If it had been on a different occasion, Michael would not have minded having more interaction with such a beautiful lady.
But, this scenario was definitely not one that he liked. First of all, he was considered as a criminal, and she was a police officer.
On the other hand, the lady was extremely fierce, and it seemed that she was targeting him. And for a while, Michael was wondering, could it be that there was something that he had done to irk this lady?
Regardless of his thoughts, Michael still cooperated, walking out of the cell. And when Kate saw him, she seemed to get into a bad mood.
She glared at him, before saying, "Follow me."
Michael simply shrugged, before following her. They went to a counter, where there was another police officer who was in charge of recording the statements.
"What were you doing inside there?" Kate questioned.
"I work as an accountant. I was busy with recording the transactions into the computer when you barged in." Michael responded honestly.
Kate seemed to be stunned by his response, as she was silent for a moment before she asked again, "You… you are an accountant? Nowadays, small gangs also have official positions of accountants?"
It seemed that she was not the only one who was stunned by Michael's response, considering that the officer that was in charge of recording the statement, and the others around also looked at Michael incredulously.
"Yeah, that's my job. I'm only in charge of recording the transactions, the income and expenditure, that's it." Michael shrugged as he responded.
Kate's expression turned fierce as she glared at Michael before asking, "Are you messing around? You better be honest, otherwise, you will not have it easy."
"What can I do? I have been honest from the start, not a single word I said is a lie. You can go back to the office and confirm, the desktop is still there." Michael shrugged as he responded.
Kate's expression seemed to ease slightly, though, she seemed to be irritated by the attitude that Michael had.
With gritted teeth, she said, "No matter what, even if you are an accountant, you were still in a gangster den, working as gangsters. You were collaborating with them, even if you were not directly participating in the illegal activities.
You will have to be detained for the rest of the day, and maybe, you will be released tomorrow."
Michael was once again left speechless. The association between him and the gangsters was there, which was normal. But, why was he being detained for the rest of the day?
"Can I be released a little earlier than that? I still need to study-" Michael tried to see if it was possible for him to be released on the same day, but he was interrupted.
"No compromise! You only know that you need to study after being caught! Hmph! If you try causing trouble, we can detain you until tomorrow evening." Kate responded as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Michael could only open his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing. So, he proceeded giving a few more details that were required about him, before he went back to the cell.
Just as Kate had said, Michael had no other choice but to spend the night in the cold cell. And, considering how cramped the space was, they could only squat if they were tired of standing.
It was quite uncomfortable, but what could they do? Michael could only tolerate this, and at the same time, he thought, it would be better for him to leave the gang as soon as possible.
Initially, he thought, he might have to stay within the gang for quite a while, to avoid being troubled for leaving, but with such an inconvenience, he thought against it.
It seemed, he might as well leave the gang, find somewhere to hide for a while, study, get the points, acquire things that could strengthen him in terms of both physical abilities and socially, which should allow him to be able to resist the influence of the gang.
It was quite a long night for Michael, as it was almost impossible for someone to be able to sleep in such a position. And, due to the cell being overpopulated, the temperatures were quite high, especially considering that it was summer.
For a moment, Michael thought, it seemed that it was way better to stay at his rented apartment as compared to the cell. While his rented apartment was quite small, at least it was bigger and gave him a lot of freedom as compared to being in such a cramped cell.
Several long hours went by, and when morning came, Kate came outside the cell. She used the keys that she was holding to knock onto the metallic rods used to enclose the cell to attract attention towards her.
"Michael Santos, time to leave." Kate stated, her expression indifferent.
"Huh? Kid, you're already leaving?"
"Why did I not know that this kid had some connections somewhere else? Don't tell me that she has enchanted the beautiful police lady."
"This brat is usually low-key, and most of our brothers don't even know him. Still, do you think that Dante is the one who pulled him out?"
"That is a possibility. After all, he is in charge of the finances, which makes his role quite important. With the current situation of the gang, it seems that the finances of the gang have to be stabilized first."
"Damn it! How I wish I would have been the one to get out of here. This space is just too tiny for me, I haven't slept all night!"
"But at least, with one person leaving, we can get a little more bit of space."
"Hey, move, I am the one taking that spot!"
As Michael pushed through the crowd to reach the entrance of the cell, the gangsters around him began speaking.
These guys were quite brazen in terms of their actions and words. Some of them were even openly sizing up Kate's frame, making her expression turn colder.
Michael completely ignored what these guys were saying. Right now, he was thinking, he needed a phone. It was just that, his phone had been left in the small office.
As for a bank card, he did not have one. After all, with his small income, he did not even bother to go and pick one from the bank.
It seemed that he would have to go back to his apartment, pick up his ID, then go to the bank. As for heading to the gangster den, that was completely out of question.
The experience within the cell had left him with dark circles under his eyes due to lack of sleep. This was not an experience that he wanted to encounter again.
Kate did not say any harsh words to him this time, as she allowed him to complete the procedures before he was released.
When he got out of the station, he looked for a cab. The location of the police post was quite good, making it quite convenient to be able to find a taxi.
Getting inside the taxi, Michael gave the location of his apartment to the driver, who directly drove there.
About 10 minutes later, they arrived in the area of his apartment. But due to how bad the road was, it was impossible for the driver to be able to drop him directly outside his apartment.
But then again, this brought about another problem. Michael did not have anything on him, making it impossible for him to be able to pay the taxi fare.
"What do you think about coming with me to pick up the money? I don't have cash on me right now, and my phone is not here as well." Michael spoke with an embarrassed smile as he looked at the taxi driver.
"Kid, don't tell me that you wanted to hitch a ride for free? Do you want to play with my career?" The taxi driver, a man with a face full of beard asked in an aggressive tone.
Knowing that he was in the wrong, Michael did not mind the attitude of the taxi driver. Instead, he thought of something before saying, "What about this? You come with me, and I will double the fare. Does that work?"
"Are you having some shady plans? Don't try luring me somewhere in order to have a group rob me. I'm not buying any of that. If you don't have the money to pay, then you are not leaving. And, the more time we spend here, the higher the amount you will have to pay in the end." The driver became even more aggressive upon hearing Michael's words.
Michael on the other hand was left helpless. This was the problem with this city, especially the part where he lived. The criminal activities here were quite rampant, scaring many people.
And now, it seemed quite difficult for him to be able to convince the driver to go with him. And, since he had been released, Michael did not want to stay in this place for a long time.
If Dante and his men came over to look for him, things would get troublesome, which was what he wanted to avoid.
"Look, I still want to go to the bank. I will triple the fare, then you will take me to the bank, and I will then pay double, does that work?" Michael asked again.
"Are you kidding me? Are you seriously going to triple the fare?" The driver seemed to be tempted.
"That's right. My phone is not here with me, making it impossible for me to pay. But I have cash in my apartment." Michael responded.
The driver seemed to hesitate for a little while, before he made a decision. He looked at Michael and said, "You better not be lying to me. I am not that easy of a target, so, if you are targeting me, you better be prepared to pay the price."
As he said those words, he got out of the car, locked the door, before following Michael back to his apartment.