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Marshall Lee lay in bed on black silk sheets, staring up at the whirring blades of the ceiling fan. Next to him, a girl no older than 18 slid closer to him & pressed her soft, warm skin seductively against his own, cold & pale. "Mm...Fionna, you say something?" he asked. "I asked if you could hear me ok", she said, "I've always been a little shy, and..." Marshall laughed & said, "No, Fionna, I understand every word & if I didn't...There is no 'if I didn't'. I can understand every word." Fionna smiled & said, "Handsome & charming...My, my, you're full of surprises." Marshall grinned & said, "No, I've told you everything. I'm a farmer who moved here looking for work...And I love you." Fionna rolled her eyes. "What?" he said. "Please", she replied, "Do you know how many men tell the girls here they love them?" "And what if it were true?" Marshall asked, grinning. "I want to believe you, I do, but..." Fionna started, her voice trailing off. She scooted closer to Marshall & gripped him tightly like a frightened child. "Tell me about yourself." Marshall said. "Me? I was born in the grasslands, where I lived for 13 years with my best friend, Cake." Fionna said. "I came here to the Candy Kingdom to pursue a business interest. While here, the law that every girl had to come here at 16 was enacted, & I became a slave. I've been here for 2 years." "Do you ever think about your future?" he asked. "All the time", she replied, "They say if a girl makes enough money, she can buy her freedom, but..." Marshall floated out of the bed to a briefcase sitting in the corner & set it down on the table. "Hey, Fionna", he said, "Remember how I said I'm an open book?" Marshall grinned, popping the briefcase open to reveal thick wads of hundred dollar bills stuffed to the brim. "Maybe I've got a surprise or two." he said as Fionna's eyes widened.

Cake & Ashley strolled up to an area where a Banana Guard lay hacked to pieces. Nearby stood a large shipping crate containing benches & a metal bucket that leaked a brown slurry, a hand-painted pink 'W' on the outside. Quarter-sized holes near the roof streamed in sunlight. Captain Banana Guard walked up & said, "Well, surprise, surprise, our victim's name is Banana Guard. He's an ex-Banana Guard who routinely used his customs job to make side deals with criminals, such as former Prince Gumball. We believe the murder may have been committed because of the cargo inside the container behind our vic." "Captain, with all due respect", Ashley said, "I'd prefer if you didn't use the term 'cargo'. This container held people, most likely women & girls from the outer reaches of Aaa to facilitate the slave trade." Cake looked at the container & said, "People who trade in people...Murder's bad, but the scumbags who try to pull this kind of garbage...They're the worst of the worst."

3 hours later, Cake & Ashley stood in the Customs Office, searching through records & pouring over files. "We know the cargo originated in the Goblin Kingdom, but from then on, there's almost no official record..." Ashley said, her brow furrowed in thought. "No surprise there", Cake said, "If I were illegally importing a bunch of people into the Candy Kingdom, I wouldn't want to leave much of a paper trail..." "No, but I'd want some way of knowing which container was mine", she said, "Wait a minute...There was something incriminating about the container. Someone painted a pink 'W' on the side." You're right", Cake replied, "Come to think of it, I remember seeing some pink highlighter in the back of a logbook." Flipping through the pages, Cake stopped at a page where the initials 'B.G.' were written in pink highlighter next to a blank shipping numbers. "Initials leading to more initials...Worth a shot." Ashley said dejectedly. "Actually, it might be more than that", Cake replied, "Captain Banana Guard sent me a list of everyone our victim had holochatted with in the past month..." Cake scrolled down the list until she found the initials. "Gotcha. Knew these looked familiar!" she said excitedly. "B.G...Otherwise known as Barneby Gumball..."

