“For today’s top story, we once again return to the illegal human clinical tests scandal that rocked the world last year when HJP Incorporated was accused of given an untested health product to over a hundred members of the public, resulting in seventeen deaths and several hospitalized for long-term health issues. An internal investigation by HJP Inc’s partner, MedaPharm Works, has revealed a shocking truth: The recently murdered Ronald Peterson, a member of the Board of Directors of MedaPharm, was the one responsible for the scandal, using HJP as a scapegoat for his actions. Further investigations are ongoing at the moment with representatives from both companies stating that they are not issuing any statements until the matter is cleared up. In relation to this news, the murderer of Ronald Peterson and Jin Shu Wei has been arrested, but police are keeping quiet regarding his identity…”

“One scandal after another, eh?” Farhan, who had a bandaged wrapped around his head, commented as Grey Team watched the news from Weijin’s hospital ward, the latter’s arm still in a sling while healing runes have been engraved on his plaster.

“I’m just glad it’s over… Never thought my first case with the Shades would be so nightmarish,” Jason added.

“Unfortunately, vampires are the second most common cases we deal with, with ghosts being the first and black magic curses ranking third. Kind of the reason why the Singapore Police has a healthy working relationship with the Sanguine Court of Southeast Asia,” Farhan explained..

“What, oh no, I don’t really want to deal with more vampires…” Amirah moaned, causing Weijin to laugh.

“You’ll get used to it… Damn, one week in the hospital? At least I’ve got hot nurses to help me out…”

“God, you’re horny,” Jason said with a chuckle when the doors suddenly opened.

“Oh look, the nurses were right. It’s Johnny Bravo himself!” Tom said as he entered the ward and pointed his crutch at Weijin.

“And it looks like he’s got his pump-it arm in a cast,” Rendal added as he followed his cousin in.

“I would give you both a finger each, but in my current condition, you’ll have to share this one,” Weijin retorted as he flipped them off with his working arm.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. We get discharged and your ass comes in. What are the chances?” Tom commented as Rendal took two apples that were meant for Weijin and began munching on one of them.

“Hey, those were my apples!”

“You stole my fries last month, remember? Payback’s a bitch, and in this case, a healthy one,” Rendal replied as he walked away.

“Well, we’re ready to return to duty, so we’ll be at the station tomorrow. Now Lucas is waiting for us at the carpark, so see you all, guys.”

“They just came in to mess with Weijin?” Amirah asked as Tom and Rendal left the ward while Farhan struggled to contain his amusement at the whole situation.

“We’re always messing with each other… I may have overstepped my boundaries at times though, so they normally retaliate in messed up ways,” Weijin admitted.

“What they did was light considering what you did to them, Weijin. Anyways, we’ve been here long enough. I’m taking my leave now, what about you two?” Farhan asked as he got up from his seat.

“Yeah, I think I’ll make a move. Amirah, want a leave?” Jason asked.

“If it’s okay with you two.”

“No problem, Amirah. Go meet us at my car.”

“Er, Jason, a word in private? Amirah, you make a move first,” Farhan suddenly asked.

“What is it, Farhan?” Jason asked as the harimau jadian took him to a corner of the hospital once Amirah had gone down the elevator.

“Remember how Hekkal Bailor ran off when Leong and Jackie were supposed to jump him? Actually, I heard from Narcotics that Hekkal just admitted it was Kang Zhan Ling who tipped him off that we were about to bring him in for questioning.”

“Serious?”

“Yeah, but the techs couldn’t find anything to trace it back to Zhan Ling. If he did make the call, he sure as hell saw to it that he left no evidence behind. Hekkal’s phone was mysteriously wiped clear of data, and not only that, the memory card got fried.”

“How is that possible?”

“No one knows, but if you ask me, it’s probably an inside job, but without evidence, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Jason nodded, but both he and Farhan exchanged a knowing glance before the two headed down the elevator themselves. He knew that AC David Kang, or one of his cronies, must have had something to do with the data destruction on Hekkal’s phone, but it was like the other officers like to say behind AC Kang’s back, that his family had brooms attached to their asses to clean away their footprints. It would be career suicide to throw accusations at the Kang family at this point. Jason could not help but feel sorry for every other police officer who shares the same family name as David Kang. When senior officers are asking every new transfer and rookie surnamed Kang if they’re related to the most disliked assistant commissioner on the force, it speaks volumes about the amount of trust they have in him. And this fellow was a potential candidate for Commissioner?

Shoving office politics aside, Jason had other things to worry about: Despite being the leader of Grey Team, he was the one who was the fish out of water in the whole team. Hell, he was working with a half-demon, a Taoist exorcist, a were-tiger and a mutant, and he knew absolutely nothing about them. Remembering the Guide to Singapore’s Night Creatures Volume Three that was in his bag, Jason noted to himself that he would have to do more research to catch up with his subordinates…

“AC Bradley, we call your department a unit, but it’s more like a battalion, to be honest,” Commissioner Siddique commented as he and Bradley sat across each other in his office, which had small portraits of previous commissioners decorating one of the walls along with those of the current president of Singapore and her husband.

“Yes, it is, but it would be funny if the Special Hazard Exorcism Unit suddenly becomes the Special Hazard Exorcism Division. Everyone’s already so used to its original name that even as it expanded in size, the name remained the same,” Bradley replied.

“True. The most misunderstood department in the entirety of Singapore’s police, and also the one that has made the most sacrifices…”

“Sir, is there a reason why I’m here in your office alone? Most of the time, there would be other ACs or DSPs around.”

“I can’t trust them right now.”

“Oh?” Bradley was surprised to hear those words coming from his boss.

