“Oh my God, she actually told that story to you?” Ajibade asked Roderick once he and the other officers stopped laughing.

“It’s not funny, Ajibade! I thought she was telling me about one of her dumb acts during her wilder days, not a horror story about… No, I don't want to repeat those four alphabets together! Like, what the fuck?”

“Oh, her story traumatized your pious soul, did it?” Jackie commented as he struggled to contain an urge to laugh again.

“It’s one of her biggest act of embarrassments, though. She was young and stupid at that time, now she’s got a problem she can’t get rid of. Then again, she ended up the assistant of a magician who’s famous for being an escapologist before the war,” Leong explained.

“Just be glad she didn’t end up doing porno in Japan,” Rendal added.

“Damn you guys, now I feel dirty,” Roderick complained as a crawling sensation went down his entire body causing him to involuntarily shiver.

“C’mon, Roderick, everyone has a dirty part within their minds. The ones who deny it are usually the ones who are more likely to do something stupid. Do you know how many university boys with so-called bright futures that Jackie and I have arrested for outrage of modesty in the past three years alone?”

“Eleven, and as someone whose brother became his sister, I am ashamed to admit that three more were self-proclaimed trans-women,” Jackie answered his partner’s question.

“Wait, trans-women? I thought they know better than to do stupid shit like this.”

“Well, they learned the hard way that in Singapore, having a pair of boobs doesn’t make you immune to the law. My sister have a name for these idiots: Bridge-burners. The local LGBT community worked so hard to improve their image in the eyes of a conservative public for decades, so that they can be allowed to live their lives normally, then these Westernized bridge-burners showed up with their woketard mindset, trying to play the gender card whenever they commit a crime. Hell, social justice warriors like myself get hit hard by them. It’s, like, fucking friendly fire.”

“Aye, social justice used to be a good thing until the woke corrupted the whole thing with good, proper liberals like myself getting called traitors and bigots by the far-left simply for having common sense and speaking out against their more horrible schemes.”

“Wow, Xiaoye, you’re kind of late today,” Rendal commented as everyone turned around to see Xiaoye approaching, looking rather tired for some reason.

“Aye, my bad. Didn’t have a good day’s rest. Man, I hate second night shifts… So, anything juicy, Leong?”

“Imps wrecking havoc at a dance studio, kappas stealing cucumbers from a supermarket, illegal magic artifacts found at the Woodlands Checkpoint, and oh, yes, the juiciest news: Aditya and Goraz caught a black magic practitioner attempting to make a model his slave lover.”

“Ah, the usual…”

“But the one making the headlines is DJ-Sbeat, who got killed last night,” Rendal said, and Xiaoye groaned.

“Shit, the news is already out?”

“Yeah, someone leaked it out. Now the whole of Singapore is in an uproar because one of their favourite celebrities got sliced up like a chunk of meat.”

“We’ve also gotten word from AC Bradley. Seems like Grey Team’s taking over the case after all, so, good luck with the press when they ambush you,” Jackie added.

“Huh, we’ll see about that. About time I go out on patrol.”

Roderick got up, but then Xiaoye stopped him.

“Not with you today, Roderick,” she said, to his confusion.

“Why not?”

The cambion sighed.

“Supt Harper came in this morning and had a talk with Bradley. I heard from the blokes at Second Shift that voices were raised, unprofessional words were exchanged and that your father left the office real furious. Either way, Bradley said I’m riding with Amirah tonight while he sort things out with your father-”

Roderick felt his blood boiling. He already had a vague idea what his father must have demanded from Bradley.

“Screw that, I’ll sort things out with my father.”

“Roderick, it’s just for tonight.”

“Yeah, right. He’ll be coming in next shift to fuck things up too.”

“Hey, you two are just being split up for the night, there’s no need to be angry about it,” Jackie said.

“Look, if it’s work related, I understand, but this isn’t. Right now, it’s being done just so that my father stop complaining.”

“What’s your father’s problem with Xiaoye, anyways?” Ajibade asked.

“He’s ultra-religious. Xiaoye’s a cambion. See what I mean?”

Everyone started groaning.

“Seriously? I know your dad discriminates, but bringing religion into this? That’s blasphemy,” Rendal complained.

“I agree. Nearly every ‘regular’ officers, including myself, are religious, and yet we’re all working with Xiaoye and other night creatures with no problems at all. Why does your father have to be so special?” Leong asked.

