Kotori brought a tray of four cup noodles into Grace's room. She passed one each to Maki and Eli and proceeded to sit beside Umi. She took a fork and twirled the noodles with it before holding it against the soup spoon she was holding on the other hand.
"Kotori, I can feed myself." Umi voiced out, "I know you have good intentions, but…"
"Remember what Grace-san had said, Umi-chan?" Kotori talked back, "She told us that you need to take frequent rests in order for your internal wounds to heal. That's why I'm gonna help you for the next few days so that you can recover as fast as possible. You can't do everything by yourself in this state, and you know that. Besides, I want to feed you too."
"Kotori…" Umi was about to talk back when her newfound girlfriend suddenly stared at her with puppy eyes. The ocean-haired woman tried to resist those eyes, but she was no match for them. She sighed and gave in. Kotori beamed with glee.
"Now, say aah~" she brought the fork closer to Umi's mouth.
"Aah~" Umi opened her mouth and ate the noodles. Meanwhile, Maki was talking to Honoka on the phone. They were talking about their daily lives, as well as the near-death experience Umi had faced.
"...and somehow there happened to be a mage whom Jeff recognized and went to for help." Maki was saying, "Surprisingly, she decided to help us, and that's how Umi was saved from ascending to the afterlife."
"Yeah, that's really lucky." Honoka remarked, "I'm glad you and Umi-chan are well and fine. I know how devastating it could be to lose a good friend of yours."
"Not to mention that it's harder losing a loved one." Maki uttered, "Her girlfriend was so scared that she cried a lot and prayed for her safety. When Umi woke up, you had no idea how happy her girlfriend was. They hugged and kissed too. That got me thinking...about us. I'm…I'm sorry, Honoka."
"Why are you…"
"I know how worried you are for me because I'm going on these dangerous missions, and I risk my life for it, and yet you still let me go and allowed me to do what I wanted to do." Maki continued, "I'm sure you pray for my safety every day, and I'm thankful for that. I'm sorry I couldn't be by your side to assure you, and you have to constantly worry about me."
"It's fine, Maki-chan." Honoka replied happily, "I know you'll take good care of yourself even without my nagging. Besides, you calling me is a sign that you're fine, or else you wouldn't be able to do so, would you?"
"Eh, I guess you're right." Maki let out a small chuckle, "You should stay safe too, Honoka. Once all of this is over, I promise to make it up to you. In the meantime, I hope you'll take care of yourself."
"You too, my beautiful Maki-chan!"
"B…beautiful? I'm not THAT beautiful. You are way more than I am."
"No, Maki-chan! You are very gorgeous!"
"Says the one who accepted me."
Eli, who was at one corner of the room sitting, overheard the conversation and also saw Kotori feeding Umi. She was getting goosebumps from even being in the room. Her team members, who she considered as friends, were doing lovey-dovey things in front of her, a single lady. She was extremely jealous and furious.
"One has her girlfriend speaking so loudly while flirting with each other, and another has her girlfriend feeding her making some stupid baby sounds." Eli thought to herself as she glared at Umi and Maki, "What are they treating me as? A stationary, non-living, emotionless entity that doesn't exist in this room? Seeing this makes me wanna puke. If I had a knife, I would slit every one of their throats and…"
"Big news." Jeff slammed open the door, interrupting Eli's train of thoughts. Maki ended her call while Kotori and Umi quickly stopped what they were doing. Kotori was a bit annoyed that he disrupted her time with her girlfriend.
"I got some big news." Jeff told them as he held up his phone, "Esther called me to inform me that the crime syndicate is planning something big. One of its higher-ups was unhappy that his friends were held back from being released because they got into a fight on their last day in prison due to a law some lawmakers created. With the approval of Regis gained, the higher-ups and some of the syndicate's members are gonna storm the lawmakers' office and kill them."
"Lemme guess." Maki voiced out, "We need to stop these people, don't we?"
"Isn't this the lawmakers' fault in the first place?" Kotori questioned, "They're the ones who came up with this law and allowed it to be passed, so they should face the consequences themselves. Why are we cleaning their shit up for them?"
"Hearing a police officer say that surprises me, Kotori." Eli commented.
"Just because I'm a police officer, that doesn't mean I agree with the law." Kotori retorted, "I only follow them because I'm a law-abiding citizen and that's my job. I do not want to get into any unwanted trouble."
"Let's not get political, shall we?" Jeff snapped his fingers, "Get some rest, and we'll set off by eight in the morning. We're definitely gonna need it to fend off these bastards." He then turned around and left the room. The women looked at each other and shook their heads in unison.
Meanwhile, in the hospital, Zi Yang was packing his bag and tidying up the bed. He was finally getting discharged, and he could not be any happier. He could get out of this place and do his police work. However, he was also thinking about something else, which made him stressed.
