by Lei Mi
It was a last resort. If the suspects managed to slip away long enough to find a secluded spot to abandon their vehicle, they would be much more difficult to pursue on foot.
For at least half a minute, no one in the command car said a word, and the only sound coming from the police radio was a scratchy static hiss. They all knew that apart from getting to that section of Old Town as fast as possible, there was nothing else they could do. Zheng Lin's face was burning with agitation, and everyone else was extremely annoyed as well. Less than half an hour ago, it had seemed that they were about to capture the murderers in one fell swoop. None of them had expected the suspects to be so cunning. Fang Mu stared woodenly out the window. Was Luo Jiahai going to get away again?
Suddenly the walkie-talkie transmitted a crisp, clear voice. "C09748 calling headquarters, C09748 calling headquarters…"
Zheng Lin jumped and snatched up the walkie-talkie. "This is Zheng Lin. What news?"
"This is badge number C09748. I just saw the suspects' vehicle heading north on Changsheng Lane. I repeat, the suspects' vehicle is heading north on Changsheng Lane...."
"Stay on their tail, but don't do anything stupid. And keep me informed!" Zheng Lin said, and then ordered all units to close in on Changsheng Lane.
After giving the command, Zheng Lin turned to Bian Ping and exclaimed, "I'll be damned. Find out who that officer is and make a note of it, so we can give him a medal!"
"C09748..." Fang Mu murmured to himself. Suddenly, his eyes widened. Wasn't that Lu Xu's badge number?
After they managed to lose the cop car that had been tailing them so closely, the three men breathed a sigh of relief, and a hint of color gradually began to return to Mr. H's face.
"You dare try and out-drive me, little boy?" he chortled.
"Don't get cocky," Luo Jiahai growled as he closed his cell phone. "Z says we should dump the van and split up."
Neither of the others objected. As Mr. H slowed the van and began scanning the area for a place to hide the van, a siren suddenly blazed to life in the rearview mirror. They all turned to see a motorcycle cop speeding up the street behind them.
Lu Xu had already guessed the suspects' intentions; they had to be slowing down in order to find a safe place to abandon their vehicle. If they managed to split up and get away on foot, it would be very difficult indeed to catch them, so he had to do everything in his power to keep them in that van until backup arrived.
As he had hoped, his police lights scared them into speeding up again and the van raced off down the street. Lu Xu maintained a fixed distance right on their heels.
"Shit!" Mr. T cursed and grabbed Mr. H's gun from the glove compartment. He rolled down the window, aimed it at Lu Xu, and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened. But in the split-second that Lu Xu saw the gun reflecting in the moonlight, he knew he did not have time to dodge, so he suddenly twisted downward on his handlebars and went sailing up alongside the van.
"Stop the car! Everyone get out of the vehicle!" Lu Xu was driving with one hand, pointing at the passenger side window with the other. "Give me that gun!"
"Shit! Why won't it fire?" Mr. T shouted as he squeezed the trigger furiously over and over.
Mr. H pressed his lips together tightly and hauled the steering wheel over to the right, causing the van to veer toward the motorcycle. Lu Xu put on the brakes, swung around the back of the van, and accelerated up along the driver's side.
"Give me my gun back!" Lu Xu bellowed.
Mr. H cranked the steering wheel to the left, trying madly to crash into the motorcycle cop.
Deftly, Lu Xu dodged again. The van knocked over a row of bicycles parked on the side of the street, sending a piece of metal flying up to hit Lu Xu in the head, but he felt no pain.
The motorcycle and van danced back and forth along the narrow street, one driver trying desperately to recover his service pistol, the other trying to escape or crush the pursuer to death. Neither had seen that the street was coming to an end and that not far ahead of them was a bridge.
Mr. H was not even watching where he was going anymore; all he cared about was running the motorcycle cop off the road. By the dim moonlight in the mirror he could see, to his surprise, that the cop's face was covered in blood. The sight spurred him on, and he grinned a murderous grin.
"All right then, Mr. Deathwish, I'll be happy to oblige!"
