Fate

by Zhou HaoHui

Yin had already asked himself this question and now he had an answer. ‘Meng wouldn’t have been able to pull off a scheme that complicated on his own,’ he said. ‘He must have had an accomplice. That’s who killed him.’

  Pei was impressed. ‘And do you have any idea who this accomplice could have been?’

  ‘Brother Hua,’ Yin said without hesitation. ‘If it was impossible for anyone to get in or out through the window, then there was only one way to kill Vice President Meng – by sneaking into the office and taking him out when the power was down. Four people went in there before anyone else – Brother Long, Brother Hua and their two trusted subordinates. Brother Long ran over to Vice President Lin, the man he worked for, while Brother Hua went over to Vice President Meng with his subordinate in tow. Meng would have been pretending to be asleep and he certainly wouldn’t have expected Brother Hua to cross him.’

  ‘All of that could have conceivably happened, given the evidence, but what about a motive?’ Liu pursed his lips. ‘Why would Vice President Meng want to kill Vice President Lin? Why would he agree to work with Brother Hua? And why would Brother Hua want both of them dead?’

  ‘I can’t say for certain right now,’ Pei said cautiously, ‘but I do know that Mayor Deng’s sudden death created a power vacuum inside the Longyu Corporation. It’s inevitable that there’d be a struggle for control of the company. And bearing in mind that many of the high-ups in the Longyu Corporation have criminal backgrounds, we should expect their methods to be somewhat… extreme.’

  Liu’s face fell. ‘So the death notices were fake. It was all an internal power struggle masquerading as a double murder by Eumenides. In other words, we’ve been wasting our time here.’

  Pei narrowed his eyes. ‘Not necessarily. Remember the death notice we found taped to the locked drawer in Mayor Deng’s desk? The one with Brother Hua’s name on it?’

  Lieutenant Yin took his time before answering. ‘Perhaps Brother Hua was just being thorough.’

  ‘How so?’ Pei said.

  ‘Vice President Meng must have hidden the styrofoam and the extra clothes inside the office. But before the two vice presidents were isolated there, Brother Long and Brother Hua must have done a complete sweep of the room. In that case, Meng’s only option would have been to stuff the clothes and styrofoam into the backpack and then put everything in the locked drawer. The desk belonged to Mayor Deng, so Brother Long wouldn’t have had a key. But Brother Hua did. He must have given Meng the key after having told Brother Long that he didn’t have one.’

  ‘I see.’

  ‘Brother Hua had to think ahead. He knew we’d open the drawer during our investigation and that we’d be suspicious when we saw it was empty. If we suspected that the drawer had been used to store something and that this had been removed, then we might see through this plot to impersonate Eumenides. That’s why Brother Hua placed an additional death notice inside the drawer, so that we would assume that it was Eumenides who’d cleaned out the drawer and left a note behind.’

  ‘Hmm. That does make sense.’ Pei nodded. ‘But how would Brother Hua follow through with the death notice? If the execution date passed without any actions from Eumenides, wouldn’t Brother Hua just be incriminating himself?’

  Lieutenant Yin was silent.

  ‘Actually, I think the internal struggle at Longyu is just a part of this,’ Pei continued. ‘Brother Hua wants to use this opportunity to accomplish another goal of his. He wants to draw out Eumenides. Do you really believe that Brother Hua asked Du to write that article just so people would change their minds about Eumenides? He even told me that he wants to include a copy of his death notice in the follow-up piece. Who do you think he’s really doing that for?’

  Yin paused. ‘He wanted to provoke Eumenides!’

  ‘Exactly. He accused Eumenides of killing an innocent man and he turned the public against him. Eumenides thinks of himself as the embodiment of justice. He won’t let these slights go unnoticed. I’m absolutely certain that he’s plotting a way to get back at this imposter.’

  ‘So when the date on the death notice arrives, so will Eumenides,’ Yin said. ‘He’ll be watching and waiting to see who this imposter really is. He might have his suspicions, but he won’t know for certain who’s behind it all. Brother Hua, of course, will use it to set a trap. He’ll wait for Eumenides to take the bait, and then he’ll avenge Mayor Deng.’

  ‘What should we do if Eumenides really does come?’ Liu asked, his fingers now twitching with excitement.

