20:58, Unknown Abandoned School, Marsiling Rise, 06 Jan 2075
As several Scorpions footmen ran down the corridor of the abandoned school, they witnessed one of their own being thrown from behind a corner with a bloodied nose as Hai Yue emerged, followed by Shawn dragging and punching another Scorpion and Joel slamming his opponent whom he had been grappling by the collar against an empty locker twice before dropping him.
“Get them!” one of the Scorpions yelled, but he has taken less than two steps when Hai Yue floored him with a direct kick to the chest right before the white-haired Othersider began laying waste to the group.
With her natural agility combined with superhuman strength and reflexes, Hai Yue easily trounced her human opponents, most of whom took one or two hits from her to go down, while barely getting hit at all. A couple proved resilient enough that she had to give them a few more blows to the head and stomach before they finally go down, though it was clear from her half-drawn punches and light kicks that Hai Yue was holding back a lot so as not to accidentally kill someone.
But Shawn and Joel were humans, so there was no need for them to hold back. Shawn definitely lived up to his reputation as a cowboy cop who has turned street fighting into an art, quickly clearing out any Scorpions that Hai Yue had slipped past during her assault. As for Joel, the huge Eurasian was proving himself to be an accomplished boxer: Three Scorpions who were about the same size and girth as Joel have been beaten to a pulp by him alone in just a matter of minutes.
“Where do you think the highest ranking one would be?” Hai Yue asked.
“Probably the school hall. This school’s hall can be accessed from the second floor,” Shawn replied as he finished off the last Scorpion in the hallway with a vicious kick to the head.
The trio headed up the stairs, taking out two more Scorpions who were on their way down just as a third showed up and tried to stop them at the top of the stairs, only to be thrown against a wall by Hai Yue, elbowed in the chest by Shawn and finally knocked out by Joel via a well-aimed haymaker.
It did not take long for the trio to reach the hall, where more Scorpions were already awaiting their arrival. Already low on patience, Hai Yue ran at them at full speed before jumping forward and planting a dropkick on the nearest Scorpion, the force of the impact throwing him into and knocking down everyone behind him, allowing Shawn and Joel to run past them unopposed and force the doors open.
“Well, I like what they did to this place,” Joel commented as he and Shawn looked around the vandalized hall which was filled with desks, chairs, boxes and beer cans while Hai Yue strolled in stretching her arms and shoulders.
There were around fifteen Scorpions in the hall, excluding the one seated on the ledge of the stage whose choice of clothing were slightly more unique compared to the others. He had two scars near his right eye, tribal tattoos all over his right arm and was twirling a knuckleduster.
“Who’s that guy?” Joel asked.
“Dunno, probably an underboss for the Scorpions,” Shawn replied.
The rest of the Scorpions started rushing the trio, but then the scarred man yelled for all of them to stop in Hokkien, got off the stage and walked over to them as the other Scorpions stepped back.
“I tell you first, we don’t appreciate unwelcomed guests popping into our territory, especially cops… How come only three of you?”
“Two, because the girl here’s from the Night-Sea Patrol. We were planning to walk in, ask some questions and walk out, but your doorman was an ass,” Shawn retorted.
“From what my guy here saw from the window, you people threw the first punch.”
“Because your doorman treated us as a threat. Are you going to treat us as a threat too?” Joel asked, to which the scarred man raised a palm to indicate that he’s not picking a fight, saying “We already saw how that girl fought. You mentioned the Night-Sea Patrol, so she’s an Othersider, right? Those juniors just want a fight, but me and, well, some of the guys here, we not so suicidal…”
“Finally, a Scorpion who can be reasoned with. I was getting sick and tired of having to put so many Scorpions in the Intensive Care Units of every hospital in Singapore… And occasionally the morgue,” Shawn taunted.
“Yah, yah, whatever fuck you all say…” the scarred man muttered as he pocketed his knuckleduster, “Okay, what do you want from us?”
“Some answers to a few questions that had come up regarding the recent murders of your men.”
“You mean Vance’s men,” the scarred man replied before sighing and continuing, “To be honest, our leaders have already give the order. Scorpions Northern Branch to be ‘liquidated’ and rebuilt. Vance is no longer Scorpions, so we can talk all kinds of shit about him now.”
“Why turn on him? I thought Scorpions rarely punish those nominated to be leaders.”