Again he saw the motorcycle come flying up the right side of the van. Gritting his teeth, Mr. H hauled the steering wheel around to the right…
He did not notice the tall, thick cement bridge columns looming in front of him.
When he finally became aware of them, Mr. H instinctively turned left, but it was too late. The front right fender of the van smashed into one of the cement columns, sending the entire vehicle tumbling onto its side. Its tremendous momentum caused it to roll several times. As Lu Xu slammed on his brakes, he lost his balance, and both he and his motorcycle hit an obstacle and launched into the air, ricocheted off the flank of the rolling van, and fell to the side.
The next few minutes seemed to last centuries. Mr. H was the first to regain consciousness. The van had come to rest on its side. Mr. H struggled to undo his seatbelt, then wiped some blood out of his eye and stared at what he realized was a large, gaping hole in the windshield. Mr. T was nowhere to be seen. Ears ringing, he shook his head and climbed out through the passenger-side door. As he leaned against the sideways roof of the van, he heard a loud groan coming from the backseat. It was Luo Jiahai. Wincing from pain, Mr. H circled around and helped him climb out.
The two of them stood on the bridge, their legs shaking from adrenaline and pain. Luo Jiahai scanned the patch of ground lit by the one functioning headlight of the van. There was debris everywhere. "Where's T?"
"I don't know. We can't leave him behind," Mr. H said, gradually regaining his senses. "Hurry, let's find him."
They hobbled around, searching the darkness and calling quietly, "T? T! Where are you?"
There was no answer. Mr. H limped a ways up the bridge and peered over the edge. It was too dark to see anything down below.
"Could..." he started, pointing into the pitch black below the bridge. "...Could he have fallen down there, you think?"
As he asked the question, Mr. H suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around his leg and squeeze.
It was the motorcycle cop.
In his alarm and sudden fury, Mr. H kicked his leg as hard as he could to loosen the cop's grip. The cop was sprawled on the bridge, face covered in blood, looking for all the world like he was about to breathe his final breath. But still he struggled, and now he was trying to use Mr. H's leg to pull himself to his feet.
"You're not...going any...where...until you give me...my...gun...back..." he sputtered.
Mr. H lifted his other foot and stomped down at the cop's chest. His voice broke as he screamed. "What did I do to you? Did I kill your parents or your wife or something? Why won't you just give up and let go? " he yelled. "Why?"
The crisp sound of cracking ribs filled the night air as Lu Xu's chest caved in. A sickening gargle bubbled up from his throat, but still he raised a stubborn hand, clutching wildly at the air. Luo Jiahai grabbed Mr. H anxiously by the shoulders and pulled him backward. "Are you crazy? Quit kicking him! We've got to go now!!"
Abruptly a blinding bright light shone from the other end of the bridge, accompanied by the loud squawk of a police siren. Numerous pairs of booted-feet came shuffling along both sides of the bridge as several voices shouted at once. "Don't move! Face down on the ground!"
Mr. H froze in shock for a second. Then desperation churned up within him and he turned and shoved Luo Jiahai with both hands. "Run!!"
Luo Jiahai staggered backward a couple of steps, lost his balance, and rolled down the slope next to the bridge.
When Mr. H turned back around, all he could see was a dazzling array of flashlights aiming straight at his face. Strangely, he suddenly felt a deep calm. He bent
forward, picked up a shard of glass, pressed its edge against the motorcycle cop's throat.
"Stay back…!" he’d begun to yell when a gun fired.
Huang Runhua fell writhing to the ground. Just before he lost consciousness, a bizarre thought suddenly popped into his mind: If he had a chance, he would tell people that getting shot did not really hurt; it was just like someone shoving him really hard. The only other sensation, besides the initial burning, was a deep, icy coldness…
Fang Mu leaped out of the car before it had even come to a stop. He pushed his way past the cluster of people wearing various sorts of uniforms and sprinted straight toward the crash scene. It was only a short distance, about 200 meters or so, but it seemed much farther than that. As he saw the wrecked motorcycle, a sinking feeling pulled down at his heart.
