Erika jolted awake to loud, rhythmic pounding on her door. Her hands snapped up to guard her face as her veins flooded with adrenaline, her eyes wide as they scanned the room around her for threats. Nothing. No zombies, no goons with guns or hulking suits of power armor. Just her familiar nearly empty apartment lit by the warm light of morning as someone pounded on her door.

  As she stood, a blanket she hadn’t noticed covering her fell into a pile at her feet. Who…? The two men in black that brought her home and swept her place. They were gone, as was the sack of stuff she’d taken from the portal. Walking over to her door, she noticed a smell following for the first time. Giving herself a sniff, she grimaced at what she found. A strange mixture of sulfur, smoke, copper, and sweat. Not a pleasant smell. Frowning, she slipped the jacket off and threw it onto her growing pile of dirty clothes as she headed to her door. She’d definitely have to do laundry today.

  A grumpy looking old woman seemed to glare back at her as she pounded on the door with her fist. Ugh, she groaned internally, Mrs. Dela Cruz. Her neighbor from next door. Not exactly her favorite person, the old woman blamed her for anything that went wrong on the floor. Worse, she was nosy, a gossip, and President of the HOA.

  “Miss Sato, I know you’re in there!” the woman screeched, her aged fist continuing to pound on her door.

  Suppressing a groan, Erika put on her best customer service smile as she opened the door, only her quick reflexes saving her from getting an old woman’s fist to her face. “Mrs. Dela Cruz!” Erika said in her warmest customer service voice. “How nice of you to visit, what can I do for you this morning?”

  “Oh stop trying to pretend you’re a nice girl Miss Sato, I know what you’ve been doing!” Mrs. Dela Cruz shouted.

  “Whatever do you mean?”

  “I heard all those noises coming from your unit last night! Saw those two men leaving at some ungodly hour this morning. You’ve been having orgies while the rest of us good folk are sleeping!”

  Erika fought down the urge to punch the old woman in the face. It was tempting, but she wouldn’t do that. It’d just mean an assault charge and then she’d get evicted. Who was she kidding, the old woman was frail, and she was far stronger than she’d been just a couple days ago. A single punch would probably kill the woman.

  As Erika weighed the pros and cons of going to prison for life, Mrs. Dela Cruz continued to yell at her.

  “I know you’re just a renter, but that’s no excuse to be a whore!. In my day, girls had class and self-respect! They weren’t little sluts running around spreading their legs for any man that smiled at them, engaging in all kinds of debauchery and disgusting filth! I’ve seen the way you look at the married men in the building! You should be ashamed of yourself!” Mrs. Dela Cruz’s face turned beet red as she finally stopped yelling, huffing and puffing as she tried to catch her breath.

  Before the woman could get her second wind to start yelling though, Erika started talking in her best placating voice. “Mrs. Dela Cruz, I apologize for the noise! The two men you saw this morning were my cousins! You see, I needed some help moving some furniture around, and they work odd hours, so they came over early this morning after they finished work to help me out! I’m so sorry if the noise woke you!”

  The old woman glared at her as she caught her breath, her beady eyes narrowing as she tried to pierce through Erika’s lies. But if working at a shitty cafe where half the customers were entitled pricks looking to pick a fight had taught her anything, it was how to keep a smile plastered on her face while someone she hated screamed at her. After what felt like an eternity, the old woman scowled at her. “Your cousins? A likely story,” she scoffed. “Be a more discreet whore. Families live here.” With a final dirty look, Mrs. Dela Cruz turned around and waddled back across the hall as Erika stood in her door watching with a fake smile, listening to the woman mutter.

  “...should call Robert… tell him what his tenant’s doing…”

  Erika pretended she couldn’t hear the woman, letting the insults roll off her back as Mrs. Dela Cruz finally opened her door, flooding the hallway with the scent of mothballs and bad potpourri. The walls shook as her neighbor slammed her door shut with a booming noise that echoed down the hallway.

  Sighing, Erika slipped back into her apartment and closed the door quietly before she let the smile drop into a scowl. Dealing with Mrs. Dela Cruz was about as much fun as monthly cramps. Wait, no she could take pain meds sleep through those with a heating pad. Sleeping through Mrs. Dela Cruz’s bitching wasn’t an option. Stomping down her urge to scream as the noise would just resummon Mrs. Dela Cruz like she was some sort of demon, Erika instead checked her apartment to see what the two men Pinpoint sent with her actually did. To her surprise, it seemed cleaner.The dirty clothes she normally left about the floor had been picked up, and the few bits of trash she’d had laying around were gone. It even seemed less dusty than usual.

