Forensic Detective
On a rainy and windful morning a lone car drove down the highway. The driver was a responsible person, carefully adjusting the speed and placement of the car according to the conditions at hand rather than blindly following the speed limit A gust of wind took a quick grab of the car and gave it a small shake, though the car itself quickly regained its path and carried onwards. In the opposite lane came a long distant bus driving and the two vehicles passed each other without incident In the back seat of the bus, in the left most seat sat Ada Wong, dozing and resting her head on the window.
It had been a relaxing weekend with no phone, e-mail, bleeper, MSN or whatever. For a precious few days she'd been free. Dr Ada Wong needed these little escapades in order to fall back and regroup her defenses guarding her sanity. In a Tolkien tale she'd been the necromancer, a dealer of the dead, though in the gray and somewhat dull reality she had to settle with the less romantic title of forensic detective. Sticking her fingers deep inside someones stomach, someone who'd been dead for the past 56 hours wasn't the worst part. As the evidence lined up and presented the course of events, Ada was seldom horrified over the last minutes her dead subjects experienced. In short, she'd seen just about everything there was on the subject.
Being locked up in a basement, surrounded by dead people who's very presence screamed out the agony and suffering they'd experienced didn't trouble her at all. The smell, the sight, the sounds – these were all second nature to her. Being surrounded by dead people was as natural as being surrounded by trees in a park as far as Ada was concerned. There was one interesting question that kept creeping in through the cracks; if it was so natural for her, why escape? Truth be told, Ada didn't escape the dead, more on the contrary, no what she escaped was the living. There was one in particular that she wanted to flee from, but she knew it would be futile to run away for good since she'd be fleeing from a hunter, the best there ever was.
Dante, the very name made her skin crawl. The things she'd seen him do, the things the two of them had been through over the years – words came short when talking about it, you simply had to be there to understand. At some point they had reached a level of understanding and perhaps even as much as respect. He would let her get away to catch her breath and sanity on the promise that she'd return to him and walk another mile on their dreaded road that at least to Ada, didn't seem to lead to any place she'd like to be. «Next stop, Raccoon City.» The bus driver announced over the speakers. Reality came knocking, what a drag Ada mused to herself as she stretched sheepishly in her seat.
Gathering her backpack, Ada walked off the bus and ran on light feet in on the bus station to get shelter from the rain. Casually she browsed through the station kiosk for magazines, newspapers and a quick snack. The northern wall of the bus station was made out of glass from roof to floor. Due to the heavy rain and gloomy weather, the streets were for the most part deserted. A few cars stood parked outside to pick up the bus passengers along with one or two taxis Ada wouldn't be needing a taxi, her ride was waiting for her just across the street. Half parked on the sidewalk there was a bike and a tall man dressed in dark red and black leather sitting like a statue, waiting. By the looks of it, he'd been there for several hours, if not all day since he was soaked to the bone.
Dante, there was no escaping him. Ada figured there would be no use hiding from him, even if you hid under the smallest rock in the depths of hell. Dante would raise so much havoc that even the devil himself would dig you up from under your rock and kick you out of hell, just to get Dante out of there. With that in mind, Ada finished her hot dog and walked outside to meet Dante.
She was just about to cross the street when something unexpected happened. A man came up to her and offered her an umbrella and a ride to the police station. «Don't you remember me doctor? I'm Leon Kennedy, the new cop at the R.P.D.» He told her as they stood under the umbrella. The gentle tapping of raindrops on the umbrella could be heard over the calm wet sound of pouring rain on asphalt. Ada tried to make the connection in her mind, half tired and half worried what Dante might do next. A nerverous glance over at Dante showed that he just sat there, motionless as ever, watching, waiting and evaluating.
Leon was about to give her another verbal nudge when Ada suddenly agreed to take his offer. «Okay then, let's go.» She said with a quick nod. From the corner of her eye Ada saw Dante flip the key of his bike and started the engine, a low brumming sound rippled through the rainy air before he slided the gas and took off slowly as if he simply wanted to fade into nothingness. «Something wrong?» Leon asked, catching Ada's distant looking facial expression. «No, just tired from the bus ride, that's all. A cup of coffee and I'll be okay.» Ada replied in a non-convincing tone of voice.
The drive to the station was one of awkward silence, the one you get when two people are crammed together with no chance of avoiding each other and they both have something that remains unsaid because they're not sure how to approach the subject in question. «I... I'm working on a case and I've got some evidence that I'd like you to look at.» Leon began as they stopped for a red light. «Is it a dead body?» Ada asked back indifferently. «Aaah... there's no dead body, so all I have is a piece of clothing that belonged to the victim. I'd like to have your professional opinion on it, if that's alright with you.» Leon fumbled around a little with his words, hoping he didn't fall through the thin ice that kept the conversation above water. «Alright or not alright doesn't have much to do with it detective, it's my job.» Ada mumbled in the same indifferent tone, though with a touch of grumpy mood to it this time.
