One month earlier, at Chengdu headquarters, after a debrief.
"I think she is all pretty but no substance." Didi commented.
"Oh? You think she is pretty." Wang Yu Zheng, his colleague responded.
"Did I say that?"
"Well, you just said..."
"I meant her profiling is all bullshit. Why are we paying so much for someone who's all talk? I bet she doesn't understand what we do on the streets."
"According to her profile, she is very hands-on in her job. She had closed a lot of successful cases in Beijing. That's why she is sent here."
"We are fine without her."
"Didi, our cases are piling up. And no clues since the last bombing."
"We are close."
"Are you jealous? Or you don't trust her?"
"I never trust women with a man's job."They are too emotional to think." He said, remembering how he had conflicts with his ex-boss, Qin Lan, who occasionally had emotional breakdowns. Eventually after she found out her hubby had an affair, she requested for a transfer.
"Watch your mouth, she is coming this way."
"Officer Wang, please to meet you. I'm Shen Yue. I'm assigned to your team. May I suggest that—-"
"Yu Zheng, let's go! We need lunch."
"Officer Wang, I'm not done talking."
"While you talk, I need food. I hear you."
"Is this how it's going to be?"
"What?"
"I heard about your reputation. You don't give a shit about your superior. Well, I rank above you so you better listen. Or else your badge is at stake!"
They both stared at each other. He was much taller but she did not back down. Finally, he lowered his gaze.
"Very well, Officer Shen. Tell me what you want."
"Meet me tomorrow, with the team, at my office. I need all the details from you about the recent cases in hand."
"You got the details from the files. Why ask me?"
She tapped his chest. "I need to hear what is in your gut."
"My gut tells me that I'm hungry now. If you would excuse me. Please."
He tried to move around her but she stood close to him and looked straight into his eyes.
"A man who is always hungry but never full even after he eats is also a man who never sleeps until he catches his prey."
She smiled. "I may be a woman, Officer Wang but I am always hungry but never full. Suit up tomorrow at 8am sharp."
"Peng Chun." She turned to her assistant.
"Make sure Officer Wang is fed well today. A hangry man thinks poorly."
He stared at her, his mouth hung low.
Her round peachy ass stared at him back as she walked away in that tight little pencil skirt.
"Damn skirt."
He needed to release himself.
The next morning, in her office
What happened to her pencil skirt?
She wore the usual attire most women in his office wore, pants and collared shirt. Did she wear that skirt yesterday just to provoke him?
He did not trust her. But his colleagues did. She offered them a ray of hope.
He crossed his arms as she spoke to the team.
"I'm not a rookie. If you have issues with me, please come to me directly. My focus is solving cases. So no bullshit and gossips behind my back. Understood?"
Everyone said "Yes, Ma'am!!"
"Officer Wang, please stay back."
The door shut and Didi removed his tie.
"What do you want to know?"
"You can choose to be rude to me but mind you, I'm here to stay. So it's your choice- do you want to waste your energy hating me or working with me?"
"I don't hate you."
"You don't trust me."
"Yes."
"That's fine. I get that often." She grabbed a desk calendar. "21 days is all I need."
"21 days for what?"
"To get to know you. For you to know me. It's not that hard, Officer Wang."
"You can't just walk in here and expect me to believe every word you say about the suspects is true."
She leaned back against her table and raised her eyebrow, eyeing him.
"Wang He Di, 32, still single. Loud and brash. Act before he thinks. Possibly a consequence of a violent or a disciplinarian parent. Get along with peers but not superior. Again, it's the parent factor."
She paused, amused to see her watching her, his mouth agape.
"I can even bet he has trust issues with women. Possibly afraid of commitment. Did anyone walk out of his life before?"
"You don't need to profile me."
"I just did."
"Well, prove it to me. Then, I will trust you."
"Officer Wang, you are a good police. I have seen your record. You are relentless. I need you to be my eye in the team. I need to rely on your instincts. If you don't trust me yet, then, trust your gut feelings. It's not me you want to go against, it's the criminals we need to catch."
There was silence in the room as he digested her words. He swallowed. No one had ever spoken this way to him.
And how the freak did she know that his high school girlfriend walked out of him after 7 years of relationship?
"Officer Shen. I give you my word. As long as you are my superior, I will show you my respect."
"Deal. Now, let's get to work."
A week passed....
