Wavering heart (1)

As Ryan jogged along the route he usually took, he could actually feel the eyes on his back. Although he was going at his own pace like there was nothing out of norms, his alertness to his surroundings had been heightened. He was ready to take out his gun from his waist at anytime.

That was when he noticed her silhouette in the morning fog.

"Morning, Mr. Cotton Candy."

As if she had been waiting for him, she jogged along by his side.

"Morning, doc. Anything you need?"

Vivienne gave him a side glance and answered, "can't it be a friendly greeting?"

He smiled.

"Oh? Now, I feel honored," this was the very first time she came to find him without a reason. However,

"But doc, this is not really a good time to be seen together with me."

"Actually, there's no better time than this."

Ryan stopped in his track after hearing her reply.

"Are you trying to help me out by showing your stance?"

He knew that her status in this city was not average and there was also the mysterious connection with Anios. Now that he found out Ravens were behind the famous club, he could not discern how deep her roots ran.

"So what?"

She was not trying to cover her intention at all.

"Even if you still feel gratitude towards me, the help you've given is already enough. You don't need to get involve in this."

His smiley face had been replaced by a solemn look and Vivienne did not like it at all. Although she also hated his pretentious grin.

"It's not about gratitude."

Ryan was surprised to find some sparks in her always unfeeling eyes.

"I enjoy being with you and the thought of you getting hurt makes me also feel... pain."

Wait. What? The 32 year old heart of Ryan skipped a beat after hearing her words. This Ms. Sociopath better not be misleading him.

He studied her stony face carefully but other than her blue eyes being brighter than usual, he could not find anything out of ordinary at all.

May be she meant those words as an acquaintance or... a friend. They continued their steps but this time much slower.

"Even so, I don't want to drag you into this."

"Don't worry. They dare not touch me," she said in a nonchalant tone as her gaze passed over the shadows in the fog.

And Ryan could literally feel these shadows disappearing one after another. Just how strong was her background?

"So I have to hide behind a lady's back?" He asked in a half-joking manner.

She sighed dramatically before saying, "I didn't know you were a sexist. My cousin told me that friends need to be on equal grounds. Our relationship started with you saving my life so what's the problem if I return the favour. There's no man or woman in friendship, is there?"

Ryan chuckled, "That sounds logical. Your cousin seemed to be a wise person."

She nodded her head.

"He was the only person I could freely talk to before I met you."

Again! Why was she making him feel like he was some special existence for her? His heart was already wavering since the night she accompanied him after he found out about his parents. If not for her 'peculiar' background, he would not have been restraining his feelings at all.

After not hearing anything from him, she continued.

"You don't want to be friends with me? Well, it's natural. Most people aren't fond of me, saying I'm weird."

"It's not that," he thought it was quite sad but what was more sad was her indifferent tone.

"You're different. It's true but not every human is the same. And it's not a reason to dislike you."

"Then why?" She stood in front of him to look up into his eyes.

And immediately, his soul was sucked in by her blue eyes.

"I don't wanna see you get hurt either. So, let me solve my problems first, alright?"

He smiled as his hand patted her head as if comforting a child.

"Suit yourself, then."

He thought he detected some displeasure in her never-changing tone. When she walked off by herself, he did not try to follow her or stop her.

Coward! He scolded himself as he clenched his fists. Although the disappearing back seemed petite, he had to admit that she was braver than him. Very much so.

The whole day passed by without any event although all four officers felt like they were walking on eggshells.

Shelly sighed after finishing off her chilled beer can in one go. They had regrouped at Allen's house for their meeting.

"I'd rather go fight them head on than being on tenterhooks like this. This is very exhausting."

"We need to know the big dog behind this to settle the matter," Julian said as he slumped on the sofa. Even the enthusiastic rookie was showing his fatigue.

"Anything new?"

Ryan asked as he threw his jacket onto the chair and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.

"The factory compound had been cleared off when I checked again this morning," Allen said as he sat down on the chair. He had returned to his duties after full recovery.

"I see," Ryan nodded.

He had a reason when he let Harry Carter meet Mr. Boni in that compound. When they were interrogating Mr. Boni, he knew the members of Ravens were guarding them properly so there was no reason for the culprits to find out. Them taking action meant someone had got the information from Mr. Boni somehow. However, Mr. Boni had always been under the Ravens' eyes before he was sent to the police station. It meant that the informant would be someone from the jail or the police station.

However, they were not the only ones who knew how to put a rat. As soon as he looked at Shelly, she passed him some documents.

"Rudy Stafford," she said.

"He was the only one suspicious who came in contact with Mr. Boni. He was put in police custody overnight for a brawl and was released this morning. Our people saw him making contact with Mr. Boni before he was moved to prison."

Ryan checked the information in his hands as he listened to Shelly.

"So, he's a riffraff from the cartel. But the area he went to... it's not under Mr. Boni."

Shelly had some people monitor every move of Mr. Boni as soon as he got to the police station. After seeing Rudy came in contact with the latter, she had someone follow after him and take pictures. As she had been in this city for longer than Ryan, her network was also larger. From cleaners to street rats and prostitutes, her influence ran far and wide.

Julian had also checked the pictures after Ryan had seen them. After finding out which area that was, he started matching with the data from Mr. Carter.

"Yes. It's under another subgroup."

"Do we know the leader?"

"Sirena,"Julian answered.

"Mermaid? What do we have on her?"

Ryan walked to the back of Julian to see the monitor of his laptop.

"Not much. Among the six leaders, we have the least information on her. Actually, we don't even know if it's a 'him' or 'her'."

"Well, let's just say 'her' for now according to the name," Shelly suggested.

"Anything special about that area?"

Allen also came to see which area they were talking about.

"The only strange thing is that it seemed more peaceful than other parts of the city. Either the crime rate is lower or..."

"The cases did not reach to us," Ryan added.

"Anyhow, it meant it was under tight control of someone. The question is if that someone is Sirena or not. So, who's the big boss not related to drug?"

"From what I know, that area is divided into smaller regions among small gangs. For example, that specific area is ruled by Thunderstorm," Shelly said as she tapped on the scene behind Rudy in the photo.

"So, this Sirena... is probably the most powerful one in that area," Julian surmised.

They continued their meeting for a couple hours before they parted their ways. Allen walked Ryan off to his car.

"What's bothering you? You seemed... jittery," Allen had to think for a few seconds to describe his friend's condition.

"Is it that obvious?" Ryan smiled wryly.

He would be hopeless if his face was that easy to read.

"Not really. It's only that I've been your partner for a long time now," Allen consoled him.

"Nothing serious. Just something personal," Ryan shrugged his shoulders and entered his car.

"Don't worry. I won't let it interfere with work."

"I trust that. I'm just worried about you," Allen said as he moved back from the car. If Ryan did not want to talk, he did not plan to force it out.

However, just before Ryan started the engine, he changed his mind.

"Hey!"

Allen who was already on his way to his house, stopped and looked back.

"Do you think I'm... indecisive?" Ryan asked reluctantly.

"You? Indecisive?" Allen almost laughed out loud thinking that his captain was joking.

However, when he saw the latter's serious face, he changed his mind.

"Sometimes. But never about work. You always tend to think about other people first which make you not realize what you really want."

"Oh?" Ryan became thoughtful.

"So, when you are not sure about something, don't always think about pros and cons to make a choice but try to find out what's that you actually desired."

"I see, thanks," Ryan started the engine and drove off.

"Good luck, my friend. I just hope it's not too late to change yet," Allen muttered to himself as he entered his house.