"I'm warning you. If you don't catch any of the trio the next time you encounter them, then be ready to hand in your resignation letter."
The superintendent's words rang in his mind nonstop during his stay in the ward. Because of this, he was restless for the past few nights. He didn't want to lose his job. He couldn't afford to lose this job. This was his only pride. His only source of income. His only escape. If this was gone too, he would be mentally unstable.
"Ready to go, Inspector Huang?" Kanan was leaning against the door while tapping her left foot on the floor. However, he did not hear what she had just said. He stood on the spot, staring at the wall. Kanan tried calling him out a few times, but there was no response.
Seeing that he was ignoring her, she walked over to him and tapped his shoulder while still calling his name. He didn't react, flinch, or move an inch at all, as if nothing had happened. At this point, she was getting really annoyed. She slapped his back, which in turn made him whine in pain. He turned around and glared at her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Kanan?" Zi Yang screamed, "Don't you know that was painful?"
"Well, if you had answered me the first time, I wouldn't need to do this to you!" Kanan talked back, "Why are you staring at the wall? Is there some entity on the wall that I can't see, or are you daydreaming about how you'll be the best police officer this world would ever have?"
"I'm in no mood for jokes now, Kanan." He muttered with a straight face. That was when she knew that he wasn't lying. Even though sometimes she found him a nuisance and a heartless bastard, she understood him the best after all, and knew what he had gone through in his life.
"I'm sorry for making a sarcastic joke earlier." She patted his shoulder, "I didn't know you were thinking about it. I was pretty insensitive."
"It's alright."
"If you need anyone to vent out to, or just want someone to accompany you, I'm always here for you." She told him, "I know it's hard not to think about it, and I do wanna help you, so just tell me if you need me, alright?" Just then, the superintendent walked into the ward.
"This is no time for chit-chat, inspectors." She stated, "Since you've finally recovered, Zi Yang, I assume you are ready for work. Let's catch you up to speed." He was irritated that his higher-up didn't even give him the time to rest or collect his thoughts, and instead went straight to talking about work. However, he was so worn out he didn't have the energy to retaliate.
"I'm sure you've heard our prison wardens refused to let a prisoner out of jail after he caused a big ruckus there." She continued, "A few minutes earlier, I just got some news that people from the crime syndicate will be making a scene at the lawmakers' office tomorrow morning because of that. You two better bring some police officers along with you to stop them. Make sure no one gets hurt. Understood?"
"Yes, Ma'am." The two inspectors replied, albeit Zi Yang's tone was unenthusiastic.
"Also, Zi Yang, this is a chance to prove your worth." The superintendent said, "Jeff and the three women would definitely appear there tomorrow since it's related to the crime syndicate. I'm sure you know what to do, and I hope you won't let me down."
"I'll do my best, Ma'am." Zi Yang bowed down. She nodded her head in satisfaction and walked out of the ward. Kanan waited for a while to see if he was about to do or say anything, but to her surprise, he didn't.
"I'm surprised you didn't talk back to her like you always do, or curse her when she left the room." She told him.
"What's the point?" He sighed, "I would just be wasting my energy. Besides, we all know how she would react, like she is way smarter and superior, and whatever she says and does is always right. I'm pretty much done with it. I'll go home to rest." He then walked out of the ward.
Kanan had certain questions on her mind. Why did it feel like the superintendent had a certain bias against Zi Yang, like she was expecting a lot from him? How did she even know the crime syndicate would attack the lawmakers? Most importantly, why was she always aiming for Jeff and the trio? The crime syndicate seemed like a bigger threat, but not once had she said that, and always emphasized on the four of them?
Maybe Kanan would know all the answers to these questions if she were to ask the superintendent, but it would be disrespectful to question her about it. She quickly ran after Zi Yang and closed the door.
Elsewhere, in Grace's room, Kotori came out of the toilet, her hair wrapped with a towel to dry it. Eli went into the toilet next to take a shower, while Maki was already asleep. Kotori saw Umi sitting on the bed, deep in thought. Kotori proceeded to sit beside her, which caught the attention of the ocean-haired woman.
"Umi-chan, what's on your mind?" Kotori asked.
"Kotori, are you coming along with us?" Umi looked at Kotori, "You know our identities and you won't arrest us, so you could lend us a helping hand, right?"
"Like I said earlier, Umi-chan, I have to follow the rules." Kotori replied, "I do wanna help you, but sadly I don't think that's possible at the moment. I'm sure Sir has stuff for me to do." At that moment, her phone rang on the table beside the bed. It showed that Zi Yang was calling her.
"Speak of the devil." She then stood up, took her phone, and went to the window to answer the call. A few minutes later, she ended it and walked back to the bed. She sat down beside Umi as the latter stared at the police officer with curiosity.
