77: Chapter 77 Thompson, Penniless

Hearing the voice, Thompson turned his head abruptly, only to see Maya waving at him from the pizza shop across the street.

Thompson pocketed his phone and walked quickly into the pizza shop.

This was also the same pizza shop where he had treated Maya to lunch on the day they caught Chen Mu.

Maya was sitting in a booth by the window at Joe's Pizza, a freshly baked Margherita pizza in front of her with the cheese still sizzling, and a cup of steaming coffee beside it.

She had ordered his usual flavor in advance, along with his preferred brand of coffee—even the creamer was the specific one he always added.

The rain continued to fall outside the window, and the streetlights were diffused by the rain into a blur of orange-yellow light.

Thompson pushed the door open, pulled out a chair, and sat down opposite Maya. Maya pushed the coffee cup toward him. "How does it feel to go from hero to sinner?"

Thompson picked up the coffee and took a sip; the hot liquid slid down his throat, bringing a wave of warmth to his body.

He set the cup down. "It's terrible. You didn't see them—that crowd looked like they wanted to tear me apart alive."

"That judge was actually pretty decent. If he hadn't held the line on the Constitution, I'd definitely be picking up soap in prison by now."

"Pfft." Maya covered her mouth with the back of her hand. "You actually think that old judge let you go because he upheld the legal bottom line?"

Thompson's hand paused, the coffee cup suspended in mid-air.

"Huh?"

He looked at Maya, his brows furrowed. The next moment, it dawned on him. "Could it be you..."

Maya set down her coffee cup. "I said it when we were at the White House—I would testify for you. We're partners, aren't we?"

She looked at Thompson, her face full of helplessness. "The Chief just called me and said you turned down the position at the Interstellar Police Department."

"Honestly, I'm not surprised at all. I know you too well; you're just too stubborn."

As she spoke, she used her fork to slide a slice of pizza toward him. "Remember that case involving Prosecutor Harvey's son?"

Thompson gave a bitter smile. "How could I forget? His old man, Harvey, went to great lengths today to destroy me; he even found my grandmother's neighbor to testify against me."

"Maya, you know my grandmother has been dead for three years. God knows where he found that person."

Maya laughed again. "Who told you to hold on so tightly to his son back then? Now that he's found an opportunity, he's bound to get revenge on you."

Thompson snorted coldly. "Even if time flowed backward ten thousand times, I still wouldn't let that bastard who raped a young girl go."

Maya was silent for a moment, then picked up her coffee cup. "That's why I'm not surprised you refused to become an Intergalactic Police officer, Thompson."

"You have never been the type of person to change your principles just because of who is standing across from you, how dangerous the situation is, or what people say about you."

"You didn't back down on the prosecutor's son three years ago, and you won't back down on this Ball Chief today."

She raised her coffee cup toward him and gently tapped the cup he had placed on the table. "In the United States, you are the least 'United States' cop I've ever met."

"What happened to that girl afterward?"

"She's doing great." Thompson pointed to his right cheek. "Outside the courthouse today, she was the first one to throw an egg at me."

Maya was stunned. No one knew better than her how much of a price Thompson had paid for that girl's case. It could be said that for her sake, Thompson had completely ruined his political life and would forever be relegated to a low-level cop.

She said softly, "Thompson, do you know? Back when I was at the police station, every time I saw those high-ranking officials at White House press conferences, the congressmen at congressional hearings, or the representatives of various countries at the United Nations General Assembly..."

"I really thought they were all exceptionally capable, walking with an air of authority, speaking impeccably, and having eyes full of strategic mastery."

"But after being by Chen Mu's side for so many days, I realized those people are just so-so. The only thing worth mentioning is that they change their faces faster than ordinary people."

"Yesterday, they were on camera saying humanity would never surrender, and today they were scrambling to offer toasts at a banquet."

"The President even sends me a text message every day, specifically asking, 'How is the Ball Chief's mood today?' I even feel like a eunuch serving an ancient emperor in the East."

Thompson drained the last of his coffee and set the cup on the table.

"I understand what you mean. You want to say that so many big shots have surrendered, including the President, the Secretary of State, and the leaders of the rest of the world—they have all surrendered."

"So for a lowly cop like me, surrendering along with them is no big deal, right?"

Maya nodded.

Thompson lowered his head. "It's not the same, Maya. Those big shots have everything."

"The President has his Mar-a-Lago, the Secretary of State has his foundation, and those leaders have their multi-million dollar annual salary positions."

"Of course they don't want to give up their current comfortable lives, so they fear Chen Mu. But I have nothing left."

He moved his hand away from the cup. "Jenny's divorce papers arrived yesterday. The house is hers, the savings are hers and the kids', and I'm walking away with nothing."

"I have nothing left now, just this miserable life. If Chen Mu wants it, let him come and take it. I don't care."

"Thompson, don't be like this." Maya's eyes reddened. "Chen Mu is a good alien. Everything you lost can be recovered, as long as you agree..."

"Everything changed a long time ago, Maya." Thompson stood up.

He looked down at Maya, looking at the face of the partner who had accompanied him for countless hours during countless overtime nights in the interrogation room, now appearing flickering in the light before the rain-streaked window.

"This guy Chen Mu—I can't see through him, but I can feel it: he is definitely not as benevolent as he appears."

"Be careful when you're by his side in the future." He placed the napkin on the table and turned to walk toward the door.

The wind chime on the door rang once, and cold wind mixed with rain seeped in through the crack of the door. He walked straight out into the wind and rain.

Maya chased after him and stood at the doorway, shouting at him, "Where are you going?"

"Back home to Detroit." Thompson waved his hand.

"Call me whenever you've thought it through!"

Thompson disappeared into the wind and rain, never looking back.

Afterward, he turned two street corners and stood under a flickering streetlight, turning up his soaked collar, preparing to hail a taxi to the airport.

Just then, a voice came from behind him: "Officer Thompson, are you really planning to leave New York just like this?"

"Who's there!" Thompson reached for his waist abruptly, but grabbed nothing. Before leaving, he had already turned in his service weapon to the equipment department.

Rainwater streamed down his clothes. He stood on the empty street corner, the lights of four blocks blurred by the rain into clusters of fuzzy orange-yellow halos.

He spun around in place, only to find that the alley was completely empty, with only a few cardboard boxes soaked by the rain piled up next to a trash can.

Invisible? A thought flashed into Thompson's mind.

He wiped the rain off his face and growled angrily, "Chen Mu? Is that you? Let me tell you, if you're a man, come out! Stop hiding and sneaking around—let's fight one-on-one!"