Nabiki's office was spacious, comfortable, and well-designed.  
The walls were very wide along the side with the door, and in one 
corner was two couches with a small table in between for informal 
meetings.  The walls then curved slightly inward toward Nabiki's desk, 
which was on the far side of the office and faced the door.  Behind 
the desk there was a bank of windows, which looked out onto the 
Shinjuku business district.  There were several plants around the 
room, and a few expensive-looking paintings hung from the walls.  The 
office gave the impression of corporate power, which was doubtless 
what she intended.

	Nabiki herself was on the phone, with her chair turned away from 
the desk and facing the window.  She hadn't noticed anyone entering; 
good.  Ranma smiled briefly, and walked toward Nabiki's desk.

	She walked to one of the chairs sitting near Nabiki's desk that 
was reserved for clients.  She took off her coat, draping it over the 
back of the chair as she sank down into the plush leather seat and 
waited for Nabiki turn around.  As she waited, she removed a small 
box from her pocket.  Opening it, she withdrew a tiny, almost 
invisible object and pressed it to the underside of the chair, where 
it stuck.

	Nabiki seemed to be just wrapping up her conversation on the 
telephone.  Ranma just managed to catch the last few words of the 
conversation as she put away the box.  "...I'll have the final draft 
in your hands by tomorrow morning.  Good-bye."

	She spun in her chair and dropped the phone back into its base, 
then looked over and saw Ranma.  She started in surprise, and there 
was a pause as her eyes widened with recognition.

           ------------------------------------------

	Nabiki Tendo was, to put it mildly, in a state of major shock.  
Sitting across from her desk, with a bemused smile on her face, was a 
figure from her past, someone she had not seen for over a decade and 
had honestly never expected to see again.  Only in nightmares did she 
expect to see Ranma; in the dark recesses of her imagination, where 
the tattered remains of her conscience fought desperately to bestow 
upon her some feeling of guilt for her activities over the past 
several months.

	Now the nightmare was real, sitting across from her.  Her hair 
was shorter than it used to be, and she wore a nondescript outfit that 
was typical of a plainclothes police officer, but the brilliant red 
color of her hair and the ice blue shimmer in the depths of her eyes 
spoke the truth; sitting across from her was Ranma Saotome.

	There was only one possible reason for Ranma to be here; she 
had arrested the Yakuza flunky who killed Mikawa and was still on the 
case.  Somehow, she had traced it back here.  This was bad, but the 
fact that Nabiki wasn't already under arrest helped to calm her 
nerves.  No, Ranma couldn't know everything yet, or the circumstances 
of this meeting would undoubtedly have been different.

	With that in mind, it was best to play innocent.  She took a 
deep breath, calming her nerves, and once again was master of her 
emotions.

            ------------------------------------------------

	Ranma watched Nabiki's reaction to her presence, and after half 
a second would have been willing to bet money that she was guilty.

	Nabiki had been extremely shocked, and that was certainly an 
appropriate reaction for suddenly finding a figure from your distant 
past sitting in your office with no explanation.  But there had also 
been fear; an almost panicky fear etched into every line of her 
expression.

	Why would Nabiki be afraid of her?  Startled, certainly, but 
not terrified.  Unless she knew of Ranma's involvement in the Mikawa 
case, in which case the fear would make perfect sense.

	"Ranma?  What in God's name are you doing here?"  Nabiki's voice 
had a friendly tone to it now, with a bit of disbelief.  Clearly, she 
was going to try to act her way out of this.  Ranma decided to play 
along, and smiled.

	"Hello, Nabiki.  It's good to see you again."

	"I'll say," Nabiki smiled.  "After you ran away, we were scared 
stiff.  We didn't even know whether you were alive or dead."

	Ranma smiled as well; it didn't reach her eyes.  "There were a 
few close calls, but as you can see, I'm still here."  No thanks to 
any of you, she thought bitterly.

	"So I see."  Nabiki leaned back in her chair, relaxing a bit.  
"Would you like something to drink?  Tea?  Coffee?  Soda?"

	Ranma tucked her anger away and returned to the matter at hand.  
Would Nabiki try to poison her?  Difficult to say.  Probably not, but 
a little bit of healthy paranoia never hurt anybody.  "No, thanks, 
I'm fine."