  Now awake and lacking anything better to do, Erika did a quick inventory of her apartment. It didn’t take very long. The only things that seemed to be missing were the rags that were all that remained of the clothes she’d worn in the portal and the bag of portal items Keoni took. The clothes didn’t bother her too much since they were ripped and covered in blood and other disgusting things. She probably should’ve thrown them away sooner. But losing the portal items hurt. She didn’t know much about them, just that such things were pretty valuable. Hopefully Keoni was telling the truth and she’d get paid for them. She needed the cash.

  A couple hours passed as Erika showered and did a load of laundry, her smelly and bloody clothes the first things in the wash followed by way more soap than she probably needed to use. As Erika finished hanging up some clothes to dry, her hair still wrapped in a towel from her shower, she heard someone pound on her door for the second time that morning. Her imagination conjured another image of her crotchedy neighbor as she dragged her feet to the door. But as her hand touched the handle, she heard the distinctive crackle of a police radio coming from outside and froze as Pinpoint’s warning suddenly came to mind. The whole reason Keoni took her backup plan for rent last night, the cops.

  As if her thoughts roused them to action, she heard a man’s voice yell as someone forcefully pounded on her door, shaking it in its frame. “Erika Sato, this is the police! We have a warrant to search your apartment,” someone yelled through her door in an authoritative voice.

  Quietly peeking out through the peephole, she felt her breath catch as she saw several uniformed officers outside her door led by the Sergeant from the night before, an assholeish grin on his face. Swallowing nervously, old lessons from another life resurfaced. “Let me see the warrant!” she shouted through her closed door.

  “We can’t do that until you open up the door,” the same voice yelled.

  Looking down at her bare feet, she saw the slight gap under her door. No way was she opening the door for them if she didn’t have to. “Slide the warrant under the door!” She waited a few seconds before she heard the voice again, but it wasn’t directed at her.

  “She’s not opening up. Break it down.”

  Looking through her peephole again, she saw one of the cops move forward carrying a battering ram like the goons used last night. Her heart leapt into her throat as she realized what was about to happen. Erika jerked back from the door as a loud boom and the sound of crunching wood filled her apartment. The frame of her door held, but only just, a massive crack already marring the frame near the catch.

  As another blow shook the door Erika took a step back only for her bare feet to slip on a pair of shoes haphazardly left near the door and sent her falling backwards. Despite her Pain Resistance, a searing bright pain ripped through her head as it slammed against the floor. Dazed, she didn’t notice the sound of crunching wood as the cops broke her door down, only feeling another sharp pain as the door slammed into her ankle. Through tear filled eyes, she watched as dark figures rushed over her, another pain shooting down her arm as a boot crushed her hand.

  “Cuff her,” a blurry figure said with a smug voice from above.

  “Turn over and lay on your stomach with your hands behind your back!” another man shouted aggressively.

  Dazed, Erika laid where she was as she tried to process the words. That proved to be a mistake. Another sharp pain speared through her side as something slammed into her kidneys.”I said turn over!” the aggressive voice growled

  “Flip her,” the smug voice said.

  Head spinning, Erika tried to wriggle away as a pair of hands grabbed her arm and roughly flipped her onto her stomach, driving the air from her lungs. Another sharp pain shot down her spine as she felt something heavy and hard press against her lower back, as if someone were kneeling on her. Struggling against the weight on top of her, she tried to push herself up to take a breath, her lungs aching. She heard a surprised gasp as her enhanced strength gave her just enough space to suck in a breath, granting sweet relief to her deprived lungs, but not for long. Struggling to hold up her weight and that of the man on top of her, her arms collapsed as she felt another weight on her shoulders that crushed her back down to the floor.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Stop resisting!” aggressive voice commanded as Erika struggled to breathe.

  Focused on getting air, she didn’t expect the sharp blow to the back of her head as something hit her from behind that drove her nose into the tile with a crunch and another blinding flash of pain. With what felt like the weight of the world pressing down on her, she tried to suck in another breath through her mouth as something warm and liquid ran down her lips. A pathetic amount of air rushed into her lungs, carrying with it the taste of blood. More pain ripped through her arms and shoulders as someone twisted her arms with more force than needed and something cold and metallic clicked shut around her wrists.

  Erika wasn’t sure how long passed as she struggled to breathe, the world slowly dimming as the confusing sounds of things being thrown about and strange voices filled her ears. It sounded like she was underwater. When did it get so dark? She thought to herself sluggishly. She felt so tired. Everything hurt. She just wanted to go to sleep. As Erika closed her eyes, she felt the weight pressing her down finally lift away. “Get her up,” the smug voice said with a twinge of some other emotion.

