La Femme Regardée

[foxfire]

Hello all! This is my own original story involving all-original characters. For those who have read my fanfic "A Bite Out Of The Big Apple", you will recognize a few of these characters. This story serves as an introduction to the "first season" of the Femmes Fatales. I hope you all enjoy it so far! Feedback is MORE than welcome. I'd love to know what you all think. ON WITH THE STORY!

Part One:
It's a relatively cool evening in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Inside a beautiful apartment, there's a number of moving boxes strategically placed by the front door yet out of the way. The apartment itself is dimly lit and very spacious. Its color scheme is of lucious browns and relaxing tans. Tai enters carrying a box. He sets it down on top of another box and then brushes off his hands. He closes the door behind him.

"That's the last box, Andie." He calls out to someone else in the room. He takes off his fall coat and places it gently on a coatrack near the door. Then, Andie comes out of one of the bedrooms. Her dark hair is tied back into a loose ponytail and she is dressed casually in a pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt.

"I hope you don't mind, I put some of the boxes in your room." Andie says. Tai shakes his head and heads over to the living room. The room itself seems very comfortable and almost like something out of a magazine. It's very plush and organized very well.

"So, of all the applicants, why did you pick me as your new roommate?" Tai asks as he sits down onto the couch.

"It was a really difficult decision actually. It was either you or the hooker." Andie walks over to where Tai is sitting. "I had a lot of nutjobs apply and then I found you. I called your references and they gave you rave reviews." Andie sits next to Tai and puts her arm around him. "This is going to be the beginning of a very good friendship Tai, I can tell."

Part Two:
Meanwhile in the Upper East Side, an expensive car pulls up in front of a swanky apartment building. The lights from the building reflect on the car's shiny black exterior. The driver gets out of the car. He's dressed in all-black clothing and his dirty blond hair is slicked back. He makes his way over to the back door and opens it. A gorgeous and well-dressed woman steps out.

"You know you really don't have to open the door for me, Gregory, I'm a big girl. I can handle myself." The woman says patting the driver on his shoulder. "But I appreciate it."

He watches as she walks towards the door. Her walk is confident and powerful. Her curly brown hair effortlessly bounces as she approaches the door. The doorman opens the door for her. "Good evening, Ms. Beaumont." He says.

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's Adrienne." The young doorman blushes as she walks by him and enters the lush lobby. Adrienne makes her way to the elevators and presses the up button. She thinks for a moment and decides against taking the elevator and takes the stairs instead.

By the time the elevator reaches the lobby, she's already entered the stairwell. The elevator makes its signature 'ding' sound and the doors open. Standing in the middle of the elevator is a being unlike any other. He is a demon. His beady yellow eyes and scaly skin would surely make anyone stop dead in their tracks. His eyes shift from one side to the other. He then takes a moment to sniff the air, he's clearly searching for someone. As he walks out of the elevator, we now see the two mutilated bodies lying on the floor of the elevator.

Part Three:
It's the next morning in Tai and Andie's apartment, an alarm clock goes off. Its annoying ringing is immediately cut off by Tai slamming the off button. He gets out of bed to see that his room is still undecorated and boxes are piled up against the walls. Tai heads for the door.

As he opens the door, he smiles as he smells the scent of food. Tai makes his way past the living room and into the kitchen. There, he sees Andie putting some orange juice on the table. "Oh, good morning." She says. Tai comes closer and observes the table. There's some fresh flowers in the middle of the table and just beside them is a bowl of fruit. "Go ahead, have a seat." Tai follows Andie's command and sits down. He makes sure not to sit a seat that would get in Andie's way. "I hope you're not vegan, because I made bacon and eggs." Tai watches as she juggles two plates of food. She sets one of them in front of him and the other on the opposite side of the table. Once everything is set, Andie sits down.

"Are you this 'Leave It To Beaver' every morning?" Tai asks. Andie laughs.

"I take after my dad, I guess." Andie says as her takes a sip of her orange juice. "He always made me breakfast every morning. I don't think he ever missed one morning." Andie takes her fork and picks up some of the scrambled eggs on her plate. This was Tai's signal that it was okay to eat, as he began to chow down on what was in front of him.

Tai looks over beside his plate and sees a newspaper. He looks over at Andie giving her a look. "Newspaper too?"

