[2086] Milkshake/home visit/trapped

24th March, 2086

“That curly-haired boy is called Sin. He trained under Chan, Khun Malee’s personal bodyguard. He’s currently working under Crystal, but we don’t have a picture of what he looks like now. That’s all the information we have on him.”

Walee flipped her tablet screen off.

“It’s a mystery boy, then.” Suwan shrugged.

“Yes. No medical records at any public hospitals, no records of schooling, no bank account under his own name… He does not exist legally, which makes it harder to track him down.”

“We still know that he’s connected to Khun Malee.”

“Khun Malee is not someone we can approach casually, boss. We need more evidence, so that we can ask her the right questions.” Walee heard a ‘ding’ from her tablet. “I requested camera footage from CCTVs around Khun Malee’s residences. Much of it was deleted, considering how long it’s been. However, some cameras kept their motion sensor logs, and captured images of people or animal that moved past the cameras. So, I requested to have facial recognition run on those images.”

“Anybody suspicious?”

Walee turned the screen towards Suwan.

“Do you recognize any of these people?”

The man scrolled through the rows of images.

“Not really. They’re not my brother, that’s for sure.”

“Have you considered the possibility that he became a full cyborg and changed his appearance completely?”

“Yeah, so in that case, these faces won’t help. It’s strange, though… I don’t see our curly-hair boy. And who’s this guy? He leaves at night and comes back in the morning. He screams suspicious.”

“I’ll see if we can get any information.”

Suwan stared out the window of his office. The cityscape cladded in grey. The haze. The drones buzzing past.

His brother was somewhere in this city, he just knew it.

“We have a hit.” Walee turned the screen to him once more. “He frequented hotels around the red-light district. It will take some time for me to try and find out his identity.”

“I figured. Do you want to get lunch?”

“You can go ahead and buy something. I brought my own lunch.”

“Ooh, did you cook it yourself?”

“If stirring leftovers together in a pan count as cooking, then yes.”

It was not until after lunch that results returned.

“Our mystery man used fake IDs and a dummy bank account, so I cannot find his real identity yet. He was accused of unintentionally killing a sex worker before he disappeared. Although I’m not sure he’s connected to our case, he is definitely suspicious.”

“I agree.” Suwan got up. “Hey, how about we go see the lady ourselves?”

“You want to see Khun Malee?”

“Yeah. I’ve met her guard dog a few times. I think I can cook up something.”

Suwan managed to contact Chan, and they met up at a coffee shop near one of the city’s few remaining canals. The water was pitch-black and had a putrid smell, and Suwan was more than glad to be indoors.

He entered the coffee shop, then took off his air filtration mask. He found Chan sitting alone with a glass of milkshake in one of the private rooms. Suwan gestured Walee to follow him inside.

“Hey, thanks for coming.” Suwan sat down and tapped the electronic menu on the table. He pressed in some orders. “It’s been a while.”

“This is the first time you came to me personally. To what do I owe the honor, investigator?” The boy stirred his milkshake with a bamboo straw.

Walee observed the boy as she pretended to look through the soda menu. He looked fourteen, and his voice was fourteen. He had a rainbow-tailed black bird perched on his shoulder.

“What’s with the tone? We’ve collaborated before.”

“Yeah. Crystal was innocent on that one, so naturally we will lend our aid.”

“So, if you’re not innocent, you won’t cooperate.”

“Something like that.” He cocked his head side to side.

“I like your honesty.”

Chan narrowed his eyes.

“I heard you’ve been snooping around about milady.”

“Whoa, how the hell did you find out so quickly?”

“I have my ways. It’s even more obvious when you contacted me.”

The tense air broke when a robot waiter came rolling in with their orders. Walee took them and placed Suwan’s cup of coffee in front of him. She slurped on her blue soda with pearl jelly, then spoke.

“We’re not trying to accuse Khun Malee of anything. We’re trying to find Apaimanee.”

“Oh, the pi guy. I heard he caused quite a headache for all of you. What does he have to do with milady, though?”

“That’s confidential police stuff, so we can’t tell you yet.” Suwan smiled. “Rest assured, we know that your lady is not connected to Apaimanee. We just need the proof for our superiors, so let us talk to her once, get the confirmation we need, and we can be out of your hair. Plus, our superiors will be out of our hair. Isn’t that a win-win situation?”

“That sounds off, but fine; I’ll ask milady if she’s willing to talk. Do you need her in person?”

“Yes, this is official stuff.”

“Ugh, what a pain. She’s a busy person, y’know.” Chan sighed. The black bird leapt onto the table, pecking Chan’s milkshake. The boy closed his eyes. It looked almost as if he fell asleep sitting up. Moments later, he opened his eyes again. “Yeah, milady will see you in her residence.”