  ‘That’s the assignment I’m giving you now,’ Pei said, fixing his gaze on the SPU captain. ‘I want you to wear this styrofoam disguise, dress up like Eumenides and appear with Brother Hua on the day of his supposed execution.’

  ‘You want me to be bait for Eumenides,’ Liu said. There was no questioning tone in his voice at all. On the contrary, he felt honoured to have been given this task. He looked down, examining the layer of styrofoam encasing his body. His earlier disgust was gone, replaced by pride.

  ‘It’s going to be extremely dangerous,’ Pei warned. ‘Eumenides won’t be the only person you’ll need to watch for. You might have to deal with Brother Hua as well.’

  Despite Pei’s seriousness, Liu grinned. ‘Now I know what you meant when you said we could kill two birds with one stone!’

  Pei didn’t look quite as optimistic as Liu. He paced behind his desk. ‘There’s another person who might show up. Someone I know you’re dying to see.’

  ‘Who?’ Liu asked, his heart beating faster.

  ‘Han Hao.’

  A shudder went through the room. Lieutenant Yin’s expression in particular grew tense at the mention of his former superior’s name. After all, he was the one who’d helped Han escape, albeit unwittingly. ‘How do you know that?’ he asked.

  ‘I believe that Han has already allied himself with Brother Hua,’ Pei said bluntly. ‘In order for Brother Hua to have produced perfect replicas of Eumenides’ death notices, transformed Vice President Meng into Eumenides for the security cameras, and even cut his colleagues’ throats, he’ll have needed someone on the inside. Someone who’s extremely familiar with Eumenides’ methods. No matter how many times I’ve tried to come up with a name, the only person I’ve been able to think of is Han Hao. I suspect that Han himself may have killed Vice President Meng; he could very well have been the guard who followed Brother Hua into the office. It takes a certain kind of training to kill someone in complete darkness without making a sound.’

  Lieutenant Yin nodded numbly, trying to accept Captain Pei’s theory but at the same time finding it almost impossible to do so. ‘How could the two of them end up working together? Han shot Mayor Deng. Brother Hua should hate him even more than he hates Eumenides.’

  ‘I’m sure Brother Hua still harbours a grudge against him, but an alliance isn’t necessarily so unlikely. After all, Han was also tricked by Eumenides. They share that common enemy, and they can be valuable assets to each other.’

  Realisation and acceptance slowly crept across Lieutenant Yin’s face. ‘You know, I was wondering why we haven’t been able to find Han. So Brother Hua’s been hiding him this whole time and working to eliminate his enemies. Up to and including Eumenides.’

  ‘This just keeps getting more interesting by the minute,’ SPU Captain Liu said. His gaze hardened into an icy stare. ‘Let them come. I’ll be waiting.’

  *

  5 November, 9:55 p.m.

  Golden Sea Hotel

  Lieutenant Yin sprinted back into Room 2107.

  ‘I’ve just checked, Captain Pei. There’s no sign of him.’

  Pei ran into the hall and looked left and right. He’d chosen that room because it was midway along the corridor, a good distance from the stairwells at either end. The room that he, Yin and Ms Mu had used as their base had been right next to a stairwell. When he’d heard Liu say Han’s name over the radio, he’d rushed straight for the stairs.

  ‘There’s no way Han is that fast,’ Pei
said. He turned to Yin. ‘Get two master key cards and have a pair of officers go right and left, checking every door as they go.’

  Their reinforcements reached the twenty-first floor moments later. A discovery followed almost immediately. ‘Sir!’ an officer cried out. ‘The ventilation grille on the ceiling of the bathroom in Room 2108 has been prised open.’

  Several minutes later, Pei was looking at a map of the hotel’s ventilation system. They quickly checked all the openings that were large enough to accommodate a person and blocked them off.

  He was already too late.

  *

  Two minutes earlier

  Han climbed out of the ventilation shaft of one of the hotel’s fireproof emergency rooms. As he emerged, he saw a pair of figures standing in front of him.

  The two men in black suits bowed respectfully and walked over to him.

  He froze.

  ‘Brother Hua sent us here to wait for you, Captain.’

  16

  FALLEN SOLDIER

  10 p.m.