"Yeah. I only read it for one thing." She says as she eats more of her breakfast.

"Comics?" Tai asks.

"Oh God no, I don't read those kind of comics." Tai makes a face at her answer unsure of what she meant. Andie takes note of his expression and lifts up the newspaper to reveal a Wonder Woman comic. "Now this, this is a comic." Andie smiles.

"Wonder Woman?! I love Wonder Woman." Tai exclaims. "Then, do you read the newspaper for the entertainment section?"

"No. I don't like the whole celebrity thing. I just read it for the horoscopes." Andie says. "Want me to read yours?" She says as she takes the newspaper and flips through it until she arrives at the proper page. "What are you?"

"Aries." Tai answers. Andie looks up from the newspaper and looks at Tai, not saying a word. "What?" Tai asks.

"Me too!" Andie sets the newspaper on her lap. "Looks like we have quite a bit in common." For a moment, the two eat more of their breakfast. "So I was thinking, why don't we go out tonight to celebrate you moving in?"

"Sounds like fun. Mind if I invite someone?" Tai asks.

"Oh, of course not. Invite whoever you want." Andie smiles and picks up her toast and takes a bite. Her eyes shift to look at the microwave clock. She gets up and takes her plate in one hand and her orange juice in the other. Andie finishes off her orange juice and then places her plate and cup on the counter. "Listen, Tai, I have to get going now. Will you be home when I get back from work?"

"I should. No school on Saturday." Tai replies.

"Good, then give your friend a call and have them meet you here." Andie moves towards the living room and grabs her bag.

"Wait."

Andie turns around to look at Tai still sitting at the table. "Yes?"

"You haven't told me, what do you do for work?" Tai asks.

"I'm a director. For television." Andie grabs her keys and heads out the door. Tai hears the sound of the lock and then resumes eating.

Part Four:
The morning sun beams through the office windows at the Femmes Fatales Investigations. In the mostly wooden main office, sits a large desk. Melissa sits at this desk with her feet in-between the computer and the phone. She's moving her head along to some song she has stuck in her head. She completely lost in the song.

Melissa's quickly brought back to reality by Kiesha, who is vaccuuming near her. "Hey do you have to do that so loudly, Kiesha?" Melissa comments.

"I'm sorry your highness." Kiesha says as she moves further away from Melissa. Kiesha begins the vaccuum closer to the individual offices. The Femmes Fatales office is actually quite large. It is comprised of five separate rooms. The main office contains the main desk as well as a designated waiting area. The waiting area of course is merely four leather chairs set up near the front door. Behind the front desk are five door. Three doors lead to individual offices. The individual offices are for Kiesha, Melissa and Jennette. Each one is designed to fit their different personalities. Another room was a 'war room' of sorts. It was set up for group meetings, briefings and contained most of their case files. The final room was mostly empty. It had a desk, a chair and a bookshelf.

Jennette was wiping one of the windows. She was the kind of person who always seemed calm and composed. Her black hair was let down and gently fell along her backless blue shirt. Jennette remained in silence as she observed the on-coming fight between Kiesha and Melissa.

"You should be helping us clean Melissa." Kiesha said.

"Someone has to man the phones, Kiesha. How else will get paid?" Melissa didn't even bother to look at Kiesha as she spoke. "I don't even know why you're cleaning. We cleaned just a few days ago."

Kiesha turned off the vaccuum and turned so she could look at both Melissa and Jennette. "We have a special visitor coming. I don't want her coming in and she's somewhat of a clean-freak."

"Is that her?" Jennette asked as she watched looked out the window. Kiesha quickly maneuvered her way over to a window.

"Yes." Kiesha said panicked. She scrambled to put away the cleaning supplies. Seeing Kiesha's state of panic caused Melissa to sit up straight in the desk. Jennette rolled her eyes and casually sat down in one of the leather chairs.

Just as Kiesha finished putting everything away, the door began to open sounding the bell attached to it. In stepped a woman wearing a short trench coat that made her legs seem like they went on forever. She also wore a pair of white-rimmed sunglasses à la Audrey Hepburn in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' and her hair ran wild. This tall black woman commanded the attention of everyone in the room. As she took her sunglasses off, she looked over at each person in the room. Her eyes stopped at one person in particular. "Kiesha!" She yelled whipping her arms out to give her a hug. "How's my little cousin?" She asked.

