by Mi Lei
After the planning stage was complete and all the arrangements made, Deputy Commissioner Wang ordered the teams to rest up in the Bureau and await their orders. Fang Mu, however, requested to return to the hotel, promising that he would return before seven a.m. Deputy Commissioner Wang consented and arranged for Xiao Wang to drive him.
On the way back to the hotel, Fang Mu withdrew to the backseat, going over their plan in his mind again and again. Deep in thought, his hand wandered to the pen in his pocket. He reached forward and clapped Xiao Wang on the shoulder. "Thank you very much for tonight."
Xiao Wang did not turn. "My pleasure. You're one of us," he said as he tossed Fang Mu a cigarette.
Fang Mu lit the cigarette and inhaled deeply. A few puffs in, he smiled. "Why haven't you asked what my deal is with Mi Nan?"
"If you wanted to tell me, you would have told me long ago." Xiao Wang, too, lit up, eyes on the road amid the rising smoke. "Besides, I'm helping you; who the girl is doesn't concern me."
Smiling, Fang continued to smoke in silence. In all honesty, if Xiao Wang had asked him about his relationship with Mi Nan, he would have had no idea how to answer.
Perhaps the best thing about working with Xiao Wang was that he knew when to keep his mouth shut.
Then again, maybe that was not such a good thing at all.
The light was still on, but Mi Nan was already fast asleep. A faint smell of disinfectants suffused the room. Looking at the nightstand, Fang Mu saw a large bowl of soup. It was completely empty. A smattering of clean-picked chicken bones rested on a paper napkin next to the bowl.
Mi Nan's cheeks were covered in the fading traces of dried tears. Her face, however, was perfectly serene. Fang Mu looked at her in silence before putting the pen down next to her pillow.
She had lost her child that day. Maybe returning the pen to her would offer her some small comfort.
As he closed the door, Fang Mu quietly whispered, "Sleep tight, Mi Nan."
Sleep tight, Liao Yafan.
CHAPTER
4
Where It All Began
It was morning; a sunny, cloudless morning.
Seeing the flowers bloom and hearing the birdsongs on the warm air, it was hard to think of crime, let alone imagine that it could intrude in any way on this gloriously bright day. The residents of the Ganghua Estate remained completely unaware of the many watchful eyes that now surrounded them. Atop Building Two, a pair of high-powered binoculars was hidden behind the solar water-heaters.
Fang Mu sat on the roof next to the man holding the field glasses. The asphalt beneath him was blistering in the sun and he felt small rivers of sweat run down his back. Xiao Wang crouched at his side, staring through the binoculars. His clothing, too, had long since become thoroughly drenched in sweat.
With a static crack, Xu Tong's voice echoed from Xiao Wang's walkie-talkie. "What's the target's status? Any sign of movement?"
"No," Xiao Wang replied before adding, "Shit, just chill out."
"What is the situation on your side?" Fang Mu asked into the walkie-talkie, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Everything is ready." Xu Tong's voice strained with anticipation and anxiety. "We're just waiting for news from you."
It was easy to understand what had Xu Tong on edge: The train station was a crowded, confused place full of people. It would be extremely difficult to make the arrest and even the slightest mistake could undo all their carefully laid plans.
To maximize their chances of success, the task force had decided that both teams would strike at the same moment, but only after the ransom had been handed over. This would hopefully stop the suspects from harming the hostage.
Suddenly, Xiao Wang's posture perked up. He turned to Fang Mu and whispered, "He's coming. He's coming."
Fang Mu felt himself shudder as he quickly peeked down over the edge of the roof. There he was; the male suspect was leaving the building. The man first carefully checked his surroundings, then turned and walked to the back of the building, straight toward the spot where the silver-gray Mazda was parked.
Xiao Wang picked up his walkie-talkie and quickly relayed the news. He carefully described the suspect to give the officers at the train station the best chance of spotting him in the crowd. Thirty seconds later, the Mazda drove out of the estate, accelerated, and soon disappeared from view. Not too far behind, a nondescript Santana took up the pursuit.
