Chapter 111: One day.

Liwu did not even get to look at the file before her uncle Aang showed up and teleported her and the Chief away. In a heartbeat, they were in Beijing, at the headquarters on the SOB.

She was familiar with the conference room as she had been there many times before. Inside: the president of the country, ministers in polished suits with furrowed brows, fire chiefs with deep scowls, three generals in uniforms, her mother, the police commissioner and her own husband, Weijun.

Liwu was ushered to the podium at the front.

Chief Abby whispered to her, “It is that fire, the case study from three years ago F560, fire bug. Brief them.”

Liwu blinked. Brief them? I just got the file!

The president leaned forward. “Detective Liwu, this is your case. What do you know about the arsonist?”

Liwu took a deep breath. She did not know what was in the file but she knew the case study because it had also been on her sergeant’s exam. She straightened her trench coat, channeling every ounce of confidence she didn’t feel. “Sir, it is my personal opinion that the arsonist is an unregistered system host that moves from city to city. As far as we know, he or she goes on a three day arson spree and burns a homeless or elderly victim at the last fire.”

Her eyes darted to her smart watch. Chief Abby had been clever enough to send her short texts with updates on the case. She raised her eyes to the president, “There was no incident last year so a presumption was made that the arsonist had stopped but there was a fire of a similar nature last night. A body was left behind.”

Ministers frowned. Generals exchanged glances.

Weijun almost bit his nails. He was sure his wife did not know the details of the case. She was taking too long to answer and she kept looking at her watch.

Liwu pressed on. If He Xiao Yi wanted to drag her down, she would drag him along with her. “Profiler. He Xiao Yi thinks the fires were not random but ritualistic.”

“Like witchcraft?” The police commissioner scoffed. “If this is the best the SOB can do, then this crime will remain unsolved for another ten years.”

“You have had it for ten years, where are your results?” Alix asked him.

Murmurs traveled through the room, accusations in the midst of tension.

But Liwu’s voice was the loudest. “Now that we are on the case, we are confident that we will notice what the original investigators missed. After ten years, there is bound to be a pattern. Personally, I think the arsonist is craving attention and their intention is simply to keep everyone in fear. The fires are set on the same days in the same month every year. During that time, which city is not in fear?”

Question flew like arrows after her observation.

“What evidence do you have that it is a system host?”

“Why are victims homeless or elderly?”

“How has the arsonist evaded capture for a decade?”

Liwu parried each with improvisation worthy of a stage actress. “There was no known fire starter at each scene and yet the fires burned for twelve hours minimum. Nothing could put them out. If not a system product, what else can do that? We know there are bad systems out there, this must be one of them.

The homeless are vulnerable, overlooked and the elderly are weak and easy targets. It is that simple.

I have no explanation for how the suspect has evaded capture for so long. It is probably because we underestimated his desire for theatrics.”

The president raised an eyebrow. “You sound certain.”

Liwu smiled. “It is my job to be certain.” In her mind, she thought, it is also my job to bullshit.

Finally, the minister of justice slammed his pen down. “Detective Liwu, enough words. Can you catch the criminal or not?”

Liwu inhaled, glanced at her mother–her eyes were wide, silently begging her not to over promise. She exhaled, the declared:

“One day. Give me twenty-four hours, and I’ll deliver him or her.”

Alix’s jaw dropped. Her daughter had not over promised, she was practically that Koirala fish which was attempting to leap over the dragon gate. “Detective Liwu.” she called.

“One day.” Liwu said, determined. Her eyes begged her mother to trust her.

The room erupted. Gasps, mutters, disbelief. The president leaned back, intrigued. “One day?”

Liwu nodded. “One day. I am confident that with my team and every other resource you can spare for us, we can get this criminal. We have solved cases in shorter timelines than this.”

Weijun shook his head. He even moved from his sit and walked to the podium. “What are you doing?” he whispered. “You don’t even know if its a man or woman.”

She whispered back, “With my bad luck, I will know within an hour. Confidence is half the investigation.”

Some generals chuckled. Some ministers shook their heads. The president smirked. “Very well. One day. Fail and your mother will resign from her position.”

Gasps echoed in the room.

Liwu saluted with the file she hadn’t read. “Understood.”

The important people left, Liwu, Alix and Weijun remained. Liwu, all apologetic looked at her mother. “I am sorry, I did not mean to jeopardize your job.”

Alix laughed. “I have been trying to surrender this position for over twenty years and the people won’t let me. Even when I don’t stand, they still vote for me. Don’t let them intimidate you. But Liwu, I hope you deliver, not for me but for yourself. If you fail, your career will take a serious beating.”

Liwu nodded. “I will.”

Alix sighed.

Aang sent Liwu and Weijun back to the precinct. Chief Abby had been sent back ahead of them and he was waiting. The rest of the team was standing behind him, worry and wonder in their eyes.

“One day?” Linlin shouted. “You are insane and you better shake out all the bad luck you have because President Tai Alix is not going anywhere.”

“We are going to need a lot of bees.” Xuanji declared.

Chief Abby started the clocks, officers rushed around with files, separating into groups. If there was even the smallest clue, they needed it.

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