Once the two separated from their hug. Kiesha turned towards her colleagues. "Girls, this is Nichelle. My cousin."

"As in the supermodel?" Melissa inquired.

"Yes." Kiesha smiled proudly.

"How come you never told me that you were related to the most beautiful woman in the world?" Melissa asked as she ran up to the amazon woman. She held out her hand and Nichelle held it for a brief handshake. "I'm Melissa."

"Hello." Nichelle said. She then turned her attention to Jennette. "Hi there. I haven't seen you since July. How are you doing, Jennette?"

"You even know her?" Melissa was clearly starstruck but she was shocked that everyone in the room seemed to know this tall drink of water.

"Yes. My mom is the editor of a fashion magazine, so I get to meet a lot of models." Jennette said.

"Well then..." Melissa huffed.

"What are you doing here?" Jennette asked.

"Just visiting." Nichelle smiled. But there was something in her answer that set Kiesha off.

"Can we talk?" Kiesha asked, motionning towards her office.

"Sure thing." Nichelle raised her hand towards the other two women as she walked off. "Ciao!"

Once Nichelle was inside her office, Kiesha closed the door. Nichelle went and sat down in the chair opposite the desk while Kiesha sat behind the desk.

"What are you doing here?" Kiesha asked.

"I told you. Just visiting." Nichelle knew she was caught.

"I know you, you're lying to me." Kiesha added.

"Alright." Nichelle took a moment to compose herself. "I left Kyle."

"Your fiancé?" Kiesha asked. Nichelle nodded. "What happened?"

"I realize he's really not the one for me. That's all." Nichelle answered.

"Even still, you live in London. Why come all the way to Manhattan?" What made Kiesha such a good private investigator was that she was also a professional journalist.

"I lost my job too." Nichelle hung her head.

"What? How did that happen? You didn't pull a Naomi Campbell, did you?" Kiesha was concerned.

"I swear I've been nothing but Tyra." Nichelle raised her head to but only to look back down at the floor. "Kyle's mother is the owner of the modeling agency I belonged to. She was furious that I broke off the engagement and fired me on the spot."

"She can't do that! You're the third highest paid supermodel in the world. She can't just replace you!" Kiesha's anger was building.

"They can, and have. Seems like there's only room for one black supermodel and I'm just too old to be her." Nichelle had to hold back tears. Modeling was her life and now that it had been ripped away from her, she was unsure what to do.

"But you're barely thirty." Kiesha commented.

"Honey, in the modeling world, thirty is the new sixty." Nichelle was defeated.

Kiesha had to take a moment to think. Suddenly, she knew what to do. "Why don't you work here?" She suggested.

"Are you talking about me being your secretary?" Nichelle shuddered at the thought of having to answer phones all day.

"Of course not, we have an extra office and we could certainly use the extra help." Kiesha said.

"What makes me so qualified to be a P.I?" Nichelle asked. "I don't have any training in law enforcement and I'm certainly not the best with riddles."

"Is that what you think we do around here?" Kiesha inquired. "We're an alternative. We offer services to those who can't go to the authorities." Nichelle was even more confused. "Melissa, she has the ability to manipulate the earth to create earthquakes. Jennette can sense supernatural activity. She's a witch, so she can perform rituals and create potions too. As you know, I have premonitions. And you..." Kiesha trailed off.

Nichelle held out her hand. In a puff of thick smoke, a small knife appeared in her hands. "... Can conjure anything my mind can think of." Nichelle handled the knife and then dug it into Kiesha's desk. "Are you saying that I'm going to get to pummel demons with this job?"

"Now you've got it!" Kiesha said. "See, you're perfectly qualified for the job." The two began to laugh but were interrupted by Kiesha's cellphone ringing. Kiesha took the cellphone off the table. She rolled her eyes when she saw who was calling. "Sorry, I have to get this." She turned her chair around to provide some sense of privacy. Soon enough, the conversation was over. "I've got to go. That was my boss at the paper, seems like I have a double homocide to check out." Kiesha grabbed her bag off the ground and tucked her cell phone into her pocket as she stood up.

