The music in the club was loud-loud enough that I could feel the bass thudding in time with my heartbeat. The bright LED lights, varying in shades of red, white, pale blue and violet flashed around the club, illuminating the party-goers and blinding me.

"Need a drink?" the bartender shouted over the music.

"Strawberry margarita!" I heard the shout of my cousin Yuki as she sauntered over to me. The bright neon yellow of her jacket caught the lighting and burned even brighter. It clashed brilliantly with her red lipstick and the matching highlights in her pixie-cut hair. "Two of them!"

"Of all the places you could have chosen for a celebration and you picked this place?" I shouted over the music while Yuki smirked at me with her crimson lips.

"Yes, this place! Davy Joe's is full of old white guys!"

"They're cops," I defended my bar. "And Davy keeps my favorite beer on tap!"

"Like I said-old white guys!"

"Are you saying I'm an old white guy?" I didn't fall into any of those three categories and Yuki knew it as well as I did.

"Exception not the rule." At that moment, the mohawk bartender came back with two pink drinks with salt around the rim.

"Thanks," I mumbled, grabbing my drink while Yuki whooped with delight.

"Drink it down!" She ordered me, drawing herself up as much as her five foot, five inch frame would allow. "And that's an order Officer!"

She winked at me then and despite myself, I laughed and followed the order. The sweet-burn mix of fruity syrup and tequila filled my mouth and made me cough a bit as I set the empty glass down.

"Happy?" I shouted over the thudding music.

"Not yet!" Yuki ordered another round and gave me the same instructions as before and I complied. This time I felt it go to my head a bit more. Not drunk, not even close but I was starting to edge towards a buzz.

"Happy yet?"

"No! We must dance!"

My eyes widened and I shook my head. "No! Not on your-ah!"

Yuki had my arm in a steel grip and yanked me off my stool. "Dance we must! Come little one!"

"Twerking is not dancing Yuki!" I protested but over the laughter and the scream of the guitar I went unheard and unheeded.

"Dance!" she proclaimed again, swaying her hips in time to the music and bobbing her head.

I shuffled from side to side a bit, knowing I wouldn't have even dared that much if I was sober. Fighting and self-defense were in my comfort zone and so was shooting my gun, but dancing wasn't even close.

Yuki started to laugh. I couldn't hear it of course, but I could see it on her face but the wide smile and her pointing at me. I joined in even though the joke was at my expense. Yuki had that effect on me and pretty much everyone she met. She always had such a zeal for life. A sort of enthusiasm that was infectious and pulled other people to her and made them want to be a part of something-even if that something was outside of their comfort zone. It was probably the reason Yuki and I were so close-well aside from being first cousins at least. Despite the fact that we were so different, Yuki's magnetism still drew me in and got me to laugh and go along with a few of her antics here and there.

The song ended, my heart was racing and my undone hair was sticking to the back of my neck and shoulders. "Yuki," I shouted, but again, I went unheard. "Yuki!" I tried again, this time reaching out and grabbing her to get her attention.

"What?"

I beckoned towards the outdoor terrace where it was less crowded. "Outside!" I pointed towards the terrace and walked towards it as well. Yuki nodded and followed my lead through the crowd. As I walked through, I brushed against one person, a white fellow in a short sleeved t-shirt. The closer I got, the more clear his tattoos became and one in particular caught my eye. The scythe that crossed the river and a rod. The sign of the Boston Triad.

The symbol turned my vision red and I felt my hand creep towards the radio that wasn't with me now.

If a Boston Triad member was here this couldn't be good. Best case situation he was just selling street versions of narcotics to club goers. At worst it would turn into another turf war between his gang and another one within the area as they fought for dominance on this street. They'd been tearing up the city for months now.

We got outside, the cool night air was a blessing against my skin. The sticky heat of the club was a sharp contrast to it and I knew I had a preference for the outside.

"This is your night off Suzume," Yuki said, warning me and I cursed how easy I was to read. "You have your cop face on."

"That's just my face."

"I know but it's worse now than it usually is. None of this stuff. No police work, no calling Matthew-unless it's to ask him out on a date, and if you do need to call another police officer besides him, it had better be because there is an emergency. And I mean a real one, not something you dream up. Got it?"

"But-."

"Got it?"