"Barneby Gumball, eh..." Captain Banana Guard said, staring at the mug shot. "That's right", a Banana Guard said, "He's the former prince of the Candy Kingdom, but devolved into a mob boss specializing in trafficking." "All right, but what's he doing on the screen?" he asked. "Last I checked, we were hunting down our boy Marshall Lee." "That's what I'm trying to do, Captain." the Guard said. "Look, tracking down Detective Lee's finances was a dead end, & the list you found in his safehouse was a plant." "The man is practically invisible..." the Captain said. "That's just it, though", the Guard replied, "Marshall isn't invisible...Most of the time. Meaning he can be seen by passersby." "So we check the traffic cams!" he exclaimed. "Am I right?" "Spot on, Captain." the Guard said. Typing on his keyboard, he quickly pulled up a map of the Candy Kingdom. "A person matching Detective Lee's description began making regular patrols in this area." he said. "That's not just regular. That's Candy Kingdom military." Captain Banana Guard said. "Back in the Great Mushroom War, my squad ran a mini-max patrol just like that one. Minimize exposure, maximize intel. I'd bet my medals that Detective Lee's got his eye on someone in that area." "Exactly, and that brings us back to this guy..." "Barneby Gumball..." the Captain growled.

Marshall stood outside the entrance to Barneby Gumball's bordello, briefcase in one hand, Fionna clinging tightly to the other, arguing with a hulking ex-Banana Guard standing in front of the door. "I told you", he said, "I'm here to talk to Barneby Gumball." "Oh yeah? What business do you have with him?" the Guard asked. "That's between me & him." Marshall said coolly. Slapping at his chest, Fionna said, "Just tell him, Marshall. Just tell him you're here to purchase my freedom." "Ha! Is that right?" the Guard laughed. "You want to free Fionna? You bring money to do that?" Marshall popped open the briefcase, watching as the Guard's eyes grew wide with greed. "Hey, that's a lot of money!" he said, sticking his hand in. Quickly, Marshall snapped the case shut again, pinching the Guard's fingers. "Hey! Watch it!" he said. "No, you watch it. Or do I need to tell Gumball that you've been stealing from his cookie jar?" Marshall asked. "No...No need for that..." the Guard said fearfully. Regaining his composure, he said, "Come. I take you to Gumball."

As Marshall & Fionna followed him in, they looked around to where several velvet booths sat in the back, as well as sounds of moaning from inside rooms they passed by. "Heh...You interested?" the Guard asked. "Maybe you use the money for wild time instead, eh? Ever been with 2 girls at once?" Clenching his fists, Marshall replied, "Yes, I've been with two girls before. It would've been 3, but your mother wouldn't accept less thn half my attention." "My mother?" the Guard echoed. "Are you saying she is like Fionna? My mother is saint!" Angrily, the guard punched the wall, causing a voice to call out from one of the rooms, "Occupied!" Suddenly, a tall, lanky man in sunglasses appeared at the end of the hall & said, "Hey! Is this anyway to treat a client?" "He isn't a client, Barneby", the Guard replied, "He wants to purchase Fionna's freedom." "All the more reason to treat him as our honored guest!" Gumball said. "Bring him! Bring him here!" Marshall followed Gumball into the next room, finding a well-stocked bar. "Would you care for a drink? We have the finest root beers in all of Aaa." Gumball said. "Sure. Why not?" Marshall said. He poured the drinks, & the two men downed them in one quick gulp.

"Cough...Cough...Good, no?" Gumball asked. "Now, down to business", he continued, "The price for Fionna is $20,000." "$20,000?" Marshall echoed. "That's almost double what I was told it'd be." "Sure, but Fionna is a lovely girl, and besides..." Gumball said. "I'm pretty sure you have more than 20,000 in that briefcase." Fuming, Marshall reached for his briefcase, but Gumball clapped & said, "Oops! Too slow. Price is $30,000 now." "That's not fair!" he shouted. "Life isn't fair", Gumball replied, "Talk to Fionna about that." "There are $35,000 in this briefcase", Marshall said desperately, handing the case to the Guard for counting, "Now do we have a deal or not?" "In my experience, only 2 kinds of men would pay so much for a slave." Gumball said. "You are either a man in love...Or a man who won't pay. So which is it?" "I'm a man who won't pay." Marshall said calmly. "Then you don't get the girl!" he roared. Smirking, Marshall pulled a detonator out of his pocket & said, "I wouldn't be so sure about that." The briefcase exploded with a flash & a deafening bang, seperating the Guard's head from his body. Whipping a laser pistol out of his pocket, he said, "Here's my new terms, Barneby Gumball...I kill you. How's that for a final offer?" Grabbing Fionna & pulling her close, Gumball reached behind the bar & pulled out his own pistol, digging it into her temple. "Bold move. I like it." Gumball said, cocking his pistol. "But what happens next, I don't think you'll like at all."

