Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: I do not own DBZ, Leah’s soul or the formal dress of my dreams (it’s still on lay-by)

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Eighteen applied more bright red lipstick as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She’d come a long way from that naïve little girl who’d grown up with her two brothers and her grandfather on a lonely mountain top. Those days seemed so distant now, as though they had happened to another person.

When Eighteen had been 16 years old she and her twin brother Seventeen had left their rural home for the big city to live with her older brother Sixteen. She hadn’t known that Sixteen had gotten himself in the drug dealing circuit; they hadn’t known that he was fast falling into dept because instead of selling his drugs he was using them himself. Had they known they wouldn’t have gotten involved with their big bro, but they had and the first few years of Eighteens life in the city were pure hell.

The crime lord known only as ‘Krillen’ had been running the underground operations of the city when Eighteen had inadvertently gotten herself involved by telling her brother that she’d help him anyway she could to get out of the mess he was in. She had met Krillen and had agreed to begin smuggling drugs to help pay off her big brothers dept. After only a year of drug smuggling Eighteen and Krillen had begun their affair that eventually brought about Krillen’s end. At first Eighteen had been happy in her relationship with Krillen, he was kind to her, showered her with gifts and made sure that anyone who spoke badly to her, let alone hurt her, was punished. But all good things come to an end and eventually the other woman who had been Krillen’s ‘friends’ before Eighteen got jealous and decided to confess to the police all of Krillen’s little secrets.

The police had gathered enough evidence to put Krillen away for life, and Eighteen now hadn’t seen her first love for over ten years.

After Krillen’s downfall the underworld had been plunged into chaos as every high ranking lowlife tried to jockey for the top spot, but what they didn’t know was that Eighteen had begun to gather herself a small army of loyalists who destroyed anyone who got in her way. Eighteen had learnt all the tricks of the trade while she had been with Krillen and within a year of Krillen’s imprisonment she had been in charge of the underworld, the boss of the newly nicknamed ‘Red Ribbon Gang’

Who would have though, Eighteen though as she gazed at her reflection, that that innocent little girl who had left the mountains all those years ago, was the same woman who stared back at her now. Her eyes, once open and sparkling were now cold and icy blue, her hair that had once been coloured a bright corn yellow had faded to a white blond colour and even her emotions had changed, instead of laughing openly and being warm and friendly Eighteen was now guarded and careful how she acted.

Honestly, Eighteen wasn’t sure if the job had changed her or if she’d changed for the job.

“Eighteen?” Bulma’s soft voice interrupted her and Eighteen turned around with a slight smirk on her face.

“Are they here?” She smiled chillingly at her second in command.

“Yes.” Bulma looked slightly excited. “I think they’re gonna work out real well…I mean the little guy, Vegeta, he’s kind of antsy but the other Goku…” Bulma whistled and giggled. “He’s, I don’t know, so sweet and yet at the same time I know he wouldn’t hesitate to kill me.” Bulma grinned. “I like ‘em both.”

“Are they still real cops?” Eighteen frowned. Bulma rarely got this excited about anything.

“I don’t know.” Bulma shrugged indifferently. “They could be, but if they are then they’re really good at hiding it. I checked through the police records and found nothing on them - but then it is a little weird finding nothing about them, you’d think that they may have been arrested for at least a crime or two.” Bulma rolled her eyes and sighed.

“And what does Lunch think?” Eighteen slowly walked towards her younger blue-haired protégé,

“Lunch doesn’t know if they’re cops or not either.” Bulma looked as though she wasn’t sure Lunch’s opinion counted for anything.

“No, I meant does she like them, or does she think they’re a waste of space?” The blond crime lord cam to a stop by Bulma and smiled almost motherly.

“Well, so far as I can tell she thinks Goku’s okay, but she’s spent almost all of her time arguing with Vegeta so far…it’s quite bizarre. I think she might like him.” Bulma winked. “But then I might be wrong…she might just hate him because he’s more of a bastard then she is.”

She snorted. “Great, another egomaniac, just what I need.” She dryly muttered. Eighteen straightened her shoulders and tried to look the part of a fierce but mysterious crime lord that she was. She strode out the door of her office in Bulma’s wake, noting as she did how Bulma and Tien grinned at each other as Bulma moved to stand by him. She noted the shorter man with the spiky hair that she knew to be Vegeta, who was arguing with Lunch about the proper way to fire a gun at close range into somebodies head.

Then she saw Goku.

Eighteen felt her whole body tense, he looked…familiar and yet she knew that she had never seen him before in her life. Just from looking at him she knew that he was a man of compassion, a man ruled by emotions…but a man who wouldn’t even hesitate to kill if he needed to. It was no wonder Bulma had picked it up about him; he just struck Eighteen as being the kind of man who gets hailed as a hero.

There was also no way on Earth he was a dirty cop.

“Hi, I’m Eighteen.” She extended her hand and felt a tingled down her spine when he smiled at her and shook her hand with a firm grip.

“Nice to finally meet you.” Goku seemed at ease, he lounged against a wall smiling at her and with a start Eighteen realised that he had noticed her staring at him, hastily swallowing the blush that threatened to rise into her cheeks she turned to Vegeta.

“You must be Vegeta.” She extended her hand and fought not to wince when he squeezed her hand hard as he shook it, obviously Vegeta was the typical dominant male who tried to best anybody around him. Vegeta didn’t bother to say anything back to her; he simply exchanged a knowing look with Lunch and went back to arguing with her.

Eighteen wondered what those two had talked about to cause that knowing look, but rather then pry and upset Lunch she decided to turn back to Goku who was watching her with fascination. “Well, now that we’ve all been introduced I guess it’s time to put you boys to work. Vegeta and Lunch, since you two are getting so chummy…” Eighteen noticed that both Vegeta and Lunch blushed. “I think you two can do the rounds tonight, lunch you can teach Vegeta the ropes.”

“No problem.” Lunch grabbed her gun, which was resting on a cabinet behind her and motioned with a jerk of her head for Vegeta to follow her out.

“Bulma and Tien, I’ll let you guys meet with Ginyu tonight, he’s supposed to have some sort of new toxic powder that’s undetectable in the victims system after death.” Bulma nodded, elbowed Tien in the room and together they excitedly bounced out of the room like puppies.

“And me?” Eighteen jumped as she realised Goku had somehow snuck up behind her, she slowly turned and looked into his black eyes, wondering why she couldn’t seem to stop wondering what Goku would be like in bed…and wondering if he was thinking the same things about her.

“You can help me. I, uh, need somebody to help me organise a robbery.” Eighteen quickly cleared her throat and walked back into her office, she could feel his eyes burning into her back as she walked. “Were planning on knocking off Proud Jewellers some time in the next two weeks, only so far we haven’t been able top find some sort of loop hole in the security that will allow us to safely get in and out.”

“Well, maybe I can help you.” Goku gazed at her with his head tilted to one side. “I’m good at finding loop holes.”

Don’t trust him, Eighteen though to herself, he’s probably a clean cop…you should get your gun and kill him now…

“Sure.” Eighteen sat down and smiled flirtatiously at him. “You can help me.”

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