Aiko had been frequenting all of the locations where she thought she might find MC. She stopped by the clubhouse every once in a while and talked to GM and Sora, but MC was never anywhere to be seen. She spent time on her detective patrols going through decrepit neighborhoods where crime was seen happening openly on the streets. A place where MC might be roughing up some Black Diamonds for information, but she never found him there either. Every couple of days, she even swung by the remaining foundation of MC’s childhood home. It gave her comfort remembering the good times that she had as a child at that place. The backyard pool birthday parties and the time spent running through the back forest and collecting crayfish in the creek just at the end of their property.

  Her day had been slow and she decided to park her patrol car and grab something for lunch. She’d picked a deli that she’d often frequented during her college days. After a quick lunch she headed back out to her car and noticed something out of place. It was a small piece of paper placed under the windshield wiper. She pulled up the wiper and snatched the piece of paper with curiosity. I wonder what this could be?

  She turned the paper over and read it.

  MC and this entire city are doomed unless you manage to defeat me tonight. It’s finally time to show me what you’re really capable of.

  There was a set of numbers that she recognized as coordinates and Jin’s signature to follow.

  Aiko froze in place and then quickly looked around behind her with fear. Jin was here? Or is this some sort of joke? Maybe it’s a trap of some kind? I need to tell Emi.

  Aiko punched in the coordinates and got in her car. Once she saw the location, she called Emi.

  Emi answered the call. “What’s up?”

  ”Emi, someone left a note of my car with a set of coordinates and Jin’s signature. I’m not sure if it’s real, but I’m en route to the location the coordinates marked.“

  “Are you serious? Do you think it’s real?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m not going to pass up this opportunity.”

  “Ok, I’ll round up as much of the squad as I can. Do not engage until backup gets there.”

  Aiko hung up.

  Her thoughts were a flurry, but her rational mind told her that she was going to need as much backup as possible. She tried calling GM and Sora, but there wasn't an answer from either of them. “I probably shouldn’t waste the time to stop, but luckily, their place is right on the way. I’ll just swing in.”

  Aiko furiously knocked on the door to the clubhouse and waited for someone to come to answer it. After a prolonged time went by with no response. She called both Sora and GM’s phones again. No answer. “Come on, come on,” she said.

  She knocked again, this time louder. Still no response. She hesitated and thought for a second looking down at the door knob. She grabbed it and turned the handle. To her surprise it opened right up. GM’s drunk ass must have forgotten to lock it when he came home last night.

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  Inside she saw both Sora and GM’s shoes by the door. Guess they’re here.

  It was dim despite it being late afternoon. She cautiously walked in and saw Sora asleep on the couch. She was snoring loudly.”

  She walked over next to the couch. “Sora. Sora, wake up.”

  She stirred and turned over with an angry expression.

  “Wake the hell up, Sora!” she yelled, shaking her by the shoulders.

  “Waaaahhh!! What’s going on?” she screamed.

  GM burst out of his door wearing only a t shirt and boxers holding his katana in his hand.

  “Aiko?” GM said. “You should have told us you were coming. I would have made tea.”

  “What are you doing here?” asked Sora.

  “No time for that. I need your help.”

  “Oh yeah? What’s the matter? Don’t tell me MC’s in trouble or something?”

  Aiko’s face told it all.

  “Oh, then it is serious,” said Sora, surprised.

  Sora and GM listened intently as Aiko quickly explained the situation.

  GM and Sora looked at eachother. GM walked over and put his hand on Aiko’s shoulder. “Of course we’ll help you. If MC needs us, we’ll be there,” he said.

  “Yeah, I guess I’d be willing to help out,” said Sora.

  “Thanks, you guys.”

  “And GM will you put some damn pants on!” yelled Sora.

  Emi began to round up her forces. The detective team piled into their meeting room, each grabbing a chair in front of Emi and her whiteboard. Various barely legible words were scratched onto the board with simple rushed drawings that resembled architectural schematics of a building.

  There was an energy to the room. A mix of nervousness and heroic excitement. The detectives remembered the last time that they went directly after Jin and how it had ended. While there were no friendly casualties, however it was a mission that ended up completely off the rails.

  “Ok everyone, as you all know, we called this emergency meeting because we plan to go after Jin today. We will not be alone on this mission. The team we worked with from The Organization is gathering as well. If you remember, they were a powerful asset and we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

  One of the detectives raised their hand. “Do you think we can really trust them? They’re criminals after all. Sure they helped us out before, but can we really rely on them if we end up in a bad situation?”

  Emi didn't miss a beat. “No, I don’t believe we can fully trust them. We currently share a common enemy and that’s why we‘re working together. We’re going to rely on each other as much as we can while they rely on their own team. We will provide backup as needed to make sure the mission succeeds, but do not expect them to go out of their way to help us individually. Before we get any other questions about that, let me explain your roles in this from the brief planning GM and I have been able to do.”

  Emi turned to her whiteboard and pointed to what looked like a building. “This is a new building that’s currently under construction. The apparent clue that Jin has given left coordinates that point exactly to that building. It’s a little ways past block one hundred twenty three and out towards the outskirts of the city. Our intelligence team has told me that the building is currently ten stories high. It is a construction zone and by that I mean there will be a mess. Think buckets, cranes, piles of steel beams, hammers strewn about. That sort of thing.”

  Emi paused and thought for a second, putting a dry erase marker to her lips in thought. “The majority of you are going to be serving as backup. That means none of you will actually go inside of the building. All of you have one main task and that’s to create a secure perimeter. If Jin is inside that building, do not let him leave.”

  Another hand raised. “Is there a possibility that this could be a trap?”

  “Yes. However it’s very unlikely. Jin has never chosen to reveal himself before. If it is a trap it’s far too obvious. That’s part of the reason why I don’t want any of you inside that building. There are too many variables and our information is too spontaneous to be reliable.”

  “Ok, here’s the last bit of information I have. We’re in for lots of rain and nasty weather. Make sure to show up in your detective issued rain gear. There’s no telling how long we might be out there in the elements. If anything changes, I‘ll send out a message to everyone so keep an eye out. Now go!