by Zhou HaoHui
He had no time to waste; he needed to show Eumenides that he was following his commands to the letter.
He quickly walked over to the two officers.
“The two of you need to check out the man at the terminal. He’s wearing a suit and sunglasses.”
The two officers walked away, and Han occupied the position they had just vacated. Moments later, he received another message.
“Very good. Once I’ve made my move, do not attempt to stop me.”
He’s here, the captain thought, gritting his teeth. But where?
His phone vibrated again.
“I’m standing among the bodyguards, wearing a red shirt.”
Of course. Eumenides had already wormed his way into Deng’s personal entourage. He had changed into the same black uniform and glasses that the bodyguards wore, but his last message indicated that he didn’t have enough time to change out of all his original clothing. While the others wore white shirts underneath their uniforms, he was wearing a red shirt…
Every hair on Han’s body prickled. He was standing mere steps away from Eumenides. He scanned the sleeves of the bodyguards’ black uniforms. The shirt each man wore inside his uniform was exposed at the wrist. Each wore a white shirt—with one exception.
The red-shirted man stood right next to Brother Hua, and only a short distance from Deng. Other than the discrepancy in his attire, the way he carried himself also differed from the other bodyguards. Their eyes were focused outward as they vigilantly scanned their surroundings for any unusual activity. Unlike the others, this man’s head was lowered and turned to the side, as if trying to evade the gazes of people nearby.
Han’s heart began to race. The man had not noticed him. He navigated to the last text message sent to his phone.
He just had to be sure.
Replying to the message would leave a trail for the police to follow in their later investigation. Calling the number, on the other hand, was a different matter, and much harder to trace. He could use his own resources to delete the record of the call.
Eumenides needed to die. Any other problem was solvable. Any incriminating pieces of evidence could be destroyed. Even if anyone else suspected him, the argument for his innocence would be unshakeable.
Eumenides, and his own nightmare, would finally end.
Han was feigning cooperation for only one reason: to place a bullet between the man’s eyes as soon as he had the chance.
He finally had the killer in his sights. He only needed to leave no doubt before taking action.
Han pressed the Call button.
The call went through. The man wearing the red T-shirt reached his hand into his pocket and drew out a cell phone. A second later, he pressed a button on the device and returned it to his pocket.
The ringing on Han’s end ceased. A familiar recorded message played instead.
“We’re sorry. The caller you’re trying to reach is currently unavailable…”
Eumenides had finally slipped up.
Han had only seconds to act; hesitation was not an option. The bodyguards watched as he approached, suspicion registering on their shielded faces. Brother Hua turned his head toward Han. “Is there a problem, Captain Han?”
Unlike the others, Eumenides turned away, as if sensing the noose growing tight around his neck. Han was resolute. Raising his right hand, he leveled the barrel of his semiautomatic at the man.
The gunshot rang through the lobby with the force of a small explosion. Han had fired from a distance of only five feet. The bullet entered the side of the killer’s skull just above his left ear. Eumenides fell flat against the floor, completely still.
The gunshot sucked all the sound out of the terminal. Only after a moment did anyone even think to react. The silence turned to screams.
Hua pounced savagely upon Han and pinned him to the floor. He kept both his hands tightly pressed against the police officer’s gun. Several of the bodyguards clustered in confusion around the fallen man, while the rest swarmed to subdue Han.
The police sprang into action as well. Despite their uncertainty as to what had just transpired, their training kicked in and it was essential that they bring this chaos under control. One after another, they pulled out their guns and took aim at Hua, who was still straddling Captain Han.
“Drop your weapon!”
“On your feet right now!”
“Let go of me!” Han roared. “That’s Eumenides! I just shot the killer!”
Two officers rushed forward and wrenched Hua away from his savage struggle with the captain.
Deng Hua finally stood up from his seat. He shakily removed his sunglasses and face mask. His eyes went from Han to the man now lying in a pool of blood. Shock and bewilderment filled his face.
Pei rushed over. He had gotten suspicious when he saw Han making a call, but he never would have imagined that the captain was planning to do anything like this. Everything had happened too quickly for him to stop Han in time. He looked at the face of the man who had removed his sunglasses and face mask, and his heart sank.
It was not Deng Hua.
Two of the bodyguards had just turned over the shot man lying motionless on the floor. They removed his sunglasses. Even though their eyes remained invisible, the horror in each of their expressions was palpable. The man that Han had shot had already taken his last breath, yet fierce eyes remained, as did a self-assured, dignified expression.
