Kenneth fitted the Avalon into an open space on the parking lot. He took a look at Dimitri as he turned off the ignition. The boy hadn't said a word through the whole ride. He kept his arms folded and stared through the windscreen. Although the facemask concealed the bulk of the boy's face, Kenneth could tell there was a stern expression beneath.
The detective wondered what filled the teenager's mind, heck with Nina missing he wasn't in the best position to be handling a teenage boy in this situation. Handing him over to the police wouldn't be a good idea either. Diane's talk about the police being compromised was not exactly helping the situation. Kenneth unlocked his seatbelt; he took a few seconds off to gaze through the windscreen alongside Dimitri. "What now?" Dimitri asked still staring.
"I'm gonna hand the information we received to Henry Doyle. I can see you're busy with the windscreen, but I won't advise you to stay in the car."
"I'll wait in the lobby."
"Look kid, I know things are kinda messy right now but if it makes you feel any better I'm still interested in helping you catch your guy."
"Good" Dimitri unlocked his seatbelt and got out of the car.
"Dammit" Kenneth sighed as he followed suit. The DPD building was still well lit. Officers were probably working overtime to get things under control again. He placed his held onto the gun in its holster just in case there were more surprises like Priss and Andrew lurking around.
He scanned through the area before entering the building after Dimitri. Dimitri dropped onto a random chair in the waiting area. "Be back in a few," Kenneth said to Dimitri before making his way to Doyle's office.
The detective knocked on the wooden door. "Come in" Doyle responded from the inside. Kenneth walked in to meet the man scribbling something on paper. "I've got big news for y..." Kenneth paused as he felt a gun's muzzle settle on his back. Whoever ambushed him shut the door at the same time. The gun felt bigger than usual. Probably a shotgun, this was no joke. Maybe Diane would show up with the calvary yet again. "It's over Nymond," Doyle stood up and pulled a Glock on the detective.
"Really? Because from the info I have, it's just beginning."
"Put your hands where I can see them."
"What's all this about chief?"
"You tell me because if you thought you could come here, wreak havoc and get away with it then you better think again" Boyle warned "I'll serve you justice fir dinner you criminal."
"First of all, that line was ass." Kenneth lifted his hands "It's obvious there's been some sort of misunderstanding here."
"My desperation didn't let me pin your ass earlier but it's time this madness ended. I know about your team of criminals and your ally Lady No Good. So tell me why you murdered Jeffery Priss. He was unto you wasn't he?"
"The only thing Priss was unto was his untimely death, I had nothing to do with that."
"Well explain this" Doyle turned this monitor to Kenneth "We salvaged it from one of the few working cameras at the den."
Kenneth spotted himself in the low-quality video chasing Priss down the stairs. He stared at the screen like he didn't understand what he was seeing for a while. The detective looked up to Doyle who was still holding tightly to his Glock. "I don't know of any better way to put this but that is definitely not what it looks like."
"You think I'm a fool Nymond? Take out your firearm slowly and place it on the ground."The officer behind Kenneth cocked the shotgun to pass a message. Kenneth pulled his firearm from its holster and placed it on the ground. "Kick it" Doyle ordered. Kenneth kicked the gun across the room. Doyle got out from behind his desk to pick it. Kenneth took advantage of the opening. He barged the face of the officer behind him with his elbow. As expected the man had dropped his guard a bit because of Kenneth's obedience. Kenneth grabbed the gun off the staggering man and knocked him out by hitting him in the head with the weapon. Kenneth turned to Doyle with the acquired shotgun ready for action. Doyle got back into focus aiming the two guns at the detective.
"Impressive, I should've had more men in here," Doyle admitted.
"Well, of course, these are dark times chief"
"Please make this easy on yourself and put the weapon down Kenneth."
"If I'm not mistaken chief," said Kenneth "I believe the tables have turned"
"You're in in the police headquarters idiot." Boyle chuckled "Won't be long before an officer walks through that door."
"Thank you for the heads up, I'll be on guard."
"No you won't" Boyle fired twice at the detective. Kenneth dropped to a crouching position before rolling out of harm's way. Doyle seemed to be playing dirtier than expected. Kenneth got off his crouch and fired at Doyle. The chief dove out of harm's way and made a landing at the corner of the room Kenneth fired again deliberately aiming away from Boyle slightly. A bullet from the shell scrapped Boyle's hand as he tried to escape the shot. "Ah!" The boy cried as he crashed to the ground giving Kenneth the advantage once again. Kenneth closed in on Doyle who was attempting to get a grip of one of the guns he'd dropped.
"No way" Kenneth kicked the gun away "Stay on the ground while I explain."
Doyle disobeyed the direct order. He stood from the ground like he'd heard nothing. "Chief, don't make me do this" warned Kenneth.
"I know the shotgun's empty asshole" Doyle pulled a swiss army knife from his pocket "I loaded the damn thing myself, expecting you to pull a stunt like this one. Now the shots have alerted others in the building."
