Doo doo doooo!!!!! Also I live in Kentucky so I don't know what I'm doing, but I did my research for my babies in New York and Washington and tried to make it as believable as possible XD so don't get offended if I get a thing wrong okay? Love you~
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You sighed, another late night call from work disturbed your sleep.

There had been multiple cases of murders happening around the area, some were mild; ranging from a few gunshots to the chest to a slit throat, to severe; ranging from a disembodied corpse, to  strangulation.

You wondered who or what would be able to get through so many people in a night, seeing as though the bodies were all grouped together.

Each one had a mark of some sort on them, all of the bodies connected by a tattoo of either a dried rose or a wide broken smile.

You shook your head, going over the files once more before flinging your bag over your shoulder and heading out the door.

Your door was locked behind you as you made your way down the hall, pressing the button for the elevator as you flipped through paragraphs of information.

"Last week we had...four of the same cases...scattered throughout Queens... And Manhattan..."

You shook your head.

"How does that happen...?"

You stepped out of the elevator, making your way to the front door.

You looked around at the empty lobby of the hotel, nobody at the reception or walking around in the lobby.

"Well that's obvious why Y/n...its nearing three in the morning..."

You shook your head and sighed as you walked through the door, making your way out onto the bustling street.

You looked around at all of the lights, the flashing billboards and advertisements obnoxiously bright and sparkly.

You hummed taking in the black-blue sky; you couldn't get used to how beautiful the sky looked at night no matter how tired you were from work.

Sadly however, being here on work leave only gave you a few months to appreciate the city life here in the big talk of New York city.

After this it was back to Washington, hopefully it wouldn't be raining when you got back.

You wave your arm at an oncoming taxi, getting yourself close enough to the curb for the driver to see before he finally pulled over.

You got in and leaned into the stiff seating, looking out the window

"Where are you headed miss?"

"Fifth and forty second."

The taxi pulled away, you leaning against the fading black upholstery that was the seat.

Your eyes skimmed through the small crowds of people on the corner of each cross walk; looking at the clothes that they wore.

Some wore hoodies and some long coats, most of their hoods down save for a few.

"Hm."

Your eyes rolled back up to the sky, a satisfied sigh rolling out of your throat as the stars gleamed and sparkled throughout the night sky.

You hummed at the thought that crossed your mind: a good majority of the stars in the sky were actually dead.

As morbid as it seems, when a star explodes it can still shine for years...and you smiled at that.

"Even if you're gone...you still leave a lasting impression..."

That's what you've learned from stars, you're not just gone...you're still thought about and remembered.

And that made you feel better going into dangerous cases like these; even if you died, you helped others avoid suffering the same fate.

Your eyes dropped closed for only a moment before the cab stopped, the lined street of curious people being shooed away by police making it obvious this was the place.

You stepped out after paying the driver, making your way over to the flashing red and blue lights that lit up the alleyway.

"What's the report this time?"

They looked over at you.

"It took you long enough Y/n, we've been waiting for you to get here so we could get a more thorough inspection.."

You walked with them, looking over the covered body.

"Can you lift the tarp up?"

One of the officers pulled the tarp back, the body underneath horrific.

"Oh...my.."

There was obvious bullet wounds to the chest and abdomen, but also bruised marks that seemed to have been from a rope.

You hummed and nodded your head.

"Well, it was obvious he was dead beforehand. He has laceration marks on his neck and wrists, he may have been hanged or held captive somewhere until they shot him.."

"What is the body doing in the alleyway then Ms. L/n?"

You looked around, surveying the area before you noticed an open window on the top floor of the building beside the body.

"Well, he must've been flung out of the window to be disposed of."

Everyone's heads turned to the building, transmitters in hand.

"We need a check on the top floor of an apartment establishment..."

"We need access to the apartments on fifth and forty-second street.."

You walked down to the entrance of the building, knocking on the door before a manager came to the door.

"We need access to the top floor of your estate,there seems to have been a homicide in one of your rooms.."

They blinked and quickly stepped aside, you and three police officers climbing up the steps to the top floor.

"Do you all have any recollection of when you were called here?"

"Around one fifteen ma'am, the woman called complaining about gunfire."

"Mhm.."

As you reached the top, you looked around for any witnesses of the feud.

You knocked on a few doors with no answers, and knocked on one until someone peeked out through the door.

"H-hello?"

