Fourteen:

“Shen san said that the man and woman in the hotel are fine. He is going to have them moved here as well.”

I blinked and nodded.

“I am honestly not sure how comfortable that makes me, but I guess a beggar cannot be too choosy.”

My sober tone reflected exactly how much I enjoyed this prospect. I did not want to expose Henry or my client to more mobsters than was strictly necessary. There was no shortage of trepidation for me over this. Shen might have no reason to harm them right now, but if something turned bad on this case, I am opening for him, who knows what bets would be off. Being the not completely stupid detective I was, my mind was already beginning to make contingencies.

“Shen said we can expect the files, a long with the arrival of your friends. That way, you have everything you need to begin your investigation of the shipping operations from our pharmaceuticals overseas.”

Tomoki said and I could not tell if he knew anything at all about the operations out of the Peckford port. He was exceptional for his age at feigning innocence and pretending to be ignorant to subjects he did not wish to speak about. His elusiveness was impressive, as were his driving skills and his subtle appearance despite being inked heavily for twenty. Tomoki had a true knack for being a laidback enforcer type. He was business-like most of the time, and he also appeared to genuinely care about the charge he was chauffeuring around.

“I still remain that if there is anything untoward in the shipment, I will not hand it over to Shen.”

My voice was stern but calm, and Tomoki tipped his head slightly giving nothing away. He did not appear concerned about my declaration.

“I can guarantee that the Japanese port authorities personally test all drug shipments leaving their harbors. Drugs are not exactly a welcome commodity in my country. Even the yakuza often shuts down the hard drug traffic. I believe they are more forgiving of crank or weed, but not so much of heroin and cocaine. Though there are families who will extend into cocaine, but this is a point of contention amongst some yakuza.”

My eyes narrowed suspiciously at Tomoki’s detailed breakdown of the state of organized crime in Japan. It was not news to me that most hard Class A drugs are considered a soft taboo in Japan. Not that they are not present, but they are hard to find on the street level. Dealers often carry some uppers roughly based on amphetamines, but less in the way of the truly lethal junk prominent on the streets in every major city and town in the US. However, to go to the trouble of explaining all of this to me, I had to wonder what game Tomoki and Shen by extension, were trying to run on me during this investigation. Were they attempting to lull me into complacency? I might not like the police department, but I was not an outlaw, not completely. I would shoot a man if I had to, but never unjustified, and never from behind. With that said, I would not even touch a drug, nor would I be complicit in a substance that will kill people even if it takes years of slow deaths by increments as they kill portions of their living flesh with every injection or snort of a line.

“Ok, just don’t try to shoot me if I find illegal drugs and I destroy them.”

I said in a too cheerful tone. Tomoki was still unreadable, and he simply shrugged and said, “I believe Shen san would be grateful, if you found drugs, that you did not rat him, and simply dispose of them in the first place. That is if he were foolish enough to put you onto anything illegal in the first place.”

My antenna was still up, but I was hoping that this was merely a case of theft of legal substances. Only time would tell where these cases would lead me. My paranoia could very well be getting the best of me, but I was going to indulge my suspicious nature at every turn. Being a great detective means questioning everything, never taking anything at face value. All people lie daily, therefore, learning the truth is harder than people seem to believe. Human instinct is to not stir the pot, so they are constantly playing with the truth, to make themselves more just and less likely to be suspect, regardless of who you are speaking to. Everyone is on high alert with anyone who identifies themselves as a detective. The truth does not seem to matter to most, it is simply an inconvenience that stands to land them in deep waters, should the truth be discovered too close to that person’s proximity. Hence, why blackmail and other such means of extortion are such masterful and profitable means with which to control anyone with a hidden truth.

“Fine then, open the apartment, so I can check it over. If I find hidden cameras that I am not allowed to access, I will smash them. I will not have pictures of me surfacing on the web photoshopped into porn.”

Tomoki laughed loudly and his expression was filled with levity once again.

“You are a truly distrusting individual, Gina nee. Your view of humanity is almost as dark as Shen san’s.”

My lip twitched in amusement at this grand irony. Nearly being as jaded as a mob boss, that did not say anything good for my social life or the prospects of a lasting relationship with a good girl someday down the road.

“Excuse me, why are we going into a yakuza-run safehouse? You do realize you are trusting the very skells who would extort favors from you!”

