Welcome to a secret world that hides beneath the surface of the mundane. It is a world of urban legends and rumors, a world of astonishing deeds and epic battles. Meet its enigmatic inhabitants. Learn their secrets, their desires, their beliefs, their hopes and their dreams. Listen to the tales of pain, injustice, compassion, kindness, courage, cooperation, love, sacrifice and hope. Meet the guardian angels, the warriors, the philosophers, the priests, the phantoms and the wanderers.  But remember – once you enter this world, you can never truly leave it.

MERIDIAN CITY: Scattered Reflections.

It was getting late and, for once, Catherine Chase was glad to leave the police station. After five years of bar meetings, dreadful one-night stands and empty flirting, she was finally going on an actual, honest-to-goodness date.

If someone told her a month ago that, one day, she’ll go out with a lawyer, Catherine would’ve sent them straight to the loony bin. She tried to put people in jail. Defense Attorneys tried to keep people out of jail. It just didn’t mesh. But then, she met Travis.  Travis Lee Warden to be more precise. He was something that wasn’t supposed to exist outside TV land - a lawyer with a conscience. When he spoke in front of the jury, his voice filled with so much conviction that Catherine wondered what was the defendant doing in courtroom first place. Of course, the fact that he was pretty good looking (not to mention loaded) didn’t hurt. Not at all.

So, when Travis started flirting with Catherine, she flirted back. Several high profile court cases later, they managed to have a normal conversation. And now, in his own creative way, Travis finally asked her out.

There was just one problem. A few hours ago, a very reliable source told Catherine that Travis was involved in a money-laundering scheme that connected him to a crime family that used to control a good portion of the East Coast underworld.

Except, of course, it came from Catherine’s ex, who had enough money and connections to fake the whole thing.

No. That couldn’t be true. Remus would never lie to her.

How do you know? Her voice of reason snickered.

I just know. Catherine retorted, but her voice of reason wasn’t about to let her off the hook.

So he told you his biggest secret, It argued. Woopti-fucking-do. If he is so honest, how come he never talked to you about his past?

He did too!

Alright, alright! He mentioned some stuff. But you have to admit, he seemed awfully touchy every time you brought up certain parts of his life.

Yeah. So what? It’s probably some boring junk anyway.

You’re hopeless, the voice of reason sighed. But I’m telling you, ff you keep on trusting him unconditionally, you’ll never get a date.

 It had a point there. For the past five years, every time she came even close to going on a date, Rem managed to come up with some dirt on the guy. Every single time. Well, there was that one time when Rem said the guy was clean and Catherine chickened out, because, as stupid as it sounded, she was afraid that if Rem approved, it had to be too good to be real. She spent weeks kicking herself for it.

At least Rem had the decency not to rub it in. 

Catherine sighed. No matter what she did, Rem was always there, watching, waiting for her to screw up so that he could pull the Knight in Shining Armor act and rescue her. Several times, she told him to get lost. And he did. But sooner or later, she got stuck with a case that needed his connections, and the cycle started all over again.

Catherine adjusted her coat and opened the door.

The station’s lobby was crowded, as usual. Meridian City may not have Chicago’s murder rate or Riverside City’s never-ending turf wars, but there were plenty of things to keep the police occupied. Looking around, she saw Jackson and some rookie Catherine couldn’t recognize dragging a drunk to the interrogation room. A plainly dressed girl - she couldn’t be any older then sixteen - was filling out a police report. Maya Sage of SkySong Foundation and her lawyer were arguing with Bert. Daniel, one of Rem’s pet prodigies, was busy tearing Chi’s computer apart.  Chi sat on the nearby chair, sobbing. Catherine shook her head.  That was the third intern Daniel terrorized. At this rate, she won’t have anyone to hire by the end of the year.

“Hey, Russell,” Catherine shouted.

A tall, red-haired man gave her a small wave:

“Hey, Chase. You abandonin’ us already?”

 “Yeah.” She smirked. She eyed her night shift replacement with mock suspicion, “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Are you kidding?” Russell laughed. “As soon as you leave, I’ll get to sit in your chair, drink your coffee and push everyone around ‘til the next sunrise. So please, go, don’t let me keep ya.”

