest thing to describe how they interacted with their assigned Death God.

The set up mirrored that of the police offices in television shows with everyone sitting while their Death God stood by the tack board of relevant information, which was to say: very little. A murder occurred in Kowloon (unsurprising despite that the area had cleaned up significantly since the old days), but no soul arrived in exchange. While sometimes that meant the spirit wasn't ready to leave Earth, it could also be the work of a thief.

Turning to his fellow Death Investigators he decided to start off the conversation.

"We should start looking around the crime scene. The body will probably be moved soon if it hasn't already."

Generally the Death God would leave as soon as they finished debriefing and the police would bar them from poking around too much so Death Investigators were pretty much on their own in terms of solving the case. If they had questions about otherworldly creatures that was on their own time and Death Gods had no time between their contract-making and soul-administration.

Instead all they had to rely on was each other and God knows that in the sixty-five years Leland had been working with other DIs, he would rather just work on these things alone.

She didn't bother answering the call when it came in; she didn't even get up from her seat to look for the ancient thing the agency had the nerve to classify as "a phone." Instead, she decided to curl her lashes until they were lifted and perky and framing. She may be dead, but that wasn't an excuse to be drab.

Staring at her reflection and wishing, for the millionth time, that she had been born with full, lengthy lashes that made her eyes pop, Amy got to work: curl, apply a hundred coats of mascara, stick on falsies, apply another hundred coats of mascara, wait for the two hundred coats of mascara to dry, and then curl again. By now, Amy was a pro at this.

She examined her handiwork in the mirror, turning and tilting her head to check all the usual angles. The band was perfect, the glue was unnoticeable, and her liner hadn't smudged at all—perfect. She smiled, but it wasn't because she was pleased with her work or because there was something particularly happy about the whole situation. No, she smiled to prep her lips: sugar exfoliant, copious amounts of chapstick, her favorite lipliner, her current favorite coral-pink lipstick, blot, and powder. She smacked her lips a few times, blew over-exaggerated air-kisses before standing up, satisfied with the final result.

And, by then, the phone had stopped ringing, but she wasn't concerned. No, Amy was rarely ever concerned about her "real job." She didn't even try to fake enthusiasm anymore—something she had done in the early months.

Slipping on her barely-noticeable knock-off Chanel sunglasses, the girl was out of her door in minutes. She may not have cared much for the job, but she also knew better than to test the waters too much. After all, life, death, and everything in it.

* * *

The walk to the office was a short one: down the main street, left on a shady-looking corner, and into a non-discreet backdoor that, truthfully speaking, didn't actually lead to anywhere. Or, well, it didn't lead anywhere for the average, bumbling person. For Amy, though, that door was the gateway to her new personal hell.

As perusal, the place was lit by harsh fluorescent lights that washed everyone out and shone spotlights on every, tiny imperfection. Although, considering the fact that not every employee was humanoid in appearance, the less-than-perfect features seemed rather unimportant. She wrinkled her nose as she made her way through the bullpen, annoyed at the mess and the general frenzy everyone seemed to be in. It was always disorganized, stationed Death Gods juggled paperwork with more paperwork with an extra side of paperwork. They had phones (or what looked to be like phones) cradled against their ears, computer screens showing rows and rows of numbers, and trash bins filled with whatever didn't stay on their desk. She walked right by them, "accidentally" knocking over a few files along the way.

Unsurprisingly, she wasn't the first to make it to the meeting room; Leland was already there and, just as the outside was a chaotic mess, he was the statue she had come to expect. It was only her first year with this particular unit (before this, she had been stuck in the cold of Moscow), but she had always prided herself in quickly learning names, faces, traits, and whatever else. Leland was the essential leader of the bunch: he took to organizing the group and the others, more or less, followed along. Every group had someone like this. It wasn't because the Death Gods assigned people based on their personalities; it was just how people were. Amy had seen and met plenty of "Lelands" in her life.

The debriefing was a simple one: blah, blah, dead girl, blah, blah, blah, go investigate. She hadn't been paying attention. Instead, she had debated whether or not she wanted to do a new style on her fingernails: the pink and glitter was getting so old and the jewel on her index finger looked ready to fall off. She knew the perfect beautician to go to, but she frowned when she remembered the girl had left to go on vacation. 'Honeymoon, ugh.' She would have surfed on her smartphone (possibly looked for some other go-to nail artist), but, apparently, the internet didn't reach wherever they were.

"We should start looking around the crime scene. The body will probably be moved soon if it hasn't already."

Amy sighed. It was too early for work and, really, today she'd rather just lounge around at home and do nothing. "I just got my hair done, so I'd rather not go to any crime scene. Plus, the district the body was found in looks disgusting. I'll just sit this one out. Maybe go to the antique shop, I don't know." She sighed again, already sick of the day and ready for it to be over. "This looks like an open-and-shut case. You guys don't need me, right?"

"Aww, bailing on us so soon?" A voice as sweet as that of an angel rang out across the air and pleasantly swept into the ears of those in the area. Her lower lip quivered before a pout consumed her face. Eyes shimmering with upset and flirty charm, the woman donned in crimson and black batted her eyelashes in pity and hopeful guilt. At least, that was until she broke into a smirk before flitting her smokey blue eyes.

Brushing his auburn bangs to the side, her black nails found their home hugging her hips as he heeled toes tapped the ground in slight annoyance. "Seriously though, you can't just bail because you think you're too pretty for the dirty work."

Her name is Kora Garis. She's one of the 'newer' DIs but don't let her rookie status fool you -- she's made her rounds and knows a lot of faces, namely the pretty boys but she kept her eyes peeled for bitchy backstabbers too.

Although she arrived late, completely missing the initial briefing, the folder tucked beneath her arm gave aid to the fact that she at least had the files. Well, the known information secured and ready for transportation. Perhaps that was her job? Gathering the known intel and keeping tabs on it? It would make sense, especially with her unique power.

Flashing the new girl a smile before a wink, she moved into the door frame before relaxing again. "If we've nothing left to discuss here, how about we pay her body a visit. We could," Kora cleared her throat purposely, "use a distraction. You know those low-life boys in blue; they just love a pretty face." The way she stared at Amy was the dead giveaway that she planned on using the new, dolled up woman as their 'bait' to lure the cops from the alleyway. Once in the clear, then they could sneak in and gather the information they needed -- or at least as much as they could grab while Amy was working her magic.

Rolling around so she was no longer a barricade, Kora started to move toward their exit portal. It was time to leave this world and get back to the land of the living, the world she missed most. Or at least she thought she did. Sometimes it was hard to really remember what she liked and didn't like, but those were just some of the pains of dying, she supposed.

Her lips curved into a frown and her brows knitted together with dislike. Amy had never done well with other "alpha" type personalities and, evidently, death had done little to change that. But before she could say anything, an even bigger annoyance interrupted.

Evan Turner was the physical embodiment of everything that was wrong with the world. From the moment they met, she knew he was trouble—knew he wasn't worth the time he took and the time she didn't have to spare. He was charming in the way that only temptation could invite and Amy, tired of the pretty boy with a bad history routine, didn't want any part of it. She didn't buy the smiles and the sweet words; she didn't melt at the compliments or invitations. Let some other girl—dead or alive—fall into that trap. She had seen enough of his kind to know how the story ends and it never ends with Prince Charming staying charming.

"Done already? I didn't even get any coffee yet!" She rose from her seat, grabbing her bag with one fluid, practiced motion. As much as she hated spending time in the slums, she'd rather spend a few hours there than a few minutes with the blond. "Crap, did they leave already? Didn't even get a file. Oh, Amy, why don't you fill me in on the way?"

