The Flash, Barry Allen, would never know how many Flashes traveled back on the day his mother died.
Initially, Hawk always thought such a statement was a joke.
Until the story reflected on him.
He originally believed that on the day his biological father Andrew Chloe died, there was only one angel that traveled back to New York City, which was Father John.
Unexpectedly...
The two white gunmen, tall and thin, who pretended to coincidentally encounter Andrew Chloe and shot him, were also angels.
It's just that they were from a timeline earlier than his.
And it was he himself who tore off his own Angel's Wings, making himself fall to an ordinary person... Death Warrior?
Hawk thought.
Because of this, even though he recorded the aura of these two gunmen on the day Andrew Chloe died twenty years ago, when he returned to New York City, he couldn't find them under the Seventh Sense.
However—
Since the mystical method didn't work, then let's try the scientific way.
And he knew who to look for.
George Stacy!
Yes.
His prospective father-in-law.
"My dad was the patrol officer for this case back then?"
On the way to the Twenty-First District, Gwen, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, had a somewhat incredulous expression: "Was he the one who informed Amy Chloe about Andrew Chloe's unfortunate death?"
Hawk smiled slightly, glancing at Gwen.
"Surprised?"
"This isn't a surprise, Hawk."
Gwen looked at Hawk with a serious expression: "Death is never a serious matter, especially since that day was your watershed."
Hawk nodded in agreement.
"Sorry."
"But..."
Gwen accepted Hawk's apology for making a joke out of tragedy and said curiously: "If my dad was just the patrol officer for this case, shouldn't we be looking for the detectives who were in charge of this case at the time if we want to find those two gunmen?"
Hawk smiled slightly, and while waiting for the traffic light, he reached his right hand toward the back seat. A file printed out by Sharon Carter was grabbed from the trunk, and he handed it to Gwen.
Gwen took it and began flipping through the contents of the file.
Just as Gwen said.
Initially, George Stacy was only the patrol officer for the Andrew Chloe case.
But!
This case was the first homicide in George Stacy's patrol career.
As everyone knows.
The first time, for men, is always special and always particularly memorable.
As for the reason—
"Hiss!"
"Dad reopened this case a month ago?"
Gwen, flipping to the end, saw the investigation into the reopening of the case by George Stacy, the police chief of the Twenty-First District, and couldn't help but widen her eyes: "Wait, wasn't this case solved?"
Hawk shook his head: "No."
For George Stacy, this was the first homicide in his patrol career.
But for the two detectives who were in charge of this case back then, this case was just one of the many unsolved cases in their detective careers.
Ordinary.
Unremarkable.
After investigating for two weeks, the two detectives declared the investigation closed, using gang vendetta as the reason.
No other.
Because the port where Andrew Chloe worked back then was indeed Hell's Kitchen Gang's territory, the two detectives using gang vendetta as the reason was a completely reasonable guess at the time.
...Bullshit!
"Amy Chloe refused to sign the body release form, insisting that the deceased (Andrew Chloe) was not a gang member, rejecting the claim."
"Since then, the body has been kept in a Brooklyn coroner's office freezer."
"A month ago, the Twenty-First District, upon reopening the case, took the body."
"..."
Gwen flipped to the end of the file, then looked at Hawk, opening her mouth, wanting to say something but feeling unable to articulate it.
Hawk spoke for Gwen.
"We seem to have a lot of fate."
"..."
Gwen rolled her eyes, softly saying, "I know you have no feelings for Chloe, but try not to make a joke out of tragedy."
Facing Gwen's gentle advisory gaze, Hawk's smile disappeared, he acknowledged with a nod, and stopped speaking, driving to the Twenty-First District.
Sitting in the police chief's office, George, wearing a Sunlight Ring, leaned back in his chair, widening his eyes, looking at Hawk with a somewhat incredulous tone.
"You're Andrew Chloe's child?"
"Yes."
"Dad, you've asked that three times already."
Standing aside, Gwen responded helplessly, then quickly got to the point: "Dad, you were the patrol officer for this case back then?"
"Right."
"I remember it very clearly."
"That was the day after your baptism, I went out with my patrol partner, got the message, and found Amy Chloe, bringing her back to the station for body identification and questioning."
"That was the first homicide in my patrol career."
