Michael could only blink at Collins' question, not sure how to respond. Clearly, he had previously stated that he was only working as an accountant.
So, why was it that this guy was asking him if he was previously a gangster or not?
Seeing Michael's expression, Collins coughed once again before he said, "Actually, I'm just surprised that you are quite good at fighting. To be able to subdue this guy, an ordinary youngster would not have been able to do it."
"Officer, this guy is a gangster. He is part of the Shadow Assembly gang. He must have stolen their money, which is why he came to hide here.
If you don't believe me, take him back there, and you will see that those guys will want to kill him." Just as Collins finished speaking, the guy who had been silent all this time suddenly blurted out.
As soon as he said those words, everyone looked at him, with varying expressions on their faces.
For Michael, he was left speechless by this guy. Was this guy so adamant that he had stolen the money from the gang?
As for Collins and Kate, both of them were surprised. From the way that this guy was speaking, it was as if he knew about Michael.
And from his words, it just proved that he was actually working as an accountant for that gang.
It was just that, they were surprised that Michael had left the gang. But before leaving, he actually stole money from them?
Kate could not help but look at Michael with a peculiar expression on her face.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Michael felt slightly helpless. Especially looking at the expression on Kate's face.
Looking at that expression on her face, he was reminded of the incident that occurred over a week ago. At that time, it almost seemed to Michael that he might have somehow stolen something from Kate.
She was after all targeting him continuously, which made him speechless back then.
Being targeted by a police officer was not something that Michael wanted, especially if it was due to false accusations.
"Don't believe his nonsense. When I left the police station that day, I headed home directly. After taking my ID card, I headed out again, bought a few things, rented out this apartment, before coming over to this place.
I have been staying here ever since then, never left to go anywhere before.
As for him claiming that I have stolen money, in the gang, do you believe that they will allow me, who is not a member of the gang, to handle the money directly?
While I was being referred to as an accountant, I was basically dealing with the records on the transactions made." Michael explained himself.
Collins looked at Michael, and he could tell, it seemed that Michael was not lying. And, from his understanding of those gangs, since Michael was not a member of the gang, he surely would not be allowed to handle the gang's funds.
From his years of experience when it came to dealing with the gangsters, he understood, only the core members of the gang could handle such important matters.
But considering Michael's age, it seemed impossible for him to be a core member of the gang, as apart from some connections within the gang, one needed to have some contributions as well.
"Then, how can you explain how you suddenly have the money to be able to live in such a place? I don't believe that the salary that you earned from your previous job was capable of giving you enough money to afford the rent here, right?" Kate suddenly asked as she gazed at Michael.
"The money was sent to me by a relative of mine. He was out of the city before, but recently, he contacted me through his friend, before the money was transferred into my bank account." Left with no other choice, Michael could only make up an excuse.
Even though this seemed quite unbelievable, to the two of them, this seemed to be the only way that Michael could get so much money.
Still, there was a possibility that while he was in the gang, he might have gotten himself involved in some illegal activities that earned him some quick cash.
But then again, looking at Michael, the probability of that seemed to be quite low. Still, the suspicions could not be eliminated.
The guy tied on the chair on the other hand was completely flabbergasted upon hearing that.
From the beginning, Michael had told him that he had not stolen money from the gang. He did not want to believe it. But now, with Michael saying those words, it seemed that what he had said before was actually true?
"Okay. But, why did he target you? It is not normal for some petty thieves like this to sneak into a building like this." Collins nodded before he asked while pointing at the guy that was tied up by Michael.
"Since I had left that day, I had no intention of working for the gangsters anymore. But you should know, it is not that easy to leave a gang.
While it might be true that I was not a member of the gang to begin with, I still have some information of their transactions.
It is obvious, if I leave, they will come looking for me. This is why I came to live here.
As for this guy, he came here, having noticed me when I was moving to this apartment. He wanted to take me back to the shadow assembly, to redeem himself." Michael shrugged as he responded.
As for the guy tied up, he was silent this entire time. It seemed, he had already given up hope of being released.
Both Kate and Collins looked at the guy, as if wanting a confirmation from him. But seeing that he was not refuting Michael's words, they believed it.
"Okay, we still need to handle other issues. For now, we will be taking this guy back with us. You also need to come with us, as we need your statement." Collins said after a moment of silence.
But Michael shook his head at Collins' words. He said, "Since my location has already been known by this guy, there is a possibility of other gangsters knowing it.
So, I plan to leave this place and head somewhere else. If I head to the police station and happen to encounter a gangster that recognizes me, even though the possibility is low, things will not be good for me.
At the end of the day, I cannot expect that the police will be able to protect me all the time. So, it is better for me to move first. Taking precautions is always better."
Michael had no intention of giving a statement at the police station. If this issue was actually pushed further, and ended up reaching to court, he would have to be available.
But right now, Michael was not willing to waste so much of his time on such useless things. It was better for him to sleep now, wake up early the following day and find a hotel to stay in.
Collins raised his brows slightly upon hearing Michael's words. He thought about it, realizing that it actually made sense.
"Okay. We will be detaining this guy for a few days. But you should know, since you are not pushing this issue any further, he will be released in at most a week.
At that time, it is inevitable that your information might be leaked, and those guys might come looking for you.
Though, the probability of them finding you in this city is quite low. After all, while the shadow assembly gang has its own influence, it is not enough to be able to cover the entire city.
As for leaving the city, you can try that, but I can tell you, it is going to be difficult. After all, it is easy for them to pay attention to all places that a person can leave the city with, as compared to searching an entire city."
Collins then began untying the guy tied on the chair after his lengthy speech.
As for Michael, he simply nodded in response. He understood, and this was the reason why he wanted to leave this place.
Kate on the other hand silently looked at Michael. She was kind of impressed that this guy had actually left the gang.
Her impression of him improved slightly. Initially, she thought, even if he was not a gangster, he was still helping gangsters. So, she still did not like him. But now, it seemed, the guy had decided to leave.
And after hearing the conversation between Michael and Collins, she finally came to understand the difficulties involved in this.
So, for a moment, she felt kind of embarrassed of how she had been aggressive with Michael when she arrested him back then.
She wanted to say sorry, but due to her pride, she could not bring herself to do it. In the end, she just remained silent.
In just a little while, Collins had already untied the guy, before cuffing him. Then, the three of them left, but Collins warned Michael to be careful.
After they had left, Michael let out a sigh of relief. After locking the door, he directly went to the bedroom, wanting to catch on some sleep, to wait for the following day.