[Cold Case]: Part Three

Batu, Yu Mei and Kiki strolled through the city in leisure, looking around at the various shops and high rises around them. He had his hands full of shopping bags from different clothing store. Batu sometimes wondered if he was brought along just to be a damn butler.

For the past couple weeks Batu had been in this crazy future, he never had the opportunity to settle and take his time exploring the changes of Altai City.

He noticed that people in this era really liked flashy neon lights. Maybe a little too much,if he was being honest. It was practically everywhere in this city.

As they walked through a small, cramped street, with Yu Mei and Kiki talking amongst themselves, Batu suddenly stopped in front of a small, inconspicuous shop with bright red lights.

Yu Mei and Kiki soon realized that he wasn't following them and turned around. They were curious why he had suddenly stopped.

"Batu?" Yu Mei asked. She quickly followed his gaze and saw the building he was staring at: a retro arcade.

Kiki glanced at the arcade as well and asked, "You like arcades, Batu?"

"Never stopped playin' em since I was a kid," Batu replied with a smile.

Kiki took note of his child-like enthusiasm and smiled back, "Then, why don't we go in and play around for a bit?"

"Then what are we waitin' for?" Batu was immediately hyped up. Without waiting for them, he walked barged inside as if he owned the place. The girls looked at each other with awkward smiles and followed after him.

The interior shimmered with neon lights flickering from the arcade machines. There were both retro and new machines that were lined up against each other.

There were a small handful of people highly focused on their screens, rapidly pressing buttons and twirling joysticks.

Batu's eyes glimmered with delight when he saw an arcade he recognized and rushed towards it. It was an old fighting game that he would always play every time he hit up the arcade.

"I don't see how you could get so worked up on this," Kiki said. "It looks kinda dumb."

"Says you," Batu retorted.

He sat down and looked for the coin slot. However, he couldn't find it anywhere. What the hell kind of arcade machine was this?

"Yo, where's the damn coin slot?" Batu asked.

Yu Mei giggled as she sat down next to him, "The machine uses units, duh. Just swipe your digital wallet over that scanner." She pointed at a glowing green sensor near Batu's leg.

"Oh, I forgot," Batu wanted to facepalm himself. He had to remind himself that he was in the future.

Before he joined the Golden Horde, Yu Mei had helped him set up a digital wallet. Batu had to admit, it was surprisingly convenient to use. He quickly swiped his digital wallet over the scanner, and the screen flashed into the main menu.

"How bout' we play a round?" he asked.

A smirk grew on Yu Mei's face, "What are we betting on?"

"Loser has to pay for dinner."

"I don't know, sounds kinda boring."

"What do you suggest then?"

"Oh, I know!" Kiki suddenly chimed in. "How about winner can pick whoever they choose to go on a date with."

Yu Mei rubbed her chin in thought, "You know what? That's not a bad idea. Let's do it."

* * * * *

Detective Kim had visited most of the people found on Zhou Yu's computer. All of them hadn't raised any suspicions as far as could gather upon. However, she learned more about Zhou Yu's illegal dealings.

The victims she visited stated that they had all taken loans from Zhou Yu. Detective Kim quickly understood that these loans were purposefully created to ensure that the victims wouldn't be able to pay it all back.

This would allow Zhou Yu to threaten and force the victims to hand over some personal valuables as an alternative payment. The Blood Eagles were a big part of the operations according to the victim's personal accounts.

If that was the case, then this investigation was bigger than Detective Kim had expected. Now, that led up to new questions that remained unanswered: was this a gang-related hit? Did the Blood Eagles had conflict against another gang? Or was it still vigilante justice?

These were questions that were a real head-scratcher which required a more thorough investigation. Detective Kim needed to report these findings to the APD as soon as possible.

However, she still needed to visit one more possible suspect on the list: Ms. Tanaka. From her picture, Ms. Tanaka didn't look like the type of person who wouldn't hurt a fly, however, Detective Kim could not take any chances.

She arrived at Ms. Tanaka's residence and knocked on the door. No answer. Detective Kim knocked louder this time and waited patiently.

The door clicked opened, and Ms. Tanaka peered through the small cracks with anxiousness, "Hello, can I help you?"

"Hi, are you perhaps Ms. Tanaka?" Detective Kim asked politely.

"Yes, I am," Ms. Tanaka slowly opened the door wider. "Is there a problem?"

"I'm Detective Kim from the APD," she answered in verbatim. "I want to ask you a few questions. Is it alright if I come in?"

Ms. Tanaka hesitated for a moment before she nodded her head and brought Detective Kim into her home. She guided Detective Kim towards the couch and offered her to sit down.

"Do you need anything to drink?" Ms. Tanaka asked.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you," she refused.

Ms. Tanaka nervously sat down beside the detective. She wondered why the detective was here. Was she in trouble? However, Ms. Tanaka didn't recall doing anything that would alert the police.

