Akashi sat down in the interrogation room. It had been a while since he had last been dragged here.
He was quite anxious, to be honest.
He may trust his calculations, gut instincts, and conclusions.
He may trust certain people to do bad things.
But in life, he had never been able to feel assured when trusting someone to do something good.
'At any rate, I have a plan B,' he thought. 'And besides, you trust people to do bad things to bad people.'
The Police Chief entered the interrogation room, saying, "So, do you know why you're here?"
"Because of supposed evidence that I'm a corrupt cop. I'm just as curious about what that evidence may be as you are curious to hear what I have to say," he replied calmly, his heartbeat steady.
Lin narrowed her eyes and sat across from him, sliding a stack of papers toward him.
It was about him allegedly using the department budget for personal gain. To buy drugs, alcohol, and indulge in stress relief.
That was true to some extent.
But it was still exaggerated on paper.
He had never taken that much. Otherwise, he would've never escaped the loop.
Only a few thousand yuan here and there to complete his work in the past.
'Hmm... not enough to frame me. I could deny everything and get back to work, but…'
Akashi's eyes lit up as he looked further down.
There was a suspicion that he had accepted a huge bribe to intentionally let an operation fail.
And the evidence? Him paying off his entire bank loan just yesterday.
The bank statement was official.
Tears welled up in his eyes.
Akashi felt his face grow hot, his breaths coming short.
This was the most emotional moment of his life.
"What the hell are you doing?" the Police Chief snapped. "You're a man. Stop crying like a bitch."
"I won't accept the charges, but I won't deny them either," Akashi said.
"What the hell?" Lin retorted. She could tell he was innocent. She had tested his heartbeat. And she knew he wasn't a psychopath.
But for him to not deny the charges, and then even cry?
She stood and placed a hand on his shoulder, thinking he might be having a mental breakdown. For the first time in a long while, she decided to be nice, just for a moment.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"No. I'm more than okay." He stood and hugged the Police Chief. "I'm so happy."
Lin yelped in surprise. But seeing how emotional he was, she didn't say anything. "Why?"
"Whoever planted this evidence paid off my bank loan. A loan that would've forced me to retire at sixty," he said, completely honest. "They are very nice people. Be easy on them."
"You realize that if you accept the charges, you could lose your job, pay a fine, and may never work again in the law enforcements fields," Lin warned.
She snapped out of her moment of kindness and shoved him down, forcing him back into the chair with sheer strength.
"But I'll finally be free from working to death," Akashi argued as he wiped his tears, his rational mind returning.
"Anyway, do you want to buy the house before this gets cleared up as a misunderstanding? I only need 500k. It's below the market price but above what I owed the bank. So, I'll profit."
Now that the bank loan had been paid by them, it was best to sell it.
He didn't know how they did it. Maybe they forged an identity identical to his and had someone with a similar look pay it off in cash all at once.
That could easily be discovered within a week or two by another department.
He could kill his enemies anytime, but he couldn't kill the bank.
He knew he'd be proven innocent of all charges, but he might have to repay the loan again.
So it was best to sell the apartment as soon as possible, even at a bargain. After all, it was still a profit to him as he hadn't even paid a quarter of what he owed yet.
"You're lying. There's no way it's below market price, and it's way more than what you paid the bank," Lin snapped, clenching her teeth. "Get the fuck out. You'll be summoned to a hearing soon."
Knowing someone was likely listening behind the glass, Akashi decided to set a trap.
He stood up, laughing. "Anyway, I'm going to sell my house at the agency. Your loss."
If he said that, someone would definitely follow him.
And he knew exactly who.
But that wouldn't stop him. He had already planned what he would do, and what would happen.
-x-X-x-
Amane was with the Deputy Chief, presenting all the necessary evidence of Boba's corruption. The Deputy Chief immediately began the process to issue a warrant to search Boba's house.
She had found, among some of the bank account numbers, accounts previously tied to triads and criminal organizations they had failed to take down. One of them was the same one Akashi had just discovered.
'No wonder that case was being rushed to a close. I guess Boba was so angry about Akashi solving his first case that he decided to frame him,' she thought.
As for the last huge deposit, she couldn't track it. Her request to investigate it had been denied.
'But how? Akashi seemed to anticipate that in advance. He got evidence on Boba, and then said something to piss him off.'
'He sarcastically asked if his charge was getting paid to help a cop get kidnapped…Akashi was the one who got kidnapped.' Her eyes widened. 'That remark made the lieutenant fume. I guess both of them are in a race to take each other down. Boba helped to kidnap him, and Akashi is trying to take him down.'
She clicked her tongue.
'Akashi is a little corrupt. But at least he does his job and closes cases. On the other hand, Boba is corrupted beyond redemption, and allows organized crime to run under his protection.'
'As much as I hate that brat for ruining my promotion and letting Boba's brother out of jail, he's nice enough to give me this. With this, I'll be his lieutenant, and I'll pay him back.' She smirked.
-x-X-x-
Akashi put his hands in his pockets as he exited a real estate agency, putting his apartment up for sale with a modest 20% profit margin.
But the real profit was worth a couple of decades of work as an officer.
As for why he chose that agency. It was the most popular one among the triads, known for selling properties to anyone.
And it dealt in cash. That was the most important part.
Akashi walked to a nearby bench and sat down. He lit a cigarette, waiting for someone.
"Akashi!" someone called.
He turned to see Boba, eyes bloodshot, approaching him.
"Hey, Lieutenant," Akashi said. "You took your time. I hope it wasn't because of bad news, like being suspended for suspicious activity or having your house searched. That would be too bad. And too sad."
"Why?" Boba asked, his voice low and sharp. "I treated you like a little brother. I let you do as you pleased. And this is how you repay me? By stabbing me in the back?"
Akashi tilted his head, unsure if Boba was serious or just blind to how biased he was.
"I don't understand," Akashi replied. "Are you a narcissist? Or do you just have a narcissistic personality disorder?"
"You've ruined my life. And for that, I'm going to personally deliver you to Tarrlok. Now come quietly to daddy." Boba threw off his coat, revealing his metal armor. A metalbender.
"Tarrlok. That's interesting. Are you potentially a witness?" Akashi stood, his heart racing.
In front of him stood an experienced lieutenant who had been metalbending most of his life and crushing bones.
As for Akashi, he was just a mere airbender, with an imbalanced build full of weaknesses.