-9:00 AM, Rooftops, Day 5, A few days Later-
It was a warm Saturday morning.
Taylor, wearing a light gray shirt, black track pants, and white running shoes, was running around rooftop to rooftop, enjoying the feeling of the wind against him, vaulting, front, back and side-flipping, as if the weekends were the perfect days where he can parkour his way around town.
"Whoo! That felt good! The view's really nice from up here." He said to himself, catching a quick breath and enjoying the view of Tokyo from a rooftop. It felt invigorating for him to feel the Tokyo air against him. However, Taylor's enjoyment of the view became short-lived when his phone rang from his pocket.
"This is Taylor Miles, I'm away, probably having a cup-of-Joe and I might have left my phone at home. Please leave a damn message after the beep." He started.
"Answering Machines don't work in cell phones, Miles." Capt. Brooke answered.
Taylor chuckled. "Just testing. So, what brings you to end my nice, little view of Tokyo?" He asked.
"I just had word on Migisuke, saying that he needs you to briefing in a couple of hours. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with these whole gang wars." Said the captain.
"Greaaat… you want me to dress for the occasion?" Taylor asked sarcastically.
"It's either your best casuals or NYPD Blue. Your choice, Taylor."
"Nah… the uniform's a bit too conspicuous in this situation. Sure it's comfy in the field work, but I don't know…" Taylor answered.
"You know most ladies in Migisuke's precinct love a man in uniform. Try it out." Brooke taunted.
"I beg to differ. I'll go for the badge around my neck. But if you want me to go blue, that's fine by me. I'll rent a car… or you have another friend whose car I can use?" Taylor asked, knowing that Brooke's got some friends here and there, and most of them he doubts if they are completely legit.
"Good guess on the second one, but no. I know the owner. She's just a few blocks down your apartment. Just mention my name and she'll recognize like the back of her hand. She'll pick you up." The captain answered.
"You've really got some connections here, Cap. It scares me sometimes." Taylor said, shuddering after.
Brooke laughed. "Don't worry, they've got good ways to make a living. They're legit."
"Riiiight."
"You'd best be going, Miles. Precinct's got a good distance from where you're staying. And Miles, First impressions, will ya?" He said before leaving me a message with the woman's address.
"Sure hope it ain't Neighbor lady."
-10:26 AM, Streets, Taylor's POV-
Man… the ride's pretty decent. A black muscle car with blue stripes on the lower part of the doors, the internals are pretty smooth. Of course, the lady who's driving this right now didn't mind because she said she knew the captain. Worked like a charm, Brooke. I'll tell ya that much.
Of course… she went a bit head over heels when I mentioned his name… And also… she might have said some stuff that I might live without…
-45 MINUTES AGO, CAR OWNER'S HOUSE-
I knocked on the door of a two-storey house. It had this modern look, which was nice.
"Hello? Anyone here?" I called out.
"Hey! That sounded American! Come on in, I'm in the garage!" A female voice called out, welcoming me into her home. Come to think of it, she sounded around early 20s. I wiped my feet and entered the house. I entered the garage as she said. I opened the door that leads to the garage.
And there I saw her.
She had two cars in her garage, both of them were muscle cars. One had the blue stripes on the lower sides, one had red. I caught a glimpse of the owner's shapely rear as she fixes the engine of the red one. She stood up as she finishes the works. She had long hair that goes down to her shoulders, with a thin red streak slightly showing, a shirt that fits her figure with decent allowance which accompanied with some straight-cut jeans. She's got a shape, I'll tell that much.
To my credit, I had a good, brief, stare at her shapely rear at first, then at her figure.
To her credit, she didn't scream, no bloody murder, nothing. Just a smile, a wink and a good glimpse of me with a detective's badge around my neck, nothing more, nothing less.
"Well… aren't you a fine piece to look at." She started.
"It's either the looks, or the clothes." I said. Classy, Taylor. Real classy.