Huang Runhua's corpse was surrounded by SWAT team members and several of them still had their guns aimed at his now expressionless face. The other casualty on the scene appeared as a twisted heap of blood and limbs, but Fang Mu recognized him as Lu Xu from the badge number on his torn shirt.
His body was a hideous wreck, the chest caved-in terribly. Careful not to accidentally bump him, Fang Mu kneeled down and spoke into to his ear. "Lu Xu… Lu Xu…"
Lu Xu's mouth twitched, and a foam of saliva and blood oozed from between his lips and dribbled down the side of his chin. A chill went down Fang Mu's back as he realized Lu Xu's ribs had probably punctured his lungs. His voice cracked as he looked up and yelled. "Ambulance! Call an ambulance, hurry!"
A weak sound emerged from Lu Xu's mouth. "Gun…gun…"
Fang Mu hastily scanned the ground, but among all the glass and rubble he did not know where to start. Then his gaze fell to the mangled van lying on its side and his heart leapt. "Quick! Quick! Gun!" he sputtered incoherently. "Someone go search the van for a gun!"
A couple of SWAT team members scurried over to the van.
Fang Mu looked back down at Lu Xu and wiped the bloody foam away from his mouth, all the while murmuring, "It'll be okay…you'll be okay… Just hang on…"
Lu Xu's eyes had closed. His arm twitched slightly, and through his wrist Fang Mu imagined he could feel the motorcycle cop's body temperature dropping.
A few minutes later, a SWAT team member shouted, "Found it!" and forced his way through the circle of police to deposit the heavy metal gun into Fang Mu's hand.
The words somehow brought Lu Xu up from the depths of unconsciousness and caused him to slowly open his blood-caked eyes, which now seemed to sparkle with a light that had not been there before. But all Fang Mu could do was stare stupidly at the gun in his hand. It was a flintlock that had been modified from a starting gun like the ones used to signal the beginning of a race. Not the right gun.
Lu Xu raised his hand weakly, but his voice was loud and clear this time. "Gun… Gun…"
Fang Mu's mind was a blank. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the service revolver at the belt of one of the policemen standing nearby. Wordlessly, he beckoned the cop over and reached toward the gun. The cop instinctively put a hand out to stop him, but then he paused, unclipped the holster, and allowed Fang Mu to draw his gun.
Fang Mu placed the service revolver into Lu Xu's outstretched hand. "Here it is, Lu Xu. We found it; you've got your gun back."
Lu Xu's eyes had lost their focus, but his hand suddenly gripped the gun with a renewed strength. He brought his arm down and cradled the pistol against his crushed chest.
"I..." A barely discernible smile danced across his blood-smeared lips. "...finally..."
And then the light in officer number C09748's eyes dimmed, and gradually went out.
CHAPTER
31
Donor
Jiang Dexian closed his flip phone, face suddenly gone white. He turned the phone's power off, removed its SIM card, and picked up a cloth napkin from the table. Very carefully, he wiped down each and every surface of the phone. When he was finished, he signaled for Qu Rui to hand him hers.
"Your phone; give it to me! Quickly!"
Qu Rui fumbled for her cell phone and passed it over to him. Jiang Dexian repeated on hers what he had done to his own, and then placed it in his inside coat pocket, careful not to touch it with anything but the napkin. He then stood and said, "Wait here. I'll be right back."
As he left the table, he sensed the customers at the table across from them staring at him. He pretended not to notice and made his way to the restroom.
After closing the restroom door behind him, he dropped the phones into the wastepaper bin and tossed the SIM cards into one of the toilets. Then he unzipped his fly and stood at the urinal while peeking out the window. Two people were pacing back and forth along the sidewalk downstairs.
He smirked, did up his trousers, and walked out of the restroom. At the washbasin in the short hallway outside, a man was squeezing hand sanitizer into his hand. Jiang Dexian recognized him as one of the customers that had been sitting at the table across from them.
When he returned to the table, Qu Rui asked impatiently, "What's the word?"
"They had an accident, it sounds like." Jiang Dexian whispered.
Qu Rui's face went white. "How's Tan Ji?"
"Still no word."
