“I’m so glad you were able to meet with me, the Dragon Head sends his regards as he is unable to attend,” started Yu.
Heng swallowed his cheese. “Understandable, being a coward takes a lot of time.”
Yu’s eyes pierced Heng, but the fat man took no notice of it. “He had pressing business matters to attend to.”
“Of course,” said Heng. “Now to our business. What is your proposal?”
“If it seems the appropriate time,” said Yu, who shifted uneasily in his chair.
“It does,” interrupted Heng. “Now get to the main point.” The guard’s faces stayed stone solid except for the kid, whose eyes betrayed excitement and confusion.
Yu recovered from the interruption with a softer voice. “The Dragon Head thinks it would be wise for you and your brothers to come back and join the Red Dragon.”
Heng nodded his head and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. He placed it back in his breast pocket, pulled out a small handgun from his jacket, and shot Yu in the face. Shock filled the kid’s eyes as his dreams of what kind of work he would do for a triad were met with reality. Heng gestured to Tin and Tan to take the body out. They stood still for a moment, before proceeding to tip back the chair that Yu was sat in and carry him out in it. Yu’s dead face glared up at Tan. Blood from the bullet hole dropped down on to Tan’s pants as he walked backward out the door. Before leaving entirely, Tan looked back. Heng drank his wine with the kid in one corner frightened and Yong in the other corner staring back at Tan, shaking his head. When Heng finished his glass of wine, he stood up with a huff and gave orders.
“Yong, you stay and clean up.”
“Yes, sir.”
Yong motioned to the kid to follow Heng. The child’s eyes were still wide in fear, but he nodded and slowly followed Heng, staring at the blood trail Yu’s body left as they walked out. Yong got to work picking up the food and wine. When he was finished with that, Tin and Tan returned.
“Did you know?” asked Tin.
Yong shook his head. “No, I take it you all didn’t either?”
They shook their heads too.
Yong placed the ice chest on the table. “What did you do with the body?”
“Wrapped it up in a plastic tarp,” answered Tan. “Want us to dump it in the sea?”
Yong tapped his fingers on the ice chest. “This is too far,” he finally said.
“You think?” Tin and Tan said in unison.
Yong gave a smile. “I do.” His smile disappeared as fast as it came. “His recklessness and stupidity are going to get us all arrested or killed. Most likely the latter with this new stunt.”
They stood in silence for a minute as Yong kept staring at Yu’s blood on the floor.
“What are we going to do?” asked Tan. “Leave?”
“No,” answered Yong. “We are going to change it.”
Chapter 32
A Member Short
J ack hustled up the stairs to the second floor of the gym, the day far from over. He opened the door to all the eyes in the upstairs room staring at him. Small tables and chairs filled the room, all facing the mounted TV on the wall with Lóng on it. The TV was used more for movies and sports than business meetings. All of the Red Dragon’s Red Poles were there with their right-hand men and bodyguards. Lei Lei and Li were in the front near the TV with a younger man sitting on the floor, laptop connected to the TV, webcam pointed to the crowd.
“Jack, I’m glad you’re here. Did Li fill you in?” asked Lóng,
Jack could tell he was trying to keep it calm and collected. “All I know is Yu is dead,” answered Jack, folding his hands behind him and giving a small bow toward Lóng.
“That…That is correct. He was meeting with Heng about joining us yesterday, and one of our establishments find him in our dumpster. Shot in the head.”
“Do we know who did it?” asked Jack.
“Boqin or Heng,” stated Lei Lei.
“What about Zemi?” asked Jack.
“He’s a puppet for Boqin, so if he did it, it would have been Boqin who made the call,” said Chi, looking already more confident than the first time Jack met him.
“Either way,” said Lóng, taking control of the conversation sternly, “I want the bastard dead. That is why you’re here Jack. I want to know who did it, who pulled the trigger, and I want them dead.”
“What if it was Boqin or…” one of the Red Poles begin to ask.
“Dead!” shouted Lóng, interrupting him. Lóng’s face was red, and his veins popped when he made the order. “Dead in two weeks!”
