Darien sat waiting for his partner to arrive. He leaned back and sighed impatiently. He could hear the drops of rain that fell in a constant rhythm upon the pavement outside the club.
"Damn, he's late again. Where is that guy when you need him? So, a little bit of rain stopped him this time, figures...he's never on time. Why, one of these days I'm going to-- ah, there he is," Darien's murderous thoughts evaporated as his partner pulled up a seat and sat beside him, "You're late," he said flatly.
"Well, hello to you too, Dar'," replied the brown haired man, pushing his glasses back into position, "You wouldn't believe what just happened, a lady was caught up in a car accident caused by the storm."
"What, the little drops of rain...and don't call me that," interrupted Darien.
"It's not your average rainstorm. Have you taken a good look outside? I believe it's a freak storm. After all, how could you explain snow in the middle of May? Anyway, trying to find you in the dark in this crowd wasn't exactly easy." Melvin mumbled as he took off his snow-covered jacket.
"Humph," Darien exclaimed folding his arms across his chest.
"Do you see, the mark?" asked Melvin.
Darien gestured with a nod towards the attractive blonde on stage holding a microphone, "That's her."
"How do you know?" Melvin asked in a whisper.
"I've been following her movements long before you became my partner," replied Darien in a superior tone.
Melvin reached under the table for his briefcase and took out his prized laptop, "Oh well, according to my data, her name is Serena Silver. She is twenty-four years of age, born June thirtieth, nineteen eighty. She's five feet one inch tall, and weighs one hundred and twenty six point five pounds. She has long blonde hair, dark blue eyes and her blood type is O negative."
"How do you know all this?" interrupted Darien, receiving a harsh glare from Melvin before he shook his head and pressed on.
"Serena is the eldest child of Mr. James Silver, her only other sibling, Mr. Samuel Silver, one-year younger than Serena. Sadly, their mother, Ilene, passed away ten years ago as the result of a car accident," he said, his attention drawn back to the stage.
At that precise moment, Serena began to sing. Her soft, sweet voice washed over the raucous hum of the club/bar. It seemed 'Karaoke Hour' was well underway.
"My, she's pretty, don't you think." Melvin whispered.
"It doesn't matter what I think. She's the 'mark,' we're here to see if she can be of any use to us," Darien said in a hushed tone.
"Cold as always," muttered Melvin, turning his attention back to the stage as Serena sang the last line of the song and started clapping with the crowd.
After the applause and cheers died down, the next willing participant stepped up and the two men resumed their conversation, "So, why is the rich Mr. Silver's daughter working at a nightclub?" Darien enquired arching his eyebrows.
"She's not," Melvin said quickly.
"Oh..."Darien responded sardonically.
"Ms. Silver is a friend of the owner of Shooting Star," he informed Darien while scrolling down the screen of his laptop. "One Lita Green," he said, sitting back.
~*~
"Thanks a lot, Ser. I reckon nobody would sing at all if first in line. Normally 'tis the waiter's job to start things off, and if I had to do the singing, everyone would high tail it out of here and Ms Lita would be fuming," yelled Molly, trying to thank Serena over the din.
"Sure, whatever, but you owe me," Serena shouted.
"Eh...would you like anything to drink? On the house," Molly replied.
"A chocolate milkshake would be nice," she said, licking her lips at the thought.
"Coming up, why don't ya' sit down over there and I'll get it right away," the young teenage waitress suggested and pointed to an empty corner-table.
Molly West was interning to become a bartender. She was also one of Serena's youngest friends. Serena was happy to do as asked, and made her way towards the table. Serena felt relieved she didn't have to go back on stage.
Waiting for her drink, the blonde could hear the moans of the crowd. She watched in amusement as her successor stumbled over the lyrics of the song, and the audience wasn't impressed. Serena relaxed, feeling the comfortable atmosphere of her friend's club put her at ease.
