Well well......here is chapter 11......I wish I could reply to all you readers by name and I will when I get the time, but in the meantime, enjoy.......

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"What the hell?" I croaked in shock, staring at the struggling, curvaceous woman I had slammed up against the wall. "Shampoo? What are you doing here?"

I blinked to make sure my eyes were seeing right. Yup, it was definitely my old nemesis. Older, taller, curvier. In fact, she was a little taller than me, which sort of ticked me off. Her long hair was arranged in some intricate fashion with jewelled hairpins that let some of it flow like shiny tar down one shoulder. She'd dyed it black which was why I hadn't recognized her from behind. Her feet were clad in four-inch, red, stiletto- heeled sandals. That explained some of the height. She'd poured herself into a sequined scarlet evening dress of some clingy material that had no back and very little front, and I could feel her very ample breasts heaving against my forearm.

Damn, I hope they're sagging by now, I thought uncharitably.

She peered down at me, eyes wide, swallowing past the gun I'd pressed up against her lily-white throat. Her soft perfume enveloped me in a cloud of roses. Seduction working overtime.

"What are YOU doing here, Akane?" She asked. She looked a helluva lot less surprised to see me than I was to see her. I wondered why. I hadn't seen Shampoo in seven years. She'd lit out soon after Ranma left Nerima. I decided to find out once the situation was a little more under control. The guy she'd been mauling was frozen, clutching his throat with long, slim fingers, but since we were in a corner and Shampoo and I were blocking his exit he couldn't leave without getting past us.

Still holding her by the neck, I shifted sideways, trying to present the smallest target for the next knife that might come my way from behind. I pointed the gun at the ground and glanced around for her cohort. I remembered how good Mousse was at throwing knives and swords and chains and......ducks......whatever the obsessed martial artist could get his hands on.

"Mousse, if that's you, come out of there," I called a little nervously, watching the other wall where the hotel had placed stands of potted plants.

A slim young man in a waiter's uniform came out from behind a potted palm, his hands empty and raised up palms outwards in the universal gesture of surrender. It was definitely Mousse. I hadn't seen him, either, since he'd left with Shampoo and Cologne. I remembered that long, shining curtain of hair, glossy black as a raven's wing. Sure, it was clubbed back into a ponytail now, and the coke-bottom glasses that hid his luminous bottle- green eyes were gone, and he looked older. But it was definitely Mousse.

"Hello, Akane Tendo," he said, in a tone that said he was surprised to see me but not shocked. He eyed my little dress of feathers with appreciation."You're looking good."

Compliments from MOUSSE? Last I could remember, he didn't know there was a girl in the world aside from Shampoo. Why were these two surprised, but not shocked, to see me? I shook my head, took a deep breath and slowly released Shampoo, moving away so that I could nominally cover all three of them with my gun in one sweep. She moved back quickly, her sharp heels sinking into the thick carpet, but she didn't join Mousse, who stood there doing his best to look harmless. That didn't fool me. I knew Mousse could pull the kitchen sink out of his uniform if he wanted to. I choked down questions I wanted to ask because I didn't want to look like the ignorant one of the group, and I still vaguely hoped everyone would disappear and make things easier for me.

"Okay, let's start with the simple things in life." Nothing looked simple here, but I forged ahead with hope in my heart. "Who is this guy and why were you choking him, Shampoo?"

She glared at the guy, who was now glaring back at her. Close up, I could see he was taller than all of us, in his early thirties. He emanated an aura of competence. He wore a dark blue Armani suit that went well against his café latte coloring. His dark hair had been expertly styled and a gold Rolex encircled his left wrist. I could smell rich, heavy cologne on him. His jet-black eyes looked coldly at Shampoo as he continued to rub his throat lightly.

"This man is wanted for questioning," she said. "As an officer of the law, I'm taking him in."

"You're an officer of the law?" I said. "What law?"

She frowned at me, like I was trying to make things difficult on purpose. She'd given me that look before, when I was foiling whatever scheme she'd come up with to make Ranma her husband. So sue me.

"Mousse and I work for Chinese Intelligence and we've been looking for this man," Shampoo pointed an accusing finger at him. "...in regard to smuggling. He calls himself Ashish."