I always had two sides of me. One is the open-minded, friendly and humorous but sometimes it looks like a Neurotic Jackass of a comedian, like Brooke said. But there's this one side of me that I show when I'm at work. It's like a combination of Sherlock Holmes and any witty and cool-headed 1960's detective that anyone can think of, but it's a ladies magnet. Not that I want to complain, but then again… who complains about a personality that's so damn good with the ladies?
Sometimes those sides clash. Lucky for me my head didn't break that far. I always had those two sides in the game. This moment is one of them.
"I can assure you it's both." She complemented, subtly licking her lips. "I'm Akira Kasumi."
"Detective Taylor Miles, NYPD. I'm assuming you know a Captain Charles Brooke?" I asked.
"Charlie?!" She exclaimed, with an excited smug on her face.
"I'll take that as a yes."
"Of course I knew him! We had a lot of action with the guy! Literally worked with him a couple of years when he was still in action." Akira exclaimed.
"Huh… Pretty sure he was hell of a cop back in the day." I said.
"He sure was. He and Commissioner Tachibana were real friends, I shit you not." She chuckled.
"Right… Captain told me that you're gonna accompany me to the police station." I continued.
"Oh… so he told that, huh? I have three rides. The red one still need some kinks to work out." She started. I was dumbfounded at first, but then it hit me.
"Funny. I see two cars." I said. She chuckled.
"So Naïve… Well there are two… and the third one is this…" She yanked me by the collar and gave a smack on her shapely rear. I'll be damned, but she is pretty.
"You can ride the third one all you want…" The sly devil whispered. The only thing I did was to give a smirk.
"Duty calls, sweetcheeks..." I said. "And another thing…"
"Yeah, Taylor?"
I pulled the gun from her hand. "Nice try snatching the gun from my belt." I said, smirking, showing the P226 which was now in my hand. Akira laughed.
"You're Charlie's protégé all right! Chip off the old block!" She praised. Thanks, I guess?
"Riiight. I kinda feel obligated to buy you a drink at a later time." I said to her. In my perspectives, when I become friends with a girl almost my age, I'm feeling obligated to buy her a drink. Coffee, beer, whatever suits the gal.
"No worries, Taylor. You can buy me a drink anytime you want." She assured before getting the keys to the blue one.
"Right. I'm just gonna freshen up." She said. I just nodded. Half an hour later she changed her clothes. She had a gun and badge tucked to her waist.
"Huh…"
"What's wrong, Taylor?" She asked.
"A Springfield 45. Good handgun." I said.
"Surprise! Let's get to the briefing then."
We went on to hit the road, but I stopped when she went to the driver's seat.
"Taylor?" She asked.
"You sure you're okay to drive?"
"Heh… I'm good. Now come on, Aiba's a pain in the ass when someone's late." She said.
To be honest, I'm a bit guilty for letting someone like Akira drive me to the police station. But note to self: I have to return the favor.
Besides…
She's a beauty… Her and the car… I mean.
-10:45 AM, Central Tokyo Police Station-
Central Tokyo Police Station… Not a bad place, in fact the station's pretty huge. I'm just gonna assume that it's their main base of the case operations.
I entered in with my navy blue polo, with sleeves touching my elbows, had a white t-shirt under it and a concealable Kevlar vest, straight-cut denims, and my, rugged, yet sturdy blue running shoes. The piece-de-resistance was the badge dangling on my neck, and my piece holstered by the waist. For normal people, it would really be uncomfortable, but as someone who had been behind the badge for 2-3 years, it felt so comfortable.
She parked at a vacant spot behind the station, while I grabbed what was needed from the trunk, and decided to make our appearance.
Inside the precinct, I walked up to the officer at the front desk. She looked up to me for a few good seconds.
"Excuse me, Is Migisuke here? I'm here to see the guy." I asked.