“How the hell should I know? That old geezer’s trying to exercise whatever little control he has over me, I guess? Me and my second sister are the only ones still within his reach, all my other siblings have long slipped through his fingers,” Roderick replied as he furiously slammed his fists on his desk.

“Is something wrong?”

Roderick looked up to see Jason standing before the group, but something felt amiss, and then Rendal started laughing.

“Holy shit, Inspector Jason’s back in a uniform?”

“Oh, bother,” Jason muttered in dismay as Rendal started laughing, followed by the others.

“Shit, Inspector, I know you’re only twenty-nine, but that uniform makes you look forty,” Ajibade commented.

“Yeah, even Leong looks younger than you, and he’s about to hit fifty!” Jackie added.

“Sorry, Jason, I’m too used to seeing you in office attire. You pure don’t fit into officer attire,” Xiaoye said as she covered her face with her hands while giggling away.

“Ah, all you muṭṭāḷ are going to get it from me when Halloween comes,” Jason threatened in a joking manner before switching back to a more professional tone as he turned towards Roderick, “Everything okay with you, corporal?”

“Sorry, Inspector, family issues.”

“I know, that’s why I’m riding with you tonight for patrol. Come on, let’s go.”

Roderick was still in a foul mood as he followed Jason to the armoury to collect their equipment and car keys (Jason has a preference for sedans), and as they drove out the headquarters, Roderick could not help but begin to wonder why Xiaoye, who despite being quite law-abiding was also know to be somewhat rebellious, switching from a police officer to an ah lian with a Scottish accent whenever someone provokes her, was strangely behaving in a submissive manner.

“Just so you know, Roderick,” Jason suddenly spoke up as they turned a corner, “Bradley’s gotten the commissioner to ban your father from entering the new building which the Shades will be moving into this Friday.”

“Oh, good.”

“And the reason why you and Xiaoye have been split up for the night is because Bradley suspects you and Xiaoye might end up having a conflict.”

“How exactly are the two of us going to have a conflict?”

“Well, Bradley told me that Xiaoye values family bonds. Seeing you and your father throwing swords at each other made her uncomfortable.”

“My father was the one who offended. Why’s she feeling guilty?”

“Guilty? That woman didn’t like the fact that she had to hurt that pricolici from our previous case, but she didn’t even hesitate to blow part of his arm apart. She’s not the type that will hesitate because of her personal feelings. If she’s feeling guilty, it’s probably because she’s unable to speak out against your father without significant backlash to the Shades. Office politics and all that bullshit.”

“Yeah, politics, stupid ass shit.”

“Hey, lighten up, she’ll be out on the road with you next shift. Our main focus right now is to get your father out of your head so that you can do your job properly.”

“Okay, but that old geezer of mine better not say something stupid to Xiaoye in front of me.”

“Xiaoye did tell me that all this rage from your father disrespecting her stemmed from a past incident involving an elf girl?”

“Yeah. My dad pulled some dirty tricks to split us up. Of course, he tells everyone it’s for my own good, but I know the real reason why. Now he’s doing the same thing with Xiaoye, because she’s a cambion and it clashes with his religious beliefs.”

“And yet we can’t call him a racist because he’s not. Two years ago, he throttled an unrepentant serial killer and rapist who targeted only elven women, almost drew his gun on him according to the news. And he spearheaded the raid on the Singapore branch of the anti-vampire organization D-Fang after they murdered an aswang and his human wife.”

“Why do I get the feeling he did all those to save his face?”

“I don’t know, you’ll have to ask him that yourself. But I’m just going to rephrase the same question Xiaoye asked you last night: Have you ever considered what it was that made him the way he is today?”

“Well, that doesn’t excuse his discrimination-”

“Discrimination is something caused by outer factors, like a lack of education, fear, or bad influences. Of course, once you let discrimination fester your mind, that’s when racism and bigotry is born. It’s not a mental illness, it’s a moral sickness, once that can be prevented if the afflicted has the right people around them to get rid of the causes.”

At this moment, Jason stopped the car at a traffic crossing as the light turned red and turned to look at Roderick.

“How long have you and your siblings not talked with your father?”