He was close enough that she could smell his aftershave, but still far enough that she could sidestep his reach. Without acknowledging the blond, Amy marched ahead, catching up with the other woman in a matter of seconds. "Garis," her voice was cool, clipped. "It's not that I think I'm too pretty. I know I'm too pretty for this second-rate bullshit." Her heels clicked loudly—proudly—against the tiled floors. It was as if she was deliberately stepping a little harder. "And, please, I'm not that cheap, but I heard that you're quite easy. Why don't you show a little more skin?

"Cops love the trashy type."

* * *

With Amy gone, Evan turned to the only other person still in the briefing room: Leland.

"Looks like we got ditched." He chuckled as he took a seat, his eyes looking over the tactical board. It wasn't hard to figure out what the case was about: murdered girl, time to investigate. He didn't have the details, but he trusted Leland to fill him in. Leland always filled him in. "So, I guess we're chasing a different lead? Probably not the body since Kora left with Amy." His attention settled on Leland, but he kept his powers away.

It may have been easier—definitely faster—to gather the information telepathically, but there was something nice—almost charming—about conversation. Plus, he really hadn't managed to get his morning coffee and work before a sip of his morning joe was almost unthinkable. "By the way, before we go running around in circles, we have to stop by a shop. They have the best coffee this side of town."

Leland would have rolled his eyes if he weren't mentally sixty rather than teenager, which was more than he could say for Amy. She'd been this way ever since she joined their unit, which led him to believe that she cared more about the years she earned rather than actually doing any good. Granted, that was the case for quite a few DIs that came and went in the station, but many of them still cared that they were doing something for the humans that were still alive. At least, Leland liked to believe that. Hell, Amy couldn't even be arsed to pretend that she was going to work on the case.

"Aww, bailing on us so soon?"

And then there was the other teenager, Kora Garis.

"Seriously though, you can't just bail because you think you're too pretty for the dirty work."

"She's right Amy," Leland replied, "despite your misgivings we were assigned to this case because it isn't open and shut. You can always go to the antique shop another day, but this murder site isn't going to stay clean forever. We need you as much as we need anyone else."

Hopefully that would work since buttering people up with platitudes tended to work with Kora, the less lazy but just as irritating of the two girls. Instead of having a bad attitude she had a dramatic one that he had to be more careful with whenever they worked on anything requiring her special talents. The redhead was direct, but couldn't take what she dished out which was more indicative of a high schooler than the twenty year old he guessed her to be.

In short, they made him feel like an old man.

He suppressed a sigh when Kora suggested using Amy as a distraction, already knowing where the conversation going, which was nowhere. Was it too much to ask for a person with the power of projected empathy? Sure, Evan had arrived and he did have telepathy, but it wasn't nearly as useful as one would expect. If anything, his presence only irritated Amy more.

"Amy would you sit back down?" Leland asked, "we haven't settled on where you're even going."

Unfortunately his words fell upon deaf ears as the brown-haired woman decided to throw another barb before making her exit. Yes, that would definitely rile Kora up. He was left to fill in his friend and colleague, Evan Turner. This was the man who spent his time exploring bars, gambling away the negative dollars they were paid, and somehow being the most personable out of everyone. He did his job, only asked relevant questions, and usually didn't screw up. Usually.

"I don't know if coffee is going to get us any closer to solving this case," he chuckled, "but if it's absolutely the best in town you won't budge until I come will you?"

Standing up, he straightened his tie and gestured for Evan to walk ahead of him.

Even if the body is a red herring, maybe we can learn a thing or two about how her soul got lost.

Just who did this Barbie Doll think she was? Kora turned her head blindly from the women, but did so in such a way that could give her a moment to laugh it all off. "Well, at least I didn't get reassigned due to failure or inability to work with a team. But hey, we all can't be as perfect as me."

Flicking her hair out of her eyes again, the woman wandered into the portal-like aura that would rush them back to Earth. Unlike some of the movies that used toilets as transportation, this teleportation unit was far less trashy. Well, it was still trashy as it was a completely lame magic shop. It was hardly frequented, which meant they didn't need to deal with a plethora of people cocking brows at them when they appeared out of nowhere (aka: the back of the store).

Kora ran a finger across the dusty edges of the tables before she pulled her azure gaze up and forward. Eyes locked on the door, she stepped swiftly to exit before the dust got to her system. There was nothing worse than sneezing up a storm, especially around a woman who made it hard to breath with her lack of natural beauty.

Now outside, Kora placed a hand on her hip before cocking a brow at her should-be rival. Just how in the hell did she land with her? Why did she think it was okay to run away with her? Oi, it was just her luck to do something stupid and brash.

It was too late to turn-tail and hike back to the boys so she might as well make do with what she was given, Amy. Looking briefly at her notes, she saw that they would still have a bit of a walk ahead of them to get to the location. Why not walk and talk, she thought.

"If you're not going to keep the cops at bay, then you'll have to poke and prod the body for clues?" Kora knew she had the upper hand with this conversation. There was no way Amy would want to sneak around a dank alley to turnover a body. Her shoes would get all scuffed up, her hands dirty, and her hair might just get all tangled in the messy sweat of inspecting a body in literally no time.

A genuine smile crept onto her pretty face and she paused for the light to give her the a-okay to cross. "If you don't want to play a card that low on the boys in blue, at least give them a reason to keep their eyes off the alleyway."

And then her smirk widened in unison with the chiming of the changed light. "Or I have another plan, one you might like too much. Ever been in a cat fight?" The way Kora's lips curled up to reveal her devious smile made the redhead look almost too pleased with this plan. "I just need you to shove me into that body so I can get my hands on her memories. With any luck, I can get a small glimpse of what we'll need."

Blowing a puff of air up at her bangs, she pouted momentarily. "If only the boys were here. They could take pics of the scene, because who wouldn't want to see two women tearing into one another? It would be the perfect cover for them to get image of the murder and maybe snap a few hidden pics of the officer's notes."

Sapphire eyes latched on Amy's chocolate orbs, she anxiously awaited the girl's response. Of course, there was always a chance that Amy would just laugh at it all and do her own thing. Kora could work with that. Really, she wasn't into drama for no reason. She lived on the moment and impromptu crime scene checking was one of her favorite acts to perform.

"Oh no! You've found out that I'm not a team player! Oh, the shame!" She gasped loudly, exaggerating her tones like a second-rate actor. She was almost comical in her portrayal: eyes wide, mouth slightly open. But then her expression flatlined and, suddenly, she was the same bored, greatly indifferent agent. "If this is the best you can do, save your breath. I'll let you in on a secret: simply having to share the same space as you is offensive to me."

When she stepped out of the portal, Amy hid her disorientation behind a yawn. She had always hated the travel: it made her dizzy—nauseated. All of the air in her lungs felt squeezed out and her legs trembled a little as she regained her balance. Generally, Amy liked to take a moment after exiting, but she would rather drown in a pool of her own blood than share this fact with Kora or anybody from the team. 'I should have looked over the transfer most closely. What a mistake.' When the offer had come across her table, she had been ecstatic: a chance to finally leave the hidden refrigerator of the world! And, more importantly, a chance to relocate after the botched assignment.

Memories flooded to the forefront as her thoughts traveled into an unwelcome direction. Even though the events had transpired a year ago, the scenes were fresh, as if everything had happened yesterday or fifteen minutes ago. She instinctively covered her mouth as acid churned away in her stomach, threatening to rise. She could feel her vision blurring between what she actually saw and what her mind was forcing her to see, but she fought it. She fought to keep the bile from coming up and she fought to keep her sanity in tact. The last thing she needed now was to appear weak in front of the other woman.