"Ah, Migisuke Aiba. First riot squad's leader. He's at the briefing room at the moment. Who might you supposed to be?" Asked the receptionist.
"Detective Taylor Miles, NYPD. I was told I was needed by the guy I was told to see?" I introduced, showing the badge in order to tell that I was legit. The receptionist was held aback.
"Ah! You're the American detectives that were sent to help us! Right?" She exclaimed. I couldn't help but notice how she was blushing. Must be the looks.
"One was delayed. But bingo, that's us."
"Briefing room, East hall." She pointed out.
"Thanks, sweetheart." I said before I clicked my tongue and did a wink.
She just giggled and went back to work.
"You have a way with girls, Taylor." She complemented.
"Only the pretty ones."
-10:47 AM, Briefing Room, Standard POV-
In the briefing room were around six or seven officers. One of them was chattering inside.
Taylor opened the door to the Japanese officers' surprise.
"Speak of the devil… You're late, Kasumi." The lead officer said. He had short, black, messy hair, with long bangs sporting from the side. He was on business casuals. Akira shrugged it off.
Taylor smirked. "I'm gonna presume that I'm in the right room." He said.
"You're damn right you're in the right room. I'm assuming you're one of the American detectives? F.N.G?" The lead officer presumes.
"F.N.G?"
"Fucking New Guy." He said.
"Oh, yeah. That's me." Taylor answered.
"Where is… Detective Eddie Schmidt?" He asked, reading his partner's dossier.
"Ah, Eddie? You might wait for the second one for a few weeks. He's in the hospital, recovering from a shot to the thigh. Usually he gets to danger, but this time it's the other way around." Taylor said.
"Really… Detective Taylor Miles of the New York Police Department?" He identified.
"That's me. And I suppose you're Migisuke Aiba?" Taylor identified the Lead officer.
"Are we just going to stand here or get down to business?" Migisuke asked, clearing his throat.
"Oh right… Go on." Akira said.
"So how's the case going on your end?" Taylor asked as they take a seat. Migisuke started the slideshow.
"Right… During the first few days of the operation, we've got police reports from two gangs—the Shuei-Gumi faction of the Yakuza… and the Bee-Hive gang from America." Migisuke started from the start of the operations.
"Given the time that was already spent, their activities must have been at an all-time high…" Taylor added.
"Yes, but… We suspected that another gang was involved in their conflict." Migisuke continued, making Taylor curious.
"Oh? How can you tell?" He asked. Migisuke showed a few pictures of some dead bodies from several of their crime scenes. Whoever they were, their jackets had some similar symbols on their backs—probably another gang. Taylor slowly stood up to examine the marks.
"I've seen those symbols a few times back in New York. They're Triads. I've dealt with them a few times before." He said.
"Interesting… I wonder what the triads have to do with the conflict between the Shuei-Gumi and the Bee Hive?" Akira asked.
"I think I have a hunch… I got this from the Crime Scene Unit's forensics team before snagging my ticket to Tokyo." Taylor said as he takes part of the briefing. He placed a folder that contained the forensic team's results from the shootout's evidence.
"This is…?" Migisuke asked.
"Right, the original documents were taken from a dead courier from the Triads. CSU translated what's left of them." Taylor started.
"And… What did they find?" Akira asked.
"Get this. According to CSU, the main documents were mostly destroyed by the gunfight, but they've got an important piece decoded from what remains of it. So far, the triads' motive is to interfere with the clash between Shuei-Gumi and Bee-hive." He added.
"Why would they interfere with the conflict between the two gangs? What's the motive? Money? Drugs? Business? Territory?" Migisuke asked as they pump some answers from Taylor.
"That, we need to find out. So far, how's the casualty rate between the two gangs now?" Taylor asked.
"Surprisingly, it was lowered." Migisuke said.
"I'm pretty sure these gangs are up to something… I'm getting a hunch that it involves these two…" Taylor said as he showed the translated documents of Ichijou and Chitoge.
