"SHIIIIIT!" Minako half whispered, half shouted in the 
evening air. "It's fucking FREEZING!!!!!" 
She wrapped her arms around herself protectively but 
wasted no time in getting to her car, running like a madwoman 
across the icy sidewalk, her feet almost burning from the frost. 
Images of him hearing the door open and shut flashed through her 
mind, scenarios of him running out of the house with a gun scaring 
her into running faster.
"…cold, cold, cold, cold…" she muttered through her 
clenched teeth, pulling out a hand from its spot tucked up under 
her other arm to auto-unlock her car, not slowing her pace at all. 
The more her feet were off the ground, she noticed, the less cold 
they were. The neighbors must have thought she was cracked, 
running outside in inappropriate clothes on Christmas Day, cursing 
like a sailor and jumping like a flea. She jumped back and forth 
from one foot to another as she hastily opened her car door, 
leaping inside as soon as it was cracked open enough.
"AAAH!" she screamed as her legs and back hit the icy 
leather seats. "My ass!"
She hadn't accounted for the fact that her car had sat in the 
friggin' arctic all Christmas eve; the shock of being in a seat 
carved entirely from ice was enough to almost knock the breath out 
of Minako. She still didn't slow down though, slamming the door 
shut behind her and jamming the keys in the ignition. The motor 
sounded a bit miffed that it had to run on Christmas day.
"Come on baby," Minako pleaded to her car as the engine 
turned disgruntledly. After a moment of revving it started, the 
rumble of the motor a comforting sound to her cold ears.
She got another shock as she touched her foot to the metal 
gas pedal, but her body was quickly numbing itself to the pain. She 
peeled silently out of her parallel parking spot on the empty road 
and proceeded to fly down the roads like a bat out of hell, 
constantly watching behind her for her bloodthirsty friend. She 
wandered fairly aimlessly for about a half hour, managing between 
red lights to pull a pair of dirty socks, left over from her last 
workout at the gym, out of the back of the car and slip them on her 
feet. The heater was now running at full blast, warming Minako's 
core, and the seat heater was turned on, too, making her car a 
veritable sauna. She was keeping a constant vigilance for signs of 
the black Boxster all around her; it was inevitably a matter of time 
before he realized she was gone, and he had the definite advantage 
of knowing the area better than she did. After the half hour of 
trying to get her bearings, she finally found a road that she could 
identify.
"At last!" she cried out loud, turning down it happily. She 
was so elated to finally be free of the powerful man's control, and 
all she wanted to do was get home and call Ms. Tsukino. From 
there she turned a few more roads to her apartment, parking her car 
and running through the parking garage to the elevator with the 
same urgency as when she had left her kidnapper's house. The 
socks the had chosen weren't providing THAT much warmth, as 
she realized the moment her feet hit the cold concrete. She inserted 
her key into the little slot necessary for accessing the upper floors 
and hit the 25 button. The elevator lurched to a stop at the lobby 
and Minako's heart leapt to her throat, for some reason expecting 
her silver haired friend to enter the elevator. A middle aged couple 
stepped in the elevator, however, each giving looks of curiosity to 
the under-dressed, shocked-looking blonde that was accompanying 
them. She smiled at them cheerily, heaving a sigh of relief.
"Merry Christmas!" she said.
"Oh, uh, you too," they said, the woman pressing the 7th 
floor button as the doors closed. They rode the remaining floors in 
silence before smiling at Minako and getting out when the doors 
slid open again. She rode the rest of the way alone, relaxing into 
the wall and taking a deep breath. The whole ride home had been 
stressful; she was sure he knew she was gone. Had she done the 
wrong thing by going to her apartment? Her heart beat faster as she 
realized that she had possibly revealed the location of her home to 
a person who surely wanted her dead now.
-I can't believe I was so stupid! I didn't see him when I was 
driving, though… but that's no guarantee,- she scolded herself, 
pressing one hand over her forehead, beating herself up mentally. –
I guess I can just hope for the best, but I've got to call Ms. Tsukino 
right away.-
She felt seriously, sincerely idiotic for going to her 
apartment instead of to…where? She wasn't really sure, but she 
knew that her apartment was an awful choice. She was worried, 
too, and rightfully so. The elevator finally came to a halt at her 
floor; she stepped out nervously, half expecting her handsome 
kidnapper to be waiting for her in the hallway. Of course, he 
wasn't there, so she proceeded down the hall, entering her 
apartment and turning on the light. It was just as she left it, and 
Minako let out a breath she had unconsciously been holding.