"Damn it, Officer Wang! YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO ME!"
The whole room was stunned, even herself. He gave her no choice. He was a selective listener. Whatever she said, he only chose to follow what was convenient to him.
"Which part of it did I not listen or follow?" He asked, cockily.
"I said, this serial killer wants fame and attention. So why are we giving him what he wants? Why was the media on the crime scene when I said I DO NOT want the media there?" She sat down, in her chair frustrated.
"He will escalate. He knows he has the attention he needs now. He will kill another one very soon."
"And I will be there to catch him."
"HOW?!! Tell me how!!!"
Didi and Yu Zheng looked at each other, then, turned to Peng Chun, who shrugged.
"The only connection we have between the last two victims is they attended the same fitness studio."
"Get me, Miles Wei," Didi commanded to Yu Zheng. "He would know how to access their information."
"How long has Miles been working here?"
"5 years. He's the best. We recruited him from the IT line. He can hacked into anything we asked him to."
"Illegally?"
"How else can we get inside news?" He grinned. "Are you still mad?"
"Yes."
"I was not wrong entirely. We give him what he wants so we can track him when he moves again."
"My purpose was to surprise him, Officer Wang. This approach is too radical, dangerous. You are endangering the public."
"Not if we are quicker than him."
Shen Yue sighed.
It had been a week since they worked together and there was not a single day where they did not battle to be the dominant one.
She needed his leadership but how can they communicate better?
"Officer Wang, let's go for coffee."
"Now?"
She nodded. "My treat. Tell Miles to come an hour later."
He looked at her suspiciously, "Aren't we chasing a case?"
She smiled. "A woman without coffee thinks poorly."
He shrugged. "As you wish. You are the boss."
The cafe was a walking distance from their office. They both ordered Americano and sat by the window.
"Did you grow up here, Wang?"
"All my life. I love Chengdu."
"Never thought of living in another city? Like Beijing? Or Shanghai?"
"Maybe Suzhou. How do you like Chengdu so far?"
"It's nice. I like it. It's less busy than Beijing. I've been wanting to visit the panda conservatory but this job is keeping me busy."
"Did you move here alone? Where is your family from?" He asked. He was curious about her. No doubt they argued a lot, but there was something about her that drew him.
"Hunan. No, my parents are too old to move in with me. They complain that I'm married to my job." She chuckled a little.
Damn, she looked beautiful when she laughed. He lowered his gaze and took a sip of coffee.
"Who was the woman who walked out of your life, Wang?"
He stared at her, taken aback. "That is too personal, isn't it?"
She smiled, putting the mug to her lips. "I'm trying to know you. 21 days and we only have 14 days left. I don't think we are making progress."
"Look, Shen. I did not purposely ignore you but sometimes we just got to go with the gut feeling."
"Agree."
"You agree? I thought you said you don't believe in my instincts."
"I didn't. But I have to. Because I chose you as my partner." She took a deep breath and continued.
"Wang, the reason I left the police force to pursue criminal profiling 5 years ago was because it will save us time and energy. Profiling helps us to narrow down what we really want to look for. And there are many proven and successful cases in the USA, using this methodology."
He kept quiet. This time he really listened. From his heart.
"What made you study?"
"My ex-partner was killed. We did not anticipate the motive of the serial bomber. He was ahead of us. I vowed that won't happen again."
They both looked out of the window in silence. "Can you give this a chance?"
"I don't have a choice, right?"
"You always have a choice, Officer Wang."
A man who just stepped into the cafe called her name. "Shen Yue! Is that you?"
"Oh my goodness!!!! Why are you here?" She almost screamed, when she saw him. She stood up, left her seat and hugged the man.
Didi watched them, curious. Is this her boyfriend? A strange feeling awashed him and he pushed it away.
"Wang, why don't you head back first? I wanna catch up with a friend."
He nodded.
"I will get the bill. Ask Miles to run a scan on possible women in their 30s who visit that fitness studio and check their night schedules too."
"Yes, Ma'am."
She looked at him, wanting to know why he called her that, but decided it was not worth her time.
"Thanks!"
He saw her linked her arm around his, smiling at him widely, as they stood at the counter, waiting for his order.
Why did that bother him so much?
Author's notes:
How is it going for you so far? Are you still reading? ☺️ The next chapter is my favourite.
💜💛
Hsien
Final edit 17.1.2021