Unwelcome Guest

Ryan raised his speed to catch up to the woman ahead of him. Like the first time they met, he could feel several watchful eyes as soon as he approached the woman.

One…

Two…

Three… He could detect three people in three different positions. Did she know that she's being followed? Should he tell her about that?

After thinking for a bit, he decided against it. If they wanted to harm her, they would have done it already. It was not the first time they were following her anyway.

"You don't hit me as someone who tries to keep fit" Ryan started the conservation as soon as he caught up to her.

The woman gave him a glance and replied, "Hello, Captain Carlos. I'm not trying to keep fit. I'm trying to straighten up my thoughts."

"Straighten up your thoughts?" He asked in an amused tone. He did not bother to ask how she knew his name as he was already aware of this woman's capabilities.

"By exercising, your heart rate rises and more blood reach to the brain. Thus, the brain gets more oxygen and also, the hormones…"

"Okay… Okay… You can stop now"

Although it was interesting to talk with this woman he was not really in the mood to continue listening to her blabber about blood and hormones.

"Anyway, doing physical exercise will help you think clearer so, I hope it would help you, too"

"Oh? What do you know?" Ryan smiled.

The woman slowed down her pace until she completely stopped and so did he. When she looked straight into his eyes, his smile faltered as he was drawn into those eyes.

"I know you like to smile to cover up your real emotions. You are always smiling even if you are angry, disappointed or sad. It's not so strange 'cause every human project their own kind of defense mechanisms to protect themselves. In your case, you are trying to decrease the emotional damage by making yourself believe that you aren't bothered by those setbacks at all. But your eyes… they are a dead giveaway"

After executing the combo hit nonchalantly, the woman continued on her own way. Ryan did not have the intention to chase behind her as her words gave him a lot to think about. He thought he was hiding it well. It was true that he used to be a happy go lucky guy who liked to smile a lot. He did not have much greed or ambition.

However, his parents' death changed everything. He started to fake his smiles to prove that he was fine. He neither wanted the people's concern nor their pity. As time went, he even started to deceive himself to the point that he could not differentiate his feelings anymore.

He was too immersed in his own thoughts that he did not realize the path had ended.

"Do you need consolation, though I'm not really good at that?" To his surprise, the woman was still waiting for him with a popsicle in her hand.

"You eat ice-pops even at this time of the day? Weirdo" He chuckled.

"Yes, I'm weird. It's not like you aren't." The woman admitted his words like it was the most natural thing.

He laughed out loud. This time he was sure that his laughter came from the bottom of his heart.

"I'm fine. I don't need your consolation"

"No man would be fine after betraying their own faith. Especially dedicated men like you. But it seemed your mood have improved compared to earlier"

His hands trembled for a bit when he heard her words. This woman really knew how to give fatal blows.

"So, you've heard that I closed the case. Sorry that I can't give you the information you want anymore" He smiled bitterly.

"It's okay. Just tell me if you've found any chemical like I said"

He recounted everything David told them. He did not even understand himself why he trusted this woman so much.

"It was right that you dropped the case. The people behind those deaths aren't the ones you can take on." The woman remarked expressionlessly.

"Why do you think that?" Although he had his own reasons, he wanted to know how this woman's thoughts were processed.

"It was clear that the killer was directly or indirectly related to the production of this new drug. The drug is still in an incomplete stage as it is showing major side effects", she said.

"The bleeding?" Ryan had thought of that, too.

The woman nodded. "There are many ways to kill a person and yet they chose to use the drug. If they just wanted to make them bleed to death, they would have cut a major artery. It would take less time and effort. Yet they only made a single cut in the groin and watch them bleed to death…"

She paused before continuing, "… as if they wanted to know how long and how severe the bleeding would be. Why do you think they did that?"

A thought flashed across his mind. "They were used as lab rats."

"But they have already seen the effects on Jean. Why made the exactly same cut on Bill? Even the size is the same." Ryan added after thinking for a bit.

"Different genders", she answered before taking a bite out of her 'snack'.

'Right' Ryan shouted in his mind. Some drugs would have different effects on different genders.

"Now let me ask you. Those people dare to use the citizens as test subjects and discard their bodies openly in broad daylight. Do you think they would be afraid to handle a measly police department?"

Of course, the answer would be 'no'. The fact that they could discard their test subjects openly meant that they were not scared of their research being found out. That meant the local government must have already approved of their drug production. The higher-ups are already on their side, what could a police captain do?

"You are right" Ryan could only sigh.

The woman just nodded and prepared to leave without even saying goodbye.

"Can I see you again?" The case being closed meant that their deal was already off. But he still wanted to meet her as talking with her was very educating.

"I'll search for you if an interesting corpse appears again." The woman stopped in her tracks only for a while to respond him and continued to walk away as soon as he finished her sentence. Talk about coldhearted!

"You already know my name but I haven't got yours. Don't you think it's unfair?" Ryan felt like he was acting too much on impulse this morning.

"People in this city call me 'doc'" This time, she did not even stop for a moment and soon disappeared into the mist.

All the officers had returned to their daily routine as the big case was closed suddenly. Ryan was busy the whole day, tying up the loose ends and finishing his report. When he finished up everything, it was already 9 pm. He walked out of his office to find Allen who had also been busy with his own paperwork. He lightly knocked on Allen's desk.

"Wanna get a drink?" Ryan asked with a grin.

"Sure" Allen stood up and took his coat from the chair.

They chose to go to Ryan's apartment instead of a bar as it was not convenient to have their conversation in a public place. After getting a beer bottle out for himself and giving another one to Allen, Ryan told Allen about his encounter with the woman this morning. However, he only included the facts about the case but not her views towards his mental behavior.

"Doc? So, she is some kind of doctor?" Allen asked.

"May be. Or maybe it's just a nickname." Ryan shrugged.

"Her thoughts are interesting, alright. But don't you think she knows too much? Are you sure feeding her with more information is the right choice? These details are not supposed to be disclosed to citizens in the first place. What if she's on our opponent's side?" Allen got more and more wary of this strange woman.

"I thought about that, too. But do you think she would stop digging just because we don't tell her anything? Like she said, she could buy any information she wants anyway. At least we would know what she's asking for if we're the ones making the deal with her"

Allen could not refute his captain's words.

"Putting that woman aside, where do think we should start?" Allen asked the serious question.

"Anios, of course. Didn't Bill say Jean acted strange after her night shift?"

"It won't be easy." Allen sighed.

Anios is the biggest and most active club in city X. It also had strict restrictions on its customers. The security was also top notch and not every Tom, Dick and Harry could get into that place. As the guests were very 'disciplined', there had never been a commotion despite being the most active club. If not because of the bartender's death, the police would never have stepped into that club.

"That's where you came in, genius. Find a way for us to get close to their customers." Ryan grinned as he clinked his bottle against Allen's.

Allen was speechless at Ryan's shamelessness. To get into the circle of an iron-fortress like Anios, how many liters of brain-juice does he have to burn? Is that even a possible feat for a single police lieutenant?

Before he could rebut his captain for the impossible task he was given, the doorbell rang.

"I'll go get it." Ryan left his side.

Ryan looked at his watch to find both of the handles pointing at 12. Who would come knocking at his door at midnight?

He opened his door to see a tall and bulky man in his forties. His body could even overshadow the six-feet-tall Ryan. His facial hair and shabby clothes made him seem more like a hobo rather than a police officer. Yes, he was a police officer.

"Hello, Captain Carlos." The officer greeted with a nasty smile.

"Hello, Lieutenant Parker. How can I help you?" Despite the courteous smile hanging on his lips, Ryan did not want to welcome this guest at all.