Tokyo: From Lawless Madpolice to Minister

An arm cannot wrestle against a thigh.

Lawrence did everything he could, but since Smith's officer ID fell at the crime scene, even trying to find a scapegoat wouldn't work. So, to maintain the last shred of dignity, he had to force Smith to turn himself in.

Of course, a final farewell was necessary.

The day after his tooth was knocked out, Lawrence prepared a few dishes and a bottle of good wine and then called his adopted son Smith over for a meal.

"Oh, Uncle Lawrence, is there something to celebrate today?" Smith exclaimed in surprise as he entered and saw the lavish lunch, grinning, "Let me guess, is it because my case is solved? I knew those Japanese would definitely give face to you, the General. Thank you, Uncle."

He hadn't taken the rape case to heart. In his view, as a U.S. Army lieutenant, with a father who's a Major General, what was wrong with raping a Japanese woman? Could they really send him to prison?

"Wait a minute." As he got closer, he suddenly noticed Lawrence's swollen face. Frowning, he asked, "Uncle, what happened to you?"

Lawrence didn't answer immediately but stared at his adopted son for a moment. He then placed his hands on Smith's shoulders and said seriously, "Listen, Smith, this time I can't help you. You have to pay for what you've done. I hope you can face this like a man and turn yourself in right after this meal, okay?"

Smith froze on the spot, his smile vanishing at an eye-catching pace. In disbelief, he said, "Uncle Lawrence, are you joking with me? I'm no longer a kid."

"No, I'm not. I've done my best, but you must surrender." Lawrence said with a serious expression.

"Oh, shit!" Upon hearing this, Smith exploded, shaking off Lawrence's hands and shouting emotionally, "You want me to turn myself in? What kind of joke is this? If I turn myself in, I'm finished! I'm only 27 years old, with a bright future ahead of me. And now, everything's turning to foam just because of playing with a lowly Japanese woman. Is that fair?"

"It wasn't playing with her; it was rape!" Seeing this attitude from his adopted son, Lawrence also got angry.

Smith blurted out, "What difference does it make? I can pay her; just consider it paid sex."

"Damn it, if you had spent money to solve the problem below your waist earlier, it wouldn't have escalated to a problem that money can't solve now!" Lawrence shouted angrily and then took a deep breath to calm himself, rearranging his words, "Listen, kid, maybe out of guilt towards your father, I've been too indulgent these years, which led you to make this mistake. But I've tried, and this time I'm powerless. You must bear the consequences of your mistake. I will set you up with a good job once you're out."

"Bullshit! If you truly felt guilty for my father, you wouldn't make me go to prison!" Smith roared hysterically, his face contorted in anger. "It was my father who risked his life to save you, and that's why you've achieved everything you have today. Yet now, you're sending your savior's child to prison. Is this your way of repaying kindness? Or were your relations with my father a joke?"

"Smack!" Lawrence slapped Smith hard across the face, gritting his teeth, and said, "You shouldn't question my ties with your father, or he wouldn't have died for me. Nor would I have been cleaning up after you for so many years. Listen up, you have to turn yourself in after this meal, or else I'll arrange for soldiers to take you to the Police Headquarters. If it comes to that, you won't even retain a shred of dignity."

Feeling the stinging pain on his face and seeing the furious and disappointed look in his adoptive father's eyes, Smith suddenly calmed down, "I'm sorry, Uncle, I was too emotional just now, I said something stupid. I'm such an asshole. Okay, I'll do as you say. After this meal, I'll take that bastard Allen with me to turn ourselves in."

Allen was his accomplice.

"It's okay, I understand your feelings about going to jail." Lawrence's anger dissipated instantly, replaced by helplessness and a trace of guilt and self-reproach, "Let's eat first. Let's have a good drink together. Going to jail isn't a big deal. I'll try my best to ensure you have a good life in prison."

"Okay, Uncle." Smith forced a smile, sat down, and poured two glasses of wine, "That slap woke me up. Yes, I shouldn't have questioned your feelings for my father. You've done everything for me over the years—sending me to school, taking care of my health, providing for me, cleaning up the trouble I've caused, and yet I said those things. I regret that, truly."

He said as he wiped non-existent tears from the corners of his eyes.

"Don't be like this, kid. It's okay. I don't blame you. It's all in the past. Let's leave behind those brief moments of unhappiness and enjoy the food in front of us."

Lawrence hurriedly handed him a few tissues.

"Uncle, let's drink to our heart's content." Smith took the tissues, wiped off the nonexistent tears, and raised his glass.

Lawrence shook his head, "I can't get drunk. I want to personally take you to turn yourself in later."

"I'll go by myself. Consider it holding onto the last shred of dignity for you, Uncle. It's the least I can do." Smith said with a self-deprecating smile.

Lawrence opened his mouth and then nodded.