Arriving at the police station parking lot, the two walked straight to the mortuary in the basement. «What's with the note?» Leon asked as he pointed at the yellow post-it note that hung on the door. «Just letting people know I'm out of town.» Ada replied, not taken aback by the question. «Yeah, I can understand that, but the first aid kit part?» Leon had a doubtful expression on his face. «A friend of mine needed a new one for his bike.» She shot back, still not affected by the questioning. «His bike huh?» Leon noted, not entirely convinced. «Accidents do happen detective.» Ada pointed out as she put down her backpack and slipped into her white lap coat
Leon was a little frustrated that he had to play yet another verbal game with the doctor. It was so painfully obvious that she was talking about Dante, but refused to come out clean and say it. Instead she fed him with half truths that could be seen as just about anything. True, people could have a use for a first aid kit in every vehicle and it was also true that accidents did happen, but even so! «So, what about this evidence you wanted me to look at?» Ada demanded in a no-bullshit manner. «I left it right here.» Leon replied, opening a locker and digging out the large coat from the other day. Wrapped in a transparent plastic bag and neatly folded, Leon handed it over to Ada and let her do her thing.
Almost holding his breath, Leon watched as Ada took out the coat and examined it more closely. Much to his surprise, Ada remained cool and calm as a frozen lake. There was no doubt that this coat belonged to Dante, yet she wasn't concerned about that, why? Was she in on it? Or maybe she'd seen coats in worse condition before and thus remained unimpressed by a few bullet holes «The coat was shot at point blank range, custom made guns, I'd say dual guns; desert eagles perhaps or a pair of .357 Magnums. Hard to tell from just the holes themselves.» Ada lined up her conclusion as if she was a talking robot. «What about this? I found it inside the coat.» Leon then said as he handed over a q-tip in a small plastic glass, one end covered in black as if it had been dipped in oil or black paint.
Squinting her eyes as she held the glass up under her desk light, Ada frowned a little before handing it back. «I have no idea. It could be anything; oil, paint...» She began before Leon shot in: «Blood.» Finally! Ada's face showed some sort of reaction, but it quickly recovered and froze up again. «You'll need to send it to the lab for analysis to get the details.» She said, letting the blood comment slide. Leon was about to leave when a last question popped in his mind. «Oh, one last thing.» He asked, actually smirking a little. «Yes?» Ada said, crossing her arms over her chest. «Would a person survive that kind of attack?» He asked, gesturing towards the coat. «The odds are certainly not in his favor, but then again... miracles do happen.» Ada replied, indifferent as always.
Walking up the stairway to the ground floor, Leon saw Dante climbing down the same stairs. «What is it with you always showing up at such strange times?» Leon asked. «Strange times detective?» Dante smiled with an exaggerated purity. «Did you find that kid by the way?» He quickly added as he grew serious. Leon was puzzled by the sudden question. What was that kid to Dante, Leon wondered, but kept his thoughts to himself. «Not so far, still looking though.» He told Dante as casually as he could. «Good, good. Hunt 'em down, every last one of 'em.» Dante grinned enthusiastically while giving Leon a thumbs-up before going down to the basement. «What are you doing here anyway?» Leon called after him. Stopping at the bottom of the stairs, Dante glanced over his left shoulder before replying: «The forensic geek got my iPod.» Another obvious lie, but Leon failed to confront Dante about it.
Ada knew that Dante was coming, after all he was the only one she knew of that could hum a merry song while walking over to the local mortuary. «G'day, g'day, g'day doc. Had a good weekend?» Dante called out in a happy voice as he opened the door with a loud bang. «Yes, it was quite nice.» Ada replied with a stiff and ever so faint smile. The conversation dropped like a rock at sea at that point. Dante pretending to know nothing, just scratched his nose a little and let his eyes drift around the room, pausing a little at the plastic skeleton that stood next to the door. «About this morning...» Ada began, unable to bear the silence that hung between them. «It's cool.» Dante said sounding very serious. Somehow that didn't make Ada feel a whole lot better. «You're going to use him?» She asked, sounding worried. «Is there a problem?» Dante asked back, being very relaxed, not looking at her.
Another halt in the conversation. «It's just... what happened with McCoy.» Ada sighed. «What about it?» Dante asked, his voice more or less demanding a straight answer. «No, it's nothing.» Ada replied, falling back to her indifferent self. «Way to go doc.» Dante complemented her. Whistling a little tune, Dante relaxed once more. «About that Chinese girl, Lei Fang. I got the bugger that did it, both the one that sat her up and the guy that did it.» He said, changing the subject. «What were they?» Ada asked. Ruffing his left hand through his hair, Dante thought for a moment before replying. «Fuck if I know. Some kind of spirit thingy that... possessed two dudes from china town and for some fucked up reason they needed the Adam's apple from a human throat to live.» Dante explained in a offhand manner. «Charming...» Ada commented dryly. «I got the bugger that killed the girl, but I'm not certain about that other guy.» Dante said more or less to himself. «Why's that?» Ada asked. «'Cause the first one went up in ashes as if he was a vamp', but this other guy died as if he was human.» Dante answered.