Nichelle followed Kiesha as she left. Before Kiesha could leave, Nichelle spoke up, "Kiesha! I'll take the job." Kiesha grinned as she left the offices. Nichelle looked over at Jennette and Melissa who both had expressions of confusion. "You're looking at your new investigator." Nichelle said proudly.

"Well then, why don't you come out with us tonight? We're celebrating our friend moving in to a new place." Melissa suggested. "We can make it a double party."

"Girl, y'all know me so well. I'd love to go out tonight!" Nichelle was ecstatic.

[foxfire]

Part Five:
The Upper East Side appartment complex of the earlier demon attack was now infested with police. Most of them were crowded around the elevator collecting evidence. A few other were near the door, inspecting the floor. In the middle of the lobby, an detective stood overseeing the rest of the officers in the area. He couldn't be more than forty. He was tall and rugged. Clearly, he wasn't someone who was easily pushed over.

At this time, he was asking Adrienne Beaumont a few questions. "Listen officer, I don't really know what you want with me." The woman said in reply to one of his questions.

"Ms. Beaumont, you were the last person to enter this building before the security system was turned off." The detective was the only officer who wasn't in uniform. He wore a white button-up shirt and tan pants. His gun holster was loosely kept at the side of his ribs.

"Are you implying that I have something to do with this?" Adrienne was infuriated. "Now, if you'll excuse me detective, I'm late for work." As Adrienne began to walk off, the detective grabbed her by her forearm and pulled her closer towards him. "What do you think you're doing?" She looked at him with a look of disgust on her face. "I'm not going to answer anymore questions. At least not without my attorney."

All attention was turned towards a young black woman pushing her way through a horde of police officers. It was Kiesha. She was holding her camera in one hand and a recorder in the other. When she spotted the detective and Adrienne Beaumont in the middle of the lobby, she ran over.

"Excuse me, but would you mind telling me what happened last night?" Kiesha said pushing the recorder into the detective's face. He immediately became enraged and pushed her hand out of his way.

"How did you get in here? I specifically requested barriers for your kind!" He yelled causing several of the policemen to look his way. The detective had expected Adrienne and Kiesha to cower at his booming voice but both stood annoyed with the man.

"My kind?" Kiesha said composing herself. "I may be a reporter, but I'm something else too." Kiesha pulled out a piece of paper and showed the detective.

"So you're a private investigator?" He had calmed down slightly.

"Yes, I am." Kiesha was there for a story in the paper but she knew that she would be thrown out if she didn't play the private eye card. "I have a very concerned client who is just interested in finding out what happened. Once I do, I'll be on my way."

"Alright, what would you like to know." He said, co-operating.

"Detective..." Kiesha began.

"Wilson." He responded.

"Detective Wilson, do you suspect this woman is the one behind the murders?" Kiesha said placed the voice recorder back towards his mouth.

"She is a suspect."

"I can't believe this!" Adrienne said throwing her arms up. Kiesha began to laugh.

"She's not the one who did this." Kiesha said taking a look at the bodies.

"We have evidence."

"I don't think so." Kiesha said taking one more look at the bodies. She had become disinterested with the detective. Kiesha backed away. "It's been nice, detective." Kiesha began to walk away until she felt her arm being tugged. When she turned back around, she saw Adrienne Beaumont looking at her.

"You want a story?" Adrienne asked. "I may not talk to this fool, but I think I can offer you some information."

"You think you can trust a reporter?" Kiesha said. "How do you know I just won't run with the information you give me? I could twist it so I make you seem like some psychopath."

"You saw what I saw. You know I didn't do it. I also know that you know whatever did, isn't exactly human." Adrienne said.

"You're talking my language now." Kiesha said smiling.

"Can you meet me at this address at 10 o'clock tonight?" Adrienne said pulling out a business card.

"Isn't this a club?" Kiesha asked.

"Yes. It's a public place. I trust you're okay with that." Adrienne said.

"Wait... you're...?" Kiesha's eyes grew big.

"Yes, yes I am." Adrienne smiled. She walked away and seemingly disappeared through the crowd of officers.

Part Six:
Tai was unpacking his belongings from one of the many boxes in his new bedroom. He took his time as he placed a few books on his bed. When he came across a photoalbum, he took his time to look through its pages. However, he was startled by the sound of a door closing. He got up and made his way into the living room.

