Telep to her neighborhood, I looked around the pce. While the area had suffered during the chaos, it was noticeably better off than most parts of the city. The houses bore signs of repair—fresh paint over cracks, patched roofs, and some scaffolding here and there. People were out and about, repairing fences, sweeping debris, or simply going about their day.

  Yuri's house stood out slightly. There was a small, tidy front garden with rows of newly pnted flower pnts and a little pathway leading to the door. The house looked retly repaired and painted with a fresh coat of light blue paint. There were a few potted pnts on the pord some gardening tools he stairs.

  I spotted her in the garden. She was kneeling in the dirt and carefully pnting some new seedlings. She was wearing a pin white tank top and faded jeans. Her hair was tied ba a loose ponytail. She looked kinda different from the game version.

  I walked toward the gate, opening it with a soft creak, and stepped onto the garden path.

  Yuri looked up, her sharp eyes instantly log onto me. Her brows furrowed slightly, though she didn't seem armed. " I help you?" she asked, wiping her hands on a towel she had slung over her shoulder.

  I gave her a small smile. "Yeah. I've got something for you, Detective Watanabe. Mind if we talk?"

  She stood up, brushing the dirt off her jeans. "Depends. Who are you? I doubt we met before."

  "No, we haven't, but I did keep you busy since your promotion. Hammerhead, Stryker, illegal experiments, mass surrender... You did well. I thought you would also turn out like one of those corrupt cops, but you didn't, which I'm gd to see," I said as I walked up to her, stopping a few feet away.

  She narrowed her eyes at me. "You're the one behind all that?"

  I nodded. "That's right. I wao thank you for everything you did. The pressure was very high, yet, you took care of those scum, arresting them and putting ao their shit. Right now, I have a case that might i you."

  "Everyone back then fessed their crimes without a lie. We were surprised. So, if you don't mind me asking first, are you a mutant with mind trol? Or did you use some hypnosis on them?" She asked.

  I put up my hood and showed her my real face. Well, I'm kinda pht now. So, there is no way she won't reize me.

  "Wait... You're him!" She gasped and immediately took a few steps back. "Aron. The guy whht back dead to life. You know, I was among them. I died. I remember holding the li the subway, but then... I know I died, but I 't remember anything."

  "Yeah, that's me. But before you jump to any clusio me make it clear. I ain't no God or Devil that people make me out to be. I'm just a guy with poants to do the right thing. Now, how about we talk inside?" I said with a smile.

  "Yes, of course." She invited me in.

  We sat in her living room. Her home was and tidy. A colorful rug on the floor, some pictures on the wall, a small TV, a little firepce, and a small colle of books on a shelf. It was like a normal living room. It had a cozy, homey feel to it. Sigh! I wonder if I will ever get a house like this without someone blowing it up.

  Yuri got us both cups of tea and sat down on the couch opposite me. "So, what is it you want to talk about?"

  "I'm pretty sure you heard about the bank at scam going around the city, right?" I asked, pg the briefcase oable.

  "Yes, I've heard about it," She replied cautiously while watg me closely as if I were some kind of rare species. "But so far, nothing's e ay desk with solid evidence. Just rumors and pints. It's hard to a those and with the ret i with cultists and rise in crimes, we've been busy. But in my free time, I did an iigation out of the records, but nothing solid so far."

  I opehe briefcase I'd brought, pulling out the ly stacked files, the drive, and a sed drive with the bank manager's fession. I pced them oable between us, letting her see the tents. "Well, sider these rumors firmed. This is everything you'll o blow the lid off that scam and then some. Hard evidence, digital evidence, even a fession from one of the guys involved."

  She leaned forward, her brows furrowing as she picked up one of the files and skimmed through it. Her eyes widened slightly as she realized what she was looking at. "These are internal records... names, at numbers, transfer details... How did you get this?"

  I smirked. "Let's just say the bank manager had a ge of heart and fessed everything. Turns out he and a handful of board members have been freezing ats, siphoning funds into offshore ats, and using the chaos to cover their tracks. The drive tains even more juicy details—names of cops and gover officials on their payroll."

  She flipped through the pages and I could tell from her expression that she was angry. Well, I 't bme her. On the list were some of the names from her department and her new partner was also involved. She must be the one who was alerting those bastards about Yuri's moves. No wonder, she didn't discover anything. "This is... way too serious. If this gets out, it'll shake the city to its core."

  "Exactly," I said, sipping my tea. "And that's where you e in. You're one of the few people in this city I trust to hahis the right way. I need you to take this evidend go after these bastards. Arrest them, put them in the spotlight. Make it public."

  She set the files down, looking at me with a mixture of suspi aermination. "And what's yle in all this? Why e to me? With your power, you could have taken them down yourself."

  "My angle?" I leaned forward, my tone serious. "These people have ruined lives. They've stolen from the helpless, caused untold suffering, and profited off the city's pain. I'm doing scum like that get away with it. But if I went after them myself, it would just add fuel to the whole 'God or Devil' thing people keep spouting about me. I need someone grounded, someone who's proven they do the right thing even under pressure. That's you, Detective Watanabe."

  ...

  Yuri remained silent for a moment, her eyes sing the files again. She leaned back, exhaling sharply. "Okay, you made your point. I will take it. But you do know that this won't be easy, right? If these people are as powerful as you say, they'll find ways to cover this, or me, if I am not careful."

  I smirked. "Oh, they will defiry to do that or worse. That's why I'll be keeping an eye on things from the shadows. If aries to make a move against you or this case, they'll find themselves... unavaible to tiheir efforts."

  Her lips pressed into a thin line. "And what does that mealy?"

  "It means you do things your way—by the book, with the w behind you. I'll handle what the w 't reach. Think of it as a... silent partnership."

  "I don't like viginte justice at all. It goes against everything I believe in."

  "Fair enough," I said, shrugging. "But let's be real, Detective. Do you think these people py fair? They've got judges, politis, even cops in their pocket. Yoing to need all the help you get."

  She didn't answer right away, her fingers drumming out a restless rhythm on the armrest of her chair. Finally, she nodded. "I don't like it, but I'll accept it," she said. "Just don't go overboard. I'm trusting you to keep things. tained."

  "Deal," I said with a grin. "Now, what's your pn?"

  Yuri took a deep breath, her focus shifting back to the files. "First, I'll o get this evideo the right hands—people I trust in the department who aren't promised. I'll start with my captain. He's been vocal about ing up the force, but I'll vet him before showing him any of this. If he's dirty, I'll skip the of and and go directly to the DA."

  "Good thinking," I said. "And the drive?"

  "I'll have our tech team analyze it. Quietly. If it's as explosive as you say, we'll need a secure of custody. No leaks until we're ready to make arrests."

  "Sounds like you've got this under trol," I said, standing up. "O thing, Detective. When you do make your move, make it loud. These bastards deserve the humiliation."

  Her eyes narrowed. "Don't worry about that. I'll make sure everyone knows exactly what they did. But I'll also make sure they get a fair trial. I'm not stooping to their level."

  I gave her a small nod. "Fair enough." I pced a piece of paper oable. "Here's my number. Give me a call if you need anything. And if you are in a life-threatening situation, I'll be there, alright. Call or no call."

  Yuri stood, crossing her arms. "I'll keep that in mind. But don't take this as me agreeing with your methods. I'm only agreeing to this because I don't see another optiht now."

  "Uood," I said, turning toward the dood luck, Detective Watanabe. Yoing to ."

  As I reached the doorway, she called out, "Aron."

  I gnced back.

  "Thanks," she said, her tone softer. "For trustih this."

  I smiled. "Just doing the right thing. Bad people must be punished."

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