Sydney

It had been a week since the office party and the spirit of the holiday were in the air. It had also been a week since I had seen Aiden. He'd dropped me off at my house and handed me his card with his phone number, instructing me to call him if I got into any difficulty. I kept the card safe in my wallet this time.
For an annual downtime, my office was closed. As a result, I had no reason to run into Aiden. He kept his word, and he hadn't harassed me. I should have felt relieved and delighted, but I didn't. Instead, I was agitated and irritable. Leah had dragged me to the mall to go shopping for the holidays.

Christmas was approaching, and Leah still had a lot of shopping to do. I could live without shopping during the holidays, as much as I enjoyed them. I didn't have much money to spend. Mike and Leah had previously received gifts from me. I was just hanging out in the mall presently. "Did you get Aiden anything?" With a cryptic smile, Leah inquired.

"Why would I buy anything for him?" I asked, looking away, scared that my face would betray my feelings. The fact was I had been eyeing a pair of cufflinks for quite some time. It comprised of sterling silver, The front sections were a simple flat circle, embossed with the alphabet 'A', painted with black enamel.
It was was simple yet elegant and it screamed Aiden. But I wasn't sure if it was a fitting gift for someone like Aiden. He might not appreciate a cheap pair of cufflinks( it wasn't cheap for me). What if he made fun of me?

"You were protected from his pervert brother by him. That merits a present for him." Leah looked at me with her brows lifted.

"We're not that close," I said unexpectedly as I stepped back.

"Sydney, come on don't be so hard on him. " Leah yelled after me.

"Aren't we supposed to meet Mark for lunch? Are you done shopping yet?" I asked, trying to change the topic.

"Almost done, I need to check out few more things."

I groaned and followed her through the throngs of people, one final glance at those lovely cufflinks.
I sighed and followed her through the crowd of busy shoppers, giving one last look at those pretty cufflinks. About half an hour later I was walking through the alley behind the mall. Mike was supposed to pick me from here. Leah had bumped into one of her acquaintances, Greg and asked me to return with Mike. I had a suspicion that Greg was more than an acquaintance.
I proceeded down the strange alley. I couldn't have rushed to save my life because I was exhausted. A young man and woman were strolling through the few automobiles parked in front of me. The woman had a lot of piercings and dirty blonde hair. The man looked frail and pallid, and both of them were clothed shabbily. They seemed like junkies to me. I did notice that they both turned to look at me, but I'd be damned if I knew why. They came to a halt near an elderly gentleman and began conversing. I was lugging four bags and searching for Mike. Things started to happen after I passed a white automobile.

That young couple suddenly turned into a screaming, hitting, kicking, scratching, with me as the target for all their hostility. They came at me so hard and fast that I thought they would knock me down but fortunately, they didnt.

"Give us the packet," the woman shouted.

I backed into the wall behind me, the alley suddenly seemed very empty.

"What packet?"

I was thinking what the hell and scrambled to get away from them. I couldn't get into a fight with them, not unless I was prepared to go to the hospital. My bags were thrown away. I had no time to even understand what was happening.
I saw the old guy move then he started gesturing wildly. The guy went behind and grabbed my bag.

"Hey! leave that! " I shouted.

I was being mugged and should have run rather than confronted them, but everything happened so quickly that I couldn't think clearly. When I noticed that old man summoning someone, he abruptly put my bag back into my hands.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw a police car come. I smiled pleasantly at him, but he didn't return my smile. Fortunately, there must have been a police car nearby. The cops exited their vehicle, and the old man immediately informed them that there was a narcotics deal going on.

Wait......what?

The young pair bolted to their feet. The officers swiftly apprehended them. They began pleading innocence and pointing their fingers at me. Something didn't feel right. As the cop approached, I remained motionless.

One of the officers inquired, "What are you doing here?"

"I was shopping and waiting for a friend when these two came up behind me and took my bag," I explained.

"Could we please see some identification?"

My driver's licence was handed over. The cops exchanged nods after scrutinising it.
"She's lying," the old guys said. "She was selling drugs! I saw it. It's there in the bag!"

I was taken aback. What on earth was going on? That's when I noticed the elder gentleman. He was just as filthy as the junkies. Was I being set up?

" That's not true, I was shopping with my friend, and waiting for her brother to pick me up. These two attacked and now they are lying. You can check CCTV footage. I have an alibi." I said.

The officers exchanged a few glances.

"Would you please follow us, ma'am?" One of the police officers said.

I was perplexed and terrified. The cops began searching my belongings.

"What's the matter, officer?" I inquired.

Without saying anything, the police officer took a firm grip on my forearm.
The cop who was checking my bag jumped up and appeared to be holding something in his palm. I observed a slightly balding man with tired eyes looking back at me when he turned around. He was holding a small packet of a white substance that resembled flour in his hand. I shivered slightly and broke out in a cold sweat.

"Can you please explain what is this doing in your bag?" The policeman asked.

"That's not mine. It's been planted. This man had grabbed my bag." I was panicking now. Where was Mike? My instinct said something was very wrong here and it involved me.

"I'm Detective Conan, and I'm here to help you, Miss Rosbak. Is this your tote?" enquired the large man

All I could do was nod.

"Do you have any idea what this is?"

I shook my head, hesitant to say anything. In the meantime, the cop who had my driver's licence returned it to the first officer.

"Have you made a run on her yet?" He asked

"Yeah Foster made a run. No previous criminal records."

I found my voice when I heard the word criminal record. "Can someone please tell me what's going on here?" I pleaded, my voice trembling.

"Well, Miss Rosbak. This...," Detective Conan pointed at the packet he was holding with gloved hands, "is first-grade cocaine. It's 200 grams and it's worth about 1 million US dollars on the street. Now you wouldn't mind telling me how you came into possession of it?"
The universe seemed to revolve around me. I thought I was going to pass out for a second.

"It's been planted, like I said. Those two......attacked me, snatched my stuff, and fled." My words were choking me.

"And?"

"They're attempting to frame me. Please take my word for it." My eyes were starting to sting from tears.

"However, why would they do such a thing?" He inquired.

"Officer, I ran their IDs in the database as well. They have a record of drug abuse, but there is no record of them dealing with this stuff." The other officer called.

"See I told you, I am innocent." I pleaded again.

"Look, Miss. Rosbak Drug trafficking is a major offence, you will have to come with us. If you are indeed innocent you have nothing to worry about. But, if you don't cooperate. It would be taken against you." He explained.

So, far they were being pretty polite and I had seen enough TV shows to know never go against the cops.

"I will come with you. But can I at least call my friends?" I said weakly.

He stared at me for a few minutes, then nodded. With shivering hands, I called Mike