The sun had begun to dip low into the sky as Diana left Lumin Heights, so she pedaled home and made her way up to the fifth floor. The apartment was just as she had left it. She took a moment to feed the little turtle in its tank, sat on a table against the right wall.

     Sitting down, she endeavored to transfer the day’s notes into her notebook, A process that took a little over an hour. When she had done, she placed her notebook inside a small safe beside the desk and put away her revolver. Pulling on her jacket once more, she set out for the Dreaming Nook, intending to whittle away a few hours with a game of poker or two.

     As she pedaled, she made note of a black car behind her. Its windows were tinted, and it seemed to follow her as she made her way to the bar. She might have passed it off as nothing more than paranoia, were it not for the high-profile case she had just taken on, so she used her OI to snap a photo of the license plate and quietly cursed herself for leaving behind her revolver.

     She chained up her bike and entered the Dreaming Nook, noting the car parked itself just across the street. Endeavoring to hide that she had caught on to their tailing, she took a seat at the bar and continued her night as planned.

     “Diana! What can I do for you? Whiskey?” The same bartender who was on duty that morning strolled up to her, adjusting his bowtie. He was a slim, pale-skinned man, with short black hair and light blue eyes.

     “Water. I’m afraid I could be in a bit of trouble BB, and here I sit without my gun.”

     “Another dangerous case, eh? I’ll lend you the Bone Collector.” BB pulled a black case from beneath the bar, sliding it to Diana with her water. Diana didn’t have to open the case to know that inside lay a Smith & Wesson 500 Bone Collector, the bar’s emergency weapon, “You know, that girl you’ve been eyeing is back tonight.”

     Diana glanced subtly down the bar, a girl with bright pink hair was sat at the end, cheerfully chatting with the people around her.

     “Tonight’s no night for romance, BB.” Diana took her water and stood up, moving to the left side of the building to join the poker players, whose eyes either lit up or grew sour at the sight of her.

     She did quite well for herself over the next three hours, losing only one of five games they played. Diana had always prided herself on her skill with Texas Hold’em and she made quite a pretty penny from the games she enjoyed, though she knew never to take her skills to a casino.

     Taking her winnings into her wallet, she bid farewell to BB and left the bar. Spotting the black car across the street, she immediately got into character. Feigning a bit of a drunken stumble, she unlocked her bike and pedaled home, taking care to pedal just recklessly enough that her pursuers might perceive her as drunk.

     Returning to her apartment, she chained up her bike and entered, as the car parked across the street. Making her way inside, she left her door unlocked and retrieved two things from her desk: A roll of tape and a length of twine. Taping the Bone Collector at an angle above the door, she attached the twine to the handle and the trigger and moved over to the bed.

     Taking her Hardballer out of its box, she threw herself haphazardly onto the bed, hiding the gun under her pillow. Barely an hour had passed when she heard someone at her door, hushed voices that she couldn’t make out. After a moment or two, they feel silent, and her doorknob began to move. She heard the door creak open the tiniest bit but knew they wouldn’t get a good shot from the door thanks to her shoji screen.

     The door creaked further open, and a single shot rang out, stirring Diana into action. Rolling swiftly, she threw herself behind the bed, narrowly missing a bullet meant for her head. Using the bed as cover, she could see two masked men at her door, one of them was clutching their leg. Two clean shots from her Hardballer pierced the air and found their mark in one of the men’s chests, sending their companion scrambling as they fell limply to the floor.

     There was a moment of silence, before Diana’s neighbor burst out of her apartment. An old woman in a red robe and slippers hurried out, Remington 11-48 in hands, “Diana! You should have told me you were having company.”

     “Apologies, Mrs. O’Sullivan.” Diana gently lowered the woman’s shotgun, “It was an impromptu meeting.”

     “The police will be here any minute, you just sit yourself down and wait, dear.”

     Within six minutes, the police were there. Argil himself came along, as well as two uniformed officers.

     “Diana, why is it whenever there’s trouble here, you’re involved.” Argil sighed.

     “Maybe it’s my charming personality.” Diana laughed.

     “Or maybe it’s your tendency to go poking your nose where it doesn’t belong.” Argil flipped open his notepad, “The man was Daniel Cross, hitman. Once the lab boys get the DNA test done, we’ll know who your other attacker was.” Argil shook his head, heaving a heavy sigh, “These guys are professionals, Diana.”

     “Then we have something in common.” Diana takes the Bone Collector down, “This belongs to the bar, I’ll need to return it.”

     “We’ll bring it back on our way to the station. Think this is related to the Chambers case?”

     “I think that’s the only explanation, and makes me all the more certain that Diode is innocent.”

     “He definitely couldn’t have hired these two from holding. And he’d never hire them to kill the detective trying to clear his name.”

     “Never is a strong word.”