Simms asked Peter, "Are you alright, detective?"
Peter looked at them. "Umm, yeah. I'll be okay. All in a night's work, right?"
Skalaney noticed the damage. "What the Hell happened HERE? It looks like a tornado came in tonight."
Peter replied, "Oh, some assassins vandalized the restaurant. But they got away in five or six seconds."
Strenlich coughed in surprise. In his life as a Marine, he'd never seen it done. "What, five seconds! How.. how could anyone.."
"I don't know," Peter said. "These guys are almost as good as the Chi'Ru sect, but different. I think they are.. ninja. The leader threw this smoke bomb and they were gone. But I managed to grab one of their masks before they disappeared." He showed them the headband.
Simms walked closer to him, narrowing her eyes at the Oriental characters. "I wonder what this means."
Peter shrugged. "I don't know, it looks Japanese. Captain, I know this is considered evidence, but it might take a few days for you to get a translator. We might get answers quicker if I show it to my father. He can decipher it for us. I can't explain it, but these symbols look so familiar to me.. I'm not sure why. Maybe I saw it when we were at the temple so many years ago."
Skalaney holds her hand out. "Peter, you saw these men. What else did you see?"
"I saw their leader, Tatsu. Speaking of which, I'll need to go down to the 101st and give a description to the sketch artists. I might be there a while, so.. Skalaney, could you take this to Pop?" He handed it to her.
She took it, putting it in her purse. "Sure, I can do that. I will just-"
Suddenly, a woman holding a microphone came into the restaurant. She was accompanied by a man holding a TV camera.
Captain Simms smirked at her, "Well, well. Sandra Mason. Here for a big story?"
The reporter ignored her. Instead, she pointed at Peter. "Aha! Detective Caine, why am I not surprised to see you here?" She looked at the damage. "What's this, more of your heroics-"
That set him off. "Look, Mason! You don't know what happened-"
"That's why I came here!" she said, a knowing look in her eyes. "Who did this? Don't tell me it's that Oriental cult of tiger assassins."
Peter said, "What, the Sing Wah? No. These guys are fast, in and out. Ninjas."
Fong mumbles under his breath, "The Foot."
Sandra looked at him next. "Mr. Fong, what was that? I'll need you to speak a bit louder, please."
The camera was on him now. He spoke, "They were dressed head to toe in black suits. They said Shredder sent them, that they were the Foot Clan.."
The reporter rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry. I had mistaken you for someone intelligent." She turns to the cameraman. "I am at the Golden Dragon in Chinatown, where it was almost decimated by... ninjas? What's next, Power Rangers, Barney the Dinosaur? Of course, we could have interviewed one of the assailants, but Detective Peter Caine scared them off instead of having the real police arrest them! Well, that's all we know for now. I'll give an update on this late-breaking story as it develops. This is Sandra Mason, signing off."
The man turned off the camera and walked out of the restaurant, followed closely by Sandra.
Peter sighed as he watched the reporter leave. "Now, where were we before that bitch came in?"
Skalaney replied, "You gave me the headband. Well, I have to go take this to your father." She walked out the doors.
Strenlich said, "Yeah, I gotta get back to the Precinct. Paperwork isn't going to write itself, you know." He left the restaurant as well.
Simms was about to speak, when her cell-phone beeped. She picked it up. "Yes, Captain Simms here. Yes. Detective Powell, slow down. What? Everything was taken? Like what? Ok... and there were no witnesses? Ok, any other cases like this? Right. Right, yes. Well, tell Strenlich when he comes in. This could be a lead in Peter's new case. See you when I come in."
Peter listened with interest. Great, how much worse can this get?
Simms put the phone back in her purse. She crossed her arms with that stern, business-like expression that Peter has come to know so well. "Well, Detective...it looks like you have your work cut out for you this time."
Peter was confused. "What new case? What did Jody say about it?"
"Oh, it's to do with the assignment you're on now," Simms said to him. "Jody Powell just told me of some attacks that happened in the past thirty minutes. Break-ins, stolen merchandise. There were burglaries in some convenience stores."
"What was stolen?" Peter asked.
Simms paused, mentally going through the list. "Skateboards, stereos, VCR's, TV's, games. Cameras were disabled, so we won't have any footage of the crimes. What's strange is that even though there were crowds, no one saw a thing. It's like it all.. vanished. Invisible thieves."
Peter sighed. "So... what does this have to do with my new assignment? More importantly: WHAT is my assignment, and where?"
She answered, "You'll be operating in New York City. It's an hour drive from here."
Peter nodded. "Do you think this attack have something to do with it?"
Simms agreed. "Oh yes, there is a connection. The same thing happened there a couple years ago. I'm sending you as a liaison to the New York Police Department, to get some answers."
"Alright. I'll do it." Peter said, already imagining the amount of investigation this case would entail. "Wait.. this restaurant is in Bon Bon Hai's territory, right?"
"Yes, it is," She said, "And when he learns what happened here, the outcome won't be too pleasant. This could start a gang war if things get ugly. I'm sending you to NYC to diffuse it at the source, before it gets out of hand. I'll call the Chief of Police there to set up a meeting"
Peter said, "Ok, I leave tomorrow morning. But look..captain. I should probably take my father with me."
She smiled slightly. "Actually, I was just about to suggest that. With these kind of perps, you may need him as back-up. Oh, one more thing. When you get there, look up a TV anchorwoman. April O'Niel."
He sighed, annoyed. "Oh, great. Another reporter! Exactly what I need right now."
Simms shook her head at that. "She's nothing like Mason. In fact, you may like her. She's tough, relentless, brash.. tells it like it is, outspoken. Kind of like someone else I know.."
Peter laughed at that. "Yeah.. I wonder who that is.."
She replied, "You'll get along fine. She was personally involved with the attacks. She works for WTRL Channel Three. I'll have all the information ready for you in the morning."
"Alright," Peter said, his mood a bit lighter now. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Captain. I got a feeling that it's going to be a long day." And with that, he walked out of the restaurant.
As Simms saw Peter leave, she pulled out her cellular phone and punched in a number. "Hello? 56th Precinct? This is Captain Simms of the 101st. Yes.. I'm fine, Sergeant Matthews. Can you connect this call to the Chief of Police?" She nodded. "Yes, Chief Sterns. Okay.. thanks." She waited on the line for a few minutes..