Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The young man and woman tried to get rid of Zhang Zian by circling around, crossing the street, and going into the shopping mall and coming out again, but ultimately they failed.
They were very wary and did not choose to take the bus or the subway because it was easy to get on the bus, but it was difficult to get off. If the driver listened to Zhang Zian, he would not open the door at the station and would drive directly to the police station.
Zhang Zian was not in a hurry. After following them into the mall, he bought two hamburgers and a bottle of mineral water, as well as a bag of dried fruit and vegetables. He ate them while he walked and fed them to Richard. Old Time Tea and Famous would have to suffer; they had to remain hungry temporarily.
At the end of the street, the young man and woman saw that Zhang Zian was as difficult to get rid off as a dog skin plaster. They talked about it in a low voice. Then, unexpectedly, they split up. The man went left at the crossing and the woman went right.
Zhang Zian did not consider that they would be so smart and suddenly felt troubled. He did not have the ability to split himself up and was destined to only be able to chase one of the two. Who would he pick?
Why was it that Old Time Tea and Famous had yet to catch up? If only they were there, then he would not be in his current dilemma.
Zhang Zian did not consider it for that long and instantly followed the woman because she was carrying the infant. His main goal was to get the infant back, especially if the infant had really been stolen or purchased.
But should he have just the guy go like that? Wasn’t it letting him off too easy?
Zhang Zian was hesitating when he suddenly saw a police motorcycle with green reflective stripes and a private car beside it. A policeman in police uniform seemed to be checking a driver’s license.
Many unimportant intersections did not have traffic policemen at them, and the traffic policeman would only be there during the peak hours to help direct traffic.
Zhang Zian was still not sure if the male and female were human traffickers, and he did not have much time. He could not hesitate too much. He wanted to report to the police, but he had not met any patrolling policemen the entire way. Calling the police was limited in effectiveness. He was not familiar with the roads of the capital, so he could not accurately describe his location, nor could he predict the direction in which the young man and woman would go since their direction was always changing. When the police arrived, the young man and woman might have already gone far away.
Although the man in front of him was a traffic policeman, a traffic policeman was a policeman!
He jogged a few steps to the traffic policeman wearing sunglasses and said, “Police comrade, I want to report a case.”
The traffic policeman, who was looking over a driver’s license, was very confused. Why was he looking for the traffic policeman to report the case?
“What case do you want to report? A traffic accident?” the traffic policeman asked.
“No, I suspect that I’ve met a human trafficking case.” Zhang Zian pointed to the young man and woman’s backs to the left and right and briefly explained the situation. “It is the two of them––the woman holding the child and the man. They seem to feel guilty that I suspect them, so they are trying to run away separately. I’ve been following them for quite some time. I haven’t met any other policemen on the way. When I saw that they were going to run away, I just so happened to see you on duty here, so I came over.” After he finished speaking, he was hesitant and worried. He was not sure if the traffic police would care.
“Human traffickers?” The traffic policeman returned the driver’s license to the driver and signaled for the driver to continue on. He took his sunglasses off and looked seriously at Zhang Zian before he looked at the young man and woman. “Are you sure?”
“I can’t be certain… But from their actions, that’s what I suspect.” Zhang Zian told the truth. “But I don’t have the time to explain anymore. They’ve almost escaped!”
He was anxious because the young man and woman seemed to have found out that he was talking to the traffic policeman. Instead of walking away quickly, they were jogging away in a hurry, like they were running for their lives. In ten seconds, they would disappear completely into the crowd at the crossing.
If the traffic policeman did not trust what he said, he could only continue chasing them himself.
“Don’t worry, I’ll have people watch the man.” The traffic policeman took up his walkie talkie and contacted a colleague at the crossroad, describing the man’s appearance. He did not see his face, so he could only talk about the clothes he was wearing, his height, and whether he was plump or thin.
The difference from Zhang Zian was that the traffic policeman was very familiar with the streets nearby. He could tell which direction the two people could escape in.
Zhang Zian let out a breath of relief, thinking in his heart that there was finally nothing for him to do; however, after the traffic policeman finished contacting his colleague, the traffic policeman told him, “We are traffic police, and this is not under our jurisdiction. We have no power to stop them, we can only take notice of where they go. You must go to a police station to report the case. Furthermore, the direction the woman is heading in has no traffic policemen nearby, so we must think of another way.”
“Oh, I’m not from around here and I am unfamiliar with this place. Where can I find a police station?” Zhang Zian was helpless, but he also knew that he had to tell the truth. Traffic policemen were traffic policemen; civilian policemen were civilian policemen. It was impossible to exceed their station’s limitations, especially when the informant himself was not sure.
“There’s a police station over there. You can see it when you run into that alley. It’s just I don’t know if there’s anybody on duty right now…” The traffic policeman pointed in the general direction. “Let me call 110 for you.”
