The next morning, Eli woke up from sleeping on the sofa in Jeff's living room. She wanted to sleep more, but the sun shone on her so brightly she couldn't keep her eyes shut. She and Umi took refuge in Jeff's house because they couldn't return home due to their newfound wanted statuses. Maki also stayed over as she didn't mind being with her colleagues.
Eli stood up and stretched her arms before walking out to the balcony, where she saw Jeff sitting on a chair, admiring the scenery in front of him. She sat beside him and looked at the sky.
"You're finally awake." Jeff spoke, "How was your sleep?
"Fine." She replied before looking at him, "How about you? Slept well?"
"I always sleep well. In my comfort zone."
"I see." Eli turned her head back to the front, "Thank you for letting me and my friends stay here. I hope we won't be an inconvenience to you."
Jeff shook his head and chuckled, "It's fine. You're helping me, so the least I could do is provide you girls a place to stay." The two of them then kept quiet for a while as they continued to look around their surroundings. Eli, though, had a burning question she wanted to ask him.
"Say...is this how you had always lived?" She questioned curiously, "Alone and isolated in this house that's pretty far away from the main roads?"
Jeff glanced at her before leaning back against his chair and staring upwards, "For a good two to three years, and still ongoing. Initially, Mr Brocker bought this house for his breast cancer wife because she liked the scenery here. He wanted me to stay with them too so that we can spend time together as a family during her last few days, so I moved in. We made a lot of happy memories."
He turned to the back and pointed at the walls in the house. Eli turned around and saw photo frames hung on it, with photos of an old man, an elderly woman, and a younger Jeff, all smiling while doing different activities. He then fished his wallet out from his pocket and took out a picture of him and the aging couple, celebrating the female's 75th birthday. He looked at it and held onto it tightly.
"Half a month later, Mrs Brocker passed away." He continued, "From then on, it was just me and Mr Brocker, until he died a few weeks ago too. I miss them a lot, up till this day. They were such wonderful parenting figures to me."
"I'm sorry for your loss, Jeff." Eli muttered.
"It's okay. All I want to do now is to fulfill his wish. To take down the crime syndicate." Jeff kept the photo back into his wallet, "You know, looking back at these pictures in the house reminded me of how close and loving those two are. They were really caring and affectionate towards each other, which is, to me, very sweet and endearing."
Jeff then leaned his back on the chair, "Sometimes, I wonder what it's like having a romantic partner. My life would probably be way different from what it is right now if I had one. Did you experience this type of feeling before, Eli?" When he said that, she was suddenly reminded of her own past.
She had an ex-girlfriend who was from the same high school as her. The two met when Eli was just a newly transferred student in the first year. They got along pretty well, became the best of friends, and then they dated each other. Soon, they were a couple. They did all sorts of things together, such as going on dates, travelling to Rome for a holiday, and skiing during the winter season. Eli really enjoyed the times spent with her.
However, on the evening of their graduation day, the girl decided to break up with Eli. The girl told Eli they weren't meant to be before walking away and leaving Eli in the rain. Eli still vividly remembered she was crying uncontrollably while sitting on a bench, not caring if the rain was going to make her sick.
"I see you're distracted over something." Jeff's words pulled her back to reality, "Is it because perhaps you have experienced romantic love before?"
Eli sighed and looked down on the floor, "I do, but I don't wanna say it out."
"Alright, I won't force you." Jeff responded, "Oh yeah, By the way, your phone kept ringing while you were sleeping. I think someone's urgently looking for you." She got up from her seat and went back into the living room. She picked up her phone, and switched it on, only to realize that she had many missed calls from Alisa.
In the afternoon, Alisa came to Jeff's house with a baggage. She sat down on the sofa and waited for her older sister to come out of the toilet. Jeff poured a cup of water and served it to her.
"Make yourself at home." He told her.
"Where are Onee-chan's friends?" Alisa asked, "I don't see them in this house. Onee-chan told me they were staying here."
"Maki went back to her house to take some clothes for herself, and then she will be travelling to Umi's house to get her some clothes too." He replied, "Umi is in one of the rooms resting." Alisa nodded her head in response. A few minutes later, Eli came out of the toilet and sat beside Alisa.
