Stephen Knight - White Tiger

“You don’t need to know why, Ryker. You just need to know this is how it is, and you’re going to give a hundred and fifty percent. Do you have any further questions?”

Ryker saw the lay of the land very clearly. He took one sidelong glance at Spider, and when his lieutenant didn’t meet his eye, he had his answer.

“I got you, sir.”

“Glad to hear it,” Jericho nodded toward Lin. “Mr. Lin, you had some special requests to make?”

Oddly enough, it was the big Russian who spoke.

“Mr. Lin insists on full access to your investigations into the murder of his son, Lin Dan,” he announced. His English was accented but perfectly understandable. “In this matter, a third party has been retained to act as Mr. Lin’s second. Mr. Lin has many important business affairs to attend to, and in the end, this third party would perhaps be more objective in this matter than he.”

You gotta be kidding me, Ryker thought.

The Russian went on.

“We would like full access to the woman you are holding, Zhu Xiaohui. We would also like to review all evidence collected in relation to this case. We would also need to read all reports made, and be briefed on the facts as they now stand.”

“That’s quite a list,” Ryker said. “Getting your Christmas shopping out of the way early?” He turned to Jericho. “Are you planning on deputizing this ‘third party’, sir? I mean, if he gets all this access, the least we can do is give him a detective shield. He probably already has his own gun, but we can square him away with a badge, right?”

“Ryker,” Jericho warned.

Ryker ignored him. He turned to Lin and faced him directly.

“You want to see Xiaohui Zhu? No. You want full access to the investigation I’m conducting? No. You want to review all the evidence we collected? No. Neither you nor your bodyguard are police officers, Mr. Lin. I’m sorry you’ve lost your son, but the task of finding his killer is mine.”

“Ryker!” Jericho snapped. “Enough!”

The chief stirred after a moment. He and Selma Kaplan exchanged glances.

“I have to take Detective Sergeant Ryker’s side on this,” Hallis said unexpectedly, and Ryker did a double-take to make sure it was actually the chief talking. “These requests are-extreme, at the least. The San Francisco Police Department does not usually allow for outside interference when it’s conducting an investigation into any matter.”

Alexsey looked at the two city supervisors sitting next to him.

“Mr. Lin remembers those who show him kindness and respect,” he said. “He is willing to donate substantial monies to a number of charities, including the police athletic league…and certain political parties.”

Both Newsom and the other supervisor-Ryker couldn’t remember his name-exchanged glances among themselves and with Chief Hallis, then Jericho. They didn’t bother paying attention to Ryker or Spider, or even Kaplan. They were only tools of the city, no one important.

“He also has the ability to remove some of the S.F.P.D.’s current troubles,” the Russian finished.

“Current troubles?” Hallis asked.

“Victor Chin,” Alexsey said.

“What’re you going to do, plug him?” Ryker asked.

Alexsey looked at Ryker with eyes that were as flat as the landing deck of an aircraft carrier. “Mr. Lin has the ability to appeal to Mr. Chin’s better nature.”

“How’s that? You’re going to give him a choice of which kneecap gets busted first?”

“Please, let’s not let this get completely unpleasant,” said the hippy supervisor Newsom. “I think you’re being needlessly antagonistic, detective.”

“Fashion tip: bell-bottomed jeans went out of style in 1974,” Ryker said.

Newsom’s eyes bugged out of his head, but he said nothing further.

Spider pushed back in his chair. He slapped Ryker on the shoulder once, hard.

“Get out of here,” he said. “I’ll handle this.”

“The hell you will,” Ryker snarled.

“The hell I won’t, ” Spider hissed. “Get out. Now. Go wait in the hall.”

“That sounds like some excellent career advice,” Jericho seconded. “We’ll handle this from here on out, detective sergeant. Thank you for coming.”

Ryker snorted and shook his head. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It was insane. The entire situation was completely outside of anything he’d had to deal with as an officer of the law, and it was totally beyond him how both Jericho and Hallis could roll over for Lin in front of him and Spider. It made him sick, and just witnessing it made him feel dirty. He knew Lin would get what he wanted.

Disgusted, he left the conference room.

The meeting lasted for another ten minutes. Ryker cooled his heels in the hallway as Spider had instructed. He wanted a cigarette, but he had quit years before and San Francisco was the kind of town where a smoker could be drawn and quartered. Men could tongue-kiss other men in public on the street in front of kids from the Midwest on a walking tour, but he couldn’t smoke a Marlboro in back of the station.

When the meeting broke, Ryker watched as Lin and his Russian sidekick headed down the hall, escorted by Chief Hallis and the two city supervisors. None of them looked in his direction. Then he found himself face to face with Jericho.

“You’re some piece of work, Ryker,” Jericho said. “Do you really want me to pull you off the case? With that little outburst you just made, I should have your ass shipped out to the Traffic Company. You can get your jollies handing out parking tickets and directing traffic.”

Ryker reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his plastic container of Tic-Tacs. He held them out to Jericho.

“You need some of these, captain. Really.” Because I think I smell dick on your breath, he wanted to add, but couldn’t bring himself to completely commit professional suicide. Not just yet.

Jericho stepped closer, towering over Ryker, his face flushed.

“You’re not as useful around here as you seem to think you are, son,” he rumbled. “You want to fuck with me? You think you have what it takes to bring me down?”

Ryker stared up at Jericho but said nothing.

“Are you boys going to have a gun fight?” Selma Kaplan asked. She was standing in the doorway to the conference room with Spider right behind her.

Jericho glanced over his shoulder. He then turned back to Ryker. After a moment, he stepped back.

“Lieutenant Furino. Give your detective his instructions,” he said, then stomped off after the Chief and James Lin, like a good lackey.

Ryker leaned back against the wall. Down the hallway, a couple of cops on the bow and arrow squad-desk duty-had gathered to watch the fireworks. Now that the show was over, they went back to their respective offices.

Spider stepped around Kaplan and approached Ryker.

“That could’ve gone better,” he said.

“How’d it end up? Hallis, Jericho, and our duly-elected officials line up to give Lin a collective blowjob?”

Kaplan laughed. She walked up to Ryker and punched him in the arm, her blue eyes bright and luminous.

“You’re my hero. You’re as dumb as a brick, but you’ve got cojones, I’ll give you that.”

“Thanks. Was it just my imagination, or did Lin just successfully bribe the chief and a district commander?” Ryker asked.

“Serious accusations,” Kaplan said, “but since no money changed hands in my presence, I couldn’t confirm that.”

“Internal Affairs might see things differently.”

Spider laughed. “You want to try and uncage IAD on Hallis and Jericho? Kaplan’s right, Ryker. You are dumb as a brick.”