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Scanning around the announcement.... gathering... place, Alexander saw some less than reputable characters. There WAS, of course, Maxwell Hale, who the police department suspected of major organized criminal activity. He was the big player in this. If he had a hand in this excursion, there was something bound to be dirty with this deal. Alexander made a mental note to keep an eye on him and his goons.

Shaking the woman's hand in a powerful but tender grip, Alexander smiled once again as she spoke, her voice somehow captivating him.

"Well, it's quite a pleasure to work with you, Miss Schultz." *Ahem* "I.... I uh....... Gosh, yer pretty." he said, grinning like a fool.

Turning to the podium so that he could be heard, Alexander spoke to the press, addressing the rest of the KCPD, fire in his eyes as a look of utmost intensity came upon his face.

"My fellow officers of the law. You know who I am. My reputation speaks for me. I encourage you, especially the members and close friends of mine in the Anti-Mob Tactical Crime Force, I encourage you to join this team. As you all know, we can't just... AVOID the problems that have been going on all around the city. If we want to stop it, lend us a hand. You've been warned- what you do with this knowledge is all up to you."

Walking back from the podium, Alexander winked at Aubia, a slight grin once again on his face as he walked past her, taking his place at the rear, his hand silently creeping to the knife he kept strapped to the outside of his right leg. If any of Hale's goons tried anything, this detective wouldn't go down easily.

Well, this sounds good for business I must admit. Godfather Hale looked over at Aubia with a slight smirk, and nodded his head once giving her his silent approval. Surely, it wasn't long before Cwen would also give her consent. The mobster caught the detective glancing over at some of the Hale Family members, and yet didn't seem to care. Well, isn't this ironic? The law and the underworld teaming up against a greater threat. Being suspected by the law was nothing new to the Hale Family, and the crime family always found ways around the law. Gangs wanting to replace the Hale Family were much more of an immediate threat, and it was a rival gang that crippled Maxwell's father out of the business. However, the threat of the city destroying itself was certainly the worst threat the crime family ever faced.

One thing that separated the Hale Family from most of the other gangs was that they did not kill law enforcement officials. It was a very strict rule within the gang. They had far more efficient methods of countering heat, which included bribery, intimidation, and tampering of evidence. However, the most efficient method involved using their various connections in politics, law, and the media, and these connections made the Hale Family the envy of the Klox City underworld. Due to the Hale Family's influence, arrested members were usually back in business in no time.

"If there is a god, they're a cruel, sadistic being with a horrible sense of humor." Lieutenant Quinn Dallas muttered under her breath, her teeth grinding.

She'd finally managed to pin down an admin who'd worked with the man she had lying on a slab in the morgue, only to find him a stuttering, useless office drone.

She'd spent twenty minutes of precious time during this first twenty four hours of the case trying to pry a coherent sentence out of him, only to have him blink and sweat and stammer through most of the interview.

She needed one person, just one, to ask for identification, and she'd have the perfect subject to vent her frustration on. But at the moment, she had to track down somebody who could give her some frigging answers.

Antoinette, oblivious to Quinn attempting to reach her, couldn't help the superior smirk when she saw the brief look of unsettled surprise that flashed over Aubia's face (though it disappeared as soon as it came). The other woman knew she was displeased, was even disturbed by it, and that made Antoinette feel better. Making people squirm was her favorite way of relieving unbecoming anger.

"Ma'am, a moment of your time." Quinn stepped in front of Antoinette, blocking the other woman's view of the podium. Though her lips curved in what might have generously been called a smile by some optimistic soul, her eyes remained hard and cold, all cop.

Raising a brow, Quinn pulled out her ID, flashing it briefly. "I've got a few questions to ask you, regarding the death of one of your colleagues. Are you familiar with the name James Kipling?" She asked, delighted to have taken the smirk off the woman's face.

((Pink wasn't doing it, dear.))

"Yes, that's goo-" She cut off on a muttered oath when a reporter backed up, jostling her, and had him scurrying off with one snarled threat.

"Perhaps we should speak somewhere less...crowded. Buy you a cup of coffee?" She offered, more because she wanted coffee than out of any real sense of hospitality or anything.

Angelina watched the press conference from off her television set in her shop. He eyes narrowed as she tried to identify some of the people she reconized, with no avail. She sighed. Nothing was going right anymore. The Warlock was shutting down, losing power. She had actually witnessed it. She threw her plastic cup at the wall and it broke in half. She sat down, fustrated that she couldn't do anything to help. She watched the screen again as the people started circulating from their seats to the podium.

Carol watched from the side of the stage as everyone took turns speaking. She read everyone's facial expressions, as she's used to doing. Aubia looked terrified. Carol chuckled to herself. She had to tell Aubia about that later. She watched as another man came on stage, told Aubia something that made her blush. She almost laughed out loud when she realized what it was the man had said to her. She put her head down and scratched it. She forgot why she even came. She hated the flashes of the light bulb on the cameras and the people shouting to get their questions answered. She sighed. She never thought things through.