	"So," Nabiki said, "what brings you here?  After this long, 
surely it's not just a social call."

	"And what if it is?" Ranma asked, smiling more naturally this 
time.  "It's been, what- eleven, twelve years now?"  She paused.  
"You're right, though."  She straightened in her chair, and showed 
Nabiki her ID.

	"Police, eh?"  Nabiki shrugged.  "I guess I can see that.  I 
still expected you to be teaching Martial Arts, though."

	"I found a different calling."  Ranma put away her ID.  "I enjoy 
what I do."

	"So you're with the police now.  That still doesn't answer the 
question of why you're here."

	"I was hoping you could help me with an investigation."  Play 
dumb, don't let her know you're onto her, but drop some hints and see 
if you can scare her into ending this right now.

	"Well," Nabiki looked surprised, "I'll do what I can, certainly. 
What's the case about?"

	"What do you know about Onishi Technologies?"

	Nabiki's voice was calm, but Ranma saw a thin line of sweat 
forming along her brow.  Good, Nabiki, sweat it out.  Be nervous.  Be 
afraid.

	"They're Misato Industries' fiercest competitor.  Our companies 
are about the same size.  I can give the names of some contacts, but 
that's about it.  If you want, I can go into more detail, but it would 
depend on what exactly you're looking for."

	"Here's the thing."  Ranma paused, watching Nabiki steadily.  "I 
think that Misato has been even fiercer in its competition with Onishi 
than usual.  Possibly to the point of making deals with Yakuza.  You 
wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

	Nabiki was definitely sweating now, but she kept her voice calm 
and relaxed.  "Sorry, Ranma, but that's news to me- and a bit 
offensive, too.  We run a clean operation here."

	Glancing down at Nabiki's desk, Ranma seemingly changed the 
subject.  "What does your position entail, exactly?  VP of Sales and 
Negotiation?"

	"Exactly what it says.  I negotiate out contracts with our 
customers."

	"What about bidding against other companies for contracts?  Are 
you in charge of winning contracts in the first place, or is that 
someone else's job?"

	"No, that would be my responsibility, as the head of Sales."  
Nabiki rested her elbows on her desk, and glared at Ranma.  "What 
exactly are you getting at, anyway?"

	"I'm going to level with you, Nabiki."  Ranma returned her gaze 
coolly, and it took all of Nabiki's willpower not to turn away from 
her piercing blue eyes.  "I know that there's something fishy going 
down with Misato Industries, and I think it involves a Yakuza family.  
We're following up several leads, and it's only a matter of time until 
we track them down.  I was hoping you could be an informant for us, 
but apparently I was too optimistic."

	"Look, if I knew anything I'd tell you," said Nabiki, raising 
her voice slightly, "but I honestly don't have a clue what you're 
talking about.  Misato is not involved in any Yakuza schemes."

	"Fine."  Ranma stood up, and slipped on her coat.  "If I find 
out that you're lying, I won't hesitate to bring you down, Nabiki.  
Obstruction of justice is what you'd get just for lying to me, and if 
I find out that you're actually involved in this whole mess then we 
can rack up conspiracy charges, illegal arms charges, and all kinds of 
fun stuff.  Don't expect any leniency from me just because we were 
almost family once."  Ranma reached into her pocket.  "If you think of 
anything I should know, call this number, or get in touch with someone 
at this address."  She handed over a card, and Nabiki took it.  "The 
phone line is secure."  She turned to leave.

	Nabiki grimaced, but kept her tone civil.  "If I hear anything 
odd, I'll let you know, Ranma.  I think you're wasting your time, 
though."

	Ranma looked back at Nabiki, and the disappointment in her gaze 
was painful.  "I expected better from you, Nabiki.  I really did."  
With that, she turned and walked toward the doors, opening them and 
leaving without another word.

	As the doors closed, Nabiki looked at the card in her hand, 
crumpling it up with one hand.  "Damn it," she whispered.

            ------------------------------------------------

	"Damn it," Ranma muttered as she left the Misato building.  That 
visit had been a complete waste of time, on a personal level.  Nabiki 
had been completely uncooperative.  She should have expected it... she 
should have known better.

