Starshine heaved a sigh of relief as she stepped off the stage and went backstage.  if she was lucky she could make it to the bank before closing time.  She had just finished a set at the club and had gotten her pay for the week.  She was going to meet Deimne later for dinner.  He had said he needed to discuss "important" things with her.  She decided to go incognito so she hung up her dress, took her earrings off, wiped off the makeup, and put her heels away in the closet of her dressing room.  She rummaged through her drawers and pulled out what she needed to get started.  She took off her undergarments and pulled out a long strip of bleached muslin.  She began wrapping it tightly against her chest and when she was satisfied, pinned it and pulled on a sleeveless undershirt.  She put on her white collared shirt, black socks and pants, steel gray silk tie and vest, and black shoes with spats.  Then she tied her hair up in a long plait and coiled it up on top of her head and pinned it tight.  She snugged her fedora over the top making sure that none of the braid showed and then slid her leather holster on and slipped into her jacket.  She would have put her gun in the holster but a friend had need of it the night before and hadn't returned it yet.  After she looked herself over one more time she left the room through the back door and out into the alley.

Twenty minutes later she arrived at the bank.  She stepped inside and filed into line with the opulent crowd that frequented the bank.  Though hard times were everywhere, this was one of the "rich" banks.  She neared the front of the line when she heard the door bang open.  There was a loud crack as a gun was fired and a thug ran in screaming for everyone to get to the ground.  Nearly everyone dropped to the ground except one man who pulled out a gun of his own and aimed it at the robber.  Starshine watched the scene unfold as the thug shot at the man and missed wildly.  His bullet hit the counter and ricochet off.  In moments the bank was in mayhem.  People were screaming and ducking, a few tried to flee, and bullets were flying like a bad hail storm.  Starshine realized she was right behind the thief and tried to maneuver her way towards the door without being seen or suspected.  As she started to back away she was caught in the crossfire and a bullet ripped through her jacket and lodged in her arm.  she gritted her teeth to fight the wave of nausea and crawled towards the front of the bank. She had just reached the door when a man near her fell.  He crashed into a podium holding a large ornamental brass urn.  It came crashing down, pinning Starshine beneath it.  She tried desperately to push it off but her wound sent white hot pain up her arm and into her shoulder.  As she attempted to wiggle out from under it the front door banged open again and a large team of police swarmed in.  They quickly overwhelmed the last of the shooters and began cuffing them.  A large officer stopped by Star and looked down.  He saw the holster she had on and her arm which was still bleeding heavily.  She opened her mouth to ask him to help her but he aimed a swift kick to her head and everything went black.  

She woke up in the back of a police car when the officer opened the door.  He grabbed her by her wounded arm and forced her out of the car and through the doors of the local jail.  She noticed that the remaining thugs from the hold up were being put in the holding tanks for questioning.  She tried again to state her innocence but was met with guffaws and was chucked into a large dank concrete cell.  She hit the floor with a thud and stared wildly around as the corpulent, red faced officer entered her cell.  Three more officers filed in after him and stood in a semi circle.  The fat one picked Star up by the armpits and slammed her against the wall.  He began to pat her down and stopped when he felt the holster.  Finding no gun he continued down her body.  He paused again when he reached her thighs and then continued down to her ankles.  He started to come back up and thing time lingered between her thighs before turning her around and slapping her across the face.  

"She's clean" he grunted and the other officers stared.  "She?" Asked another officer as the first leaned in close to Star.  "Yeah she, but we ain't done yet are we sweetie?"  He said.  His breath stank of unwashed socks as he breathed down her neck.  He ripped off her vest and tore away the shirts in one movement.  He gave a cocky grin as he ripped away at the muslin, exposing her chest.  He leaned back towards her, pulled off her hat and pushed in on her body.  He pressed his unshaven face to hers and kissed her, forcing his tongue inside her mouth.  Star had enough and bit down as hard as she could.  She tasted blood and smiled before he pulled back and slugged her in the mouth.  He threw her to the ground and told the boys to have fun.  Then the real beating began.  Time after time they kicked, slapped, punched, and scratched her.  Every time they knocked her down, they would rip her back up by her braid and do it again.  Then one of them pulled out a knife and grabbed a hank of her hair.  He leaned in and whispered "If you're gonna dress like a man baby, you better LOOK like one."  With that he took the blade and sliced away at her hair.  The braid fell to the floor as he continued to hack away at her hair till nearly nothing remained.  

After they had done as much physical damage as they could, one of the officers ripped off the last vestiges of her clothing and threw her down to the floor again.  The red faced man knelt down beside her and put his hand on her.  He reached up and fondled her with one hand while he unzipped his pants with the other.  He lowered himself down over her and she turned her head away sobbing pleas for him to stop.  As she looked over towards the door she heard shouting.  The door slammed open and the chief barged in screaming obscenities far and wide.  The officers had been caught off guard and didn't even have the time to hide the evidence before he saw what they had done.  Starshine let out a pitiful sob and curled into a ball.  The next thing she knew, Deimna, Aiden, and Deimne's voices were surrounding her.  They had apparently come after hearing from one of their lookouts that Star had been at the scene and had been dragged away.  She opened her eyes for a brief second and saw Aiden looking at her with a mixture of anger and pity.  She closed her eyes again and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.  

Starshine woke up a few days later.  She tried to sit up but the pain overwhelmed her and she sank back into the bed.  It wasn't her room but Aiden's that she was in.  She felt him move and saw is arm, draped over he in a protective way.  She stirred and then jumped up out of the chair that he had been sleeping in.  He started to babble excitedly that she was awake but she drowned his words out.  Instead she motioned for him to come closer and hugged him as tight as she could with one arm.  

The next few days she spent in bed with Deimna and Aiden fussing over her but she soon grew bored of sitting in bed.  Aiden had accidently left the mornings newspaper on the bed and she read about the four policemen who would stand trial for excessive police brutality.  She crumpled up the paper and threw it aside.  After she was sure that neither Aiden nor Deimna were around she quietly slipped out of bed.  She rummaged around till she found what she was looking for and slid out the door.  A few hours later, she slipped back into bed exhausted but satisfied.  The world had just gotten a little more justice.

The next day Deimne came into her room.  He carelessly tossed his morning paper aside and pulled something out of his jacket. "I know I wanted a little more pomp and circumstance but I guess this will have to do."  He pulled out his knife, a card with a saint on it, and his gun.  After the ceremony was done he handed her her button and kissed her on both cheeks.  He then turned and picked up his paper.  As he left, she read the headline and smirked.  It read "POLICE OFFICERS ON TRIAL FOR POLICE BRUTALITY FOUND DEAD."

Wow Starshine! That was a great read, I loved it.

Thanks!  I couldn't go to sleep until I had told it,  I have more and can't wait to share them!

Nice read Starshine. Looks very nice :P Can't wait to read some more.

Great work Starshine, I realy enjoyed it.

Nice job, I enjoyed the read.

Excellent read, thanks for writing this!

Wow, great read!

Can't wait for more.

Those damn pigs got what they deserved. I should have done it myself, but it seems you can handle yourself. Your story was amazing. I can't wait for the next story you share with the world.

-Love Aiden

Stops Starshine on the street and offers a somewhat subdued smile.

Starshine, I'm glad to see those assholes got what was coming to them. You seem to be recovering nicely- I look forward to seeing you around the streets.

Good story, I look forward to reading more from you.

I don;t know what to say except thank you.  Expect to see an RP with Aiden and myself coming soon!

What a read, and what a creative mind you have. Keep on writing, as i look forward to seeing more from you

Wow, it's a very good work Starshine.

:)