Fate (Death Notice Book 2)

by Zhou HaoHui

  ‘To decide that, we need to know what our opponent is planning,’ Ms Mu replied.

  ‘Isn’t it obvious?’ TSO Zeng asked, glancing around the room.

  He was met with a series of blank faces.

  ‘Go on,’ Pei said.

  ‘If I were Eumenides, I’d be compelled to seek out the truth behind my father’s death. Huang, you may be the last remaining link to that event, but you’re also being watched by the police. So how can Eumenides get round that? In many ways, getting that information out of you could be even trickier than committing a murder. If I were him, I’d want as much control as possible over my dealings with you. And what’s the best way to achieve that?’

  Zeng came to a deliberate pause and waited. No one said anything.

  ‘By video chat, of course! That way, he can observe Huang without having to be physically in his presence. He can monitor your facial expressions and tone of voice, Huang, to determine whether you’re telling the truth. And he can use your son as leverage – and actually show him to you – without revealing his location. Think about it – it’s pretty obvious, no?’

  Pei nodded. ‘I agree with you, Zeng. So now we need to ask ourselves two questions: what does Eumenides want to know and what should we let him know?’

  The room grew tense as the team pondered this question. After about thirty seconds, SPU Captain Liu broke the silence. ‘Let’s make Eumenides focus on the special police unit. We know he wants to get to the truth behind his father’s death, and the man who shot and killed Wen Hongbing was an SPU marksman. I recommend that we select the name of a retired SPU officer, someone older but still very capable, and leak that to Eumenides.’

  ‘That would be extremely dangerous,’ Pei said.

  ‘When is dealing with Eumenides ever safe? Besides, I can’t think of a single member of the SPU, retired or not, who wouldn’t risk his life to avenge Captain Xiong’s death,’ Liu said, swallowing uncomfortably at the mention of his fallen captain’s name. ‘If I wasn’t too young to have been the marksman in 1984, I’d volunteer myself.’

  ‘Fine,’ Pei said, fixing Liu with a grim stare and trying hard not to show how furious he was. ‘Choose someone as soon as possible and tell them to report to me right away.’

  ‘Understood!’ Liu got up and strode out of the conference room.

  ‘Coming up with a name will be easy enough,’ Huang said. ‘The hard part will be making Eumenides believe us.’

  ‘We need to be clever about how Eumenides gets the name. We can’t be too obvious.’ Pei looked at Ms Mu. ‘Do you think you could coach Huang through this?’

  ‘Certainly,’ she said. ‘Give us an hour to go through it. With a few corroborating details and some psychological tricks, we’ll reel Eumenides in and eliminate his doubts one by one.’

  ‘Excellent. Make the conversation with Eumenides last as long as possible, to give TSO Zeng enough time to track his location.’

  TSO Zeng snickered. ‘I thought you’d forgotten about me, Captain.’

  ‘Online tracking is your expertise,’ Pei said with an easy smile. ‘This is your chance to shine.’

  Raising his eyebrows, Zeng said, ‘You can rest assured that I’ve been ready for this day for a long time.’

  Pei checked his watch. ‘It’s currently seven minutes after twelve. Lieutenant Yin and TSO Zeng, you’ll come with me to the internet café right now. Huang, you and Ms Mu will discuss your plans in greater detail and then meet us there at one thirty.’

  *

  Ten minutes later, Captain Pei, Lieutenant Yin and TSO Zeng jumped into a police car and headed to the Mad World internet café. Lieutenant Yin drove.

  ‘Captain, I know that now might not be the best time to talk about this, but there’s something you should be aware of,’ TSO Zeng said, looking Pei right in the eye. ‘It’s about Teacher Wu’s death.’

  ‘Do you have a lead?’ Pei asked, visibly interested.

  ‘I wouldn’t call it a lead,’ Zeng said, shrugging. ‘It’s basically public knowledge now.’

  Pei sighed. Zeng wasn’t making this easy. ‘Out with it! What happened?’

  ‘The fake cop who talked to Teacher Wu in the hospital – turns out he’s an online journalist. Teacher Wu committed suicide as a result of that interview.’

  ‘How do you know that? Is the interview online already?’