"Hmm… Ichijou Raku and Chitoge Kirisaki..." Migisuke muttered.
"Here's what I've dug out so far, they're only High School students from Bonyari High. They're 17 years of age. Evidently, I'm not gonna say their description." Taylor said, pointing to the photos of the two.
"So do you think that these two have something to do with these conflicts?" Akira asked.
"One way to find that out is to put the pieces of the puzzle together. I've already gone inside the school and met these two. So far, I still don't know how a couple of teenagers get involved in a gang war!" Taylor answered.
"So do we bag them and let's ask them about it?!" Migisuke exclaimed.
"Whoa, hold it right there! I know how disastrous the gang conflict could be, but check your head! We need to gather information, not scare it out of them! Jumping their asses on this? Really? We're not even sure if they even KNOW about this conflict! Or we're not even sure if the two gangs know that another gang's gonna mess them up!" Taylor defended.
"What's your plan then, Detective? We're all listening!" Migisuke exclaimed.
"God-damn, this guy's pushy." Taylor thought.
"Infiltrate the leads, Gather intelligence, Arrest the threat. A small team comprising of me, and my partner go in the school undercover and gather whatever intelligence I can, and at the same time, all of us deal with the three gangs' dirty work. If any circumstances follow, we change course." Taylor answered.
"Sounds good." Akira agreed and the officers followed to agree the American Detective.
"See? Tactics, Bitch!" Taylor exclaimed.
"Hmm… Fine. Officer Kasumi, give Detective Miles a tour on the station. Dismissed!"
-11:30 AM, Firing Range-
The two spent some of their breaktime down at the firing range, Taylor firing a few clips of .40 caliber bullets with his SIG P226, while Akira fires a few clips of .45 caliber bullets with her Springfield 45.
"You've got good taste for guns, I'll give you that much!" Taylor complemented as he reloaded another clip.
"Hey, It's one of the reasons why I joined! To shoot guns like these!" Akira answered. The two fired their shots until they ran out.
"Looks like you've made Aiba burn a fuse." She added.
"Oh that's what they get when they mess with the Miles." Taylor asserted.
"Are you always like this? Confident, any of those ring a bell?" She asked.
"Well that depends on being confident. I mean… There's good confidence and bad confidence." He answered.
"And the overreactions?" She asked.
"Hey, that's me! Sometimes it's hilarious, sometimes it ticks you off!" Taylor chuckled.
"You're really having a good time during this case, don't you?" Akira asked, somewhat finding him funny. Taylor paused for a few good seconds and turned his sights at her.
"Akira… I'm gonna assume you watch American movies too. Do you?" He asked.
"Yeah, I've seen some, mostly police-themed." She answered.
"Think of any movie that has undercover, taking down gangs. That's how I'm having a good time on this case." He said.
"...21 Jump Street and Rush Hour?" She guessed.
"BINGO!" He shouted as he fired a shot.
"Boy… I'm gonna assume it'll be fun working with the two of you." She sighed, chuckling.
-12:15 NN, Office-
*Phone Ringing*
"Glad to hear you not yelling at me." Taylor joked as he leans back on his chair.
"Shut up, Taylor. Already used my throat from yelling at you last time." Eddie groaned.
"Ugh. Then stop being a bitch and get well soon! We've already met up with the team. Hell, they even saved us desks!" Taylor exclaimed.
"Damn! Well, Doc said I'm already doing fine. I'll be out of the hospital in about a week. Save me a spot though!" Eddie said.
"Yeah, Yeah… Look. Since you're recovering back there, someone's taking your place." Taylor gave the heads-up.
"He must be pretty slick." Eddie shrugged.
"It's a she." Taylor cleared.
"You have a lady as a partner?! Tell me, is she hot?" Eddie asked.
"Speak of the devil…" Taylor muttered.
"Hey, Taylor. Who are you talking to?" Akira asked.