	Still, she had been expecting something more from Nabiki.  Right 
up until she had first seen the fear in her eyes, she had believed, 
deep inside, that Nabiki would be willing to help, simply because she 
wasn't capable of doing something like this.  She had been wrong, 
bigtime, and she only hoped it didn't backfire in her face.

	For the hundredth time, she mentally cursed Nabiki Tendo for 
involving her in all this, and trudged back to the police station 
under the fading light of the afternoon sky.

            ------------------------------------------------

	Ranma walked through the police station in somewhat of a daze, 
brought on by the ever-deepening clouds of depression and exhaustion 
that threatened to consume her.  The talk with Nabiki had drained more 
energy from her than she cared to admit, and now she was operating on 
a sort of autopilot until she could take a break and sort through her 
thoughts.

	When she got to her desk, she wasn't sure whether to sigh in 
relief or curse in frustration; there was a stack of reports on her 
desk waiting to be sorted through.  As she suspected, they were some 
of the follow-up reports to the leads that had been generated by the 
restaurant incident the previous day.

	She reached to the side of the reports and picked up the most 
important piece of paper; a request she had filed at the station on 
her way to visit Nabiki that would allow her to use a bug inside Misato 
Industries.  It had been approved; the circumstantial evidence had been 
more than enough to justify the use of monitoring equipment.  She 
yawned and stretched for a moment, reaching her hands over her head, 
then with a sigh, she settled down to work.

            ------------------------------------------------

	Later that evening, Ranma once again found herself walking the 
streets of Tokyo.  The Sun had set, leaving only the slightest hint of 
purple in the darkening evening sky.  Now the only light was the glow 
of artificial light that radiated from seemingly every corner of the 
city, and the streets and sidewalks were full of people returning home 
from a hard day's work.

	It had not taken long to begin monitoring the bug, and then she 
had spent her time sifting through the various reports that had come 
in.  Most of them were dead ends; the Yakuza had done a fairly good 
job of making it look like a legitimate business, and the few leads 
they did have were tenuous.  They had tracked down all the 
restaurant's employees except for three of them, who had apparently 
gone into hiding- no doubt being sheltered by the very Yakuza they 
were seeking.  After Hiroshi returned, she had stayed only long enough 
to fill him in on the day's events before leaving.  For once it had 
actually been a relief to leave her work behind for the evening and 
take a much-needed break.

	Now she let her feet guide her, not really caring where she 
went.  As she walked, she wondered just why she had bothered to 
continue with this case.  Nabiki had disappointed her, greatly; and 
now she found herself bogged down by a depression that had become all 
too familiar to her over the past several years.

	She realized that she was in a familiar area, and suddenly had 
a destination in mind.  She needed someone to talk to, badly, and she 
obviously couldn't tell anyone at the police station about why her 
past bothered her so much.  It was just too unbelievable.  No, she 
needed to talk with someone who would understand just what she had 
been going through the past couple of days and perhaps offer some 
advice of her own.  The food was always a plus, too.

	It was with these thoughts in mind that Ranma found herself 
outside of a small, inconspicuous storefront.  It had been many years 
since she had come to this place, but she never forgot where it was- 
even when it moved to a new location, she kept track of it.  She took 
a deep breath and slid open the door, stepping through and shutting 
the door quietly behind her.  She looked around, relieved that she had 
avoided the dinner rush by coming late.  There was only one other 
person seated at the grill, and only two of the booths were occupied.

	Ranma smiled as she noticed the person working the grill.  She 
looked almost the same as she had for the many years they had known 
each other.  Her hair was tied above her head, and her dark blue 
outfit looked almost the same as the outfit she had worn many years 
ago, when they were six year olds playing at their fathers' feet.

	As she put the finishing touches on an okonomiyaki that sizzled 
on the grill, Ranma studied her face.  She noticed a few faint lines 
around her eyes that hadn't been there the last time she had been 
here.  As she expertly flipped the okonomiyaki to the customer sitting 
at the grill, Ranma noticed that her hands didn't seem quite as fast 
as they once had been.

