Chapter One:

The city of London was hustling and bustling about. It was the first time in weeks that the sun decided to pay them a visit, and everyone was outside attempting to make the most of it. Every window was open in order to let in the warm breeze that was now flowing through the busy streets. It was an absolutely beautiful day to be outside, and that was the exact reason why Lucy Baker decided to take her time walking to work that day. Her well worn rusty orange hat was bouncing as she walked, her bright amber eyes looking at how the city seemed to become vibrant under the sun. Stretching her long, slim arms upwards, she tried to make the most of her walk before heading up to the currently dark and musty Mystery Room. It felt as though the sun had not come out in ages to her, and instead of being able to bask in it, she had to be stuck inside alone. Not particularly what she wanted at the moment, but the job comes first.

The Scotland Yard Building was huge, about six stories tall, with the top floor in the roof. On the outside, the first few levels were made of dull, grey bricks, with the rest of the building being made of bright and dark red brick. The doors, which Lucy had been opening, were made of a sturdy wood and painted an unwelcoming black. When she passed through the front lobby, there was the smallest of drop in volume. It was always the case, and Lucy never missed when it happened, almost like they were secretly judging her for some reason. Today, however, that small drop felt as though someone muted the sound from her ears. Thus her morning ritual started. The first thing after passing through the doors, she headed straight to the mailbox to see if her department received anything via mail, greeting everyone she passed. After checking, she would head to the staircase, walk up all the flights of stairs until she reached the top floor, and enter the second door on her left. And so, while checking the mailbox only in order to see that there was nothing in it whatsoever, she heard her name being called by a familiar voice.

"Lucy! Come over -ACHOO- here for a second." A young, sickly woman beckoned to her with a raspy, low toned voice from across the front lobby. Her long, jet black hair seemed almost as long as the hunched over body, and just by looking at the eyes Lucy could tell the forensic scientist pulled yet another all-nighter. "Florence! 'Ello, 'aven't seen you in a while. What's up?" The genuine enthusiasm and upbeat cockney accent brought up Florence's face from the usual gloomy expression to a less gloomy expression. Lucy always was under a personal belief that this "less gloomy expression" was the closest to a smile she would see on the forensic's face. "I just wanted to see how you were holding up after…after that last case. I see you're the only one in today?"

Even though her friend's question was an innocent and caring one, Lucy still hesitated a few moments before answering, "Well I'm doing alright now, it was only a graze. I got a couple o' days to heal up and all that 'fore comin' back."

"That's good to hear. And Al's doing better?" This comment stung, replaying the events of three days ago back through Lucy's mind. She shook it out of her head as fast as possible, "Yeah, he'll be fine. The Prof's just sustained more injuries then I did." Her tone was outlandishly bittersweet, and Florence noticed that there would be no more conversation about that particular topic. After an awkward silence fell over the two, the Detective Constable excused herself, making her way for the staircase and ascending as swiftly as possible.

The Mystery Room was just as she expected; it seemed dark, musty and lifeless, even after only a handful of days with no use. With a simple switch of the lights, the room was illuminated. Papers were strewed throughout the room, with case files stacked in odd nooks and crannies. The wooden filing cabinets lined the walls, also crammed filled with case files and important documents, and a dark blue bulletin board with magazine clippings attached to it. And in the corner was Lucy's favorite place in the room; the brown sofa. It was where she always plopped herself when she entered the Mystery Room after greeting the Prof with a huge grin. She absolutely loved that couch. It made her feel safe and at home for some unknown reason. Lucy made her way over to the window that was next to where the couch was.

Even though it was her job to be solving some unknown case, the amber eyed girl could not help but propping open the window and losing herself in thought. She knew she should have been getting started on any cases that had been sent their way from the past two days of absents, but working on a case without the Prof just seemed strange. 'It's my job though, with or without the Prof here.' She reminded herself, slowly standing from the couch to go look through one of the recent case files. The case was not too puzzling, and after using the crime reconstruction machine she easily determined that the killer she was looking for was the husband of the deceased wife, who had attempted to frame the wife's brother of the murder. It had only taken a handful of hours, and the decision was made that she might as well take a small break before cracking open another case.

She sat near the window, letting the breeze gently play with her hair. The fresh air felt amazing on her hot face, and she removed her hat in order to let the warmth that had built up there be released. The sounds from the street came in, helping guide Lucy to be lost in thought. It wasn't difficult either; there had been a ton of things on her mind as of late, but none quite as pressing as the events of three days ago. The graze that the bullet had made was still present on her right arm, but it was healing nicely. 'Eh, it's still nothin' compared to the Prof's injuries', was the immediate thought that came to mind. It was true, the Prof's wounds were nothing serious, but there was a lot more of them than just one bullet-grazed arm. He just needed more recovery time, that was all. However, these thoughts only made her worry over the Prof's health.

The Prof was never good at taking care of himself. He would always be at work, day or shine, completely healthy or so sick that he would sway where he stood. Then if you counted all he times he came in ridiculously early and then stayed long after everyone had left, it was surprising that the Prof hadn't keeled over. But somehow, that brilliant man kept going on with his work. This was the first time he had ever been absent from work, and for a good thing too. She flinched at the memory of what had occurred.

