Cop Craft – Dragnet Mirage Reloaded

After finally managing to find an apartment for Tilarna, in the end they ended up getting rejected once again. It was the sixth time, counting this. He was not going to accept her living with him as a freeloader forever, so whenever he had the time, he would look for an apartment for her and send in application files, but it was not paying off at all.

Of course there were thousands upon thousands of Semani immigrants in San Teresa city, and it definitely was possible to at least find an apartment that would allow them to live there, but every single time, Tilarna would just say she didn’t like it and mercilessly turn it down.

She definitely was an aristocrat lady after all, and apparently she had particularly high standards for her own residence. In that case, wouldn’t it make sense that the place she was the least interested in was the old warehouse where I live all by myself? But when I told her that, she replied that

「It’s true that it is an unrefined place to live, but it doesn’t have a bad Branii. Besides, my family home used to be a square building near the sea as well, so I consider that a good omen. The head of my family from five generations ago, Behgen Exedilika, was a hero that overcame all sorts of difficult challenges, but it is said that he used to live in a house like this when he was born. Which is why, in case I don’t find a better place for myself, this will do just fine」

He really didn’t understand her. And she was completely ignoring his own circumstances as well.

「Besides, there’s Kuroi. She keeps telling me that she doesn’t want me to leave」

And she kept going like that.

And then this morning, she finally started to build her own room. It’s true that we have enough space to fit at least an extra room on the first floor, and she’s ingenious enough to come up with a way to build an entire room by herself, but I don’t remember being asked for permission as the landlord.

If only that apartment contract had gone smoothly, he would have finally been able to get rid of Tilarna, and go back to his sunny and easygoing single life.

And even though there was no way he could see Tilarna in a romantic light, she was still a woman, and from a completely objective perspective, a beautiful woman at that. It was not an expression he liked to use, but she was a beauty.

What would my coworkers think of me if they found out about me living with someone like that under the same roof? The diligent image I’ve built of myself over the years would shatter in an instant.

Deepening his mutual understanding with his work partner was important, but he couldn’t let that bond become too deep. His actions could get affected by his emotions, and cloud his best judgement in an emergency… No, in reality even among patrol officers and detectives, it was not that uncommon to become intimate with someone they worked with, but it was definitely not something to be proud of either. Or at least that’s what Matoba thought, as an old school cop.

Then there was the fact that the only people within Vice who knew about Tilarna becoming a burden at Matoba’s place: His boss Zimmer and his coworker Tony McBee. Tony would keep his mouth shut for sure. He was the kind of guy that kindly listened to other people’s complaints and provided advice. He was probably the guy who protected the most secrets within Vice.

Tilarna herself was quietly sitting in the passenger seat next to him, while writing down something on a notepad. It was all in Farbanian characters, so he couldn’t understand everything, but it seemed to be some kind of shopping list. There was timber, and bricks, and boards, and paint. It seemed like the remodeling of the Matoba household was steadily moving along in her mind.

Their car was currently stopped at an intersection considerably near to the New Compton warehouse district they lived in. It was full of short buildings, and barely any cars were driving down the three lane road. They had just returned from having a late lunch at a nearby cafe, after dealing with some minor business related to a current investigation. The sky was a deep blue, and the spring sun was shining bright above them.

「What was the phone call about?」

Asked Tilarna without taking her eyes off the notepad.

「It was about the apartment we saw. Seems like it’s no good」 「I see」

She didn’t look even slightly disappointed. Her response was more fitting for something like “Today’s weather forecast predicts 30% humidity”.

「… Look here. Don’t you think you should be a little more disappointed, or sad?」 「Not really. I didn’t really like that apartment that much to begin with. Besides, I’m in the middle of building a bedroom for myself anyways」 「That’s what I mean, why did you— when— who gave you permission to do that?」 「I decided I would do it like two days ago」 「But that’s my house?! I haven’t given you permission. What’s with your attitude, after I’ve been busting my ass trying to find a place for you?!」 「Well, it’s not like I asked you to help me or anything. Or to put it in your own terms “I didn’t ask you to do that”」

Said Tilarna, and then she laughed cheekily.

When she saved his life, that was a sentence that he would say frequently. It was extremely unpleasant. Matoba started shouting, as his patience ran out completely.

