Chapter One
Nothing Man

He was in the shower, rinsing off the remnants of the cheap sex he'd had not one hour ago, when his phone rang. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he stepped out of the bathroom and walked to the phone on his bedside table.

"LaGuard," he said sharply into the receiver. It better be Gods-damn important for whomever to be calling at two-thirty in the morning.

"Auron?" A small female voice asked tentatively.

Instantly Auron relaxed. "Yuna," he said gently. "What's wrong?"

Yuna laughed a little on the other end of the line. "I'm sorry to be calling so late," she said. "But, um, you said to call if I ever saw that guy around here again, and . . ."

"He was there? At your building? When?"

"Well, I just got home about twenty minutes ago, and as I was coming in, he was leaving," Yuna said, taking a shaky breath.
Ever since her father's death one year ago, strange things had been happening. Braska Summers, Yuna's father, had been one of Auron's partners on the Bevelle Police Department. They were detectives, along with another man, Jecht Messenger. One year ago, a drug ring had been discovered in Bevelle – being covered up by some high-ranking government officials.

When Auron, Braska, and Jecht had gone in to blow their cover, they had thought all had gone well. Many arrests were made that night; they thought the case was solved. Braska and Jecht had gone on to the car, while Auron stayed to finish up the report.

A car bomb had been set – Braska and Jecht died that night. Auron had heard the explosion, and had run to try and save them. But he had been too late. They had died instantly.

Auron had been distraught by the loss of his best friends. To make matters even worse, when he left the hospital that night, someone who was obviously tied to the drug ring had mugged him. Auron managed to take him down and cuff him, but not before the man had sliced his switchblade down the entire right side of Auron's face, permanently scarring his face and rendering his right eye useless.

After that night, people who were directly tied to Jecht, Braska, and Auron began receiving threatening phone calls and letters.

That was how Auron had met Yuna. Braska's young daughter, a medical student. She had seemed so fragile and afraid when she had called the Police Department that first night after she had noticed a strange man following her home after her class.

Auron had taken it upon himself to watch out for Braska's daughter. He figured it was the least he could do – since he hadn't been able to save him.

Things calmed down after about three months. Everyone began to breathe easier, and Yuna stopped calling Auron for a ride home every night after her late class got out.

But beginning just last month, Yuna had started noticing a young man following her on a regular basis. She had never seen him before, and his presence was unsettling to her. So she had called the Police Department and spoken to Auron about it. He had gone to extra-cautionary measures to make sure she remained safe.

Thus, the two-thirty a.m. phone call.

"Did he say anything to you?" Auron asked the girl.

"No. But I got a good look at him this time. He's about five-foot-ten or so, looks athletic – maybe he plays blitzball or something? – blond hair, blue eyes," Yuna described.

Auron was scribbling down her description on the legal pad he kept beside the phone. "Okay, Yuna, I'll see what I can do," Auron said. "Are you going to be all right?"

He could hear her sniffle a little. "Yeah. I'll be fine. I've got the deadbolt on, and besides, I'm pretty sure he's gone now," she said.

"Are you sure? Because I can come over."

"No, no, Auron. You need to get some sleep. Besides, I'm probably just overreacting, like Officer Kinoc said. After everything that's happened, it's to be expected, right?" She took a deep breath. "I just wanted to let you know – I wasn't trying to worry you or anything. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, Yuna," Auron said. He was reluctant to hang up the phone. But he always felt that way. He felt that he couldn't fail in this duty – keeping Braska's daughter safe had become his mission.

After he hung up the phone, he walked into the kitchen and opened up the cabinet where he kept his liquor. He took a long swig out of one of the bottles of Jack Daniels and carried it back into the other room with him. Ever since the deaths of his two best friends, his drinking had become a regular thing. Every night, he drank to numb the pain. It was the only way he could sleep. It was the only way the nightmares didn't plague him.

Yuna hung up the phone and took another shaky breath. She hadn't wanted to worry Auron. He'd been so nice to her since her father's death. So attentive. He always made sure that she was safe. He'd even given her a cell phone so that she could always be reached – or so that she could always reach him.

Carefully, she stood up and walked toward the window. Gingerly, she moved the curtain back to look down over the lights of the city. She gasped when she saw the man that had been following her standing on the sidewalk below, looking up at her window.

"Damn it," she whispered, jumping away from the window and heading back for the phone.

The sound of pebbles being tossed at her window caused her to freeze. Slowly, she turned, and walked back to the window. Moving the curtain again, she looked down. The blond man was holding up something shiny. Yuna couldn't tell what it was from her fifth floor apartment.

He motioned for her to open her window. I must be going crazy, Yuna thought to herself. I'm actually contemplating this? She couldn't explain it, but she felt that she could trust this man, so she cracked the window.

"I need to talk to you!" the man yelled up at her.

"Who are you?" Yuna called back. "Why are you following me?"

"I had to make sure you were the one! I can't talk to just anyone about what I need to talk to you about!"

"What?"

"Come down here. I swear to Yevon, you can trust me. This is my badge! I'm a police detective!"

Yuna looked at him questioningly. "I've never seen you before! I know the police in this city!"