Regaining her composure, the brunette followed Kora out of the building. If she had to work with the woman then she had no intentions of delaying things: the faster she finished this, the faster she could be rid of her.

"See, this is just further proof that you're low-brow trash and I'm not," she said as she crossed the street, not bothering to weave around the other pedestrians. "I'm not the kind of girl that shows up at a party to get into a fight." They rounded a corner and as they walked, the crowd seemed to thin out until there weren't many people still on the street. Occasionally, there were small groups that loitered outside of a nameless store or an employee taking a smoke break, but most of the street was empty.

"But if you just want to get shoved around, well, we're about to approach—"

It felt like electricity crawling up and down her spine. She stopped in mid-thought as her eyes searched their surroundings: dark, seemingly unattended stores, people standing aimlessly on the streets.

"Aye, ladies," a thin, weedy voice spoke up from behind them. "My, what's the hurry today? Doesn't look like ya got much to do. Why don't we play for a bit?"

Amy didn't need her power to know that danger was approaching. She could hear it and, more importantly, she could see it coming from all directions. Some how, while trying to find the quickest and fastest way to the crime scene, they had walked into an unsavory street—one that should have set of a million alarm bells. "Garis," Amy whispered, discreetly taking a step closer to the older girl."There's four of them and some of them are armed. Knives, most likely. I think there's some hiding in the alleyway up ahead. I can't be certain."

"Oi, what are you two talking about? Don't be scared, we're not gonna hurt ya. And, what is this? Your friend is a foreigner? Pretty."

---

OOC: Feel free to control/describe the bad guys as you like! Also, feel free to do the same thing in the future (introducing random elements into a post). ;3

"No, if you don't come with me, I'll keep whining about it until you do," Evan laughed as he got up from his seat. In retrospect, taking the seat had been an utter waste of time, but he liked to pretend that he had gotten there during the debriefing and not seconds before everyone was readying to disperse.

"I'm guessing that we don't really have much of a plan?" He gestured to the spot Amy and Kora had been seconds before. "But do you really want to leave them on their own? Plus, if we go with them, we can ask some questions that the authorities won't have a choice, but to answer, right?" He smiled as he tapped the side of his head before disappearing through the gateway as the other two had done.

On the other side, Evan walked out into a dust-filled room that made his eyes tear up a little and his lungs itchy. He coughed, rubbed at his eyes, and coughed again. Somehow, none of this was helping. He managed to get to the door and he waited until Leland was out before closing it behind him. "Alright"—another cough—"we're definitely getting this coffee. Why doesn't anyone maintain that store?"

---

OOC: We don't have to go to where Amy and Kora are; we can just chill in the coffee shop and do something else, lol. Up to you, up to you. ;3

"That's the same thing wouldn't you say?"

Leland's lips curled into a smile as they stood and nodded at the other blonde-haired male. Even without using his power Evan could read his mind effortlessly. He too was worried about leaving the girls to their own devices, mainly because coordination was always the biggest part of solving a case and he wasn't entirely sure how they would get anything done or what they would get done for that matter. Kora mentioned something about using Amy as bait while she explored the scene, so he supposed that left the two of them to hash out the other details of the case, whatever they might be. Hell, even Evan seemed worried.

"Evan Turner forgoing a break to further the case?"he asked playfully, "Am I talking to the same man I met ten years ago?"

He pulled his sleeve over his mouth as they exited the Afterlife (Hell's name not his) and reappeared inside of an overly dusty building. Though impeccable on the outside, the inside hadn't been touched in decades if not centuries. It was merely a cover for the portal to the Afterlife so Death Gods couldn't touch it and most Death Investigators saw no reason to maintain it given that they only accessed it during cases. In the twenty or so years he'd been in and out of the portal, he had become used to the dirtiness (as well as doing laundry the next day). Still, not all DIs were as numb to life's sensations so he could understand Turner's coughing and wheezing.

"It seems like what you actually need is a respirator," he replied, "although you make a good point. We ought to make sure those two haven't gotten into any trouble."

He decided to turn the corner once they were far enough from the building, hoping that his not-so-terrible directional sense would lead the way.

______________________________________

Quote:

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OOC: I kind of just want to see one of those two get mad like "I'll have you know I could have handled that myself" *scoff*
And then of course, group coffee :D

---

"Hey, at least I'm spewing ideas, which is far more than what you're doing. When you start hashing out ideas, then you can diss me." Kora just rolled her eyes at everything that came from Amy's mouth. She really was annoying. Was there anything good about her? No, not really. She had a knock-off nature, a testy voice, and the lamest of comebacks. Seriously, was she sixteen? She tried too hard. She was a phony. What else? Oh yes, she stole her look a few years back. They came in not even knowing one another and they were dressed head-to-toe in the exact same outfit. Well, nearly the same. Kora, having money due to her 'glamorous' job, had the real deal. The real brands where as little-miss knock-off had the less than ideal garbs.

She was so wrapped up in her hate for Amy that she heed no attention to what happened around her. Everything was tuned down so she wouldn't have to deal with Amy's whining, moaning, bitching, or whatever the hell she was doing. And then it hit her -- there was nothing but utter silence.

Had Kora not realized the eerie silence that fell between her and the other woman, she might not have slowed or looked Amy's way. She might have missed everything.

Head rolling over her shoulder, she flashed her peeved eyes at Amy, though that glare was quick to jump to the faces of the men that now surrounded them.

Shit, she cussed inwardly. She should have paid more attention. Ugh, but no, Amy just had to get under her skin and put Kora on auto-pilot, weaving down side streets and sketchy doors. It was just their luck to get in a pickle, and without the boys nearby.

Seizing up the situation, Kora couldn't help but wonder if these lowlife thugs had anything to do with the murder that took place just alleys away from them. If she could just figure out which of the four had the brains of the group. He would likely be the one to know anything about the murder. But how would she get close to them without getting stabbed?

'Pretty.'

And that was her cue. Flitting her lashes, Kora pulled up her sexiest grin before loosening up her moves. Seductively, she stepped toward the boys before her. "I'm not supposed to work tonight, but I suppose I can play with you." Her eyes raced over each of their faces and down their bodies. The one dude was just disgusting, there was no way she was about to press her body up against him and kiss his hideous face. No, she needed someone ha-ha-han-

"Well, hello, handsome." Completely ignoring the danger that swelled around her, Kora stepped toward the fourth man who hid in the shadows of the looming buildings. "You come here often." With a wink, she shifted her hands behind her back. "Don't worry, boys, I wouldn't want to hurt his pretty face."

Now beside him, Kora gazed into his deep green eyes. Yes, he was the one she would need to seduce and steal secrets from. Just one kiss and she could determine whether or not he stripped the soul from the poor miss down the way.

Just as she stepped forward, his hand whipped out and snagged her jaw. His grip was tight and course, he used his hands a lot due to the rough patches on it. Not wanting to look frightened, Kora kept up her calm demeanor. "If you prefer it rough, I can whip you into submission, love." His hands seemed to loosen some, giving Kora her cue to retrieve a mini crop she had tucked away. Just where it came from was beyond all but her.

The tattered ends of the crop brushed playfully against the handsome thug's cheek. The way his grayed hair curled around his face seemed to give him a sweeter, almost prince-like look. Was he a thug prince? He could be, especially with that black fedora of his and his nicely tailored suit. The guy came from money... but why was he turning to the life of crime? With just one kiss, okay maybe three because he was hot, she could learn it all.