  Golden Sea Hotel

  ‘How do we get out of here?’ Han immediately asked.

  The black-suited man on the left pointed to the service lift behind him. ‘We take this lift down to the car park. Brother Hua has a car waiting for us. There’s a secret tunnel from there to the car park under the stadium. The police won’t have had time to seal off the entire stadium, so you’ll be able to slip out of there unseen among the crowds.’

  Han grunted approvingly. The plan was sound.

  ‘There’s no time to lose,’ the man on the right said, stepping aside. ‘Get in the lift.’

  ‘After you,’ Han said calmly.

  The two men looked at one another. The man on the left pressed the button to summon the lift. Taking out his gun, Han entered and slid into a corner with his back against the wall.

  Thirty seconds later, the doors opened onto the underground car park. Han waited for the two men to exit before following them. Their footsteps echoed across the empty space like the clatter of falling hailstones.

  ‘The car’s parked up ahead, past this bend,’ one of the men said as he rounded a corner. Suddenly, he shrank back.

  ‘What is it?’ Han whispered.

  ‘Cops. Put your gun away.’

  Han melted into the wall. Slowly, he extended his left hand along the wall and used the reflection in his watch face to peer around the corner.

  He saw several cars and a blue minivan, but no police. There was no one up ahead.

  Glancing rapidly behind him, he saw that the man closest to him had just pulled a knife.

  ‘Shit!’ he hissed. The knife was centimetres from his back. He ducked and it plunged between two of his upper ribs. Wheezing, he spun round, the knife still stuck between his ribs, jabbed an elbow at his attacker and yanked the man’s arm away.

  The other man in black also pulled a knife and rushed towards them. Before he could reach them, Han raised his right hand. A crack echoed through the car park and the man fell to the ground with a bullet between his eyes.

  The other man struggled to free himself and aimed a kick at Han’s face. Dodging the foot, Han straddled the man’s leg and used his left hand to pull him near until their faces were so close he could smell his breath. He knelt and delivered a swift knee to his crotch. The man moaned in pain and curled up on the ground.

  Holstering his firearm, Han gritted his teeth and pulled the knife from his ribs. In some corner of his mind he knew that it hurt like hell, but the adrenaline rush kept him from fully feeling it. He stabbed the bloodied knife into the centre of the man’s chest, plunging it through muscle and bone until the blade was buried all the way to the handle.

  As the man slumped to the ground, Han turned away and headed deeper into the underground garage. Blood streamed from the wound in his back. As he walked, he used the hem of his jacket to tie a makeshift tourniquet around his ribs.

  *

  Five minutes later

  ‘The black suits are a giveaway,’ Captain Pei said. ‘These are Brother Hua’s men.’

  Lieutenant Yin inspected the bullet hole in the larger man’s forehead as Ms Mu surveyed the car park. ‘It looks identical to the one in SPU Captain Liu’s vest,’ Yin said. ‘I’m sorry to say it, but Han did this.’

  ‘He’s got to be hiding somewhere in here,’ Ms Mu said. ‘We’ve had all the hotel’s exits and entrances sealed off and that includes the ones in and out of this car park. Han can’t have got out.’

  Pei took several steps away from the bodies and crouched down to get a closer look at some glistening patches on the ground. At first they were hard to distinguish against the dark surface, but once he knew what he was looking at, they formed an obvious trail.

  Yin, Ms Mu and the others followed the direction of his gaze. ‘He’s wounded!’ one of the officers said.

  Pei turned to his men. ‘Fan out in every direction. Open the boot of every vehicle you see. If you find more blood, let me know immediately.’

  The officers dispersed and began searching in pairs.

  ‘Captain, there’s another exit here,’ came a shout from the southeast corner of the car park.

  Pei raced over. An opening of about one and a half metres was set into the wall. It appeared to be a tunnel, but its interior was too dark to be able to see where it led. He turned to Lieutenant Yin. ‘Why didn’t we know about this exit?’ he demanded.

  Yin shifted uncomfortably. He’d been in charge of sealing off all of the hotel’s entrances and exits. ‘This tunnel… it wasn’t in the building’s blueprints.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Pei asked angrily.