"So call them if you want! I'm not from Bevelle, but I've followed a case all the way down here from Zanarkand! I swear. I'm a cop," the man said.

"Wait in the lobby. I'm going to call a friend," Yuna called back.

He nodded and headed around the building. Yuna went to the phone and dialed.

Auron answered on the third ring, his voice sounded thick. "LaGuard."

"You need to get over here. Now. That guy? He's a cop."

Auron was there in less than fifteen minutes. He strode into the lobby and walked straight over to the young blond man. "You say you're a cop?" he barked. He was in no mood for anyone to be giving him any shit at this point.

"Tidus Messenger, from Zanarkand," the younger man said. "And you're Detective LaGuard. My father spoke of you often."

"Messenger?" Auron nearly choked. "You're – you're Jecht's son?"

"I am. I've been sent from the Zanarkand department to help you with this case. This drug ring is still highly active in the north, and in the south. The Al Bhed police force in Bikanel got almost completely decimated by a shootout last week," Messenger said.

"I heard about that," Auron said. "That doesn't explain why you've been following Yuna."

The blond man smiled. "Is that her name? Yuna?" Auron narrowed his one good eye at the boy. Messenger cleared his throat. "Ahem, anyway. I've been trying to stay somewhat undercover. People tend to talk more freely around you if they don't know you're a detective. I had to make sure she was, in fact, Summers' daughter. Seeing as she called you, I'm certain of it now."

Auron nodded. Messenger made some good points. And he could be an asset to this baffling case. No one in Bevelle knew him as a cop – he could probably find out more than Auron and the other police in this town could ever hope to. And he was Jecht's son. "Well, then, we'll keep you low profile," Auron told him. "The fewer people that know you're a cop, the better." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It was wise of you to avoid the police station."

"Hey, I may be a rookie, but I'm not stupid!" Messenger shot back.

"Well, if we're going to keep you low-profile, I wouldn't go around announcing that your name is Messenger. And also, I'm assigning you the task of watching out for Yuna." With that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

Within minutes, the brunette daughter of Braska Summers was in the lobby, meeting her new protector for the first time.

"So, basically, he's still going to be following me around?" Yuna asked once everything was explained to her.

Auron nodded. "You could say that."

Yuna smiled at Tidus. "Well, it could be worse," she said brightly.

Damn right it could, Tidus was thinking. This girl was absolutely gorgeous.

The three of them stood in a secluded corner of the lobby talking for a bit longer. At three-thirty, Yuna yawned. "Wow. I didn't realize how late it was. I should go to bed – my internship starts in the morning."

Auron nodded. He turned to Tidus. "You have a place to stay?"

Tidus nodded. "Yeah, I'm good. Remember, I've been here for a month!"

"It was nice to meet you, Tidus," Yuna said, touching his arm as she walked past him.

"Nice meeting you," he said, watching her walk away, admiring her figure.

"Watch it," Auron said warningly.

"What?" Tidus asked innocently. Auron just shook his head.

All of a sudden, the lobby doors burst open, and a tall and shapely blonde rushed in, face wet with tears. "Yunie!" she called out when she saw Yuna.

Yuna, who was halfway to the elevator, turned at the sound of the voice. She rushed to the girl's side. "Rikku? Rikku, what's wrong?" she asked, concern written all over her face.

"Yunie, he's gone – they're gone! There was a – a bomb at the factory! I'd already left for the evening, but Dad and Brother were still there!" The girl could hardly catch her breath.

"Oh, no," Yuna gasped. "When did this happen?"

"Two days ago," Rikku sobbed. "I couldn't get out of Bikanel until yesterday. I didn't know where to go, so I came here!"

"Well, you came to the right place. I wouldn't have wanted you to go anywhere else," Yuna said, pulling the girl into a comforting embrace.

Tidus and Auron had already walked over to the girls. "What's going on?" Auron asked. Rikku told them about the bomb in her family's computer factory. Auron nodded along with the story, but then realized one key element was missing. "Who are you?" he asked.

Rikku looked up at him, a little startled. "Rikku. Rikku Sands," she said quietly.

Yuna looked at Auron. "Rikku is my cousin," she said. Quietly, she asked, "Do you think that this is connected?"

"I'm sure of it," Auron said, still looking at the new girl. She had mascara running down her face, and her eyes were bloodshot. She looked like she hadn't slept or changed her clothes since the explosion. Her golden hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and she wore torn jeans and a bright pink tank top that was smudged with dirt.

She was Gods-damned adorable.

"This is Detective LaGuard – Auron. He was my father's partner. And this is Tidus," Yuna was telling Rikku. "I'll tell you about him later." Auron nodded. "For now, let's get you upstairs. You look so tired. Don't worry, though, Rikku. You'll be safe here."

Rikku nodded and picked up her bag that she had set down. She looked back at Auron. He looked so strong and brave – she felt better just knowing he was there. "Nice to meet you," she said timidly as she followed her cousin.

Auron watched her walk off, admiring her retreating form.

"Watch it," Tidus said mockingly.

"Humph," Auron responded. His head was pounding. "Go get some sleep," he told Tidus. "We're in for a very long ride."