"You gonna keep holding my lips at bay? Or are you going to lay it on me, handsome?"

Kora and Amy were outnumbered and out-knifed. If Kora could keep their filthy eyes on her, she might just buy Amy enough time to scurry down the alleyway and grab whatever item she detected. Of course, that assumed a lot. First, was it really a weapon? Second, would Amy willingly do something to get her 'partner' out of the jam -- or would she hit it and ditch her? Third, that these guys weren't carrying guns. If they were, they were both dead and there was nothing they could do about it.

Evan, I wish you were here. We're in danger and I don't know how much I'll be able to do without some backup....

---

I have no idea what Evan's range is, but I figured, regardless of it, she would still cling to him. EVAN, BABY, COME SAVE ME! xD

'This isn't good.' She bit her lower lip, tasting the gloss.

If she was alone, she'd make a run for it. She may be in heels—four inches, definitely not work-sanctioned—but she could take care of herself. Her "other conscience" always had her back; it always knew exactly when to turn, when to jump, and when to get-the-hell-outta-there. But she wasn't alone and Kora had already started embedding herself into the situation.

Fighting the urge to cluck her tongue disapprovingly, Amy looked around. Save for the people closing in on them, there wasn't any other movement. There weren't even thing worth picking up as a weapon.

"Hey, little sister. Are you scared? Don't be. We just want to talk for a bit." A man, not much older than Amy, leered as he approached her, his eyes roving up and down in judgment. His head was shaved and he had tattoos wrapped all around his arms, snaking underneath his sleeves with a promise that the ink-work continued. "What's your name? I'm Chuan."

"Xiao Ling." She chose her accent deliberately, rolling her syllables a little heavier.

"A mainlander!" The man exclaimed, chuckling as he pressed closer against her. He reached for her face, stroking her cheek with unexpected gentleness. "Should have known, just look at your clothes." He nodded at two of the closer men, who snickered, but stayed where they stood—guarded, cautious. "So, so, Xiao Ling, want to earn some money?"

Amy didn't answer right away. She looked over to Kora, who seemed, well, busy. The urge to roundhouse kick the girl was strong, but Amy, miraculously, kept herself in check. Instead, she turned to the thug and, in her sweetest voice, answered, "Oh, I don't know. We're just a bit busy—run!"

She shoved her elbow into the man's stomach, effectively knocking him over before dashing towards Kora, bowling into another thug along the way. "Now." She ducked an incoming blow, swung her bag at the man's face, before heading back where she had come from. Every sense and every fiber in her body was blaring; she needed to leave and she needed to do it yesterday. She didn't wait to see if Kora had followed. She didn't have the luxury as one of the men caught up to her and grabbed her by the waist, launching them towards the ground. They skidded, she struggled, and he slapped her across the face.

By now, Amy was screaming at the top of her lungs. She didn't know if anyone was nearby, but she hoped to God that someone was. Death Investigators may not die easily, but the pain was still as unbearable. Tougher to kill doesn't mean invincible. It only means the moments leading up to death are often worse.

Evan laughed as they headed down the street. "Well, I'm in a productive mood right now. It's not going to last, so capitalize on it." He smiled at Leland. It was always a funny reminder of how far they had come along. Even now, everything felt like yesterday: the fighting, the arguing, the constant need to put each other down. "We'll go the scene, wrap it up, and then get coffee. I'd say it'd be my treat, but then I'd just be lying."

The blond weaved through the crowd, his stare fixated on a point in the distance. He had learned, a long time ago, that it was better to avoid eye contact when walking. "You know, it's kind of weird that they put us in HK. Two white guys, in a sea of mostly not white guys. Or people. I was kind of surprised when Amy was reassigned and she was actually Chinese."

It was then, speaking of the girl, that he heard it. It was just a faint sound, but it was different from the voices of those around him. Things using his psychic channels were always a little different—a little more hollow, a little more "there." He furrowed his brows together. "Did you hear anything?" It could have been a trick. He hadn't opened communications, but, some times, in desperation, things would simply happen without any reason.

And then there it was again, but this time it was less foggy, less trans-dimensional, and far more "present." This time, though, the scream was a voice that had only become too familiar as of late. 'Amy.' He looked over at Leland, but something already told him that he wasn't hearing things. "I think we better get going."

---

Just figured there should be an opportunity for Kora to deal with the "new" situation, lol. And Leland can get in on the whole thing, lol. It'll also be a good place to intro Ender, if you like, Cows! ;3

"That is true. I shouldn't test a gambler such as yourself," Leland pursed his lip, "especially when he already has a plan in mind."

He continued walking toward the scene, wondering if there would be any ghosts nearby. It wasn't quite as useful or reliable as Amy's power but generally he could feel when a ghost or a trace of one was in the area. Usually they floated around bodies to possess, but they could just as easily sneak into an empty husk if they were feeling daring. After all, their only consequence was being exorcised or sent to Hell if the crime was bad enough. They could be anyone they wanted, even the only two white men in Hong Kong.

"Maybe Hell is trying to implement Affirmative Action," the blonde chuckled, "isn't that what they used to do in the sta-a screamtes."

Was that a banshee or a woman? Stupid question.

Leland looked around to find the source of the voice, the source that was so recognizable that he couldn't not hear it.

"I think they went this way."

Leland broke into a run as they headed toward the source of the noise, hoping they wouldn't find the girls injured or worse, the evidence gone.

In the mean time a very conspicuous man by the name of Ender lit a cigarette, trying to make the most out of his designated smoke break. Nothing exciting was happening today because nothing exciting really happened in Hong Kong, well aside from the protests. He liked the sit-ins and picketing, but knew that he had to be careful about what circles he joined. He didn't want to end up on the side of another nationalist protest...again.

As it was, there was nobody in sight or sound...until he heard the voice of a brown-haired woman.

What the hell?

He tossed what remained of his cigarette to the floor and ran toward the noise, tunneling in on the voice until he discovered a pair of men struggling to subdue a Chinese looking girl and some redhead.

"Hey! What the fuck 're you doing?"

They pair paused to look up at him, but didn't seem to understand his English very well since they merely took their knives out and pointed them back at the young, but old DI.

"唔關你事!*"

Ender eyed the four for a second before sighing.

"Look I don't speak English, but you-" he pointed to the men-"-need-" he circled his hands around...for no reason-"-to-" he raised two fingers "-let go of those girls-" he gestured to the women "-or I-" he pointed to himself "-will hurt you." he used his thumb and made a slicing motion over his neck, hoping that he didn't look too foolish with all of the sign language, or if he did, bought enough time for the two girls to bolt.

One of the men, a stocky guy (reminding Ender of those short guys who compensated with muscle) raised a knife at him making a beeline as soon as Ender made a grab for a nearby trashcan lid. Shit that guy was fast wasn't he? Luckily for the African-American, he had the strength advantage so he could see block or hit back everything that came at him.

From the other side, Leland could hear less screaming and more clanging as he neared the scene of the fight, gesturing for Evan (the caffeine-deficient bastard) to pick up his pace. At this point it was obvious that a full-blown fight had broken out, meaning that the blonde boy's hand was likely heading to his holster and that his taller companion would likely have to talk him down.

"咪走! 警察!*" Leland shouted, pointing his gun at the other three muggers.

_______________

Quote:

---

OOC: Translations

*None of your business
*Stop! Police!

---

THE CALL

Looking out at the horizon, interrupted by towering buildings, Han scouted the beautiful urban Kowloon from his new apartment glass window. He moved here a month ago, and the rent's due, haven't found a job yet. He buttoned his shirt and wore his vest, he grabbed his ancient Nokia and noticed 3 missed calls. 'Eager Boss.'

