===
October 25, 2009……8:15 a.m.
===
She sat back into the car seeming like she was in a hurry. As she pulled the door to a close, her eyes were on another person, a girl all the way across the street. Nancy fixed her silver trench coat as she settled herself in the seat. She handed the guy next to him a hot drink, one of the two she held in her hands. She placed her other cup down in the holder as she leaned closer to the windshield, taking a closer view of the girl.
“Bosco, this is boring,” Nancy commented as she slouched in her position.
“Just keep watch,” the man sighed as he carefully sipped the hot coffee. “Ron put you and me on Macy Chan. We just have to keep watching her for today and we’re done.”
“But all she’s doing is shopping, eating and drinking. She’s not even talking to anyone. This is so boring,” Nancy continued to complain.
After a while, Nancy sat back in her seat and folded her arms. Her eyes were still on the younger looking girl as Bosco continued to drive slowly, remaining discreet. They’ve been following her for hours, and to Nancy the most amusing thing that had happened during those hours was when Bosco spilled his last cup of coffee on himself. She could still see the brown stain on his shirt up until now.
“How do you do it?” Bosco asked.
Nancy turned to him, wondering if he was asking her or himself. “Me?” she mumbled.
He nodded. “How do you always know where to look? It’s been bothering me by how easy you can find important leads and information.”
She shrugged casually. “It’s just luck I guess. Or maybe my aggressive nature pulls me into it.”
Bosco laughed. “You’re the first girl I ever met who would admit that you’re aggressive.”
“Well I am. It’s not like I can hide it. You know well enough,” Nancy smiled. “You’ve seen me during chases and other big cracks.”
“Yeah,” Bosco sighed. “You know I always thought that maybe you had planted yourself a mole somewhere in the 14K. You always seem to somehow intercept information ahead of time.”
From Bosco’s words, Nancy became nervous. Even though Bosco may act like a goof and be clumsy at times, he had a very high deductive skill. Why else would Ron choose him for many important tasks? She wasn’t going to let Bosco see what she was hiding. Nancy put her acting face on as she tried to search for a believable lie to fool Bosco. If he ever found out that she really does have a mole working for her, he would no doubt tell Ron. Then, even Nancy wouldn’t know how Ron would react.
She laughed a calm and humored laugh. “Yeah right,” she replied smoothly. “If I had a mole in the 14K, things would be so much easier.”
“I guess so,” Bosco nodded. “Wouldn’t it be really hard to keep a mole loyal though? I mean after all they’re just triads.”
Nancy was about to reply to his question but then she stopped herself. She knew what she was going to say, and it would easily stir more suspicion upon her. She then corrected herself mentally and spoke, “Maybe, how should I know. Maybe all the triads are just bad and greedy people like Ron’s depiction of them. That would be hard to keep a mole then.”
Bosco only nodded and smiled as he turned back to the ever so boring Macy Chan.
===
October 25, 2009……9:15 a.m.
===
They were both practically dying of boredom. Nancy was gazing up at the morning sky, day dreaming of what she didn’t even know. Bosco’s eyes were glued to the screen of his phone, perhaps playing a small video game he had on there. They weren’t watching Macy anymore. Instead they were both just waiting for the clock to hit ten so that they can report to Ron and tell him that their suspicion on Macy was useless.
Her eyes flickered to the girl. Nancy suddenly noticed a worried look on Macy as she passed by a long alley. She didn’t turn into the alley. Instead she only lingered there for a moment. Macy then got into her car and sat down. Her mind seemed busy and drowned in thoughts about something. Nancy didn’t tell Bosco about it. She waited and thought about the alley. She then remembered that the alley was where they first found the corpse of Alice Chan. Since Macy and Alice were sisters, she must be saddened by the thought of her sister’s death. But Nancy didn’t see sadness on Macy’s face. It wasn’t sadness, it was worry. She must be worried about something. Could she be worried about the investigation going on of Alice Chan’s death? Why would she be worried about the investigation unless she would be negatively affected by it somehow? Nancy wasn’t waiting. She got out of the car and was preparing to follow Macy by foot and alone. Then she would feel more comfortable and maybe she would find out more information.