"Turns out, Sir needed me." Kotori uttered, "He knows that the crime syndicate is gonna storm the lawmakers' office tomorrow, and he wants me to follow him and Madam along with a few other officers. I'll leave first thing in the morning."
"Ah, I see." Umi replied in a dejected tone, "Guess we'll have to watch our back then."
"I'll try buying some time for you girls while I'm talking to Sir, so that he won't be in time to try and arrest you." Kotori assured her, "I too want your operation to be successful, so I'll do whatever I can to help you."
"Thank you, Kotori." Umi smiled at Kotori.
The next morning, Jeff, Eli, Maki, and Umi arrived at the entrance of the lawmakers' office. The doors were already open, and gunshot could be heard among other sounds. The four of them quickly got out of their car and took their pistols and rifles from the trunk.
"It seems like they're way earlier than us." Maki commented.
"Remember to just shoot the crime syndicate thugs in the legs." Jeff told the three women, "We're not killing them. Also, be careful. The police might be here anytime, and we don't want to be caught by them. I'll help to escort the lawmakers out, you girls fight the bad people. Once I ensure all of the lawmakers are safe, I'll come and help you."
He then reloaded his rifle, "Now, let's get going."
Meanwhile, Zi Yang was driving Kanan and Kotori to the office. Kotori was thinking about ways to hold her superior back from reaching their destination as fast as possible. Her earlier attempt of talking some bullshit to delay him failed terribly as he ignored her. He was very bent on catching Jeff and the justice trio.
Kotori kept on racking her brains to come up with a new method, but every time an idea popped up in her head, she realized that it wouldn't work. She was frustrated. At this rate, there was a high chance Zi Yang would encounter Umi, and it would never end well. She prayed for a miracle to happen.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, Zi Yang hit the brakes on the car as Kanan and Kotori jerked forward. In front of them was a traffic jam, and further up there was some construction work being carried out on half the road.
"Are you fucking serious?" He groaned, "Out of all the goddamn days to have a bloody traffic jam and construction work, it has to be today?! When I need to catch those bastards?!"
"Let's cool down and think, Zi Yang." Kanan voiced out, "I'm sure there is another way to get there. Go and check it on the maps app." He followed her advice and opened the application. He typed in the address, and almost immediately, he looked at the screen in exasperation.
Kanan took a peek and understood the severity of the situation. There was indeed another way to get to the lawmakers' office, but it involved a longer way that would take twice as long as the normal route they were originally taking.
"We have no choice, Zi Yang." Kanan told him, "We have to take the other way. The more time we spend here moping over this, the more time we are wasting." Zi Yang clenched his fists and slammed the steering wheel in anger before reversing the car. Kotori quietly heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that Umi would have a much longer time to save the lawmakers and escape.
Back in one of the rooms in the lawmakers' office, Maki shot a masked man on both legs, and he fell down onto the floor, whining in pain. Eli twisted another man's arm and kneed him on the chin. She proceeded to whack his crotch with her pistol and shoot him on the legs. As he was stumbling back, she booted him on the chest, making him fly to the wall and turning him unconscious.
Umi went to the table and looked under it, where she saw a lawmaker in his sixties cowering in fear. She offered to take him to Jeff, who could escort him to safety, and he agreed. He followed her as they exited the room and went down the stairs. At the bottom, Jeff was directing other legislators towards the back exit, where they would get into a van. It would bring them to a house owned by Mr Brocker, and Grace would be there to heal the injured ones.
"This is the last guy on the second level." Umi told Jeff, "I've checked the rest of the rooms beforehand, and I didn't see any other lawmakers. There's probably still some stuck on the third floor. I'll go up there and try to find them."
"Good." He responded, "Tell Eli and Maki to help you while you're at it."
"Got it." Umi then rushed up the stairs while Jeff brought the old man to the van. Once he had ensured that the lawmaker had safely boarded the van, he told the driver to proceed to the house. He hoped that they would be okay.
At the same time, Zi Yang, Kanan, Kotori, and a few other officers ran into the office building through the main entrance. He finally reached here after a very long ride, and he was not happy about it. Although his main job was to save the lawmakers from the crime syndicate, he had hoped that Jeff, Eli, Maki, and Umi were still here. He needed to apprehend them to save his job.
He told Kanan and Kotori to go to the second and third floor respectively to check if the lawmakers were safe. They nodded their heads and brought the officers along with them. As he was scanning his surroundings to see if there was anybody, he saw Jeff coming in from the back exit. Jeff also managed to see Zi Yang upon closing the door behind the former.
Both men came face to face with each other. They walked towards one another, each taking slow but steady steps. As soon as there was a certain distance between the two, they both stopped dead in their tracks, glaring at each other.
"Jeff Connor." Zi Yang growled.
"Huang Zi Yang." Jeff scowled at him.
"We meet again."