08:50, VOID Headquarters, Beach Road, 10 Jan 2075
The entirety of the Third Investigation Squad sat in the conference room, along with officers from the Gang Suppression Branch, uniformed officers from VOID’s Roving Unit and, via video call, officers from the SPD’s North Division, as Shankar prepared the morning’s briefing with notes being shown via the conference room’s holo-projector.
Ellen’s idea had been quite straightforward. Under normal circumstances, VOID would be unable to conduct arrests in cases involving human-on-human crimes. But in this situation, a loophole had presented itself: The humans being killed by an Othersider were involved in a human-on-human crime, which means VOID can arrest and interrogate them with the assistance of relevant branches, namely the Major Crimes Investigation Division’s Gang Suppression Branch. By doing that, should Fudo not keep the word he made to Hai Yue, he will have no choice but to attack VOID’s headquarters directly if he was that desperate to kill, allowing VOID and the marshal attachment to capture him.
“All right, ladies, gentlemen and others, I believe that everyone is aware of the recent case where members of the Scorpions gang’s Northern Branch are being found mauled and ripped apart. Newspapers and blogs are now dubbing this the ‘Gang Ripper Case’, but a number of clues have linked these murders to the unsolved Kaneki Siblings Murder Case from the previous year. Now, I will hand over to our colleagues from the Night-Sea Patrol,” Shankar explained before stepping aside, allowing Kegan to take over the meeting as a picture of Fudo is shown on the screen.
“Thank you, Lieutenant Shankar. Greetings to all, I am Chief Marshal Kegan of the Night-Sea Patrol. Now that the matter of your human targets are resolved, I am here to discuss about the Othersider that has been killing your gangsters. He is a samebito who goes by Fudo Kaneki. This picture was taken of him before he had a scar on his face. Several years ago, Fudo accidentally killed a minister from his native kingdom of Yōkuni and fled to the Night-Sea to hide, where he resided for two years before being discovered, at which point he escaped from the Other Side to the Human Side.
“I am unsure what relationship he has with the Kaneki Siblings, but given that he’s adopted their family name, it must have been very close enough that he would commit mass murder to avenge the deceased humans. I believe that, a couple of nights ago, he gave his word that he would turn himself in willingly if the surviving members of the Scorpions gang are found guilty of the murder of the Kaneki Siblings. I do not know him enough to tell you if he is a man of his word, so I suggest to my human colleagues to be on the lookout for his presence in case he decides to kill our targets during the arrests. Lieutenant Shankar, back to you.”
“Adding on to what the Chief Marshal said, be wary when bringing suspects back to HQ, especially when passing by any large bodies of water. Judging by his previous kills, this Fudo most likely ambushes or charges at his targets from any nearby water source deep enough for him to hide or make his escape.”
“Understood, lieutenant. But if our priority is the Scorpions’ Northern Branch, any specific targets?” someone asked from the back of the conference room.
“We have been given the go-ahead to bring in the surviving members of the Scorpions’ Northern Branch for further questioning and also to protect them from the killer. All of them have police records but we’ve identified the four pictured on the screen as the main targets. Here are their last known frequented locations: Both Yithish Sabapathy and Lee Kui De aka Liquid live in Sembawang, Stevie Chong in the western side of Yishun, and Foo Kim Hor aka Vance has moved from Yew Tee to Marsiling.
“My colleague has been passing around documents while I was talking, documents that indicate which team is dealing with which target. Remember, they might not be alone, hence each team has so many members to even up the numbers game. Once they have been arrested, we will be conducting searches not only in their houses but also their places of work. Now, is everyone ready? If so, go clear whatever you need to clear from your bowels, for we shall commence the operation in three minutes.”
10:21,Sembawang Road, 10 Jan 2075
Arrest Target: Yithish Sabapathy
“Police! Stop!”
Yithish ran for his life as he and a fellow gangster are chased down by at least nine police officers, both plainclothes and uniformed. The two had been waiting for a bus when the cops showed up and came after them, forcing them to make a run for it.