Han had killed Deng Hua.
Brother Hua lost all control. Desperation and rage turned his words into barely discernible screams. “Han, you bastard! I’ll fucking kill you!”
In spite of the two burly officers restraining him with all their might, Brother Hua broke free and charged Han like a rabid animal. His fist was a blur, and landed with a solid crack as it connected with the side of Han’s head. The captain stumbled back, shaking his head from side to side. A corporal grabbed Han and pinned him to the ground.
“Get ahold of yourself!” Pei yelled at Hua. “Isn’t this enough chaos for you?” He turned and addressed the officers around him. “Seal every entrance and exit. Nobody leaves the terminal! Liu, if Captain Han moves, shoot him!”
Several officers looked questioningly at Pei, and then at Han, who lay immobilized on the ground. They didn’t appear to understand this new change in the chain of command. “You heard the man,” Liu shouted, gesturing to the SPU officers flanking him. “Arrest the captain!”
Han stared at Deng Hua’s lifeless eyes. He had lost. He had fallen for Eumenides’s scheme. With the killer pulling the strings, he had used his own weapon to shoot Deng dead.
Han let his gun fall from his hands to the floor. He didn’t fight back when an SPU officer twisted his arms behind his back. Liu approached and handcuffed him, and the captain could only smile dumbly.
The remaining officers looked at one another in stunned silence.
“What are you staring at?” Han said. “Carry out Captain Pei’s orders!” He was defeated. There was no doubt, but he could not let Eumenides escape. Maybe, just maybe, Eumenides’s capture could salvage something from his ruin. The only hope he had left was that the captain from Longzhou could do what Han could not.
The SPU team swiftly sealed every entrance and exit in the terminal, effectively shutting down half the airport. The police rushed around, attempting to restore some semblance of order and cordoning off the murder scene.
“Where is he?” Pei asked.
With a grimace, Han shrugged and shook his head.
“Where is he?” Pei repeated, and he slapped Han across the face. “You were in touch with him just moments ago. He has to be nearby. Where the hell is he?”
Han’s eyes suddenly widened in revelation. Eumenides knew exactly what was going on in the terminal when he contacted me. He must be close!
Fueled by
desperate purpose, Han searched his surroundings. In seconds he had found his target.
“There!” he said, gesturing with his chin.
Pei, Hua, and Liu all followed the direction of Han’s gaze.
The cleaner who had previously been sweeping outside the lobby window at floor level was now washing a window on the upper floor. He appeared to be calmly watching everything unfold inside the terminal. The light from one of the airplanes taxiing across the tarmac outside was shining directly upon the man’s back; the intense backlight made it impossible for anyone to get a clear look at his face—but the silhouette emanated a strangely powerful presence.
“It’s him! That’s him right there!” Han trembled, as though the rage and pain inside him was tearing his throat apart.
Pei and Brother Hua were already in full sprint. They flew like twin blurs across the terminal floor. Liu immediately gave an order, and several SPU members followed closely behind. In moments, everyone else involved in the operation was rushing toward the exit.
The man outside the window did not show the slightest sign of panic. After observing the terminal for several more seconds, he turned almost lazily around. The men in pursuit still needed to cover a long distance before they could reach the terminal exit.
By the time everyone reached the other side of the window, Eumenides had vanished.
Deng’s corpse lay still on the terminal floor, blood leaking from the wound in the back of his head. Deng Yulong had run from his past for eighteen years, changing his name and erecting one of the largest business empires in the entire province. In the end, it hadn’t been enough. Deng’s past had finally caught up with him.
EPILOGUE
The airport just a dot on the landscape behind him, he roamed across a desolate strip of wilderness. The bitter autumn wind whipped across his face, but cold meant nothing to him. His blood was still boiling.
He was sure that there were countless people trying to track down his whereabouts. Yet none of them knew who he was. They only knew what he allowed them to know. He was Eumenides.
He was a man without an identity.
Eighteen years earlier he had been a poor and lonely orphan roaming the streets, on the brink of vanishing into society’s cruel and uncaring maw. It was at this time that he had met a man burned and scarred beyond recognition. Most thought him a freak.
The burned man helped him achieve something that he had never before dreamed of. Eventually, he had nothing but awe and reverence for the man who became his mentor.
He trained to be his apprentice, and his abilities and skills grew.
He was going to help people.
Three years ago, his mentor gave him a list containing the names of people whose grave crimes had gone unpunished. He began searching for these people. When he found them, he exacted upon them the harshest possible punishments. He was well trained. Those thieves, rapists, and murderers were like lambs lined up for the slaughter.
