After a few seconds of dead silence, Gabriel glanced in the rearview mirror as if nothing had happened. "What's the matter?"
"I told you to stop the car. Didn't you hear me?"
"Do you really think it's safe to stop right here? Let's get past the intersection up ahead first."
"Stop! I said stop!" Sophia Kirchhoff was furious. His attitude was infuriating. He was clearly a suspect, and yet acted completely nonchalant. She kicked the back of the driver's seat.
Along with the tension and fear, there was also a flicker of excitement. It felt like fate — like destiny had handed her the suspect. This was her chance to make a real impact.
But those sharp eyes in the rearview mirror had caught the subtle change in her expression. Gabriel said calmly, "You checked your phone and then suddenly your whole demeanor shifted. Seems like you've made a mistake — and you think I'm the suspect."
"Mistake? You have no right to say that. You're coming with me to the station!"
"I'd like to point out three serious errors in your approach."
"What?" Sophia could hardly believe what she was hearing. Was this guy insane?
"First: When you realize your driver might be a suspect, your first step should be to contact backup, send your location, and de-escalate the situation.
Second: You're threatening someone with a service weapon that, from the way you're holding it, is not secured.
Third: Drawing a gun inside a moving vehicle is reckless and dangerous. For instance, I could now\..."
Before she could react, Gabriel suddenly slammed on the brakes. The car jolted violently. Sophia's head slammed into the driver's seat, and her gun flew from her hand.
Dazed, she looked up — and found herself staring straight down the barrel of her own pistol. Behind it were Gabriel's mocking eyes.
"See? Caught you off guard with hardly any effort. If I wanted to kill you right now, your colleagues would never even know. You're green, rookie."
"You... what do you want?" Sophia's throat was dry with fear. She frantically reached for her phone, but had no idea where it had landed.
Then Gabriel turned the gun around, gripped it by the barrel, and handed it back to her. "I'm just pointing out some holes in your technique."
Sophia took the weapon back in disbelief, unsure what to do next.
"Don't point that busted thing at me again," Gabriel added. "Careful, or it might go off accidentally. Can't I just come with you to the station like a normal person?"
"Scheiße... You trying to get yourself killed?" snapped the driver behind them. A horn blared loudly and long.
Gabriel shouted a quick excuse, then restarted the engine.
Sophia rubbed her aching forehead in complete confusion. For a suspect, this man was way too composed.
"By the way," Christian said casually, "it's a bit jammed on the way to your precinct. Mind if I take a detour?"
Sophia shook off the daze and glared. "Don't play games with me."
Absolutely! Here's the passage rewritten in English with the consistent German-style names and polished grammar:
---
Chen Shi smiled, "What about this order? First, I need to confirm the fare!"
"Casual!"
Sophia Kirchhoff found her phone under the seat.
Xaver Dorn had sent another message:
"Damn, I only found out when I checked, and I was shocked. This guy has a long criminal record. He was part of a gang involved in organized crime, and took part in many fights, extortions, kidnappings, and so on. In one fight, he even beat someone to death. He was convicted of grievous bodily harm and served ten years in prison.
The current background checks on rideshare platforms are way too lax. Someone like him can still be a driver. And he drives alone at night, picking up female passengers all over the city. It's terrifying to think about."
So that explains why he's such a veteran—no wonder he's so calm.
Sophia quickly typed a sensible reply and sent it: "I'm currently in the suspect's car. I've ordered him to drive to the Criminal Police Department and asked the on-duty colleagues to pick him up."
The group immediately exploded with excitement:
"No way!"
"Ms. Kirchhoff hit the jackpot!"
"Is this for real? Running into the suspect right at the start—what incredible luck!"
"Share your location, don't reveal your identity, don't provoke the suspect, try to calm him down!"
The last message was from her brother, Lin Kirchhoff, and Sophia shared her real-time location.
The car turned a corner and suddenly stopped. Gabriel opened the door and stormed out like a rabid dog.
Sophia was shocked. She should have expected he wouldn't be honest. She could only blame her own carelessness.
"Stop!" Sophia shouted, chasing after him.
Gabriel ran at high speed, and Sophia, wearing leather sandals, couldn't catch up at all. This was a busy street crowded with people. A careless warning shot could not only cause chaos but also make front-page news.
Sophia took a few steps, and the heel of her right shoe broke. She kicked the shoe away in frustration and continued running with clenched teeth, ignoring the pain in her feet.
The crowd parted for him. In front of Gabriel, a young man was running for his life. When they were just two meters apart, Gabriel lunged at the man, knocked him down, and snatched a woman's handbag from him.
Gabriel pulled tape from his pocket and tied the young man's hands behind his back. Slowly, people gathered around, praising him.
Sophia was speechless. He suddenly ran out just to fight for justice?
A woman came out and said, "Thank you. This is the money I painstakingly saved for my mother's medical treatment. If it had been stolen, I honestly wouldn't know what to do."
Gabriel handed her the bag and said, "Be careful, there are a lot of people on the street."
"Thank you, thank you!" The woman excitedly pulled out a stack of bills and wanted to give them to Gabriel as thanks.
Gabriel took a small bill, and said, "This is enough. The rest would be too much. I dare not accept it."
After instructing the woman to call the police, Gabriel turned and walked away. Sophia mocked him, "Doing a good deed and then taking money? For a short moment I thought you were actually noble and selfless!"
"Nobility and selflessness are not the same thing. I think boundless altruism is a disease! Besides, I'm happy to get a small reward, and the other party won't feel guilty about owing me a favor."
Sophia was speechless and changed the subject: "I say, as a taxi driver, doing such risky things — aren't you afraid of retaliation?"
"The fear of these hooligans is mostly in people's minds. After all, rats are afraid of humans too."
"Now I remember. You're not afraid of retaliation. You're going back to jail anyway, suspect Gabriel!"
Gabriel said nothing but looked down at her bare feet and asked, "Where are your shoes?"
Sophia turned to look for them but had no idea which ragpicker had picked up her leather sandals. Her feet were rubbed raw and painful. She said stubbornly, "None of your business!"
Gabriel dragged Sophia to a nearby shoe store. Sophia shook off his hand. "What are you doing? Pulling and dragging me?"
Gabriel kept tugging at her arm relentlessly: "Come on!"
Sophia felt quite uncomfortable being taken to buy shoes by a stranger. She simply picked out a decent pair of sneakers. When she went to the cashier, she said, "I'll pay for myself!" But when she reached into her bag, she realized her phone had fallen into the car.
"Consider it a loan from me," Gabriel smiled and threw the reward money he had just received onto the counter.
---
Tbh, I'm not really satisfied with this chapter. I think it's shit but I can't really put my finger on it what exactly is causing this feeling.