There, he saw Andie. She was home from work and she was taking off her shoes. "You know, I tell myself everyday to not wear incredibly painful yet fabulous high heels to work and yet I do anyway." Andie said rubbing one of her feet. She walked towards the couch and plopped herself down. "Another 10-hour day." She said sighing.

"So I guess this means you don't want to go out then, huh?" Tai said.

"You kidding?" She said. "I need to get out and clear my mind." Andie paused. "So what have you done all day?"

"Well, I've just kind of been settling in. I just kind of did an inspection of the place just to get a hang of what goes where. You know, so like when I do the dishes I'll know where the mugs go." Tai paused. "Then, I started to unpack my stuff and put on my outfit for tonight."

"You really are a boy after my own heart." Andie laughed. "Okay, I'm going to go get changed and then we'll head out." Andie went to her room. A moment of silence occured and then Andie began talking from her room. "So who did you invite tonight?"

"Just a couple friends. Melissa and Jennette. They've been working like crazy and are really looking for an excuse to go out." He said.

"Good. Because we're going to have a lot of fun." Andie said. "What time are they coming?" Just then, the appartment buzzer sounded. "Oh... guess my question is answered."

Soon enough, there was a knock at their door. Tai anxiously opened it and was surprised to see that Melissa and Jennette didn't come alone. "You've got to be kidding me!" Tai exclaimed.

"What?" Andie said rushing out of her room.

"Look!" Tai pointed towards the tall black woman standing in between Jennette and Melissa. "It's Nichelle Williams!"

"Fans." Melissa said. "They're always so shocked. They just don't understand that supermodels are like everyone else." She commented.

"It wasn't long ago you were having a cardiac arrest over Nichelle." Jennette said.

"How...? What...?" Tai was at a loss for words.

"Long story short. I'm working for them now." Nichelle said walking into the appartment. "Nice place. Clean and organized, just the way I like it." Nichelle walked over towards the couch and looked at the coffee table. "Oh no!" She gasped.

"What is it?" Jennette asked.

Nichelle bent down and picked up a magazine and held it up so everyone could see. "This!" She pointed at the cover of a fashion magazine. "I guess this is the girl they've replaced me with." She snarled. She threw the magazine back down onto the coffee table and huffed.

"So where are we going?" Jennette asked.

"The Marquis." Andie said putting on a pair of dangly earrings.

"I love that place. They have the best wings." Melissa commented. Everyone stared at her. "What? They do." She rolled her eyes.

"Where's Kiesha?" Tai asked.

"Work. She has to interview some chick about a murder." Melissa explained.

"She thinks that it has to do with..." Jennette was abruptly stopped when Melissa covered her mouth with her hand. When Jennette was about to object, Melissa shifted her head towards Andie and then Jennette relaxed.

"Well I'm ready." Andie said grabbing her purse. "Let's get going people. Mama's got to wake up tomorrow for another day of dealing with prima donnas and kiss asses." Andie quickly got everyone out of the appartment and locked the door.

[foxfire]

Part Seven:
The pounding sound of music filled the nightclub known as "The Marquis". The club was one of the largest in New York City and by far one of the most lively. It was one of the top hot spots and it was clear to see why. There were tons of dancing away and some were even sat down eating.

At the brightly lit bar, Kiesha and Adrienne sat talking. "You know, I would have brought my taperecorder but I figured it wouldn't be any good. You know, with the noise." Kiesha yelled.

"Do you want me to ask them to turn it down?" Adrienne asked.

"Why would they listen to you?" Kiesha asked and then answered her own question. "Oh right. You own this place. And like ten other places in New York and LA." Kiesha laughed. "Okay, let's get down to business." Kiesha pulled out a notepad out of her small purse and a pen as well. "Who or what do you expect murdered those people in your building?"

"Wow, you really do get to the point." Adrienne said.

"Excuse me?"

"I did a background search on you after we met today. You really have some reputation as a reporter. You're a regular Lois Lane, you are." Adrienne laughed.

"Why thank you, she's my idol." Kiesha laughed with her until she remembered that she was conducting an interview. Kiesha cleared her throat. "Now, if you don't mind. Can you answer my question?"