“Where are you going?” Bosco asked, looking over at her.
“I realized I have a meeting with a nosy lawyer,” Nancy immediately excused. “Tell Ron, he should know. I have to go quick, see you later Bosco.”
Bosco waved her goodbye as he turned back to his game.
She knew that after her excuse, she can’t just run across the street and openly follow Macy. That would just make Bosco question her even more. Thinking ahead, Nancy made a cut down the road and just as she was out of Bosco’s sight, she crossed into an alley. From there she could see if Macy Chan was moving, and if she was she would be able to follow her quickly. Nancy pulled out her phone and dialed a phone number, holding the phone up to her ear and waiting for the other party to pick up.
===
October 25, 2009……11:35 a.m.
===
Ron drove slowly, half listening to the many conversations that Kate was trying to start with him. His eyes were busy on the streets, looking at the street signs but most importantly, following their suspect. Yoyo was just doing her usual thing, bouncing from club to club as she seemed to be talking to the people in there. Whether it was something important or something casual, they couldn’t get close enough to find out.
“…so Ron, how did you and Nancy meet?” Kate suddenly asked.
To Ron, that question was so sudden. But he remembered that she had been speaking for a while now and the conversation probably led itself into that topic. He leaned back in his seat as he shot a discreet glance at the sexy and revealing girl. “We met at a night club,” Ron laughed.
Kate smiled. Her smile didn’t bring out her feminine beauty as much as he had hoped to see, but at least it was a smile. “I thought you guys met at work. That was the excuse you always use.”
Ron chuckled slightly. He was amazed that Kate paid that much attention to his personal life with Nancy. He then shook his head and laughed. “It technically was work, but it was also at a night club,” he paused and looked over at her confused face. As he drove on, Ron continued to reminisce the first time he met Nancy and told Kate the story.
===
FLASHBACK – In Ron’s Point of View
===
My eardrums were about to go numb as the loud music of the club kept pounding through. The music was so loud I heard a loud beep in the back of my head and I can’t even hear my own voice. As I turned to look over at my partner, Bosco, we both wondered how so many people can consider this fun. Maybe we are just different from the people in here, or maybe today just wasn’t a good day for us. Bosco signaled me as he went down one of the halls, casually acting as if he was a new druggie, trying to find some to take in.
On the other hand, I was still sitting in one of the corner booths, chugging down a bottle of beer along with another female officer, disguised as a sexy party animal. The shirt I wore was a black vest. It fit me perfectly, and it felt alright on me. The only problem was that it didn’t fit my usual style and I was still uncomfortable in it. Perhaps I’m just not cut out for this party-thing. The female officer shot me a glance as she got up and left, swaying her butt back and forth, trying to blend in. From the corner of my eye, I saw our target. Eric Li, the man in the trimmed goatee and moustache sat only a few feet away from me.
He seemed to be having a good time as he fiddled with the lock on his briefcase. I sat and watched, waiting for the right time to approach him and not start a riot in this already booming mess. Just when I was about to get up as all the people at his table left, a young, beautiful woman approached him. I sat back down and watched as she sat seductively sprawled out on his lap. Her shoulder length hair brought a wild look to her. She didn’t wear much make up but she still had that “bad girl” look naturally set in. She smiled at him and they seemed to be talking about something. Her shorts were rising up as more of her thigh was revealed. The top she wore didn’t cover much. It only covered her breast, revealing a lot of skin on her chest and her entire stomach. I saw a tattoo on her waist, a tattoo of a phoenix. She was going to be some trouble if I’m going to handcuff Eric, I just knew it.
They suddenly got up. The girl still clung onto my target, her long and slender arms wrapped gently around his neck as he grabbed his briefcase. They walked down the hallway where Bosco had gone down earlier, both wearing wide smiles on their faces. I followed discreetly behind, hoping to find a good time to catch him. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere Bosco stormed out and grabbed Eric back. I could see the surprise on his face as he dropped his briefcase. The girl beside him had an alert look on. She glanced at Bosco quickly, perhaps thinking that he’s another bouncer by the way he was dressed. She then bent down and quickly grabbed the briefcase. I thought she was just going to pick it up but instead she ran for it. With Bosco holding Eric down, I ran after the girl.
