"Please, don't go!"

"Zee, I will always be with you."

With that, he ran down the dark alley into the gunshots that grew closer. The gunshots stopped. Tires screeched, and the revving engine of a runaway vehicle rent the air, only to be replaced by a shrill scream.

She ran out of her hiding place and found the source of the scream—a lady from the upper balcony of the building was pointing at him in a pool of his blood. That picture never left her head.

"Kyle!"

She woke up from the nightmare, one that reminded her of the promise she made to him on his gravestone. Now she was a step closer to fulfilling that promise.

Zee stepped into the shower, letting the warm water wash away the remnants of her nightmare. She methodically scrubbed her hair with lavender-scented shampoo, letting the calming scent soothe her nerves. After drying off, she applied moisturizer and a touch of makeup to highlight her features. She brushed her short hair, letting it fall naturally around her shoulders.

She chose her favorite navy-blue suit and a crisp powder-blue shirt from the closet. As she dressed, she opened her locket, gazing at the tiny picture of Kyle inside. His smiling face gave her strength. She kissed the locket gently before slipping it back around her neck.

Forty-five minutes after waking, Zee stood in front of the mirror. "Not bad, Zoe," she said to her reflection, smiling as her left dimple showed. "This is for you," she added, stroking and kissing the locket once more.

She picked up her mini suitcase and walked out the door, thoughts of her first day at work swirling in her mind. A three-minute drive took her to Arno's Diner. Her aunt, Rita, was all smiles as she walked in.

"Oh my! If looks could kill!"

She balanced on the stool in front of the counter. "Ma, don't exaggerate."

"Coffee with two sugars?" Rita asked.

"And a slice of toast, please. I'm starving."

Rita left the counter for the kitchen.

"Breakfast is on the house for our first customer," a bass-toned voice said behind her.

She got down from her stool to face her dad.

"Morning, Pops," she said and kissed his cheek as he embraced her with the newspaper in his hand.

"You look wonderful, dear," he said as they disentangled. "The same way your mom, bless her soul, looked on her first day at the law firm."

"Oh Pops, don't start."

The duo got seated at a nearby table. Rita bustled out of the kitchen with a tray and set it in the middle. "Hello Arno. I heard your voice and figured that you would be hungry."

He opened his arms for a hug. "What would I do without you, Rita?"

"Maybe you should name this place 'Rita's Diner' instead," she said with hands on her hips.

"It wouldn't sound great."

She ruffled his greyish-black hair. "I'm only here for the summer, bro. I still get my paycheck like the rest of your workers."

Zoe watched the brother and sister duo in amusement. They still acted like kids even in middle age.

Rita retired into the kitchen by the time her toast was finished. She nursed the mug in her hand and stared into its dark contents.

"Zee, have you heard the latest?"

She looked up, puzzled. "No, what happened?"

He slid his newspaper over to her.

"You have to be one with the news, Detective Zee."

"I know, Pops. I came here first, didn't I?" She countered and put down her mug.

"They say a bioweapon has gone missing. It was in transit through Rio when the transport team was hijacked," he said and sniffed his coffee. "This is fresh."

"All the detectives in my precinct would be itching to have this case." She dropped the paper and drained the last of her coffee.

"I gotta bounce, Pops," she said, rising with her suitcase.

"That saying of yours never gets old. When will you ever sound like a lady?" Arno asked and sipped his coffee.

"I'm still your little rebel, Dad." She planted a kiss on his cheek. "Have a nice day."

Zoe walked out of Arno’s Diner and drove to the precinct. The city's morning traffic filled the streets as she navigated toward her destination.

Arriving at the precinct, she greeted Joe, one of the workers in the parking lot. "Morning."

He gave a wolf whistle. "You look nice, Zoe."

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She smirked at him as she unlocked her car. "It's Detective Zoe now, Joe."

She walked off as Joe watched her, all smiles. What a pervert, she thought.

12th Precinct - Bairro Imperial. Located in the neighborhood where she lost a brother.

She walked into the sound of telephones beeping and suspects mumbling at the entrance of the head officer's cubicle.

"Zoe Hernandez! Nice of you to show up early today," Head Officer Marco remarked.

He gestured to the lady sitting in front of him to wait. She nodded.

"I'm happy to be here, sir." He rose from his seat and they shook hands. Zoe noticed his silver ring with an insignia of a crescent. Isn't that dandy, she thought.

He handed a file to her. "Here are your papers of identification and your assigned cubicle details. There are no cases for you yet."

"Why so?" she asked as she browsed through the file. "Is it some sort of procedure?"

He sat on his revolving chair. "A necessary one, Miss Zoe. You have to connect with the rest of the crew and..."

"Your partner," someone said behind her.

She turned to face a blonde man of average build in a tan suit. His heavy eyebrows raised.

"Detective Zoe, meet Detective Pascal, your new partner," Marco said.

She shook hands with him. "Nice to meet you."

"Marco, you didn't tell me my partner was a good-looking woman." He smiled at her.

Her face remained expressionless. "Thanks."

"Show her around, Pascal. Off you go," Marco said with a wave of his hand.

They walked past rows of cubicles and offices, the precinct bustling with the sounds of ringing phones and echoing footsteps. Pascal described each area, pointing out key locations as they moved along. He gestured towards an enclosed room.

"There's the coffee room," he said, nodding towards the door. "Every Friday is pizza day, and we all get doughnuts once in a while."

Zoe took it all in, absorbing the details of her new workplace. "How long have you been working here?" she asked when Pascal turned to face her.