It was pitch black outside, and the only thing any onlooker would have been able to see were two bright beams of light moving swiftly through the darkness. The petite figure was breathing heavily, attempting to regain her breath after finally catching up to the taller, lanky man. The smaller figure had no time to regain oxygen as she was grabbed by the arm and dragged into the factory where they had journeyed in order to find the criminal that had fled. Earlier that day, the duo had discovered who the killer was in their latest case, Luciano Agonni, the oldest son of Severino Agonni. After the murder of Severino, Luciano earned the title as boss of the local mafia. However, he began to suspect that a handful of members were stealing from the mafia, and shot all of them on the spot. It was dangerous and rash to even consider going after the man.

But instead of having the 'placid Prof' at the time, who would have downright refused to go after a murderer and would have wanted backup, she was quickly dashing after the 'potty Prof', who was actually quite a fan of the chase and felt the need to be on the scene. So there they were running head first into what could easily be a trap, with no plan and no backup. The two were only equipped with three items; a flashlight, handcuffs, and a police issued gun. They only very quickly decided not to use the guns unless it was absolutely necessary before entering the even darker building. Her instincts screamed against every step she took, but she had to ignore it. Darkness molded around her, an eerie feeling slowly creeping up her spine. There was an unexplainable cold that was stabbing at her in the air that made her edge closer to the Prof purely out of fear that something was lurking outside of their little bubble of light.

He halted to a stop, causing Lucy to bump into his back. He raised an eyebrow at her as if to say "Please watch where you are going", as one spidery hand grasped his stubbly chin in thought. The pause seemed to go on forever when, "I will continue to follow the path I believe the man went down. However, it is possible that he took this left turn here. We can find him easier if we split up. Plus the sooner we find him, the quicker we can head back to the station." Lucy couldn't help but chuckle at the Prof's comment. One side of him was surprisingly eager to go to a crime scene, while the other would much prefer to stay indoors and never leave. After receiving a puzzled look from the Prof, she flashed a determined grin and headed off in the opposite direction.

There was no noise besides her footsteps echoing off of the metal walls as she walked down the seemingly endless corridor. Darkness seemed to creep into every available space, to the point where even the yellow light could not cut through it. A soft, ghostly breeze came from behind, causing the chestnut brown hair on the back of her neck to stand on end. She turned around, heart beating faster than ever.

A pent up sigh of relief escaped from her mouth. It had been nothing but a draft moving throughout the hall. Swallowing down every ounce of nerves, she turned back around, quickening her pace in the correct direction. After what felt like ages, the flashlight started to form a shape. She groaned. The corridor formed into a four-way intersection, with no signs of where she should turn next. 'By'eck, this place is like a maze', she thought to herself as she inspected each hall. Two of them appeared to continue on in the same manner as the corridor she came down. The hallway to her right, as far as she could tell with her flashlight, led to some open boxing room. Taking a leap of faith, Lucy turned to her right, shining the light down the hall as she went forward.

Thud! Bam! Clank! She flinched and almost toppled over. Those noises were defiantly not just in her mind, and she quickened the pace, switching the flashlight off in order to not give away her location. It sounded like there was a scuffle, which meant that the Prof had found someone. But something wasn't right, it didn't feel right. Lucy entered the large space quietly and swiftly, staying in the shadows.

'The Prof would 'ave called out for me by now…'

Creeping closer to where the scuffle had originated from, she was able to spot an illuminated area. One of the figures was lying on the ground with their arms cuffed behind their back, and the other was standing next to the lying down figure. This person, she observed, was holding the flashlight. However she also noticed another thing about this scene. The light was glistening on an object in the standing man's right hand.

A gun. That only added to the idea of what had taken place here a few moments earlier. She was one hundred percent positive that the man on the ground was Alfendi, which meant she had to be cautious approaching this situation. There had to be a way of distracting the mafia leader without getting a bullet to the chest, even though the rash side of her wanted to jump the man and get it over with quickly. It was too much of a risk though, and a risk clearly not worth taking. She squinted into the darkness, searching for anything that may come to her aide. Her flashlight and gun were out of the question; it would be a rookie mistake and would definitely get both herself and the Prof killed. If there was an item nearby that could be used as a distraction… A dead cold object came into her grasp. It was dense enough to throw a good distance as well, that much she was certain.

And without thinking, she threw it as far as she could in the opposite direction. The sound of the tin clattering on the ground and the gunshot after it was deafening. However it was the quiet, deranged laugh that came after shook Lucy to the core with an icy chill.

"Nervous, are we? I can't see why; this place must be filled with your puppets," It was hoarse and filled with venom, "Or was fleeing so damn important that you didn't have time to call them?" The disturbing part was that the voice sounded twistedly playful, almost as though the roles of captive and capturer were reversed. A dull thump could be heard, and Alfendi let out a groan of pain, curling around his midsection. "Shut yer yap. Playing cocky ain't gonna help you, or your little friend-" Another clanging sound echoed from a nearby area, and Luciano Agonni fired the gun for a second time.

