Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Cop Story ❯ Winter League ( Chapter 21 )

Disclaimer : They aren't mine and they don't belong to me. I just do this for my own perverse enjoyment.

A Cop Story

Part Twenty One

By RM

Winter League

The clerk eyed the three large men warily as he placed the blue and red shoes on the counter. He was impressed by their sheer bulk and also by the fact that he actually had their sizes in stock.

"These are yours, Big Foot." Raditz stated as he grabbed a pair of shoes and threw them to Nappa. #16 smiled slightly as he turned his head to watch Nappa glare, catching the next pair of shoes Raditz hurled at him with ease.

"Hey Numbnuts!" Nappa blared at the other Saiyan. "What time are the others supposed to get here?"

"We have another 20 minutes or so before anyone else is supposed to show up." Raditz replied as he finished signing in at the front counter. "I suggest you use that time to formulate your game plan."

#16 sat quietly in one of the plush chairs arranged near a large planter housing some kind of fern. He really didn't feel the need to tell the other two that they had no hope of winning anything tonight, or in the next several weeks to come. He decided to be silent and let them look forward to something. That was his game plan. He'd lead them into a false sense of security.

"There you guys are," a smooth voice stated from the other side of the planter. "I almost didn't see you there." #17 added sarcastically as he made his way around the green, leafy fronds. The three extremely large men stuck out like sore thumbs at a tea party as they sat around the small foyer of the establishment.

"Ass-Munch," Nappa mumbled under his breath, referring to #17 as he stood there calm and collected. Nappa had always distrusted that icy blue gaze and the quiet, thoughtful demeanor of the shorter man. The strange thing was that #16 also had many of the same quirky and quiet qualities, the only difference being the size factor between the two. For obvious reasons, Nappa didn't care for the runts.

"Dip-shit," #17 mumbled back.

"Well, now that we know everyone wore their name tags, let's get our lanes and set up." Raditz stated as he grabbed his shoes and scanned the alley for his lane.

"I see you've cornered the market on the jumbo sizes," Goku slapped Nappa on the shoulder as he approached him from behind.

"Well, well," Nappa responded. "Look who decided to show up early for once. It's Shit-for-Brains."

There was an evil chuckle from the front counter as Vegeta began to sign them in for the evening. He had almost forgotten Goku's bowling nickname. But oh how fitting…

"Ah, you three are nothing but pip-squeaks!" Nappa responded to Goku's barb as he stared at the newcomers with a look of disdain.

#17 merely shrugged as he made his way towards the racks of assorted bowling balls. He was usually the first one to admit that he couldn't bowl to save his life, but he was also quite confident that if the situation did in fact arise, it certainly wouldn't be his bowling prowess that would save him.

"Did we want to start early? Or should we wait for the rest of those losers?" Raditz approached the ball rack where #17 stood testing a large orange ball.

"What's your handicap?" #17 intoned smoothly without looking at the other man.

"Eighty," Raditz shrugged.

"Ah," #17 replied. "In that case, we can start early."

Raditz flashed a grin of approval and patted #17 firmly on the back. He glanced back to where the others were gathered and hiked his thumb towards the bar area when he caught Nappa's attention.

"Let's move it out, troops!" Raditz called out. "Time to work on our handicaps!"

"I do not have a handicap," #16 informed him evenly as they walked through the archway leading to the dimly lit bar area.

"That, my friend, is precisely the point."

*****

Bulma pulled her front door closed and promptly lost her balance on the ice covered front steps. She had begged and pleaded with Vegeta to get him to clear her front stoop of the heavy snow. While her efforts had paid off, the result was one solid glacial mass. He hadn't bothered to use a shovel. No. From the looks of it, he had done his `thing' and simply melted the huge drifts away. The thought made her shiver as she realized that she really had no handle on just what the man was truly capable of.

"Good evening, Miss Briefs," a scratchy male voice called out to her from the sidewalk.

