Tyson felt quite accomplished as he locked the front door of the dojo at eight thirty in the morning . For the first time, he had woken up on time, that too without being screamed in the ear by grandpa (or Ray, for that matter, when on championship tours.) He had gotten ready, prepared scrambled eggs for himself, watered the garden, locked all the doors and had closed all the windows before leaving.
Allowing himself a treat for all the *hard work* he had done, he decided to board a Subway ride to the hospital. As he was staring into the window listlessly, his attention was drawn by and old man, muttering to himself.
"No ones safe these days... All because of corrupt governments... Never in my time.. Never..."
The inconsistent muttering reminded him of his own grandfather, and knowing that the only way to stop it was to make them talk of the matter, he asked,
"What's wrong grandpa?" Tyson asked.
The old man was quite surprised at being addressed so familiarly, for people barely paid attention to the musings of an old man, especially the youngsters. But nonetheless, he answered in a tone of disbelief.
"A murder!! A murder right in the police station!!!"
Tyson, whose demeanor was quite relaxed until then, suddenly tensed, and asked, "Could I have the newspaper for a second?"
"Sure, why not?"
And there the article was, right on the front page.
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IS NO-ONE SAFE ANYMORE? IS THE TOKYO POLICE RELIABLE ANYMORE?
This article is with respect to the happenings in the Tokyo Police Station, South on the early hours of this day. A murder of an unidentified prisoner is reported to have taken place within the walls of the temporary prison. Most of the officers in charge of night duty were on field due to the fire in the City mall. The constables and the Officer in charge were knocked out before the brutal assassination took place.
"Only the Officer in charge, Officer Williams, was seriously injured. The rest were just knocked out cold." said the Head Police Officer, Officer Jackson.
"It appears that the attacker injured only those who resisted." say some of the Officers, who wish to be anonymous.
Officer Jackson continues, "The Murder case will be directly handed to the NCFF (National Crime Fighting Force). The best of the best Police Officers Japan can offer, will work on this case and erase the stain that has been placed now on the Police Department. All the police in this station are willing to cooperate with them where ever possible. There is no need panic. Japan has one of the world's most efficient crime fighting system in the world and such incidents cannot change that."
When asked the details of case under which the prisoner was detained, Officer Jackson, who is known for his transparency in communicating with the public, refrained from answering this concern of a reporter siting 'The policy of Secrecy'.
There are only two possibilities for siting 'The Policy of Secrecy, says Mr. Connor, a retired police officer "Either the case involves a risk of national security or the case has already been handed to an authority beyond Police Control."
What could possibly be the aim for this attack? Was it a terrorist attack? Or is it something more sinister? On what charges was the prisoner present at the police station? Which case was he related to? How did the attack take place in the first place? How were the safety measures compromised? How safe is Tokyo with such a system of security? How reliable is the Police Department?
Many more questions continue to threaten the peace that has settled in Japan since World War II or is it just the peace before a raging storm??
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Tyson felt quite numb as he handed the newspaper back to the old man. His morning luck seemed to have vanished suddenly. All he answered was a "humm" when the old man questioned if he was all right.
He tried to console himself by telling that, the news reporters love making the simplest of simple maters dramatic.
But his mind answered, whatever they say, a murder had taken place, right in the police station, and to add matters, it was the South Branch, the place where the attacker at the hospital was held. He was quite sure that the murdered man was the one caught at the hospital. And he felt quite frustrated for being so sure.
All his senses seems to have suddenly rushed back when the doors on the metro dinged open and the robotic voice announced, Southern City Stop - II.
He was one stop away from the one nearest to the hospital. He was also at the one nearest to the police station. He checked his watch, five minutes to nine.
A small detour couldn't hurt, could it?
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Ray felt an uneasy feeling steadily rise in his chest as he checked the wall clock for the seventeenth time since waking up. Nine forty-two, it read. He sighed. It shouldn't have taken Tyson this long to reach the hospital, he thought. He had been on time on all the days till today.
Max was keeping himself busy with his video game, just as he had been doing for the past week.
It must be an American thing, getting addicted to video games.