The feed cut out, and the young technician started to pack his things. The Red Poles and their companions started to slowly trickle out. They cast glances at Jack as he stood next to the door, waiting for them all to leave. Once they were all out, Jack started to ask his questions.
“Besides Lóng being pissed, what else did I miss?” He walked up to Lei Lei and Li.
“Not much, just the small details about the new shipment of guns and keeping our eyes open,” answered Lei Lei as she sat down at one of the tables. Li stared at the laptop and the last bit of accessories being packed up by the young man. “He really wants Yu’s death avenged, like tomorrow,” added Lei Lei, folding her arms.
“I could see that. Did we find anything helpful on the body?”
“Just this: no one has taken responsibility for it, but it’s still early.” Lei Lei handed Jack a ziplock baggy with a blood-covered map of the Landmark Central Mall and a coin. A date and time were written on it at one of the fountains. The IT guy left with his second-hand bag and expensive laptop. Jack, Lei Lei and Li were the last ones left in the room.
“Do we still have the body?” asked Jack.
“Yeah,” answered Lei Lei, sitting down at the closest table.
“What if we got our contact in the Police Force to ‘find’ the body? They could investigate who wrote the note.” Jack used his fingers for air quotes when he mentioned ‘find.’ He sat down with Lei Lei while Li still stood against the dirty red wall, looking at the floor.
Lei Lei shook her head. “I don’t want the cops snooping around. We could get into a lot of shit with that.”
“But we could get a legitimate lead on the killer.”
Lei Lei stood her ground, unmoved. “The man was one of Lóng’s personal bodyguards before he made him his Straw Sandal. I don’t want to give them any reason to look into us.”
“Okay.” Jack backed down, not wanting to get Lei Lei heated up against him. “Want me to follow this lead?” Jack asked, holding up the baggy.
“Yeah. Be on your toes. It could be a trap. Heng was supposedly the last person to have seen him since he was meeting with him. Keep your eyes out for his goons.”
“Okay. How does Lóng plan on talking to the rest of the wandering Red Poles?”
“Li and I will. Duyi, Tung, and Xing are still free agents. Still don’t know where Tao is, and Gui is still in prison. Though Enlai may already be off the market since he’s the older brother of Zemi.”
“Tao will decide it,” said Li. Lei Lei and Jack looked at Li as he finally spoke. His voice was soft and meek. “Where Tao places his loyalty, that is the side that will have the upper hand.”
“You’re right. However, we need to take care of the others first,” added Lei Lei. “Jack, I want you to find Yu’s killer. Be careful, though, if you talk to Heng’s men. I have a feeling he could be a part of it, if not the actual killer.”
“Understood.”
Lei Lei continued, “And Li and I will take care of the Red Poles. I will get someone else to check on Enlai to see if he’s already with Boqin.”
Lei Lei and Jack stood up. Li slowly leaned off the wall. “Li,” said Lei Lei, “can you get the car? I want to have a word with Jack for a second.” Lei Lei seductively wrapped her arms around Jack. Li showed the first sign of an expression that whole night. It was similar to a child when their parents kiss.
“At least wait till I
get outside.” He quickly walked out as Jack chuckled under his breath. Once the door was closed, Lei Lei let go of Jack, and her professionalism was back.
“I also have two other things I need you to do.”
“Ok.” Jack took a half a step back and crossed his arms.
“Li has taken Yu’s death hard.”
“I can tell. He seems a little out of it.”
“I know, that is why I am going to send him to Lóng for a bit. They will need each other to get through this.”
“Ok, so will you take care of the Red Poles yourself?”
“Yes. What I need from you is to pack up some of his personal stuff and drop it off here. I’m going to send him to meet with Lóng today.”
Jack nodded his head. “I can do that, what’s the other thing?”
“Your cop.” Lei Lei walked over to the back of the room where the teapot sat on the counter.
“What about him?” Jack said, thinking about Fu and Guòqù.
“Are you his only connection?” Lei Lei filled a kettle with water.
“Yeah, just like Ink told me to,” answered Jack.