“Which one?”

“Her main one. Which one were you expecting?”

“I don’t know how many mansion she owns, nor do I know where they are. Is that a good answer?”

“Very.” Chan went out to get a car, and as soon as he was out of hearing range, Walee let out a long sigh.

“I felt that there was some kind of unspoken dialogue going on. You were not using a private line, were you?”

“No. He’s very cautious of us, so I had to watch everything I said. We have to make him believe that we’re really not after his gang.”

Chan’s car pulled up in front of the coffee shop, and the two boarded. The windows were all blacked out, and communications were cut off. They could only feel the acceleration and turns of the car.

When the windows were clear again, they could see the interior of a huge, clean garage.

“Welcome to our humble residence.” Chan got out, and the car doors for both passengers opened automatically.

“You are very humble indeed.” Suwan gawked at the cars parked inside the garage. Chan laughed. He and his bird led the way.

Malee was waiting for them inside a conference room. She wore a veil over her face, concealing her features.

After some pleasantries, Chan left the room, leaving the black bird perched on Malee’s hat.

“I’ll cut to the chase, then. Khun Malee, do you know who this boy might be?”

Suwan showed her the photograph of the curly-haired boy from his tablet. Malee held the tablet for a few seconds with her gloved hand, then handed it back.

“That depends on who I am speaking to.”

“Is my rank as an investigator not enough?” He folded his device and pocketed it.

“I will reword it, then: what do you want?”

The temperature dropped. Walee felt her hands go cold.

“I’m looking for someone, and this boy looks very, very similar to that someone.”

“Srisuwan Rattanawohan.” Malee removed her veil, revealing her sharp, black eyes. Then, she took off her gloves, placing both hands on the table. “Be patient and fortune will come to you. Have you ever heard that saying?”

“You do know something!” He stood up, his chair almost falling over.

“This search of yours is a personal one. You are using your rank for personal matter; thus, you are abusing your power.”

“It’s…”

“Boss.” Walee’s sharp tone snapped Suwan out of his emotional streak.

“I advise you: look no further into this.”

Suwan gritted his teeth.

“I’ll tell you a story. My brother went missing during the airport attack in 2063.”

Walee could see that the lady got tense. She was practically glaring at Suwan.

“What do you know about that, Khun Malee?” He slowly sat back down.

“Why are you asking me about something that happened 23 years ago? I was still a child. The people involved could all be dead.”

Perhaps it was pride, or vanity, but Suwan continued.

“I will find out what happened to my brother.”

“Good. If that is all you came here to say, then I shall have Chan escort you back.”

“Chirp, chirp.”

“Did that bird just say the word ‘chirp’ instead of chirping?”

“Boss, I thought we were here to…”

Before Walee could say anything else, Chan came into the room and led them through the corridor. After a few minutes, Walee stopped walking.

“This is not the way we came.”

“Yeah, this is not the way you came. Can’t have our guests walking all the way back to the garage, no?”

They arrived at a large room filled with armed men.

“What’s the meaning of this?”

“Dunno.” Chan shrugged. “Maybe it’s best you comply.”

“Boss!” Walee grabbed Chan’s wrists moments before the boy could grab her boss’s neck.

The boy was enhanced, so Walee’s strength was no match for his. He threw her on the ground, but before he could do anything else, he felt a muzzle pressed to his back.

“Shoot, then. I dare you.” He spoke casually to Suwan.

“What was it that prompted this? Is it about the boy? Or the attack?”

“I think you already know.”

“Think carefully, young man. You’re dealing with investigators.”

“Nu-uh. You’re the one to talk. You’re dealing with Crystal. I don’t have to tell you what happens to those who jinx our plans, right?”

Suwan gritted his teeth.

“Sorry, Walee. It seems I got you in this predicament.”

Suwan pulled the trigger.

Chan’s grip on Walee loosened enough for her to break away from him and grab her gun. She shot the boy’s knee, and he toppled over. The men in the large room moved at them, but Suwan managed to keep them at bay with his bullets.

“Run!”

They ran through the house. Dividers appeared from the ceiling, trying to lock them in. They managed to slide under multiple ones before having to stop as they rounded the corner and saw a gun.

“Sheesh, people really do install these things in their houses?”

“Well, as you can see, boss.”

“Alright, Khun Malee, I know you’re watching! I have a bomb connected to me. It’ll blow up if I die, so don’t you dare kill us!”

A bullet zipped pass his leg.

“Well, that did not work. I wonder how she figured out that was a lie?” Suwan pursed his lips.

Walee rolled her eyes. The two slowly raised both hands up.