「Then I’m not going to help you anymore! Enough is enough! You are going to—」 get out today— he intended to say, but at that moment, a large white truck grazed the side of their car. A strange noise resonated through the cabin. The mirror on the passenger’s side was plucked off and fell on the road. They heard loud honking. The truck had completely ignored the red light, and drove past the intersection. It kept getting further away from both of them who looked at it in awe.

「Wha…」

While they were still sitting astonished at what just happened, their police radio started going off, with some information mixed in with static noise. It seemed to be a transmission coming from HQ through their emergency radio frequency.

「To all vehicles from HQ. Signal 32. A vehicle that fled during a police questioning from Vehicle Adam 12 is currently driving down Ionia road, towards Sehgan road. We have confirmation of a white truck and a southeast asian adult man. Risk of an explosion reported. All available units chase after them if possible under code three. To all vehicles: this is an emergency—」 「That sounds like the same car」

Said Tilarna

「Ah, that bastard…」

He completely destroyed my beloved car’s mirror…

Matoba completely forgot about his previous argument with Tilarna and instead turned all his anger towards the truck. It had been a long time since he had felt so angry (about four hours earlier). He turned the ignition and started the car, aggressively pressing the accelerator. His supercharger roared immediately, his tires squealed and the car violently picked up speed.

This car— a twenty year old Mini Cooper S— may look small and old, like a simple, dorky family car. However, in reality, a car like this is packing some pretty tremendous power, and I could even be pushing 150 miles right now if I really wanted to. Its acceleration and handling are also particularly good. It may not look like it at a first glance, but this is the kind of car that you can rely on when it counts the most.

「Hey…!」

Shouted Tilarna hysterically from the passenger seat, freaked out by the sudden violent take off.

The Mini Cooper S ignored the traffic lights ahead of it, and crossed the intersection, as it started rushing West just like the white truck had done before them. Matoba swiftly drove past the slower cars, and decided to inform his situation via the police radio. He had originally intended to have Tilarna do it, but she probably didn’t remember a single thing about it, or how it worked. He had to have her follow his lead and properly teach her how to use it when they had the time… 「…!」

The back of a school bus was stopped right in front of them. He cut to his left and barely managed to avoid it. Then a picked up truck showed up right out of a blind spot. He violently cut to his right and managed to avoid it.

And then another car, and then yet two more.

Their entire surroundings turned into a gust of wind as they kept driving. Tilarna kept screaming and shouting at him from the passenger seat, but Matoba was completely ignoring her.

「There it is」

The white truck was in front of them. It was driving at an alarming speed. It kept heading towards Seven Miles as it drove from side to side of the three lane road. Was he planning to kept going until he reached the freeway and then managed to escape somewhere out of town?

But when it came to speed, Matoba could go faster as well. He started pushing his Mini Cooper S even harder, until he finally managed to reach the white truck, and kept driving by its side.

「Show him your badge!」 「What?」 「Your badge! Show it to that bastard and tell him to stop right now!」 「Al… alright」

Tilarna finally remembered what her current job was, and took out her badge from her upper pocket, and pointed it towards the driver through the window. Just as they had heard through the radio, the driver seemed to be a Southeast Asian man. He was probably around twenty to thirty years old. He looked just as expected from somebody doing something so reckless. Frightened, close to panicking completely.

He took a quick glance at Tilarna and her badge, but didn’t slow down in the slightest, instead turning the handle to the side, bumping into the Mini Cooper S at his side. As he clashed against the metallic chassis, sparks came out of the two cars, falling on the road.

「Ah…!」

This time it had scratched their left door. Judging by the sensation he felt, most of the coating was probably done for, and even the body of the car itself was most likely in a very rough state. The mirror was gone as well. The car he had spent all that time polishing and taking care of…

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

What the fuck is that bastard doing?!

「Kei, there’s no way! Stop!」 「Shut up, I won’t let him go. No way. I’m going to get a hold of him, lock him up and make sure he regrets this day for the rest of his life!」 「Okay, I got it, so calm down! I don’t want to commit a double suicide with you!」 「That’s right, you should teach me the finest torture techniques from your country! The more painful and underhanded, the better! Let me be remembered as the first man to ever do something like that on Earth!」 「That’s enough, let it go!」

In an unusual twist, this time the one getting overly excited and going on a rampage was Matoba.