	As the okonomiyaki landed in front of him she smiled.  "There ya 
go, sugar," she said as the customer nodded his thanks and began 
eating.  Her voice didn't sound anywhere near as energetic as she 
remembered.  Almost everything about her seemed, well, older.  Ranma 
smiled a sad smile- it was to be expected that she was acting older.  
That was what happened to people as the years passed.

	Only after she wiped her hands on a cloth sitting by the grill 
did she turn to greet Ranma, who had been standing by the door for 
several seconds.  When she saw who it was, her eyes lit up and she 
smiled wryly.  Ranma couldn't help but smile back.

	"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in.  Oops-" her eyes 
widened as a momentary flicker of fear passed over Ranma's face.  
"Sorry."  She smiled again, and gestured to the nearest seat by the 
grill.  Ranma took off her coat, hanging it on a nearby rack.  She 
then walked up to the grill and sat down at the stool she had been 
offered.

	"It's good to see you again, Ukyo."  Ranma sat down and looked 
at her one-time best friend and fiancée.  For a moment, she imagined 
it was actually twelve years ago, back when visiting Ucchan's had been 
a regular occurrence in her life, and she had had a friend like Ukyo 
to share her problems with.

	Of course, she only had herself to blame for the amount she had 
distanced herself from the person who was, when it came down to it, 
still her best friend.  It was precisely because of this relationship 
to Ukyo that her visits to Ucchan's were few and far between.  It 
brought back memories- memories of a happier time.  The thought of 
Ukyo as Ranma's fiancée had not brought her much happiness back then, 
but Ranma would give anything to be back in that time of chaos as 
opposed to be existence she was living out now.  Going to Ucchan's 
brought back a flood of memories, and in Ranma's mind, memories were 
synonymous with pain.  With the recent events, though, something in 
Ranma had urged her to come back- maybe here she could find some 
comfort, some bit of solace from the pain that the events of the past 
day had caused her.

	Ukyo noticed that Ranma had gone quiet, and her eyes were 
staring into the distance.  She waved her hand in front of Ranma's 
face.  "Hey- you there?"

	Ranma attempted to give her a reassuring smile, but the smile 
didn't reach her eyes.  "Yeah," she lied, "I'm fine."

	Ukyo pointed the spatula at her and frowned. "Don't give me 
that, Ranma.  If you really were fine, you wouldn't even have come 
here."  She frowned, but then she lowered her hand, and smiled again.  
"It really is good to see you again.  I was afraid you'd never come 
back.  It's been, what- five years?"

	"Sorry for the long delay between visits."  Ranma smiled again, 
and did a better job of it this time.  "I should have visited more 
often."

	"You don't have to apologize."  Ukyo sighed, and it suddenly 
seemed that lines on her face were more prominent.  "I know it hurts 
to come here.  But I still wish you'd come more often."  She suddenly 
seemed to brighten.  "So-" Ukyo went into full waitress mode- "you 
want anything to eat?"

	Ranma just smiled.  "Did you forget who you're talking to here?"

	Ukyo laughed as she realized her mistake, and Ranma laughed as 
well.  When the two friends looked at each other again, Ranma's eyes 
were watering and tears were threatening to spill down her face.  She 
looked away, and a tear ran down the side of her face.  She wiped it 
away, and turned back to Ukyo.  "A lot has been happening lately.  I 
really came here to talk, but I wouldn't say no to some of your 
cooking either."  She chuckled halfheartedly.  "I would never say no 
to that."

	Ukyo smiled at the compliment and began whipping up two 
okonomiyaki.  "Well, it looks like the day's winding down.  I haven't 
eaten yet, either, so I'll whip up some dinner and you can tell me 
what's been happening lately."

            ------------------------------------------------

	Ranma and Ukyo sat for a moment, quietly eating their 
okonomiyaki.  It was Ranma who spoke first.  "How's the business 
doing?"

	Ukyo shrugged.  "Well, it's profitable.  It's not doing quite as 
well as I'd like, but it's enough to get by.  I've been thinking about 
doing some advertising and trying to expand, but I don't have a lot of 
help.  I can only do so much."

	"Konatsu still working for you?"

	"No," Ukyo sipped her tea, "soon after you visited the last time 
we had an argument.  He had always hoped that I would eventually fall 
in love with and marry him, but I made it perfectly clear that that 
wasn't going to happen.  He left, and I haven't seen him since."