"It's my partner, he's asking about you." He answered.
"Really now?" She smirked, gesturing to hand the phone over. He complies anyway.
"Hey there… Eddie Schmidt, yeah? Detective Eddie Schmidt?" She asked.
"That's me, all right. You must be…?" Eddie started.
"I'm Akira Kasumi. It'll be a pleasure working with you two." She introduced.
"Oh, it'll be a pleasure all right… I was supposed to say pretty, beautiful…" Eddie flirted.
"Haha… It'll be fun working all right. Get well soon!" She chuckled, ending the call.
"Well… He sounds like a fun guy."
"Trust me, it gets better when we work. Double the humor… If I can put it that way." He assured.
"And I'll be assuming that double the pain in Aiba's back." She added.
"That depends." He scoffed.
"Anyway, speaking of Aiba, He's wants us to fill in some papers, and he wants you to take care of the stuff you brought in the briefing room on paper." She said.
"Ah, back to typing reports… All right. Tell Migisuke that it'll be done in half an hour." He assured.
-15 Minutes Later-
Taylor was halfway done with writing his reports as he was met with the smell of caffeine.
"Here." Akira said, holding a mug of coffee.
"Not that I don't appreciate the gesture, but what's this for?" Taylor asked.
"Well, Charlie called and asked what's up." She started.
"…and?"
"From out of the blue, he told me that you liked to drink coffee from time to time, be it off-duty or not." She continued.
"Not really necessary, but thanks. Matter of fact, I could use a jolt right now." Taylor thanked.
"Just out of curiosity, how the heck did you get to that school as a student?" She asked.
"I'm 23 years old for God's sake. I shaved to look like an 18-year old. No one could even tell the difference." Taylor answered.
"Sounds to me that there are a few things that you don't like about this case." Akira assumed, leaning on the wall.
"First off. I HATE HIGH SCHOOL!" Taylor yelled, startling Akira.
"But since Bonyari High's got some pretty girls that ACTUALLY admire me, I reconsidered." He added.
"…and what's the second thing?" She asks.
"I had to shave! Before going to Tokyo, I had a damn stubble and a goatee! It was an awesome combination!" He ranted.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't follow." Akira said, probably processing his rant.
"You know how painful it is for a man to shave the part of his face that makes him look awesome?! That's how I felt when I had to shave it off!" He ranted.
"Geez, you and your exaggerations, Taylor." She chuckled.
"I'm not laughing! I know I'm awesome but I don't have the facial hair to prove it! I know there's a lot of stuff that's awesome about me and having the Stubble-Goatee combo is one of them!" He exclaimed.
"All right, all right. Just chill. Anyway, I gotta bet back to Aiba. I'm pretty sure he's gonna assign me to some stuff regarding the case." She said before rushing off.
"Yeah…"
-12:50 NN, Migisuke's Office-
"Here are those files that you wanted me to make." Taylor said as he opened the door.
"YAAAH! Damn it, Taylor! Didn't your mother teach you how to knock?!" Migisuke exclaimed.
"Whoops! Anyway, here you go." Taylor said as he placed the files on Migisuke's desk.
"Yeah, Yeah… So, you and Schmidt are going in the school, huh?" Migisuke asked.
"Yeah. 21 Jump Street, Baby!" Taylor cheered.
"Now that it's been on my mind. I'd like to ask you something." Migisuke started
"All right, shoot."
"How is it that someone like you get recommended for this case?" Migisuke doubted about Taylor's presence in the school.
Taylor paused for a bit, processing Migisuke's doubts.
"What? Is it bad that I have a little bit of humor while my head's in the game? I mean, I've done good things too." He defended.
"That so? EMT volunteer? Fire Department volunteer? And you were the top of your class in college! Not to mention that you piloted a chopper in a couple of police operations! What gives!" Migisuke exclaimed.
"Eddie and I got a degree in criminology. So?"
