Motive

It was late past midnight and Kitai struggled to keep his eyes shut.

"A basement in the forest… a mole in the department…”

He glanced at his wife, sleeping silently beside him.

"I barely have time for them…”

He took a pack of donut from his bag before walking to the window. He looked at the full moon hung clearly in the sky through the hole of the donut.

"A donut has a hole… but the moon fills the gap…”

Luna, just like her father, stared at the same moon in her bedroom while Yuki slept soundly on the bed.

"The snow finally stopped falling… I hope this other ‘Snow’ stops snoring!”

Suddenly, they noticed multiple figures in black approaching their home gate.

"Thief?! Should I tell otto san?!”
"Burglar?! Should I inform my family?!”

Kitai rushed to his safe box and punched in the code but his off duty gun was missing.

"Wha-… Oh yeah Amriii!!!”

Amri placed a candle in the middle of the table in his dim kitchen. Kitai’s Glock 19 leaned against his phone stand.

"So, how long have you known Kitai?”
Amri asked the gun.

"Dispatch, this is off duty MCPD, Officer Yamaguchi Kitai, badge 18198, possible 459 in progress at my registered address, five suspects with black masked, code 3!”

He rushed to the first floor and shut off the main switch, cutting the power.

"Ehh? Who turned off the AC- ukk…”

Yuki woke instantly but Luna karate chopped the back of her neck, knocking her out.

"Finally, she stop snoring… Sorry Uki!”

Luna pulled open a drawer beneath her desk, revealing two Beretta-like pistols with square flashlights mounted underneath. She grabbed one, filled the magazine with yellowish hard plastic balls, slide it into the grip and cocked the slide.

"Officer Luna, reporting for duty!”

She glanced at Yuki before cracking her bedroom door slightly open, toy gun pointed outside.

"Im gonna use my wife’s sacred weapon…”

Kitai knelt in the kitchen with a frying pan clenched in his hand. The buglars, each carrying their own flashlight, slipped inside after lockpicking the door.

"Stupid complimentary horror game flashlight! I cant see sheet!”

One of them flipped one of the switch but nothing happened.

"Bro, this mf poor af, cant even pay his bill!”
"And so are we, now shh!”

They spread out. One approached the fridge, only to get bonked by Kitai. The metallic clang not only alerted the other burglars, but also his own wife.

"Huh?! Isnt that my limited edition non stick durable stainless steel with diamond-infused pan?! Wait, why its so dark here?! Anata!”

They started throwing random objects into the kitchen but Kitai had already crawled to the other side.

"What's that sound?! What's that sound?!”
"How should I know?!”

Kitai slammed another burglar at the far back. Meanwhile, his wife slowly opened their bedroom door with her phone flashlight on.

"Aa- anata! What’s happ-… Lun-”
"HONEY! LOCK THE DOOR! A GIANT COCKROACH HEADING YOUR WAY!!!”
"GIANT COCK-”

Luna dashed and shoved her mom back into the room.

"7m distance and 35 m/s velocity! Considering the ball’s mass, air resistance and gravity force, it will take around 0.3 - 0.4 second to reach! If I time this right…”

At the same time, a burglar rushed upstairs.

"Hasta la vista, baby!”

Luna fired at the perfect moment and the shot struck his eyes before he could react.

"Wha-”

He stumbled backward and fell down the staircase. Kitai dragged all the burglars out with the pan on his head, just as police surrounded the house.

"POLIC-”
"Code 4! What took you guys so long?!”

Meanwhile in Amri’s home, his ‘date’ was interrupted by a phone call from a contact name ‘Tortilla’.

"Amri Pastry! Got your tortilla?”
"Negative! We visited the warehouse but no employee, only raw ingredients, warm machines and meats... Some were expired… Tho, they left their frozen trail behind…”

He stared at the pick up truck tire marks in the snow along with crystal meth scattered nearby while the intelligence teams help rescued the victims from the hidden basement.

"Can you contact the supplier? I think I know where they headed!”

He looked up at a plane passing by the full moon. Back at Kitai’s home, he clutching his shoulder as he talking to the officer.

"You hurt? Wait, I call medi-”
"No no, it just… GSW from yesterday, haha!”

While giving his statement, his Watch Commander, Lieutenant Ryoga called.

"Hello sir, you on speaker!”
"Officer Kitai, Im glad you and your family is safe! Something urgent came up, report to the station immediately!”

Kitai and the officer exchanged looks.

"Northern or Centralized District, sir?”
"Our ‘house’, we have a unicorn and a rat, explanation later!”
"They found the rat?!”

The call ended and the officer offered him a ride to the Siegi Division.

"Otto san!"
Luna shouted.

Kitai turned and saw his family standing the doorway.

"Wait, brb!”

He ran towards them.

"Otto san, where you going?!”
"Anata, what’s happening?”
"Uncle Kitai?”

He scratched his head.

"Shoot… Aaa… Giant cockroach has took over the station! Its all hands on deck! They not gonna buy it...”
"Eiiii?!”
"Eee!”

His wife and Yuki were creeped out but Luna pouted.