-I'm being way too uptight about this,- she thought, -I'm 
going to take a bath and call Ms. Tsukino.-
-He's coming for you, you know that,- she reminded a 
moment later as she headed to her bathroom, picking up the 
cordless phone on her way. She quieted the annoyingly logical 
voice and shut the bathroom door behind her. No matter how 
stupid of a move it was, she was thankful to be home after such an 
eventful night.

***   
"Yes, I already told you, I'd like to speak with Serena 
Tsukino please, tell her this is Minako Aino."
Silence.
"Yes, I KNOW Ms. Tsukino doesn't accept personal calls 
after 5, this isn't a personal call! This is business!"
Another moment of quiet.
"Listen, I can have you fired for this. Connect me to Serena 
Tsukino right now, if you don't, I swear on my life you will not 
have a job tomorrow."
The young receptionist switched her over indignantly and 
Minako rubbed her forehead, sinking down further into the warm 
water. The receptionist must have been a temp, a fill in for Molly, 
the usual girl. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the 
side of the marble tub as the cheesy muzak played, her head 
pounding painfully with the music. The water was warm and made 
her sleepy again, despite the ample rest that she had been forced 
into the night before.
-I guess drug-induced sleeps are never as satisfying, 
though,- she thought.
"Minako? What is it?" rang the cheery voice of Serena 
Tsukino on the other end of the phone, followed by a perky, "By 
the way, Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas to you, too, Ms. Tsukino, I'm so sorry to 
bother you, I know it's Saturday and Christmas and all, but-"
"Don't worry about it! It's no big deal. What's up? You 
sound stressed. Everything go okay last night?"
"Okay? It was awful…I am so sorry, something like this 
has never happened to me before."
"Minako, what happened?" Ms. Tsukino asked gently, 
concern filling her voice.
"You won't believe it when I tell you…but, first he 
approached me, then he knew who I was, and then he took me."
The other end of the phone was silent. Ms. Tsukino's lack 
of response stung Minako; this was such a bad display of her skills 
of following. She was almost sure Ms. Tsukino was going to fire 
her on the spot. Finally she spoke.
"He took you?"
"Yes, at the party."
"Where'd you go?"
"I assume it was his house."
"I'm coming over," she said, her voice more serious than 
Minako had ever heard it.
"Ms. Tsukino, that's not necessary, I'm home now and I'm 
fine-"
"You're at home? How did you get there?"
"I managed to sneak out…I know it was stupid of me to 
come straight home, but I wasn't thinking."
Ms. Tsukino made no motion to acknowledge her excuses. 
"Did he hurt you?"
"No," Minako replied, only partially lying. Being pressed 
against the wall with his hand cutting off her air supply had only 
hurt a little.
"Where do you live?" she asked.
"Bellevue Terrace, number 253, on Lakeshore Drive…why 
don't I come to you? It's no big deal."
"No," Ms. Tsukino turned her down flatly, her voice 
maintaining the same concentrated steeliness it had before. "I'm 
coming to see you. This is bad."
Minako had to agree there; this wasn't exactly a peaches 
and cream situation. "Well, if you're coming, then you need to get 
a key for the elevator from the receptionist in the lobby. Tell her 
who you are; I'll call down and give you permission to get in."
"Thank you Minako. And I'm not mad at you, just to let 
you know. This is just much more than you thought it was."
"Yes, I had a feeling about that," Minako replied simply, a 
feeling of dread rising in her stomach. The two women said their 
goodbyes and she hung up the phone. She reached over and pulled 
the drain on the tub; if Ms. Tsukino was coming over then Minako 
needed to at least look presentable.
-What have I gotten myself into?- she thought uneasily.

After the tub drained and she wrapped her hair up in a 
towel, she made a quick rush to get herself ready and clean up her 
apartment. The huge, 3 bedroom flat was a bitch to keep clean, 
especially for someone as absent-minded as Minako. After putting 
on some comfortable clothes, she made hasty work in clearing 
magazines and chip bags off the cream leather furniture, pausing 
for a minute to call the receptionist and have her set aside an 
elevator key for her boss. She tossed magazines and bills into her 
own bedroom, along with the clean laundry,  empty pizza boxes 
(they wouldn't fit in her trash can), and spare Christmas 
decorations she hadn't gotten around to putting up. She tried in 
vain to make her computer/work area look organized; in the end, 
though, it was a lost cause. In the dining room, she also attempted 
to fold up some of the fabric she had been sewing with. It, along 
with thread, patterns, buttons,  miscellaneous notions, and assorted 
appliqués, was spread messily on her dining room table. The 
beautiful piece of cherry-stained furniture hadn't seen much 
activity during its stint as a real dining room table, but since it was 
converted into a miniature sewing shop, it had gotten its share of 
use. She realized then that she actually knew where all her sewing 
supplies were amongst the mess; it was more like organized chaos 
then, and cleaning it would upset the balance. She exited the room, 
pulling the doors shut.