“All right.” Zhang Zian did not say anything else. He immediately followed the traffic policeman’s directions and ran into the alley. He saw a police station; it was the kind that would be hard to notice if no one had pointed it out. It was true that every bit of land was precious in the Capital.
“Is there anyone here?” He knocked on the door and pushed it open. His heart sunk when he entered. There were two young people wearing police uniforms inside, but he could tell with one look that the police uniform they were wearing was not the official police uniform; it was the kind worn by the auxiliary police.
Auxiliary and co-policemen were also policemen. They were set up to solve problems that were insufficient for the formal police force. They occupied a large proportion in the police force. They were police, yet not police at the same time and could be thought of as temporary workers in the police field.
The biggest problem was that auxiliary policemen had no independent law enforcement power. In theory, they had to be guided by the official civilian policemen in order to carry out all kinds of work. But there were no civilian policemen present.
“What is the problem?” The two auxiliary policemen were reading books and writing documents. Upon seeing him enter, the policeman who was reading stood up.
“Er…” Zhang Zian hesitated for a bit. “Um… is there a civilian policeman present?”
He was clear about the power of an auxiliary policeman, feeling that even if he told them the situation, it would be useless. If there were no civilian policemen present, then it would be better to think of another solution.
“The civilian policeman went to the nearby area to settle some things. He’ll be back after a while,” the auxiliary policeman answered. “If there’s anything you can tell us, we can help you pass the message along.”
“My situation is quite urgent. I need a civilian policeman present right now.” Zhang Zian did not want to harm their pride, but he really felt that they would not be able to help. Instead of wasting time talking to them, it would be better to hurry and find another way to solve the problem.
“You can try to talk about it.” The other cop who was writing on a document put down his pen. “Maybe there’s something we can do about it.” Their eyes were sincere and forthright when they spoke.
Seeing their eyes, Zhang Zian, who had originally planned on leaving immediately, stopped and decided to trust them.
“I saw a young man and woman carrying an infant and asking for money on the street. I suspect that that infant was stolen or bought, so I followed them. Now they split up and ran, and I didn’t have the ability to chase the two of them alone. I met a traffic policeman on the road who told me to come here and report it to the police,” Zhang Zian said quickly, waiting for their reaction.
He took a quick look at the narrow table next to them. On top of it were documents that had been written halfway and a reversed reference book. They were compiling the examination materials to join the civilian police. Before he came in, they were both studying hard. They wanted to pass the police examination to get rid of the status of an auxiliary policeman and become a formal policeman.
However, if they acted unauthorized in the absence of the police, it could leave a stain on their portfolio, which would increase obstacles and frustrations on their way to becoming civilian policeman.
Therefore, if they expressed that they would be unable to do anything and could only pass on the message to the civilian police, he would understand.
Just like the choice he had made just now, it was their turn to make a choice between their future and an infant they did not know.
The two of them quietly looked at each other. That one look expressed many complicated signals, and then they took down their police hats from the clothes rack at the same time and simply said, “Let’s go.”
Zhang Zian did not say anything; he could totally understand what they were feeling.
They had been together for a long time in that narrow police room. They already got on well with each other. One called to report to the civilian policeman who was out settling things in another area. The other picked up a bunch of keys from the desk and pointed to two electric bicycles parked outside the police room and said, “Get in the car and chase after them.”
Zhang Zian did not know what the civilian policeman said on the phone––perhaps he had encouraged them, or he tried to stop them. It could be that he did not say anything.
After putting down the phone, they locked the door of the police station and took an electric bike each. Zhang Zian sat on the backseat of one of the bikes.
“They separated at that intersection. The man went to the left and the woman to the right.” Zhang Zian briefly explained the situation. “The traffic policeman at the next intersection on the left has been notified to help us watch the man, but there is no traffic policeman on duty to the right.”
There was no need to say anymore; the two auxiliary policemen already understood what he meant. They turned towards the right at the intersection to search for the young woman and the infant.
Zhang Zian was even more anxious in his heart because he had been delayed in the police station and did not know if he could find the woman again. Watching the man should have provided some clues, but in the end he was not at ease.
The speed of the electric bike was a lot faster than walking, and after riding it for a short time, Zhang Zian saw a familiar figure in front: It was the woman carrying the infant.
“There! That’s her!” he called, surprised and happy.
However, at that moment, the two auxiliary police suddenly stopped the bikes.
“What happened? Why aren’t we moving anymore?” Zhang Zian asked, confused.
“The area in front is not under our jurisdiction anymore…” one of the auxiliary police said, hesitating.
The other auxiliary police seemed to have made up his mind. He gritted his teeth and said, “It doesn’t matter. Chase after her!”