"I'm sorry to have made you worried, Alisa." Eli looked down, "I was sleeping, so I wasn't able to answer your calls. I guessed you saw the news, but I'll just tell it upfront to you. I am wanted by the police, so that's why I couldn't come home. I apologize for the inconvenience I've caused, and thank you for bringing my clothes here."
"It's okay, Onee-chan." Alisa said, "I understand the predicament you're in. Besides, sisters are supposed to help each other. The police did come to our house yesterday and ask me about your whereabouts though."
"Well, there's no turning back for me now. I've gotten so far now. I won't back down just because of the cops. Besides, my aim is always the same. To seek justice for the families of the victims, bring this crime syndicate down, and make this city, if not the country, a safer and better place."
"That's why I admire you, Onee-chan." Alisa held her sister's hand, "Once you set your sights on doing something, you will never give up or concede defeat. You always somehow manage to find a way to solve it, so I'm sure this time, it'll be no different. I wish I could be like you."
"Aw, silly." Eli smiled at Alisa, "You definitely can be like me. In fact, you already are. You pursued your longtime dream of becoming a singer. Even with many obstacles in your way, you never gave up. I'm proud of you. I still hope to hear your songs one day."
"I will not disappoint you!" Alisa grinned before hugging Eli, "Stay safe, Onee-chan. As much as I'm glad to see you fighting for justice again, I hope you don't injure yourself too much. I still want to see you."
Eli caressed her younger sibling's hair, "Not only will I stay alive, I will live to see your singing career reach new heights, so make sure you continue working on those vocals, yeah? On a serious note, stay safe too. I also wanna be with you after I'm done with all these." Jeff was standing at a corner, beaming with pleasure as he witnessed the sisterly love. After that, Alisa waved goodbye to Eli and went into her car. Eli stood at the doorstep as she saw Alisa driving away from the house.
In the evening, Jeff gathered Eli, Maki, and Umi in the basement. Since they failed to defeat Regis Yazuka during the ballroom event, they decided to start from the bottom and then work their way up.
"Our first target is Jimmy Natas." Jeff stated, "He's the owner of all the crime syndicate's gambling houses. From what I heard, he's one of the important figures, because he rakes in a big sum of money for the syndicate."
"Where can we find this guy?" Maki questioned.
"You've asked the right question, Maki." Jeff replied, "Esther told me that Jimmy is in the bar, waiting for his friends to come. They would most likely be watching their favorite baseball team at the finals."
"Esther's not gonna even help us here?" Umi asked.
"He'll be busy taking down the people in the gambling dens." He uttered, "Let's not give him extra tasks to handle. We can do this. Our plan is to make Jimmy reveal where the syndicate's headquarters is, and then make him confess about working for Regis and owning illegal gambling dens."
"And how do you suggest we do that?" Eli crossed her arms, "He's not going to tell everything to a complete random stranger, much less us."
"Jimmy Natas is a rich playboy." He explained, "He is very attracted to pretty, beautiful, gorgeous women, and always has lots of casual relationships with them, possibly even flings sometimes. He would do anything for them. Also, I've heard from Esther that Jimmy is a total lightweight as they had a drink-off once. You know how the truth comes out when someone is drunk? I think you girls know where I'm going with this."
"You want one of us to meet up with Jimmy and drink with him until he gets drunk." Umi voiced out.
"Bingo." He snapped his finger, "And only one of you here is able to pull this off." He, Eli, and Umi then turned towards Maki, who was visibly confused on why they were looking at her. Out of the blue, a sudden realization struck her.
"Imi wakannai?! You guys want ME to do it?!"
"Maki, you're our only hope." Jeff said, "The three of us are wanted by the police, so people might recognize us and call the police, in which then our plan might be ruined. You, however, are not a wanted criminal, therefore you are an unknown person to the police."
"Ughhh…" Maki scratched her head in frustration before sighing in defeat. She knew that if she did not volunteer to do this, there would be no progress made, which meant that they would be stuck in the same spot.
"Fine, I'll do it." She told him, "But let me tell you first. I don't want to get drunk."
