| Fan Fiction |
by DTLCT
Alice yawns. “We can leave, right?” She lets out another yawn after asking that.
“Wait awhile,” Wallace said.
“Ge, I’m tired.”
“Be patient. Besides, you’d been in all day, how come you’re tired?”
“I was out half of the day, trying out this new restaurant’s foods so I could write another article. I already typed it up and will submit it to this one place tomorrow.”
“What place?” Ray asked, walking up behind her.
Alice jumps. “Don’t do that! You scared the world out of me.”
“That means you’re still human.” He flashes on his mischievous smile.
Alice gives him an evil look.
Ray just shrugs and turns around to look at the rest of the crowd in the lobby. Most of the people seem to be chatting again now since the majority has been done with giving statements. Their group of six forms a circle to talk again.
“I wonder what’s taking Annie so long,” Kevin said.
“Possibly she killed that person and left the building?” Ray suggested. “After that she doubles back and pretends that she just came home and knows nothing?”
Kevin hits Ray on his left shoulder while Mandy kicks him in his right shin.
Ray isn’t mad at all. Instead, he turns to look at both with a puzzled expression on his face. “Whoa! You sure know how to team up on me. I was just kidding there.” He lets out a shrug.
“There are things you don’t kid about,” Mandy said in an as a matter of fact tone.
“Well, at least I know you two are still…” He lets the sentence hangs on purpose and starts laughing.
Mandy gives him a look like he’s nuts.
“It’s okay, sis. You can pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about all you want.”
“Can you stop calling sis? It’s getting on my nerves.”
“Don’t be mad,” Wallace interrupted their argument. “I think he decided to adopt you so he doesn’t have to shut up.”
“Good one, ge!” Alice jumped in.
Ray puts his right hand around Mandy’s shoulders. “Come on, we’re Chos after all. You don’t have to get mad. Unless you like me and don’t want to be sis and bro.”
Kevin pounds Ray on the back so he would let go of Mandy.
Ray turns around to look at him. “What?”
“You’re going too far,” Kevin said.
Ray shrugs and looks around the circle to see if anyone’s on his side. No one speaks on his behalf, so he leaves the circle to go talk to someone across the room.
Kevin steps into Ray’s spot and smiles at Mandy. “You okay?”
“Yes,” Mandy said. “Thanks.”
Kevin just smiles.
Charmaine looks at Wallace and Alice. They all smile at each other. They stand in silence after that.
Ten minutes more pass by. Finally, Kenneth, Joey, the four officers, and Stan come back from the fifth floor. There is also a team in the other elevator hauling out the body covered in a black bag. Kenneth and Joey call order to the crowd again. They wait for the crowd to gather in front of them before speaking up.
“All right,” Kenneth said. “After we looked at the body, we come up with a possible motive.”
“This is serious, so could you all please stay quiet?” Joey said, raising her voice a bit higher.
“The next few days, I suggest everyone to be careful as of where you’re going and what you do,” Kenneth continued after the crowd simmers down. “Of course we will leave several of our men here to help Stan guard this building but we can’t follow you around all day since you have your privacy. We will inform you all of the results when we study all the statements you’d given and of what the autopsy points to.”
“What is the motive?” Ray asked from somewhere in the crowd.
“We don’t want to say it now because we don’t want information to leak out. The murderer might be still among us. We don’t want to cut the only lead we have left.”
“Then why even say that you already know what the motive is in the first place? Sheesh!”
“Mr. Cho, please be patient.”
Ray becomes shocked that Kenneth actually knows his name.
“If you must know, then I want to warn you that, everyone on the fifth floor, please be extra careful from now on,” Joey said, her eyes moving back and forth among the crowd as she delivered the news.
Everyone on the fifth floor panics. The crowd becomes noisy.
“We will try our best to solve this case soon so you all won’t have to live in this frightful situation anymore,” Kenneth reassured them.
After that, Kenneth and Joey leave with the four officers. There are of course around ten officers who stay behind to guard the building. Kenneth radios some more officers to come since this is a huge building. He doesn’t want to take any chances although only the people on the fifth floor are being targeted.
The building becomes all loud once Kenneth and Joey leave. Stan tries to calm them down again and tells them to go back to their apartments. Kevin’s group waits for everyone to leave before they take their turn in the elevator.
Alice yawns as they enter the elevator. Wallace leans against the wall, thinking to himself – wondering what in the world is going on with his life. Kevin looks at Mandy from time to time, wondering why she’s so fidgety. Ray stares up at the ceiling, for some unknown reason, he doesn’t want to argue with Mandy anymore. Charmaine keeps an eye out for Mandy, not wanting to take any chances in case Mandy relapses from her fear.
They stay silent until the elevator opens at their level.
“So the fifth floor is being target, huh?” Ray said finally. “I guess you’re right, Detective Huo.”
Wallace walks along the hall with his head down, not wanting to say much anymore.
Alice follows him, whispering, “Ge, are you all right?” She puts a hand on his shoulder after that.
Wallace looks sideway at Alice – who has caught up to him and is walking by his side – and gives her a reassuring smile to tell her that he’s okay.
Mandy looks like she had her mind made up, turns to Ray. At the same time, Ray looks her way and freezes in his place.
“Meet me at Dragon Phoenix restaurant tomorrow,” Mandy said. Then she turns to walk towards her apartment again, leaving Ray dumbfounded.
“What?” Ray muttered out finally.
Mandy doesn’t answer him. She walks along with the others back to her apartment.
© Monday, May 14th, 2007
Re-posted: Saturday, October 10th, 2009