~*Stilwater P.D.*~
Once abandoned because of the war zone, the Row became. Troy Bradshaw sits looking over the files he wanted on his desk. It was now the middle of the week as he had flipped through notes on Lin and pushed them aside. He said a small prayer, turning to the next folder.
Joseph Price, Leader of the Westside Rollerz, nephew to William Sharpe. He was reading over the notes and jotted anything important down. Whenever they were arrested, he found out that the adrenal junkies were rarely held for a night and released soon after being booked.
Going through Sharpe's file, he was a lawyer who worked with Hughes. Troy made a face, jotting that down, but that was not what Troy was looking for. He sat for hours, reading over papers, and remembering what happened the night Li and Lin were taken.
"What was it? Sharpe found out Lin was a Saint but they didn't know who Li was." He scratched his chin, then took a swig of coffee. Getting up to refill his mug, he continued to search his memories.
~*June of 97'*~
"17, my birthday is in nine months. I never told you my age?"
Gat and Troy took bets on how old she is, Kyouki, not seeing how her age made a difference, watched them hand money over to Dex. It wasn't like she had time for anyone, even though her eye was leaning to Troy.
With her constant running around with the Saints and school, when they show up to pick her up, the three of them are always scaring off any potential suitors.
Troy bit the inside of his cheek, she was young, and he was slowly falling for her, but he had his secrets and just knew when he first met her–when Julius was recruiting her, he didn't want her to be a part of this.
Dex just raised an eyebrow as he shook his head, muttering about how insane Julius was for getting her involved in all of this. "You need to be in school." Dex knew. Pocketing his money, poked her in the forehead. As he left to head home, they had an early morning.
Pouting cause they already discussed this. "Dex, I am on holiday break now!"
Johnny smirked. "You don't look like it, but then again, I don't look like I have an eight-inch dick, so I guess we are both full of surprises." He walked away, smirking without another word. Johnny was getting hard. He was genuinely shocked because he didn't know exactly how old she was. He thought she and Aisha were around the same age, and he found her cute, even in her oversized sweatshirts.
Li stood there wide-eyed, watching his back as he left, seeing him turn to face her at the door, lower his glasses and give her a wink, then left. She shook off her shock. But in the past few years, she should have known what comes out of Johnny's mouth, so that kind of behavior could be expected.
Troy rolled his eyes with a shake of his head. He has to want to talk to her. He was still thinking of how to get her out, patted her on the shoulder when he saw Julius approach. "I'll head out. I have a few things to take care of." Li nodded.
Troy went to the other side of the church, leaning against the wall, listening to Julius and Li, fighting the urge to light a cig.
Julius walked up congratulating Li, "Lin said you are doing a hell of a job with the Rollerz. Keep it up. Have you heard from Lin?"
Just then, Li's cell rang. "Yeah, it's her." She answered the phone. "Hey, we were just talking about you. Hello?"
There was a brief pause before Lin answered. "Yeah... meet me up at the pool hall, the Rollerz... are getting into something big?."
"Why the pool hall?" The conversation cut off before Li could ask anything else. Li looked up at Julius with a confused look. "She hung up. That didn't sound like her, I mean…"
Julius nodded. "Don't let me hold you up. You know how she hates waiting."
"Yeah, I'll catch you later." Li headed for the pool hall.
Watching Kyouki leave, Troy waited until she was around the corner from the church to follow her.
~* October of 98'*~
Troy stepped on the gas. Watching as two of the Rollerz dumped the unconscious bodies of the girls into Lin's Voxel trunk. William having one man drive Lin's car while he followed. Troy couldn't swoop in to save them, it would blow their… his cover, he had to wait. He followed behind William Sharpe and the others when they pulled off.
It was an hour's drive until they pulled off the main road. Troy had cut the lights and parked. No one was around this area and it was nothing but construction equipment. Troy watched as the one driver hopped into the other's car, leaving the site. William was on his cell and stood patiently waiting.
Troy wasn't close enough to hear what's being said. He sighed, went and lit a cigarette. Troy leaned his head back, closing his eyes.
A few minutes later, he heard another car pull up. It was the Rollerz mechanic, Donnie. Troy rolled his eyes and leaned back again, taking another pull.
Shots rang out, startling the undercover agent. Troy's eyes flew open, his head snapped to where Sharpe and Donnie stood, his heart stopped. He watched as Donnie sped off. Sharpe, calling after the mechanic, the older man turned, closed the trunk, then pushing the custom Voxel in the Waterway.