She carefully turned to see who would be offering greetings on such a miserably cold night while trying to contain a growl of anger, only to find one of her neighbors leaning on a shovel.

"Good evening," she tilted her head and flashed him a smile, at a complete loss as to what his name was. "It sure is cold out here," she added cheerfully, her mind trying to place the old man wrapped up in heavy winter gear.

"I wouldn't think that would bother you," he stated with a toothy grin. "Especially now that you have that young buck paying you visits."

She tried to maintain her smile as she blinked at his statement. Her hair began to blow around wildly as the wind suddenly gusted and she remembered too late that she hadn't worn her stocking cap.

"And you've certainly got the nicest set of cans I've ever had the pleasure of seeing," he added quite seriously as he eyed her.

She continued to smile, grinding her teeth together. Now she remembered him! He was the old pervert from 27A!

"You two put on quite a show the other night. Only lasted about 20 minutes though." He stated rather absentmindedly as he glanced up towards her living room window. "Too bad I couldn't see too much with all that damn snow." He began again as she stood there staring at her own window in surprise. "Sure have gotten quite a few feet this winter."

She felt her cheeks heat up and the beginning of what was to become a killer headache. Bad enough to kill TWO people, one with a shovel and one with spiky hair.

"Will you look at the time?" She tried to sound non-pulsed as she glanced at her watch, trying to change the subject, a perfect imitation of her ditzy, blonde mother. She quickly turned, watching the street intently, almost praying for any sign of Chi Chi, who was supposed to come and pick her up. The wind gusted once more, bringing with it a blast of fine snow and also carrying the scratchy voice, which Bulma had been ignoring.

"…used to work there. Are you going bowling Miss Briefs?"

Bulma's grip tightened around the handles of her pink and blue bowling bag. She turned around to answer the old man, but as she opened her mouth and drew in a breath, she was cut short.

"I notice you have on some very tight pants. Is your young man going to be there?"

Bulma's expression changed from forced cheerful tolerance to an outright mask of pure fury. She felt anger swell and surge through her entire body. She was about to grab the old pervert by the collar and shake him around a bit when she heard a car horn blare and Chi Chi's shrill voice.

"Stuff it, pal! I'm parked here! If you don't like it, PASS ME!"

Bulma spun around, bowling bag in hand, and stomped over to Chi Chi who was double-parked on the normally quiet side street.

"What's with you?" Chi Chi asked as she took in Bulma's pained expression.

"You're late!" Bulma hissed as she practically ripped the car door off the hinges.

"Sorry," Chi Chi apologized. "I had to pack some sweets for Goku."

Bulma rolled her eyes.

"I saved one for you?" Chi Chi nudged her as they settled into the warm, leather interior and buckled up. Chi Chi reached into the backseat to grab a small, white paper bag. The paper crinkled and Bulma could smell something sweet and chocolatey as the bag was dropped into her lap.

"Forgiven." Bulma stated hurriedly as Chi Chi smiled and pulled away from the curb.

*****

"Ready to lose, boys?" #18 asked the group of men doing shots at the bar. They eyed her wearily, knowing full well that she was a decent bowler, while most of them still had a hard time grasping the concept that they were supposed to try to knock down the pins at the end of their OWN lane. A few of them even viewed bowling as a full-contact recreation.

Everyone managed to avoid eye contact with the beautiful blonde as she arrogantly scanned down the row of barstools. Some gave heavy sighs, others gave solid groans, and all of them began to fidget. There was only one exception. #16. He radiated confidence as he smiled right back at her. It was common knowledge that #16 and Krillin were on the winning team for last year's league. And while both #16 and #18 were accomplished bowlers, they both knew that he was the better of the two.

"Ah honey," Krillin began as he walked into the bar wearing an extremely loud pair of bowling shoes, "we've already discussed this. #16 and I are going to win."

#18 whipped her head around to glare at her short, adorable boyfriend. "The third member of your team is an unknown." She stated coldly. It just wasn't fair that the two of them should end up on the same team again! Especially when the teams had been drawn at random to promote socializing between the precincts.

