Chapter 9: Unexpected Help
„Why isn't anyone driving around here?" Haruka mumbled, anger in her voice. Next to her, Michiru let out a sigh and shrugged. "I don't know…at least the rain stopped." The aqua haired girl then spoke, being as optimistic as ever. Haruka nodded, her mood still dark though. "Yeah, but if we don't get into some warm place soon, we'll both catch a cold." The blonde then mumbled while looking down her soaked clothes. Michiru sighed and agreed. "True. Let's just hope that…a car, a car!" she suddenly cried out, shocking Haruka with her outburst to no end. "God, I hate it when you do that." The blonde glared as soon as she had recovered from the screaming of her lover, earning a giggle. Haruka looked down the road that had been built next to the forest and had to see that Michiru had been right: the light of car headlights approached steadily. Slowly, Haruka stood up, checked if her gun was still stuck into her jeans, satisfied when she felt the cold steel handle, and looked down the road. "Let's just hope that this isn't some police car." The blonde then mumbled. The car kept approaching, and when it was close enough, Haruka held her thumb up, hoping that the driver would be dumb enough to stop. Indeed, the car came to a halt next to the two women, but when the window went down and Haruka could see who was inside, she was everything but happy. The driver of the car was the inspector who had tried to arrest her in the hotel.
Inspector van Dyk gaped at the blonde bank robber, who gaped back. "What are you doing here?" they finally both cried out in unison. Michiru moved closer to the car, and when she saw who drove it, her eyes nearly fell out. Haruka reached for her gun, but the inspectors voice stopped her. "You can leave your weapon back there, Tenoh-san. I won't arrest you." "Huh?" Haruka and Michiru both produced a not so intelligent noise, causing the inspector to grin. She pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lit one of them, then offered the pack to the two astonished women. "Want one?" Haruka thanked and took one of them, thanking the inspector when she gave her fire. "Why won't you arrest us?" Michiru now asked, frowning, thinking that this was some odd trap the inspector had thought up in the last moment. "Aw, you want me to tell you all of that here in the cold? Why don't you climb into the car, and we drive to the next bar?" the inspector suggested. Michiru just laughed at her. "You really think that we are dumb enough to climb into your car? So you can drive us to the police station, or what?" The inspector sighed and shook her head. "I told you, I won't arrest you. Now, get into the car before I change my mind and drive off." Haruka looked at her girlfriend, sighing. "We should climb in. She is alone, and I have my gun…if she tries anything, I'll simply shoot her." "You really know how to make friends." The inspector remarked in a pretty sarcastic tone before opened the central locking of her car. "Now climb in." Both Haruka and Michiru got into the car, and the inspector drove off.
Two hours later, the three women sat in a cosy bar, the inspector – who had introduced herself as Cloud van Dyk - drinking beer while Haruka and Michiru both had ordered a glass of iced tea. "Now tell us why you actually want to help us." Michiru demanded between two sips of her drink. Inspector van Dyk leaned back in her chair and replied: "Today, a member of the Yakuza visited me in my office." She looked at Haruka, who suddenly had went pale. "He wants you, Tenoh-san. Actually, he wanted me to arrest you at first and then hand you over to them. He also offered to pay for you. You really pissed them off, didn't you?" Haruka nodded, her mouth to dry for speaking all of a sudden. She looked at the inspectors beer longingly, but Michiru kicked her underneath the desk and shot her a warning look that seemed to say "Don't even think about it." "Now you…you won't do that, right?" the blonde finally found herself able to ask, after swallowing hard a few times. "Of course not!" Inspector van Dyk replied, her eyebrows wandering upwards. "Why does everyone think that I'm corrupt?" "Because most policemen are." Michiru threw in. Inspector van Dyk let out a sigh. "Sad, but true. And I'm a policewoman, by the way. Anyway…I kicked the guy out, but there are a lot of low-class officers who are willing to betray the police and accept his offer. Right now, it's too dangerous for you to get arrested, Tenoh-san." "And that's why you won't arrest us?" Michiru asked, earning a nod from Cloud. "Exactly, Kaioh-san." The blonde inspector sighed and gave the couple a serious look. "I will have to arrest you sooner or later, Tenoh-san. But I'll make sure that it happens in a place where the Yakuza won't be." "What a very appealing thought." Haruka mumbled, staring down into her iced tea. Cloud gave her a lopsided grin. "Of course, if you are intelligent enough to avoid us long enough, some other crime will happen, and we'll loose our interest in you." Haruka looked up, saw the mischief glint in the inspectors eyes and chuckled. "You know, van Dyk-san…you're the first inspector I meet who isn't really keen on arresting people." "Oh, normally I am, otherwise I wouldn't be inspector." Cloud replied, also grinning. "I just don't like it to arrest people who are as gay as me." Michiru couldn't help herself, but had to burst out laughing at that statement. "Don't let your boss hear that!" she managed to press out between two giggle fits. "He'll fire you!" Cloud chuckled and nodded. "Probably. He's a stupid homophobe. Anyway…I guess the two of you need a car, huh?" Haruka nodded, and her eyes nearly fell out when Inspector van Dyk pulled out her car key and threw it over to her. "Take mine." "Are you crazy?! You need it!" Haruka shot back, but the inspector just shook her head. "The police gave it to me, they'll give me another one if I tell them that you stole it. Let's go outside." The three women rose form their chairs, Inspector van Dyk paid the drinks they had had, and they walked out. "I'm afraid that you'll have to knock me out now." She spoke as soon as they stood next to her car, sorrow in her voice. "God, I hate it to fall unconscious." She mumbled to herself before she looked at Haruka. "Come on, do it." Haruka sighed, then pulled out her gun. "Do I have to?" she asked, an unhappy tone in her voice. Cloud sighed and nodded. "I'm afraid you have. Otherwise, it won't seem real enough for the police to believe. Now come on, quick!" Haruka sighed once more, apologized to Cloud, then lashed out and brought the handle of the gun down on the blonde woman's head. Hard. Inspector van Dyk's eyes rolled backwards and she sank to the floor in a limp heap. "Sorry." Haruka mumbled once more. "And thanks for helping." Michiru added, pity in her voice. The two woman climbed into the car and drove off, leaving the knocked out inspector and the bar behind.