Although no one had reported the earlier incident when Lam Tong nearly lost his service pistol to the Control Room,
how could the news possibly stay secret with so many people talking?
Zhou Quan wouldn't deliberately target Lam Tong. He Wenzhan would do everything he could to protect his brother, and Shao Meiqi wasn't one to spread rumors.
But the other PTU officers under Zhou Quan weren't nearly so tight-lipped.
Judging by the way they'd discussed the officer who died in the armored-car robbery, almost all of them were big mouths.
Zhou Quan hadn't kicked Lam Tong while he was down, but neither had he made any special effort to defend him or told his men to keep quiet.
So word of Lam Tong nearly losing his service pistol spread through the officers' gossip and reached the ears of the Police Station's senior staff.
But since the gun was eventually recovered, Lam Tong wasn't demoted.
His upcoming promotion process, however, was certain to be postponed indefinitely.
On top of that, because of the injuries he'd suffered when Gou Hok Jai beat him up and the clash between two gang leaders in his district, the senior staff at the Police Station transferred him out of the Anti-Triad Unit.
Under normal circumstances, Lam Tong should have been transferred for his negligence to the Uniformed Squad or another less important department.
But he'd been a police officer for many years and had some connections and ability, so he managed to get a post in the Major Crimes Unit.
Although Lam Tong still held the rank of Sergeant, he clearly no longer had any managerial duties.
The Tsim Sha Tsui Major Crimes Unit, where Lam Tong worked, was handling the aftermath of the gunfight at Warehouse No. 3 on Beford Road.
The case file in Zhou Quan's hands clearly documented the events of the gunfight at Warehouse No. 3.
Two unknown groups had been making a drug deal when a four-man gang of ruthless robbers crashed it and robbed them both.
Zhou Quan's PTU squad had happened to be patrolling past Warehouse No. 3 when a traffic accident forced them to stop.
As a result, the four robbers hadn't had time to finish clearing away the spoils and were forced to retreat early.
Some of the stolen money was therefore left behind at the scene of the robbery.
A series of factors had come together, along with the appearance of Lam Tong.
Zhou Quan immediately concluded that Lam Tong had almost certainly taken the stolen money.
Since he had several officers under him who liked to gossip, Zhou Quan had also heard rumors about Lam Tong while taking them on patrol.
Word was that Lam Tong had a passion for horse racing and had racked up a lot of debt because of it.
Back when he was still the head of the Anti-Triad Unit, there had been plenty of triad-run finance companies in his district willing to guarantee loans for him.
After all, even if the debt couldn't be collected and ended up as bad debt,
it could still earn them the goodwill of a Sergeant. And he was the head of the Anti-Triad Unit, who directly oversaw the area where their own triad operated and was about to be promoted.
They could treat it as a way to keep their organization safe by cultivating a protector in the government.
But now Lam Tong's promotion was off the table, and he'd also been transferred out of the Anti-Triad Unit.
In that situation, how could the finance companies run by Gou Hok Jai just sit back and watch that debt go down the drain?
Lam Tong had a dim future and Gou Hok Jai were after him for the money.
It was perfectly understandable that, with nowhere else to turn, he'd set his sights on the stolen money from the Warehouse No. 3 gunfight.
From what Zhou Quan knew, Lam Tong would soon move into a nondescript little hotel to hide from his creditors.
By a stroke of coincidence, Lam Tong would get to know the four Chaozhou men living next door. In the end, his past as a professional driver and his driving skills would earn their admiration.
Who would have thought that those four Chaozhou men were the robbers behind the Warehouse No. 3 robbery?
If Zhou Quan could find the little hotel where Lam Tong was hiding from his creditors, he could round up all four robbers.
That would be another considerable merit for Zhou Quan.
Determined to reach commissioned rank before the handover, he naturally wouldn't let this chance to earn merit pass him by.
Zhou Quan vaguely remembered that the little hotel was called Summer Palace Villa.
The name sounded grand, but in reality, it was a black hotel that didn't even require guests to show identification.
There were countless hotels with grandiose names like that in West Kowloon-at least eighty, if not a hundred.
Finding the four robbers by searching for the name of the black hotel wouldn't be easy.
And checking those black hotels one by one would risk alerting them.
That was why Lam Tong was the key to Zhou Quan finding the four robbers.
"Other men, stay at headquarters this morning and go on your regular patrols this afternoon!"
He tapped the case file in his hand and calmly laid out the day's assignments.
"Yes, sir!"
The rest of the squad stood up as one, saluted, and answered.
Just as everyone was about to leave the Conference Room, Zhou Quan beckoned He Wenzhan over.
"Ah Zhan, stay a moment!"
At this, Shao Meiqi and the other officers looked at their Assistant Superintendent and He Wenzhan, their eyes questioning.
Zhou Quan had no intention of explaining anything to the others. He waved them out to get on with their work.
Only He Wenzhan remained where he was, his expression calm as he waited quietly for his Assistant Superintendent to speak.
"Ah Zhan, don't be nervous. Sit down and talk."
Zhou Quan motioned for He Wenzhan to sit. His expression was calm as he said, "I know you and Lam Tong get along well. This evening, I'm inviting him to Kowloon Cafe for iced lemon tea."
He Wenzhan's expression froze for a moment, then grew anxious.
"Assistant Superintendent, do you suspect Ah Tong took the stolen money?"
They'd just been questioned by colleagues from the Internal Investigations Branch and the Regional Major Crimes Unit, and now their Assistant Superintendent was going to talk to Lam Tong.
Knowing that his Assistant Superintendent and Lam Tong weren't particularly close, how could He Wenzhan fail to understand what this meant?
"Everyone in West Kowloon District has heard plenty about Lam Tong's situation."
Zhou Quan gave a noncommittal chuckle, then asked instead, "As his friend and fellow classmate, you should know better than I do."
Just as Zhou Quan had said, how could He Wenzhan have failed to notice that something was wrong with his brother?
But out of loyalty to his brother, He Wenzhan immediately prepared to make excuses and plead Lam Tong's case.
"Assistant Superintendent..."
But as soon as He Wenzhan began, Zhou Quan raised a hand and stopped him.
"Whether Lam Tong took the stolen money is for the colleagues from the Internal Investigations Branch to investigate. It has nothing to do with me."
Zhou Quan straightened his expression and looked He Wenzhan in the eye, speaking slowly. "After working together for this while, you should know what I'm like. I wouldn't deliberately make things difficult for Lam Tong.
"I'm asking you to invite him out for tea because I have something else to discuss with him. You'll understand when the time comes."
Feeling the imposing authority of his Assistant Superintendent, He Wenzhan finally had no choice but to nod.
"I understand, Assistant Superintendent!"
Please recommend, vote for the monthly ticket, and keep reading. I hope everyone will support me in every way!
Before you continue