Case 8.2.2: Upper Hand

1

*Thao's blood slowly seeps from his skull as his body falls to the floor.*

 

No! No, Roland! WAIT!

Everyone is dead... Xiang and Roland killed them. So much blood... the last time I smelled the thick scent of blood was in the asylum in London.

Why did Roland shoot the second unarmed man? He did nothing to provoke us or insult us... nothing.

 

Roland: Why did you yell at me to stop? There was no way we could let the second man live... that's far too risky, Qian...

Xiang and I saved your life, and you saved us all when you planted the bug here.

Wait... did you hear that? Was that Xiang?

 

*Xiang stares directly at Roland.*

*Roland's eyes tremble slightly.*

*Xiang looks down, then nods...*

 

Roland: We need to leave now. We don't need to kill everyone... Qian is right. Bloodshed isn't the answer.

 

Agreed... but that interaction was... incredibly weird. Who was that guy? I should ask...

 

Roland: I don't know who he was.

 

Later that night instead of returning home, you decided to go back to the Sun Yee On base and try to find that mysterious man...

 

Upper Hand

2

Mysterious Man: I figured... it's my time anyway.

 

Ask About Roland

 

3

Mysterious Man: I don't think I can tell you that.

 

Ask About Roland

 

4

*The mysterious man shrugs*

 

Ask About Roland

 

5

Mysterious Man: After 15 years, you can't unsee things you wish you could... you transform. I don't even know who I am anymore. Sometimes I wish I never brought my friend into any of this... Our lives are lost.

 

Ask About Roland

 

6

Mysterious Man: So you figured it out... well, he was my best friend, and I call him Spade...

 

Dig Deeper

 

7

Mysterious Man: We met at work, a normal job 8-to-5, and we got closer and closer, and eventually, both wanted more for ourselves... And I knew what we could try, but it was a huge mistake.

 

Roland's Past

 

Dig Deeper

 

8

Mysterious Man: Han, how about you?

 

Dig Deeper

 

9

Mysterious Man: We made a pact to never meet again, in order to protect ourselves.

 

Dig Deeper

 

10

Mysterious Man: Because Roland trusts you... otherwise, he would have killed one of us.

 

Ask About Roland

 

11

Mysterious Man: To clean up the mess...

 

Ask About Roland

 

12

Mysterious Man: I cannot disclose everything, I'm sure you understand.

 

Ask About Roland

 

13

Mysterious Man: I know you're not evil... you have a certain vibe, almost like a person relentlessly looking for the truth, or justice.

 

Ask About Roland

 

14

Mysterious Man: We started off with petty crimes, but it escalated when we bumped into the Triad... they took advantage of us.

 

Ask About Roland

 

Dig Deeper

 

15

Mysterious Man: Because we both lost people we loved, and ended up parting ways... then later my new boss put a hit on Roland, and his boss, Xinshen, put a hit on me... We were told to kill each other.

 

Ask About Roland

 

Dig Deeper

 

16

Mysterious Man: Long story short, Xinshen thinks his orders were followed and that Roland killed me.

 

Ask About Roland

 

Dig Deeper

 

17

Mysterious Man: There's only so much a man can take... I feel like I'm approaching that limit.

 

Ask About Roland

 

Dig Deeper

 

Conclude Investigation

1. Why didn't Roland kill this man?

 

2. What is the mysterious man's name?

Correct Answers

1. Why didn't Roland kill this man?

  • they were friends

 

2. What is the mysterious man's name?

  • Han

Connecting the Dots...

How does this Han character fit into all of this? You begin to understand the size of this puzzle you are trying to solve... There still has been no word of Jonathan Steel. How long will it take?