"Well played Henry" Kenneth dropped the shotgun "I'll have to make this quick then."Doyle came at Kenneth. He swung his blade twice, but the detective evaded the attacks and jabbed him right in the stomach. Doyle exhaled harshly as his posture went into an arch. The chief of police had only opened attempted to scream when Kenneth used his other fist to land a finishing blow to the side of his head.
Doyle dropped to the ground. Kenneth rushed to the door and turned the knob to lock. He returned to Doyle who lay defeated on the ground. "This is not what I had in mind when I came in here chief."
"Bastard Criminal." Boyle cursed softly.
"Aw c'mon, can you at least give me a chance here?" Complained Kenneth "My best guess is you've been talking with princess Iva."
"Chief Doyle!?" an officer knocked on the door "Everything okay in there?""She exposed you," said Doyle as he began to help himself up"
"No, she misunderstood me" Kenneth correct "Quite similar to what you're doing right now. Believe it or not, I'm on your side here and we can't be doing this if we really plan to save Daunthill."
"Chief Doyle!!!?" the officer yelled again.
"It seems like it'll take your officers a while to get through"
"Why are you doing this" Doyle wedged his body weight on his knees "What do you want?"
"I came to hear to report back to you like you've been asking me too." Kenneth explained, "I know it seems like my team is running some dark business here we're on your side."
"I'll give you the benefit of doubt," Doyle plodded back to his chair and slumped "My stomach still hurts so... tell me why I should trust you and this your team."
"I learned that two-punch knockout back at the academy."
"That's not what I asked"
"Yeah" Kenneth returned to the topic. "Look my team came here in search of a missing sierra Leonian prisoner and the notorious Japanese drug lord. We had to use the tourist agency as a front for easy passage. Suddenly these deaths came up and you invited me to help with your fancy email to come to help out. That's what I'm doing right now."
Boyle stared at Kenneth. What in the world would a sierra Leonian prisoner be doing in Daunthill. He wanted to dismiss the idea, but the events of the past few days had left his mind open to anything. The detective had let his guard down. The officer who Kenneth had dropped earlier seemed to be regaining consciousness. Boyle still felt the effect of Kenneth's fist on his stomach, but he could make a move with the odds in his favour. The officer had stopped calling out from the other side of the door, so based on training a team would've been formed to make their way into the room. There were two options, they could bring down the door or come from the window behind. But, if there was a chance Kenneth was on his side he could lose a valuable ally. The sound of the chief's radio transmitter coming to life distracted his chain of thought.
"Chief Doyle, there is a plan in place to make an entry, do you copy?"
"Stand down boys" Doyle grabbed the transmitter.
"What is the code?" the voice requested
"Green"
"Positive or Negative?"
"Positive" Doyle responded
"Roger that" the receiver went silent.
"Even a petty thief could decode that" Kenneth folded his arms.
Doyle reclined on his chair " what did you come here to tell me?"
"Ah" the officer who'd been knocked out earlier heaved as he got off the ground slowly. Kenneth and Doyle gazed at the poor man. The officer held unto his head, looking from side to side. "Sorry you had to go through this Caleb" Doyle apologised "The conflict has been resolved, I suggest you unlock the door and head to the sickbay." Caleb didn't say a word as opened the door to leave. The officers, properly armed, walked in with their guns aimed at Kenneth. Kenneth threw his arms up in the air.
"I appreciate your concern officers, but I believe I was clear when I said stand down."
"Just had to make sure chief," one of the officers saluted. The three left the room and shut the door behind them.
"For a moment there I thought you had me" Kenneth lied
"Just answer the question detective."
"We got intel that there's going to be a huge shipment of weapons coming in soon. My team plans to intercept but we'll need more manpower."
"The midnight shipment?"
"You know about it?"
"About the shipment yes," said Boyle "The weapons, no. As the chief of police I know a lot about what goes on at the ports because I dispense men to oversee what goes on there"
"Well, chief we have our hands full and we need to act fast."
"Agreed, I'll contact SOPS." Doyle punched some keys on his keyboard
"SOPS?"
"Special Operation Protection Service" Doyle explained "They're like the military here but they mostly function within the Royal Avenue. This is a state of emergency, and we'll need them to pull this off. Besides I don't know how many officers I can still rely on in this police force."
"Good call chief" Kenneth picked up his firearm "I gotta move now"
The detective placed his weapon back in its holster. He adjusted his shades as he made his way for the door. "One more thing detective," Doyle called out "what happened to Jeffery Priss." Kenneth paused, he turned to back to Doyle.
Kenneth frowned "Priss was involved in some dark shit. Kinda hard to tell why he got assassinated though."
Doyle heaved "Priss was a hard man to understand."
"By the way, if you get to see Andrew again I'd love to have a word with him. See you soon Henry"
Kenneth walked out of the room. He made his way back to the waiting area but Dimitri was out sight. The detective kept his cool as he walked outside hoping to find the teenager catching some nighttime air. Kenneth walked to the Avalon, his last resort, and the empty vehicle activated Kenneth's panic mode.
"Holy shit" he cursed.