He looked at his watch, 8:36, he was late. He didn't fuss much, slowly wearing his shoes and walking out of the apartment. He scanned the corridors, clear. A few steps away from his apartment door he grabbed the knob of the maintenance door, opened it enough to sneak in and get sucked into the infamous Death Investigators' portal. Once his feet were on office grounds he shrugged the usual headache off, he never got used to teleporting into work. The office was busy, as usual, he walked a few steps to the briefing room and to his dismay it was empty.

"Late again eh Han?" a voice behind him chuckled as its hands patted Han's back.
"My vest- Kruguel, it always sets me back"
Kruguel was a not so humanoid being, he was not so much a friend, but he was the closest acquaintance to Han since he moved here.
"The vest. Classic Han excuse. I reckoned you'd be late, done you a favor and pulled this file before the Big guy left. He appointed you along others for a hot new case, but you know how he avoids caring about late DI's."
"Thanks Krug, I will be sure to bring back some McFlurries for you next time."

Han walked away and looked into the file, got a general idea of the case in question, and the appointed DI's. "Look here, Amy. Hmmm" he let out a smirk, it vanished quickly. Walking back to where he came from, he opened a door and teleported to a dusty room, it was awfully dusty. He walked out and breathed the morning breeze, there were distant sirens, he took out his pack of cigarettes and lighted a stick. He put it between his lips, inhaled some and walked away through the alleyways.


________________

OOC: Since Han was a couple minutes late I figured he'd arrive at the end of the fight scene.

Damn that stupid knockoff!

Kora's eyes widened when the woman decided to make a retreat. Still in the hands of the handsome enemy, Kora slapped on a cheeky smile before she leaned in and planted a quick kiss on the guy's cheek. That would buy her time, right?

Bingo! He bought it and just stared at her. Okay, so maybe he didn't buy it, but he wasn't moving to kill her so that was a plus, right?

"Guess we'll have to play later. My girlfriend decided to shit the bed and run. Better go clean up after her," she said all that while bending at the hips, swinging her feet around, and kicking the guy square in the crotch. "Sorry not sorry," she mused while running after Amy.

"You really make things hard, you know that," she muttered while catching up to the less-than-perfect DI.With Amy now rolling on the ground with one of the thugs, Kora pretended to roll up her sleeves before curb-stomping the man that dared grope at her partner. It wasn't enough to really 'save them,' but it was better than nothing.

Hand reaching down, she seized Amy and yanked her back to her feet. Her scream was still ringing in her ears, but hey, at least she was doing something. That scream had to attract someone, right? Right!

Well, shit. It did attract someone.

To be frank, the guy that arrived could have been a thug too, save for the fact that he was 'rescuing' them. With the thugs' eyes on Ender, the girls could make it down that alleyway and hunt down that item Amy sensed. Only, that would be put on hold for a mere second or two. "You okay," Kora ran a hand over Amy's face. Sure, even in danger the woman had her mother-like instincts kick in. Not that Kora ever had kids, but boy did she want them. Just the thought of bringing a child into this world with the perfect man seemed to lift her spirits.

And then, as if on cue, the perfect man walked into her vision. Ender and Leland? Heh, they were chopped liver to her. But Evan, beautiful, handsome, perfect Evan. Ugh! Her heart skipped a beat. Immediately, she pushed Amy out of the way and moved over to the two men that came to their aid, only she bypassed Leland and moved right to her dream man.

Beaming from ear to ear, Kora latched onto Evan. "You came." Eyes twinkling and the thug-scene completely erased from her mind, she nuzzled the man's arm.

Sometimes, just sometimes, people had to wonder how she was a DI. Kora was easily distracted by pretty men (aka: Evan) and failed to secure the area, leaving Leland and Ender to do all the real work. Oh well, at least she could... wait, what was she good at?

"Ow!" Amy cried out as Kora pulled her up. Sharp, sudden pain twisted at her ankle. It burned with every step she took. "Let go of me," she hissed when they had come to a stop. And, as if hearing her, Kora, without any warning, pushed her aside, knocking her clean off her feet. Amy cried out again, but this time out of surprise. She swayed, stumbled, and then fell onto the ground, angrier than before.

"You ungrateful bitch," she grounded out through gritted teeth as she pushed herself off the ground, not bothering to brush out the mess from her clothes or the dirt clinging onto her face. She was still a bit unsteady on her feet, but anger had a way of supporting people like nothing else. "I should have just run. Look what happens when I decide to help? Worthless."

After her scuffle with the thugs, her hair had gone awry as did her makeup. There were streaks of black that trailed down her cheeks and catches of dirt mixed into her foundation. Her clothes were ruined with mud streaked along one side and small tears eating into the sleeves. She hardly looked like the girl she had been minutes earlier. In fact, she looked nothing like the girl from the morning.

"I—"

The electrical current shot through her spine again, interrupting her thoughts without care. She shuddered, involuntarily, before glancing back at the thugs. They hadn't left. Instead, some of them had switchblades in their hands and, just as she had suspected, there were more of them in the back alley. "We can't do this right now."

Her ankle seemed to hurt more than before and there was the sinking feeling in her stomach that running away wouldn't be an option.

Evan didn't need to be told twice to get moving. He broke out into a sprint, dodging pedestrians as best as he could. But even though he was running as fast as he could, Leland had pulled significantly ahead, arriving mere seconds before Evan did.

"Stop! Police!"

As Leland announced their presence, Evan instinctively reached for the police badge in his back pocket, only to find it empty. He had forgotten it on the coffee table. He had forgotten it even though he had reminded himself not to forget it. Mentally cursing his bad luck, the blond half-wondered how useful it would have been: two non-Chinese cops. 'Well, it works at least half of the time.'

"You came!"

Evan smiled at the redhead before pressing his forehead to hers. "Of course. I did say that if you called, I'd come running."

"We can't do this right now."

Amy was using her serious-voice and that meant business. He looked up, looked past the disheveled girl, and into the faces of the thugs. There were three with switchblades in their hands and there were several more in the back, some carried lead pipes while others had their weapons concealed. 'Guns?' Evan narrowed his eyes, but rejected the idea. Strict gun laws meant that most gang violence rarely involved firearms. But then there was the single man in the area, who looked oddly out of place, but yet completely at-ease. 'The leader.'

"Leland, don't shoot." The blond didn't say more than that, but there wasn't really time either. Instead, one of the men had charged forward, attempting to take Amy for hostage. But Amy's heightened instincts allowed her to sidestep the man before punching him in the face.

"What the fuck are you guys still standing there for?" The brunette stumbled a little, favoring her right side more than her left. "Just fight them."

Laughing at an entirely inappropriate moment, Evan shook his head before disentangling himself from Kora. "Careful, can't have you getting hurt. Some people really are too pretty to risk it." He winked at her before dashing forward, punching one guy square in the stomach.

Some times, it paid off to be dead. For starters, things like knives weren't nearly as frightening anymore.

Leland rolled his eyes at Kora latching onto Evan (did they have any sense of timing?), but remained focused on the three thugs in the area. Though one was tied up with the African-American man there were more approaching from the front and the Brit only had so many bullets before he would have to reload. More distressingly, the gunshots would probably attract the real police who didn't take well to white men carrying guns. That would mean they couldn't do their jobs such as monitoring the body. The four of them just needed to get away and everything would work out.

Well, except for one thing.

The muggers outnumbered the black male and Leland would definitely feel guilty if he didn't make it an even fight.

