I naturally walked down the corridor, and five brightly-haired thugs waved at me from the elevator entrance of the apartment building.
Soon, seven or eight more people gathered around. Since the other party had noticed, stuffing someone in a sack wouldn't work, so they could only issue a warning now.
The leader, a chubby guy known as Coyote, chewed gum as he walked up to me with a slight smile. "You're Officer Curry, right?"
I stood still and didn't respond.
Coyote, likely an old hand at this, glanced at my badge to know my rank, and immediately displayed a disdainful smile. "So this is the guy who locked up Young Master Lopez and his pals. Just a low-ranking cop."
After spitting out his gum, he raised his head, a sinister grin on his face, and moved up close to me with a hoarse voice, "If you want to continue living in Summit City, better release Young Master Lopez and the others."
I casually asked, "Who are you?"
"I figured you wouldn't know me," Coyote sneered. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be so calm. Have you heard about the Old Four Gates of Summit City? Eastgate, Southgate, Northgate, Westgate?"
"Yes," I replied nonchalantly. "I heard about them when I was in high school. Everyone in those Four Gates is scum."
Coyote and his crew's expressions changed, but he just laughed it off. "Since you know we're scum, don't mess with us. Or you'll be sorry. You know? Just because you're wearing a uniform doesn't mean you can wear it 24/7, or who knows, maybe you'll be out of a job someday?"
"Are you threatening me?" I squinted my eyes.
"How could I dare?" Coyote smiled and glanced around at his crew. "I'm just here to remind Officer Curry to be careful walking or driving, especially for someone like you who rides a motorcycle so regularly. Disasters and mishaps happen all the time, don't you think?"
"Thanks for your concern," I looked at him and said, "What's your name?"
Coyote locked eyes with me, as if sizing me up. This guy really doesn't know his place.
He spoke each word deliberately, "Coyote."
"Your real name," I insisted.
Coyote's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What do you want to do?"
"Nothing," I smirked. "Just want to remind you that when we cops do our organized crime sweeps, hope you're not on the scene. Stop calling yourself Coyote like you're not human. If you don't want to use the name on your household registry, how about I ask a colleague in Public Security to erase you from the records?"
"You're threatening me?" Coyote's face darkened, lowering his voice as he got right in my face, "If I was afraid, I wouldn't have made it this far. I admit I fear police, but I've never concerned myself with small-time cops like you."
I calmly asked, "Who's your boss? As far as I know, the head of the Four Gates changes often, and I've never known whose bars and clubs are really controlled by them. I'm really curious who your boss is."
"Adam't try to trick me," Coyote snorted. "If you get a chance, you can take a look after midnight. Really, you're welcome to come. I'm just afraid you won't have the guts. Goodbye, Officer Curry. You had better remember my words and release Young Master Lopez, or else I'll be back. Your home is really easy to find."
With that, he waved his hand and led seven or eight of his followers out of the apartment.
"He's from The North Gate." At this point, Brittany Scott approached me from the elevator with a mocking smile. "How did you provoke them?"
"They came to provoke me," I adjusted my police cap before putting it on and then walked out, with Brittany Scott following me.
"It's best to avoid the people of The Four Gates," Brittany caught up with me and warned.
"I won't pick a fight if they don't. I can't manage other places or care to, for that matter. I know there's no absolute justice or fairness in this world, but on my turf, anyone who doesn't follow the rules can answer to me!" I declared.
"The Four Gates of Summit City are not something you can meddle with. They've been around for so long that even the government has to use special policies to appease them. Besides their influence, the businesses they run and manage are no longer those old black-market syndicates. You won't gain an advantage against them."
"Then you just watch," I said, turning my back on Brittany Scott and walking away.
Brittany bit her lip and complained behind me, "Those people are hard to deal with because they're savvy with the law and know how to exploit loopholes. Otherwise, the leaders of The Four Gates wouldn't remain so obscure. Our criminal investigation unit isn't ignoring them; we just know that challenging them will trigger a series of birth pangs for Summit City, so we've avoided them. I'm just trying to say, anyway, don't provoke The Four Gates people."
I kept walking, hopped on my motorcycle, and went off to switch to my night shift.
At shift change, Young Master Lopez and the others from the holding cell nearly glared daggers at me. Each one squatted against the wall, staring intently at me. Young Master Lopez even chuckled lightly and said, "Do you even know you're in trouble?"
"Trouble or not, it is what it is. Being a cop means finding trouble; otherwise, wouldn't it be boring doing nothing?" I grinned. I understood the warning in Young Master Lopez's words, likely similar to the threats from Coyote and the others earlier. If they can't smooth things with connections openly, they go for underhanded tactics.
"You're a carefree cop," Young Master Lopez said sarcastically. "You bother with small matters like this? There are plenty of stubborn types in Summit City; why not round them all up? Summit City's notorious four big brats, why don't you mess with them?"
"What four big brats? In my eyes, anyone breaking the law is the same kind of person—a criminal!" I said, cleaning my gun, "Instead of waiting out your fifteen days, why not write some self-criticism and get out early? No point sitting around grumbling, giving yourself internal injuries or something."
Young Master Lopez said, "I'm doing it on purpose, seeing if I might be merciful enough to forgive you once I'm out. But I don't think I can manage to forgive you; what should I do? How about you beg me now?"
I let out a wry laugh, "Better to rely on oneself than others. I'm new here, and my days are quite dull, so why don't I play with you guys from now on?"
Young Master Lopez squinted, "You'll never forget it."
I said, "Likewise."
With that, I picked up my motorcycle keys and rode off.
The same area was now empty of high school students post-dismissal. That rebellious Thomas Family boy was surprised to see me. He came over and offered me a cigarette, which I accepted outright and lit it.
"Looks like I'm gonna win against my brother," the yellow-haired boy said with a half-smile.
I took a drag and exhaled the smoke, asking, "Win what?"
The yellow-haired boy said, "My brother said you'll be unlucky within a day, and I even thought I wouldn't see you tonight. Let me check if you're a ghost or something."