Troy watched in horror as William stood for a moment before getting into his car and drive off. William Sharpe just shot the girls. Troy watched the murder take place. Troy growled and started his car going after Sharpe, but something stopped him. He made a U-Turn, tires digging into the dirt road and floored it to where the car was submerging slowly.
Dragging to a stop, he stumbled out of the car. He was pacing the length of the walk, running his fingers through his hair, watching the car sink further down. "Oh shit, oh shit, SHIT! KY, LIN, KY!" bubbling in response. Troy looked for a cable, anything to hook to the car to pull it out. If only he had stayed. If only he had shot William. "FUCK!" He screamed.
Minutes seemed like an eternity. Bubbles ripped the surface of the water with blood. Troy looked on, horrified. It was dark, and he had the high beams of his car on that only helped some. When he heard a loud gasp dove into the cold water.
Li coughed, her lungs burned, she continued to cough the offending water from her lungs; she gripped her side, her hands were free, her mind went to the last thing she remembered.
"LIN.. LIN…. LEMME GO, LIN!!" Li screamed as she struggled against what or who was holding her down to get free.
Troy grabbed the squirming girl by the waist. "Its me, its… me… Li, fuck, I'm so sorry."
They both saw Lin's lifeless body floated face down, her hands tied behind her, with her lighter clutched in her hand.
"Lin… no..." Li cried into Troy's shirt. She passed out exhausted.
"Ky?" Troy shook the girl. She was paling in the car's headlights. "Shit, Ky, come on, don't sleep." He picked his girlfriend up, carrying her to the car. Once he got her in, he called the guys. "Meet me at the Safehouse in Tidal Spring. The girls been shot!"
~*S.R.1*~
The Chief sipped the hot coffee, pen in hand. He looked over Joseph's file. "They lost parts, stole cars, for their buyers overseas, but where overseas? Who needed the parts?" He continued to flip over papers, checking new ones that showed nothing of anything about these buyers overseas, then picked up the phone, pressing a couple of numbers held the receiver to his ear.
"Johnson, I need you to check if there are any other files on c.n873029 and c.n873028 down there?" Thinking if there was anything else that he would need, while he had the officer on his end. "Just those, or where they trashed?"
"It's been over three years. They should have trashed it. Let me look, one sec." The officer put him on hold to search for what was asked.
Troy knew that they would have been trashed by now. They don't hold cold cases long. He had these particular files stored personally. Troy looked over the papers he had already had on his desk once again. He waited a second more before getting confirmation that there were some files down with the department officer. "Send them up, thanks."
~*Purgatory*~
Across the bridge, Li and Shaundi headed out of Purgatory, pulling off waved to a few people as they made their way to the mall. It was December now and the winter night sky was chilly, the lights of Downtown bright, the way the Snowflake lights twinkle on the lampposts that lined the streets to the shopping area that was the Rounds Square Shopping Mall made the Christmas holiday seem that much closer, sort of romantic.
"You ready for the Holiday?"
"Yeah, I love Christmas. It's the only time the fam was together in one spot." Shaundi sighed.
"What do you mean, you aren't spending Christmas together this year?"
Shaundi shook her head no. "My older brothers and sister moved away when I was in High School, and then when I got into college, my parents divorced."
Kyouki looked over, seeing the girl looking out of the window. "What do you want for Christmas?"
Shaundi shrugged. "A new bong, maybe?"
Li laughed. "Not my idea of a Christmas present, but I'll see what I can do when I ask Santa -san."
"Santa-san?"
" Hai ! Santa-san, that's what I call him. He is real, you know."
"I know. I still believe I could use him for sure." She chuckled. "Hey Boss, can I ask you a question?"
Parking in the underground park, they got out and removed their coats, heading into the building.
"Sure, what is it?" Seeing Aisha, Gat, with Ren, Carlos, Ramon and Pierce waiting.
"What's with all the Japanese?"
Li looked shocked, and Johnny went to say something. He himself said it too once upon a time ago.
~*July of 94'*~
"Will, you stop calling me that." Gat grumbled as Li trotted behind, as she tried to catch up to him.
"Then what should I call you, Gat-san, Gat-sama, Ani or Gat-nii?"
Turning on his heel, she ran right into his chest. "What the fuck? What's with all the Japanese?"
Rubbing her nose, "I are Japanese?" She looked up, biting her lower lip.
Johnny frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Was that a question or an answer?"
"Both?"
~*S.R.1*~
"And Boss, your hair color, is it dyed?" Shaundi also noticed her color change hair. Not really color change, she noticed it just changed as the weather got colder.