"It's an unlicensed gun I'm not going to-" Leland stopped himself before sighing, "fine, but I won't pull any punches."

With that bit of encouragement, Leland pistol whipped one of the oncoming knife-wielders, using an old technique to disarm him and grab the switchblade from his hand. He wasn't much of a knife user but he supposed that it was better for someone on their side to have it than the muggers. He tossed it toward Amy before rushing forward, trusting her ability to catch it before entering the fray.

"Who the hell are you guys," Ender asked, "and why didn't you help sooner?"

He banged the metal against the thug one last time, causing him to fall to the floor. As it was he still had no idea what the rest of the members were saying, probably chants to take down all of the foreigners, but they seemed to be not trying to kill him so perhaps it was worth asking.

"We can talk later, just get to safety while we take down the rest of these guys."

Oh thank God he speaks English.

Ender grabbed a wooden plank from the floor, deciding that it wasn't too hairy of a situation yet to be pulling out his powers so instead he went forward, mimicking his mentor to block, kick, and elbow those ahead of him while barely dodging a few stabs from behind (but not the punches, ow). Being a DI meant partial immortality but not a complete absence of pain, something Ender had to remind himself every day.

"What are you still doing here?"

"I'm not about to leave the four of you here to take on five, seven, or however the fuck many of them there are. 'Specially not with those girls around."

Leland sighed, knowing that they had to wrap things up quickly.

"Just don't die."

Her eyes were twinkling when Evan confessed that he would always come running when she called. AND HE CALLED HER PRETTY.

Stop the presses! Call an ambulance! This girl was just about to have a heart-attack. HE SAID SHE WAS PRETTY.

Tears came to her eyes and her cheeks flushed pink. Seriously, could this day get any better? Maybe she should ask him out? Yes, she should definitely ask him out. Boyfriend? Or just a date? Why go for the easy! She would muster up the courage to ask the sexy-pants to be her boyfriend, yet again. Kora was a bit daft so the whole idea of pestering the guy who previously rejected her didn't even cross her mind. But hey, she's a girl in denial. She would literally do anything to have Evan wrapped around her finger.

And that's when it hit her. She was being utterly useless and she was a trained DI.

Was it bad that Kora had no interest in dealing with these thugs? Was it bad that she wanted to run on ahead and get to the police and that body. Maybe, in her disheveled look, she could lure some cops from the crime scene and to this alleyway? It might give her a chance to "accidentally" fall on the body of the victim.

But -- there was a big but -- she would miss Evan in action. Dreamy, perfect, beautiful Evan. With another swoon, she reached a hand forward as if to pet him. "I love you," she mouthed.

Before anyone could jar her from her plan, Kora saluted the boys and ran off down the alleyway. "When you're done here, come find me!" Dodging the dumpsters and whirling out of sight, she made a bee-line for that crime scene. She had to get to the body or at least the area before everything was gone. Weaving past the few people in her way, she eventually found herself huffing and puffing before the black and yellow crime scene tape.

Fuck yeah, I made it. Panting, her eyes flashed up to catch the auburn gaze of a chubby officer. "Officer, please. My friend. She's..." worry danced in her eyes as she pointed down the alleyway she came from. "Please, you have to help her. Thugs. Guns.... help!" And now all she needed to do was find that woman's body and faint on it. Yes, but where was the body? Had they already moved it? God, there were a lot of people crowded around this area. It would be hard to really faint without touching the wrong person. Why were things never easy?

Just when Han's cigarette was fully burned and consumed, he started to hear the distant rumble in the alleyway. He could make it out, it was definitely a fight, more importantly one his fellow Death Investigators were a part of. He picked up pace and spitted out the cigarette that almost burnt his lips, he jogged around the corner and could see in a couple steps away the roaring melee scene. He recognized some of the figures taking swings at the useless thugs, and newer faces. He haven't met any of them officially as of yet, he'd only heard about Evan and Leland. Han recognized the woman from the file earlier, "Amy," he muttered. And another woman, a redhead, running off.

Han rushed closer and was confronted by two thugs armed with lead pipes, he took a quick look at their build, tattoos and costumes, nothing new or interesting. They were average, he could take them both with little sweat broken. He took out his retractable baton and snapped it in the air, the baton let out a click as it sprung and extended into a shiny black instrument of ass whooping. Han smiled, "Ehhh English anyone?"
The thugs took a quick look at each other before one of them responded, "/This is none of your business pretty face, walk back where you came from/"
"/Me can speak only small amount Cantonese/" Han had a bad Cantonese, he's only been a month in Hong Kong. Baton still firmly held in his hand.
The thugs chuckled, one of them pointed the lead pipe at Han, "me and Taishe, we kick your white ass."
"That I understood, glad we are all on the same level at least, that we all agree we resort to ass kicking. Good. Bring it."

Both thugs lunged towards Han, he avoided the first one and struck his stomach with the baton, he took the blunt strike of the lead pipe from the other, hurting his forearm badly. "Dammit, so sloppy, won't happen again. Taishe was it?" Han said as he swung his baton against the forehead of the other thug. Kicking the first thug in the knees, Han grabbed the neck of the second thug and chopped him behind his ear with his hand. The thug fell on the ground, groggy. The first thug stood and recovered from the kick, he took out a switchblade and aimed to stab Han's throat.
"Power Time," Han said.
Han telekinetically took away the switchblade from the thug's hands before quickly jabbing him in the face with the baton, multiple times, brutally. He finally knocked him out with a chop behind the ears. Han looked up, his fellow DI's seemed to have controlled the situation. He brushed off the blood off his vest and walked towards the team.

She rolled her eyes. As usual, Kora was devolving into a love-struck schoolgirl and Evan was hitting on everything that moves. But before she could slap the two of any snide remarks, the man she had punched earlier was back for revenge.

He lunged at her, but Amy decked him again. He fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes—unlikely to recover any time soon.

Unable to stay standing any longer, Amy resigned herself to the ground, figuring that she would need at least a few minutes before her swollen ankle would cooperate. 'Shouldn't have worn these heels.'

---

Evan made quick work of the other man, having sent the guy into a dumpster within minutes of their fight. Grinning broadly at the unconscious man, Evan shook his head, as if to say that the guy should have known better.

Looking over to Leland, he weighed the decision to stay. He could stay behind and help out, but he could also leave and head towards the crime scene—he still needed to ask a few questions. Figuring that the blond would be able to maintain control, Evan went after Kora.

"Leland, I'm going to the scene first. Wrap up, we'll meet up at HQ."

---

Amy was still on the ground when Evan checked out, but it wasn't his departure that alarmed her.

She sat up straighter, her spine tingling with that ever-familiar sensation of imminent danger. She looked around, but nothing was out of the ordinary: the few-remaining thugs were not going to be a problem, the man in the suit had made his getaway during the confusion, and the sun was bright overhead. But it was unmistakable—the feeling.

It was never wrong or it had never been wrong and Amy, unable to find a source, was becoming increasingly concerned. She surveyed the two with Leland or close to Leland. 'It's not them.'

---

“Miss,” the officer said, desperately trying to help the woman gain stability. “I’ll send officers there. Please, try to calm down.”

---

It wasn’t long before Evan arrived at the crime scene. He spotted Kora talking with one of the uniforms and beelined towards them.

“Officer,” he greeted, his Cantonese fluent. “Is it true that there was a woman’s body found?”

The man stared warily at Evan. If he was surprised that the blond knew Cantonese, it didn’t show on his face. “Sir, please stay behind the barricade.” Evan obliged, but only barely. He kept his eyes on the officer, his stare drilling metaphorical holes into the other man. For a moment, Evan saw pictures of raw flesh—burn damage.