Smith grinned, "Alright, Uncle, don't scowl. After all, this is our last meal together in years. Drink to your heart's content. By the time you wake up, I'll be at the Police Headquarters."

"Alright, try these dishes. I specially learned them for you." Looking at his understanding adopted son, Lawrence felt a bit dazed and managed to squeeze out a smile.

"Then today, I'll definitely eat to my heart's content."

The two of them clinked glasses, talking about some amusing past stories, the atmosphere never more harmonious. Lawrence kept drinking cup after cup until he was completely knocked out.

"Uncle, Uncle?" Seeing Lawrence slumped over the table, Smith called out tentatively, and after confirming he was truly passed out, a cold smile appeared on his lips, "I'm absolutely not going to prison!"

He then got up, took Lawrence's officer ID from his arms, and quickly left the room, heading straight to Allen's barracks.

When he arrived, Allen was still sleeping. He kicked him awake, "Bastard, how can you sleep so soundly at a time like this? Get up!"

"Shit! What are you doing?" Allen grumbled, still half-asleep, glaring at Smith.

Smith tossed his clothes and pants over and said, "That bastard uncle of mine has sold us out. He wants us to surrender. If you don't want to go to jail, let's run while he's still drunk."

"What?" Allen was shocked, jumping out of bed, hurriedly dressing while incredulously saying, "He's your foster father, and your father saved his life. And now, he's just going to watch you get locked up without lifting a finger?"

"Yeah, people these days are always so ungrateful," Smith cursed, urging with urgency, "Hurry up. I stole my uncle's ID. We'll hit the armory in a while to grab some guns and ammo, just in case. I'd rather go down with the cops than be tried in court."

"I get you, brother," Allen agreed, adding, "But if possible, it's best not to have a conflict with the cops; that's not wise."

"Of course, I'm not that stupid. But if they run into us, then we just have to show them, let them see how terrifying the gap between security forces and us professional soldiers can be," Smith replied with a grin.

Once Allen was dressed, they took Lawrence's ID and headed to the armory, grabbing two automatic rifles, two pistols, 2000 rounds of ammunition, and fifteen grenades, then drove off in an SUV.

Their target was the airport. The weapons were for unexpected situations on the way there. As long as they could buy a ticket and board a plane back to the United States at the airport, could Japan's police chase them across the ocean and bring them back for trial?

The police hadn't issued a wanted notice yet, and Lawrence was dead drunk, so Smith and Allen weren't feeling too stressed. They played dynamic music during the drive, instinctively speeding up.

A patrol car parked by the roadside watched them as their SUV sped past.

The two traffic cops who had just stepped out for a smoke exchanged glances.

"Baka! How arrogant can they be?"

They quickly put out their cigarettes and got back in the car, turned on the siren and lights, and hit the gas in pursuit.

After about a minute, they finally caught up to the speeding SUV. Meanwhile, the siren finally drowned out the music blaring from inside the SUV.

"The SUV in front, pull over immediately!"

"Oh shit! The cops are actually catching up?"

Allen, who was driving, glanced at the rearview mirror, his face changing drastically upon hearing the command.

Smith also glanced through the rearview mirror upon hearing this, indeed seeing a police car sticking to their tail.

"How did they get so fast?" Smith couldn't understand, but with the car full of weapons, he dared not stop. Especially with weapons at hand that stirred a murderous intent, he directly reached back and pulled out an automatic rifle, chambering a round, "Forget the airport. Just drive in any direction. With the cops onto us, going back through legitimate means any time soon is impossible."

"I love this Chinese saying: 'My fate is mine, not heaven's.' No one can make me go to jail!"

With that, he leaned half his body out of the window, holding his rifle aimed at the trailing police car.

"Baka!"

The two officers inside the police car saw this through the windshield, their minds blown, feeling as if the sky had fallen. Just for catching a speeder, did it have to come to this?

And at that moment.

The gun fired.

"Da-da-da-da-da-da-da!"

With the gun barrel vibrating, accompanied by sparks, a barrage of bullets rained down like a storm onto the police car, shattering the windshield into pieces. The two officers inside were hit before they could take cover, with sparks flying off the car body, and lost control after the tires blew out, crashing into the barrier and stalling.

"Yes!" Smith, cheeks flushed with excitement, punched the air and shot a few more times into the sky before ducking back inside, "Step on it, Allen."

"Yes, sir~" Allen replied playfully.

In the smoking police car behind, a police officer shot in the chest, blood pouring from his mouth, weakly activated the communicator and said with labored breaths, "Unit 07 highway patrol encountered gunfire near Tokyo Airport, two officers shot requesting backup. Suspects' vehicle is... a military green SUV, license plate XXXX, two suspects, armed with automatic weapons, heavily armed, requesting..."

After saying this, he couldn't hold on any longer, passing out, while a voice crackled through the communicator, asking questions that went unanswered.