As Yithish continued running, his companion was tackled to the ground by one of their pursuers, with two others pouncing on him as well. Unable to stop and help, Yithish attempted to run up the stairs of an overhead bridge, only to be pulled back by the back of his collar and pinned to the floor.
“Yithish Sabapathy?” a Malay
“Fuck you!”
“Whatever. I’m Officer Zaihandy from the Violent Othersider Incidents Division-”
“VOID? You bastards deal with monsters one, why you arresting me? I’m human!”
“Because a monster is killing your buddies and it’s got very good reasons for doing it. Right now, you’re under arrest on suspicion of involvement in the murders of Kazuya and Miharu Kaneki.”
10:25, Sembawang Road Shopping Mall, 10 Jan 2075
Arrest Target: Lee Kui De aka Liquid
“That’s the guy that restructured his name to ‘Liquid’. Come, let’s go have a chat with him,” Ellen said to the rest of the officers with her before approaching the store where a Chinese male with his hair dyed blonde was re-arranging the shelf.
“Lee Kui De?” Ellen asked the male, who turned and gave her an unhappy look which quickly gave way to suspicion when he noticed the three burly men behind her.
“Who wants to know?”
“Police.”
Immediately, Liquid threw a box at them, startling the four as he pushed past them and headed for the exit, only to find himself facing four uniformed officers. Grabbing a broom, he attempted to take a swing at them but is promptly elbowed and tripped to the ground by Ellen as the others assisted her in holding and cuffing him…
10:30, Yishun West Neighborhood Police Post, 10 Jan 2075
Arrest Target: Stevie Chong
“This the guy?” an officer from the Gang Suppression Branch asked as the cops manning the police post hauled a struggling Stevie Chong, who was also spewing a blue streak, out of the holding cell.
“Yeah. Stevie Chong, from the Scorpions.”
“I’m surprised you guys have already gotten him in your lockup. The APB should not have reached you all yet.”
“Actually, he was threatening some hawkers at the nearby hawker center with a cleaver forty minutes ago. Had to tase him. As you can see, he’s very friendly.”
“Friendly indeed. Seems like he’s going to get additional charges against him. We’ll take him. Thanks for the help.”
10:36, Blk 38 Marsiling Drive #05-323, 10 Jan 2075
Arrest Target: Foo Kim Hor aka Vance
“Shit, he’s gone,” Shawn muttered in disappointment as he, Joel and the rest of the team searched the apartment, the mess indicating that its tenant had made a hasty escape.
“Someone must have tipped him off. You think those Scorpions at the outpost turned on us?”
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“No. Once Scorpions leadership decide someone must go, they are dead men walking. Orders will not be recalled. I’ve seen a lot of Scorpions members executed by their own people during my days with the GSB. One targeted lieutenant escaped to Shanghai and they still managed to get their hands on him. So, what do we do now?”
“Knowing Ellen, she’s probably got a back-up plan. C’mon, let’s do a search before we report back.”
With that, Shawn, Joel and the other officers began turning the flat upside down. Drawers and wardrobes were opened with the contents removed, boxes were emptied out and heavy furniture were moved out of the way. Eventually, Joel found something strange when he accidentally hit a table against a wall.
“Hey, guys, something’s up with this wall.”
“What is it?” Shawn asked as he and the others gathered.
“Listen,” Joel said as he knocked against the wall.
“Hollow. Something’s hidden behind it.”
“Sir, I found something. Look, like something sticking out from the wall,” one of the uniformed officers helping the team announced as he pointed at a suspicious area on the wall that looked slightly crumpled.
Reaching out to that particular area, Joel felt something loose, like a piece of plastic sheet, and proceeded to grab and pull whatever it was he had grasped. Immediately, the sheet, which was barely distinguishable from the actual walls, come off, and the unmistakable gaps of a secret door was visible to all who are present.
“Good find, officer,” Joel praised the officer who had detected the suspicious wall, “The design is so perfect, it would have fooled anyone. I’m betting that it’s been ripped off and pasted back on too many times, hence the crumple.”