I sighed in defeat. "Fine." I'll save it for tomorrow, I added in my mind. There was no probable cause right now anyways. The land for this club did fall into the geographical region the Triad laid claim to, and several of the recent overdoses we'd seen had fallen around here as well. Maybe it would be enough grounds to set out a stakeout later on, but now there was nothing I could do.

"Good girl," Yuki chirped and she leaned against the banister. "Look, I know that this isn't your usual scene. I get that. But I just thought it'd be good for you-a change of pace you know?"

"Yeah," I agreed. "I get it. And though I still would have chosen Davy's over this place," I felt a grin come to my face, "I might actually be having fun."

"Fun? Gasp!" Yuki's hands flew to her face and her jaw dropped and her eyes twinkled with glee. "I didn't know you knew what that was!"

"Oh shut up," I said rolling my eyes. "Just because I refused to go roller skating down the stairs when we were in middle school–"

"That was a blast!"

"You broke your ankle!"

"It was still fun! And it's a great story to tell either way."

"You could have cracked your skull open!"

"But I didn't!" We laughed again-this time at another stark difference between Yuki and I, despite how closely related we were. She was the one who took the crazy risks and I was the one shouting it was a bad idea as I tried to stop her. The dynamic certainly left us with some funny stories-after the injuries healed at least.

"I'm glad you're enjoying your night out," Yuki said with a warm smile. "Not a bad way to celebrate your first year anniversary on the beat is it?"

"No," I admitted, "It's not."

"But you still want to go home?" she asked me.

"A bit," I said. "I have Ben and Jerry's at home and it is calling my name."

"If you didn't work out obsessively I am positive you would be fat."

"I am positive you are right and I am not obsessive. I just have a regular routine that involves working out. You should try it! I'd be more than happy to drag you along with me on New Year's."

Yuki grinned at me and tilted her head to the side in a thoughtful manner. "We both know I'll stop going the week after it's over."

"I could keep nagging you," I suggested. "You'd get sick of it and then you'd go just to get me off your back."

"I'd punch you."

"I'd dodge it. Police officer remember?"

"I still wish you'd have gone for a desk job."

"You've been saying that for a year now-can't you let it go?"

"No! My baby cousin is out on the streets of Boston bringing down robbers and gang members and puppy kickers!"

"Puppy kickers?"

"Those people are evil doers," Yuki defended herself. "If you abuse something as good and pure as a dog you are evil!"

"You do have a point there." I paused for a heartbeat and then continued. "I'm not taking a desk job Yuki. I'd be miserable. And besides, Dad wouldn't have taken one. He'd have been out there. He'd have been keeping people safe."

"Uncle Haruo would have gotten a desk job if every member of his family asked him to."

"Oh please," I snorted. "Dad was stubborn as a mule. He wouldn't have done it. Not for long at least. He might have tried but the cubicle life would have driven him completely insane and he'd have gone right back to what he was doing beforehand."

Yuki laughed. "Maybe." We lapsed into silence again but it wasn't awkward or tense. It was familiar and comfortable. The sort of silence you share with your best friend. "Let's get you home but let's stop by the liquor store first."

"Ice cream and wine?"

"What better combination is there?" Yuki looped her arm through mine and tugged me back inside and I let her lead the way through the crowded dance floor and towards the velvet roped exit.

"Have a good night ladies," the bouncer called in a voice that was a direct contrast to his bugling arms, tattoos and piercings.

"Hang on," I told Yuki when we stepped outside, drawing my arm from hers and then grabbing Betsy from the holster. The walk to the parking lot wasn't super far, but the Triad had been tearing up the streets for months, it was late and Yuki and I were both in heels. I wasn't taking any chances.

"Did you have to bring that thing with you?" Yuki complained as we walked. "You know how I feel about guns. I mean, your responsible and all and I get that, but is it really necessary? It's just a club and the car is right around the corner."

"You saw that Triad member in there," I said darkly. "Where they are, there's trouble."

"Then we can call the police, the police who are on duty." She added the last bit hastily as she tapped the button the crosswalk and waited for the sign to change.

I've been that cop, I thought. And often, I'm there too late. I was thankful that Yuki had such trust in the boys in blue, but she was still just a civilian. She had no idea how much every second mattered when it was life and death. "The response time of a bullet is way faster than a nine-one-one call."

Yuki rolled her eyes as the red hand flipped into a little green person and the Friday night traffic came to a stop. "It's your call but for the record, you're acting really paranoid."