"Ohh its worked!"
"Ahh, here we go again… Otto san… Will you come back?”

He knelt down and gently patted her head.

"I will! I promise you that! Please take good care of Yuki and my wife, ma’am!”
"I promise too, otto san!”
"That’s my girl!”

The officer sent him to his department in Centralized District. Upon arrival, KItai froze as the station clerk, Ishina was being handcuffed and escorted inside, along with a little girl, guarded by multiple police officers.

"Sir, wha- what’s happening here?”
"Officer Kitai… We have a situation…”

Kioku Town International Airport was flooded with police and law agencies. News reporters streamed live outside the airport as multiple units swarmed the area.

"After almost a decade, it has finally been revealed that Amarok is actually a human, leading a large syndicate behind the infamous flavourful Crystal Meth or methamphetamine, also known as ice!”

The reporter took a deep breath, eyes glued to the paper in her hand.

"Currently, three stationary airplanes have been hijacked! Passengers and crew are being held hostage! Police are unsure which aircraft Amarok is in but they assure, the public they will keep the hostages safe!”

A bald man frowned, arms crossed. Dragon and wolf tattoos covered both sided of his arms as he leaned against an airplane door.

"Ah yes, the negotiator!”

He said as tactical team advanced with shields and assault team, protecting a negotiator forward.

"Yo Amarok! Smart set up! Let’s have a talk, shall we? What should I call you, Amarok or Mori Ogawa instead?”

The negotiator asked and the bald man chuckled.

"Im not him, and there’s nothing to talk about! Im just here to deliver a message from Amarok! He’ll release all hostages… under three conditions!”

The negotiator glanced around cautiously.

"Ahh, three for three? I see his game here! Let’s hear it!”
"One…”

Back at the station, Kitai sat acrossed the interrogation table, glaring at Ishina in a dim room with a only a light bulb.

"So! You the reason behind the hospital attack?!”
"I only gave him the info, Amarok the one mobilize the-”

He stood and slammed the desk.

"THAT’S NOT THE POINT! IT’S A F*CKING HOSPITAL!!! My shoulderrr ahhhhh!!!”

Ishina lowered her gaze, fists clenched.

"What’s your connection with Amarok?! How long have you known him and why his daughter with you?”

Ryoga asked from beside the door.

"I took a loan from Naga Sharkie five years ago… Financial struggle crushed me and I couldn’t pay it back… Amarok settled the debt… Two days ago, I learned that his daughter went missing and I actually found her! Now, she’s my token to freedom!”
"If you knew bout Amarok from the start, why didn’t tell us?! We could’ve ended this nightmare long time ago!”

Kitai slammed the desk with his left hand and Ishina shook her head.

"Amarok isnt alone… Im sure Intelligence knows too, that’s why they never took the risk! There’s a bigger threat beneath the surface and they mean business!”
"Who’s this threat?”
"I have no idea, but if they make a move, it will be a national threat… But since Amarok’s desperation is personal, they might think its unworthy to help him…”

One of the police officer slammed open the door.

"Sir! Sorry for interrupt! We just received a call from NSP!”
"National Security Protocol?!”

Ryoga answered but his expression darkened instantly.

"SIR! WHAT ABOUT THE SAFETY OF AN INNOCENT CHILD AND MY MAN?!!!”

His roar echoes through the station. Officers outside his office froze as he hurled the miltiline desk phone, cracking the office window.

"Officer Kitai!”
"Si- sir! Do-… do you need water?!”
"No! I need to kill the higher ups!”

The whole department went dead silent.

"Tak- take a deep breath, sir!”

Ryoga explained the details, including Amarok’s condition.

"...third one, they want you, Officer Kitai, to personally handed his daughter to him AND THE F*CKING HIGHER-UPS APPROVED IT!”

Kitai’s eyes drifted to Mai, Amarok’s daughter, calmly eating his donut beside a female officer outside the station.

"Sir… Isnt that against the protocol? I mean, a child… Even if its his-”
"Politics! That’s for sure!”

Kitai frowned, staring at the floor, deep in his thought. Then he lifted his head.

"You know what, sir? Order is order! Let’s deliver it!”

End of Chapter 5…

Extra 05:
Inside the helicopter, Kitai wore bulky, multi layered vest while Amarok’s daughter was fitted with a hidden recorder and mini GPS tracking device.

"National threat… Why you hiding this from me, Amri?!”

Kitai stared out the window as they flew over the Miraii Bridge, the structure linking the mainland of Miraii City to the well-developed island of Kioku Town. Below them, the strait mirrored the bright full moon glowing in the pre-dawn sky.

"Im sorry…”
"Huh?”

Kitai looked at her, surprised by the sudden apology.

"Nothing for you to apologize about!”
"But… Because of me-”
"YOU-…”

She flinched. Kitai exhaled deeply, shaking his head as his gaze dropped.

"You the victim here! As a cop, I hate him for all the crimes he committed… But as a fellow father, I understand his concern for his daughter…”

The golden pendant slipped from her hand. Kitai noticed it just before she snatched it back.

"Dragon?”