"My point is, how is it that you have such a promising history but you act like… Well… that?!" Migisuke asked straight to the point.
"Is that it?! Look, man. You don't need to look like a one-man army to have a promising history or career! So I have the looks but got a few loose screws in my head. So? I always kept my head in the game. There's more than what meets the eye, you get my jive compadre?" Taylor explained.
"I see. No wonder your precinct captain recommended you two for the job."
"That being?"
"Besides acting like a nutcase, you have dedication." Migisuke summarized.
"And my word, is my word, man." Taylor added.
"Anyway, what are you gonna do?" Migisuke asked.
"Go to school on Monday. But for now, I'll just spend the weekend on the range, and roam around via the city's rooftops. Get to know Tokyo a little better." Taylor answered.
"Oh, that's ni—wait, what?"
"See ya!" Taylor bolted out of the office.
-6:00 AM, Taylor's apartment, Day 7-
*Alarm ringing*
"All right… All right! I'll get up!" Taylor yawned as a new day starts. He rubs his eyes and went downstairs for breakfast.
"Okay… So far, the teens are all right… Guess the thing on the top of my list is to find out any connections between Ichijou and Chitoge towards the gang conflict." He mutters as he chows down on some toast with jam and reads a crime novel.
"Maybe Aiba's on to something. I mean… Let's look at the facts…
We got three gangs,
Two are already in Conflict, and unaware of the third,
We got two teens who may have a connection on all of this,
A gang conflict's cause could either be money, territory, power or business.
The last thing to presume is that all of this could be a coincidence." Taylor said to himself as he read his notes on a spiral notebook—the one he uses at work. He looks at the crime novel he's reading.
"Hmm… I remember some chapters that sound like this… It's kinda surprising how crime novels got me through being a good cop… I mean… Come to think of it, there are some Ideas from these novels that I've been using when I'm on-duty. Maybe it'll work in a different setting… Maybe I should try a certain theory…" He assumed.
"But no time to think about that for now… I gotta get to school." He sighed and went to take a shower. Fifteen minutes later he steps out of the shower and looks at the mirror, as he sees facial hair growing. He lowered his head in defeat.
"Crap… I forgot. I'm supposed to shave." He muttered. In disdain, he picked up a razor and some shaving cream and proceeds to shave what he calls his mark of awesomeness, his facial hair.
As he stepped out of the bathroom, he goes to his room to put on his uniform, just like he did in the first day, making sure that every piece is secured on his person. The last thing he did as he went outside is to lock the doors and gate.
-7:15 AM, Classroom-
Taylor sits on his chair and reads a novel, waiting for the day to start.
"Good morning , Taylor!" Onodera greeted as they came in.
"Oh, hey, Kosaki! How's the weekend for you guys so far?" He asked.
"It was okay. I guess." Ichijou answered.
"Oh that's nice."
"Hey Taylor! I've heard a few things about you from the girls!" Shuu started.
"Um… Okay? What did they say then?" He asked.
"They said that you look awesome as always! Man, you're pretty popular with the girls!" Shuu answered.
"…Awesome, huh?"
Taylor started to remember what he said to Akira at the police station.
"You know how painful it is for a man to shave the part of his face that makes him look awesome?! That's how I felt when I had to shave it off!"
"I still look awesome?" He whimpered.
"Wh-Whoa! Taylor, Are you all right? What's with the tears?" Chitoge asked.
"Stubble and goatee…" He muttered, whimpering.
"…Huh?"
"I-it's nothing! I just uh… remembered a sad scene from a movie. That's all." Taylor stammered as he wipes his eyes.
"Oh, I see. I guess it's gotten into you, huh?" Chitoge assumed.
"I guess… All right, let's start the day, yeah?" Taylor said, gaining his composure. And just in time too. Kyoko entered in the classroom.
"Hey, it's Neighbor Lady! Hi, Neighbor Lady!~" He greeted.