Yuki called it paranoia, I called it realism when I was walking through the center of gang territory. However, just as she predicted we made it to her silver Dodge Ram with no trouble, and I stowed Besty back in the holster.

She shot me a smug smirk. "See?" she said as we clicked our seat belts in. "We were fine."

"Better safe than sorry."

"Why can't you just carry mace like everyone else?"

"I do, I just keep it in my purse."

Yuki turned the key and the engine roared to life and she grinned. "Atta boy Daryl," she cooed, patting the dashboard and I couldn't stop my snicker as we buckled up. "What?"

"Just funny," I giggled, "you're so tiny and you drive a fifteen hundred pound car."

"It's a practical choice," Yuki defended herself. "Daryl will protect me in most car crashes and tailgate makes it way easier to haul all my canvases and supplies around."

"I know but you have to see the irony."

"Yeah like you naming your weapon after some old lady."

"You named your car after the guy on The Walking Dead."

Yuki shrugged. "What can I say? He's weirdly sexy. So," she flicked on her blinker as she prepared to exit the parking lot into traffic. "I've gotta warn you, I'm not dropping you off at your apartment."

"You're not?" I said blankly. "And why is that?"

"Because Aunt Rebecca and Dad are throwing you a party in honor of your first year on the PD."

I winced. "Please tell me Uncle Enmei didn't let my mother try to bake again."

Yuki laughed as she weaved easily through the brisk traffic heading towards the exit for Interstate Ninety going East, the road that would take us back home to Harvard. The name of our rural town was a source of many jokes between Yuki and I. A fancy name for a not so fancy place.

"Don't worry, after the Birthday Fiasco of ninety-seven Dad knows better than to let your mom anywhere near the oven.

I slumped against my seat in relief, memories of a red fire extinguisher and smoke alarms blaring playing over in my head. "Good, I don't want to have a repeat of Independence Day of oh-six."

Yuki winced. "Oh god that was bad. Your poor father." We laughed then, both recalling the pained face of my late father as he bit into a brownie my mother had made and had wound up with a chipped tooth instead. The laughter quieted and Yuki looked over at me for a fraction of a second and my traffic cop instincts kicked on.

"Eyes on the road."

"What are you going to do, give me a ticket?"

"Don't tempt me," I said dryly. "One day I might call your bluff."

"Oh please," Yuki said with a careless shrug that told me she didn't believe I'd ever ticket her. "I was just wondering if you're okay with the whole party thing. If you're not I'll make up some excuse for Dad and Auntie. I know you're not a huge party person."

I shook my head, touched by her thoughtfulness. "I don't think some store bought cake and ice cream with four people really counts as a party."

"It's not just that," Yuki said with a high as she pressed the accelerator as we reached the interstate. "Your mom, she'll make a big deal about it all and you're dad will probably come up."

The easy camaraderie I'd been feeling halted, old grief and exhaustion settling like a stone into my stomach. "She probably will." Mom hadn't approved of my desire to join the police department and had fought it every step of the way until I completed the Mass State Civil Service Exam and been accepted to the Police Academy. And even now, though she'd ceased telling me being a cop was a bad idea, her disapproval wasn't gone and I her attempts to try and convince me that I'd be happier working some other job happened at least once every few months since I started.

The thoughts apparently showed on my face. "I'm telling you, I have a mini bottle of vodka in the console, I'll fake being drunk to get you out of this party."

"A tiny bottle of vodka won't do that."

"I'm a good actress and a tiny bottle of vodka has a strong smell. Splash it on like cologne and Auntie Rebecca will never know."

"What about your dad?" He was much better at seeing through his daughter than his sister-in-law was.

Yuki shrugged. "He won't approve but it's not like I haven't come home drunk before." She had once, during her freshmen year of college and had been giggly and missing her right shoe. The resulting hangover the next day had left her clutching the toilet like a life vest and she'd never gone binge drinking after that.

"What if you two fight about it tomorrow?"

"Then we fight," Yuki said simply. "But difference between Dad and I is that we'll talk again in a few hours and it'll be fine. No offense, but I don't know if it'll be like that with you and your mom."

"I love her," I said hastily, knowing without a doubt that Yuki was thinking of how I hadn't called home in the five months I'd been at the police academy. "I do love her a lot but, ugh!" I slumped forward, shaking my head and closing my eyes. I loved my mother so much but I struggled to understand her in equal amounts. She was so fragile, so frightened all the time and me? I wasn't. She married my dad at nineteen after her elderly parents had to be put into a nursing home. When Dad died, his brother had to come and bring his ten year old daughter to live with us because Mom couldn't cope with being alone in the house.