She was fast beyond belief. As I chased her, in order to keep her within my view I was pushing myself over the limit. We ran out onto the street and she made a sharp turn into a long alley. She was no doubt very clever too because that alley had many other passages that only the people who lived there would know of. I kept on running, not letting that briefcase slip away. Her long and slender legs stretched far as she glanced back and saw me following her. She made an annoyed face as she tried to lose me. We were running for about ten minutes. By then my lungs were burning, gasping for air. I saw her after I turned the corner and this time, she stopped. It was a dead end and there was no way she could scale a building.
She turned around with an irritated expression on. “Why do you have to run so far for a stinking briefcase?” she asked, short of breath. Her voice was playful but mature and strong as well. She had a pretty face, one I would definitely fall for if not for the fact that she was a night girl.
“Miss,” I spoke, not knowing how to address her. “Just please give me the case.”
She shook her head as she bent down to catch her breath. “If I ran this far to get away from you, I’m not giving it to you so easily.”
I didn’t want to use force, but she seemed too stubborn to just hand it over. As I approached her, she suddenly got behind me. She grabbed my arm and bent it backwards. With my strength I pulled her back in front of me and twisted her arm. I had her locked in a position I knew she couldn’t get away, but she surprised me. Her leg suddenly stretched back behind me and as she stood up, moving to my hands so that she doesn’t break her arm, her leg swept me off my feet. I caught myself quickly, nearly falling face first to the ground. She suddenly grabbed my collar. I grabbed her arm and tried to put her back into a locked position but she used the briefcase to knock me away. I was only about two feet away from her when out of nowhere, her foot came up and with her high heels she kicked me on the side. I fell to the ground but quickly pushed myself back up even though my head was spinning. She was something else.
“Hey! What are you two doing?!” I heard a familiar voice run up to us.
Sharon Chan stood in front of us, the person who was supervising this whole operation. She had a concerned face on but once she saw what that girl had done to my face, she only laughed. “Oh my god Ron,” she laughed. “I’m so sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing to him?” the girl asked as she placed her hands on her hip and tossed the briefcase to Sharon.
“You two know each other?” I asked her, my face still numb.
“Nancy you beat up the wrong person!” Sharon laughed. “Ron is the officer in charge of Team A, the one who is also in on this investigation.”
“Oh my god I’m so sorry,” the girl panicked. She turned my face to her, scanning the giant bruise she had left on my face. Her name was Nancy I believe. She made an apologetic face as she kept apologizing. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were an officer. I thought you were one of the triads after this case.”
I shook my head. “It’s fine,” I lied about the pain on my face. Somehow, her innocent smile made me unable to yell at her. Just the way she held my face made me feel something click inside of me. Her palms were so warm as she tried to think of ways to get rid of the pain. “Ron Ng,” I spoke, even introducing myself with a smile.
“Nancy Wu,” she replied, still feeling guilty about the deadly kick she gave to me.
“I think I’m going to let you two work things out,” Sharon spoke as she checked the case for damages. “After all Nancy, you did kick him pretty hard. You two will be working together soon. I don’t think this is a good impression.” Sharon was smiling and shaking her head as she left, perhaps trying hard to hide her laughter at us.
“Um, do you need to go to the hospital? I can take you.” she asked me with a guilty face.
I laughed and shook my head. “No, some ice would do fine. You were pretty convincing in there. I thought you were one of his girls myself.”
She smiled. This time her smile was so lovely. It wasn’t a fake seductive smile or a guilty smile, it was a natural smile. She looked so beautiful. “Then, let me get you some ice,” she offered.
As we began to walk out of the alley, Nancy suddenly tripped. I caught her in time before she hit the ground and we froze for a long second during that moment. When I pulled her back up, she was still smiling but then she winced from pain.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I think I twisted my ankle or something,” she replied, trying to move her foot.
I smiled at the silly idea. “You twisted your ankle by kicking my face,” I laughed.