	"I'm sorry.  That must have hurt, losing him like that."

	"Sometimes it does," she sighed.  "Other times, I'm glad he's 
gone.  Mostly though, I feel like I've lost a very good friend."

	Trying to sidetrack the conversation, Ranma continued.  "So have 
you hired other help?"

	"Yeah, I've got a few people who come in and work part-time.  I 
still do just about everything, though."

	"That must be a lot of strain."  No wonder she seems older, 
Ranma thought.  Running a restaurant like this by herself must be 
taking years off her life.

	"Yeah, it's hard, but I find it's best if I keep busy."

	Ranma nodded.  "Yeah, I definitely know what that's like."

	"So how's your job going?  Still with the Tokyo Police?"

	Ranma nodded.  "Yeah, it's great."  She paused.  "It's funny, 
you know?  It's like when I'm out there doing my job, I can forget 
everything else for a little while.  When I'm really wrapped up in it, 
it feels like nothing else matters, and I don't remember any of my own 
problems."

	Ukyo looked at her.  "That's just about exactly how I feel 
towards this business.  Do you think it's healthy?  That our jobs are 
almost like an escape from reality?"

	Ranma frowned.  "Well, speak for yourself, but when I'm in the 
middle of an operation and trying not to get killed, it seems pretty 
real."  She idly stirred her tea with her finger.  "I don't think it's 
an escape from reality, it's just a different reality.  And I happen 
to like the reality of my job better than the reality of the rest of 
my life."

	Ukyo looked like she was about to respond to that, but decided 
against starting a debate with her old friend.  Ranma had finally 
visited, and the last thing she wanted to do was argue with her.  
Instead, she simply shrugged.  "Fair enough."  She finished off the 
last bite of her okonomiyaki, and then looked back at Ranma.  "Had 
any interesting cases recently?"

	"Yeah."  Ranma sank down into her seat. "The case I'm working 
now is sort of what made me come back here in the first place."

	Ukyo looked at her questioningly.  "I thought your job and your 
personal life were strictly separated."

	"Under normal circumstances, yes."  Ranma took another sip of 
her tea.  "Unfortunately, these are not normal circumstances."

	"So what exactly does the case involve?"

	"Well, the exact details are classified, but there's someone in 
the middle of it all who we both used to know."

	"Let me guess," Ukyo grinned wryly, "Happosai finally went over 
the edge."

	Ranma laughed out loud at that.  "Actually, no."  She crossed 
her arms and cocked an eyebrow.  "You want a hint?  It involves 
money."

	Ukyo blanched.  "Nabiki?"

	Ranma nodded.  "None other."

	"I suppose if any of us were going caught up in serious legal 
trouble, it was going to be her."  Ukyo chuckled sadly and shook her 
head.

	"Yeah."  Ranma halfheartedly poked the last half of her 
okonomiyaki with her chopsticks.  "It was a real shock.  Not 
necessarily that Nabiki got in trouble with the law- I can buy that.  
But that it's me who has to deal with her-" she sighed.  "I thought 
that at least my job would be a place where I could get away from my 
past."

	"Well, maybe this is for the better."  Ukyo shrugged.  "Maybe 
this will help you sort some things out once and for all.  Fate works 
in strange ways, after all."

	Ranma shook her head.  "I don't believe in fate."

	"Look on the bright side, then."

	Ranma raised an eyebrow.  "There's a bright side?"

	Her friend shrugged.  "It could be Akane who you had to deal 
with."

	"Don't even say that."  Ranma shuddered at the thought of it.  
"I am perfectly happy never seeing her again."

	"Perfectly happy?"  Ukyo sounded incredulous.  "Since when?  
Ranma, it's pretty clear that you need to confront your past and work 
out these issues that are bothering you.  I can think of worse things 
that might happen to you than meeting up with Akane again."

	Ranma was staring morosely into her tea.  "Maybe you're right.  
It's just that on some level, I still love her.  And after what she 
did to me, I don't think there's any way I could ever face her again."

	"But you don't know for sure that Akane did it on purpose, do 
you?  I mean, it might have just been a case of bad timing.  Do you 
really think she meant to interfere the way she did?"

