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

Inspector Zenigata stepped out of the always-bustling JFK airport, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the number of people that were coming in and out of the building. There was some pushing and shoving by strangers as the man got his belongings and attempted to make sense of the location -- it was nice to get some fresh air after the crowds of people. It was a pleasant morning, with the early summer heat on the horizon. He looked out at the sea of cars in the parking lot, with its traffic being no different from all the activity inside. As the inspector observed his surroundings, he reminded himself of Michaud's directions: there will be a employee of ours at the airport who will answer any questions you'll have about the city. Think of her as something like a tour guide. As he recalled this, his gaze saw a sign in the distance that read: "Inspector Zenigata" in bold, fuchsia text. Surprised, Zenigata began his approach, with him thinking to himself that this wasn't quite what he expected, nor who he eventually met wasn't what he visioned as well.

A short woman with ruby-red lips pursed around a whistle greeted him. "Hello, I'm Molly Moore!" She said cheerfully after removing the aforementioned whistle, "I'm a case overseer at Interpol. It's nice to meet you." The perky guide had short, wispy blonde hair with hazel eyes, with her round-framed glasses made them appear much smaller than they actually were. To Zenigata, she more reminded him of a school teacher, and not an ICPO hire.

Maintaining a respectfully serious disposition, the inspector shook her hand and introduced himself. "Likewise -- I'm Inspector Zenigata." He then looked back at the parking lot that merged with the interstate, expecting to see some sort of shuttle beside her. Moore lowly blew her whistle, promptly waking the man from his thoughts.

"Sorry about that, inspector," she said after seeing the look of surprise on his face. "I know it's loud, but I also know how disorienting it can be in a new city, let alone a new country." She continued as she began to walk, "In these big cities I've found a whistle always works to grab someone's attention."

Zenigata wondered about her claims as he followed her, with it intensifying his previous thoughts about her grade-school-professional appearance. Regardless, it intrigued him, "Have you done a lot of international traveling, Ms. Moore?"

Moore raised her hand and waved it frantically in the air in an attempt to flag down a taxi. She paused once she heard his question, then turned to him with an unusual smile. "I did a lot during my academy years. In all honesty, Inspector, I'm in the same boat as you are. I'm brand new as well," she confessed. "I was hired because of my aptitude for foreign languages and locations -- I've never been involved with an investigation in my entire life."

Puzzled by the woman's lack of experience regarding law enforcement, the inspector asked, "What languages are you familiar with?"

Proudly, she answered his question like a shot, "Watashi wa nihongo ga hobo ryūchōdesu!" as the Japanese man registered her words as her admitting she was close to fluent in his home language. She continued, "But, I am fluent in many Central European languages. I've done a lot of translating work behind the scenes."

While Zenigata was impressed by her multilingual talents, he feared her potential of possibly meddling in the case as a frown formed on his long face. "I can see you're passionate, but I'm also confident in my own abilities as well," he stubbornly responded with a subtle boast of his own skills, "I don't need a guide to New York -- I was a city cop in Tokyo previously."

Through her peripheral vision, Moore spotted a taxi nearing their location. "Hey! Hey!!" She began to jump as she yelled and blew her whistle, waving her hands again to get the driver's attention. This caught the inspector by surprise, with him quickly stepping out of her way. The feelings were shared by the driver of said taxi, who made an awkward swerve towards them before abruptly stopping the yellow car.

As she opened the passenger-side door, the man behind the wheel gave the two an irritated look before voicing his complaint. "Geez, lady, a simple wave of the hand is all you need."

"Sorry," she replied as she climbed into her passenger seat. "Can you get us to the 60th Precinct, please?"

Following her request, the driver promptly put the gear shift into drive. As Zenigata sat beside her, Moore looked at him with a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, inspector. I'll be out of your hair soon -- we're a little faraway from the station right now. When you meet up with Barnes, I'll leave you two to the investigation."

Zenigata had been watching the cars whiz by as they traveled the interstate with his attention firmly on the city coming closer to view. The mention of his mystery partner brought him out of his thoughts immediately. He knew that he was being paired up with someone, but knew little about their character. He turned to look at her. "You know the cop I'm working with?" he asked, with his rough voice filled with curiosity.

The woman's smile shriveled into a small, unconfident frown. "Once or twice," she confessed, almost grimacing with each word. Sensing the inspector's further interest after seeing her response, she continued, "Barnes can be..." She paused shortly afterward, trying to find a kind spin on her observations. "...A hard person to get to know, but he is talented. I know a few details from a previous case he was assigned to..."

Maxwell Barnes found himself crouched over his desk, his eyes scanning every piece of information that laid on its wooden surface, which ranged from newspaper clippings to official documents. No matter what time of the year it was, New York was perpetually plagued by illegal doings. After thumbing through the contents of a well-packed manila folder, he flopped the file onto the others with a heavy sigh. He turned his chair to face the large window that was in his office, which was perhaps the only element about the location the man enjoyed. But, the generous view of the city's skyline was even beginning to lose its luster. Barnes increasingly began to feel he was trapped in this concrete jungle, and staring outwards at it only made his efforts feel even smaller when compared to its problems.