"No worries, Maki." Jeff reassured her, "I have it all planned out."
In a bar an hour later, Jimmy Natas and his friends were sitting at a table, watching the basketball match on the television mounted on the top of the liquor shelves. They cheered every time their favorite team got a point, but whined whenever they missed a shot or threw an air ball.
While his friends were drinking beer, Jimmy was having fruit juice. Even though he was getting mocked at for not drinking alcoholic beverages in the bar, he just laughed it off. He knew that his alcohol tolerance wasn't the best. He shouldn't force himself to drink if he can't.
As he was sipping his fruit juice, he heard someone entering the bar. He turned around and saw a pretty Maki walking in, enthralling him. She was wearing a strapless scarlet red mini dress with a short dress train and a pair of red stilettos. She was also carrying a handbag and had a smartwatch on her wrist. He was immediately captivated by her beauty. He watched her as she took a seat at a table and started looking at her phone.
"This is so embarrassing!" Maki muttered as she buried her head into her hands in shame, "I knew Jeff had a plan, but I wasn't expecting it to be like this! I have to lure this Natas man in a dress like this?! Aw, man, why did I sign up for this?" As she was groaning about it, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching her. She looked up and saw Jimmy sitting opposite her.
"Hello there, gorgeous." Jimmy swiped his hair to the right with his fingers before gazing at her, "You look really beautiful and stunning in that dress." Maki murmured a thank-you. She then realized he was staring at her cleavage dreamily.
"Ugh, this sickening pervert!" Maki frowned as she thought to herself, "If it wasn't for the crime syndicate, I would've whacked him until he'd go blind!" She cleared her throat loudly, and he immediately looked away. He adjusted his shirt's collar before talking.
"So uh, you must be here to watch the basketball competition, because I saw you watching the match on the television just now." He uttered, "I am supporting our national team. Are you supporting them too?"
"Ah, yeah." Maki replied sheepishly. She didn't know a single thing about basketball and whatever teams there were. She just needed to get close to Jimmy, make him admit to working for Regis, and call the cops on him to get him arrested.
For the next few minutes, he went on and on about the match, which player he liked, how confident he was on his favorite team winning, his childhood, how he got to like basketball, and so on. She pretended to be interested in the conversation, though she was not listening or even paying attention to it. Instead, she was thinking of a way to move onto the next step of the plan.
Soon, it was the final round. The opponent team was two points ahead of the national team. However, the latter could turn things around if they scored a three-pointer. Everyone in the bar except Maki widened their eyes in anticipation as they watched one of the players from the national team, who was standing behind the three-point line, shoot the ball. The ball flew in the air before landing perfectly into the hoop. At the same time. The buzzer sounded, meaning it was the end of the round.
The whole bar erupted into cheers, seeing that the national team won the match. Jimmy was screaming happily, pumping his fists in the air. He was delighted that his favorite team emerged victorious. Meanwhile, Maki finally thought of a way.
"Pretty lady, our national team just won, but I don't see you cheering." Jimmy looked at her with confusion, "Is there something wrong? Are you feeling okay?"
"I'm fine." Maki forced out a smile, "I knew the team won. I'm happy, but I choose not to show it out, but I'm glad for them. Anyways, you wanna...have a drinking competition?"
"A drinking competition?" He started to sweat, "I...I…"
"Our national team just won." Maki reasoned, "Our favorite team just won, so we ought to have some celebration, right? I always do this with my friends whenever there is a happy occasion. Whoever finishes their bottle first is able to give a punishment to the person who comes in last. It's very fun. Since you are here today, I was hoping you could drink with me. Unless...you can't drink?"
"I can!" He answered almost immediately, "It's just that I...I…" Maki then walked to him and wrapped her right arm over his shoulder, which aroused Jimmy.
"C'mon, man. We come here to have some good time, right?" She whined, "This is really fun. Trust me on it. I mean, I could drink alone, but I'll be lonely, and I'll feel miserable on my own. I won't mock you if you get drunk. I just want someone to keep me company while drinking. So, could you drink with me, please?" She felt disgusted by what she had said, but she had to hide it in order to convince him to drink.