"Are you saying that because I'm black or Japanese?" Li watched her younger lieutenant's faces hit the floor. Li smiled while Gat and Ramon held their sides in laughter. Carlos and Shaundi both looked mortified.
Pulling out her mother and father's photo. "I am, in fact, Japanese born, Father one hundred percent. Afro Native, mother, for whom to thank for the chameleon hair and odd eye color I am blessed with, kore wa daijōbudesuka ?" When she handed the one that picture of her father in his younger days with her mother, handed them for Shaundi and Carlos to see.
Shaundi went to apologize, but Li pulled Shaundi along as she shrugged it off. It never offended her, she had no offence to take.
They went shopping for gifts. An hour in Li had brought nothing but put some things on hold as she didn't want to carry around the gifts for her friends.
~
Stopping at On Thin Ice, a jewelry store, Kyouki pulled Shaundi aside before she walked in.
"Sup, Boss?" Catching her balance.
"Have you found out what's in the Loa Dust?"
"Science is hard…" She shrugged, shaking her head, seeing Li sigh heavily Li was looking at the case that had a nice display of rings and bracelets, "But….. Because I can't figure it out, I do, however, know someone who does."
Li looked at the petite girl and nodded, then back to the case, admiring a ring on the display. "Who do you know, and where can we find them?"
Shaundi hung her head. "Um, a woman I met in prison, she knows more about this shit than anyone… There's only one -"
Li sighed again, crossing her arms and turning to Shaundi with a look of disapproval. "Obviously, a problem, yes?"
Shaundi nodded. "She's still in prison…"
Turning to the young woman shocked. "Shaundi!" Li closed her eyes, not knowing what to do with this information. Seems like this was just going south.
"Wait, hold on, it's fixable."
"That's not a word." Li reprimanded.
"Anyway, Samson, he is a demolition expert."
"I know Samson!" Li pointed, surprised to hear he was still around.
"Oh, well, ok then, so what we can do is you can go meet up with him, he can hook you up and go get her out, her name is Laura."
"You know how many Lauras there are, possibly locked up?" Stood with her hands on her hips. This wasn't looking good, but there may be something that can be done.
Shaundi shrugged and nodded. She knew who she was talking about, but Li was right, could help the wrong one out.
"Ok, we'll go through the files when we get back to HQ. Hope Troy didn't change the password."
"Troy?"
"An ex of mine."
"Ah."
The others walked out, and they went to get something to eat. Li took another look at the ring, ran into the store, finding out it was just sold. She made a specialized order instead, thanked the seller and caught up with the others.
~*Stilwater P.D.*~
Late-night once again for the Police Chief as he was going through papers, in the twelve boxes that were brought into his office from the other morning, and the morning, he was sitting on the floor, papers on anything that had the mysterious buyers mentioned. If it was typed, handwritten or copied was in a pile on his left. He sighed, still not seeing what he needed. His deputy came to his office, seeing the man on the floor knocked as she walked in. "Come here a sec, help me with this."
"Chief, what are you doing?"
"What the hell does it look like I'm doing, playing golf? Hand me that box there." Pointing without looking up, furiously flipping through papers.
The Deputy Chief shrugged, tiptoeing around the neatly scattered piles, and grabbed the topmost box, passing it to Troy. "Chief, what are you doing?" She asked once more as she squatted down to get a better look.
"I'm looking for evidence from a case from about six years ago. A company or something." He went rifling through the newest box in front of him, reading and turning over papers.
"Should you be mixing them up?"
"Nah, the case is closed. They would have been burnt anyway, but I need to find out who.... What do you want anyway?" Looking up, almost annoyed, before he went back to reading recent papers.
She shook her head. "Avery and the others wanted to know if you wanted to get a drink."
"No time."
"Plenty of time, come on Chief." She looked at one of the topmost papers. "Toiu Sukai, an LLC based in Japan, this what you looking for?"
Troy looked up, looked at the paper in Kai Jonson's hand, and snatched it. She pointed to where it was on the printed receipt. "No shit! I could kiss you, thank you!"
She backed up. "No thanks Chief, so drink?" Standing from her spot, she headed back to the door.
"Yeah, be there in a few." Troy carefully stepped over the papers scattered all over his floor knocking a pile down, went to put the one he needed in the drawer, making several notes, stuffing it in as well and locked it up tight.
~
Jonson went to gather her things, pulling out her cell.
"Mōsu?"
The deputy chief answered just as quickly. " Hai. Toiu Sukai. Anata wa shitte imasu ka ?"