-She shouldn't need to go in there, anyway.-
One look at the kitchen and Minako decided the same 
thing. There were to doors to the kitchen, though, so she had to 
settle for simply turning off the light and hoping the mess wasn't 
bioluminescent. 
-You know, that chicken salad HAS been on the counter a 
long time…- she thought, pondering how long it takes for lettuce 
and chicken to give off a radioactive glow as she again 
concentrated on the den. She was just folding up the afghan that 
belonged to the back of her sofa when there was a knock on the 
door.
"Minako? It's Serena," rung the sweet voice from the other 
side. Minako flung the blanket over the back of the cream leather 
and rushed to the door. She took a brief moment to brush herself 
off and give the room a once-over (-Hmm, cleans up well,- she 
thought.) before opening the door.
Where Minako was expecting one blonde to greet her there 
stood two, accompanied by a black haired woman. The other 
blonde was male, a tall, thin man whose sandy, wavy mane was cut 
short, framing two eyes of stunning blue that looked remarkably 
like Ms. Tsukino's. The woman beside him stood with an air of 
confidence and authority, her dark violet eyes lit with an inner fire. 
She stood slight, much like Ms. Tsukino, and like the other 
woman, her demeanor radiated power. At Minako's brief moment 
of silence as she studied the accompanying party, Ms. Tsukino 
introduced them.
"I asked two of my associates to come along, I knew you 
wouldn't mind. This is my advisor, Rei Hino," she said with a 
perky smile, indicating to the raven haired woman of mysterious 
beauty that stood to her right. She nodded her head curtly and the 
corners of her mouth twitched upward into a small, forced smile. 
Minako thought she looked very tense.  
"And this is my cousin and investigator, Jadeite Tsukino." 
He was a bit quicker to smile, and nodded his head toward Minako.
"Nice to meet you both," Minako replied, stepping aside to 
allow her guests in, "Do come in."
-Why did she bring people with her?- she thought as she 
ushered them into the den. She offered them drinks and they all 
declined, sitting down on the comfortable furniture in a loose semi-
circle. Rei and Jadeite shared the long couch and Ms. Tsukino 
occupied the love seat which faced at a 90 degree angle to it. 
Minako settled into her recliner opposite Ms. Tsukino, crossing her 
legs and leaning back into its cushiony surface. She felt as if she 
should be the one to initiate conversation, but truth be told, she 
didn't know what to say. Fortunately, Ms. Tsukino cut in.
"Let's just get right to the point: tell us, please, the events 
of last night. Begin with when you arrived at the party and tell us 
everything that has happened up until this point. Please, be precise, 
and include as many details as you can about your captor and his 
actions." Her voice was curt, yet friendly, a strictly business voice 
that squelched any protests or inquiries out of Minako. She felt 
strangely under the control of this powerful woman.
"Okay," she replied, and took a deep breath. "Well, I got to 
the party at eight o'clock…" she began, and told them of 
everything that had happened. She was stopped every few 
sentences to answer questions or clarify information for Ms. 
Tsukino, Jadeite, or Rei, and so, slowly, the story unfolded. She 
told them of the party, and her observations, her capturing and 
attempted escape, and of his home and the events that took place 
there. She gave a summarized version of her successful escape, not 
wanting Ms. Tsukino to think she had lingered unnecessarily in his 
house while trying to get out. When she was finally done, she 
looked up at the clock on the wall. 8:34…with the included 
questions, it had been exactly 23 minutes she had spent telling 
them her story. If her captor had been following her, he would've 
been there by now. She felt slightly relieved at this, exhaling and 
relaxing back into her recliner.
"…and here I am with you," she finished, forcing a small 
smile. Ms. Tsukino matched it in magnitude; the level of 
superficiality equal between the two.
"Okay, Minako," she began, focusing her medium blue 
eyes on her employee's sky blue ones, holding the small smile on 
her face. "I know what happened last night was a bit of an upset, 
and a bit of a scare. And for now, you're safe. Overall, you thought 
strategically and made good decisions; I like that. So now, I need 
you to do something else for me. That is, if you accept something 
from me."
"What am I accepting?" she asked, first relieved and 
surprised at Ms. Tsukino's evaluation of the night's events and 
secondly piqued by her request.
"A promotion."