Customers soon understood why the name -- Shooting Star -- chosen for the nightclub. In the centre of the establishment was a fabulous dance-floor. It could take up to two hundred couples at a time with plenty of room to spare. The impressive stage, located off to its left. Encircling the dance floor was plenty of space for the tables positioned in a wide arc offering an excellent view of the stage. These arranged in such a way that there was also ample room to move between rows of tables. But what the blonde loved most about Shooting Star, was the fact it lived up to its name: the luminous constellations, planets and a carpet of tiny stars skillfully painted upon a black ceiling and these glowed in the dark. The walls and tables that looked as if carved from midnight blue marble flecked with silver highlights.
Despite the dark background, the club, brilliantly lit. Around its circumference, was an array of unique special effects lighting, generating a magnificent shooting star that revolved around the walls and ceiling. Soft spotlights looked down upon each table, and the bar.
The dance floor had its own lighting system: consisted of a black light, strobe lights and shimmering disco ball.
After Serena finished admiring its interior, she noticed the two men in suits seated at a table not far from hers, "Great...they've even followed me here. Isn't it against the law to stalk someone like that? Of all people, you'd think they'd know better. And these guys followed my father, too...he mentioned them once or twice, but I couldn't understand why he'd not explain why they were after him. I wonder who sent them,"
Serena mused, regarding the two men from her secure vantage point with a curious eye.
"Here you go...one chocolate milkshake on the house," interrupted Molly, startling Serena from her contemplation, "Don't ya know? The black haired one seems to know you're Papa, I overheard his name while he spoke to the other fellow there."
"Yes, I know who they are, but I was wondering who sent them," Serena replied, furrowing her brow.
"What cha mean 'who sent em'"? Molly asked, a little confused by Serena's statement.
"Err never mind Moll,' thanks for the shake," she said smiling at her friend who simply nodded.
"Excuse me...but could I have a drink," hollered a half-drunken man, looking Molly up and down. Rolling her eyes, Molly left Serena to her shake and returned to the bar to bring the drunken buffoon his beverage.
After watching Molly disappear into the crowd, she slowly turned her eyes towards the two men. Startled, Serena noticed the black haired man was staring at her. Serena shifted her eyes to the other man. She assumed he must be McLau, therefore, that meant the other was Shields. Her father wasn't exaggerating when he described how the younger detective was always using his laptop. Serena could see the glowing text on the screen, but it was too far away for her to make out. After a few minutes of straining her eyes, trying too see what the young detective's found so absorbing, she heard the sound of suppressed laughter, and shifted her gaze to the dark-haired guy. She could tell he was amused by her efforts to read the screen.
Serena fixed her eyes upon his for the second time that night and threw him her most menacing glare, when all of a sudden, a loud shriek and slap swept over the boisterous crowd, "What cha think you're doing, you perverted old man?" screamed Molly.
"Just want some fun, babe," Replied the inebriated customer as he reached for her once again.
The second Serena saw the man try to grab Molly again; she was off her seat and by Molly's side in an instant. She quickly pulled Molly out of reach, placing herself between her friend and her attacker, "You keep your hands off her, or else," Serena warned.
"Or else...what, I wouldn't mind a round with a pretty lil' thing like you," Slurred the drunken man. He attempted to grab Serena, but another hand restrained him.
"I wouldn't do that," Warned a new voice.
Everyone stared with surprise at the tall brunette, who held the man's hand in a vice like grip, her eyes blazing with fury. The moment the man attempted to struggle free, he found himself on the floor with his arms pinned behind his back.
"Let me go!" he cried in pain.
"Uh...how about, no, I don't like it when people start harassing my friends, especially in my club. Now either you leave on your own, or I'll break every bone in your body, then throw you out on the street," threatened the surprisingly strong woman.
"Lita, you know that's against the law. I wouldn't want to arrest one of my good friends," joshed the blonde, who could easily pass as Serena's twin.
"Oh, umm...hi Mina, I didn't know you were here," Lita answered as she looked up at her friend.
