Murder

A. W. sat at the table, relaxed - or as relaxed as she ever was. She ate her noodles, her hand ever close to her gun. Across from her sat T. T., her client. He looked quite happy at the moment, eating his red-sauce-splattered noodles and grinning, but they both knew the tension that lay under the surface. After all, T. T. had come to her for protection just last night - he didn't say who he was afraid of, but A. W. was pretty certain that the yakuza were mixed up in it. And that was why they were here, in this cheap noodle joint, trying to avoid T. T.'s usual hangouts.

When T. T. jerked sideways and then slumped over to the accompaniment of gunshots, covering their noodles in blood, A. W. knew that she'd failed.

A. W. dashed outside, careless of the glass on the floor from the windows shattered by gunfire, but the yakuza (if that's what they were) were already driving away. A. W. hopped on her motorbike, revved the motor and sped off in pursuit. She may have lost her client, but she'd be damned if the murderers would get away with it. Not while A. Wong, Ace Investigator, was on the case.

A. W. trailed the gunmen's car for half an hour, following them unobtrusively even as they zigged and zagged to evade pursuit, before they finally stopped at some sort of office building - marked on the front with the sign of the peacock. Five people got out, concealed by dark trenchcoats, and hurried inside. A. W. followed them, noting the license plate of their car as she passed, and found herself in a darkened meeting room. Her senses tingled. Something wasn't right - she couldn't see the gunmen anywhere. She dove for cover just as the gunshots rang out, scoring her left earlobe. A. W. thought she might be able to take out five hit men - especially ones who weren't able to shake her after trying for half an hour - but she wasn't willing to take the chance, not while she was the only one who had any leads on the murder of T. T.. She fled towards the door, pursued by semiautomatic gunfire all the way, and sped off on her motorbike.

They scratched the paint.

Once she felt sure that none of the gunmen were following her, A. W. headed off to her base of operations, an abandoned bowling alley. There she was met by her two assistants - V. Y. and R. T.. They greeted one another affectionately, and then A. W. gave them their assignments. To R. T., A. W. gave the license number of the gunmen's car, ordering him to trace it. If the car was legal (not stolen), then it could be a valuable lead. V. Y. she ordered to investigate Yakuza activities in the area, hoping she could figure out which, if any, of the gangs were responsible. And then she went to her office, preparing her own investigation into the past of T. T..

Hours later, A. W. got a call from V. Y.. "Meet me at the old statue on Liberty and Prospect. Private - can't talk about it on the phone." Fifteen minutes later, she stood before him. V. Y. explained, "I've been talking to my contacts in the underground. Most of them couldn't say anything - or didn't dare to - but one, a Mssr. G., is willing to spill the beans on the yakuza hereabouts. I've arranged a meeting at the Haagen-Daaz, across the street. He'll meet us at the window seat furthest from the door."



Two fudge sorbets later, a large, bald man slid into the seat across from A. W. and V. Y.. "Look, I can't talk too long, but here's the skinny," he said quietly. "There are two main yakuza gangs with an arm around here - the Yakamoto and the Ishinaka. Now, the Yakamoto are mainly involved in dockside stuff, and the Ishinaka are mostly about the brothels and gambling dens, but they're always trying to muscle into each-other's turf."

The informant made to stand, but A. W. waved him down. "Is there any particular symbol that they use?"

He thought about it, and answered, "The Yakamoto, when they choose to use a symbol, generally use a colourful peacock's tail. Now, the Ishinaka... um..."

V.Y. shouted "Duck!" as a shadow fell over A. W., and glass sprayed over her as gunshots once more sprayed out. All three of them ducked under the table, V. Y. clutching her arm, and the informant clutching his belly - mortally wounded, A. W. quickly realized. "What is it? What is the Ishinaka symbol?", she urged him. With a look of confusion in his eyes, he answered "Don't... know..." and expired.

A. W. cautiously stood, looking out the window. In the distance, she could see the black car speeding off. As waitresses and other customers gathered around, A.W. and V.Y. pushed their way out the door and left for the office. On her return, A.W. was greeted by R. T. triumphantly waving a slip of paper in front of her. "I have it! This is the address of the gunmen's car's owner - a warehouse by the wharfs!"

They arrived at the warehouse forty minutes later, as dusk fell. The warehouse itself was locked and barred, but there was a ship moored just across from it. A. W. snuck onboard, as V. Y. and R.T. stayed behind to watch the car and cover her back.

The deck was deserted - whatever daylight activity occurred on the ship had ended, and the more clandestine transactions had not yet begun. A. W. found it easy to first jam the rear propeller with a mooring-line that she untethered (with V.Y.'s help), and then to hide as the night watch emerged. Unfortunately, she discovered that the Yakuza - including their leader, wearing a brightly-coloured peacock-tail ring - spoke Japanese, a language that R.T. understood, but that she did not. She attempted to go belowdecks, hoping to find evidence there, but jumped backwards and fled as she heard the leader shout as he spotted her - このやろ! Gunfire followed her as she dove off the deck, and as V.Y. and R.T. returned fire. She emerged on shore and, before joining the firefight (which grew as more yakuza joined the fight), made a quick call to 911.

When the first SWAT cars started arriving, the yakuza attempted to flee. The propellor was irreparably damaged, thanks to A. W.'s sabotage, and they made easy pickings as they dove into the water. They started surrendering soon after.

Around 3:00 in the morning, after police questioning, A.W., V.Y, and R.T. arrived once more in the bowling alley. A.W. sat down and, said, "I think I've figured it out."

"I was looking at T.T.'s case file - I'd been investigating him from the moment he came to me, looking for protection. I knew he'd been involved with something illegal, probably the mob. He'd worked as a dealer at several casino's - West, the Royal, a few others - but before that he worked at the docks - supposedly as a longshoreman, but I can't really see a body like his lifting any weights. No. Here's what I think happened. He was working for the Yakamoto, in whatever capacity - I don't know which, people are very reluctant to talk when that name comes up - but for whatever reason, he decided to switch sides and start working for the Ishinaka. Now, maybe he was spying for the Yakamoto at first, but if so he decided to double-cross the Yakamoto, because when he came to me looking for protection, he knew they were out for blood. I agreed to protect him - because I didn't realize just how shady his background was at the time - but he didn't tell me just how much they wanted him dead, and so I didn't realize that they'd send out a hit squad for him in broad daylight."

"Maybe he was hoping that the Ishinaka could protect him - he seemed nice enough, just in over his head - but he panicked and came to me when he realized that the Yakamoto were after him in earnest. I couldn't protect him, but his murderers are certainly going to jail now - along with the rest of that filthy bunch."

Smiling, A. Wong, Ace Investigator told V. Y. and R.T., "Tomorrow: the Ishinaka!"