"I know you love her," Yuki said gently as we continued the drive. "I never said you didn't."

"We don't have the easiest relationship," I said finally. "We never have and I never made it easy either but we're still family. If we fight, we fight and we'll get through it. Nana korobi ya oki."

Yuki smiled. "'Fall seven times, stand up eight'," she translated. "Uncle Haruo said that all the time."

I nodded. It was him who'd taught me the saying and him who demonstrated it to me, right up until his death. "You don't have to pretend to be hammered," I said as we turned off the interstate and onto the sleepy back roads that would take us the rest of the way. "I don't want to start a fight with you and your dad; whatever Mom does I'll handle it."

"It's your choice but if you change your mind, use our emergency signal and I'll create a distraction."

"Like what?"

"Getting sick? Falling and pretending to twist my ankle? Breaking some dishes when I go to grab them? There's a lot of possibilities here."

I laughed. "Don't do anything stupid if you see me twitch my nose."

We'd created our emergency signal in childhood after watching reruns of Bewitched. I considered the ability to be a worthless talent.

"It won't be stupid," Yuki promised as we went down the road. The speedometer was climbing steadily to sixty-five and my inner traffic cop was already protesting.

"Yuki, you need to slow down."

"Can we cut out the backseat driving?" Yuki asked, looking away from the road and at me. "It's empty out here, how many cars do you see-ah!" She slammed on the breaks and my attention snapped towards the outside, half expecting to see a pedestrian walking across the road but there wasn't one. Instead, Yuki turned into the parking lot of a seedy-looking convenience store and I glared at her.

"I almost forgot!" she said, unbuckling. "We need wine and this place has a liquor sign," she pointed to the neon sign flickering on the grimy window. "Just hang on a second."

She hurried out of the car and I unbuckled as well. Gross-looking or not, I was sure the place had restrooms and the drinks I'd had at the club had caught up with me.

"Wait up," I called as I hurried after Yuki. She wasn't hard to spot in the dark parking lot thanks to her wardrobe choices. I followed her inside, a tiny bell digging as we entered the place. The walls were painted a dingy white, the shelves flimsy looking and cheap and plastered with candy and chips. My eyes scanned the room, noting the clerk behind the counter, a young woman with high cheekbones, black hair and caramel colored skin. She barely looked up as we entered, her brown eyes were fixed on the other patron in the store.

He seemed young, early or mid twenties at the most-the same age as the drug dealer I'd seen in the club. The black hoodie and jeans were mass produced; in fact, I was sure the clerk had the same pair on; everything about his choice of clothes screamed 'inconspicuous', that combined with the isolated location of the store and the lack of witnesses it provided worried me. But worse still was something I couldn't name. Something I couldn't put my finger on but my gut instinct told me was wrong. Something about this guy, whoever he was, was just plain wrong. Out of place and I didn't trust it one bit.

"Think there might be anything better over there?" Yuki asked, looking over to the coolers where the man was standing and I instantly shook my head.

"No, let's just get those," I gestured to the six pack of wine coolers in her hand, "and go."

"These aren't very good though," Yuki mumbled and then her gaze sharpened. "What's with the cop face?"

"It's probably nothing," I said, not wanting to alarm her and knowing my gut could be wrong. It had been before, just not often which was why I was quite eager to leave this store and get back on the road. "Please, can we just go?"

Yuki rolled her eyes, but sighed and moved towards the counter. I thanked my lucky stars for that and followed. "Seriously Suzume," she said as she placed her merchandise on the counter. "I love you but you're really-."

Before she could get to the word "paranoid" the air changed, going from a pleasant warmth to frigid cold. I didn't have much time to think about that. Driven by pure instinct, I looked up watching as frost crept over the dingy lights and the building began to shake, ice shards spearing through the drywall, wood and metal.

I reacted. I grabbed Yuki and threw both of us behind the counter as the roof fell down on top of us.

*****************************

First chapter! Anyone recognize some pieces from the first draft? I'm so excited to be back into this story you guys! To my fellow NaNo'ers, may your word count be high and your coffee be strong! To my readers, new and old, please feel free to VOTE or COMMENT if you can spare the time!

Write on! :)