Cousin?

Chapter 87 Cousin? (1st update out of 4)

It's almost May.

The temperature in Detroit was completely different from when I first arrived.

Especially today, the sun is shining brightly, and although it's only 9 a.m., the temperature already feels like summer.

However, due to the rising temperature, the Ruzhi River, which has been polluted by a century of industry, has also become quite smelly.

The river is already smelly enough, but the protest this morning had a total of over 500 people.

The smell of perfume and body odor mingled with the stench of the river, making Bane feel as if he could almost see his grandmother.

"My dear mother!"

"This is terrible!"

While complaining, Bane put on another ordinary medical mask over his face.

Seeing this, Sofia, who was standing nearby, fully utilized her "I do whatever the teacher does" learning habit and quietly put on a mask for her face as well.

Afterwards, she couldn't help but complain, "The Rouge River is really smelly; it wasn't this smelly last time I came."

"It's inevitable when the temperature rises." Bane looked down and fiddled with the camera hanging around his neck.

Then, he held the camera up to his face and said to Sofia, "Come on, strike a pose."

"6

Sofia wasn't intimidated at all; she put her hands directly on her hips and struck a standard model pose with her hands on her hips.

It was a hot day, so she wore a short-sleeved shirt with the HSUS logo and denim shorts. She was a good 182cm tall, and her long, shapely legs beneath the shorts were a feast for the eyes.

He kept clicking away, directing Sofia to take dozens of photos.

Bane put down his camera and began to check the shooting results.

Sophia moved closer to Bane and curiously peered at the screen.

But it would have been better if she hadn't looked at it. As soon as she saw the photo on the screen, her eyes widened instinctively.

Then she exclaimed softly, "What a generous gift! Crab! Your photos are so good? I thought you were just an amateur."

Although she knew that Bane liked to carry a camera around and take pictures, she had never seen any of Bane's photographic works.

Today was a pleasant surprise for her.

However, photography is ultimately an art of light and shadow.

In natural light conditions, Bann didn't even bring a reflector. He was fine shooting landscapes, but shooting portraits definitely didn't reach his full potential.

Therefore, he shook his head and said, "It's so-so. I can take more beautiful photos of you. If there's a chance, I'll take a set of portrait photos of you."

"Really?!" Sofia's eyes lit up.

Then, as if afraid Bane might change his mind, he immediately set the topic: "Can we take boudoir photos? You mean the kind that's both dreamy and beautiful, yet also a little sexy?"

"How about I just take a set of nude photos of you?" Bane joked.

"The kind where you take your clothes off completely?"

What do you think?

Sofia actually stroked her chin thoughtfully: "It's not impossible, but you have to let me work out first, so I'll look better naked."

This answer made Bane laugh.

He was about to tease Sofia a bit more when two familiar figures came into view—a black male police officer and a white female police officer.

"Why are they here?"

"Who's here?" Sofia asked, puzzled.

"Over there, those two policemen." Bane gestured with his chin toward a spot not far away.

"Isn't it normal for police to maintain order at protest sites? Especially for protests like ours with several hundred people."

"The problem is, they're Midtown police, and this is Dearborn; they're in different jurisdictions." With that, Bane simply lifted his leg and walked towards the two policemen.

The two policemen had actually spotted him long ago.

The two men were the police officers who came to the association to carry out the arrest when Thea beat up Jimmy.

The young policewoman was named Megan Cole, the same surname as Bane, and the two had exchanged phone numbers.

However, the two did not contact each other again afterward.

When they met again, Megan's expression was inexplicably complicated.

As Bane approached, she said, "Bane, do you remember me?"

"Of course." Bane even extended his hand towards her.

Megan shook his hand and asked curiously, "What exactly do you do? Why are you at this protest?"

"I'd also like to ask you, isn't this not your jurisdiction? Is it possible that Dearborn's police force is insufficient and they have to borrow people from Midtown?" Bane said, shaking hands with the black police officer again.

"No, we're here to investigate the car repainting incident," Megan said, shrugging.

She then explained, "Around 7 to 8 a.m. this morning, several masked men spray-painted the words 'Boycott Ford, Protect Lake Sturgeon' on several Ford cars parked on the side of the road in Midtown."

In addition, they smashed the windows of six Ford vehicles and poured dead fish and sewage into them, causing losses to innocent car owners.

Based on this behavior and the testimonies of eyewitnesses, we strongly suspect that those people were part of the protest group.

Upon hearing this, Bane and Sophia, who was standing next to him, almost burst out laughing.

This morning, many newspapers reported on last night's streaking protest, and the people at HSUS were probably provoked by the reports.

Suppressing a laugh, Bane turned to look at the crowd and said, "That won't be easy to find. There are over 500 people here, and the protest is about to begin."

"Are you from HSUS?" Megan changed the subject.

"What clues do you want to get from me?" Bane asked in return.

"No, we're just here to go through the motions; we don't expect to catch anyone. I'm just curious about your identity."

"I am the executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Justice Association. I am here purely to help promote it. HSUS's philosophy and actions have nothing to do with us."

"The Great Lakes Environmental Justice Association?" Megan scratched her head, thinking, "Why does that name sound so familiar?"

"It's the association that arrested me last time," Bane said cheerfully, recalling for her.

As she recalled this, Megan's features gradually magnified, and her expression revealed confusion, bewilderment, and disbelief.

Even the elderly Black police officer next to her, who had remained silent until now, couldn't help but say, "Wait, wait a minute—"

He continued, "I remember when we were giving your statement, you said that you and your colleague were low-level employees of the association, and that you assaulted someone because your boss maliciously fired you. Am I right?"

"Yes, that's how it is." Bane nodded.

"Then how come you became an executive director?" Megan interjected, pressing for an answer.

"Because those who previously dismissed my boss were kicked out of the association one by one by my boss, and my boss, with his wisdom and talent, successfully seized control of the association."

Sofia answered for Ben.

This answer made Megan and the old policeman exchange a glance.

They both saw disbelief in each other's eyes.

Just as Megan was about to ask something else, a burst of drumming and chanting erupted from the protesters.

"The protest is about to start, I have to go take pictures." Bane waved his camera.

"Okay~~" Megan nodded.

"Oh, by the way, I think HSUS might be planning some protests in Midtown and downtown soon. If you receive any reports, please let me know if it's convenient. I'd like to go and take some photos."

"Do you also work as a journalist?" Megan smiled.

Without waiting for a reply, she gave an OK sign: "No problem, I have your phone number."

"Thanks." Bane said, winking at Sophia before heading towards the crowd.

Watching him take photos from the side of the crowd, the elderly Black policeman couldn't help but say, "What an amazing kid, and he's very handsome too."

"Yeah, I also think he looks a bit unexpected," Megan chimed in.

The men in the Cole family all looked like black bears come to life, making Bane feel quite out of place.

The veteran Black police officer misunderstood and encouraged her, saying, "If you're interested, go for it, Megan. You're a police officer; courage is the last thing you should lack."

"That's impossible." Megan rolled her eyes.

Why?

"Because he's my cousin."