“Just make sure it’s still here when I get back,” Catharine quipped, tossing him a key to her… no, his office.

Russell mumbled something under his breath and went to confront Maya Sage.

From the bottom of her heart, Catherine wished him good luck and bolted out the door.

She crossed the waiting room, hoping and praying that no one would get in the way. All she had to do was reach the door and she will be home free.

Out of the corner of her eye, Catherine saw two college students sitting on the far bench. They were too engrossed in their conversation to notice much of anything. Her heart sank.

Not them. Anyone but them!

As a couple, they were a study of contrasts. He was brown-haired college student with silken cheeks and a pointed chin. He was dressed in faded jeans, a camouflage shirt and a leather jacket. His right arm was wrapped around an Asian-looking girl with large green eyes, a thin, sharp nose and carefully cropped jet-black bangs. She wore dark pants, a sleeveless green top crisscrossed by glittering crimson strokes. A dark, wide-rimmed fedora loomed over her head. Her arm reached behind her boyfriend’s back. He smiled.

Suddenly, the girl’s eyes darkened.

Shit!

Before Catherine could even blink, her path was blocked.

“What the hell is your problem, Chase!” the Asian girl cried, jabbing her finger a little too close to Catherine’s throat. “We tried to play by the rules, we tried to do it your way, but that still wasn’t enough for you. So, you know what, we are done playing.”

“What Miyoko means to say,” Her companion interrupted politely, but firmly, “Is that we didn’t do anything wrong. A thief tried to steal Miyoko’s purse. We took him down and called the police. We thought that would be enough. Imagine our surprise when almost four hours later, some cops stopped us at an intersection, forced us into a car at gunpoint, drove us here and interrogated us for two hours.”

“Three hours!” Miyoko interjected.

“Two hours, forty minutes, give or take a few seconds,” her boyfriend corrected her. “The point is, your flunkies didn’t read us our rights, didn’t let us call our attorney and used excessive force.”

“So, really, Richard and I have every right to sue you and your sorry department into oblivion,” Miyoko smiled gleefully.

Catherine rolled her eyes.

“Are you done?” she asked. The pair exchanged guarded looks.

“Good,” Catherine smirked. “Now, before you bring in the suits, there is something you should know.”

“What?” Miyoko demanded haughtily

“You caught Andy Verge.”

Miyoko and Richard exchanged quick glances.

“Really?” the Asian girl grinned. “Cool.”

Catherine shook her head. They caught a thief who’d been terrorizing the city’s elite for the past few months and all she could say was “cool”?

“Yeah… It’s freaking awesome.” Catherine sighed. “Look, here is the deal. I don’t want Andy Verge to get off on a technicality, so I need all the evidence I could get. And, since you were the ones who took him down, I had to ask you a few questions.”

“Bullshit, Chase,” Richard replied harshly. “If you wanted our testimony, you could’ve just sent someone to our house.” And, with a smirk, he added, “It’s standard procedure.”

Catherine rolled her eyes.  She knew they would never tell her the whole truth if she stuck to procedure. Those two had secrets. Dangerous secrets. Catherine had a pretty good idea what they were, so as long as they could come up with the good cover story, she was willing to let them be. But this time, it was too important. If she ever hoped to keep Andy Verge locked up, she needed to know the whole truth.

“Alright,” Catherine smiled wryly. “You caught me. Happy now?”

“That’s not the point, Chase.” Richard shook his head. “ I know that sometimes, you have to step outside the law. I respect it. But…your goons threatened mon cour at gunpoint. At gunpoint!” His voice shook, “Do you understand what it’s like to watch some thug pulling a gun on a woman you love, knowing that if you don’t do exactly as he said, he’ll put a bullet in her brain.”

“Riko-san…” Miyoko put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

The Asian girl gave her a look that probably would’ve made the most ruthless psycho-killer wet his pants.

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. She ordered them brought to the station. She told her men not to  “take any bullshit from them.” But pulling the gun on them? Treating them like suspects?

