Chapter 7: The Awakening of the Detective

  The sky was dimly lit, Ma Guoqing's stomach was in severe pain, he sat on the chair, using a tea cup to press against his stomach, cold sweat dripping down, he hadn't slept all night, after coming out of Tiehua Street, he went to deal with another case, a BMW driver who was drunk driving and insulted the traffic police, was so arrogant that even Ma Guoqing couldn't stand it, directly handcuffed him and put him in detention.

  At more than 6 o'clock, the leader came and released the drunk driver, saying that he had caught the wrong person, and the real driver was someone else who had already surrendered.

  The drunk driver was a young man in his early twenties, with a Hermès belt buckle shining gold. He swaggered out of the detention room and gave the police officer the middle finger.

  Ma Guoqing had seen this kind of thing many times before. The drunk driver must have had a background, and his leader must also have been under tremendous pressure from above. If it were an ordinary day, he would have endured it, but thinking of the cancer diagnosis in his pocket, Ma Guoqing's courage suddenly grew, and with one push, he pushed the drunk driver back into the detention room, shouting: "Don't think that finding someone to take the fall will let you escape punishment!"

  The drunk driver flew into a rage: "You're paralyzed, try moving again and see if I don't beat you to death!"

  Ma Guoqing punched as soon as he raised his fist.

  The deputy director quickly pulled him: "Old Ma, don't be impulsive, come with me and I'll tell you something." He dragged and pulled Ma Guoqing to one side, saying in a low voice: "You'd better not intervene, the traffic police have already been taken care of, this person is not someone we can afford to offend."

  Ma Guoqiang indignantly said: "Is there still law?"

  Deputy Director said: "There are gods watching from above, the heavens are watching, right, Old Ma, I'm telling you something, this time the department's comprehensive assessment, your score is the lowest..."

  Ma Guoqing sat dejectedly in his chair, unaware of when the deputy director had left. He had worked diligently as a policeman for half his life, but was ultimately deemed unqualified in the comprehensive assessment. What had he done wrong?

  The drunk driver was let go, a luxurious Bentley picked him up. Ma Guoqiang took out the diagnosis and looked at it, the oath he made to the police echoed in his ears, he burst into tears.

  "My biggest problem this life is being too kind, not wanting to offend anyone. My peers who joined the police force at the same time as me have all become branch directors, but I'm still a frontline police officer. Why? Because I have a conscience and no guts. Since I'm already a dead man walking, what else do I have to be afraid of?"

  Ma Guoqing made up his mind and was determined not to let the drunk driver get away with it, even if it meant taking the case all the way to the Political and Legal Affairs Commission.

  Colleagues arrived at work one after another. The instructor was conducting a briefing in the conference room, saying that a kidnapping case had recently occurred, and the victim's identity was very special. She was the only daughter of Xia Qingshi, chairman of the board of Qingshi High-tech, the largest taxpayer in the province, Shu Fan, who was kidnapped by an unemployed youth named Liu Handong. Our Huohua Police Station is densely populated with outsiders, which may be a hiding place for criminals. Everyone should pay attention during patrol.

  Ma Guoqing heard these words at the door and couldn't help but feel suspicious. Last night, when checking the temporary residents on Tiehua Street 108, weren't there two people who matched this description? The man was called Da Dong and the woman Xiao Fan, didn't they fit the profile in the notice?

  The instructor continued: "Liu Handong used to be a soldier, his physical quality is very good, the night before last he even snatched a traffic police car, this person is quite dangerous. The victim is 14 years old and has mental illness, it's very possible that she has developed Stockholm syndrome, that is, she has formed a dependent psychology on the criminal. This point must be especially emphasized, we can't be careless."

  Colleagues are all making records, whispering to each other, Qingshi Gaoke's output value of several billion yuan, this time the hijacker will definitely extort a huge sum.

  Ma Guoqing returned to the office and searched for Liu Handong's data on the public security intranet. Male, from Jiangbei, 27 years old, 1.82 meters tall, with an eight-year military service record, awarded third-class merit, and also received disciplinary action.

  Ma Guoqing looked at Shu Fan's file again. Since she was not yet 16 years old, there were no photos of her on the internal network. But based on his intuition, Ma Guoqing was certain that the mute girl he saw last night was indeed Shu Fan!

  He shut down the computer, meditated for a moment, took out a 54 pistol and eight bullets from the safe, the equipment was very poor, only three 64 pistols, and one 54 that was about to be eliminated. The police officers were not willing to carry guns in peacetime, this piece of iron was purely a burden, they didn't dare to fire even if they carried it, losing it would be a big trouble.

  Ma Guoqiang is the firearms administrator of the station, and also one of the qualified police officers to carry guns. He carrying a gun back home is in accordance with regulations, it's just that he has never done so before, this is the first time.

  The heavy pistol was stuck in his waist, and his stomach didn't hurt as much. Ma Guoqing changed into casual clothes and headed home, which was located in the Huanghua residential area, just across the river from Tiehua Street. The old building had been built fifteen years ago, and when he bought it, the price per square meter was 800 yuan; now it had risen to 5,000.

  The wife went out to buy vegetables, the daughter went to work. The family photo on the table was harmonious and happy. Ma Guoqing picked up the frame and wiped it clean, muttering to himself: "Wife, I've been a coward all my life, it's time for me to stand up straight. Daughter, forgive your father, I won't be able to see you get married."

  There was breakfast made by his wife in the kitchen. Ma Guoqing endured the stomachache, ate the breakfast and went out with a gun.

  ……

  Early in the morning, Liu Handong knocked on the door of Room 202. Zhu Xiaoqiang was still sleepy and hadn't gotten up yet. Hearing that it was Xiao Fan who wanted to borrow a computer, he quickly got out of bed and opened the door.

