..:ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND CRIME:..

Kitty Capasso paced madly around her apartment, pausing occasionally to look out at the city skyline, as if a solution to her problem would magically appear in the lights that came from the neighboring buildings. At this time, the beauty felt absolutely lost, sensing every decision she had made in her life tumbling to this very moment. Her home was spacious, but well-decorated, making it easy for the woman to walk without a purpose. Her reflections endlessly danced on the slick surfaces that adorned the room, eventually catching the attention of her butler.

"Ms. Capasso?" squeaked the man as he peered into the area. "Is something wrong?"

Kitty stopped -- with this being the longest break she's had since starting her pacing -- and looked at him. She struggled to fight off a frown, looking away as she let out a loud, exasperated sigh. "Higgins, I don't know what to do with my brother."

Higgins fully entered the room as he watched her with sympathetic eyes. He opened his mouth, then paused, eventually deciding to speak. "I don't believe you've ever shared that you have a brother before, miss." He replied hesitantly. The woman then faced him again, in which the butler looked at her with marked concern, adding, "I'm assuming there's a reason why."

Matching his initial reluctance, she responded slowly. "He's... overprotective." As she sat down on the rounded, plush sofa, she continued. "He's always been like that, ever since we were kids. I think he's one of those types that will never let go of our childhood, no matter how old we become."

"I recall you told me that you were adopted," Higgins said thoughtfully. "But, you haven't told me much about your early years, if you're comfortable sharing that information, that is." While the man recognized that this was purely a professional relationship, over the years he had grown rather attached to his employer. She had always treated him more like a friend than just a steward, which he always appreciated and tried to reciprocate whenever possible.

The room fell silent, and after a pregnant pause, the woman eventually responded with a simple shrug of the shoulders. "It's a lot to get into this late at night, but..." She then stopped to gather her thoughts, and then continued, "Our parents died when we were still children. We were an immigrant family, so we had no other relatives in the country. Pauside is older than me by seven years, and by around his preteen years the poor kid had to take care of himself and rear me as well."

"We became street urchins, doing whatever we could to survive, but that responsibility was on Pauside's shoulders. He fell into a bad crowd a year or two after our parents' death, mingling with gang activity to make ends meet before becoming a full-blown member. Looking back, I knew he knew that he was doing something wrong -- this was a bad environment for any kid, let alone a little girl like myself. He became extremely overprotective and possessive, to the point I couldn't do anything without his supervision."

"I'm sorry miss," Higgins interrupted, but attempted to maintain a level of politeness about it. "But, how did you end up with all of this, yet your brother is nowhere in the picture?" He asked as he gestured around the room.

"I ran away," she answered, her tone defensive yet regretful. "Even at a young age, I had an understanding of the dangers this kind of life had, and with the first opportunity I gained, I left. I ended up at the Little Angels orphanage home before being taken in by the Hutchisons, my adopted parents." Kitty then slumped further into her seat, diverting her gaze on the man through looking out at the city skyline once more. "I never forgot him, though. It... was a lot for a kid to go through, making a decision like that at such a young age. I always felt that I had abandoned him."

She then looked back at Higgins, with her mocha-colored eyes stained by budding tears. "I've thought about him on his birthday every year. There was something about this one where it stayed in my mind more than usual," she confessed. "I did a little investigation and managed to find him." A strained smile graced her lips as she continued, "He was actually very happy to hear from me again -- it was like nothing ever happened, much to my surprise."

The butler thought about her story, with one of his thin eyebrows raising curiously as a memory came to him. "Does this have anything to do with Sean?" He asked, recalling how angered she was about the lunch the two had earlier in the day, in addition to him wondering about the behavior of her brother.

Kitty's face soured, with all the sympathy she had previously vanishing as she stood to her full height. "I think that's exactly what happened." She answered fiercely. "The name Capasso's gained a reputation because of Pauside, so no wonder he ran off the moment he heard it -- but, I can't help to wonder if Pauside wanted this to happen."

The room fell awkwardly silent, with Higgins taken aback by this sudden family drama while Kitty quietly fumed over her older brother's legacy and potential suspicion. Suddenly, she raised her hands as she rushed towards the coat rack. "I know he's going to do something stupid." She said as she quickly put on her light jacket. She then turned her attention back to Higgins, "Please, get the car."

Higgins blinked as he nervously observed her. "What are you planning, miss?"

"I'm not sure," Kitty admitted. "But I don't want Pauside to do something he'll later regret again."

Hiding in the shadows, the group of three walked cautiously on the abandoned pier. Inspector Zenigata led the way, with Didi behind him, scanning the area under the impression a crook was bound to pop up any minute. Barnes kept a short distance from the two as he took in every inch of the location. The port was a relic -- or perhaps more of a shadow -- of the glory days of Coney Island, with the surviving objects appearing to be from the earlier half of the century. It was fairly large as well, implying that at some point in its existence it bustled with people. The location would have been nostalgic if it was better maintained, but the weather and the situation the individuals found themselves in also colored their perception.

