"Arg," Roger groaned as he was shoved into a cement room in the basement. It had a bed and a small window up above that he knew he wouldn't fit through.

The mobster who shoved him in took off his restraints. "You'll be staying here for now," he said, smirking down at him.

"You realize I'm a cop, right?"

"We would normally avoid kidnapping a copper, but this time, it doesn't matter; we need you."

"For how long?"

He shrugged. "Until the princess has accepted her fate and taken over... or rather, married the new boss."

Roger's eyes widened. "You're going to force her to marry someone you chose?"

"Not me, but well... The boss will give her options, but whomever she marries will be the new boss. She's his blood; it's her duty."

"But she has nothing to do with him. And what if he didn't have any next of kin? Wouldn't it have to be someone else, anyway? Why didn't they act like he didn't instead of dragging her into this?"

He shrugged. "I'm just a runt; I only know so much. I guess he couldn't ignore her existence."

"He could, but he chose not to."

"I'm not going to question the boss." He turned to leave.

"Wait, when can I see Grace?"

"When the boss lets her come to see you." He left and closed the door.

"Which could be never, I guess. Grace, please be safe. I don't want to lose another partner."

---

I have to find Roger and get out of here. Grace paced around the bedroom, going through as many scenarios in her mind as she could think of. If I broke the door down, it'd draw too much attention, and I'd be captured again. The vent is too small to use to go around. There is no tree near this window, and I'm on the third floor. It's sad that jumping from the third floor is the best option I can think of.

"Arg!" She ruffled her hair as she growled. There has to be a way out of this. Think, Grace, think. Roger is probably in the basement, or with the size of this place, he could be in any of the dozens of bedrooms. To find him, I also have to get out of this room. She looked through the window at the balcony. I wonder if I can get over to a different balcony and exit from there. But if I'm on the third floor, that's extra stairs I might be caught at. 

Grace pushed opened the balcony door and stepped out into the fresh air. The only thing she was certain about was that she had to use the balcony somehow. She looked over and saw another balcony for the room next door, but there was light coming out from the bedroom. 

I guess it's being used, which means I can't just jump to the next one over. 

Grace peeked over the side of the balcony and smiled. It was built with offset balconies, so they weren't all in a line. The ground might've been too far, but the balcony below wasn't.

Now, to drop down without whoever's next door noticing. She climbed onto the other side of the balcony railing and bent down. After a deep breath, she grabbed the railing spindles and swung herself slightly as she let go, and dropped down onto the balcony below.

  Thud.

Yikes, I need to land lighter. At least there's no one in this room, but this is still too high up. 

Grace looked over the edge again and tried to ready herself for a repeat performance. The balcony below was bigger and spanned multiple door openings.

Must be to the living room or something. I have to be careful. 

The lights were off in the living room, and since it was getting late, maybe no one would be around.

Okay, Grace, one more floor, and then I'll have to be stealthy. I have to get Roger out of here. 

Pulling off the same manoeuvre, Grace dropped to the balcony below.

Thud.

Things weren't the same, though. She had swung down and ran into someone, knocking them over.

"Damn it all to hell," she cursed and pushed off from them.

"Arg..." Zain groaned and opened his eyes. "You..." His eyes went wide. "What are you—"

She rolled away and took off running, checking on the doors along the way until she found an open one.

If only I wasn't worried about Roger, I could've made a break for it for real.

"No, you don't."

"Ah!" Grace yelped as her arm was yanked back. She automatically swung a fist at him, but he caught it, and crushed her hand a bit before pulling her over his shoulder. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She pounded on his solid back, ignoring the pain in her hand.

"I can't believe you actually dropped down from the balcony above." Zain laughed as he carried her away. "I guess I'll never know what to expect from you."

"Arg! Put me down, you big oaf!" She elbowed him in the back of the head as she kicked, hoping to loosen his grip.

"Ah." He stumbled a step, seeing stars for a moment. He regained his composure fast and growled at her. "Did you forget we have your partner?"

No, I was trying to get to him!

"If you don't be good, we'll have to take it out on him." Zain slapped her butt hard and kept walking.

"Ah!" she squeaked out a yelp. "What the hell was that?!"