I sniggered and slapped the attractive young officer’s arm.

“You’re too tightly spun Penny Ashton, pull that stick out of your butt before you hurt yourself.”

Her sour-puss look told me she was not at all amused with my comment. If it was possible, Penny appeared to become even more skeptical of my relationship with the law.

“There are no sticks anywhere lodged! I simply don’t believe it is proper or wise to get into bed with the mob—literally as it happens now!”

Penny said in a dire tone, and I rolled my eyes playfully.

“We’re a bit short on options right now, and you are not doing me any favors. Do you have any idea how burnt you made my safehouse? You stormed up to me like a thundering elephant with a billboard of advertisement that you were off to meet the other shooter.”

I chastised Penny, and she seemed to catch the slip, that I admitted vaguely to being involved in her shooting. We were well beyond denials now. I knew she knew, and I knew, so what the hell. I had to keep her on my side, and I needed to manage her foolishness if only as much as possible. Penny was not a bad shot or bad in a fight, but she was green as hell with detective work and investigative methodology. She was also naïve as to how Peckford truly worked. She had yet to see through the veneer of the department. She was not going to believe me now, but I still felt compelled to protect her, possibly because she was simply too sexy to leave alone, despite my better judgment.

(Here’s to hoping I live to regret this decision!)

“I don’t see how I advertised where I was headed!”

I huffed and said, “What did you do when you found my information?”

I asked, and she looked away for a moment, gathering her thoughts on the matter.

“I asked about you to my Sargent.”

Nodding in confirmation, I said, “Even if your Sargent is clean, you can assume someone probably caught enough of your conversation to guarantee they told someone else. Soon enough, all the mice in the station have the latest cheese to squeak over. Now, keep in mind, at least half the department is on the take, and you will for sure have at least one of those sleeper-thugs calling it into their mob contacts for whatever markers they can get from the deal, information is power and money. You have a great heart from what I can see, but I am afraid you are simply too naïve to the true nature of the world right now.”

Penny seemed to almost refuse to hear me out about the corruption levels in the Peckford PD. She did not have my years of experience in trying to figure out how to prevent leaks in your investigation. She did not begin to know how much I was forced to internalize my data and how deeply I was forced to suppress my information as if burying it like a treasure. Nor did she know just how many times I went to make a bust and found myself raiding an empty building or worse still, one burning down conveniently overnight. And still, an obvious arson managed to become an accidental fire. (I could go on like this at length for hours, if not days, with all the raw corrupt experiences I have seen.)

“If you two are finished fussing over who is naïve and who is not, I can open the door and show you the house. It is a genuinely nice pad, and I can assure you, it is only ever used to put up non-yakuza or Triad family members. It is a safe place for innocent blood relations to come to visit their less innocent family.”

Winking playfully, I said, “Not a bad idea. Even if I rolled over on Shen and gave this place to the cheese eaters, all I would be giving up is a place where non-made people would be staying. It’s not a crime to be related to OC bosses or even soldiers.”

I said factually, and Tomoki nodded in agreement.

“This is fortunate since I believe there should always be some firewall between those in the game and those outside it. Fewer innocents caught in the cross-fire that way.”

Despite everything, I still considered Tomoki to be very optimistic and even slightly idealistic. He was not of the go kill the entire family mentality, like many mob thugs. Many did not distinguish between right and wrong at all nor did they consider innocent people less viable a target for pain, suffering, and violence, merely because they did not partake in illegal activities. It was good when you dealt with people who would not go after your family to target you.

“You’re a big marshmallow, you know that kid? If I were less gay, I would through a hump into you something fierce!”

I teased him, modifying a line from a popular show I used to watch. Sometimes a girl just must lob a cheeseball line out there just for the sake of being a goof.

“Geeze, you really will say anything you’re thinking, won’t you?!”

Penny asked me, and I grinned at her with a cheesy look and I shrugged in a very unapologetic expression.

“Sorry, not sorry?”

I asked her, and she gave me a sour look and I kept staring into her hazel eyes, trying hard not to let her see how much I adored her beautiful continence. She was so many frustrating things, but she was yummy, and she was delicious. I wished I could have met her under different circumstances, ones where I might end the night with her under me in my bed writing as I fill her core with my strap-on.

However, we were here, and our situation was not casual nor was it particularly romantic in any way. Nonetheless, I felt the pull towards her, even if I never intended to act on it.