He was ready to end his apprenticeship, but his mentor would not allow it. Only once he killed a certain person would he be able to become a qualified executor of justice.
Deng Hua.
It was an impossible task, but his death was what his mentor demanded.
He spent nearly three years searching for a solution to this problem. He had almost nothing to show for his efforts. That is, until he seized the next quarry on his list—Peng Guangfu.
Peng had revealed the truth behind the homicide of the police officer at Mount Twin Deer Park. This was the crucial piece of information that illuminated how he would execute Deng.
His mentor approved of his plan, with one crucial addition. He was to murder Zheng Haoming, an old police officer of the original 4/18 Task Force, to ensure Han Hao’s involvement in the subsequent investigation.
The order baffled him. Zheng Haoming was not one of the names on his teacher’s list. If he did wish to involve Han Hao, there were far more expedient methods of doing so.
“You’re going to become a true executor of justice. Therefore, you need to understand that you will always face two enemies. The first is the criminal whose name is written on your death notice. The second is the police. Never doubt the antagonistic relationship that binds you to the police. Given the opportunity, they will kill you without the slightest hesitation. You must be prepared to do the same to them. Kill this officer, Zheng Haoming, and you will be sure never to hesitate in any of your future dealings with law enforcement.”
It was not long before he became convinced of the value of these instructions. When he began to orchestrate his plan, the death of Zheng Haoming was its prelude.
The task force re-formed, with Han as its leader. The first step was complete.
Ye Shaohong came next. Murdering her when she was surrounded by police was a rather risky endeavor. Nevertheless, his success achieved a twofold effect. First, it dominated the police inquiry; once Peng Guangfu’s death notice was delivered, most people would not think to focus on the Mount Twin Deer Park case. Second, it showed off Eumenides’s formidable strength. It worked: when Han killed Peng and subsequently covered up his actions, no one initially suspected that the murderer was one of their own.
His plan continued. Han murdered Peng, and Xiong Yuan was collateral damage. Then the threat of releasing video from the mine ensured that the captain both feared and further despised him, and would be driven to stop Eumenides no matter what the cost.
Exactly as he had planned.
Even though he had been unable to find an opportunity to assassinate Deng over the previous couple of years, he had turned up quite a great deal of information. Deng was rarely spotted at public events, and on the few occasions when his attendance was necessary he would always surround himself with a retinue of bodyguards. He would even use a decoy to ensure his own safety…
Therefore, Han assumed that the man disguised as a bodyguard was actually Eumenides. The last piece of the puzzle was simple—Eumenides exploited a common feature offered by Chinese mobile providers and rerouted his incoming calls to Deng’s phone.
In the end, Han had killed Deng Hua. He had finally carried out the impossible task.
With the dream fulfilled, his late mentor could finally rest in peace.
He had completed his apprenticeship. He was justice’s true executor.
No one in the world knew his true name, but he would make sure that everyone would learn the name Eumenides.
* * *
Brother Hua raced through darkness. He could feel his lungs aching, but he was not yet ready to stop.
He would track the bastard down, even if he had to run to the ends of the earth.
No matter where, no matter how, he would do what it took to find the killer.
This he swore.
* * *
Han Hao stood in the airport terminal. The handcuffs were rings of ice against his wrists. It was a sensation he had never felt before.
Once his initial shock and torment subsided, he finally forced himself to regain control of his thoughts. He knew the consequences he would soon face for his actions. But he wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Han could not just give up and accept his defeat. He needed to find a glimmer of hope in the midst of his desperation.
He was going to turn the tables. He had allies, and he was going to find the bastard that had destroyed him. He was going to tear the man to pieces with his bare hands.
This he swore.
* * *
Pei Tao stood on the upper floor, on the other side of the terminal window. The killer had stood in the exact same spot only minutes earlier, but had long since vanished.
However, Pei did not lose hope. At the very least, he had finally seen the man. He believed that regardless of what came next, he would be able to find Eumenides’s trail.
It was time the bastard paid for his crimes
.
This he swore.
END OF PART ONE
About the Author
Zhou Haohui is regarded as one of the top three suspense authors in China today. The Death Notice trilogy is China’s bestselling and most popular work of suspense fiction to date. The online series based on these novels has received more than 2.4 billion views and has achieved almost legendary status among Chinese online dramas.
About the Translator
Zac Haluza is a freelance translator and writer from the United States. He currently lives in Shanghai.
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