"Am I in trouble?" Ms. Tanaka couldn't help but ask.

"Well, that depends on a few answers of yours."

Ms. Tanaka felt even more nervous than before.

"You recall a man named Zhou Yu, correct?"

"Yes, that's correct, detective," she nodded. So, it was about Zhou Yu. "But, I still want to know what this is about."

"We will get to that later, Ms. Tanaka. Now, can you tell me when was the last time you have met with Zhou Yu?"

"Last night."

Her answer quickly caught Detective Kim's attention. She had a lead. Ms. Tanaka showed subtle signs of suspicion in her body language, however, Detective Kim couldn't come to conclusions just yet. She needed more info.

"Care to explain what you did last night with Zhou Yu?"

Ms. Tanaka took in a deep breath. She was afraid of retelling her story. Afraid of what Zhou Yu what might do to her if he found out about it.

"I'm sorry... I don't want to talk about it."

"Is that so? Are you perhaps hiding something, Ms. Tanaka?"

"No, I'm not!" she quickly refuted.

"Then, are you aware of Zhou Yu's murder that happened last night? Based on your previous answer, you are highly suspect."

Ms. Tanaka was absolutely stunned. Zhou Yu was murdered? That monster was dead? Then, flashbacks played through her mind from last night. She remembered his sharp, black eyes and his soft voice. Did he do it?

"I wasn't aware of Zhou Yu's death, detective," Ms. Tanaka answered with more confidence.

Detective Kim took note of her change of tone and narrowed her blue eyes, "Then, I'm sure you can tell me what happened last night with you and Zhou Yu."

Ms. Tanaka began to tell her everything. Her tme with meeting Zhou Yu and his disgusting friends, the Queen's Karaoke Bar and Zhou Yu's attempted rape against her.

Detective Kim was not expecting a story like this; it actually went against her expectations. She couldn't verify whether Ms. Tanaka's story was legitimate or not, but her body language and facial expressions said otherwise.

Furthermore, there was a single detail that Detective Kim picked up on: Yuji Nishida and Tai Nguyen. Those two men never spoke about Ms. Tanaka when she questioned them.

"You were almost raped by Zhou Yu?" Detective Kim asked to be sure.

"Right. He would have gone through with if I wasn't saved by two people.

A third party. That was the common ground from the witness accounts from Yuji, Tai and Ms. Tanaka. Now, she had the exact number of suspects.

"Are you able to describe these people to me?"

"I couldn't see their faces clearly, but I remember a man and a woman. That's it," Ms. Tanaka answered, she didn't want to say too much since she was saved by them.

Detective Kim jotted down all the information in her tablet before she stood back up again, "Thank you for your cooperation today, Ms. Tanaka. I'm sorry what you had to go through, but I will make sure you will receive justice."

"Thank you, detective."

* * * * .*

Waving her goodbye, Detective Kim stepped into her car. As she adjusted her front mirror, she suddenly noticed a silver car's reflection not too far away. She wasn't alarmed by this and slowly drove away.

Looking back in the mirror, she saw the exact same silver car trailing behind her after a couple of minuted.

Frowning to herself, Detective Kim took a few random turns around the block. The silver car hadn't left her tail. She instantly realized that she was being followed.

"Who the hell are they?" Detective Kim suddenly pulled over and stopped the car near a quiet road. She was going to confront them.

As she walked out, three men in roguish appearances also walked out as well. They were well built and dressed like common gangsters. Detective Kim frowned even more upon seeing them.

"Why are you following me?" she asked.

"Making sure a little cat doesn't stick her nose where it doesn't belong," one of the thugs replied in a threatening manner.

"Who are you guys? Don't you know it's illegal to obstruct an officer during their investigation?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Seems like we got ourselves a little goody two-shoes here." he quickly pulled out a gun and walked towards her, aiming the barrel right at her forehead.

Out of instinct, Detective Kim raised her hands above her head. She clicked her tongue for not reacting quick enough to pull out her own weapon.

"So, you've been snoopin' around, interrogating Zhou Yu's client, am I right?" the thug cocked his gun. "Shouldn't have done that."

Detective Kim was trying to understand the situation at hand. Were they with the hitmen that killed Zhou Yu? No, that couldn't be the case. Why would these men care about her interrogation with Zhou Yu's clients? Unless...

"You guys are Blood Eagles," she realized instantly.

"You're a pretty damn good detective, aren't cha?" the Blood Eagle thug said sarcastically. "Then, I'm sure those rat bastards already told you about us."

Detective Kim didn't say anything. Her blue eyes focused on the gun shoved right at her forehead.

"Let me give you a little advice, detective. You can play your little investigation game, find the killer if you want. But, if word got out about us, don't expect to wake up tomorrow."