She pulled out a certificate from somewhere I didn't see and brandished it in front of me. Well, that tore it. I wasn't happy about it but I reluctantly switched my gaze to Ashish.

"Mr. Ashish, I'm afraid on Chinese territory I'll have to hand you over...."

"You idiots!" Ashish muttered. He whipped out a small book and flipped it open facing us. "I work for the Central Bureau of Investigation in India, and I too am investigating this smuggling ring. I am undercover!"

I wanted to whisk out a menu or something, just for the hell of it, since everyone else seemed to have papers handy to wave around.

"Geez, there's a party going on back here," drawled a voice, and I turned to see Ranma leaning against a wall; arms folded nonchalantly, legs crossed. "Why wasn't I invited?"

"And who are YOU?" asked Ashish, looking angry at yet another addition to our little gathering. I watched Shampoo for her reaction, but she simply looked annoyed.

"Look, everyone, this is getting complicated," said Mousse, in a pacifying manner. "We should retire somewhere a little more private." He walked up to the wall and pulled his knife out. My hands itched to aim my gun at him, but there was no way I was going to shoot Mousse, and it seemed a little silly to point a gun at him if I didn't plan to use it.

Ranma had walked close to me and now he bent his head so that his lips were close against my ear. "I thought you were going to the washroom."

"I got lost," I hissed back.

"Mhmmm, really?" He let his hand rest on my bare shoulder and moved it in a downward caress to my elbow, which he gripped lightly. "If you disappear like that again, Akane," he murmured, sending shivers down my spine, "I will have to lock you up, and I promise you won't like that, even if I will." I flushed but before I could work up the courage to say anything, Ranma stepped back.

"What are you doing here, Ranma?" Shampoo had taken a step forward, her eyes glittering and her fists clenched. Mousse let his knife disappear into his outfit and turned to us.

"Ranma Saotome, it's been a long time." Something in his tone made Shampoo relax, and she started watching Ashish again.

"Your aim has gotten better, Mousse, or were you just lucky?" I asked, motioning to his lack of glasses.

"Contacts," he explained, smiling. Since when did Mousse get so calm, anyway, I wondered.

Shampoo turned and led the way into one of the guestrooms. She swayed as she walked, with the utter confidence of a woman who knows that every eye is trained on her shapely behind. Yes, I looked, too. Briefly.

"Don't worry," she said, opening a door and leading us in. "It's soundproof. For the screams, you know."

I so didn't want to know. I glanced around. A giant circular bed with dark red satin sheets and lots of throw pillows dominated the room. Near the window, there was a table with chairs and we unanimously avoided the bed and headed for the chairs.

Once we were seated, Shampoo said, "Explain to us why you are here.....Akane." I had the feeling she'd wanted to say 'bitch' instead.

"Why me?" I felt irritable. Being around Shampoo just got me that way and I was so sick of being the one with all the questions. "I'm the one who rescued Ashish from a broken neck, not to mention saving you from making a big mistake by killing an Indian officer. I think you owe me explanations. What are you doing in this hotel in the first place?"

"Are you working with Ranma?" she asked abruptly. Again I mentally translated that to- Are you sleeping with Ranma? I felt my cheeks heat, and Shampoo's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, she is, Shampoo," Ranma said, leaning forward to place his elbows on the table. "That has no bearing here. We'd still like an explanation."

Mousse leaned forward as well. His bright, green eyes looked from Ranma to Shampoo as he spoke. I wondered what he was thinking. "A month ago, our department was given a tip that a ring of thieves was smuggling things from China to India, across our shared border. The things would then be taken by train down to the coast and shipped off to various parts of the world. They shipped all sorts of things-jewels, women, panda bears......"

"Panda bears?" I injected.

"Some people will pay a lot for an animal that is an endangered species," Mousse explained. "These people also smuggle drugs. Shampoo was chosen to go undercover and try to get herself bought and smuggled."