“Let’s take a look,” Shawn commented as he pushed the door, but when it won’t budge, he shrugged and kicked it in, revealing a small space where parangs and iron rods were kept, along with a few boxes as well as small plastic bags with familiar pink powder inside.
“Is that pixie dust?”
“Looks like it. Someone contact ANB to send people to our location. Meanwhile, let’s see what’s in the boxes…”
11:00, VOID Headquarters, Beach Road, 10 Jan 2075
Shankar sat in his personal office, quietly reading a particularly thick book, when someone began knocking on the door.
“Come in,” Shankar called out, and the door opened and in walked a tall and muscular harimau jadian with a head of wild hair and orange fur with black stripes across his arms, complete with a face that resembled a cross between a human and a tiger wearing a sleeveless vest over a black t-shirt.
Shankar immediately recognized the person before him as High Marshal Ismail, leader of the attached marshals from the Night-Sea Patrol and a harimau jadian. Although Ismail, whom Shankar now considers a personal friend, has established himself to be a warm-hearted and friendly individual, Shankar is also aware of Ismail’s dislike of Ellen, the latter having offended him and the buaya jadian Kobi when they first arrived.
“Apologies for intruding into your reading time, Shankar. Chief Marshal Kegan requested that I provide assistance to your current case in his absence in the form of advice, or brute strength if necessary.”
“Much appreciate, Ismail,” Shankar replied as he closed the book he had been reading, something that got the harimau jadian’s attention.
“Marcus Sage’s Guide to Othersiders: Yōkuni Edition? Interesting choice of book, lieutenant.”
“Michael Sage’s works are the only guides we humans have regarding the denizens of your side of the world, Ismail.”
“Indeed. Sage was a good friend to many Othersiders, the only human to have ever travelled to all seven kingdoms of the Other Side. He may have passed on, but his sons and daughters continues their father’s works, updating each edition as they discover new things.”
“A good mission, it is…”
“Lieutenant, if I may take a guess, you are reading up on samebitos, am I right?”
“You got me there, High Marshal. The entry in the latest edition doesn’t have much information about samebitos.”
“Ah, that, I know what the problem is,” Ismail commented as he sat down in front of Shankar’s desk, “The thing about samebitos is that they are very reclusive. Even in their homeland of Yōkuni, they are rarely seen. The ones that are known to public are those that hold good positions in Yōkuni’s court like General Amega, one of Yōkuni’s military leaders, and Kikuzame Yakusou, a court surgeon who came to the Night-Sea to help treat our king’s grandson a few years back.”
“I see. But if I may ask, Ismail, how much do you personally know about samebitos?” Shankar asked.
“Well, I know as much as their entry in Sage’s guides. They’re gentle, helpful, very hard to provoke. But one thing the books never mentioned in any of its editions is how vengeful samebitos can get once provoked.”
“Please elaborate.”
“I personally witness an incident as a cub where a samebito completely lost it. My father, now retired, was an ambassador to Yōkuni. My whole family stayed at Yōkuni for the full five-year tenure. My brother and I constantly visit a marketplace when, well, a samebito, a hammerhead if I recall correctly, and his hybrid daughter would often sell us fruits. We always thought he was the most gentle of souls, until one day when some gangsters scarred his daughter’s face for being, well, a hybrid. The guards won’t help, and the gangsters came again and blinded one of her eyes this time.”
“I take it he finally retaliated?”
“He rampaged for a bit, tore up half the marketplace and beat up half the guards. After he calmed down, he left his daughter in the care of a friend and disappeared for a month. During that time, every one of the gangsters were found torn into bloody pieces, all of them with agonized expressions frozen on their faces. When he showed up, he had enough alibis to prove that he wasn’t the killer, but everyone knew… There was still a lot of rage in his eyes…”
“I see…”
“He’s not the only one. I’ve heard many rumors of samebitos that had been so gravely offended to the point where they’ve lost someone precious going on murderous rampages. I think you should know, Shankar, that in regards to Fudo promising to surrender once all those involved in the murder of Kazuya and Miharu Kaneki are found guilty, I do not believe he would go back on it, but I also believe that his rage will make him incapable of keeping it.”
“Based on rumors?”
