RECAP

Andy: "Great job, girls. You got all the hostages out safely and even apprehended the suspects. Unfortunately, there was one casualty, one of your backup officers. But these things happen. Other than that, you guys worked surprisingly well together."

Nisha and Charlotte: "Thank you."

Nisha: "Why did you help me?"

Charlotte: "You're still my partner."

Nisha: "Well, thank you, but one question."

Charlotte: "What?"

Nisha: "How come you have terrible aim with a gun but good aim with throwing a weapon?"

Charlotte: "Shut up."

Charlotte walks back to Gale.

Nisha: "It was just a joke."

Nisha says and chuckles.

Charlotte laughs a little too.

Nisha: "Was that a laugh I heard?"

Charlotte: "Alright, I admit that was funny."

Gale: "Y-y-you guys d-d-did g-g-great out t-t-there."

Charlotte: "I know."

Nisha: "Thank you."

Nisha: Isn't this the girl who broke the mat and beat that Bryan dude? Why is she so shy? No way this is the same girl.

Andy: "Nisha and Charlotte finished their simulation and did quite a good job. Next up, we have Alex and Gale. Enter the operation room to select your weapons when ready."

Chapter 11

Alex and Gale select their weapons and enter the simulation room. Alex picks a katana, and Gale picks dual daggers.

Operator: "A gunshot was heard. We've been asked to check what happened."

Alex: "Roger!"

Gale: "R-r-roger!"

Alex and Gale are spawned into a car heading towards the location.

Operator: "When you enter the building, the gunshot was reported to have been heard in apartment 304."

Alex and Gale walk to the building and take the elevator to the 4th floor.

Alex: "I'll check the crime scene. You can talk to the neighbor and get whatever information you can from them."

Gale: "C-c-can I c-c-check the c-c-crime scene instead?"

Alex: She did get the number one score on the written test and even made that deduction with me earlier. Maybe she should check. Alex thinks to himself.

Alex: "Sure, go ahead."

Gale tries to open the door, but it's locked.

Alex knocks on the neighbor's door. While waiting, he asks Gale if she needs help.

Gale: "N-n-no, I g-g-got it."

Gale forcefully opens the door with her monstrous strength.

Alex: I won't be making her angry. Alex thinks to himself.

Gale walks in, checking around the apartment. The man's neighbor opens his door. He has a cast that covers his entire hand and part of his forearm.

Alex takes out his badge.

Alex: "Hello, sir. We're with Tek City Police Department. We're here because we received word of a reported gunshot?"

Neighbor: "Yes, that was me. I heard a gunshot next door, and I didn't know what to do, so I called."

Alex: "Can you tell me about your neighbor?"

Neighbor: "Yes, well, he's a doctor, and he was very friendly. I don't know why anyone would shoot him."

Alex: "Right. Anything else?"

Neighbor: "Nothing I can think of. But if you ask me anything, I might have the answers."

Alex: "Did you see or hear anyone enter his room when you heard the gunshot?"

Neighbor: "No, maybe the person who shot him was trying to be quiet."

Alex: "Alright then, that's all I needed to know. Thank you for your time."

Neighbor: "Hopefully, you can find his murderer."

Alex walks into the apartment that Gale is checking and locks the door so no one else can enter while they're investigating.

Alex sees Gale covering her mouth in front of a lifeless body sitting in a chair.

Alex: "I see. It looks like a suicide, but something isn't right."

The dead body seemed to have a paper in front of him as he was at his desk. His left hand was dangling with a pencil on the ground as if it fell from that hand. His head was laid out on the desk with a gun that must've fallen from his right hand onto the table.

Gale: "W-w-what's wrong?"

Alex: "He didn't kill himself."

Gale: "What d-d-do you m-m-mean?"

Alex: "First, look at his left hand. He was writing something on this paper with his left hand. He's left-handed."

Gale: "B-b-but the gun I-I-is in his r-r-right hand."

Alex: "Exactly. And it seems the bullet entered from the back of his head."

Gale: "B-b-but t-t-then who killed h-h-him?"

Alex lowers his tone.

Alex: "I believe it was his neighbor."

Gale's voice is already low.

Gale: "W-w-why?"

Alex: "It's not confirmed, but when I was talking to him, two things threw me off.