"Come on out girly, or I'll have to shoot yer friend here," he shouted to the area where the noise originated from, then crouched down to Alfendi, gun aimed at his head, "Hehe, and when she does come out, I'll make sure you can see her die."

"If you lay even one fucking finger on her, I will blow your brains out onto the floor." He could feel his rage building; the white-hot anger was almost blinding. And if this man killed Lucy, he would make sure that Luciano would feel like he was in a living hell. 'Come on Lucy, don't try to be a damn hero…' It wasn't the sound of walking, but it was most definitely the sound of a shoe. And then a second shoe sounded. Oddly enough, he noticed, they did not seem to come from the same direction. It was then he understood what his co-worker was doing. 'Interesting idea. Distraction by sound. That way he'll be focused on the wrong area…'

She had to be fast; it was the only opportunity she was going to get. Swiftly and silently she moved, with the handcuffs set in order to place them on Luciano as fast as possible. She crept up on the two in her socks, approaching them in mere seconds. Snagging the wrists unexpectedly easy due to the surprise attack, she was able to close the handcuffs. Click BANG! The sound of the fired shot rang through the darkness, followed by the sound of the dropping gun.

Time was frozen. There was no intake or exhale of breath as her body registered what had just happened. The shot fired from the gun had hit her. Her mind could not seem to understand this fact, nor did it seem capable of locating where she had been hit.

A voice, although she couldn't reason on who it was, seemed to restart her mind. Lucy choked in a lung full of air, her mind being brought up to speed. A stinging sensation struck on her left arm, and a gasp of pain came out of her mouth, the right hand automatically grasping the wound. The voice changed from random sounds to words, "Answer me! Lucy, are you alright? Please say something!" It was coming in clearer now. "Pr-Prof?" Lucy stammered, standing up slowly and making her way to the bloody figure on the ground. She grabbed the cuff keys from his pocket and unlocked the handcuffs. The Prof rolled onto his back, attempted to stand, and then collapsed onto the floor. "Don't get up, you're really injured." Lucy could only see it now, but he was covered in large cuts and bruises. One side of his head was bleeding heavily, staining the side that the Prof was lying on. The delicate small hand reached out to touch the injury, causing a hiss to protrude from the older man.

"Lucy-"

"Shh, I'm goin' to call for backup and an ambulance."

"Lucy you-"

"Please Prof, I've got this under control." His honey-shaded eyes watched as she moved away in order to find service for her mobile. The loss of blood was slowly getting to his head, and his surroundings slowly started to blur. Everything went to darkness.

Alfendi was bored out of his mind. No cases, no murders, nothing to keep him distracted from the fact that he had not been to the Mystery Room in two days, and that Lucy would send him back home immediately if he tried to go back to work. He was greatful that his co-worker cared about his well-being, but she had nothing to worry about. The calm, passive side of him wouldn't want to leave the office, and after that last case, his real self would be careful about the cases as well. When that gun went off, he thought…

His stomach churned at what he thought had happened. 'You almost got her killed.' He clutched his head, swearing out loud as that annoying placid side of him spoke. "Don't you think I know that?!"

'I don't think you did. You are too obsessed with criminals to notice that she is even on your side.'

He hated that voice. He loathed it. It looked at the world in a way that he could never begin to understand. People looked at him differently when his placid side was out. Lucy looked at him differently when his placid side was out. And that was the worst part. That split moment of fear when his true self appeared. How her eyes would quickly dart away when the two of them made eye contact. How he would scare her with what he would say.

The fact that through all of this, she would still treat him with the same amount of kindness as she did his other half. And whenever she flinched or became scared, he could feel his chest physically hurt. It was the most confusing thing he had ever encountered. It had never happened before, but whatever it was, Lucy was behind it.

"Ugh, too much thinking…I need a cigarette." Alfendi went to his coat pocket, took out the pack, and walked back to the open window. The lighter sparked up, turning the end of the cigarette to a bright ember. He took a deep breath in, the heavy taste of cloves filling his mouth. It calmed him like nothing else, and his exhale released a long string of smoke.

'I thought we were trying to stop.'

"I'm not stopping anytime soon."

'You're bored. Trust me, I know. Go see if there are any cases!'

He didn't respond to his other personality as he finished his cigarette, stood up, grabbed his jacket, and practically ran to his office.

"I know who you are."

A tall, gorgeous walked from out of the shadows, approaching the man in the abandoned alleyway. She had documents in her hand, and when the man walked forward, she held her ground. He gave a chuckle, "And for some reason you thought it was smart to tell me?"

"No, it wasn't smart. I've taken more dangerous risks though. I want to strike a deal." Her voice was steady. It was clear to the man that she was being honest; she had taken dangerous risks. However, she was wrong in thinking this was less dangerous.

"How about I make a deal with you. You keep quiet, and I don't kill you."

"You know I won't keep quiet. You've killed three four times before, and I am not letting you kill again." The man laughed again, pulling something from his bag. The woman backed up a step, but it was enough movement to cause the man to attack. There was a terrible choking sound and then-

Silence.