“Hey, now we’re even,” she laughed, rubbing her foot.
I bent down beside her and turned my back to her. “Get on I’ll give you a lift,” I offered.
“No, then I’d owe you again. I don’t want to keep owing things to you if I’m going to work with you soon. What if you abuse me?” she joked.
“I won’t,” I replied, laughing at her. “Now get on.”
Her long and slender arms wrapped around my neck. As I picked her up, I felt that she wasn’t heavy at all. We walked down the street silently. I didn’t know what she was thinking in her mind, but to me she felt really warm. I never believed in love at first sight, but at that moment right there I knew that I could carry her for the rest of my life if I had to. She was so thin and fragile to me, I was afraid if I held her any tighter she would get hurt. But then I remembered the bruise that was still on my face. The pain had gone away, but it was still there. She was definitely something else.
===
END OF FLASHBACK
===
“Love at first sight,” Kate thought as she sat back. Ron couldn’t exactly see her face or her reaction to his story, but she seemed deep in thought about something. Then she suddenly laughed. “For you two, it sounds more like love at first fight.”
He laughed as well because it was true. It was hard to believe, but Ron knew that he fell in love with Nancy by that kick she left on his face. Till this day his jaw would feel numb sometimes, but once again, there was no more pain, just a rather funny memory. “Agreed,” he replied.
They continued to keep watch of Yoyo for a longer while. It was almost time for them to leave and Ron couldn’t wait for the minutes to pass by. As he was about to turn the car around, he suddenly saw a familiar face pass by Yoyo on the streets. Ron sat up to take a closer look as he peered into the crowd. He didn’t believe his eyes at first but there was Nancy. He wondered that if she and Bosco had switched to following Yoyo, Nancy would’ve turned to track Yoyo from behind. Instead she continued on. He then saw that she was following Macy, but at a ridiculously close distance. She could easily get uncovered if Macy turned around. Ron got out of his car as Kate followed him. She no doubt saw Nancy too as she didn’t question why he left the car. The quickly crossed the street. Ron saw that Nancy was walking into a restaurant, still following at a dangerously close distance to Macy. When he looked up at the name of the restaurant, he suddenly remembered that this was a triad filled place. If Nancy was going in there, her aggressive side must’ve kicked in again because they all know that only triads go here and by the looks of things, the restaurant is pretty full.
“Shit,” Ron breathed, keeping his reaction to himself. “Nancy stop trying to get yourself killed,” he mumbled to himself.
“Are we really going in there?” Kate asked. Even she knew the possible danger of going into a triad filled restaurant.
Ron nodded, ignoring the dangers anyways as he followed Nancy inside. He put on a navy blue hat that hid half his face and attached a Bluetooth headset to his ear in hopes of hiding as much as he could. Kate did the same, pulling her hair up into a bun and putting on reading glasses. Nancy on the other hand, went in as she was.
Once in, they discreetly got themselves a table. Ron saw two tables away from the scene. He could see Nancy as she sat down, her eyes seeming to be throwing quick glances at the other man who sat with Macy. Macy sat down with a man, one Ron recognized. He was Ruco Chan, one of Raymond’s men and had a pretty wide track record even though Ron didn’t consider him much of a threat. Nancy opened a menu as the waitress came up to her.
“Hello Nancy!” the waitress greeted happily.
Ron wondered how this triad waitress could know his fiancée so well.
“Hey Ella,” Nancy greeted with a smile as she looked up at the pretty woman.
Ron watched, wondering how often Nancy comes here without telling him.
“Let me guess,” the waitress, Ella began. “Vanilla caramel coffee with extra caramel and sugar?”
Nancy nodded. “How’d you remember?” she laughed.
“Of course I’d remember the skinny girl with an elastic stomach,” the waitress laughed. “So what are you doing here? You don’t usually come this early in the day.”
“Got hungry,” Nancy shrugged.