A messy affair I bet, Ada thought to herself, but kept her comments to herself. «I mean shit. I still find pieces of brain in my glove.» Dante said with disgust, but couldn't help to laugh over the ordeal. «So, what about the new guy?» Ada asked. «Leave him to me doc, I'm on top of things, as always.» Dante grinned. «Anything else happened while I was gone?» Ada sighed as the conversation was already starting to give her a headache. There was only so much of Dante's personality she could take in one day. «Got a new job, sounds pretty big.» Dante said while giving away a yawn. «Oh and now that you're here, could you take a look at my broken fingers and my bullet wounds?» Dante asked sheepishly. «So you did get shot after all.» Ada sighed.
Up on the ground floor, Leon was sitting at his desk, looking at his computer screen. Right now that was all he could do. The kid he was looking for in the Lei Fang case was gone like a ghost, so all he could do now was to wait for something, anything, to come up. While waiting around for the kid to show up, dead or alive, Leon figured he might as well follow the last loose thread: Dante. Doctor Wong was not talking, the gangsters all over town wasn't talking either, so who was left? Dante himself, but that was pointless. Even if there ever was a point in taking Dante head on, Leon questioned his ability to mount the courage it would take to have that kind of concentration with Dante. There was just something about that guy that got Leon spooked. Figuring that there was nothing better to do, Leon decided to go back to square one; the files the police had on Dante, all 3000 of them.
At the end of the day, Leon's eyes were soar from reading file up and file down. Nothing, at least nothing new that would help him getting a clearer image of Dante. Resting his head in his hands, Leon looked down on his messy desk. Filed by detective Ray McCoy one file read. Yeah, whatever Leon's tired mind groaned as he packed it down in the cardboard on the floor. The next file was also filed by detective Ray McCoy and the next and the next and the next. A whole load of the files were all filed by the same detective! This was it, the little thing he'd overlooked. Leon was a little embarrassed, since it was such a obvious clue, but he'd just have to swallow that down and get on with the program. First though, a quick trip to the WC.
After taking care of business, Leon was washing his hands when he was joined by Marvin. «Did you catch the game last night? Man that last goal was one for the books, y'know what I'm saying?» Marvin smiled. «Nope, didn't get it, but I have it on tape and I'll enjoy it on Friday» Leon grinned back, drying his hands under the warm air dryer. «Say Marv'...» He continued. «I need to talk to a detective here on the station, could you give me directions?» Leon asked. «Sure thing dude, just gimme a sec to finish up here, 'kay?» Marvin replied as he began washing his hands. «I'd like to have a word with a detective McCoy, Ray McCoy.» Leon said. «Good luck with that one.» Marvin chuckled. «Why do you say that?» Leon asked looking puzzled. «'Cause he's dead. You're his replacement, remember?» Marvin said, finding Leon's scatterbrain behavior amusing.
Back at the computer, Leon did a quick search. Yup, Marvin was right; Ray McCoy was dead as a rock, his wife and two kids too. The case itself was nice and clean; a crime scene with a broken entry, dead bodies, smoking gun, footprints, matching bullets and the killer currently behind bars for the killings he committed «What's wrong with this picture?» Leon mumbled to himself, staring at the computer screen until the screen saver kicked in. Rewinding his thoughts, Leon went over it again.
The guy that did it was a small time thug from the local Yakuza. The 9mm Uzi that was used was found in his fridge of all places, the bullets matched, he had no alibi and was known to be trigger happy along with a short temper. McCoy had been pretty knee deep with the local Yakuza, their casino in particular. Motive was in place, though the higher-ups in the Yakuza command considered the guy dispensable, so they didn't bother to flex up some 50.000 legal protection for him when he was dragged to court. It was more like a public execution, they gave the court everything they needed and more. Perhaps a little «playground-rules»? The Yakuza gave the cops their cop-killer and the cops turned a blind eye on some minor irregularity further down the road. Made sense Leon thought to himself, but again there was one piece present that simply didn't fit with the equation; Dante.
Dante was deep into the Yakuza, as deep as an American could get with Japanese gangsters. Dante was also heavily linked to McCoy since he was the only cop in the station that kept track on what Dante was doing. «Okay, okay, okay... let me think here.» Leon said to himself, leaning backwards in his chair. Dante is a P.I, so as a P.I he could need a helping hand with the police every now and then, assuming that he was a normal P.I that caught cheating wives on camera and the like. However, that was obviously not the case, since not a single file ever mentioned something as normal as a cheating wife scenario. There had to be a link between Dante, the Yakuza and McCoy, but just what in the blazes was it?
Leon was so into solving the puzzle in front of him, that he didn't notice that Ada stood in the hallway, peeking in at him through the barely open door. Walking silently over to the pay phones, Ada dialed a number and waited. As soon as the other end picked up she said: «He's on to McCoy.» Before hanging up.