“Good, I want you to give me all the stuff you have on him. Family, how you get a hold of him, everything.” She placed the kettle on the pot burner, plugging it in. “As things are getting more unstable, we will need to be able to react to things quickly, and you may be busy on an errand for me.” She turned the stove on and turned around. “Is that all right?” Though phrased as a question, Jack knew it was an order.
“Sure.” A knot started to form inside of Jack’s stomach.
Lei Lei turned back to the counter and took a box of tea bags out of a drawer and placed one in her mug. “Good.”
“You know,” added Jack, slowly walking toward her, placing his hands in his pockets. “I still can’t put my finger on you. I’ve seen a fun side of you, a playful, carefree side, and now here’s all this business side. I guess I’m just having trouble trying to figure out which side is the real you?”
Lei Lei faced Jack, her eyebrow raised and a smile formed at the corner of her mouth. “Who gives a damn which one is the real me?” The kettle whistled.
Chapter 33
Therapy Session
M allory lay beside Thomas, gazing into his eyes as the morning sun rose behind him. She wore a white tank top with her blonde hair in a ponytail behind her. She smiled at him as if he had just said a cheesy pickup line. She slowly reached out to him. She placed her soft hand on his lips. Puckering her lips like she was about to kiss him, she shushed him instead with a low, muffled voice. Thomas woke up and saw Guòqù bent over him with his hand over Thomas’s mouth, making the shushing sound.
“We need to talk,” Guòqù whispered as he slowly lifted his rough hand off of Jack’s mouth.
“Why are you whispering? Are The Twelve employing insects now?”
Guòqù didn’t laugh. He stepped back and sat down on the floor, out of view of the city’s lights. Jack sat up with his back against the wall.
“You said I can get close to him?” asked Guòqù in a muffled voice through his steel mouthpiece.
“You can. Li has left to spend some time with Lóng. I was ordered to pick up his stuff and drop it off at the gym tomorrow.” Jack looked at the clock beside his bed on the floor. “Today, I mean.”
Guòqù was silent. He placed his Jō against his head as if he was going to gain some new information from it. “How will I follow it?”
“Just follow it. They will probably ship it to a P.O. box where someone else will pick it up. Then follow them. That’s sort of your forte - the stalking thing.”
“Are you done?” said Guòqù, annoyed.
“Sorry, just trying to keep our spirits high.”
“My spirit will be high when I find The Twelve and kill them all.”
“Why?” Jack leaned forward. “Did they do…” Jack moved his hand over his mouth, “… that to you?”
Guòqù looked at the floor, his grip on his Jō tightening. “No, I have reasons just like you. Does it matter if you know them?”
“It would help.”
“Help who?”
“Both of us!” Jack shouted. He stopped and lowered his voice. “We both have some heavy baggage, okay? Some deep scars that we have to keep hidden behind a costume that sometimes feels like a million pounds pressing down on you every day. And you know it doesn’t go away when you sleep. It just lays there, pressing on your chest.” Jack stopped and closed his eyes as he leaned back against the wall. “I…I just want some help with my bags, man. I need some help with this to accurately contribute to bringing down The Twelve.” Jack’s voice left him as if he'd just finished a marathon. He breathed slowly, realizing how hard it was to keep it all together without a handler or Mallory.
Guòqù leaned against the wall as well for a few seconds in silence, before speaking. “I can do that,” he muttered.
Thomas took a deep breath through his mouth and told Guòqù everything: about Amsterdam, his first mission, Golay, his first kill, the pimp, the teenage girls, Mallory, and Spain. Guòqù sat and listened carefully for several hours, reacting to nothing, not interrupting once.
“Better?” asked Guòqù after Thomas was all done.
Jack clenched his jaw, wiping the few tears he had collected. “Yeah, I’m great now.”
“It will get better when they are dead.” Guòqù stood up with the help of his Jō.
“Will it?” asked Jack sincerely.
Guòqù stood. “You need sleep. What time are you going to drop off the stuff?”
Jack looked at the clock. “Two.”