Jimmy considered what she had just said. It has been a very long time since he was wasted. Getting drunk once in a while shouldn't be a problem. Besides, he wanted to show off to Maki that he could drink, even though he truly couldn't. He wanted to impress her because he liked her. She was really cute and nice to him. Furthermore, she looked so glamorous and ravishing. He was so entranced by her that it made him feel it was love at first sight. Adding on to that, he technically could do anything he wanted to her if he finished the bottle before her. He plastered a mischievous smile on his face.
"Alright, I accept your challenge." He nodded his head. She grinned at him and asked him if he could drink wine. He nodded his head in response.
With that, she stood up and went to the counter to order a bottle of white wine. She secretly and quickly took out from her handbag another bottle filled with liquid that looked almost like the color of white wine. She went back to the table and passed the first bottle to Jimmy.
"Like usual, whoever finishes the bottle first gets to decide what punishment should be carried out for the loser." She told him. Both of them popped open their bottles, preparing to drink it all. Then, the competition began. Jimmy just chugged the whole bottle of wine down his throat while Maki watched him do so. After a mere thirty seconds, he got drunk, his whole face as red as a tomato. He laid his head on the table and started mumbling some gibberish.
"This man really does anything for women." Maki thought, "What an idiot this guy is. He really thought this kind of game existed, and that he could think of a punishment when he's drunk. Looks like my sparkling lemonade isn't even needed."
She went to him and shook his body lightly, "Mister, are you okay? I think you drank too fast."
"No...I'm...fine…" Jimmy stood up in a drunken stupor and staggered to his feet, swaying, "See...I...can...walk…" He then fell down onto the floor. Maki whipped out her phone and started dialing a number. A few minutes later, she helped him out of the bar and into a car before getting into it too. The driver turned around, revealing a bespectacled Eli donning a hat.
"Everything going according to plan?" Eli questioned.
"Kinda. If we can get Jimmy to talk, then we can consider it successful." She then passed Eli a hotel room card, "Go to this hotel. It seems like he had booked a room there for him to stay for the night. I'll interrogate him there."
Eli gazed at Maki, "You know, Jeff was right. You do look attractive and sexy in this dress." The latter growled upon hearing that remark.
"Grr, I don't wanna hear that coming from you." Maki crossed her arms and looked outside the window. Eli was confused, but she continued to drive nonetheless.
When Eli reached the hotel, she stopped at the entrance and asked Maki if she needed any help bringing Jimmy up to his room. The latter kindly declined Eli's offer, stating that she could do this herself. She then got out of the vehicle and hung his arm around her shoulder before helping him up.
Once she reached Room 215, which was his room, she dumped him on the bed. She went to take a chair and placed it beside his bed before sitting on it. She crossed her arms and faced the smartwatch towards him.
"You...aren't gonna leave me...are you...pretty lady?" Jimmy asked, still in a drunken stupor.
"No worries, I won't." She responded, "I just hope you could...tell me about something."
"As long...as you are...willing to stay…" He huffed, "I'll do...anything...for you...pretty lady…"
"That's great." She smiled at him, "I was wondering if you know a man named Regis Yazuka. I'm curious because...I've heard his name in gangs a lot. I also heard he's a very formidable figure." At that moment, she tapped the smartwatch.
"Regis Yazuka, eh…" Jimmy said, "He's a...first class cunt. He thinks...because I work under him...he owns...all the gambling houses. Those gambling houses...they're all mine...but this prick...thinks he owns my shit...just because he's the boss. I never get...enough recognition...for making the crime syndicate...as successful...as it is...today. If I...didn't come up...with scams...to trick the customers gambling...the syndicate...would've fallen to its knees. Once...I get enough money...I will overthrow this...son of a bitch...I'll show him...what a real boss is like...then I'll murder his damn ass...and dispose of him...forever…"
"Okay, then where is the…" Before she could finish her question, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Maki tapped her smartwatch once more and groaned in despair before standing up, "Willing to stay? No, thanks, you pervert." She got out of the room and closed the door. She then called Jeff to ask if he had received the footage. As soon as he acknowledged that he had obtained it, she ended the call and walked away.