"Ah, that's not true #18. We all know him." Goku piped in, pointing out that they all did indeed know who would be bowling with #16 and Krillin.

"I see Shit-for-Brains has stated the obvious for us," #18 replied, using Goku's bowling nickname from the previous year. At her mention of his name, Goku sheepishly looked down at his drink and Vegeta snickered.

"And look who else decided to come and get beaten," she grinned at the other Saiyan. "It's…"

"Woman," Vegeta warned, "we do not need to…"

"Hello Monkey-Buns," she teased as she watched his eyes widen at her use of the nickname she herself had come up with.

"Snatch!" He retorted and sneered as a few of the others snickered at the name he had given her last year in return. She was hoping he had forgotten. Apparently, Vegeta retained more than he let on.

"Hey everyone," Tien interrupted. "I thought I might find you all in here. We're ready to get started. The Commissioner is here to kick things off. I'll buy the next round if you all get your asses in gear."

At this last comment, everyone rushed out, some with their drinks still in hand. Tien smiled as he thought about how tonight might proceed. There was a lot of room for error. Most of the guys from his precinct couldn't bowl for shit. He knew that some of them, namely Piccolo and Vegeta, had signed up due to the Goku factor, which seemed to account for most of their participation in almost every social aspect of their lives. Nappa was here due to the Vegeta factor, and #17? Tien had to think hard on that one. He couldn't quite figure out why he had decided to join up this year. Tien narrowed his eyes in thought as #17 hurried past him en route to his lane for the evening. He finally ended up walking away without much of an answer other than #17 must have something up his sleeve.

*****

It was the epitome of bowling alleys everywhere. Packed with experts, novices and those that just plain stunk, the place did a profitable business. Tonight, it was hosting the opening night of the City's Police Winter Bowling League.

Most of the precincts had at least one representative while others boasted a good turnout. After the officers had signed up, the 28 competing teams had been picked at random by Miss Launch, which was why it was no big surprise that she had ended up on the same team with Lieutenant Tien. The Commissioner himself had also signed up, and was currently losing the first round with his fellow teammates, Captains Roshi and Ginyu. Between the three of them they had a complete team. Roshi had shown up to play, wearing his wrist brace and his Hawaiian print bowling shirt with `The Master' embroidered on the front. Ginyu, while not as good as Roshi, had also shown up to play, and was having quite a bit of fun. Ox was also enjoying himself, despite the fact that he was a horrible bowler.

A few lanes down, team number three composed of Raditz, Yamcha and Zarbon were not faring much better. They were currently losing to team number four, Nappa, Vegeta and Dr. Briefs.

"I know you like the shirt," Yamcha winked at Zarbon and laughed. He had worn his special bowling shirt that read `Spare Me!' across the front. Raditz rolled his eyes and shot a look at Vegeta, who was desperately trying to hit more than three pins at one time.

Zarbon felt as if this was his own personal hell. While he enjoyed the social activities with the department, and while he didn't mind hanging out with Saiyans and humans, it was a little too much to stomach having to be so close to his ex-boyfriend and his new interest.

"I swear, if he wasn't so cute, I would have to kill him." Raditz stated with absolutely no humor in his voice.

"You picked him," Vegeta pointed out as he grabbed a bowling ball to move back to the rack. He turned to grab his beer, which sat condensing on the table, and stopped dead in his tracks as his grip loosened.

"Ow!" Raditz ground out through clenched teeth as a bowling ball landed on his foot with a thud. Sure he had been hit with worse in his lifetime, but it still stung.

