T.A series volume 1: The Extinction Heist

Chapter 9 - Close shave

Now in the life of Kudo Ranran, she had always been the one doing the stakeout.

From doing stakeout on suspects to digging out any info about their personal lives through social media, it had always been part of her job as a detective. However, lately, she has been feeling how it feels like being the prey as she feels eyes following her.

Someone was following her, she was sure of it. Ranran thought of this as she walked alongside the police collogues her dad made them accompany her while she head to the bus stop. According to the GPS on her phone, it seems like her dad is almost there to pick her up using his car.

Could it have been the suspects on one of the previous cases she had worked on?

Ranran thought hard, no, not possible. Also, today will be officially her last case as The Fox for good this time.

When Ranran took the mantle of 'The Fox', she did it because she felt sorry for her father, as the corrupt officials practically been hiring officials that have qualifications so low, it's bound to make even janitors who work there laugh out of mockery if they were to find out about this. The reason they did so is to monopolize in the name of power for personal self-interest. Hiring highly qualified candidates will be a huge threat to removing them from their powerful position within the police task force. If it wasn't for her dad doing all of this undercover, this could've gone on forever for all she knows.

Today is finally her last case as The Fox, where she is no longer needed now that her dad finally managed to get things under control so far.

Another reason this was her last case was the media scrutiny of her identity, whereby the possibility where an adult is using a child to do their job in real life? That itself is rather controversial.

To begin with, it ain't her dad's fault, given that he was really low in manpower upon arriving in Japan, he couldn't trust many officers in his shoes as there were far too many corrupt policemen and detectives. Also, she was the one who volunteer to do so with motives of her own.

She walked while accompanied by her father's police colleagues before they finally drop her off and they greeted each other with their goodbyes.

As she finally made it to the bus stop, she had the uncanny feeling she was being watched.

Opposite the bus stop where she sat, if she crosses the road, a shadow figure hides behind the large post box.

Ranran wanted to confront it, that damn stalker who had been onto her. She may be a 6-year-old, but she has seen quite a lot of assholes in her life and tackled them in her own way. This is nothing to her. Perhaps the person behind the letterbox could've been working for one of the men who aided Watanabe's escape, which was a good possibility given that she and Takuma survived.

However, before she could, a car blocked in front of her, revealing it to be her ride back home.

By this point, she could no longer make excuses to cross the road now that her father had arrived. Also, she didn't wanna worry him. It was probably just a stray cat, she told herself, but she knew deep down it ain't possible.

There was someone out there.

With the streetlamp next to the post box, the shadow emitting to the right made it evident it couldn't be a small stray cat. Probably because it was kinda late at night when no one is walking around, it was clear cut to see that it was a human being's shadow.

With her long term experience as a detective, she knows she wasn't just seeing things alone.

However, the movement....from afar it didn't look like an adult. Rather....a child like her is stalking her!?