Fei's POV
I park my bike outside the bar. I received a call earlier that the man I am looking for was spotted in the bar an hour ago. I hope he didn't leave yet. I put my helmet on my bike, and my boots splashed in the puddles left behind from the rain. I can see my breath in the cold air, winter is coming. I hurry up inside.
I push open the door, the lights are dim, and the smell of stale cigarettes lingers. The sound of rock music coming from a stereo behind the bar is on its last life. I hate coming to places like this. I make my way to the bar and sit down on an empty stool. I raise my arm to let the bartender know I am ready.
He walks over to me.
"What can I get you?" I pass him a picture and a few dollars.
"A beer will be fine." He grabs the money and stuffs it in his apron. He tilts his head while looking at the picture.
"Do you recognize him at all? I was told he was spotted here?" The bartender rubs his jaw. He puts the picture down and slides it back to me.
"He was here; you missed him by 10 minutes. Sorry, ma'am." He gives me a weak smile and walks away to grab my drink.
I knew I should have hurried over. The bartender brings me my drink, and I take a swig and get up. No point in being here; I better make my way home. I will continue my search tomorrow.
I hop on my bike and kick up the kickstand. I took one last look at the bar. I was so close this time. D*mn.
My bike roars to life, and I press the gas and get back on the road. I've been on the hunt for this man for the last two years. He witnessed the murder of my family. He is the only person that could testify and help bring down the mafia.
After I graduated college, the police force that I worked for turned out to be a sh*t show. The mafia has the higher-ups wrapped around their fingers. When my family was killed, they stuffed the case into the closet and refused to investigate it. I handed my badge, my gun, and my uniform that day. They wouldn't allow me to explore it myself.
Now I am doing this my way. My family owned a small corner store, it wasn't in the best neighborhood, but it was home. While I was on duty, a call came through that there was a shooting at my family's store.
When I arrived, the scene was something out of a horror film. The CCTV cameras were broken, and tapes were missing, my family was killed in cold blood. That was the day my life fell apart. I fainted and woke up in the hospital.
My supervisor stated it was a robbery gone wrong, and the suspect fled. But I didn't buy it and asked to investigate it. But they shut me down and refused to allow me to do it. When I quit, I started to examine it myself.
I put all my grief on the back burner, sucked in my tears, and lifted my head. I checked all the CCTVs in the area, and I found one that the police missed.
I took the memory card from the camera and returned back to my apartment to watch. I loaded it on my laptop and hit play. That night three black SUVs pulled up in front of my family's store. Men wearing suits stepped into view. One I recognize, he was the right-hand man of the Mafia boss. They were in the store for about 10 minutes, there was no sound, but I saw flashes from the gunfire.
I remember running to the bathroom and throwing up after watching the video. My sweet mother, who made sure I had breakfast every day, who had the gentlest smile, was gone. The dad who taught me to fight for the weak, stand up, and be strong had his life taken from him. I had to push the sick feeling in my stomach away, and I rewatched the video twenty-times.
Before I gave up, I spotted a man in a window across the street. He watched the scene unfold, and I believe he was recording it with his phone. I took the video that I found to my old supervisor, and he told me he would look into it.
I came to check on it a few weeks later, and the video somehow got damaged or deleted. My only evidence was lost. That was when I knew that the police are worthless and have their hands dirtied by the mafia. I learned my lesson that day, don't trust the police and don't trust anyone.
After leaving the police station that day, I returned to my apartment ransacked. Someone broke in and stole my laptop. I didn't bother calling the police about the break-in, as I already knew they had something to do with it. They wanted to make sure I didn't have any traces of that video.
Ever since that day, I've been looking for that man who was watching from across the street. He has been moving from place to place and seems like a shadow in the night.
I pull my bike to a stop as the traffic light turns red. I was lost in thought that I didn't realize where I was going. I was heading back to my family's old store. I grip my bike and clench my teeth. The light turns green, and I turn my bike around. I can't go back, at least not yet. I can't face my parents until I bring down those bastards.
I drive and head back to my apartment. I park out front and notice a man leaning on a black car. He is wearing a fancy suit, and the smell he gives off is rich and charismatic. I swing my leg over my bike and make my way to the door. The man looks up from his phone and starts to walk towards me. I ignore him. If he wants trouble, I am ready to fight.
"Excuse me, I don't want to scare you, are you, Fei? Please pardon my sudden presence. I figured you would ignore my calls and emails, and I thought the best approach would come directly." The man yells after me, and I quicken my steps.
"I know how to catch those who killed your parents." I freeze. I glance over my shoulder, and I feel my rage building up.
"Who are you? How do you know my family and me?" I make sure there is enough distance between us if he is here to fight or try to do something. I refuse to go down without giving him at least a good blow to his pretty face.
"Look, I know my sudden appearance may seem sketchy, but I vow not to harm you. Rather I want to become your ally. I found you on accident and realized that we have one thing in common." Glaring at him, I cross my arms across my chest. I'll bite and see what he says.
"What would a poor a** like me have in common with a rich man like you?" I admit I have an attitude problem and a mouth that my mother would frown upon if she heard me speak today.
He takes a deep breath, his face fills with pain, sadness, and rage. He finally says, "The people who killed your family also killed mine."