"Yes hi, I'm detective Y/n L/n from crime investigations, I just wanted to ask you a few questions regarding a homicide that took place in this apartment a few hours ago?"

The door closed, the sounds of chains being unlocked was heard before the door swung open to reveal a disheveled looking man.

"M-mhm..yes but please..keep me anonymous...I don't want them to come for me too.."

You blinked at that, tilting your head slightly as you stepped in.

"Alright, you will be kept under a confidential file, can I ask for the first letter of your last name?"

"M..."

"Thank you.."

The door closes behind you as you sat, the officers guarding the door.

"Now can you tell me about the things you heard or maybe saw tonight sir?"

He nodded and took a seat across from you, raking his fingers through his hair.

"W-well you see I was getting ready for bed around twelve, I work a long shift, and I heard some rustling coming from down the hallway. I thought it was some kids fighting or playing, so I look out and see these two men dragging a third to the room down the hall-"

"Did you see what room they took him into?"

You cut in, looking at him as he swallowed.

"I don't know..but it looked like room 201..."

"Alright.."

You glanced back as the officers scribbled down the details, looking back at the shaken man in front of you.

"Continue."

"Right, anyway, I was afraid they'd see me so I pulled myself back in and pressed my ear against the door to listen. I couldn't hear anything but some faint yelling and scratching, most likely from the third guy being dragged down the hall. So I heard the door slam shut and I peeked out again, listening for anymore kind of noise. Next thing I knew there was gunfire and some muffled yelling.."

You nodded as you listened, chewing on your lip as you hummed in interest.

"Alright...this seems more like a planned murder than a robbery or anything like that..Maybe even a vendetta.."

You glanced back at the officers who'd since stopped writing.

"Is there any word of any gangs or perhaps even mafias?"

"Well there's been reports of some, but we've never been able to take them out. Its not worth losing our men and having their families blackmailed."

You got up as you tapped on your arm, humming.

"Mhm..thank you Mr. M, we appreciate your help.."

The man nodded, shivering.

"But I do have one more question; do you know or at least have some sort of hunch of where those other two men would've gone?"

He looked up at you, his dull eyes oblivious with fright.

"I don't know..but I did see a black cab speed off down to the strip.."

You nodded, turning to the door.

"Thank you, without your cooperation a lot of questions would go unanswered."

You smile, walking to the door and walking out into the hallway.

You walked down and scanned over the door numbers, coming up on room 201.

"Mmm.."

You jiggled the handle, the door creaking open as the light from the hallway flooded into the dark room.

You breathed in the air, a strong smell of blood filling your senses.

"Flashlights...its not going to be pretty boys..."

The lights flashed into the room, revealing the gruesome scene.

The window was still flung open, the torn and bloody drapes swaying in a gentle breeze.

"Now remember...don't touch anything.."

You took out your camera, taking a few snapshots for the case.

"Any source of a scuffle?"

"Not that we can see ma'am, there's blood splatter on the walls as you see...the blood is scattered as we see in most cases with gun inflicted victims."

"Anything they may have left behind....?"

The three men looked around thoroughly, all coming up with nothing.

"No ma'am, nothing for any kind of suspect.."

"Alright well, let's get going then. No use staying here."

You all made your way out of the building, making your way back to the group.

"Anything?"

"Nothing, all I got was some pictures from the scene and we came up short with evidence..."

They sighed, a look of disdain crossing their features.

"No evidence...this case is going to turn cold in just a matter of hours if we can't find any evidence.."

You nod, listening to them speak with a small sigh.

"Well, I can easily search up some things about the city, see what's going on...after all we've only been here two weeks...we still have two months until we leave for Washington.."

They nod and look at you.

"Well I'll go tell everyone to pack up and head on home, you go do the research and we'll see what we can do tomorrow hm?"

You nod and grab your bag, making your way to the strip to hitch a taxi.

"Let me see.."

You look around, spotting a bar.

"'The Dune? Hmm..sounds good I guess.."

You crossed over quickly, trying your best to weave through the cars that blocked the way.

You walked through the door, looking around at all the shady characters huddling close to one another whispering and blabbering.

"May I help you?"

You looked around for the voice, stopping as it came to a familiar looking man at the front cleaning the bar counter.

"I uh...Galdino...?"

You squinted your eyes, blinking as you took in his rough appearance.

"How the hell do you...."

His eyes rose off of the counter and as they did they widened, in horror or in shock you couldn't tell.