The waitress soon left as Nancy sat there casually. If Ron didn’t know, he would’ve mistook her for another triad here to buy lunch. He hated to admit it but Nancy blended in perfectly, better than he and Kate could ever pull off. Some of the members even came over and greeted her. Ron was left in awe. Nancy was talking and laughing with the three men that came over and sat down with her. He recognized them all. They’ve been in and out of the station so many times it was hard to forget.
“Seems like she’s got some good connections here,” Kate whispered.
“You don’t have to whisper, the people here don’t usually listen in on conversations,” Ron reminded her. “Whispering actually stirs more attention.”
“Where did you learn that from?”
Ron pointed to Nancy who sat a couple tables from them. He didn’t look one bit happy. Instead he looked angry and disappointed. He sat there perhaps in a fury as he watched Nancy associate with people that she should be handcuffing and putting in jail one by one. His hand clenched into a tight fist as he continued to watch her talk and laugh with the triads. At first he worried about her safety, but seeing how scarily safe she was here, he grew angry at how easily she could mix herself with these people. Soon he couldn’t watch any longer.
===
She knew he was following her. She could see him and Kate sitting at the table across from her, watching her right now. Getting him angry wasn’t what she had planned, but she’d rather deal with that than endanger Ron and her and let the perfect lead on their case slip away. She continued to talk and laugh with the three men who had came over, first asking about her familiarity and then about her as a new recruit. Nancy had gotten most of the usual goers here to believe that she works for Raymond. That should make getting leads from Ruco easier. All she had to do from then on was to stay partly invisible as an investigator.
After a couple minutes, the person she was waiting for finally decided to show up. Tavia walked in through the doors, smiling casually with her eyes on Nancy. She shot Ruco a glance as he continued his conversation with Macy. Suddenly, Tavia ran into the back of Macy’s chair. Her bag dropped and Tavia bent down to pick it up for her, smiling apologetically.
“I’m so sorry. I should’ve watched where I was going,” Tavia apologized.
Macy seemed nicer than any triad girls they’ve ever met. She smiled softly and shook her head. “It’s alright. Miss Yeung what are you doing here? I don’t see you here often,” Macy asked, recognizing Tavia as Raymond’s replacement lawyer.
“I’m here to meet a friend,” Tavia replied and then excused herself.
When Ruco got back Macy’s attention, Tavia slipped into the seat across from Nancy. She started pouring the tea for them as she smiled at Nancy with an accomplished face. “Your plans are always so interesting,” Tavia commented.
Nancy sat back and smiled. “I don’t know,” she spoke. “You seemed kind of obvious to me.”
“That’s because you’re a cop and you already know what I’m doing,” Tavia replied.
Nancy then pulled out her cell phone and started pressing a couple buttons on it. After a while, she put it away with a wide smile on her face. “There,” she said. “I got the bug set up. Planting a listening device on Macy was easier than I thought.”
“How can you be smiling right now? Your fiancé is sitting over there, looking like he could rip someone’s head off right this second.”
Nancy rubbed her head as if she’s gotten a bad headache. “I know,” she sighed. “But I’d rather Ron be mad at me than risk losing such a good lead on this case. Besides, since he was already following me and we’re in this part of town, I can’t risk being seen with him or else we’re all screwed,” Nancy pointed out.
Tavia nodded at the true statement. “Hey, I saw your little sister a couple streets back. Does she know that you do all this?”
Nancy nodded. “Yeah, she knows who Ruco is, but she doesn’t know that I’m actually considered a part of their gang here,” Nancy looked up and laughed. “She’d be pretty surprised.”
“Why do you think Macy was the murderer anyways? I thought your whole team was betting on Yoyo as being the murderer,” Tavia spoke, sipping her tea slowly.
“It’s just a hunch, and I trust my hunches,” Nancy replied. “Besides, when I trailed her I noticed that whenever she passed by an alley, she would always have a nervous look on. If you found out your sister died in an alley because of people you know, when you pass by one you would most likely feel sad. She didn’t look sad to me.”
“I don’t have a sister,” Tavia smiled.
“You know what I mean,” Nancy teased, tapping Tavia on the shoulder.
“Right,” Tavia nodded. “I don’t have a sister, but I have a sister-like best friend who always seem to get me into tight situations with her and most of the time I’m stupid enough to go along with it,” Tavia spoke, making a face at Nancy.