But that didn't mean he wasn't attentive, and just to prove my point he abruptly asked, "Shouldn't Tyson be here by now?"
Kai, who had already started with reading his novel, offhandedly answered, "He must have slept in, with no one to scream in his ear."
Max, not that happy with Kai's sarcastic answer turned to Ray. "What do you think?"
"I think Kai's right. And knowing Tyson, he wouldn't come without having breakfast, not when it is this late already... Would you mind bringing the breakfast for the day?"
"Sure," he replied, without even lifting his head from the game. "What do you want?"
"I'll take a plate of bacon." And seeing that Max was walking with the video game in hand, his head bent down, he added, "And could you please leave that game here?!!"
The only response he got was a huge grin on Max's face, his tongue slightly stuck out.
"Idiot.." he could here Kai mutter under his breath. He knew that Kai could feel his gaze upon him but he didn't seem to care.
Ray looked at the wall clock again. Nine-forty five, it read. The only thing Ray could do for the time being was sigh, wishing it would expel the anxiety building inside him for Tyson's safety with every passing minute.
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As Tyson stood before the station, the sinking feeling only increased. The Police Station was filled to the brim. Officers, Reporters, Doctors, made their way to and fro, all busy in their own work.
No one noticed him at first, and he was glad for it. As made his way in, he saw it. A cell with blood smeared across one of its walls. The very cell where he had seen the attacker the first time (and the last) a few days ago. They hadn't gotten any information about his identity or his mission or his boss. He was apparently of foreign origin. The status of info hadn't changed since then.
When he searched the crowd, he could not find the Police Officer he was looking for, Officer Jackson, the one who handled their case. He asked one of the constables, who answered with a shrug, "He is out, doing God knows what due to yesterday's happenings.."
Tyson was not at all happy with the answer, it just fueled his anger of being kept in the dark. At first he thought of sitting on the front steps of the police station to wait for him, then he remembers Kenny's words, telling them what seemed ages ago, to keep their profile low. He could already feel the eyes of two or three reporters on him, and he was glad they hadn't recognised him yet. He pulled his cap lower into his face and silently made his way out.
Now, he didn't know what to do. Standing in a sun-lit street bursting with people hurrying up to whatever work they held, Tyson felt completely alone, aimless.
Then he thought of her, sparkling ruby eyes worth more than diamonds in his life. Her hair just enough dark for her to be called a brunette rather than a blonde.
He hastily took out his phone called Hillary and told her to come to the police station, not trusting himself to tell her the news without voicing out his own frustration. He did remember how that attacker had almost violated her and how important it was for her that he received punishment. Not an escape, (however brutal the murder was claimed to be).
His eyes fell on an outdoor table of an ice-cream parlor. Tyson decided to wait there for Hillary as he ate something, as one could view the police station directly from there.
Just as he took a seat under an umbrella, he heard it. The unmistakable click and clank of a beyblade hitting the dish, the sound of beyblades spinning around the dish was irresistible. It drew Tyson deeper and into one of the alleys and then he found them.
A group of bullies battling each other with five beyblade simultaneously spinning in the dish. On noticing him, the meanest one, most probably the leader of their team, shouted at him,
"Go home, kid. This is no place for you!!"
Tyson, quite glad as he wasn't recognised yet replies, "I want a bey-battle." as he reveals his new blade given by Kenny, not a day ago.
The bullies laugh at this, "Don't cry for your mama when we crush your beyblade. Do you want a fair match, baby? Because there's no such thing here."
They had surely hit a nerve. An evil smirk climbs Tyson's face, "A 'no rules' match would do, as I want to wipe away that smirk on all your faces at once."
The bullies were surprised by the reply and they mistook Tyson's confidence for arrogance. "You don't know who your messing with. I-
"I don't care."
The bullies, quite frustrated load their beyblade. Tyson loads his own, remembering the last time he had challenged a bully, Carlos.
"Very well then, If we win, we get your blade, your cap and that jacket of yours."
"Ask him for the watch too." Suggested one of his sidekicks
"Yes, the watch too" their leader agreed.