	Ranma sighed.  "Probably not.  But you weren't there, Ukyo.  She 
was like a tornado of rage, and fury..." Ranma hesitated, "and hate."  
Ranma looked up at Ukyo, and her eyes blazed with anger.  "I saw it in 
her face, and in her eyes.  There's no way she ever loved me.  Even 
after I realized what had happened, and nearly killed myself, and had 
to go in the hospital, she didn't do anything... I never heard from 
her again."  Ranma shook her head.  "No... I mean, I have to wonder if 
she ever even liked me.  I know for sure there was no love.  The way 
she acted just isn't how you act toward someone you love."

	Ukyo sighed, and reached across the table, clutching her 
friend's hand.  "I know how you feel, Ranma.  Having a broken heart is 
never easy."  She smiled wistfully.  "Life goes on, though.  Hearts 
heal, except for an occasional scar, and life goes on."  She looked 
her friend in the eye.  "Life has to go on."

	Ranma smiled weakly, not daring to tell her best friend how many 
times she had almost stopped her life from going on.  "That doesn't 
make it any easier, though."

	Ukyo sipped her tea, noting with displeasure that it had gone 
cold.  She set it down and looked back at Ranma.  "I imagine it's even 
harder for you than for the rest of us."

	The redheaded woman chuckled sadly.  "Don't remind me.  I was 
almost happy, Ukyo.  I was so goddamned close to having everything I 
wanted."  She sighed.  "Sorry.  It just hurts, that's all."

	"Well, I'll always be here to help." Ukyo gazed at her friend, 
and smiled slightly.  "That's what friends are for- to help each other 
out when it hurts too much to bear the pain alone."  She wiped a bead 
of moisture from her eye.  "I'll always be your friend, Ranchan."  If 
you give me the chance, she didn't say.  She hesitated.  "Five years 
is a long time for visits between friends."

	"You really are my best friend in the world, Ukyo."  Ranma 
looked away.  "I'm sorry I don't show it better."

	Ukyo smiled warmly.  "Hey, don't worry about it.  You just feel 
free to stop by whenever and as often as you need to. Although..." 
Ukyo looked solemnly at her friend.  "I really think the best thing 
for you is to confront your memories, rather than run from them.  And 
if you ever need help, you know where to turn."

	Ranma grinned.  "Thanks, Ucchan.  I knew I could count on you."

	"Anytime, Ranchan, anytime."

	A wise man once said, "True friendship comes when silence 
between two people is comfortable."  For the two friends, sitting 
across from each other in the now-deserted restaurant, it could not 
have been more true.  For a long time, they sat there silently, 
content to revel in each other's friendship and the comfort that each 
offered the other.

	After a time, they said their good-byes and parted ways.  While 
neither was happy to part with the other, each did, for the first time 
in a long while, feel a sense of peace; an optimistic feeling that 
said maybe the world wasn't such a crappy place after all, and that 
no matter what happened in the meantime, in the end everything would 
turn out all right.

	Despite the best efforts of a good many people.

            ------------------------------------------------

	*RING* *RING*

	"Hello?"

	"You screwed up again, Rosuke.  You made another mistake after 
I specifically warned you not to."

	"The security guard incident was caused by our own negligence, 
I'll admit.  Still, nothing came of it."

	"A police officer showed up at my office today, asking what I 
know about Onishi Technologies."

	"So they came to you for information.  That doesn't mean 
anything."

	"She knew.  She knew about our little deal, but she didn't have 
enough evidence to do anything.  That's the only reason I'm talking to 
you now and not under arrest.  I can't even call you from my office 
now; I think it's been bugged."

	"Give me her name, and we'll take care of her."

	"No.  The deal's off, Rosuke.  You made too many mistakes, and 
as a result I'm calling off the whole damn deal before everybody 
involved is behind bars."

	"You don't have the Onishi data yet."

	"Screw the data.  If getting arrested is the price of obtaining 
and using it, then I don't want it."

	"On a more serious note, you haven't compensated us yet."

	"You were paid for the Mikawa job.  And since I won't be 
receiving the data, there's no need to pay you for that."

	"I disagree, Tendo.  We have a major interest in receiving our 
payment."