"Right." Adrienne paused to think about her response. "Well, I got in late as usual. So I get into the lobby and I just get this feeling. Almost like the air itself was thicker and kind of made me nauseous. So, rather than take the elevator I decided to take the stairs."

"That doesn't answer my question, Ms. Beaumont." Kiesha said leaning in more so she didn't have to speak as loud.

"Sorry. I discovered the bodies, actually, and rather than call the cops right away, I inspected the bodies myself. It just struck me as weird. These bodies were so badly damaged that it almost seemed like an animal had killed them. There was no way someone took a knife and just tore these people apart. It had to be something with claws." Adrienne explained. "I don't sound too crazy, do I?"

"No. Not at all." Kiesha stopped to write down what she had just heard. "Do you think I believe you?"

"Are you a reporter or a shrink?" Adrienne asked.

"Touché." Kiesha laughed.

"But yes. I do. I saw the look on your face when you caught a glimpse of those bodies. A normal person would have wanted to throw up... but you... you had that look." Adrienne said.

"So do you have any idea on specifically what it could have been?" Kiesha inquired.

"It wasn't planned." Adrienne said. "It was a bit too random. So I'm assuming that this demon, because it has to be a demon, is probably closer to an animal than human. It could be something feline or reptilian. It doesn't eat humans though or else it would have eaten its victims. It was probably there to observe and got bored or something."

Kiesha looked at Adrienne with wide-eyes. "Wow." She was completely speechless. "You speak like you're an expert on demons or something."

"Well, you don't get to be as rich as I am without coming across a few demons." Adrienne commented.

"You must be the richest person on Earth because it sounds like you've met them all." Kiesha said.

Part Eight:
Andie, Jennette, Tai, Melissa and Nichelle entered the Marquis. Melissa stepped ahead to look around the room and look for some place to gravitate towards. She spotted Kiesha over at the bar interviewing someone, of course she didn't know it was in fact Adrienne. "Kiesha!" Melissa yelled. When she realized that the club itself was too loud, she decided to lead the others towards the bar.

Once they arrived at the bar, Melissa tapped Kiesha on the shoulder. "Hey!" Melissa yelled. "Sorry to interrupt." She said. Adrienne was about to say something until she saw Andie. She closed her mouth and got up from her seat. When Andie finally realized who she was, she immediately stiffened up.

"Uh oh..." Nichelle said.

"Excuse me." Adrienne bowed her head to Kiesha and then began to walk away but made sure to bump shoulders with Andie.

"What was that?" Melissa asked. However, before anyone could answer, Andie went after Adrienne.

"Ladies, looks like we've got a cat fight on our hands." Tai said rubbing his hands together. "Let's go watch, shall we?" He said following his new roommate. Nichelle and Melissa followed along. Kiesha, who also decided to follow, stopped to look behind. She saw Jennette standing with a puzzled expression.

"What is it?" Kiesha asked.

"My witchy sense is tingling." Jennette said. "There's a demon here somewhere."

"We better go tell Melissa and Nichelle, then. Come on." Kiesha grabbed Jennette by the arm and ran after her friends.

Everyone soon found themselves standing just outside the club. There, Andie and Adrienne were standing face to face. They weren't saying a word but the tension between them was immense. They looked each other up and down. Both were trying to figure out how to begin the impending argument.

The argument was postponed when a demon jumped down off the fire escape to land next to Andie. He was the same demon from Adrienne's building. He pushed Andie out of his way and she went flying into a pile of garbage. Tai went over to help her up.

Melissa and Nichelle were the first to react. They both jumped into the air and grabbed the demons arms to flip him over. However, his strength was too much for them and he sent them both into a wall. He swiftly moved behind Adrienne, using her as bait to insure no further attacks.

However, Tai still made a move. He looked over at a garbage can and it went flying towards the demon from behind. It hit his back and he dropped Adrienne. Tai then pulled up his pantleg to reveal a knife and with one look it was sent right into the demon's throat. When it fell to the ground grasping at its throat, Kiesha and Jennette went over to check on Nichelle and Melissa who were out cold.

"They hit the wall pretty hard. They'll be up soon, though." Kiesha said.

"What was that?" Asked Andie.

"I don't know. But it's not alone." Jennette commented looking up. Another demon jumped down to grab Adrienne. Once he had Adrienne, he spit out something green at Tai.