"Y/n? Is that really you? Everyone though you were dead..."

"Well they're dreams have been shattered then hm?"

You grinned slightly, leaning up against the counter as he grumbled about your dirty sleeves.

"I guess..what are you doing in here...the last time I saw you was in the Philippines... And that's when the storm hit and you were gone.."

"Well it dragged me a good distance away, but I found some fishing boats nearby and caught a ride on one of-  you know what forget that I'm here to ask questions..."

"Questions?"

His eyebrow rose and his eyes narrowed.

"About what exactly?"

"There was a murder about a block away from here, I was wondering if you had anything to do with it.."

"Me?"

You looked at his face; he seemed mildly offended.

"I don't get into that murdering business anymore, right now I'm just living.."

"Then tell me where your 'boss' is..."

He shrugged, setting a glass down before he walked out and beckoned you to follow him down a hallway.

He opened a door up into another corridor, making his way down to the very end of the hall.

You heard some giggling and muffled chuckles coming from the room, your eyes rolling to the back of your head.

"I think he might be busy right now-"

"I don't care if he's busy right now, he can fuck whoever he wants when he's not being questioned.."

You rose your hand to knock, three times you did, and the room inside went silent.

You stood there, staring up at the door before you heard the heavy footsteps coming your way.

The door swung open, a shirtless Crocodile leaning against the doorframe.

"What do you want.."

His voice held a subtle sharp tone, a small hint of irritation in his voice.

"B-boss..this is Y/n, remember her?"

His eyes squinted down at you, the steely gray glare sending a small shiver down your back as he grunted slightly.

"Yeah sure I remember her..."

"Goo-"

"Great, I was actually wondering if I could speak with you?"

You glanced into the room, looking back up at the tall man in front of you.

"Alone, by yourself, in private."

You beamed as the girl in the room huffed, gathering her clothes before leaving.

"I think she understood the first time.."

His icy tone didn't faze you, the door closing behind you both as he sat down and poured himself a drink.

"I know, but I didn't think she would. She probably has so much dye in her hair her brain cells have probably deteriorated from all of the bleach on her head..."

You heard him scoff, as he stood, a shirt now hanging loosely from his shoulders as he swiped his hair back.

"Whatever...what do you want.."

You flipped through a few notes, clearing your throat slightly as you sat down.

"I want to know if you had anything to do with the current homicide on fifth and forty-second street...I know that you gave up Baroque, but I wouldn't be surprised if you were slandering and corrupting government and business again..."

He chuckled and shook his head, sitting down on the bed as he sipped on the liquid in his glass.

"Oh I didn't do anything....I haven't asked for anything to be carried out for over two weeks..."

"Carried out....?"

That put a little suspicion in his corner, seeing as though he has his own little secret way in the bar..

"You don't know do you? Probably not you were always slow...didn't get things as clear as the others did.."

He hummed, swishing the caramel colored liquid around.

"Yes you see..there's me...then there's....him...Donquixote...runs a club up the street..Crimson Feather its called.."

He took a drink and sat the class down, lighting up a cigar as he stuck it between his lips.

"He and I...don't get along
..so we have our little lackeys to keep us out of each others hair.."

He grins, smoke pooling into the air as he puffs on his tobacco.

"Are you telling me you're....in a gang?"

Your words held disbelief, an ex- criminal like him getting into gang business could land him into some serious trouble..

"I'm not in a gang, I am the gang...those imbeciles that are risking their lives for me are my own personal chess pieces against that pile of birdshit.."

You stared at him, not saying a word.

"He's killed off twenty or so of my men in just the past two weeks.."

"Crocodile...take off your shirt.."

His eyes snapped to you, an eyebrow raising as he slowly stood, shedding the black button up.

Your eyes traced over his body, eyes landing on the unmistakable mark on his left pectoral.....

A dried rose.

You shook your head in disbelief, a sudden dizziness coming over you.

"Y/n are you alright...."

His voice seemed to show genuine concern as you tried to steady yourself against the wall.

"Dried rose..."

You saw his eyes flicker to the small tattoo before letting out a long breath.

"You...you found them didn't you.."

You looked at him, letting a small sigh fall from your lips.

"One in Manhattan.... Three in Queens..."

HOW WAS THAT FOR AN UPDATE HUHHH!? OH YEAAAAAHHHH LETS GOOOOOO!!!!