Qu Rui jumped to her feet and picked up her handbag to leave. Jiang Dexian grabbed her by the wrist and held tightly. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I have to go see if he's all right," she snapped, struggling to break free of his grip. "Let me go!"
"Sit your ass down!" Jiang Dexian's face twisted horribly. "Do you want to get everybody killed?"
"What does it matter? What are our chances anyway, if they've had an accident?" Qu Rui was close to hysteria. "Let go of me!"
Jiang Dexian's palm made contact with Qu Rui's cheek, stunning her into inaction with the slap.
"I'm sorry, Q," he whispered. "There might still be some hope. But first we have to keep our cool."
His words calmed her down for a moment, but then she suddenly broke into tears. "My god... Oh, my god... Tan Ji..."
Jiang Dexian comforted her with a wry smile. "Don't fret. Some folks should be coming any minute now to bring us some news. But you must remember—say nothing."
Sure enough, less than half an hour later the teahouse exploded with activity as a rage-faced Zheng Lin came running in, followed closely by a file of police officers. Behind them came Bian Ping and Fang Mu, and the alleged customers at the other table were already standing over them.
Jiang Dexian stood. "What are you—?"
Before he could finish the thought, two plainclothes police officers were bending him over face-down on the table and roughly cuffing his hands behind his back. Another officer stepped forward to search his pockets.
"What are you looking for? Do you have a search warrant?" Jiang Dexian shouted, face sideways and pressed firmly against the wood surface of the table. "This is illegal!"
Zheng Lin ignored him and took the cell phone from the cop who had been searching Jiang Dexian's pockets. The female officer who was searching Qu Rui's pockets also came up with a phone, which she handed to Zheng Lin as well. He dialed the numbers he had for both the suspects' phones, but neither of the cell phones rang. His face changed color.
"These aren't the ones! Keep looking!" Zheng Lin glanced at Jiang Dexian's red face and waved at him dismissively. "Release him first."
They turned the two suspects' personal items inside out, but still there was no sign of a third cell phone. Zheng Lin thought furiously for options, and then sent the undercover team that had stayed at the teahouse outside to check with the officers that had been on the street monitoring the outside of the building. According to them, none of the teahouses windows, restroom or otherwise, had been opened. This eliminated the possibility that the phones had been tossed out a window. One of the undercover officers that had been sitting at the table across from the suspects had a sudden idea then. He ran back upstairs and into the restroom. A minute later he trotte
d back out with a plastic evidence bag in hand and two cell phones inside of it.
Zheng Lin held them up to his face and asked the officer, "Did you see him toss these with your own eyes?"
The officer's reply was a bit sheepish. "No, I only saw him go into the restroom and then come back out a little while later."
Zheng Lin cursed under his breath, and then ordered one of the men to take the cell phones back and dust them for fingerprints. When he returned to the table, Qu Rui had already been taken into a private tea room for a strip search. Zheng Lin sat across from a disheveled-looking Jiang Dexian and glared at him for a full minute before finally saying, in measured words, "Tell me why you think I've come for you."
Jiang Dexian, already having regained his composure, sneered. "You know what I do for a living. Trying to force me to confess to something is useless."
Zheng Lin snorted. "Don't act so proud of yourself. You think I'd come for you without any evidence?"
At around 12:30 this morning while on patrol near the Medical University Hospital, two police officers came across a vehicle that aroused their suspicions. When they approached to get a closer look, they discovered that one of the van's occupants looked a lot like the wanted fugitive Luo Jiahai. The officers told everyone to get out of the vehicle, at which point the driver suddenly opened fire and drove off. Fortunately, the multi-functional police vests worn by the two patrolmen were thick enough to stop a bullet even at such close range, and so the officer fired upon survived with only minor bruising to the chest. When they called in an incident report, the Municipal Bureau immediately organized a dragnet, and this morning at around 1:20 they intercepted the suspects' vehicle. Suspect Huang Runhua was shot and killed, suspect Tan Ji was seriously injured, and the third suspect, Luo Jiahai, escaped and continues to be at large. The police paid a heavy price during this operation; Officer Lu Xu, badge number C09748, gave his life honorably while in the line of duty.