Vegeta wasn't paying him any attention. A few lanes down, his woman was leaning against the counter that separated the tables from the seating area, decked out in pastel pink and blue. He frowned as he thought about how she always seemed to find a way to make him feel like some horny teenager. His thoughts drifted back to the activities that had taken place in her living room a few nights ago. After pleasing her and himself, he had taken her down from her position and just held her, marveling in how soft she was, how beautiful and fragile. He shook his head as he tried to stop thinking about how enticing her smell had been, and how creamy and sweet her flesh had tasted. He had felt rather creepy at the time when he laid her on the couch fondling and caressing her unconscious form. He had been content to just be with her. But then he let his pride get the better of him, and at her first stirrings he had bound her back up, so that she wouldn't catch him in his moment of weakness. As he shook off the memory, he gazed at her, and for the first time he noticed that she seemed to be getting a little too close to one of her teammates. He let out a low growl as he made his way over to where HIS woman was talking to some BOY who would shortly be very sorry.

#17, Oolong and Goku had just won their second game to tie with their opponents. #17 was scanning the small lobby when Vegeta's stern expression practically rolled over him as he seemed bound and determined to get to where he was going.

"I see you managed to break a 50 this time," #17 commented to Goku as he followed Vegeta with his gaze while still managing to keep an eye on the front lobby. He hadn't gotten his job as an investigator for nothing.

"I see you managed to break a 40," Goku replied with a laugh. "Don't worry. Oolong is doing a great job. I think we can beat em." Goku nodded with a look of determination.

#17 wasn't so sure, but they had managed to win one. He glanced around the bowling alley once again. When he didn't find what he was looking for, he settled on Vegeta and Bulma a few lanes down. He looked on with amused curiosity as Vegeta not only managed to scare away Bulma's teammate, but also get kicked square in the shins by a furious blue haired female. #17 chuckled as the show continued with a growl from Vegeta, and what looked like a few choice words exchanged between the pair. He quickly glanced back to his own lane where they were still waiting for the computer to update into their last game of the evening, back to the lobby where he still didn't see his evening appointment. He turned back to what was promising to be an amusing fight down at lane 12, only to find that they had stopped fighting, Vegeta mumbling about something while Bulma traced her finger down his nose and over his lips with a smile. Piccolo, who was the third team member, noticed #17's gaze and rolled his eyes as he indicated the pair with a tilt of his head.

#17 shrugged at Piccolo's gesture with a smile when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around slowly as he caught a wiff of an all too familiar perfume.

"Hiya handsome," Marron's happy voice greeted him. "I got here as soon as I could. You guys are playing your little game again this year, huh." She commented as she looked around the bowling alley, taking in all the sights and sounds with a blank stare and a blink.

"Yeah," #17 answered with a slight wince. "I hope parking…"

"I brought my friend from work. You said I could bring a friend," she interrupted as she reached behind her to grab another woman's hand, pulling her forward. She was about the same height as Marron, with long black hair, and very professionally done make-up. #17 had often debated dating a model, until he met Marron.

"This is my friend Mai," Marron introduced the other woman.

"It is nice to meet you," Mai nodded at #17 briskly. #17 looked from one woman to the other, concluding from the all-important first impression that the two women were exact opposites.

"Likewise," #17 stated without much emotion as he turned to grab a small bowling ball, only to find Goku giving him a suspicious look as to why he would be talking to Marron of all people.

"Hello Marron," Oolong eyed both women as if they were giant, creamy doughnuts.

"Hiya…" Marron floundered around for the right name as her smile faded to be replaced by a look of concentration. "…a…Piggy."

Oolong shot her a dirty look as Goku chuckled and ruffled his friend's ears.

"I'll be right back with some more drinks." #17 informed his teammates. If they wanted to win the next match, they needed to get Goku nice and lit. He seemed to do much better plastered. "Marron? Would you be so kind as to return this to the rack and bring back a 13? Mai can come and help me at the bar."

"Sure," Marron agreed with a pout, irked that she wasn't the one going with the guy. She walked off slowly swaying from side to side in her furry boots, making #17 shudder as he tried not to watch. He ushered Mai towards the smoky bar, navigating through the thick smog of the seating area where a bunch of officers sat debating on whether bowling was a sport or a recreation.