"Me taking it easy on you, that's what. I'm generally against hitting women, but with your behaviour, you deserve to be punished. A good spanking ought to do."

"Try it and I'll make sure you're never truly with a woman ever again." Damn it all to hell! I had one shot to find Roger, and I screwed it up! 

Zain stopped for a moment, ruminating on her words, and cringed. Would she actually do it? From what he'd seen of her so far, he didn't doubt she was capable of it.

"Maybe I'll stick with taking it out on your partner. Now, what shall we do with you?" Zain walked through the halls, heading for her grandfather's room. "I can't imagine he'll be too happy with you right now."

"Am I supposed to care about that?"

"Poor Roger; you don't think about him at all."

"Tch..." Can I not do anything? Geez... Every chance he gets, he's going to threaten Roger.

"I wonder if that means we need to find more than one hostage, or should I say insurance package? Not that you seem close to anyone else. From our findings, he's the only person you see outside the station since your other grandparents passed."

"You researched me?"

"Extensively; we had to be prepared. You didn't make all of this easy on us, though. It's a good thing we're used to being organized."

Despite the late time of day, there were still people roaming the halls. They got quite a few odd looks, but no one dared to say anything to Zain about her.

The man outside of Ray's office cocked an eyebrow. 

"We need to talk to the boss about her," Zain said.

"He's retired for the night. I could wake him, but..."

Zain sighed. "We both know he doesn't take well to his sleep being disturbed." He turned to Grace on his shoulder. "What am I supposed to do with you now? We can't have you running away. We need you to continue the family."

"Only because of some crappy traditions," Grace mumbled. "You guys should be leaving that in the past. If anything, as a cop, I should be telling you to stop with all the crime in the first place."

"It's not like we're only bad. We're a family, and we support each other. And we keep even worse people off the streets. We are the protectors of this area. And if you actually knew something about us, you'd know our control over the drugs keeps it safer."

"It's drug trafficking! Can you not try to glorify it?"

"Do you have any idea how many nasty drugs are laced with even worse things that would be out and about if we didn't have control? Do you know the business we bring to the locals by being here? Do you know how a big mafia family like ours protects—"

"Can you stop talking to me while I'm on your shoulder?" Geez, I don't think I've ever been this embarrassed since I became a cop. 

"I don't know. You're a bit of a flight risk."

"Don't I at least deserve to have a dignified conversation with you?"

Zain rubbed his chin as he thought and looked at the guard, who averted his gaze.

"And you guys want me to be the next mafia boss wife; I don't think this would be a good way for the others to see me."

"I think she has a point," the guard finally spoke up. "Boss lady will need to be seen as strong and in charge, or no one will listen to her. You know how rowdy our bunch can be?"

"Ha... So troublesome," Zain grumbled. "If I become the next boss, nobody would see this as odd."

"What makes you think I'd choose a brute like you?" Grace asked as she wriggled around. 

"Because I care the most about this family. I know you'll have other options, as we try to link to other ones to grow, but I think staying in the family is for the best."

"Why in the world would you want to link to another one? Couldn't that mess with your current family?"

"To make it stronger. And so long as a Bertolottis is in charge, we can keep it the same."

"I'm not a Bertolottis, I'm a Morris."

"I hope you're not too attached to that name, because you'll legally be a Bertolottis soon enough."

"Since I'm not signing off and agreeing to it, it's not legal." Shouldn't surprise me if they have their people in government offices and whatnot. They're probably a bigger mafia family than I ever imagined.

"In the system, it'll look like you legally changed it."

"Ugh, seriously, can you let me down? This isn't comfortable at all." His shoulder was digging into her stomach. 

"Seeing as I can't leave you alone, I guess we'll have to bunk together."

"What?! No way! I'm not sharing a bedroom with you."

"Does that mean you'd prefer an underground prison bedroom?" Zain asked.

That should be where Roger is. "Yes."

"Well, too bad. I can't trust you to be alone, and I have a feeling most of the other men would have trouble dealing with you." Even he had trouble with her, and he was their best fighter. "So you're going to have to put up with me being in the same bedroom for now."

"Dammit," she cursed and slammed her fists on his back again as he headed back upstairs. 

"Thanks for the massage." He laughed and adjusted her on his shoulder.

"Oof..." He's being rough on purpose! Arg...