"What?" she asked incredulously. –A promotion? For 
getting caught on your first assignment? But I just got bumped up 
to this position four months ago!-
"You heard me, a promotion. I want you to work with me 
more intimately now, doing more of what you did last night. This 
promotion won't even go on the payroll; additional money will be 
given to you tax-free, under the table."
"What?" Minako asked again, "Why are you offering me 
this? Why is it under the table?"
"We really should explain everything to her," Jadeite 
commented to Ms. Tsukino. She regarded him with a look of harsh 
consideration, as if she was debating reprimanding him and taking 
his advice. She thought for a moment before giving him a quick 
"Right," and turning back to Minako.
"Let me tell you the story of my family, Minako. When my 
great-great grandparents came to America from Japan years ago, 
they settled here in Keishi, since it was largely Japanese. My father 
was the owner of a successful chain of businesses in Japan, and he 
set up a new store here upon arrival. On top of this business, or 
underneath it, shall I say, he added another family business, much 
like those found in New York and other major cities; mafia 
business, if you choose to use such a term. We prefer the term 
"yakuza"; it fits our culture. There are two major yakuza families 
in Keishi, and the Tsukino's are the oldest of the two. Are you 
following me?" she said plainly, leaving Minako gaping.
"Yea," she said breathlessly, her head cocked at a 
disbelieving angle. 
-This certainly isn't what I was expecting to hear,- she 
thought quizzically, wondering about the truth of it. She leaned 
forward, resting her elbows on her knees, contemplating the 
information Ms. Tsukino had given her. A mob family? It was 
unreal, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. 
For one, though Ms. Tsukino was considered the one of the heads 
of the law firm, and technically was the employer of everyone who 
worked there, she never did any real law work that Minako could 
tell. The main lawyer of the company was a young woman named 
Ami Mizuno, with whom the business shared a name, and she had 
her team of lawyers and legal assistants practically separate from 
those Ms. Tsukino employed.
"What about the law firm?" Minako asked.
"We are under the guise and protection of the Mizuno Law 
Firm, which you are an employee of. My grandfather's business 
shut down while my father was in charge. We made a deal with the 
Mizuno's, long time friends, to join us and help us. They provide 
us with both legal protection as well as a place to conduct 
business."
"And what kind of business would that be?"
"We deal mainly in casinos and prostitution. Generally 
speaking, we don't get involved with drugs," Ms. Tsukino 
answered, her voice still maintaining its air of blatant truth, 
speaking of the information as if it were the everyday. Minako 
rationalized and sorted it all out in her head, her mind raising 
questions and doubts.
"So let me get this straight: are you the head of this multi-
generational mafia…er, yakuza family?" Minako asked dubiously. 
Her mind had generally lost all faith in everything, and she thought 
of what the odds were that of all the law firms in Keishi, she would 
end up at the one which was directly affiliated with an organized 
crime ring.
"Yes, since my father died four years ago, I have been the 
head of the family," Ms. Tsukino replied, matter-of-factly.
"Then who are you two?" she asked Rei and Jadeite.
"I'm what is called a concierge," Rei explained. "I'm not a 
blood member of the family, but I basically offer advice to Ms. 
Tsukino on the affairs of the family."
"And I'm an investigator. I do lots of what you did last 
night, only I don't to get kidnapped in the process," Jadeite 
explained with a stinging smile.
-Ouch!- Minako thought as she winced at Jadeite's harsh 
words. –That hurt.-
"Jade!" Ms. Tsukino exclaimed and shot him a look. His 
smile faded.
"Right, anyway," Minako went on, turning her attention 
back to Ms. Tsukino and trying to pretend like she was unaffected 
by Jadeite's words, "So what is this promotion?" 
"I want you to be part of the family. Right now, Jade is our 
private investigator, but I need you to help him. You have more of 
a knowledge of computers than he does, and we need that with the 
changing times."
"But…what about my old job?"
"You'll keep it, but your duties will be significantly 
lightened. You will be working as an investigator for the majority 
of the time, so your position as Systems Technician will be mainly 
a front."
"Just like my position as a paralegal is a front," Rei added.
"Right," Minako replied slowly, switching her focus 
between the three average looking people, wondering how any of 
them could fit the 'mafia' stereotype, "So anyway, how many 
people in this law firm/family business thing are involved with the 
underside?"
"About half. They're pretty much spread evenly throughout 
the various positions; almost all of the high-ended jobs at least 
know about this, even if they aren't directly associated with any of 
our dealings. Like the lawyers, for example, most of them are 
actually legitimate, but there are a few that are specifically 
"family" lawyers, which means they handle my cases," Ms. 
Tsukino clarified for her.