  ‘It’s gone viral! The headline is “Serial Killer Eumenides Kills Again – Shamed Teacher’s Career Comes to a Bloody End”.’ That juicy enough for you?’

  Lieutenant Yin half-turned towards them from the driver’s seat. ‘What kind of shameless reporter would write something like that? It’s pure sensationalism, not journalism!’

  ‘That’s not all.’ Zeng smiled grimly. ‘The reporter also posted the audio recording of the interview. Half a dozen news sites have shared it already. A single listen of this “final interview”, as people are calling it, tells you everything you need to know about why Teacher Wu killed himself.’

  Pei shook his head. ‘Did the interviewer go too far?’

  ‘Let me play a bit of it for you.’ Zeng pulled out an MP3 player. ‘Have a listen,’ he said, turning on the external speaker.

  A low, wishy-washy voice issued from the device.

  ‘According to your account,’ the disguised voice began, ‘the killer let the girl go because you agreed to cut off your own hand. You finally found your inner courage and realised what it meant to truly assume the responsibilities of a teacher. Is that correct?’

  ‘Well… Uh…’

  ‘Okay, let me put it more simply. Do you consider yourself a heroic person? Are you a responsible teacher?’

  ‘I… I suppose I wasn’t before. But after this experience, I believe that… that I can be that kind of person.’

  ‘So you think you acquitted yourself well in this scenario? What about the deaths of those two young men? They were just seventeen years old, not even adults.’

  Pei heard a strained, gasping noise. Several seconds passed before the interviewer spoke again.

  ‘Did you go to the Thousand Peaks Hotel because the killer promised to give you back your teaching job?’

  ‘Yes,’ Teacher Wu answered despondently.

  ‘After everything that’s happened, do you still believe you’re fit to work as a teacher?’

  Teacher Wu said nothing.

  ‘It sounds to me as if you’re not even fit to step inside a school. So why did you go to the hotel? Is it because teaching is nothing more than a job to you? Because you care more about earning a salary than honouring the responsibility that goes with the job?’

  ‘I… I don’t want to answer that,’ Teacher Wu said, his voice trembling.

  ‘Why not? Have you not found your courage? Have you considered that had you not gone to the hotel that day – or had you never become a teacher in the first place – then those students would still be alive? In which case, does that not make you responsible for their deaths?’

  Teacher Wu’s stammering attempts to form words gave way to pained sobs.

  ‘The bastard,’ Pei hissed, his forehead furrowing. ‘Asking those questions to an old man who had just been seriously injured. He was deliberately trying to provoke him.’

  TSO Zeng paused the recording. ‘You’re right. But from the reporter’s perspective, a measured and amicable interview wouldn’t have got nearly as many clicks. Maybe he was hoping that Wu would buckle under the stress and, you know, it would make his interview a little more interesting…’

  ‘It’s despicable!’ Pei spat, his features contorting with anger. ‘What do we know about this reporter?’

  Zeng shook his head. ‘Not much. These kinds of online journalists all write under pseudonyms. And you heard how he disguised his voice in the recording? He isn’t an idiot; he’s taken plenty of precautions to make sure we can’t track him down.’

  ‘Leave this with me for now,’ Pei said, taking the MP3 player from Zeng. ‘I don’t believe that this pe
rson will be as impossible to trace as you suggest.’

  Zeng spread his hands. ‘Okay, let’s assume we track him down. Then what? He won’t bring us any closer to Eumenides.’

  Lieutenant Yin smashed a fist against the steering wheel. ‘He broke the law, damn it! This so-called journalist posed as a police officer. Let’s bring him in first and then decide what to do with him.’

  ‘Easy, Lieutenant Yin. Now’s not the time.’ Pei patted his overzealous assistant on the shoulder. ‘Let’s stay focused on our real objectives.’

  Lieutenant Yin clenched his jaw and stayed silent.

  ‘You know, we’re sweating blood here, going after Eumenides,’ Zeng said. ‘But then something like this happens. Something that makes you so angry, you almost wish someone like Eumenides would take care of such people.’

  Pei looked over at TSO Zeng, shocked at his comment. And yet, loath though he was to admit it, he understood exactly what his officer meant.

  6

  FACE TO FACE

  12:32 p.m.