"Ow!" Tai screamed out in pain as the substance ate away at his arm. However, the burning stopped shortly but that distraction was enough to allow the demon to get away. "Dammit!" Tai yelled.

Andie helped Tai up and brushed herself off. Andie began to walk away from the group. "Where do you think you're going?" Tai asked.

"I'm going to go find Adrienne." Andie replied.

"You're not going anywhere." Kiesha said grabbing Andie's hand. "These demons are dangerous. We don't need you going off and getting hurt. At least not with a plan." Kiesha surveyed the situation. "We'll go back to our office and figure out a plan there."

"Just who do you think you are anyway?" Andie asked.

"A reporter, a private investigator, a psychic, and a damn good dancer." Kiesha replied. "Now, if you don't have any further questions, looks like we've got a wealthy CEO to find." Kiesha walked away.

Andie looked behind to see Nichelle and Melissa being held up by Tai and Jennette. She sighed and followed Kiesha.

"She always does this." Jennette said looking over at Tai. "It's like I'm the clean-up crew or something." She rolled her eyes.

Part Nine:
It was a full house at the office of Femmes Fatales Investigations. Everyone was in the lobby area. Sitting down on a couch together, Melissa and Nichelle held icepacks on their head. Melissa was also sketching something on a pad of paper. Tai and Jennette sat on the front desk while Andie paced back and forth.

Kiesha came out of her office. "Okay, I've done all the neccessary research on Adrienne." Kiesha said setting a pile of paper on the desk beside Tai. He looked down on the paper and saw something interesting.

"She was on Malibu Beach?" Tai asked.

"What?" Nichelle jumped up from the couch and walked over to the desk. "Oh man, I remember that show. I freaking loved that show. Wait. I knew she looked familiar. She played Bianca West on that show. Man, was she ever a bitch." Nichelle laughed.

"Except she couldn't be further from that character." Andie said.

"Now that I think about it." Nichelle walked over to Andie. She quickly walked around her and then stopped. "You look pretty familiar too." Nichelle looked closer. "You were on that show too. Small world."

"Yeah. That was a long time ago. What does this matter?" Andie asked. "What good is all this research going to do?"

"Rushing into something isn't our style, Ms. Bennett." Kiesha said. "Every bit of information is important. Especially with kidnappings."

"Fine." Andie rolled her eyes.

"So what's the plan?" Jennette asked.

"Glad you asked." Kiesha said. "Melissa, how's the sketch of the demon coming along?"

"Done!" Melissa said holding up a pencilled picture of the demon they faced earlier.

"Good. Jennette, you take the picture and try and identify the demon. I want you to find out everything you can." Kiesha commanded. Jennette took the picture from Melissa. "Nichelle, I want you to go to Adrienne's appartment and look for any clues. You know, anything that might give us a reason why this demon would want her."

"Any idea how I'm going to get in?" Nichelle asked.

"Oh yeah. The security." Kiesha went over to the desk and opened a drawer. She pulled something out and handed it to Nichelle. "Here's a license. Just tell them you're a private investigator and that you need to inspect something."

"Or you could just tell them you're visiting. They'd probably let you in, you know, being a supermodel and all." Tai said.

"Ex-supermodel." Nichelle added.

"Melissa, you're going to go to Adrienne's main office at Beaumont Enterprises. Unfortunately, you won't have the same luck as Nichelle. You'll need to create an earthquake as a distraction. Once everyone is in a panic, just slip right in, hopefully unnoticed." Kiesha explained.

"Sounds like a plan." Melissa said. As everyone began heading towards the door, Tai and Andie were left staring at Kiesha.

"What am I going to do?" Tai asked.

"Oh." Kiesha stopped to think.

"I may not be one of you but I can help." Tai explained.

"Fine, you go with Jennette." Kiesha said.

"And me?" Andie asked.

"You stay here with me." Kiesha ordered.

"Sorry. Not going to work for me." Andie got up and headed towards the door. "I'll go to her appartment too."

"Why?" Kiesha asked.

"Because I know where she'd keep the spare key." Andie commented.

"Fine. Everyone, if anything comes up, call me. I'll be here going through some of my contacts to see if I can find out anything else." Kiesha said and returned to her office.