"And Amy Chloe even caused a few disturbances, so I remember it very well."
George glanced at his dutiful daughter Gwen, then at Hawk, seemingly reminiscing about memories related to the Andrew Chloe case.
Ever since becoming a Vampire, he found his memory had improved significantly.
"Amy Chloe always disagreed with Joruno and Bruce's conclusion."
"Joruno and Bruce were the detectives in charge of this case at the time."
"Amy Chloe insisted her husband wasn't a gang member, and she said on the day of the incident, the convenience store manager even said a patrol officer chased after those two gunmen."
"But there's no mention of this in Joruno and Bruce's report."
"So Amy Chloe didn't acknowledge Joruno and Bruce's investigation and insisted on switching detectives."
"Did they eventually switch?"
Gwen curiously pursued.
George laughed.
"1995?"
"Switch detectives?"
"Impossible."
Gwen was speechless.
Indeed.
In the 90s, that was New York detectives' wildest golden era.
Hawk frowned: "Did any patrol officers chase after them?"
In his memory, there were indeed two patrol officers passing by, and indeed one patrol officer chased after them.
George glanced at Hawk.
"Yes!"
"It caused quite a stir."
"The captain at that time even inquired and scolded Joruno and Bruce thoroughly. Indeed, there were patrol officers who chased those two gunmen but couldn't catch up."
"Also, that patrol officer couldn't clearly see what the two gunmen looked like."
"Moreover, the patrol officer asked Joruno and Bruce not to write an additional report, so they didn't include it in their report."
"Afterwards, the captain asked me to find Amy Chloe to explain the situation."
"I went."
"But the house had been sold, and Amy Chloe was nowhere to be found."
"Until—"
"A month ago!"
"..."
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
Gwen stared unblinkingly at her father.
George didn't hold back.
"A month and a half ago, on my way home, someone stopped me."
"Amy Chloe."
"She said she saw the news about us taking down Shoe's gang in the newspaper and learned that I'm now the captain at the Twenty-First District."
"Amy requested to reopen the investigation into her husband's death."
"But another precinct's case, how could it be reopened just like that."
"I refused at first, so I told her about the patrol officer's reluctance to report the incident because it was troublesome back then."
"Then..."
"Amy Chloe told me she was threatened, and it was because of this that she chose to move and send her child to the church."
"Just..."
At this point, George looked at Hawk with an inexplicable gaze, his tone somewhat emotional: "I didn't expect that kid to be you."
Hawk was already used to George's surprised expression.
He shrugged, his expression calm.
Sitting beside him, Gwen was completely absorbed, asking fervently.
"And then, did Madam Chloe tell you who threatened her?"
"Yes."
George withdrew his gaze, looked at Gwen, and smiled with a nod: "She said that after she refused to sign, before moving out of that house, she was stalked and threatened by Bruce and that patrol officer."
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
Gwen's eyes widened.
"So, did you decide to reopen the case?"
"I wanted to, but these are merely Amy's statements; I couldn't reopen a murder investigation based solely on one person's testimony, especially when the suspects were our own."
"Not to mention, Bruce sacrificed himself in a capture operation nineteen years ago."
"The patrol officer also died in a fire that year."
"In these circumstances, if I were to investigate them, even if I was the precinct captain, I'd be criticized to death."
George shook his head helplessly.
Once again.
He was stern, not stubborn.
As someone who rose from the grassroots, no one understood better than him the storm investigations targeting officers could trigger.
Especially for two officers and a patrol officer who sacrificed themselves on duty.
Don't even mention him, even if it's the chief of the main station, trying to reopen an investigation against these two officers and patrol officer would incite resistance.
It's possible the police union would go on strike and protest.
Hawk listened to George's words, frowning.
"But you still reopened the investigation, so it means you indeed have some evidence, right?"
"Yes."
George looked at Hawk, smiling slightly: "I saw Bruce."
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
Gwen blinked.
"Dad, didn't you say Bruce died nineteen years ago?"
"Yes."
George nodded: "I even attended Bruce's funeral nineteen years ago."
As he spoke.
George opened his drawer, took out a photo, and handed it to Hawk: "But a month ago, I saw Bruce in the Vampire's bar."
Hawk reached out to take it.
Sitting next to him, Gwen leaned over to Hawk's side.
…