“I don’t mean that they’re up to no good, but rather, I believe they hate David Kang too much to act rationally.”

“Is something wrong? Is David up to no good?”

“There’s a reason why I sent Jason Narayanan and Roderick Harper to your department, Bradley. I needed someone who is willing to stick their necks out for their subordinates to protect them. The others in line to succeed my position, they will do the same, but it is human nature for us to go full turtle the moment a deadly attack in inevitable. There is only a limit to how much they can protect the two, but you, you’ll wrap iron plates around your neck and stick it out even further. That’s why I sent them to you.”

“What have they got to do with David, sir?”

The commissioner sighed as he gazed out the window.

“David was a good man, a war hero. He could not stand injustice, especially after seeing the death and destruction caused by war. When he became a police officer, he was the ideal personification, the one who can inspire other officers to follow his lead. But somewhere along the path, his light dimmed, and his ego and jealousy came out in an ugly manner. Now, he is nothing but a politically-driven man seeking a position he no longer has the right to assume, gathering the greedy and culling the hungry. And he’s a candidate to succeed me. Imagine how office politics will be like if he wears my rank. The force will crumble.”

“You’re saying he’s corrupt, sir?”

“Yes, but we have no evidence. However, that may change soon enough. That is where you come in.”

“How so, sir?”

Siddique pulls out an envelope and hands it to Bradley, who opened the contents and, in an instant, a look of horror crossed his face.

“What… What is this? When did this occur?” he asked.

“The FBI handed me these files last month. David’s family is up to no good. Given what has been happening in the background while the police all over the world busy dealing with terror-cults and other monstrosities these last two weeks, no one really bothered about reporting on these findings. What you see in this envelope took place here, in Singapore.”

“And you think David has something to do with it?”

“I don’t know, but evidence from the FBI suggests that his family is involved, one way or another. But we know the Kang family’s methods. They have broomsticks attached to their asses, cleaning away whatever footprints they leave behind. And with other departments reporting mysterious interferences in their investigations regarding certain cases, I made the effort to do my own little investigation behind everyone’s backs. Every case that encountered this ‘mysterious interferences’ are linked to everything within this envelope.”

Bradley sighed. This was indeed troublesome.

"I'll get someone to look into it, sir, but no promises. I can deal with whatever attempts David makes against my career, but I can't risk him destroying my men. If i think he's on to me, I'm dropping this case," he said to the commissioner, who nodded in agreement...

“Are you serious? I got a promotion for being a hostage?” Roderick asked in disbelief as Xiaoye handed him the corporal ranks to be sewn on his uniform.

“Hey, you’re the smart guy who figured out that his special blood would definitely cause pain to that vampire. That stab you gave Theodore? Under normal circumstances, it would be like a mosquito bite, but your blood made the difference,” Xiaoye replied as the two sat in the Kyubi Herbal Remedies, Xiaoye having invited Roderick over to pass him the rank.

“Well, I don’t know about this…”

“I know a dirty superior jammed your promotion. By right, you’re supposed to be a sergeant by now. Unfortunately, Jason’s strings have a limited length. Best he could do is get you this.”

“Damn, he only knew me for a week and he’s already sticking his neck out for me? I guess I should accept it, then.”

“Yeah, good idea. By the way, Lucas should be back with Tom and Rendal by now…”

A familiar honk is heard, and both Xiaoye and Roderick turned around to see Lucas’s pick-up weaving carefully around the construction workers before stopping outside the Kyubi Herbal Remedies.

“Look who’s back, my favourite angry boys,” Xiaoye greeted as she and Roderick stepped out to welcome back Tom and Rendal.

“Yeah, we miss you too, Xiaoye…”

“We thought you might switch careers to a swimsuit model if we don’t make it out the hospital.”

“Whatever, die from heavy nose bleeding in your dreams, arseholes. By the way, how long before the café gets fixed?” Xiaoye asked as she and the others watched the construction workers fix up the Heng Heng Waffle Café.

“About two months? That vampire did a lot of damage when he rampaged around trying to kill Inna. I heard what happened to him. Sounds like he’s completely lost himself to his grief,” Ella replied as she appeared with Inna, Felipe and Tokimaru.

“When grief and anger is left unattended, it can drive a good man to perform acts of cruelty once thought beyond his capabilities,” Tokimaru commented.

“Aye, like fucking up my favourite café,” Xiaoye complained

“Which brings me to a decision: Lucas, your wife and I had been discussing a new business venture.”

A sly grin formed on the kitsune’s face as Ella tried to chuckle at the surprised look on everyone else’s face.

“What kind of venture are we talking about?” Rendal asked.

“The Kyubi Herbal Remedies will be combining with Ella Heng’s café to form a new brand: Kyubi Herbal and Waffles. Lucas and Ella will hold sixty percent ownership while I take the remaining forty.”

“What are you scheming now, you old fox?”

“A combination of Eastern herbal treats and Western cuisine, fit for all ages. Besides, is it not true that the Shades are moving to a new building that is just down the road from here? Business will bloom within a few months!”

“I knew it! I knew you were up to no good, you nine-tailed donut head!” Xiaoye protested.

“Up to no good? I resent that. I’m doing this from the good of my heart,” the kitsune protested.

“Lanjiao! You’re doing it because you were running out of customers!” Tom retorted.

“Actually, I was the one who proposed it,” Ella admitted.

“And I agreed because I like money,” Tokimaru added.

“Putang ina mo, he’s not even trying to hide his greed! What is he, some kind of maneki-kitsune?” Felipe exclaimed as Tokimaru, Ella and even Inna started laughing like a gang of cartoon villains.

“How the hell did I get myself dragged into this?” Roderick, the only one who is not from the neighbourhood, asked out loud while facepalming.