"Numbnuts!" #17 shouted awkwardly to get Raditz's attention several lanes away as he pushed Mai through the curtain of smoke separating the bar from the rest of the bowling alley. Raditz looked up immediately and saw #17 disappear into the bar and shifted his gaze slowly to the bowling racks where he saw exactly what he'd been asked to wait for. He made his way to the motorized ball return with haste and picked up a bright yellow, marbled, iridescent bowling ball.

"Hey Guts," Raditz stepped over to Zarbon who sat sulking, nursing a beer. "Take this one over to the rack, would you? Yamcha's ball touched it and we can't have the bad luck transferring itself to ours, now can we?"

Zarbon gave the Saiyan an annoyed stare as the task was explained. It made no sense. Yamcha was the best bowler on the team, even when he was having a bad day. He sighed as he eyed the gaudy, potential instrument of destruction. He finally held out his hand, forced himself to get up, and practically limped over to the rack for emphasis. Not paying attention to where he was going, or whom he was stepping on, he saw something small, white and furry moving in his peripheral vision. Not actually being afraid of mice, but never actually seeing one up close and personal, he staggered backward, bumping against a chair and managing to knock himself down.

A blue head of hair popped up from the racks as he let out a light grunt when his butt came into contact with the garish carpeting.

"Are you alr…Oooo! Shiny!" A very feminine, very cute, and very close voice exclaimed.

He looked up into a pair of bright blue, if somewhat blank, eyes belonging to a young woman who was very nicely put together. Her coloring and even her cheerful voice somewhat reminded him of Bulma, minus that cold, calculating stare he often got from the scientist.

"Excuse me?" He found himself almost whispering as he stared into her eyes. As his gazed moved down the length of her squatting form, he not only noticed that he was sitting at the perfect vantage point to look down her low cut top, but also that she was wearing fuzzy, white snow boots.

His appreciative gaze turned to a hard glare.

"Your ball!" She giggled as she smiled at him and pointed between his legs.

He raised a dignified eyebrow at her remark and the fact that she was giggling and pointing at his crotch. He wasn't sure how he should take that when he suddenly remembered himself and looked down between his legs at the hideous bowling ball sitting between them.

"Are you a police officer?" She asked him as she tilted her head to the side and gave him a suspicious look. When he didn't answer right away she stood up and shifted her weight, offering him a hand.

"Lieutenant," he finally replied, taking her hand and pulling himself up without making her shoulder his weight. Her eyes widened when he stood at his full height in front of her, his long hair flowing loosely as he hadn't bothered to braid it up for the evening. He was definitely what she considered one fine hunk of man.

"I just love a man in uniform," she batted her eyelashes coyly, pulling off an amazing display of femininity.

He shook his head and smiled as he did so. He couldn't believe his luck at finding this beautiful woman lurking around a bowling alley on a Friday night. She seemed genuine enough. Somewhat spacey, but genuine.

"I'm Marron," she smiled at him, observing his exotic looks and delicate features.

"Zarbon," he introduced himself as he smiled confidently back.

"Is that Italian?" She blinked.

"I don't think so," he managed to say as his smiled formed into a smirk. "Are you here with someone? Or are you just here to look?"

"I came to watch and get a drink," she answered slowly. "I have to take this ball back to a friend, but I can come back to watch you play."

He considered that for a moment, then decided it was a bad idea. He was a terrible bowler. The team had nicknamed him Guts, short for gutters, for obvious reasons. Reasons he didn't particularly want Marron to see.

"That, or I could meet you in the bar," he offered.

She smiled at him and looked down to realize that they were still holding hands. She slowly tightened her grip, pulling him down to her level, whispering into his ear before walking away.

"Don't keep me waiting, handsome."

*****

"I don't care how you manage it, you little freak! You owe me!" He hissed through clenched teeth and a well groomed, hairy upper lip.