"I discovered who was in charge of the smuggling at the Chinese end," said Shampoo, picking up the thread of the story. "His name is Zhang. And he has a secretary, Shekuto, who is very dangerous. But when I was snooping around, I heard that Zhang communicates with someone in India, who was going to send Ashish here as his representative. The party tonight was in honour of him." She turned to Ashish expectantly. The CBI officer scowled, looking uncomfortable spilling his guts to strangers.

"I am in much the same situation as Puu, or I should say, Shampoo," he said, running a hand through his hair. "The Indian government in Delhi learnt that Chinese contraband was passing through our railway system secretly and being shipped out from Calcutta."

"Wouldn't it be easier just to ship them out of Shanghai?" Ranma asked. He sat facing the door and the light from the window made it hard to read his expression.

"The ports in Shanghai are too well watched for that to work," Mousse said. "The goods are collected at Lhasa. Zhang's counterpart has a whole list of corrupt officials to help him in eastern India."

"We just don't know who he is," Ashish growled in frustration. He looked like a man who was used to the finer things in life, but as though he'd achieved them in a slightly shady way. Perfect for his role, I mused. "And now I may never have the chance if all of you have blown my cover!"

I listened silently, trying to put the information together in my head. What did this have to do with the diamond, though? Was it simply another acquisition of the smuggling ring? Who ever heard of ninjas working for a smuggling ring?

"Have you heard of a Kesari Dal?" Ranma asked at that moment. Shampoo and Mousse shook their heads.

"He's a thug in the Indian underworld," Ashish looked suddenly interested. "He is based in Calcutta. Where did you come across the name?"

"His goons decided to rough us up a little bit," said Ranma. "We don't know why."

"So what are you two doing here?" Shampoo asked, switching her gaze from Ranma to me. I suddenly realized that she must have come across Ranma sometime in these last eight years, maybe even recently. She seemed to regard him mainly in the way of a cop regarding a neighboring cop homing in on her territory, but there was something else there as well. Ooh, Ranma had some explaining to do.

"I'm Akane's bodyguard," Ranma answered, then leaned back and left the rest up to me. I skewered him with a glare for passing the buck so easily, but he grinned and shrugged. I quickly juggled everything I knew and tried to decide how much I wanted to tell them.

"I was carrying a package for someone who I hoped to find in Shanghai," I said, keeping it truthful and short. "The package got stolen last night and I have reason to believe it's in this hotel."

"What was in the package?" asked Shampoo.

"I'm not at liberty to say," I sighed, closing my eyes against the pressure of their stares. "It's confidential."

"So you seem to be here on a different case" Ashish mused. He stood up then. "Well, if the sharing of information is done, you and I have to get back to the party, my dear 'Puu', and I'll assure Zhang that his gift was quite......time-consuming."

Shampoo flushed and stood as well. Mousse, Ranma and I followed suit. We trooped out behind Shampoo and Ashish after making sure that no one was in sight. We all had jobs to do, and Ranma and I had to get back to the stage.

We climbed a set of stairs leading to the party level, and the noise of clinking cutlery and soft music let us know we were in the right place.

"Me first," Mousse murmured. "You can find me in the servants' living quarters after the party." With that, he melted easily into the crowd. I saw him emerge amidst a group of people with a tray of drinks in his hand.

Shampoo placed her hand on Ashish's arm and glanced back at Ranma. Some emotion glittered in her pale eyes, and I realized it was regret. Then she looked at me.

"You don't really believe this is a coincidence do you, Akane Tendo?" So saying, she allowed Ashish to lead her out. I tracked their progress until suddenly Ranma grabbed me around the waist with both hands. A thrill of fear went through me.

"Akane," he growled softly, leaning in to nuzzle my neck softly, "You are the most stubborn chick alive and some day I'll have to....."

There was a clinking of glassware and I looked up to see Zhang standing proudly in front of a velvet-covered box. Ashish and Shampoo stood next to him. I watched from the shelter of Ranma's arms.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, smiling. "In honor of my new guest, Mr. Ashish, I would like to unveil my latest acquisition, the Great Mogul diamond!"

There were gasps and low cries as a guard whisked off the velvet curtain from the box to reveal......my great, big, ugly, yellow, priceless diamond.

Damn.

Tbc…