  Strong hands hauled her upright and Erika could finally suck in a deep breath. Her ribs ached as her lungs inflated with life giving air, banishing the fog on her brain. The pain in her nose and ankle came roaring back alongside clarity, but she ignored the unwanted sensations as greedily sucked in air.

  “Erika Sato, you’re under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law,” the smug voice said from above her.

  Blinking away the tears blurring her vision, Erika looked up to put a face to the voice, her neck aching as she did. A familiar man stared back at her with a predatory smile, a little tag below a shiny badge on his chest reading “Sergeant E. Brady.” The man who’d gotten in Pinpoint’s face and tried to unmask her the night before.

  “‘ou!” Erika yelled, her mouth filled with the coppery taste of her blood. As she did, some of her blood sprayed out of her mouth and coated Sergeant Brady’s pressed black pants.

  The man glanced at his shoes, his smile widening a bit as he motioned at another officer. “Get her out of here,” he said with a smile.

  “Wha, ‘ou can’,” Erika started to protest as a burly officer started to drag her to her feet, only for her to feel a hand push her from behind and send her stumbling face first into her trashed front door. Pain lanced through her face again as the Sergeant’s voice filled her ears again.

  “Ah, make sure to test her for drugs and other substances too, She appears to be under the influence of something.”

  Dazed, Erika stumbled as she was yanked back up and fell into someone else.

  “Sir, what are we booking her with?” A new voice, a woman’s this time, asked as she was forced through her broken door.

  “Let’s see…” Sergeant Brady’s voice came from behind her as he seemed to follow along. “First, obstruction of a peace officer, then resisting arrest. Ah, and I suppose two counts of assault of a peace officer. She did try to tackle Smith just now, isn’t that right Smith?”

  “That’s right sir.”

  “Understood.”

  “Great, return to help with the search, Officer Lin.”

  As the police pushed Erika stumbling to the elevators, her ankle aching with every step, she heard a new man gasp from ahead.

  “Excuse me, what’s going on here?” the new man said seriously.

  Looking up, Erika saw a man with warm brown skin and wearing an expensive-looking suit standing in front of her. Though she didn’t talk to her neighbors much, she knew them by sight. He wasn’t one of them.

  “Don’t interfere with police business,” Sergeant Brady said from behind.

  “I’m afraid Sergeant that interfering with police business is my job. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Elijah Kamuela, an attorney with Kamuela, Baldwin, Lau,” he said, gesturing to himself. “And it appears that you have taken Ms. Erika Sato in custody. As Ms. Sato’s attorney, I’m afraid I’m going to need to demand to know why she’s being arrested and appears to have been beaten half to death.”

  Erika blinked a few times at the attorney claiming to represent her. She’d never met him before, and definitely didn’t have an attorney. She could barely afford rent saving up all month, no way could she afford an expensive-looking attorney like him. Still, common sense told her to just let things play out for now and figure out what was going on after she got out of the cuffs. It wasn’t like some hack of a fake attorney could make things worse.

  Sergeant Brady coughed a few times before he started to speak. “I see. Well Mr. Kamuela, your client is under arrest for obstruction of a peace officer, resisting arrest, and several counts of assaulting a peace officer. Myself and Officer Smith here,” he said smugly. “Very serious charges. You can speak with her again after we book her.” Erika felt a push from behind as the officers tried to guide her towards the elevators, only for Mr. Kamuela to block their way.

  “Assault? Obstruction? It doesn’t look like a single hair is out of place on either of you. The only person here that seems to have been assaulted is Ms. Sato. And what exactly did Ms. Sato obstruct?”

  “We attempted to serve a search warrant for Ms. Sato’s residence, but she refused to open the door and forced us to breach,” Officer Smith said.

  “Is that right Sergeant Brady?”

  “Of course, now please move out of the way Mr. Kamuela before you’re arrested for impeding a police investigation.”

  “Of course, of course, but first, could you please provide me with the warrant you attempted to serve on Ms. Sato? I assume some of your officers are currently searching her residence, and even under arrest, the law requires you to have a valid warrant to search her place.”

  Standing there half supported by Officer Smith, everything aching, Erika heard a quiet hiss come from behind.

  “Fucking lawyers!” Sergeant Brady said just loud enough that Erika could barely hear as he stepped into view and handed Mr. Kamuela a stack of papers. As soon as the man received the documents, he quickly flipped through them. “Hmm… I see. Sergeant Brady was it? There seems to be a problem here. I’m not seeing an underlying crime that Ms. Sato is suspected of to justify a warrant.”