He said, 'Yes, well, he's a doctor, and he was very friendly. I don't know why anyone would shoot him,' and 'No, maybe the person who shot him was trying to be quiet.'"

Gale: "I-I-interesting."

Alex: "The reason this throws me off is that I never brought up anyone being shot. So why would his first thought be him getting murdered?"

Gale: "T-t-that is p-p-pretty s-s-suspicious."

Alex: "But unfortunately, we don't have any solid evidence. Maybe we can bring him in for questioning."

Gale: "B-b-before that, l-l-let's r-r-read the p-p-paper he left."

Alex: "Alright."

The top half of the paper is covered in blood, so it's mostly unreadable.

Alex: "All I can see on this paper is 'They're trying to ruin this city through the people, the Rook Of The No-' and it stops there."

Gale: "W-w-wasn't that n-n-name brought up in L-l-luke and E-e-ethan's simulation?"

Alex: "It was 'Rook Of The North.' What does that mean?"

Alex: "Wait, wasn't the murdered suspect in their simulation also a doctor?"

Gale: "H-h-he was."

Alex: "It seems like he was trying to tell someone, but an inside man must've caught on."

The neighbor walks in.

Neighbor: "What happened to him?"

Alex: "So it was you. I locked the door. Why do you have a key? And you were already insistent on 'what happened' because you did it. You killed him."

Neighbor: "You have no proof."

Alex: "Gale, check for fingerprints on the gun. I assume our gloves have settings for that."

Gale's glove emits light to check for fingerprints.

Gale: "T-t-there are n-n-none."

Alex: "What? How?!?!"

Neighbor: "I told you."

The neighbor laughs. "You guys are so fun to play with. It's exactly how the boss said."

Alex: "Boss?"

Neighbor: "Oops, I've said too much."

Alex: "Is your boss, 'The Rook of The North'?"

The neighbor's face shows a surprised expression.

Neighbor: "You know too much. Boys."

Two cloaked men come into the apartment with masks on, holding a baton-shaped weapon that has a hilt. The striking part is glowing, like a lightsaber.

The two cloaked men run toward Alex and Gale.

Cloaked man 1 attacks Gale. She dodges the attack, and the baton-like weapon electrocutes the wall, leaving a burn mark.

Gale: "A-a-Alex! Don't l-l-let their w-w-weapon hit y-y-you."

Alex: "Right! Thanks."

Cloaked man 2 attacks Alex. He moves to the side, palming the man's wrist, knocking the weapon out of his hand. Alex punches him in the gut, knocking him down.

Alex then hits his neck with the back of his blade, knocking him out.

Cloaked man 1 swings his baton. Gale ducks, kicks him in the leg, then grabs him from behind and holds his arm behind his back until the pain makes him drop his weapon.

Gale then punches the man in the face, knocking him out as well.

Alex: "Now you."

Neighbor: "I haven't done anything. But if you really want to fight, we can."

Alex: "I'm sure you want to do that with that cast on?"

Neighbor: "I only need one hand."

Alex puts his weapon back in its sheath.

Alex and the neighbor approach each other.

Alex: "If you really want this to happen, you know the law."

Neighbor: "No problem."

Alex: "Gale, let me handle this one."

Gale: "O-o-okay. I-I'll cuff the c-c-cloaked men."

Neighbor: "Why are you looking over there? I'm your opponent."

The neighbor stomps on Alex's foot and slaps him.

Alex stumbles back and runs in.

Alex throws a left straight punch. The neighbor blocks with his one hand.

Alex throws a right straight punch. The neighbor blocks again.

Alex throws an elbow. The neighbor catches it with his palm and pushes Alex back.

Alex catches his balance and throws a roundhouse kick. The neighbor ducks, catches Alex's foot, and puts it back down.

Neighbor: "Is this really all you got? I only have one hand."

Alex: "I'm just getting started."

Alex throws a hook. The neighbor sways back.

Alex steps in and throws another punch. The neighbor sways down and also moves forward.

The neighbor then punches Alex in the stomach. Alex stays on his feet.

The neighbor: "Alright, I'm done playing with you. You're too weak. I commend you for not falling, though."

The neighbor takes out his baton and activates it.

Gale: "A-a-Alex, are y-y-you okay?"

Alex: "I'm fine."

Alex takes his katana back out.

Alex: "This is where the real fight starts."