“Rumors can be exaggerated when passed from one’s mouth to another over time, but they have to start somewhere, right? I apologize if I had spoken out of place, though.”
“No, it’s fine. Humans know very little about Othersiders, so some extra insight would not hurt,” Shankar replied when his phone started ringing.
“Shankar speaking… What do you mean he got away? I see… What did you find in his flat? Understood. I shall inform Keat Hong about this.”
“What’s happened?” Ismail asked.
“Well, seems like we’ll have to drop to Ellen’s backup plan. The main target, ‘Vance’, got away, though we managed to round up the other three along with the henchmen. Not only that, it seems Shawn and Joel found something in Vance’s flat which MCID would be most interested in…”
22:14, Club Drømme, Geylang Road, 10 Jan 2075
Vance sat on a couch in a room overlooking the nightclub’s dance floor, nervously rubbing his hands as a man in a black suit and yellow shirt adjusted his tie in front of a mirror.
“You should stop being so paranoid, Vance. Everyone in the underworld knows not to conduct business in my territory. The Scorpions won’t get you here,” the man, a good-looking Chinese male with a gentle face but sinister eyes, said to Vance.
“My own gang tried to off me, Nick! Then Garky’s hitmen tried to kidnap me, saying they were going to drop me off at the nearest police station after Garky was done with me! I can’t stay here forever, I need to get out of the country, go somewhere they won’t find me!” Vance replied.
“Did I give you permission to call me Nick?” the man asked, never raising his voice but his tone carrying enough threat for the normally arrogant Vance to quickly apologize, aware that he had just offended one of the most dangerous man in Singapore’s criminal underworld, Niclas Chang Hua Thrane, whose day job is that of a charismatic businessman who owns a number of entertainment businesses including the nightclub he was currently in.
“Now, knowing how your gang operates, sending you to Hong Kong won’t work. They’ll still kill you there. Not to mention that you’ve offended too many people, with Garky being the worst of them all. That man and I have a truce of sorts. Do you still believe Garky sells drugs from a back alley in Chinatown?”
“If he had a better nickname, I would have realized he’s an international drug kingpin…”
“You are arrogant, reckless and stupidly overconfident. Most pai kias quickly learn to be adults once they’ve made their way into the underworld, but you, you still think and act like a bully with machetes. You’re lucky I am more forgiving than Garky and that I owe you a favor. Normally, I charge a fee for these kinds of escapes…”
“So, what should I do now?”
“Nothing. You wait while I handle this. Now, apart from Garky and his cronies, none of the gangs or criminal organizations in Singapore would dare to attack anything related to me. Your safest bet would be to travel to Changi Airport under the watch of my men and hitch a ride on one of my company-owned cargo planes to, let’s say, my father’s homeland of Denmark?”
“Anywhere that is safe will do, Mr Thrane.”
“Mr Thrane, huh. That’s much better. Now, they’re still trying to get rid of the wyvern that found itself in Danish airspace, so you’ll be staying here for at least three more days. Worse comes to worse, I’ll ship you off on one of my company-owned freight ships to South Africa instead.”
“Thank you, sir. I thought I was doomed.”
“Well, don’t get your hopes too high. I heard the SPD has arrested everyone from the Scorpions’ Northern Branch except for you. If they come barging into my nightclub with a warrant, there’s nothing I, as an honest business owner, can do to stop them from arresting you, unless you can get to the manhole in the basement fast enough. Might have to move some boxes, though.”
“Can’t you do something about that? I thought you have some leverage on the cops…”
“I do, but the department that is after you is the Violent Othersider Incidents Division. I have no leverage on any of their members, and their investigators. Well, let’s just say they’re more like hunters than detectives. Which brings me to my question: What did you do that one of the most dangerous Othersider species in the Other Side is slaughtering your men?”
Vance sighed before slouching against the couch in despair, wondering how his whole life got fucked up within a week, all thanks to his own actions from the previous year. Paying his guest no heed, Niclas Thrane finished with his tie and proceeded to take a sip from a glass of champagne as he stared out at the dance floor with barely an expression on his face…