  “Judge Thompkins signed off on it.”

  “Be that as it may, this warrant is invalid without an underlying crime to justify it. I’ll have to ask that you release my client, immediately.”

  “Release her?! She assaulted two police officers! Valid warrant or not, she’s getting booked.”

  Before Sergeant Brady could respond, Erika heard a familiar, grating voice come from behind her. But for once, it was welcome. “I’m not sure what Ms. Sato’s been getting up to and I don’t like that the police are here Mr. Kamuela, but she didn’t assault them,” Mrs. Dela Cruz said.

  “And you are, madam?” Mr. Kamuela asked.

  “Oh my, you’re a handsome one. I’m Delia Dela Cruz, I live across from Erika. I was watching through my door camera when all the racket started. Can’t be too careful these days you know?”

  “You can talk to the old bag on your own time, get out of the way Kamuela,” Sergeant Brady growled, taking an aggressive step forward, only to stop as Mr. Kamuela gave the Sergeant a hard look before ignoring him.

  “I understand Delia. Could you tell me what you saw?”

  “Better, I can show you!” With more energy than Erika had ever seen the old bat with before, she sidled up to Mr. Kamuela and pulled a phone out from her pocket and handed it to him. Though she couldn’t see what was on the screen as the two watched something, she soon heard shouting and the sound of crunching wood emanating from the phone’s speakers.

  “I see. That is enlightening. Delia, could you send this to me please?” Mr. Kamuela said, handing the woman her phone back alongside a card he produced with a flourish.

  “Of course, dear, of course! Are you single? I have a beautiful niece about your age who’s single.”

  “I’m happy married I’m afraid,” Mr. Kamuela said with a smile, before turning back to Sergeant Brady. To Erika’s eyes, one moment the man was smiling at her elderly neighbor as he indulged her, the next he seemed like wrath incarnate as thunder clouds formed on his brows.

  “Sergeant Brady, the video I just saw is disturbing, to say the least. Release my client immediately.”

  “No.” Sergeant Brady crossed his arms defensively as he stood his ground, his back to Erika and Officer Smith.

  “Very well,” Mr. Kamuela said, pulling out his phone and tapping it a few times before holding it to his ear. “Elijah Kamuela for Chief Robinson,” he said after a few seconds.

  Several seconds passed in silence as Erika watched the strange man claiming to be her attorney, the officer holding her shoulders tightening his grip on her as the man just stood there.

  “Good morning Joanna! I’m well, thank you for asking,” Mr. Kamuela said with a smile. “How are you? How’s the wife and kids? Great, great, well unfortunately this isn’t a social call, though we’ll have to get lunch sometime. You see, I’m at a client’s home and have been provided some disturbing footage of several of your officers breaking in and beating her while serving an invalid warrant. Their names? I’m here with a Sergeant E. Brady and Officer S. Smith. I’m not sure who else is present, though some more of your officers may be ransacking my client’s home as we speak. Ah yes, the address is…” Mr. Kamuela rattled off the building’s address as he stared down the officers.

  A minute passed in silence as Mr. Kamuela waited for whoever he was speaking to to respond. Glancing from the lawyer to Sergeant Brady, Erika saw the man shift uncomfortably as the silence dragged on.“I see, no body cameras active in this vicinity. Ah, remote activation and a 10 minute auto record even while they’re off? Fascinating to know. Yes, I would like a copy of whatever you can get sent to my office. Thank you for all your help Joanna! Saturday sounds good. Bring the wife and the kids too! I’m sure Michelle and the girls would love to catch up.” Smiling like a cat playing with its prey, Mr. Kamuela looked from Erika to the police behind her.

  “Chief Robinson will be reviewing your body camera footage immediately. I’m sure it will be just as illuminating as the video Delia showed me,” he said evilly.

  Erika swore she could feel the bloodlust radiating off the man. Though she didn’t seem to be the target of his malice, she couldn’t help but feel a chill run down her spine. That smile screamed danger. She was glad he seemed to be on her side.

  A sharp, shrill ring suddenly broke out and Sergeant Brady flinched before he reached down to his belt and pulled out a phone. From her position where Officer Smith still held her behind the man, she could see his screen showing a photo of a white woman in a police uniform with a bunch of stars on her collar. Above the photo, she saw a name. Chief Joanna Robinson. As the phone continued to ring, Sergeant Brady stared at it while Mr. Kamuela’s smile seemed to widen.

  “You’ll want to get that, Sergeant.”