“Officer,” he tried again, his attitude just as forceful as before, but, this time, he made sure to stay behind the wooden makeshift walls. “What do you have to say about the burns? Are there any leads?”

“Burns? What? Who are you?” His eyes narrowed at Evan, suspicious. ‘Did this man have anything to do this with? A foreigner? How does he know about the burns?’

“I’m a reporter. There was a tip off at the office,” Evan answered. He considered pressing on, but it was clear to him that there wasn’t much else he could learn. This officer wasn’t senior enough to be up-close and personal with the findings. They needed to find the lead detective. “Do you know where the body is right now?”

‘At the morgue.’ The officer, angry, shook his head. “You should leave now. You can ask questions at the press conference later.”

The blond nodded and, rather forcibly, took Kora’s hand and half-dragged, half-walked through her away from the scene. “They moved the body already. It’s at the morgue. We’ll have to break in if we want access,” he whispered.

When they get back, they'll have to devise a way to gain access to the body.

---

Amy still hadn’t been able to locate the source of her feelings, but it didn’t seem to matter anymore. The itch had vanished and her heart wasn’t pounding like crazy anymore. ‘Something was about to happen. What?’

"I'm not your average fry cook, no need to condescend me."

Leland mentally scoffed as he spun the gun in his hand, uttering a "roger that" when Evan left for the body. He wasn't only worried about the thugs; there was something else afoot.

The leader smirked, spinning a butterfly knife. He was calm for sure, but unlike Leland, he didn't keep it for very long.

"You are no match 白鬼*."

"Well surely even you would acknowledge that I'm better than a street thug," Leland quipped in Cantonese, twisting the other's wrist and slamming him onto the ground.

The African-American (judging by his accent) was sloppy in his fighting, but there seemed to be something unnatural about the way that he was able to brush off the fists and elbows of the two remaining muggers. Compared to the staggering men, he was unscathed and unrelenting in his determination to disarm them.

"A few seconds ago I punched your leader and I stole his knife," Ender started, drawing a switchblade that mirrored the other man's, "Psych! That's the wrong knife."

Yes, he was no ordinary fry cook, but not merely in the physical department. He was one of them, another DI. In the report they were supposed to have more Death Investigators in their unit, but he had assumed that they were either reassigned or slacking on the job. He hadn't expected that he would run into one of them here, much less two. Were the thugs some sort of cosmic team building exercise or was their team simply not lucky enough to have everyone show up to the office on time?

Hopefully Kora will hold herself back from them, Leland thought wryly as he walked toward Amy. She calmed down, but he saw the split-second of fear in her eyes when he glanced back earlier. As much as he disliked her personality, her intuition was right more often than not. It wasn't his mind tricking him.

"Did you feel that too?"

"Feel what?"

Ender knitted his brow at Leland. Not only was he not good at the whole "comforting victims" thing, but he didn't any of their names. He knew that he was supposed to meet his fellow DIs today for some missing soul case but he wasn't able to get time off of work so he figured that he might as well do the job that would pay him monetarily versus one that actively made his life worse. No offense to his fellow DIs. From his point of view, everyone seemed to know each other well enough to converse so he ought to hang back until introductions were over.

"Something was here...some sort of spirit," Leland replied, "we can talk more about, but for now..."

He turned toward the two men.

"We should head back to HQ and group with Evan and Kora," Leland glanced over to Ender, "you do know who those two are right?"

"Just because I just moved here it doesn't mean I don't know where anything is" Ender replied flatly, "let's just get there before my boss starts asking why I'm not flipping burgers."

Quote:

---

*bakgwei = white ghost/white foreigner

---

COULD TODAY GET ANY BETTER?!

Kora was literally screaming in her head about the whole Evan-and-Kora-sitting-in-a-tree story that she conjured up. He could have stayed behind and instead he decided to follow her. And now he was holding her hand.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

She was about to have a meltdown. No, she was about to lock Evan with her lips and ever let that sexy, old guy go. They would run away, get married, not have kids due to being sterile and dead, and spend forever together because they were already dead. Ugh, yes. It was the 'perf' life to 'live.'

A sharp pain shot up through her arm and tickled her neck. Maybe she should be paying more attention to where Evan dragged her? Last thing she needed was her arm to fall off or worse -- a nail to break. Fumbling a bit as she regained her own wits, she stopped and placed a hand on her hip before she sighed blissfully. Blinking up at her man-crush, she blushed as she twirled a finger through her red locks. "Silly, silly, Evan." Brushing up beside him, she danced her fingertips across his chest. "Did you forget I can read a scene without a body. The walls and floor have their own secrets to share too. Just because they aren't organic, doesn't mean they can't feel and see."

Pulling off the man (it was far harder than she made it look), Kora stepped forward and moved toward a pain of glass that looked into a jewelry shop. Evan had bad timing. OR WAIT?!

IS THIS A HINT!? A SIGN!? A MIRACLE?!

No, she shrugged it off. Evan wasn't that smooth. This was just her mind running rampant again. Eyes catching something shiny, pretty, and worth more than she could afford, she pouted.

"Can we grab cupcakes on the way back? I think everyone deserves a treat for a job well-done. Even if we failed, none of us got seriously hurt. That's a plus in my book, if you ask me!"

---

Feel free to move 'm forward to HQ, if you want. If not, they can have a cupcake date. xD

There were four of them, Amy he recognized from the file, and Leland which he heard about from Kruguel. He recognized Evan whom soon after followed the redhead earlier. Han concealed his Baton, as he approached the lot he caught their conversation after the last thug hitting the ground, he noticed the accent of the black guy. "American," he murmured.

Han quickly studied the faces of his fellow DI's, then looked at Amy as he introduced himself to the group, "Han Baltimore Ryuk, 44 years serving the big guys. Moved over here to lovely Hong Kong. It doesn't take a genius to tell you are the DI's I'm tasked to work with. My pleasure, you seem like decent folks."

He smiled when he was done, walked over to a dumpster and rested his back against it. He took out his cigarette pack and lit a stick. "I couldn't help but overhear, I don't think I'm going back to HQ, I just got here. I am not going back to that horrible portal. I will head to the crime scene and try to get more info from the cops or bystanders. I will try to reach the victim's family or friends. My Cantonese is horrible, so it would be great if one of you is willing to tag along."

"Yeah, no, everyone, I'm fine. There's no need to trouble yourself to help me up," Amy said, the sarcasm heavy in her words. The sprain hadn't healed yet, but there was something about the alley that unsettled her. Even though, right now, there was nothing in the street, she couldn't shake the feeling from seconds earlier. It had been heavy and oppressive; it had felt like finality.

Slightly unsteady on her feet, the girl brushed down her clothes, still trying to go for presentable. "Well, I don't care what you guys do, but I'm going home. And then I'm going to the job that actually pays my rent." She tried to walk away, but her "walking" looked more like a limp, drag, and hop. Of course, that motion ended by the time she reached the larger street.

Ah, the regenerative powers of a DI.

"You can read buildings?" Evan, genuinely surprised, asked. He wasn't exactly familiar with everyone else's abilities; he only knew of them in a vague, almost cliff-note sort of way. So, every now and then, he still manages to be surprised. "Oh, wait, did you mean read the price tags of the thing inside the building?" He laughed when he noticed the store they were passing.

"Hm, cupcakes," he racked his brain for the closest bakery that served western confection, but "close by" kept any names from coming to mind. "How about some gaidanzai (雞蛋仔)? I know a place, right around the corner, that make it perfectly. They also have really cheap dongningcha (凍檸茶).