She shouldn’t have put Jackson in charge of the operation. He always had it in for Richard and Miyoko. Catherine hoped he would put his anger aside for the sake of the greater good, but that wasn’t the case, was it?

Tomorrow morning, heads were going to roll. Big time.

Richard and Miyoko were whispering, probably trying to reassure each other. Good. As long as they didn’t start making out in her police station, Catherine wished them the best.

“Look, you guys,” her pride wouldn’t let the words come out, but Catherine insisted, “ I am sorry. I will never happen again.”

Miyoko shot her another poisonous glare. But before the Asian girl could say anything, Richard stepped in front of his “beloved”.

“Alright, Chase,” he said, “We’ll let it go. But next time you want to get something out of us, just ask, OK?”

Catherine allowed herself a small smile.

Disaster averted. 

“It’s about Remus, isn’t it?” Miyoko asked suddenly.

“What!” Catherine did a double take.

“The whole ‘tough cop’ routine. You are jealous, and you’re taking it out on us.”

Catherine tried to say something. Anything. Nothing came out

“I know that you think Rem carries a torch for me,” Miyoko continued. “Maybe he does, maybe he doesn’t. I don’t know and, honestly, I don’t really care. Don’t get me wrong – Rem is a nice guy and all, but I just don’t see him that way. Besides, I already got Richard. What more could a girl want?”

Richard smiled and gave his girlfriend a wink.

“So, you know, you don’t have to feel threatened.” Miyoko’s voice softened. “There is nothing going on between me and Rem, I swear.”

Catherine tried to digest what she just heard. Her brain refused to comprehend it. That was just so… so…ARG.

“Listen!” Catherine cried, “I don’t know what kind of crap you’ve been smoking, but Rem and I are over. Done with. No more. Finished.”

Richard and Miyoko laughed.

“It’s not that simple,” Miyoko smiled, “You loved Rem. You loved him for a long time. Then, after all those years, you dumped him. I guess you thought that if you leave Rem, your feelings for him would just *poof* vanish, like they were never there. Sorry. It doesn’t work that way. Whether you like it or not, you still have feelings for him. The sooner you’ll accept it, the better off you’ll be. Trust me, I know.”

Catherine felt a chill running don her spine. She was no longer talking to a young, temperamental Japanese girl.   As she looked into those grass-colored eyes, something incredibly old stared back at her. Suddenly, everything Catherine accomplished, everything she achieved seemed small and insignificant.

She knew that feeling. She knew it all too wall.

“DAMMIT!” Catherine screamed atop of her lungs, “WHY DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE ABOUT REM!”

She ran out of the police station, slamming the door on her way out.

Catherine dashed across the parking lot. She heard curses and the screeching of emergency breaks, but she didn’t care. Somehow, she made it to her car. After struggling with the door handle, she popped into the seat, jabbed the key into ignition and hit the gas. She had to get away. She had to get home and get changed, because she had a date and God dammit, she wasn’t going to let the likes of Miyoko Takenouchi ruin it.

They were probably laughing at her right now. Just another stupid mortal making a fool of herself.  Why should she bother, why should anyone bother, when they’ve seen it all before and will probably see it all again. People like Catherine died every day. But Rem – Rem survived.  Always and forever.

Several traffic jams later, Catherine finally got home. Without even bothering to take off her shoes, she went straight to the shower. She washed her hair until it squeaked.  After rummaging through her closet, she settled on ankle-high boots, a wide belt with a silver trim, an indigo skirt and a lacy, dark blouse.  She looked through her make-up kit. Surprisingly enough, she still had some red lipstick. Catherine was never really into make-up. Some crimson on the lips, some rouge under her eyes… Looking at her reflection, she noticed a few small wrinkles, but they were nothing a concealer couldn’t cure.

Catherine put a few last-minute touches on her hair and adjusted her outfit here and there. She gave her reflection a critical look. She wasn’t as young as she used to be, but for someone who survived the big three-o, she looked pretty damn good.

Catherine smiled at her reflection.

Travis said he’d pick her up at seven.

In five minutes, Catherine will blow his mind.

And there was nothing Remus could do about it.