Previous Post Case 31 - Another New Beginning, Part 5     Sean’s police database came up with nothing.  It took an online yellow pages search to find a Dojo Ga-be Ninja School.  And that was almost not spotted, except that right in the ad, it stated ‘Gabriel Murphy, proprietor’.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“That was too easy,”  Keiko pointed out.     Her friend knew what she was implying - that perhaps the ninja that tore their way through the building minutes ago were practicing classic misdirection, to a sign they happened to see at some point by accident.     Then again, sometimes a real break comes along, right under your nose.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Good work, Morrison.”  Sean’s new boss said.  He was watching the brief search to see what kind of clues Sean could come up with.  “I’ll get a team together.  We should be able to raid the place in minutes.”     Once the boss left, Sean looked at Keiko.  “I have a friend in motor pool.  We can get a car with lights and sirens and check it out.”     Keiko nodded and followed him.  There was still something bothering her about this whole thing, but she couldn’t quite figure it out yet.  Nevertheless, until she figured it out, she had to go with Sean to protect him.  After all, it could be a trap that she worried her.     She rode in the same elevator as before, only this time straight past the lobby to the underground garage.  Just before the doors opened, she looked down, and reached into her pocket - she still had the visitor’s pass.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Give it to Jerry, he’ll get it back upstairs,”  Sean told her.     Keiko discovered who Jerry was when Sean greeted him in the small office inside the top floor of the parking structure.  Her friend traded the pass for a set of keys, and then Sean came out of the glass office smiling.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Let’s go,”  he said.     It wasn’t a full sized patrol car - most of those were out on the streets much of the time.  It was a medium-sized unit usually used for things like traffic control.  Nevertheless, that it was equipped with lights and sirens meant they would be able to get through traffic and catch up to the others at the Dojo Ga-Be very quickly.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“I wonder if the name of his place means anything?”  Sean wondered out loud as he drove.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“It doesn’t mean anything,”  Keiko reassured him from the passenger seat.  “Except for the dojo part.  That just means ‘house of’.”     They pulled up to the place only a minute or so after Sean’s boss and other officers arrived - they were still getting out of their cars and planning the raid.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“We should stay out here until they go in,”  Sean told her.  “As long as you’re with me in an official capacity, I’m responsible for you.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Okay.”  Keiko nodded.  But she also watched carefully - if those officers were overwhelmed by ninja suddenly, she would be ready to confront them.     But what happened instead was completely different.     Those police officers did an excellent job surrounding the small shop and forcing their way in.  Only once they were in, they found the place empty.     The passenger side of the window smashed in, and Keiko leaned forward quickly to shield her eyes.  That proved to be unintentionally beneficial, because the two powerful arms that reached in after her had trouble reaching her.  The hands attached to those arms instead were satisfied with grabbing her by her hair, and dragging her through the window.       Keiko screeched with anger, and with the pain from being pulled by her hair, and also from glass cutting her slightly through her clothing.  She was dropped to the ground on her back once she was free of the car.     Sean got out of the car quickly.  A pistol aimed at him over the top of the car fired two bullets at him, but he saw it before the trigger was pulled.  Nevertheless, both well-aimed bullets nicked the same corner of his shoulder.     The pistol then turned on Keiko.  She was grateful at that moment that she wore short leather boots with a slight heel.  She used the full strength of her well trained legs to drive that heel into the softest spot of her male attacker.     He emitted a groan, and then a whimper as his knees gave out and the gun fell to the ground.  Keiko used a leg sweep to ensure he was completely off his feet, and then she picked up the gun and trained it on him directly.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Drop it!”  Sean’s boss ordered Keiko.  He had his pistol traced on the Asian assassin.     Keiko didn’t like being cornered.  It brought a flashback to her almost immediately of the last time she fell into the same situation.  At that time, she would have shot the man ordering her to surrender, and then killed her target, as prone and helpless as he was.     But this was a different Keiko.  Different, but still careful.  She knew she couldn’t throw the gun to the ground - a smart ninja would wait for that, and seize the opportunity.  So she compromised by lowering the gun, and then removing the clip and opening the firing chamber before dropping it.  That would render it useless as much more than a blunt object.     The Chief motioned forward, and two officers charged forward, grabbing Keiko by the wrists and handcuffing her.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hey, what the hell?”  Sean protested.     His boss glared at him.  “I told you this would happen, Morrison.  Just because you tried your best not to cooperate with the investigation into your friend doesn’t mean we stopped it altogether.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“What?  Sean...?”  Keiko asked.  She then looked at the Chief.  “What’s the charge?”     The Chief replied, “We arrested Ron Clancy a while ago.  After a threat against him, he was finally willing to cooperate.  He said you were being hired to kill.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“There was no evidence of that,”  Sean pointed out.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“And yet your friend has been traveling out of the country a lot,”  the Chief said.  “And we just stopped her from killing this guy.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“I wasn’t going to--”  Keiko started to say.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Save it,”  the Chief said.  “You’re going to need a lawyer.”     Ã¢â‚¬Å“She was saving my life!”  Sean protested more loudly.  “I’m not going to stand idly by while--”     As Sean was becoming louder, the Chief and the two officers present realized that Keiko had slipped out of the handcuffs and was halfway down the street.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Wow, she’s fast,”  one of the two officers commented.     Ã¢â‚¬Å“Shut up and get her!”  the Chief ordered.     Sean pretended to absent-mindedly block the way of the two cops as he made his way around the car.  He smirked to himself as he saw Keiko disappear around a corner, and hoped he would see her again soon. TO BE CONTINUED?      -- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2008 by Jason Froikin, and may not be  --    reprinted without permission.   -- World Class and all characters therein are property of  --    Strike Two and Jason Froikin.

Holy potential status-quo shake-up, Batman.  But I'd bet Sean's not seen the last of her.  Not while there are asses left unkicked.