"This is actually my first time working at this precinct," Pascal replied. "I was transferred from the 8th Precinct, Copacabana Central."

She nodded. "So how come you know so much about here already?"

"I came last week for a couple of days and did some exploring," he said, smiling at her again.

Somehow he made her feel uneasy. Maybe I'm overthinking it. Calm down, Zoe, she thought, then smiled back.

"Where's our cubicle?"

"It's over there."

He pointed to an empty cubicle across from the coffee room. "Best spot in the whole precinct."

"I agree."

In fifteen minutes, they organized the two desks positioned in an L format. Soon after, Pascal introduced her to the officers present at the precinct. She noticed that there were only a few female officers and she was the only female detective.

She engaged in small talk with a group of officers while Pascal wandered off. Two of them sat on the available chairs while the other two perched on the table. She stood.

"Miss, I gotta say, you're quite brave for coming here," Luke, one of them, said.

"Mate, do you have to be a busybody?" Shawn, another of them, shunned.

Zoe chuckled. "Hold on guys, let him talk."

Luke adjusted his cap as he got up, gave Shawn a mean look, and walked away.

She took his seat. "Aww, did you have to?"

Nona, the only female among them, drew closer to her and whispered, "The thing is, the last female detective to work here was murdered."

Zoe's heart skipped a beat at the word 'murdered'.

"It's true," Stevie added. "And I think it's because she was meddling in affairs she wasn't meant to," he said in a hushed tone.

Shawn shook his head and put on his cap as he made to leave. "Y'all shouldn't say what y'all don't know about. It's best to be silent."

With that, he walked away.

"What's wrong with him?" Nona asked.

"He's always in a bad mood," Stevie said with a wave of his hand.

Zoe peered at her watch. "Uh, guys, when do you usually have your break?"

Nona shrugged. "It depends on if we work the night or day shift. For day, it's 2 pm and we close by 6. For night, it's 1 am and we close by 5 in the morning."

The walkie-talkie attached to Stevie's belt beeped twice. "Looks like we have some situation, Nona. Two beeps."

Nona nodded. "Yep, we have to head on to HO Marco's office," she said, rising from the chair.

"Okay, thanks for the chat," Zoe said as the duo left her to her thoughts. Steven Rennet. The name she read off the short wall that separated his table from the one in front. She noticed a newspaper.

"BIOWEAPON STOLEN ON ITS WAY TO BRAZILIAN POLICE HEADQUARTERS" read the front page.

"There you are, Zoe!"

"You wandered off, Pascal," she said, eyes scanning the newspaper for any mentioned names. There were none.

"I can't help it. My explorer side," he said, then tapped the newspaper on the table. "Biggest news in town. I heard that it happened not so far from 16th Precinct-Tijuca Sul. There is a lot of police activity there."

She faced him. "We'll get our own big case."

He smiled. "I think I will enjoy working with you, Miss Zoe."

She rose from the chair. "Let's head over to our office, shall we?"

"Sure."

After two hours of studying closed case files with Pascal, she was granted an hour break. A one-minute drive took her to the one place she missed the most in the neighborhood.

As she knocked on the door of apartment 5A, her heart started to race. She had not visited since the incident.

"Who is it?" asked the familiar voice.

"A friend of a cousin."

In an instant, the door unlocked and swung open. Lydia's once slim frame was robust.

"Zee! What a pleasant surprise!" she exclaimed and pulled her into a hug.

"I thought I was not welcome."

Lydia released her. "Now why would you think that? Come on in!"

Zoe sighed with relief as she walked in. The first picture she saw was his. She traced his face with her finger.

"This place had a lot of memories," Lydia said as Zoe stared at his picture. "Let's go."

She led Zoe past the one-sofa sitting room into the bedroom and pulled a chair for her. A suitcase with clothes lay open on the bed.

"Why are you packing, Lydia?" she asked as she sat. "Traveling somewhere?"

Lydia faced her with clothes in hand and plopped on the bed. "I'm moving out."

She tossed the clothes into the suitcase.

"What is the problem? Is it rent?"

"No, Zee. Uncle Richie paid for a year and there are only four months left. I got engaged." She raised her right hand. A ring with a turquoise jewel sat on her finger.

"That's nice. Congratulations, Lydia."

"Thanks. My fiancé got me another apartment close to where he lives in Copacabana."

"Oh! I get it now," Zoe nodded.

"I've been holding on to these memories, this place, for a long time, Zee. I have to move on."

"I understand you."

Lydia got up. "Enough about me. What about you? Your suit is killer, by the way."

She chuckled. "You still remember that compliment?"

"Why not? You used to say it too," Lydia replied as she proceeded to unhang more clothes from the closet.

"Okay. I'm a detective now."

"What!" She said, making an abrupt turn. "A detective?"

"Yes, I started work at 12th Precinct, not so far from here."

Lydia tossed more clothes into the case. "Don't tell me it has to do with what happened to Kyle." She then sat on the bed's edge, facing her directly.

"It has everything to do with it."

"Come on, Zoe. You're still living in the past."

"Maybe I am. Maybe I haven't moved on," she said, blinking back tears she never shed. "But I'm doing this so that what happened to him doesn't happen to anyone else."

"What are you going to do? Catch the thugs that ended his life? It's been ten years now."

Zoe looked away. "I know that, but I chose to do this for him."

Lydia got up and drew closer to her. "Look at me, Zoe Hernandez."

She faced the figure that crouched in front of her. "Lydia, please tell me I'll be fine."

"You will, dear. My cousin would be so proud of you for doing this."

"Thank you so much."