Puar watched Nappa as his nostrils flared in agitation, the overwhelming stench of onions, garlic and Old Spice assailing him in the close quarters of the men's restroom. He couldn't believe it. He actually hoped Vegeta would show up soon to control his trained gorilla.

Nappa's muscles bulged as he tightened his grip on Puar's tail. Puar let out a high-pitched squeak while Nappa continued to breathe heavily through his nose. Oh, he knew what the Saiyan was getting at. Puar briefly considered telling the lie that he was only capable of holding any given shape for a maximum of five minutes, but decided against it. He wasn't some novice and he hadn't graduated from shape-shifting school yesterday. He had moved up in the order of things and could now hold a shape for hours. And Nappa knew it too.

"Try something round," Nappa offered gruffly, squinting hard at the nervous mass that was Puar.

Puar swallowed hard and his eyes watered. His whiskers twitched momentarily before he squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated on something round, hard and really conspicuous.

There was a dull popping sound that echoed off the blue tiles of the men's room, followed by a deep snicker as the door was pulled open. The snickers turned into booms of rich laughter as the door swished closed, leaving the men's room empty and a lot less hostile.

*****

#18 watched in contempt as the love of her life pranced into the bar followed by his teammates Rikum and #16. To her dismay, Rikum had turned out to be an impressive bowler. As a result, they had defeated their opponents in two landslide victories. And winning their games quickly and early afforded them a little quality time to bask in the bar. She ground her teeth together and grabbed her ball from the retrieval, preparing for her next strike. Luckily, her two teammates, Chi Chi and one of the guys from another precinct, had turned out to be decent bowlers. They had taken a nice lead at the end of their second game.

"Go #18!" Chi Chi shouted from her seat at the computer. Launch stood next to her clapping for #18 who was going for the turkey.

"Wow!" Launch bubbled as she looked over at Chi Chi, "that sure is a beautiful ring he got for you. He has great taste."

Chi Chi smiled with pride. She had known all along that she would marry Goku someday. She held up her hand and waved her fingers, watching as the light was refracted by her engagement ring. Her eyes lit up and reflected the glittering brilliance that was the single most romantic present she had ever been given while chopping vegetables.

"He's a big sweetie," she sighed as she thought back to just how cute and romantic he had been.

"Have you two decided on a date yet?" Launch asked dreamily, clasping her hands together and staring off into space.

"What are you two getting all doe-eyed about?" #18 asked as she tucked some stray blonde strands behind her ear.

"Weddings," Launch sighed as Chi Chi grinned from ear to ear. "Oh, isn't it exciting?" She gushed as she took Chi Chi's hand and held it up to the light to get a better look at the coveted ring.

"Goku certainly put the squeeze on the rest of us with that move," Tien commented distractedly as he took a hold of his bowling ball and walked up to the line to take his turn. He had to watch himself or he might pull an Ox. The Commissioner was losing with his team five lanes down and had managed, to everyone's amusement, to slide almost halfway down the lane during the first game.

All three women turned to stare at him with calculating looks. The other men at the two lanes gave both snickers and groans at his statement. Goku certainly had put the pressure on by getting engaged. It was an observed phenomena that occurred with females involved in relationships, that when one of them got something like an engagement ring, suddenly they ALL wanted one. Essentially, Goku hadn't just put the pressure on, he had caused a potential, full-fledged, city-wide panic.

Tien congratulated himself and smiled as the ball crashed through all 10 pins. For each strike he had thrown, Launch had given him a kiss. He was more than happy to throw as many strikes as possible. There was definitely something to be said for incentive.

He turned around fully expecting to find lips attaching themselves to his own, but found three pairs of eyes staring at him instead. All of his eyes blinked as he looked back, suddenly very uncomfortable with whatever it was that the women seemed to have on their minds, even though he had no idea what that could be.

The tension was finally broken as Launch giggled and sauntered over to her Lieutenant, throwing her arms around him as her bracelets clanged together.