“This is not a tight situation,” Nancy protested, keeping her voice low.
“If this isn’t a tight situation then I don’t know what is,” Tavia replied, laughing. “Apparently to you being surrounded by triads and at a risk of exposure means nothing. That’s why I saw you’re insane,” Tavia shook her head.
Nancy smiled and shook her head in defeat. “I have to go. You stay here and have fun waiting for your playboy client.”
Tavia nodded and continued on with her tea.
===
October 25, 2009……4:05 p.m.
===
Nancy had been roaming the streets for hours now. She didn’t return to work or went home in fear of getting into another fight with Ron. She couldn’t deny it. She hated it when they fight, but yet because of their nature, having fights was inevitable. Nancy walked down the parking lot, alone. Her hands were stuffed in the pockets of her silver trench coat as she took slow steps towards the elevator. She suddenly heard the sound of a car engine as it died. When she turned around, she saw Ron walking up to her. His face was cold. She took a breath and waited for the fight to begin. She wasn’t going to take a step back from the fight, that wasn’t in her nature. But before every fight, she was the one who dreaded it.
Ron let out a hard sigh. “You didn’t show up the rest of the day. Where were you?”
Nancy flinched slightly at the harshness of his tone. “Shopping,” she replied just as sharply.
“I saw you earlier today with all your little triad friends. You’ve really gotten yourself mixed in with them haven’t you?” he asked. “Why can’t you just be a proper cop and keep your lines drawn? What if something went wrong in there?”
“Proper cop?” Nancy replied, wondering where he was trying to go at. “So you’re saying I’m not being a good cop?” her voice began to rise in volume. “For your information, I was in there in order to investigate further on this case.”
“You didn’t have to. All you had to do was follow you lead at a good distance away. We were going to arrest Yoyo Chen later anyways. Macy Chan isn’t who we’re after.”
“And how sure are you about that? You and Kate were supposed to be watching Yoyo anyways, why did you go after me?”
“Because I couldn’t believe you,” Ron replied, his volume growing as well. “How could you mix yourself in with criminals? What good is carrying your badge around then?”
“Sometimes you look at things from a criminal’s point of view. If you don’t you’re never going to know how and why they did it!”
“Seeing things from a criminal’s point of view doesn’t mean that you should become one!”
“So now you’re saying I’m a criminal?” Nancy asked. “Fine then, handcuff me and take me back to the station!”
“I’m not saying you’re a criminal but the people you hang out with are. Seeing you in that restaurant made me rethink what you were doing while I was busy at work. It made me wonder how you got to know all those men and how they know you so well. How in the world did you convince them that you weren’t a cop?”
Nancy remembered how she convinced Raymond she wasn’t a cop. She swallowed five of his unknown pills. She thanked god she didn’t have to do the same for everyone in that restaurant. “Ron I was only trying to crack the case faster.”
“Cracking a case has other methods. You don’t need to be mixing yourself with that crowd.”
“How else am I going to find information?!” Nancy suddenly yelled at him. “With the ways you lead the group, you’re too worried on safety to let me do anything by myself. I know my limits and as long as I don’t blow my cover I’m good to go in there!”
Ron shook his head and walked away from her. He turned back and yelled, “Fine! Do things your way. You’re only getting yourself in danger and other people in danger too.”
“I’m not putting you in danger am I?” she replied. “No, then stay out of it!”
Nancy shook her head. She gripped her bag tightly as she stormed back out of the parking lot. She had no intentions of going home that night. Rather, she was planning on going out to the bar and like Ron had said mix herself in with the criminalist crowd to get more information. She didn’t mind having to use disguises or to lie, just as long as she and her conscience knew that what she was doing was for a good thing. Ron on the other hand didn’t care about the outcomes. He only cared about the approach. Nancy knew that if she did things Ron’s way, the cases would take way longer to solve and important evidence might disappear. She knew Ron was smart and clever, but he cared too much about safety and because of that, his methods become a hassle. She stormed off, angry but ready to do things her way.
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