Guòqù nodded and walked out of Jack’s bedroom, closing the door behind him. Jack settled back into his bed and stared out at Hong Kong. He drifted to sleep with thoughts of the end of this journey, wondering if twelve deaths would cure him of the pain, wondering why he was doing all this, wondering if he was seeking justice or merely blood. Wondering if he could drop being Jack and simple be Thomas again.
Chapter 34
Room A
I nspector Ko sat in his office, staring at his computer screen, reading over the report of the bank robbery for the twentieth time. By scrolling over every picture his men took and links to the security videos, he had the file memorized by now. He reread the emails and texts the former banker had on all his devices. He leaned back and rubbed his eyes as Inspector Chiu walked in.
“Minute?” asked Chiu.
Ko nodded. Chiu shut the door behind him and sat down in the seat beside him. “The bank?”
“Yes,” Ko answered in guilt. “I have to say, this is one of the cleanest jobs I’ve ever seen. The banker must have been the insider, but nothing is turning up.”
Chiu nodded in empathy.
“So?” asked Ko.
Chiu handed him a folder. Inside was a promotion form for Fu. Ko sighed heavily, as it had all the signatures it needed besides his. Ko took a pen and signed it as Chiu said, “Kill a runner and bring another in and you get promoted by the chief. In our day you had to earn your honor instead of stumbling upon it.” Ko slid the folder back to Chiu who remarked, “The other one didn’t even give us anything.”
Ko opened up the interrogation report, short and empty, and dragged his mouse up to close the preview of the report. He stopped when he caught the name of the interrogating officer.
“Kaoru?” Ko asked with surprise. Chiu showed the same expression. Ko checked the status of the prisoner. “He’s still in the holding cells. Let's go.”
Ko stood up with force and left his office, muttering under his breath, “That soft bastard and his soft voice and weird questions won’t help with these low life grunts.”
Chiu was close behind him. They marched quickly through the station to the holding cell’s desk. Ko ordered the officer at the desk to move the runner to the oldest and his favorite interrogation room. They didn’t have to wait long until Kaoru walked in.
“Hello, Ko and Chiu, what are you old triad h
unters up to?” Kaoru’s voice was high and whiny.
“Just trying to fix the damage you’ve done,” Ko responded in a low tone.
Kaoru’s head moved back as he folded his lotioned hands over his chest. “What?”
“The bus extortion case? Your report was shit.”
Kaoru’s eyes went wide as he opened his mouth in shock. “Well, I’m sorry if he didn’t have much to say at the moment.”
“So you just filed it with no follow-up?”
“Yeah, he didn’t have much to say because he confessed to it up front.”
“Who put you on this case?” Ko asked with his hands in his pocket.
“Fu requested me because he didn’t have the rank to question him.”
The officer returned and informed Ko that the suspect was in the room. Ko thanked the officer coldly and told Karou before leaving, “Figures. Lucky idiots like brown-nosing.”
Interrogation Room A was Ko’s favorite because of the many successful breaks he’d had with it. It was a dirty concrete room with two rusty steel chairs bolted to the ground facing each other. Here memories were made. No lamp, no table, not even a see-through mirror. It was this room that Ko gained vital information from a drug runner that helped his brother and other international police officers gain access to infiltrate the triad those many years ago. He hoped he’d be as lucky this time.
When they reached the room, the prisoner was already there, seated and handcuffed to the chair with an officer stationed by the thick oak door. Ko and Chiu gave the officer their guns, and he left the room with the weapons, closing the heavy door behind him. The prisoner wore an orange jumpsuit with no socks or shoes. Ko could see a tattoo of a flame popping out of the inmate’s clothes on the back of his neck. Ko circled him with Chiu in the corner. Ko sat in the other chair facing the prisoner, who looked as if this was his hundredth time. The prisoner’s hair was buzzed off, and his left eyebrow was missing. Ko focused on the prisoner for a minute in silence. The prisoner looked back, bored. Ko checked his watch. Chiu unplugged the security camera in the corner of the room. The prisoner wasn’t bored anymore as the little red dot turned off.
The Dragon and the Lumberjack Page 11