	"Too bad.  You should have been more careful."

	"I don't think you quite understand the gravity of the 
situation.  There will be serious trouble for you if you drop this 
deal."

	"Are you threatening me?"

	"Yes, I am."

	"I'll get police protection.  I'll tell them who you are, and 
your whole goddamn Yakuza family will go down in flames."

	"They'll never find us.  You must really trust the abilities of 
the police, especially considering some of the weaponry you've already 
given us.  I guarantee you, if you go to the police we will come after 
you with everything we've got."

	"You don't scare me.  The deal's off, you got it?  Good-bye."

	"It'd be a shame if anything happened to your family."

	"You wouldn't."

	"Of course we would.  Let's see, you've got... two sisters... 
quite lovely, if I do say so myself.  Good looks must run in your 
family, Tendo.  Oh, and how tragic... a sickly father as well."

	"You leave them out of this, you son of a bitch.  They have 
nothing to do with this."

	"Oh, but they do, simply because they're related to you.  You 
got them into this, Tendo.  It's your mistake.  Or do you trust the 
all-powerful police to protect them as well?"

	"Fine.  I'll do what you want, just leave them alone."

	"That's better.  The deal with go through as originally planned, 
and you'll have nothing to worry about.  You get the data, and we'll 
get what we want.  Everybody's happy in the end."

	"I hate you, you know that?"

	"I just do my job, Tendo, same as you.  I'll talk to you again 
soon."

	*CLICK*

	Rosuke hung up the phone.  He turned back to a man sitting near 
him.  Glancing briefly at a computer screen on which was displayed a 
portfolio on each member of the Tendo family.  It was information 
which had been gathered as a precaution, to be used if necessary, 
soon after negotiating with Misato Industries had begun.  It never 
hurt to be careful, and sometimes, in cases like this, it paid off.

	The man shifted in his seat.  "Do you think she'll go for it?"

	"She's a lying, backstabbing bitch, Suichi, I'll grant you that."  
Rosuke leaned back in his chair.  "Still, in the end I think she cares 
for her family.  She'll go through with it."

	"I suppose we should put a guard at the Tendo place, just in 
case."

	"Of course.  Put a trail on Nabiki Tendo, too.  I want her 
under surveillance at all times.  Do the best you can inside Misato 
Industries itself."

	The man shifted uncomfortably in his seat.  "Getting any sort of 
surveillance inside the building itself would be difficult.  Misato 
security is very tight- much tighter than Onishi's."

	Rosuke raised an eyebrow.  "All right, so you can't get the job 
done.  Would you like to tell that to the boss, or should I?"

	Realizing his mistake, Suichi responded quickly, "That won't 
be necessary, sir.  I can get this done."

	"Good."  Rosuke reached into a drawer in his desk, pulling out 
two cigarettes from a pack.  "Want one?"

	Suichi reached forward, accepting the proffered cigarette.  
Rosuke lit both cigarettes, then leaned back in his chair and propped 
his feet up on his desk.  "We have a bigger problem than Tendo, 
though.  She's right about one thing- the police are getting too 
close.  We need to find out who's in charge of the investigation, and 
take care of them."

	"As in, permanently?"

	"If necessary."  Rosuke gazed thoughtfully at the ceiling.  "We 
need to do something to get them to back off, one way or another.  I 
don't think bribing will work in this case, so we scare them, injure 
them, something to make them incapable of solving this case- either 
mentally or physically.  We need to be careful, though, or we'll have 
the whole Tokyo Police Force breathing down our necks."

	"So you want me to take care of this, too?"

	"No," Rosuke looked over at him, "You just keep tabs on the 
Tendos.  All of them.  I'll take care of the police.  I think I know 
who to go after, anyway."

	Sitting up in his chair and leaning in front of the computer, he 
began typing rapidly with one hand.  He knew who at least one of the 
officers on the case was, as she had already been a thorn in their side 
one time before.  A new dossier appeared, one with a picture of a young 
woman with red hair.  "I'll take care of this one personally."  He took 
a long drag from his cigarette, and smiled as he exhaled.  If her past 
record was any indication, Ranma Saotome would be a challenging target 
indeed.

	He was looking forward to it already.