"Uh-huh," Minako replied dazedly, scenes from 
Goodfellas, the Godfathers, and other assorted mob movies 
running through her head. It was so unbelievable, she was almost 
laughing. But then, there was that lingering feeling of dead 
seriousness in the room that prevented her from doing that.
"So one more time," she said, "let me review this. You are 
actually not a lawyer, but are rather the head of one of the only two 
mafia families in Keishi-"
"Correction," Ms. Tsukino interjected, "Actually, I AM  a 
lawyer, however, I'm not in practice at the time. My father's death 
was-" she paused "-unexpected, and at that point I had already 
gotten my law degree. I was about to open my own law firm when 
I was called upon to take over the family."
"Okay, I get it," Minako replied, continuing with her 
clarification. 
"And you," she indicated to Jadeite, "are a Tsukino, and 
you are also a private investigator." He nodded in agreement.
"You, though, are not a Tsukino," she said, turning to Rei, 
"But you work as a concierge, so you offer advice to Ms. 
Tsukino." Rei nodded, too.
"And, you, Ms. Tsukino, are offering me a position as an 
investigator in this mafia, eh, yakuza family. I get a pay raise and 
the obvious benefits of relief from my current job stresses, but in 
return I must be willing to be directly associated with the mob."
Ms. Tsukino held her same blank expression. "Yes," she 
said, "Sounds like you've got it. So, what do you say?"
Minako thought for a moment…what did she say? She had 
already told herself the options, and it was clear to her what her 
morals were telling her to do. She thought of the movies again, and 
about offers that were given to 'outsiders', when a realization hit 
her. She spoke again.
 "I'll be honest with you, Ms. Tsukino, I really don't want 
any part of this. But, if I know my mafia movies, this is probably 
what you'd consider "an offer I can't refuse," huh?" 
She was still somewhat numb with shock from all the 
information thrown at her; in the back of her mind she was 
expecting them to all yell "April Fool's" (despite the fact that it 
was Christmas day), or tell her to wake up, it was just a dream. 
Either way, it seemed unreal. And if it was the truth, which was 
seeming more and more formidable, she had that lingering feeling 
that no, she wouldn't be let out of this easily. More likely, she 
wouldn't be let out alive, if at all.
Ms. Tsukino and her two accomplices genuinely smiled at 
her movie comment, lightening the mood a bit.
-Hey, maybe it is a big joke,- she thought with a new 
optimism.
"Actually," Ms. Tsukino said jovially, "You're right!" At 
that, Minako's three guests laughed softly. Minako face vaulted.
"You can't be serious," she said dryly. She was currently 
losing feeling in her feet and hands; the pressure on her head was 
getting more and more. "You…you're going to kill me if I don't 
do this?"
"Well, we don't want to kill you, which is why we're really 
hoping you'll accept the job," Ms. Tsukino said, still smiling. 
"Jade?" she addressed the blonde man.
"Yea, Usa, I'm on it," he said, pulling a gun out of his coat 
pocket and pointing it in Minako's direction. In her mind, Minako 
tried to count the number of times she'd been threatened with her 
life in the past few days, and laughed despite herself.
"What's so funny?" Jade asked, flipping the gun in his 
palm old west style before resuming its position facing her.
"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just that…well, if you knew how many 
times I've had a gun in my face in the past two days, well, you'd 
be laughing too," she said as her laughter died down. Now she was 
a bit more aware that the gun, though not a novelty anymore, was 
still a gun. And Jadeite's finger was definitely on the trigger.
"As I said before, Minako," Ms. Tsukino said, her voice 
low and grave, "We sincerely hope you accept this job."
-Shit, what am I supposed to do? I'm sure as hell not gonna 
let them kill me…it's not worth it. Maybe once I'm in, I can find a 
way out,- she thought, feeling strangely trapped between the 
proverbial rock and hard place.
"Right, well…I guess I have no choice," she said dismally, 
"So what do I have to do?"
Immediately the three smiled and Jadeite lowered the gun, 
returning it to its place in his coat pocket.
"I knew you'd come around," he said happily.
"Yea, well," Minako replied dryly, angered at herself and 
her situation, "What do I have to do?"
"It's simple, Minako! It involves the man who kidnapped 
you last night," Ms. Tsukino told her, her voice lighter and more 
friendly then it had been a moment ago.
"What do I have to do?" Minako said again, more slowly 
and more serious this time, her voice dropping from its usual state 
of optimism.
"It's easy!" her boss assured her, still skirting around her 
question. "Since you know where he lives and-"
Minako cut her off. "Just tell me what I have to do," she 
said gravely.
"Fine," Ms. Tsukino replied, her tone matching Minako's. 
"You have to kill him."