"Apparently not, now release him so he can go home," replied Mina, whose gaze moved to the floor where the drunk lay restrained. "You're going to go home, right sir." The man was about to direct a torrent of expletives at everyone when he looked up and saw a woman in a police officer's uniform.
"Yes officer," mumbled the man.
The four women watched as the unruly patron staggered out of the club. The crowd soon broke up and everything slowly returned to normal. Soon after, Molly spoke up, "Thank ya'll, I should be getting back to work. Why don't ya'll sit down and I'll get you something to drink," Molly suggested as a relieved smile moved across her face.
~*~
"My, that was interesting," stated Darien, "Who are the newcomers?"
Once again, Melvin had his laptop open, scrolling through the text, "Ah, okay, the tall brunette is the owner of Shooting Star...Lita Green. Serena and she were roommates at college. Not only does she run the nightclub, but also Lita is also an excellent chef, specializing in fine pastries and runs her own catering service for weddings. Ms. Green is twenty-four like Serena. And, I'm afraid, that's all I have for you," Melvin relayed while scrolling down to the next name on his list, "The other blonde is Mina Aino; her resemblance to Serena is remarkable. The only distinguishing difference between them seems to be their hairstyle. As you can see and I'm sure you've noticed, Mina's hair falls loosely to her waist, while Serena's falls to her knees.
Mina is a local law enforcement officer, and I'm guessing she's off duty right now as she's not wearing a gun belt."
"You mean your super machine has no information on her. I thought it was all-knowing." Darien chuckled sarcastically.
"Well Darien, First of all, she's a POLICE OFFICER; I'm not going to risk following her around. In addition, I'm definitely not tapping into the police database. If you remember, we were told to be discrete. Secondly, I was told she's not important enough, since she barely converses with the 'mark.' Officer Aino spends most of her off-time here, talking with Ms. Green," he said frowning at Darien's blank expression.
"Well, she's 'conversing' with the 'mark' right now...are you getting information from the boss I don't know about?"
"Of course not," exclaimed Melvin, "I show you everything I get right away. It's not my fault you can't be bothered reading it," he chided.
The two detectives glowered at one another before turning their attention back to the remaining women on the list, periodically refilling their glasses, "Does that woman ever stop working?" complained Mina.
"The girl loves to cook; it was great living with her. I would come home to a beautifully cooked dinner almost every night. I was always her guinea pig, especially when it came to her incredible desserts," Serena said closing her eyes, remembering the taste of Lita's culinary delights.
"Lucky you," Mina said smiling.
"Oh, you wouldn't want to have been there when she was 'experimenting,'" shuddered Serena, remembering the not-to-tasty- treats.
"So, what's with the snow? I bet Ami is having a field day trying to figure this one out," Mina said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, our little doctor is probably pulling out her blue hair by now...speaking of Ami, I think I have an appointment with her soon," Serena remembered, furrowing her brow while trying to recall the exact date.
"I'd really like to continue our chat, but my brake is almost up and I have to get back to the station...bye," Mina said gathering her belongings.
"Bye," waved Serena as she watched the retreating officer pull on her hat and mittens.
After an hour or so, sick of listening to people trying to sing, Serena decided she needed something harder than a chocolate milkshake. She searched through the crowd for Molly. But after a few minutes, gave up. She climbed from her chair, looking to see if the two detectives were still there. Serena noticed only the brown haired one, Melvin, surprisingly not looking at his laptop. Instead, he was desperately trying to hear the voice on his cell phone.
Weaving her way threw the crowd; Serena attempted to reach the bar in one piece. Upon arriving, she signaled the bartender to get her a drink. She was so preoccupied; she didn't notice the man until she backed into his chest. Shocked, Serena turned around, and started spitting out apologies. She raised her head and her eyes met the most intense blue eyes she'd ever seen. He towered over her, and for the first time it dawned upon her how handsome he was. It wasn't until she heard his voice she snapped out of her revelry. And remembered what he'd been doing, "Why hello, Serena," Darien said cheerfully.
"Darien," she exclaimed.