"If I win, you stop being bullies. And..... I'll own your dish for the day."
The boys look at each other and then the leader agrees.
"Three, two, one! Let it rip!! "
******
Hillary did not receive the news until she reached the police station.
As she rides the bus, looking outside the window, she wonders what Tyson had heard from the Police that he could not tell on the phone. She hoped that the attacker's identity was revealed or maybe he had at last given up information. Or if her luck was too good, (she didn't believe so), maybe the mastermind behind all of this was revealed.
She constantly had to remind herself that Ty's voice was frustrated, on verge of an angry break down. As the bus passed Kenny's house, for a fleeting moment, she thought of informing Kenny. To bring him along, but decided against it.
Kenny had visited the hospital whenever he could, mostly when his parents were out, or in the middle of night, jumping out from the window like in those movies, because his parents had grounded him after The Talk Show. In the last week alone, she had visited him twice.
At first they were quite skeptical about allowing his friends home, as they knew that most of them were from that beyblading team.
Hillary slightly improvised her story as she was just a friend from School and did not even know how to beyblade. She also used her previous knowledge of berating beyblade as 'a stupid game of spinning tops', and told them about how youngsters should invest their time in something more productive.
Kenny's parents were very pleased with my views and slightly praised Kenny for keeping such good company. As for Kenny, he was baffled by my acting skills.
As Hillary got down from the bus on reaching her stop, her first thought was to find Tyson, but it quickly changed when she saw the crowded station. It was on one of the steps of the station did she find the newspaper.
On completely reading the article, she had no time to process the news, for Officer Jackson just arrived in his jeep with three others.
******
Officer Jackson had just then returned after a meeting with an agent of NCFF (National Crime Fighting Force) explaining him why there wasn't much any of them could do as the case already rested with the ISA (International Secret Agency) since two days.
He was the first one to notice the brunette teen. He immediately beckoned her to follow him, making sure not to attract the attention of the reporters in the vicinity. And the girl did follow. As they reached the ice-cream parlour, Hillary banged the newspaper on the desk, "What is the meaning of this?"
"I thought you could read." he answered nonchalantly.
"But-" For once, Hillary seemed to be at loss of words.
The Officer took this as his opportunity, "Look, I know you guys should have been informed earlier but we ourselves got the news late, nearly... " he checks his watch. Eleven twenty. "Six hours ago, and I've been out most of the time. And secondly, I no longer handle your case."
This got Hillary speaking again, "But then-Who?"
He held up his hand in surrender, "As a Police Officer, I'm forbidden to tell to whom it was transferred. Go ask that friend of yours himself. The red eyed one I think. He's the only one who's allowed to talk. And though not a beyblading fan myself, I do know that the two time world champions are widely known with their recent victory. And there aren't many reasons on why they would come walking to a police station, if not for the 'Talk Show' Case. Tell them not to come here." Hillary nodded.
The officer left as he was done talking whole Hillary was rooted to the spot trying to make sense of the things she just heard.
The officer said the red eyed one.. ..who's that?
It took her a moment to realize that he was talking of Kai. It felt quite silly that she hadn't noticed it sooner. Both she and Kai shared the same eye colour.
Well, it isn't like we both have talked eye to eye anytime. Her sarcastic brain thought.
So Kai knows what's happening?
Her first thought was to go meet Kai, as though she wasn't avoiding him for the past one week. He will only get more angry with you, if you go to him just to seek information. And she had also promised to meet Tyson here. She searched her surroundings, there was no sign of Tyson. She decided, she would go speak to Tyson first, then decide what to do next.
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Words: 2562
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A/N: Hey guys!!! Sorry for the delay (again!😅😅) it seems that we Indian are never good with deadlines(though I would love to contradict this stereotypic behavior). To be honest, this chapter was supposed to be way more longer than this. I had written a bit more into this chapter but finally decided to cut it short. Hope you like the plot twist.
Do vote and comment!!
Stay safe! Stay Happy!!
PS: I've decided to name the chapters from now on as I myself am facing a lot of trouble in referring to previous chapters...
PS :What is the full form of 'PS'?????
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