  Xiao Fan received the email on her phone and immediately beamed with joy, pointing at the screen to show Liu Handong. Liu Handong's English was not bad, and he could tell that it was a reply from the Memphis Police Department in the United States, saying that the situation had been conveyed to his respected father.

  This little girl is really smart, knowing that the people around her father are unreliable, so she let the police pass it on to him. At the age of 14 or 15, she can write a clear English letter and find the email address of the Memphis Police Department. Her computer skills and English level are quite high.

  Liu Handong felt a weight lift off his mind. Xiaofeng's family would definitely take action as soon as they found out what happened here, and he couldn't let his guard down either - bad people could appear at any time.

  The biggest problem at the moment is that there is no money, without money, it's impossible to survive, and the investigation cannot be carried out. Liu Handong decided to find something to do, earn some small money to spend. At this time, Zhang Dajie from the second floor came over with her husband Wang Zhigang to thank him. Wang Zhigang sobered up from his drunkenness, transformed from a drunkard gambler into a good man, and when he heard that Liu Handong wanted to find work, he patted his chest and said: "Leave it to me."

  Wang Zhigang drives a disabled vehicle, helping people transport goods in the small commodity wholesale market. This place is most lacking in labor force. Liu Handong brought Xiao Fan and sat on his disabled motorcycle to the market, quickly finding work to do, unloading goods from trucks and then moving them to the third floor warehouse.

  No forklift, no elevator, all relying on manpower to lift. The goods were ten tons of carbonated drinks, with twenty-four bottles wrapped in heat-shrink plastic film. Liu Handong and three others worked together, back and forth, carrying the loads. Under the scorching sun, they sweated profusely after several trips. Liu Handong took off his shirt, revealing a physique as strong as bronze, moving swiftly up and down like a shuttle.

  Xiao Fan sat on a pile of goods, her skirt revealing a pair of white and tender little legs swinging back and forth as she watched Liu Handong move things.

  The porters were busy for half an hour, and the goods had only been unloaded a little. The boss called on everyone to take a break, gave cigarettes to the workers, and Xiao Fan somehow produced a bottle of chilled Fanta, handed it to Liu Handong, and tiptoed to get out a small handkerchief to wipe his sweat.

  "Pal, your little wife is quite fond of you." a rough-looking porter said with a grin.

  "Damn it, this is my sister." Liu Handong cursed, gesturing for Xiaofan to drink first.

  Xiao Fan took two sips and then handed the bottle back to Liu Handong, who tilted his head back and gulped down a few mouthfuls, leaving about half a bottle for Xiao Fan.

  "Alright, guys, let's get started!" The boss clapped his hands and shouted. Everyone continued to work hard, sweating profusely, and after half a day, they finally moved ten tons of drinks into the warehouse. The boss gave each person a 100-yuan bill.

  Liu Handong held up the banknotes and said: "We have money now, let's go shopping at the supermarket."

  Xiao Fan was overjoyed and jumped up and down excitedly.

  Just as Wang Zhigang returned home for dinner, the two of them took his disabled vehicle to the nearby Dashang Mart. On the way from the underground parking lot into the supermarket, they saw that seven or eight cars in front were stuck and honking impatiently. The car at the very front was a white Range Rover Evoque trying to reverse into a parking space, but unfortunately, the parking space was narrow and the Range Rover's body was wide, and the driver's skills were poor, so no matter what, he couldn't get in.

  Wang Zhigang's car was also blocked in the garage, and he honked the horn angrily, muttering: "It must be a woman driving."

  Liu Handong got out of the car and walked over to see that inside the Range Rover was indeed a delicate young woman, flustered and at a loss, with sweat all over her face.

  "I'll help you command," said Liu Handong.

  Unexpectedly, the young woman got off the bus and said: "You help me get on the bus instead, thank you."

  Liu Handong didn't refuse, got on the car directly, shifted into reverse gear, stepped on the accelerator, turned the steering wheel, and the Range Rover Evoque backed into the parking space as if it were following a track, perfectly fitting in, the whole process was smooth and took no more than three seconds.

  The young woman's mouth opened into an O shape, murmuring: "Too handsome."

  Liu Handong got off the car and turned to leave, the young woman suddenly woke up from her dream, took out her wallet from her GUCCI bag, and shouted loudly: "Hey, I haven't thanked you yet."

  Liu Handong didn't even turn his head, stretched out his hand and waved it, Xiao Fan quickly ran up to him, put her arm around Liu Handong's arm, and they walked together.

  "She's still walking so coolly." The young woman remained immersed in her infatuated dream.

  RT-Mart, the shelves were filled with all sorts of goods that dazzled one's eyes. Xiaofan pushed a shopping cart in front and ran ahead, saw the beverage shelf with 750ml large green glass bottles of Paris mineral water, habitually picked up two bottles, looked at the price, stuck out her tongue, and changed to Kunlun pure water instead.

  Liu Handong walked over and saw the five yuan six one bottle of Kunlun Mountain mineral water, making a gesture to hit someone: "Buying this is like directly drinking tap water, wasteful girl."

  Xiao Fan pouted and was about to cry.

  Liu Handong said: "You dare to cry after doing something wrong? We only have 100 yuan, we must save money, do you know that?"

  Xiao Fan nodded, put the Kunlun pure water back, pushed the cart to the rice noodle vendor and weighed 10 kilograms of special price big rice, also took a few tubes of dragon beard noodles and some plastic bags of soy sauce vinegar. The most luxurious thing in the shopping cart was a bottle of Lao Gan Ma chili oil, 8.5 yuan.

  After buying things, I walked out of the RT-Mart supermarket and onto the road. A white Range Rover Evoque slowly approached from behind, the window rolled down, and a young woman said with a smile: "Hey, what a coincidence! Where are you guys going?"