"Of course, it'll be my treat."

He took her hand again and led her towards the store. It wasn't that he had forgotten about her feelings (it was rather hard to forget considering the way she was around him), but he liked the attention. He loved the attention and the absolute certainty that, yes, she liked him. So while he didn't return her feelings in the same degree, he also wasn't willing to let the affection vanish.

It was a cheap price to pay for adoration—smile a bit, give a little, and Kora would probably paint the skies purple if he asked. Still, there was a part of his mind, a tiny part, that said if he cared for her at all, he'd let her have her space; he'd let her grow on her own.

'But I'm selfish,' the man thought, bitter. 'So I'm just going to hold on for a bit more.'

---

Excuse the possibly incorrect jyutping.

雞蛋仔 = Egg Puff Thing... Google it if you're curious. It's really good!
凍檸茶 = This is basically lemon ice tea.

"Ender," the African-American replied before rolling his eyes at the Chinese woman, "well you're clearly well enough to run your mouth so you should be able to get up yourself."

It had only been ten minutes and he already disliked the woman (whatever her name was) just on virtue of whining about whatever injury she'd gotten. He assumed that she was a DI like the rest of them (although he couldn't prove that) so something like being knocked down shouldn't have hurt her too badly. Ender would know too, seeing as he's had his fair share of being shoved into walls, dumpsters, and cars.

"If you both are DIs I'll assume that you've read the files already and if not," he looked at Ender who gave a bit of a scowl in response, "I'm Leland."

The blonde pulled out his cellphone, the good one, and checked the time, realizing that they were quickly running out of time if they wanted to find the body. Introductions could be held later, but for now they needed to regroup and see if Kora made any progress finding the body. He pulled up Evan's number and began calling, pausing when Hans expressed his desire to leave.

"Even if we try to reach out to the cops they're probably not going to let any random person know about the murder," he sighed, "I'm already calling Evan and Kora to see if they have made any progress on finding her."
In the mean time, Ender ran to catch the Chinese woman.

"Woah, hey! If you're not going to go back with us, at least keep a look out for clues or something," he protested.

Crossing his arms, he turned over to Leland who seemed more intent on the phone call than the fact that one of his co-workers was walking away.

"Aren't you going to stop her?"

"If this didn't stop her, I highly doubt that your shouting will," Leland answered before pinching the bridge of his nose, "at this point I'd rather get a hold of the other two.

"Well it's better than just letting her go," Ender muttered, "'least we can do is make sure we can get her doing something."

With that, Ender went after the woman.

Leland tapped his foot a few times before swiping to his messenger, not even bothering with the other two. Jesus Evan pick up your phone.

"Hate to break up your date, but we need to know if you two have found the body yet."

Leland hit the send button before leaning against one of the buildings' walls.

"I'm not keen on heading to the crime scene until I get an answer, but maybe I'll figure out what's been floating around here."

He looked at the sky, hoping desperately that it was a trick of his mind rather than a spirit..

"Of course. I can read anything that has a story to tell," she poked Evan in a teasing manner before twirling around and finding herself by his side again. His hand met hers and without so much as a squeak, she skipped along beside him.

Oh what she would give to be alive again and spending time with a man like Evan. Or even Evan... although he was secretly an old man. Maybe that's why she liked him? She always did fall for the pretty-faced boys ten years her age.

When they got to the shop, Kora had to hold herself back from buying everything. With how pretty everything looked and how fresh and wonderful it smelled, she wondered why she hadn't visited here sooner! This date with Evan was just what she needed. It was a real treat (pun intended)!

After the two gathered up a bag-full to share with the others, the redhead gave a sad sigh before she polished off her beverage. "Guess we ought to get back to the others. We'll have to inform them of the situation. Not sure Leland will be pleased."

She really didn't say much more as they walked. It certainly helped that she was nibbling on whatever this delicious thing was. It keep her mind off the daunting task at hand. It also made her forget about the alleyway, where she up and left Amy.

Just before they got to the portal that would cross them over to their world, her eyes met Evan's. "What do you think of Amy? I think she hates me."

That's when the phone made a beeping nose -- a text? -- and a brow rose. "Lemme guess, Leland's lost and needs us to go find him." She laughed before whirling around and digging out another snack to mack on while she waited for Evan's instruction. "Surprised he didn't call. An old geezer like him must have spent hours trying to push the right buttons," she joked. If only she knew Leland had actually tried calling them a few times... of course, that was when they were in the noisy shop buying this food Kora would soon devour on her own. Oops!

At this point, Amy could only think about taking a nice, long shower.

She glared at a group of passing girls, who whispered a little too loudly. It wasn't that the girls had spoken clearly, but being dead had its advantages: improved sensory skills. She could hear everything they said as if they had spoken it to her.

"Wow, look at her, shameless. You think hookers work in the morning?"

"I hate people like her. Don't even have the class to try to pretend to be a good citizen."

Amy stormed ahead, her fists clenching and unclenching in a vague attempt to remain cool and unaffected. Part of her wanted to punch the girls in the face, curb stomp them for good measures. But the other part of her violently objected. It wasn't that she was afraid she'd lose the fight, but if she jumped the normal, unsuspecting human, she'd never hear the end of it from her superiors. In fact, she was fairly certain that beating "good," normal humans to an inch of their life was grounds for a one-way express ticket to Hell.

She turned the corner, walking down a lesser used street, but still oddly trafficked. Of all the powers she could have gained from being dead, she had to land the most useless of talents. 'Why couldn't I have been given something cool like super speed or teleportation or anything?'

AN INTERMISSION OF SORTS

---

It was later in the afternoon, approximately two hours after, when the agents regrouped in a small, slightly out-of-the-way cafe. The place was tiny and cramped and served watery coffee. The restroom was perpetually out-of-order and the lone waitress was about as attentive as a sack of potatoes. She had barely acknowledged the agents when they arrived, much less stopped to take their orders.

Still, the HK unit had always frequented this location.

Huddled around a rickety table, the group went over what they knew, which was very little and not very useful. There were considerations for casing out the crime lab—if they could gain access, this could be a wrap-up job. Of course, if they were caught, they could sit in jail for forever. The agency, which wasn't willing to pay dental, was about as likely to post bail as Hell freezing over tomorrow. And then there were mentions of the antique shop; the managing Death God had made some offhanded comments about paying the owner a visit. Of course, leads coming from the higher ups had their problems: they tended to be misleadingly simple. Chances were, the antique shop wasn't a simple antique shop.

Either way, the group decided to split up. Some will go to the antique store and, hopefully, not die a second time. And the rest will do, well, what investigators do: investigate.

She tried not to scream too much but they had decided that she was the logical choice to send with Evan to the antique shop. She could touch the items and see if there was any connection to the case -- or even future or past cases. That and Amy wanted nothing to do with Kora who just up and left her in the alley. WHOOPS! Another bridge burned. Eh, it was just Amy. No big deal.

"Hopefully we shouldn't take too long. If I pick up anything at the shop, we'll go to the location of said item. Let's keep our phones handy as we don't need another alleyway incident." Turning to Leland, she smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be careful."

Getting up, she made it to the door and was already outside before Evan even slid his chair back. Rapping on the window, she glared at her handsome-yet-slow partner. "Oy-oy, let's not wait until the next year to move. Get yer fine ass in gear and let's go look at smelly old stuff."

---

Lazy me is being lazy. We can just skip to the store. I don't think they have much to talk about during the walk. They've had plenty of flirt time ;D