Chi Chi smiled at the couple's display while #18 rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She was thankful they weren't playing against each other, since Launch, Tien and some guy nicknamed `Russ' all seemed to be fairly decent bowlers.

"More soda Chi?" #18 asked as she bent down to tie her shoe.

"Sure," Chi Chi replied, getting ready to take her turn.

"I'll be right back with some more beer too," she informed her other teammate as she walked off towards the bar.

*****

She had been friends with Marron for a little over a year, and while she loved her to pieces, she couldn't help but wonder how someone could be so stupid. She had agreed to come along tonight since Marron had begged. Well, that and the fact that she had nothing better to do. She had thought that living the life of a fashion model would be exciting, full of travel, champagne parties galore, and nice fat paychecks. So far, she was just sick and tired. Very tired. And bored. She was ready for something different, something more complex, something bigger than she was…

"Oomph!" The wind was momentarily knocked out of her as she tried to make her way to the bar, following the man named #17 whom Marron had introduced her to. She would admit that she hadn't been paying attention, but she didn't think she would have been so oblivious that she had walked into a brick wall.

"Excuse me," a deep, very flat voice stated above her. She tilted her head back and raised her eyebrows in awe. He was tall. He was immense. He was handsome. He had a mohawk. He was totally 80's.

He maintained his austere expression but inside he was feeling all…different. When he looked down to see a young woman wearing a long dark trench coat, his stomach fluttered, and he could only imagine that this was due to some kind of faulty programming. He rather liked it.

She couldn't speak. She couldn't move. She was rooted in place as she stood transfixed, gazing into his arctic gray eyes.

"Hello #16," #17 greeted in his soothing voice. "I see you three have managed to blast the competition once again."

#16 was barely able to take his eyes off of the woman standing directly in front of him and entirely too close. #17 caught on quickly.

"This is Mai," #17 introduced the beautiful young lady. "Mai, this is #16. He's our brute squad."

They continued to stare at each other as Mai finally managed to find her voice. "It is nice to meet you," she stated abruptly, yet more breathy than normal.

"It is also nice to meet you," he replied, his slight, queer smile undaunted. "Would you care to join me for a drink?"

"Yes, very much." She replied in her husky voice. It was the kind of voice that felt right at home in a dark, smoky bar.

#17 looked on, feeling as if he were a spectator at some kind of twisted tennis match. He raised an eyebrow as he suddenly realized where this type of volley would most likely lead.

"Have fun," #17 stated with a wave of his hand, "I have a game to get back to."

#16 waited for Mai to lead the way, then turned to nod at #17. Each man narrowed his eyes slightly at the other until #16 finally asked the question.

"She isn't here with you, is she?"

"Not at all," #17 replied with a shrug. "She's all yours."

#16 nodded once again and left it at that as he turned and walked away. #17 watched him go with a smile, then nearly jumped five feet straight into the air as two pitchers of beer slammed down on the bar next to him. He peered around to see if anyone had seen him unsettled by the noise, and tried his best to compose his game face before walking away. As he rounded the corner he snuck a peek at the ball rack. He smirked and mentally patted himself on the back at the scene taking place. His plan to distract Marron with something shiny followed immediately by something pretty was pure genius. Of course it couldn't fail.

All in all, the night was going very well and all according to plan. He took one last look around the bar, two pitchers of beer in hand, and decided that Mai was in very capable hands with #16. THAT had been a quite the unexpected development. But he wasn't going to dwell on that now. He had a game to win. And he would break a 50 this time. Even if it killed someone…

*****

Well, that's it for now. I actually had to split the chapter into two, so at least you'll know where I am starting next time. And please let me know if this was a bit hard to follow. I had some problems with it myself. Thanks to those who have left a comment, Kandy, Seamaidian, Cha, Heikgan, Trixie, Miss Chibi, LaVon and Manawolf. I'm glad that you all have given the story a chance. Thanks again, and I should have the next part out tomorrow…