“Because he fucked up too many times. Invading territory of other gangs without permission, leaking our ganja storage locations to undercover ANB officers with his big mouth, pissing off Garky of all people, and now we’re hearing rumors that he and his cronies really did rape and murder the two Japanese siblings last year despite absolutely no evidence found to prove their guilt.”
“So Vance has become a liability for the Scorpions,” Joel commented.
“More like a time bomb, except without the timer to see when it going to blow up, just the ticking sound,” the scarred man replied as he shake his head, “Anyways, Vance and his guys have been terrorizing this art student for some reason. Spraying threats all over his front door like ah longs and shit like that. Maybe he knows something.”
“That matches Garky’s info,” Shawn whispered to Hai Yue before turning his attention back to the scarred man, asking, “You want Vance and his entire branch liquidated, so how about a deal? We’re trying to catch the killer as well as pin Vance for the crime he may have committed.”
“You’re making a deal with us?”
“Sort of. If you and the other Scorpions step aside and not interfere, we can settle the problem for you. Lawfully, legally and without the another gang civil war on the streets.”
“Hm, that does sound rather tempting… The cops do our dirty work and we keep our hands clean… Fine. I’ll let my boss know the problem will get rid of itself. Although I must admit, the recent killings of our members is most likely related to the siblings’ murders.”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Interesting theory. Since when does a gangster learn how to be a detective?”
“It’s common sense. Gangsters kill gangsters, but we do it with standards, not leave our enemies looking like Hannibal Lector’s leftovers. Since no other gang is claiming responsibility and Vance was one of the chief suspects in the murders of the Japanese siblings, the theory that this killer you are hunting is someone seeking revenge against Scorpions seems plausible. Now, please, fuck off before you leave me with lesser men.”
Shawn and Joel looked at each other, then turned and began to leave with Hai Yue wordlessly following them out the hall.
“Sounds like Major Crimes are going to have to re-open the Kaneki Siblings Murder Case,” Shawn said as the trio left the abandoned school, carefully stepping over the unconscious gate guards as they walked down the stairs.
“Yeah, but Major Crimes and VOID have issues with each other. We’re lucky Keat Hong is one of the professional ones.”
“Anyone that is not part of Kwok Chang’s inner circle are professional towards us. I’m just waiting for that half-nosed motherfucker to get himself fired…”
“Half-nosed? What the heck is that supposed to mean?” Hai Yue asked after a brief chuckle.
“There use to be a senior officer named Leo Kwok Chang who’s something of a rival towards Shankar. He was suspected of planting evidence to frame an Othersider for a murder three years ago but since VOID was unable to prove his actions, they kicked him to another department instead. He weaseled his way into Major Crimes and has been actively interfering with VOID ever since.”
“He pissed off a rookie officer so bad that the latter punched him in the face hard enough to split his nose apart. They fixed it, but it’s so crooked now that it looked like he’s missing half his nose.”
“Sounds like an asshole,” Hai Yue commented.
“More like someone needs to shoot him in the ass. But since that bastard’s made a lot of enemies over the last decade, someone’s going to get their pound of flesh from him one day.”
21:20, Block 145A Marsiling Rise, #07-329, 06 Jan 2075
“So you heard the screams, went to the windows and saw them burning the two victims alive?” Ellen asked.
Maxwell Singh nodded nervously as he sat in the couch of his living room, with Shankar and Ellen sitting next to him while Kegan stood by the window. It took a while, but Maxwell was finally encouraged to speak, and when he did so, his personality began to change for the better, from the frightened, uncooperative recluse they saw at the door to someone who is still frightened but now determined to see that an injustice is redressed.
“What did you do after that?”
“I… I called the police. But I did it at the window… They saw me…” Maxwell replied, rubbing his hands constantly.
“No way he’s the only one who heard the screaming,” Ellen said to Shankar, who nodded and asked Maxwell, “Were there other witnesses? Why did the Scorpions only target you?”
“This neighborhood was very empty last year… Only twenty residents at that time, not like now… Everyone knew it was Scorpions up to no good… I was the only one who peeked out the window that night, and they saw me.”
“I see. And judging by the graffiti at your front door, you’ve been keeping quiet because of the threats… You witnessed the whole thing. You saw the ones that did it. If you were to see them again, can you identify them?” Shankar asked.
“I can… But will the other Scorpions kill me?”
“Not on our watch. But we’ve got several killers to catch. The ones who killed the Kaneki siblings and the one whose killing the killers. You’re the only one who can make that happen, Maxwell.”
“But what will happen to me?”