  Yin met his boss’s gaze. ‘I’d bet my life on it.’

  ‘I want the two of you to search this tunnel,’ Pei said to the officers who’d discovered it. ‘Stay alert and radio in as soon as you find something.’

  ‘Understood, sir.’

  He turned back to Lieutenant Yin. ‘Talk to the hotel staff and find out why the hell this tunnel is here!’

  Yin hurried away to the hotel lobby, where he demanded to speak with the hotel manager. Several minutes later, he radioed his answer back to Captain Pei.

  ‘The tunnel wasn’t in the original design for the hotel, apparently. It was only built after the stadium’s underground car park was constructed. The idea was to connect the two car parks, but that never happened. These days the tunnel is only ever opened up during major events at the stadium, as access to overflow parking.’

  ‘Damn it!’ Pei screamed.

  ‘There’s a good chance that Han’s in the stadium now,’ Lieutenant Yin said. ‘We don’t have enough people in there to search for him. He’ll blend into the crowd and get out without anyone noticing.’

  ‘Send officers to the stadium car park,’ Pei shouted. ‘I want the footage from every security camera there over the last twenty minutes. Take down the number plates of every vehicle that left the car park during that time and track them all down. Post an alert to all other law-enforcement agencies in the city. Check small hotels, pharmacies and clinics for anyone matching Han’s description. Monitor the radio frequencies used by taxis. And add a new detail to the description of Han: a knife wound to his torso.’

  *

  It was soon reported that the eight men who’d charged the stands all claimed to be Brother Hua’s men. They insisted to the police officers who apprehended them that they’d been stationed in the stands for their employer’s security. When the pitch descended into chaos, they rushed to protect Hua. They hadn’t expected the police to misunderstand their actions.

  Brother Hua had left his seat to calmly walk down the VIP passage behind the stands, with Du hurrying close behind. A circle of plainclothes officers and bodyguards formed around them and the group made its way to the hotel’s underground car park, where the police had already set up a cordon. As soon as Brother Hua spotted Pei there, he stepped over the police tape and approached him. ‘What’s going on, Captain?’

  ‘Han
is here,’ Pei said emotionlessly. ‘He’s already killed two of your men. We’re searching for him right now.’

  ‘Han?’ Brother Hua asked, his mouth open in apparent shock.

  ‘We’ll get him. You can be sure of that,’ Pei said, watching him closely.

  ‘If I were you, I’d just shoot him. Save yourself the trouble of chasing him down the next time he escapes,’ Hua said. ‘Well, I won’t delay you any longer, Captain. My team won today – I’m off to find somewhere to celebrate.’ He turned and strode off towards his car.

  The head of the plainclothes officers assigned to Brother Hua approached Pei. ‘Should we stay with him, Captain?’

  ‘Yes,’ Pei replied instantly. ‘But not to protect him. No one’s going to try to kill him. Your mission now is to keep an eye on him. He’s actually connected to the murders from two days ago. Once we’ve found Han, Brother Hua will be our next target.’

  The officer nodded, though he was surprised. ‘Yes, sir,’ he said obediently, then pointed to Du. ‘But what about him?’

  Pei considered the journalist for a nanosecond. ‘Keep him here,’ he said.

  Brother Hua, meanwhile, had passed the group of police officers and reached his car. Since he’d been the driver for his late boss, he was still in the habit of driving himself. He fished out his keys and slid into the driver’s seat. As he pressed his key into the ignition, he paused. Something didn’t feel right. The rearview mirror had been moved.

  ‘Shit!’ he muttered.

  The driver’s seat collapsed backwards. Caught off guard, Brother Hua fell back with it. By the time he’d tried to right himself, it was already too late. An arm was hooked firmly around his neck and the cold steel barrel of a gun was resting against his head.

  ‘Captain Han,’ he said without looking at his captor. ‘Funny we should meet here. I’d assumed you were long gone.’

  Han made a sound halfway between a laugh and a cough. ‘I’ve been stabbed. Even if I ran, I wouldn’t make it far. I’d rather finish things with you before I’m taken in again.’ He took a deep, wheezing breath and screamed at the top of his lungs, ‘If anyone comes within five metres of this car, I’ll blow Brother Hua’s brains all over the upholstery!’