The well-worked investigator figured he needed a break as he massaged his temples, and got up from his seat to walk and stretch for a moment. It was soon to be interrupted, as the moment he began to move there was a knock on the door. "Come in." He said dryly, hoping whoever was about to come in wasn't going to greet him with more bad news.

A fresh-faced rookie opened the door, with the young man looking at his superior with marked interest. "Hey, there's a man and woman here asking to come in. They say they're from Interpol."

Barnes' face soured as he received the sobering reminder of why he was in this city in the first place. Earlier in the week, he argued over the phone that he needed no backup, and was close to making a new lead -- but, alas, his strong words were unheard. His frustration at the situation, and his pride, burned in him briefly following the young man's words, but cooled quickly as he recognized the innocence in his face. Figuring there was no reason to fight the inevitable, he let out one more troubled sigh. "They can come in."

The cop then left and quickly brought Moore and Zenigata in. The two shared a unique appearance when they stood next to each other, with the former maintaining her chirpiness despite the environment while the other was sternly serious. Barnes' gaze sharpened as he noticed the inspector taking a moment to observe the office. "And this is...?" His voice trailed off disparagingly.

Zenigata removed his fedora and provided a formal introduction. "I'm Inspector Koichi Zenigata of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. I've been hired by your organization to assist with one of the investigations here."

The younger man's frown only furthered following his response. Barnes turned away as he put his hands in his pockets and began to walk back to his desk. "To 'help'? So, you're not an official agent of the ICPO?"

The inspector's eyes narrowed, with his shoulders stiffening in a slight offense. Moore had warned him of Barnes' arrogance, as he was the youngest recruit Interpol had ever hired. While he was talented and a worthy asset to any crime-fighting unit for his keen eyes, he was also a notorious lone wolf due to all the praise he had received because of his age, and had developed difficulties working with others because of this. With what Zenigata knew of his character, he couldn't help but to question his supposed "partner's" actual talent -- he resembled a spoiled rich kid more than a knowledgeable professional.

"I met with President Michaud personally over the matter of these murders," Zenigata stated after clearing his throat, which incidentally made his voice sound rougher than usual. The man was already fearing for the worse with what he was seeing. Whereas Barnes had difficulties with partnerships due to the lack of attention it provided, the older of the two had a similar problem: he was a natural-born leader, and it was directly his efforts that led to the yakuza arrests. It was not in his nature to be a follower, and it appeared that Barnes was not the kind of person he would want to follow regardless. He then continued proudly, "I've read the case files myself, and I have ideas for the next line of action."

Barnes appeared as if he was ignoring the new hire as he stared out at the city once again. He was deep in thought about the events that led him to this point: the sudden instigation from Interpol that he needed assistance. He knew a little about Zenigata's background, mainly the case that grabbed Michaud's attention. Regardless, the agent continued to have little faith in his abilities and looked upon the arrests as a streak of luck on his part. He then wondered about the extent that the inspector had been briefed on the state of New York as a devilishly smug smirk began to form on his slender face.

He turned to look at Zenigata and Moore, with the former taking the bait as the annoyance began to rise in him. "Is something funny?" He asked with his tone sharp, but maintained some sense of professionalism.

"Apologies inspector, I meant no offense." The younger man smoothly responded as he plopped himself back onto his swivel chair. "It's been a busy day, had a lot on the mind." He then made a hand gesture to emphasize all the paperwork that was on the desk. "You're probably feeling similiarly -- speaking of which, have you been to your residency yet? The hotel room the ICPO reserved for you?" He hoped once his visitor saw the location for himself, he'd run back to Japan with no questions asked.

Zenigata blinked, just realizing he had no idea where he was going to stay. Moore cut into the conversation before he had the opportunity to reply. "Hey, that's a great idea!" She exclaimed as she looked at him, with her voice unusual -- upbeat in the guise of trying to improve upon a painfully awkward conversation to witness. "I'll loan a car from the precinct and drive you there."

​The inspector, now feeling a little flustered, responded after a moment of hesitation. "Later, Moore. I think it's more important to get familiar with the station--"

Moore cut the man's reply as she began to gently push him out of the room. "Nonsense, you'll have all the time in the world for that tomorrow!" As she continued her attempts to move him, Zenigata was abuzz with questions about American precincts and what he should familiarize himself with. The woman handwaved each one. "It's your first day in a new country. I'm with Barnes, it's also important to set up your own personal headquarters -- so-to-speak!"

With one final shove, Moore managed to hastily get Zenigata out of the office. The guide stepped out of the room and looked at the man with a forced smile, before redirecting her attention back onto Barnes. As she was about to close the two large doors, she looked upon him with a small glare, with the cop sharing a similar look of disapproval. Moore knew exactly what he was trying to pull, and planned to do everything in her ability to prevent it. The doors were shut with a satisfying slam at her end, which made the smaller objects in the room slightly shake. Barnes cleared his throat uneasily, readjusted his silk tie, and went back to picking through the mountains of information.