  Mad World internet café

  The Mad World café had about a dozen computers, half of which were occupied when Captain Pei arrived. With the manager’s cooperation, Pei and TSO Zeng checked each customer’s ID. Once they’d confirmed that everyone was who they claimed to be, Lieutenant Yin ushered them out of the building.

  ‘Eumenides chose this place for a reason. Do you think he’s installed a virus on one of the computers, ready for Huang?’ Pei asked Zeng.

  ‘All he wants to do is talk to Huang. What good would a virus do?’

  ‘Even so, I think we should check every terminal. Do we have time?’

  ‘Fine.’ Zeng glanced at his watch. ‘I should have enough time to do some quick security scans if I hurry. You and Lieutenant Yin take care of the other prep work. I’ve got this.’ He pulled up a chair to the nearest computer and began typing away at two different keyboards.

  Pei walked over to Lieutenant Yin. ‘Zeng’s checking the computers, but for all we know the real threat could come from somewhere else. We need to ask ourselves why Eumenides chose this location.’

  ‘Do you think he intends to harm Huang?’ Yin asked, sucking in his cheeks. He stepped towards the exit and surveyed the locale. ‘There’s a three-storey furniture shop, a four-storey electronics centre and a bank,’ he said, pointing at each of the buildings in turn. ‘Someone on the roof of the bank would have a perfect view of everything going on inside this café.’

  Pei nodded. ‘We need people at each of those locations. You take care of that, Lieutenant Yin. I want everyone in position within half an hour.’

  As Yin radioed for reinforcements, Pei pulled out his phone and called SPU Captain Liu.

  ‘How’s the situation over there?’

  ‘We’ve already chosen someone. Should I bring him over to meet you?’

  ‘No. It’s imperative that he stays away from the internet café. But I want you to give me a detailed bio. Send me all the files you can on this person.’

  ‘Yes, sir. I can be there in approximately forty minutes to brief you, Ms Mu and Huang in person.’

  At precisely 1:30 p.m., SPU Captain Liu, Ms Mu and Huang arrived at the Mad World internet café. They convened in the management lounge, which Pei had converted into a temporary command centre.

  ‘How’d the prep work go?’ he asked Ms Mu.

  ‘We’ve agreed on a psychological strategy,’ she said with a curt nod. ‘Huang knows the steps and how to guide Eumenides between each one. But to be honest, sir, everything hinges on Eumenides.’

  Pei grunted in approval. ‘Liu, let me see the files on the former SPU officer you’ve chosen.’

  Liu passed him a chunky manila folder. ‘Everything’s inside this.’

  ‘Excellent,’ Pei said, flipping through it. He handed it on to Huang. ‘As you know, Huang, your task is to convince Eumenides that this man is the marksman that the January 30th files refer to as “Zhong Yun”. We have less than half an hour. Memorise as much of it as you can.’

  Huang weighed the thick stack of files in his hands. He shook his head. ‘Sorry, but there’s no way I’m going to remember this much.’

  ‘You won’t need to,’ Ms Mu said. ‘He’s just an old comrade-in-arms who worked with you a couple of decades ago. Of course you won’t know everything about him. In fact, it’ll be suspicious if you do answer all of Eumenides’ questions about him.’

  ‘I want you to look at the files as well, Ms Mu,’ Pei said. ‘Help us decide which details we should reveal to Eumenides and which we should keep secret.’

  Ms Mu nodded and immediately began studying the documents with Huang.

  Pei walked over to TSO Zeng, who was checking the café’s final few terminals. ‘How’s everything?’ he asked. ‘Any results?’

  ‘I found a few viruses here and there but none I could trace back to Eumenides,’ Zeng said, his fingers a blur as they sped across the keyboard. ‘Though if I were Eumenides, I’d make absolutely sure that I left no trace.’

  ‘So where does that leave us?’

  ‘If I were him, I’d note the IP addresses of the computers I intended to target. This would allow him to set a trap and then to trigger it only when he’s ready to do so.’

  ‘And what can we do about that?’

  ‘Well, we did the right thing by coming here early and checking. But what we do after two o’clock will be even more crucial. I’ll monitor the servers here. No matter which computer Eumenides attacks, I’ll be able to keep an eye on everything that’s going on. While Ms Mu and Huang are keeping Eumenides occupied, I’ll trace him through the network.’