As Ashley & Fionna walked towards the area forwarded to them by Captain Banana Guard, Ashley noticed her partner's hands clenched tightly into fists. "Quite a death grip you've got there, Cake", she said, "Everything all right?" "It's just...You gotta wonder what these girls were thinking getting involved with a scummy guy like Barneby Gumball." Cake said. "They didn't 'get involved' with him by choice, Cake", Ashley replied, "They were either tricked or physically coerced. By the time they found out what they were in for...It was too late." Suddenly, several lasers blasted through a nearby window, leaving smoking scorch marks, accompanied by feminine screaming. Drawing her gun, Ashley said, "Looks like this is the place. According to city records, this place manufactures & sells candy hearts, but a C.I. swears that the cover is deeply ironic." "Only one way to find out..." Cake said, kicking down the door. "We go in & see if we're welcome."

Walking down the hallway, Ashley was surprised to see former Detective Marshall Lee pointing a gun at Barneby Gumball, ducking behind a captive Fionna. "Um...Unexpected...?" Cake said. "Ashley, Cake, what the hell are you doing here?" Marshall shouted. "I could ask the same of you, Marshall." she said. "I could ask it of all of you!" Gumball roared. "Touche...but seeing as we're here now...Ashley, would you mind helping me execute this piece of trash?" Marshall asked. "Marshall, listen to me. You don't have to do this. You haven't killed anyone who hadn't killed before. You could argue self-defense." Ashley said. "You knew he murdered before, & you didn't arrest him?" Gumball asked. "What kind of police are you?" "That's not entirely correct..." she replied. "No? Then why are you here?" he asked. "Because you killed the Customs Officer." she said back. "That...That was just a misunderstanding!" Gumball cried. "Oh yeah, the kind of misunderstanding where you accidentally kill someone & import a bunch of slaves!" Cake shouted. "We've all been there, right?" "Right up there with losing the house key." Ashley growled. "Enough! Ashley, are you with me or against me?" Marshall asked. "Marshall, please! Don't make me choose! This isn't even your choice!" "Really? I think Barneby Gumball's about to die, & I'm going to be the one to kill him!" he shouted. "Marshall, this isn't you." she said. Glancing down at the floor, Marshall said, "Even so, are you telling me this slaving filth deserves to live?" "Yes, Marshall", Ashley urged, "Everyone deserves to live...But Cake & I can make sure he does that behind bars."

Marshall sighed, then lowered his gun. "All right, I'll walk", he said, "As long as he confesses & does his time...I can live with that." Signalling Cake to do the same, Ashley set down her gun & said, "Barneby, look. We're all calm. See? Now you drop your gun..." Slowly, Gumball set down his gun, Fionna inching away from him...And Captain Banana Guard burst through the door, gun drawn. "POLICE!" he shouted. Gumball picked up his gun & fired! In retaliation, Captain Banana Guard fired. Cake fired! Marshall fired! "No! Stop! It doesn't have to..." but her screams of protest were drowned out in the noisy firing. When the smoke cleared, the Captain & Cake stood, unharmed. Cake shoved him & said, "Captain, what the hell was that?! We almost had him!" "I tracked Barneby to this location", he said, "I heard shouting, so I assumed Detective Lee was making his move. And, as it turns out, I wasn't wrong." "Well, at least we're all ok..." Ashley said. "Not all of us..." Marshall said sadly, cradling Fionna in his arms, a scorch mark from a laser blast through her stomach. "I didn't mean to", he said, a lone tear streaking down his face, "But she stepped into my line of fire. She's a good girl, an innocent girl...And I killed her."
The End