Zenigata approached one of the game stalls, which had duck cutouts scattered around the structure. He looked at it curiously, then turned his attention to the Americans for context. "Was this some kind of amusement park?" He then touched one of the figures, which immediately stained his fingertips.

Barnes stood in the middle of the pier, looking around like he was some kind of morbid tourist. "This stretch of New York City used to be known for its entertainment decades ago," he answered, "but my family and I never went to locations like this when I was a kid. It must mean something to the kidnappers."

The inspector frowned. "If this is the Bear we're dealing with, I doubt a man of his profession would care about something like this." He grumbled as he walked away from the game stall.

Lights from an approaching car began to cut through the fog, alerting the small group. The three investigators rushed towards a fallen, decrepit sign that was big enough to obscure all of them. Didi found herself behind the two men, with them blocking her view. She rose slightly in an attempt to see, whispering, "Do you think it's another criminal or something?" Zenigata and Barnes promptly let out a quiet, but harsh shush before the entirety of the team fell silent.

An elegant and slick black Chevrolet Monte Carlo came into view, with its harsh front lights gleaming in the misty weather. "I don't like the looks of this car," growled Zenigata. "It reminds me of the one we were up against." The man attempted to be quiet with his speech, but the roughness of his voice rumbled through the eerie environment.

Barnes swiftly turned towards his partners, looking at the two with great frustration on his face. "Why are you two always so damn loud?" he harshly whispered.

The old, possibly rotting wood boards that made up the surface of the pier had become slick thanks to the lingering damp weather. The surprise that came from Barnes' rhetorical question made Didi slip and lose her balance. The stumble made the woman fall into a trap door that belonged to a nearby structure, one the team had yet to investigate. Inspector Zenigata attempted to reach for her, but was not fast enough and nearly slipped as well. As the man regained his stability, he shot a sharp glare at the younger man.

Barnes blinked, with him taking a moment before he was able to register what had just happened. He mirrored the inspector's look, whispering defensively, "How was I supposed to know that the old funhouse had a secret entrance?"

The conversation was cut short as the two heard the sound of one of the car's doors opening. Zenigata looked at the man urgently. "We need to get out of here."

Barnes' thin eyebrows furrowed. "I'm following Didi," he responded as he inched closer to the surprise entrance. "We can't just leave her there." And then, without any hesitation, he entered through the small door she stumbled into.

Similar to his partner a few moments ago, the older of the two paused in disbelief as he watched him quickly get engulfed by the darkness of the building's interior. The inspector had no intentions of abandoning Didi in this situation, with him surprised that Barnes dared to imply that. Regardless, the mechanic's safety was crucial to Zenigata as well, aware of the fact that this tag-along civilian could get seriously hurt. He paused once more to look over the area, doubly making sure that no one was following them. With that, Inspector Zenigata entered through the trap door to find his team.

Gaspar and Sean sat quietly in a pitch black room. The ropes that bounded their arms were now also tied to chairs, with the older of the two finally giving up his attempt to escape. They heard muttering from outside the closed door, though neither of them could make out any specific words. The environment was thick with tension -- moreso than when they were in the car with their captors -- and each passing moment filled them with an increasing sense of dread. There was a spark of hope within Sean, however, as the rough handling of the kidnappers had made the rope slightly loose, with him having enough freedom in the movement of his hands to continue what they accidentally started.

He eyed Gaspar, whispering, "Hey, do you have a knife?"

The chubby man lit up after hearing his employee's question. "I do!" He then shifted the seat closer to him, with it briefly scratching against the surface of the floor. "Hurry up and cut this damn rope!"

Sean glared at him, though his look of detestation was lost in the deep shadows of the room. Gaspar then nudged his head towards the area where the knife was located. "It's in the left pocket."

Sean wiggled his right hand towards the man's pants, but promptly stopped when he heard the faint muttering grow louder. The question that rang throughout the room, "Hey, did you hear something?" shook the captives to their very core. The murmuring came back, which was shortly followed by another loud, inquisitive statement. "Who the hell would visit at this hour?" Both Sean and Gaspar immeditately recognized it as Capasso's voice.

Gaspar let out a quiet sigh of relief, but fear quickly filled his veins again. "Come on, Sean. Let's get out of here before the mystery guest makes themselves known." He barked, but was met with surprise as he heard the sound of the younger man rising from his seat. In a failed attempt to better discern the details that eluded him, he squinted his eyes and asked, "Where's my knife?"

Sean turned his attention back onto him. "Will you just shut up?" he said sharply. "I'm done with taking orders from you -- I'm out of here." He then kicked down Gaspar's seat, which crashed against the rough floor. The man let out a cry composed of shock and pain, squirming once again as he tried to free himself from his fate.

"You get back here! You can't just leave me here!" He yelled. "You deserve whatever's coming to you, Sean!"

No other words were uttered as silence surrounded a defeated man.