“We’ll have someone keep guard over you for the time being. It’s important that you step up and testify, beca-”
“Lieutenant Shankar, Officer Han,” Kegan said in a soft voice all of a sudden, “Switch off the lights and come take a look, but do it slowly.”
Ellen looked at him, then at Shankar who motioned with his head to go over to Kegan, before getting up and making her way to the switches, turning off every light source in the apartment except the bathroom, before going over to Shankar and the Othersider who was currently peeking out the curtains.
“What is it?”
“See there, by the angsana tree on the left.”
Ellen carefully lifted part of the curtains and peeked out at the carpark towards the location Kegan had pointed to her. Despite the dim lighting around the area, she could make out two individuals very obviously watching the apartment they were in.
“They’re not even making an effort to hide,” Ellen commented.
“Exactly, but nevertheless, we should act first. Lieutenant Shankar, you and Officer Han should prepare your handcuffs. I shall apprehend those two and see what they are after. Mr Singh, prepare to turn on the lights,” Kegan said as he turned from the window and headed for the bathroom.
“What are you planning to do?” Ellen asked, but Shankar interjected, saying, “Just do what he says. Maxwell, get ready by the lights.”
“They’re going to silence me, right? They must have saw you coming… Shit, what do I do?”
“Stay calm, Maxwell. We’ve got Othersiders on our side…”
The moment Kegan disappeared into the bathroom, the air in the apartment grew cold for a brief moment. Ellen looked out the window once more just in time to see Kegan suddenly emerging from behind a vehicle and jumping the two individuals, seizing each of them by the throat and dragging them at inhuman speed towards the staircase of a void deck, disappearing from view.
Two seconds later, Ellen had the shock of her life as Kegan suddenly burst out from Maxwell’s bathroom, still holding the two individuals, causing Maxwell to shriek in fear although he managed to hit the lights.
“Cuff these two, now!” Kegan yelled, to which Shankar jumped the one on the left and Ellen rushing over to deal with the other one.
“Let us go! We didn’t do anything!” one of the individuals complained as he and his companions had their hands cuffed and made to sit on the floor.
“Oh? Then explain to me, young man, why the two of you were loitering around with your eyes at this particular flat?” Kegan asked.
“We have the right to stay silent,” the other individual retorted.
“That is true, but a word of advice to you humans: If you want to join a gang but hide that fact from others, don’t tattoo the gang symbol on your arms at such a ridiculous size, then wear short-sleeved t-shirts or tank-tops just to display them proudly.”
“That’s the Scorpions' gang symbol… You two, how old are you?” Ellen asked.
“You can try to put up the tough act, but we’ll find out eventually, so how about you be cooperative instead?” Shankar added.
“Fuck… Seventeen,” one of the two mumbled.
“So young and already part of one of the most dangerous post-WW3 gangs in this country. Who did you kill to join the Scorpions?”
“What? No! We didn’t kill anyone!”
“Do not lie! The only way to join the Scorpions is to kill someone! Everyone from Singapore to Johor Bahru knows about this. Now, who did you kill?”
“Be honest with the lieutenant, or you’ll be falling from the roof of this building in five seconds’ time, repeatedly,” Kegan threatened the two.
“You can’t do that!”
“I am not bound by the laws and regulations of the humans who live in this country. I simply followed them out of respect, but I will do things my way if I have to.”
“Kegan, we do not threaten suspects in this country, no matter what crime they have committed,” Shankar warned Kegan.
“My apologies, Lieutenant, but these two are still holding out on us.”
“Look, you two,” Shankar said as he turned to the two youths, “You both understand that you will be tried as adults, right? Your age may spare you the noose, but life imprisonment in Singapore means forever, not twenty years like in Western countries. You best come clean before you make things worse for yourselves.”
The two youths stared at the ground for a moment before one of them finally replied, “We haven’t killed anyone yet, we only have the target…”
“Who’s your designated target?”
“That guy,” said the first individual as he pointed at Maxwell with his feet.
“Why?”
“We don’t know! An hour ago, Vance told us to kill this guy so that we can become full members of the Scorpions…”
“More evidence that Vance may be trying to cover up what he did last year,” Ellen commented.
Shankar shook his head in disgust as Kegan conducted a search on the two youths, removing their wallets and handing them over to Ellen, who found their identification cards after a quick look.
“Tan Kim Heng and Ajay s/o Balakrishnan, as of this moment, the two of you are under arrest for being part of an unlawful assembly and conspiracy to commit murder. We’ll be handing you two over to Major Crimes’ Gang Suppression Branch.”