There were three rough-looking men standing around the woman, who they'd gotten backed against a wall. All four of them had daggers in their hands, though I could see even from the rooftop across the street that hers was much better cared for, a light sheen in the moonlight making it clear that she kept the blade oiled in sharp contrast to the dull and pitted look of her assailants' weapons. She was small - hair fell over her ears, but her height and lithe figure gave me the impression that she was an elf - but didn't have the look of a helpless victim. Her feet were shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and little movements of her head indicated that she was looking between the three men, ready for an attack or gauging them for an opening to press her own. Still, three against one hardly seemed fair.

I dropped down onto the fire escape on the side of the building I'd been watching from, and the old metal began to rattle and creak. I'd wanted to make noise, but it was a bit much, so I decided to come back later and take a look at it to make sure it was safe. That would have to wait, though, because four pairs of eyes were turning my way. I shot back up to the roof and out of sight before any but the woman's had a chance to see me and came down the other side. It's sometimes a tricky maneuver, running down a wall to outpace gravity, but I've had some practice so I didn't worry about the embarrassing possibility of running headlong into the ground. I timed my jump and hit the road at speed, cutting through an alley and disturbing some loose papers someone had tossed on the ground. I wasn't outrunning sound, so I could hear them rustling in the air behind me as I came out on the street where the foursome were having their confrontation.

One of the men had turned back to the woman, who was about to make a fight of it to judge by the way she shifted her feet. She might have been able to handle him, but by the time she was done the other two would have stopped looking at the empty fire escape. I grabbed the man who was facing her on my first pass, letting my wake unbalance the others. They had time to recover, barely, when I came back and threw the first man into the larger of his fellows. He'd already dropped his own knife by that point, and the impact made the other man loosen his grip, blade falling to the ground as he was bowled over by his compatriot's body. That left one more on his feet, and he turned to run. Maybe it was a little cruel of me, but I let him go a few yards before dashing up and swiping one foot out to take his legs out from under him. I picked him up from where he'd fallen and turned back toward the others, in case they'd recovered.

They hadn't. The smaller man was unconscious, and the woman had slid her dagger away and pressed her knee into the small of the larger's back, with his arms twisted behind him. "I was handling it." A statement of fact, dripping from her lips as she snapped manacles onto the man's wrists.

"I'm sure you were, miss, but..." When she sharply looked up at me, I recognized her. Definitely an elf, one that went by the name Janadana. She was on the watch. "Oh. Sorry, captain, didn't recognize you out of uniform." The man in my grip was starting to struggle, so I twisted one of his arms until he gasped and fell still.

"It's lieutenant now, Crimson." She muttered under her breath as she drew out a zip tie from her pocket and bound the wrists of the unconscious man. I didn't catch it all, but it involved something about politics. She'd been demoted.

"Sorry to hear that." I turned the man I was holding so that his back was to her, and she pulled another zip tie around his wrists.

"You're not the only one." We sat the conscious men down against the wall, and took a moment to prop up the third next to them. "Mind going down to the precinct and fetching me someone to help with these? I can't carry him and watch his friends at the same time."

"I'll give you a hand with them. Easier if we wait until he wakes up." I rubbed the back of my neck, considering how to ask her what I wanted to. "Glad I ran into you, lieutenant. Was wondering if there would be any way I could look at some recent cases." I had a feeling I knew what the answer would be, even before she opened her mouth and started shaking her head.

"Some of us appreciate what you do, Crimson, but you're not on the force. We can't let you in on ongoing investigations any more than we can take reporters with us." I nodded to her, that fitting perfectly with what I'd seen coming. "Why do you want that? Not exactly your usual M.O."

"Can't really tell you." I glanced down at the three men. The one who I'd knocked out was starting to stir, but it would be a few minutes before he was ready to walk. When I turned my attention back to Janadana, she was giving me a hard look. "I'm not trying to keep you in the dark. I just can't tell you what I don't know. I think someone I know - rather, someone she knows - may have gotten involved in something recently. She didn't tell me much, though, aside from asking if there might be some, ah, less conscientious men on the force."

"Some assholes, you mean." She smirked. "Hope you told her there are." She studied me as I shifted my weight between my feet. "Friend of a friend. If you know someone was involved in a crime, this would be the time to tell me."

I shook my head. "I don't." It was the truth. "She asked me that, and that's about all she was willing to say, which is why I think she's not the one actually involved. Don't know who was, or what exactly happened. Was hoping if I could look at some files, they might give me an idea."

She stared at my eyes long enough for me to get a little uncomfortable, then gave me another shake of her head. "Can't let you do that, Crimson. Whoever it was, do you think they've been taken in, or are they in hiding?"

"Don't know that, either."

"Tell your friend that even the assholes go easier on people they don't need to track down." She was frowning at me, now. "And internal investigations is more willing to look at cases that don't involve fugitives." She paused for a moment. "If she sends them to me directly, I promise I'll keep an open mind."

"I know the mask isn't worth quite as much lately, but..." I trailed off when she smirked at me. She glanced down at the three men, who were staring at us sullenly, then moved closer to me, crooking a finger.

I bent down, and she almost put her cheek against mine when she whispered. "Come off it, McTirin." She clapped a hand on my shoulder before she stepped back as I blinked at her and straightened up. "Unless this is something major, I can keep quiet about why they would be coming to me."

My hand moved to my neck of its own accord. "I'll think about it, lieutenant. Maybe if I find out some more..."

"Odin's beard! It'd cold and wet out here, damnit. Put us in a cell or let us go, if you two wanna spend a week chatting!" One of the thugs had found his voice, and I'd said all I could. Janadana generally went pretty strictly by the book, so I doubted I'd be able to move her on it. We gathered up the men, with me holding on to the biggest one and her with one hand on an arm of each of the others. I knew better than to argue with her about that, since she was the one with a badge, but I convinced her to let me take up the rear. If either of the men she was holding tried anything, I'd be able to stop it before it did them any good. They didn't.