  Pei nodded. ‘Let SPU Captain Liu know when you need his people at a specific location.’

  ‘You may as well tell him to get them ready now then.’ Zeng smirked. ‘I’m not leaving here empty-handed.’

  *

  2 p.m.

  SPU Captain Liu stood watch at the entrance to the internet café, raking the surroundings with vigilant eyes. A bunch of officers under Lieutenant Yin’s command had formed a tight circle around the building.

  Huang was sitting in the management lounge. His heart was racing at a mile a minute.

  ‘There’s nothing to worry about,’ Ms Mu said. ‘Just do what we practised and you’ll have your son back with you in no time.’

  TSO Zeng had taken up position behind the main server. At precisely 2 p.m. a window flashed on his monitor. ‘Terminal 33! He’s uploading a piece of software onto it.’

  ‘What kind of software?’ Pei asked.

  ‘I’ve never seen it before. It looks like some kind of control program. We won’t know what it actually does until it activates though. Should I block it from the server?’

  ‘No, let him upload it to the network. I have a feeling it’s the only way Eumenides will let us talk to him. Hurry up and trace his IP address.’

  ‘He’s begun installing the software,’ Zeng said, typing at lightning speed. ‘Focus your attention on Computer 33. I’m making a copy of the software so I can analyse it. He’s hidden his IP address, but I’ll crack it in a few seconds.’

  Pei scanned the internet café. Seconds later, his eyes locked onto the most isolated terminal in the building. The placard on the black divider read: 33.

  A chat window flashed onto the monitor just as Huang, Ms Mu and Pei reached it. A couple of words appeared inside it:

  I’m here.

  The black font was unmistakeably familiar. So familiar that, for a brief instant, Pei expected to see the words Death Notice appear next.

  Huang sat down in front of the computer and typed his response into the window.

  So am I.

  Eumenides’ reply came fast.

  I see you.

  A green light appeared on the computer’s external camera and another window popped up on the screen, relaying the camera’s live feed. The feed from Eumenides’ end, however, did not appear.

  Three names came up in the chat window,
one after the other.

  Huang

  Captain Pei

  Ms Mu

  Huang’s mouth twitched uncertainly, while Pei stared daggers at the camera. He stepped forward, as if to show Eumenides that he wasn’t afraid of being seen.

  Ms Mu was taken aback. The thought of being watched by an unseen man didn’t sit well with her. She reached out and turned the camera away.

  Seconds later, another message appeared.

  Don’t turn the camera off and don’t move it. Let me see you.

  Pei shook his head disapprovingly at Ms Mu and returned the camera to its original position. Reluctantly, the psychologist stepped out of the camera’s field of vision. She gave Huang a pointed look. He began typing again, more frantically this time.

  Where is my son?

  Eumenides responded swiftly.

  Put on a pair of headphones. I want to hear your voice.

  Huang hesitated.

  Every computer in the Mad World internet café was equipped with a bulky set of headphones with a built-in microphone. Huang slowly donned the ones at his terminal.

  ‘Where’s my son?’ he asked.

  ‘Your son is with me,’ a robotic voice answered.

  ‘Is he okay?’

  ‘For now.’

  ‘I want to see him. Turn on your camera.’

  ‘It wouldn’t make any difference,’ the voice said coldly.

  ‘Don’t hurt him!’ Huang roared. ‘For your own good, you better not hurt him.’

  For a moment, Eumenides was silent. Then Huang heard a soft sigh rustling through his headphones.

  ‘Understand this: should any harm befall your son, you’ll have only yourself to blame. If you hadn’t pulled that idiotic trick this morning, your son would be playing with his classmates right now.’

  Huang took a deep breath. It required all his willpower to keep his anger under control. ‘What are you trying to achieve with this?’ he growled.

  *

  Pei saw that TSO Zeng was waving him over, so he left the terminal and went to speak with him in private.

  ‘I’ve already traced an IP address,’ Zeng said, handing him a scrap of paper with a series of numbers scrawled on it. ‘This belongs to the Blue Star internet café, about ten kilometres from here.’