Roderick scratched his head. He and his siblings started treating his father like a stranger around ten years ago, but they did talk… When was the last time he himself talked to his father? Ben and Vicky never called back the moment they walked out the house, then the twins moved away after getting into an argument with his father over their choice of studies. Roderick moved out to Vicky’s apartment around four years ago, but he did talk to his father sometimes. Last night, his father claimed that Roderick hasn’t talked to him for a year, but…

“I think it’s been more than a year, maybe one and a half.”

“Dude, for real? The last time I had a conflict with my own father, the Cold War only lasted two weeks before we started discussing which Hollywood actor is our least favourite. You really need to find some time and get your siblings together to talk to your dad. Who knows, he might actually soften up…”

Roderick chuckled at Jason’s suggestion.

“Please, Inspector, I know my dad. They don’t call him ‘the Bull’ for no reason. That man’s so stubborn, his neck could probably break a guillotine’s blade.”

“That’s a pretty dark description… But I’ll take it,” Jason replied when the radio came to life.

“Any available Sierra near Alexandra Road, possible supernatural disturbance reported at Pineflow Condominium, caller is one Vera Seow, please respond urgently, screams heard, sounds of potential fight going on.”

“We’re one turn away from Alexandra Road,” Roderick said as he looked out the windscreen.

“Sierra-3-10 responding, ETA three minutes, over,” Jason replied the operator before pressing down on the pedal while activating the sirens.

A security guard could be seen waving at Roderick and Jason as the patrol car arrived on the scene, and Roderick was surprised to see blood on the guard’s shirt.

“I don’t know what that thing is! It’s attacking everyone in sight!” the guard said, his voice trembling as blood flowed from a laceration across his shoulder while Roderick tended to him.

“Sierra-3-10 on scene at Pineflow Condominium, Alexandra Road, requesting both armed and medical backup urgently, over,” Jason said over the radio to the operator.

“Acknowledged, re-directing all nearby units from all departments to your location, medical services alerted. ETA ten minutes for medical.”

“Shit, I don’t think we have time to wait… Sir, stay inside your booth and wait for medical services. Which floor did this thing that attacked you go?” Jason asked.

“Seventh floor! It attacked me at the elevators. One of the residents got thrown down to the basement carpark… I don’t know if he’s still alive,” the guard replied when screams were heard, followed by a young woman running out of the elevator lobby, clutching an injured arm before collapsing to the ground.

“Roderick, go!”

Roderick didn’t need a second reminder, dashing over to the young woman and picking her up when he felt something wrap around his ankle and the next thing he knew, he was jerked off his feet and found himself being dragged towards a hideous woman with wild hair, mismatched eyes and a rotting face dressed in bloodied robes, and one of the robes was entangled around his ankle.

“Inspector, a little help!” Roderick called out, and Jason responded with five shots from his sidearm, stunning the entity and freeing the corporal who immediately picked up the woman and made a dash for safety again as a Shades patrol SUV arrived on the scene with Ajibade and Lucas emerging from it wielding a shotgun and bullpup rifle respectively.

“Jesus, that thing’s a bloody ugly! Lucas, what the hell is that?” Ajibade exclaimed at the sight of the entity charging towards Roderick and Jason

“Polong,” came Lucas’s reply before he squeezed off a few rounds at it, but it was Ajibade who finally got it to retreat with a single shotgun blast that sent it flying back, at which point the entity hissed at them with hatred in its eyes as it crawled towards a sewer grate, transformed into a puddle of unknown liquid and disappeared into it as Ajibade and Lucas tried to pursue it.

“Ah, shit, it got away!”

“Ajibade, Lucas, there’s another victim in the basement carpark, go find and tend to him,” Jason ordered, to which both men saluted and rushed down the nearby stairs to conduct a search-and-rescue.

As Roderick carefully laid the injured young woman down on the floor, he suddenly recalled the name mentioned by the operator and then realized that he recognized her.

“Inspector Jason, I know this woman.”

“You know her?”

“She’s a social media personality too. Vera Seow, a chef and entrepreneur who helped save her parents’ restaurant from closing down. Her innovations in Sichuan cooking earned her two Michelin stars at the young age of twenty-four.”

“For real?”

“Yeah, it was the main headlines of ever newspaper in Singapore and Malaysia last year.”

Jason rubbed his chin in thought as ambulance sirens are heard approaching the scene.

“Just like that DJ who got murdered last night… Is someone targeting social media personalities?” he asked, while Roderick could only stare at the victim…