Light rain sprinkled across Raymond's windshield as he swerved his car into the parking lot beneath his apartment building.  The hour was late.  He had spent another long day and night at the station reviewing Joe Ma's file.  He was adamant about putting Joe Ma behind bars.  Therefore he cannot afford to make any mistakes.  As Nancy puts it, he can't "slip up."  Every piece of evidence, every little detail and every word on the testimonies was crucial in the case.  Trial was scheduled for next month.  Whether Joe Ma will finally be put to justice will be decided then.  Raymond was a big believer in justice.  He also believed in fate as well.  And now fate has decided that Joe Ma can't get away with his wrongdoings any longer.  It was time for punishment and Raymond will be the first in line to see it done.

Stifling a yawn, Raymond got out of his car and entered the adjacent door to the lobby of his building.  The security guard, who everybody refers to as Uncle Lau, looked up from his newspaper upon his entrance.  "Did you eat dinner yet Uncle Lau?" Raymond inquired as he passed the desk.

Smiling to reveal a missing tooth, Uncle Lau nodded his head vigorously before glancing at his watch.  "It's past midnight.  I believe everybody has eaten dinner."

Raymond pressed for the elevator and said with wry humor, "That is everybody with a normal occupation."

Uncle Lau chuckled at the remark and said, "You missed Miss Wong again.  She left about an hour ago."

Raymond gave him a lopsided smile and said, "Goodnight Uncle Lau."  As he stepped into the elevator he prepared himself for what's ahead.  If Mandy left only an hour ago then his mom must still be up.  If she was still up then she'll naturally start berating him for neglecting Mandy.  It's not like he did it on purpose.  He's been working long straight hours for the past several weeks.  Any available time he has left he wanted to use to sleep.  As soon as Joe Ma's trial is over and Joe Ma gets what he deserves, then and only then, can Raymond relax and have some free time.

From the corridor Raymond could hear the muffled noises of a television behind his apartment door.  Bracing himself, he unlocked the door and walked in.  As suspected, Gigi was still up and judging by the frown on her face, she was going to nag him again.  "Are you waiting up for me?" he asked innocently.

Gigi instantly switched off the television.  Leaning back on the couch she crossed her arms over her chest and made a huffing noise.

Seeing her position, Raymond knew she meant business this time.  He walked over and sighed heavily as he sat down next to her.  "Go ahead.  Start your lecture."

Gigi gave him a scowl and dived into her topic.  "Raymond, I just don't know what you are thinking.  You have such a wonderful girlfriend and yet you can't even find a minute in your day to give her a call."

"I'm busy at the station," Raymond clarified.  "We just arrested Joe Ma and I can't mess up on the case."

"Is work all you can think of?  Is it more important than your girlfriend?" Gigi countered with frustration.

"Of course not," Raymond quickly injected.  "It's just that Joe Ma is a demented serial killer.  He has killed so many young girls and I really want to make sure that he doesn't kill again.  This is my job.  To protect people."

Some of Gigi's anger faded.  "Listen son, I know you have a good heart.  You always want to help and make the world a safer place but you can't ignore the people that love you in order to do it.  How do you think Mandy feels?  You haven't seen or spoken to her in more than three weeks."

"I know," Raymond said.  "I'll call her tomorrow morning."  Seeing the stern look on Gigi's face, he added, "I promise."

Satisfied with his response, Gigi got up.  "I'm going to bed now.  There are some leftovers in the warming pot.  There's also soup in the thermo next to the pot.  Mandy bought the thermo for you."

Raymond walked Gigi to her bedroom.  At the door, he gave her a small peck on the cheek, "Goodnight Mom."  In the kitchen he took the leftovers out and poured the still steaming soup into a bowl.  As he waited for the soup to cool a bit, he thought about his mom's earlier words.  He knew he has been neglecting Mandy but the strange thing is not once had he felt guilty about it.  Neither had he missed her.  Aren't couples supposed to miss each other during long absences?  Not missing Mandy at all made Raymond uneasy about his true feelings for her.  He knew Gigi wants him to settle down and get marry.  However, marrying Mandy had never entered his mind.  In fact, he never thought about her at all.  What did all this mean?  As he ate silently, Raymond begun to wonder exactly what his feelings are for Mandy.

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A knock sounded on the wooden door.  Ben looked over at Moses and Moses got up from his seat to open it.  It was Kenny.  Kenny walked in and handed a white envelope to Ben.  Reaching for the envelope Ben asked, "Is this it?"

Kenny nodded his head and took a seat next to Moses.  "This is all the information I can get on him.  It's not as thorough as I like but it'll serve our purpose."

Ben smiled and immediately ripped open the envelope.  He dumped the contents onto the desk and went directly for the photos.  He picked up each photo one by one and stacked them together.  Flipping through them he said, "He's looks ordinary."

"He is.  The only thing that makes him stand out is his stubbornness," Kenny imputed.

"I want to meet with him."  Ben stated.

"I can set up something," Moses said.  "When?"

Ben dropped the photos onto the desk and said, "Tomorrow.  At the plaza.  I want to find out for myself just how righteous this Raymond Lam is.  I don't believe anyone can refuse a large sum of money."

"Is it really important to get him on our side?" Kenny asked.

Picking up his cigar Ben proceeded to blow several rings of smoke into the air before answering, "Yes it is.  You see, there's going to be more big time deals coming in for us.  We can't afford to have the police breathing down on necks.  If we can bribe Raymond Lam to look the other way then our deals will be smooth and worry free and that makes everyone happy."

Moses leaned forward in his chair and asked directly, "What if he refuses?"

Ben stubbed his cigar out.  With a menacing dark look on his face he said quietly, "Then I'm afraid we would just have to take care of him."

"You mean kill him?" Kenny asked with surprise.  "He's a cop!"

Ben broke out in laughter.  When his laughing subsided he clucked his tongue in disappointment.  "Kenny, you think I'm some sort of killer?  To ease your mind, I don't kill and neither will I allow any one of us to kill."

Embarrassed by his own wrong assumption, Kenny stammered, "I-I thought…"

Holding up his hand to stop Kenny's words, Ben said, "When I say take care of him I meant setting him up in a way so that he gets transferred out of our area."

Moses and Kenny exchanged looks then nodded in agreement.