"It’s no use. Helping her will only make the cri syndicate see her as an easy target. They’ll keep demanding from you until you can’t take it anymore."
"God, what should I do?" As Lee listened to my words, she broke down in tears. "I just wanted to make things easier for my family. I wanted to earn money in college and share the burden."
Looking at this Asian girl, I thought of myself. I did the sa thing, but instead of borrowing money, I joined a gang and dropped out of school.
I understand the hardships of poverty. I know how helpless kids from poor families feel, and I also know what those kindhearted kids think.
What we want is simple — to share our family’s troubles.
As if noticing an unusual scene on the beach, Stella and her trainees approached our small dining table.
"Hi, do you need help? I saw you crying!" Stella placed her hands on her hips, looking at us.
"Officer!"
"Call Stella." The policewoman looked at Jesse and smiled.
"We need help. My classmate took a loan from a cri syndicate. Now they’re demanding Lee pay up. If she can’t pay, they’ll force her to work for them."
"Cri syndicate?" Stella picked up the contract, frowning.
"Yes, can you help us?"
Jesse and Anna looked at her hopefully.
Stella glanced over the contract. "The terms are harsh. How did you end up signing this?"
"There were two additional pages of terms." Lee wiped her tears. "I read it carefully, but I didn’t expect it to turn into this."
"Alright, girl, first we need evidence that the cri syndicate added to the contract. This way, we can charge them for contract fraud, which is a form of deceit, but we need evidence. Can you prove it? A one-sided accusation won’t work.
Is there any surveillance footage?"
Lee shook her head.
"Even if there is surveillance, you can’t access the footage. It’s a private company. You’d need a judge or the DA’s office to issue a search warrant, but without evidence, you can’t."
Stella looked at . "Kenny was right. Second, girl, you need evidence that they’re forcing you to work illegally. The contract says they’ll provide a high-paying job in Seoul, South Korea, and we can’t go to Korea to collect evidence. This makes it harder."
"Can’t you do it?" Lee cried, looking at the two officers.
"Yes, I’m sorry. We can’t help you. My advice is to find a good lawyer and sue them. Hopefully, that will buy you more ti. If they act illegally during the repaynt period, we can intervene. You can apply for a court injunction, and if they harass you, you can call the police. That’s how we can help you."
"Naive."
My words filled the three girls with despair.
"Kenny, what are you saying?" Stella shouted discontentedly.
"If injunctions and harassnt prevention worked, they wouldn’t be called a cri syndicate. They can find your parents and threaten them. Your family will pay a higher price, like selling your house."
"No, it can’t be!" Lee cried again, shaking her head.
"The police can’t stop it, because you’re still a student. Your debt—they can go after your elders and family. Can the police stop it? No.
They can threaten your father. Can the police stop it?
No!
Because the police can’t protect you 24/7, and you can’t apply for witness protection. This is an economic dispute, not organized cri; their lawyer can easily avoid trouble!"
The three girls looked at Stella.
"Kenny was right. Unless you have evidence they’re forcing you into prostitution, but that’s in Seoul, not Miami, we can’t intervene," Stella sighed.
MPD is not omnipotent.
The trainee listened in distress. "Are we really doing nothing?"
"What you can do is warn them, but I can tell you, the answer you’ll get might be a complaint from their lawyer."
The trainee was angry at my words, cursing, "Son of a beach!"
Lee cried even harder, continuously sobbing, filled with despair at this mont.
"Be honest with your father and mother about what’s happening. Even though it will cost a lot, it’s a solution. I can accompany you to negotiate with them, so they won’t cross the line."
Stella comforted the girl in front of her. This was the only solution she could think of.
"No, I can’t, I can’t do this. Forty thousand dollars! That’s a lot of money!"
Lee bit her lip. "It was my mistake. I can’t let my family suffer with ."
Looking at the girl in front of , I thought of myself.
"Jesse. Do you want to help her?"
"Kenny, she’s my best friend at school," Jesse looked at pleadingly. "Will you lend her the money? I can work to pay you back once I graduate. I don’t need the Corvette. Please help her."
"Is this your wish?"
Jesse nodded. "Yes."
"You’re my angel. I’d do anything for you."
I stood up and patted Jesse’s head. "Take good care of your friend."
"What are you going to do, Kenny?"
"Can’t solve the problem, SO, solve the people causing the problem!"
The three girls didn’t understand.
Stella and the policewoman’s expressions changed.
"Damn it, what are you going to do?"
I picked up the car keys and turned towards the parking lot, waving my hand behind at Stella.
"Do what God wants to do."
"You’re committing a cri, right in front of ."
"Then can you help her? You know it’s a contract trap. What can you do?"
I turned and questioned Stella.
"No, you can’t. You can’t do anything."
My words struck the two policewon like thunder. Yes, they couldn’t do anything.
What they could do was comfort the victims after the cri, arrest the perpetrators.
But tragedies would happen.
What’s waiting for Lee is hell.
"GOD!" The trainee cursed, venting her discontent.
"Are you going to solve it with violence?" Stella felt a profound helplessness.
"Violence is the simplest way to solve problems, and the most effective in the dark world."
"Do you know what you’re doing?"
"Of course, I’m shining a light in the darkness!"
"You’re going to face danger! It’s a violent group," Stella advised earnestly.
"I am the danger. I’m Executioner Kenny Clark, the Butcher of Miami! You should worry about them, not ."
"Are you willing to face dozen guns? You’re not Superman."
"Stella, you’re a rookie. Koreans, the Korean cri syndicate has a habit—they’re not used to using firearms. We all know about the Koreans on the roof.
Because in Korea, they have a conscription system, and adult n have military experience and know how to use guns, so they’re not afraid of gangs in the United States, they even defeat gangs.
But Korean cri organizations, having ford habits in Korea, don’t use guns, since it’s illegal to possess firearms in Korea, and illegal possession of a gun is a serious cri!
They prefer to use fists!"
"You might get hurt, or even die."
"I’m the Executioner, and death is my middle na."
Watching leave, Stella cursed in exasperation, "Asshole!" The policewoman flipped off.
The trainee awkwardly looked at her instructor, "Stella, I think he’s handso."
"Yes, he’s handso!" A smile appeared on Stella’s face.
"What are we going to do? Call headquarters, a gang conflict is about to happen?"
"I didn’t hear anything."
The trainee smiled at her instructor, "I didn’t hear anything either, so Kenny won’t get caught."
"He’s handso, but foolish. Follow him."
"But it’s not our jurisdiction."
"We can say the informant tipped us off, so we’re checking it out!"
The trainee gave her instructor a thumbs-up.
"So, we’re on the side of justice, right?"
"Yes!" Stella patted the trainee’s shoulder and headed to the police car.
Design District.
I drove my Corvette slowly, scanning the street for information, and soon spotted a barbecue restaurant.
Barbecue is popular in Korea, and people in Miami also love this cooking style, where you can DIY.
I parked the car and walked into the barbecue restaurant.
Inside, a group of guys in black suits, with arms covered in tattoos, were eating. They turned to look at .
I took off my jacket, placed it on a wooden table, and slowly rolled up my shirt sleeves.
"Kim, I’m looking for this guy. It’s an order, not a request!"
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