It was a vast web they had spun. Now they could only wait and watch as it unfolded, ready to snare its prey.
Xiao Wang ordered another officer to maintain the surveillance from the rooftop. He and Fang Mu then made their way to a command vehicle parked around the corner. The plan was that their team would now sit back and wait for developments from Xu Tong's side of things. When the right time came, they would strike together.
Once inside the car, Xiao Wang immediately asked for verification that all the equipment was ready. It was. Satisfied, he closed the car door and ordered his team to be on alert and stand-by for action.
Waiting was always the hardest part. Even though none of the team said a word, it was all too obvious that they were only quiet on the outside. Xiao Wang was burning down cigarette after cigarette. Every few minutes he nervously glanced at his watch. This was it. Nerves on the edge of snapping, all they could do now was wait and hope that the plan would unfold smoothly.
But there was always the unexpected and unforeseen. Best laid plans and all that...
Just as Xiao Wang was about to give his watch another irritable glare, they heard Xu Tong's excited voice blare from the walkie-talkie. "Xiao Wang! Xiao Wang!"
Xiao Wang lunged for the device. "Speaking. What is your status?"
"We are following the suspect, but he's not heading to the train station, he…" Xu Tong fell silent for a moment, perhaps checking a map. "...He is heading out of the city."
"Out of the city?" Xiao Wang gasped as he turned back to Fang Mu.
"What is his current position?" Fang Mu asked, scowling.
"We are on the highway west of Gao Village." Again the walkie-talkie fell silent. "Wait, wait! Something's happening!"
Xu Tong's voice was muffled as he moved away from his walkie-talkie. It sounded as if he was speaking to someone on the phone. A moment later they could again hear him loud and clear.
"I was just on the line with Pei Lan's family," came Xu Tong's voice over the walkie-talkie. "The kidnappers have demanded they take the train at 10:05; the Number Fifty-Three-O-One!"
Fang Mu looked at his watch; it was 9:55. The train would leave in a mere 10 minutes.
"What now?" Xu Tong asked, indecision fraying his nerves. "Should we continue shadowing him?"
"Stay on his heels!" Fang Mu's voice did not waver. "Make sure to keep a careful distance." He put down the walkie-talkie and turned to the officer working the computer. "Find me the route of the Fifty-Three-O-One train!"
The 5301 was a Zhouxi City-bound train. It was a commuter train that would make frequent stops along the route. Fang Mu studied the dense line of stops on the screen grid showing the stops, muttering to himself. "Train…train..."
Suddenly he asked Xiao Wang, "That's one of the old trains, right?"
"Huh?" Xiao Wang looked at him in confusion.
"It doesn't have air-conditioning?" Fang Mu quickly continued.
"No..." Xiao Wang replied, his eyes wide in confusion. "Why?"
Fang Mu just smiled and picked up the walkie-talkie. "Xu Tong's Team, make sure that Pei Lan's family boards the train and that they do so just as the kidnappers demand."
"Should we send people in to search the train?" Xu Tong quickly asked.
"No need," Fang Mu assured him. "The ransom won't be collected on the train!"
As he lowered the walkie-talkie, Fang Mu noticed that Xiao Wang was staring at him intently.
"Do you mean to say that…" Xiao Wang's voice trailed off into uncertainty.
"The suspects must be aware that we are about to make the
arrest. They know that the police will follow Pei Lan's family wherever they go. So they are trying to dupe us into thinking that the ransom will be exchanged on the train." Fang Mu fell silent for a moment as he continued to ponder the situation. "But they did not foresee that we have already found their hideout. I think that they will demand that the family throw the ransom out a window in mid-transit."
"Fuck. That sounds like a movie plot." Xiao Wang was not entirely convinced.
"But it is a movie plot!" Fang Mu nearly chuckled, smiling. "Have you forgotten? You told me that he's 'probably one of those Hollywood movie buffs'? Tang Xiaomei was a film student. In Along Came a Spider, that movie with Morgan Freeman, the kidnappers demanded that they take the ransom on a train and then..." He paused, his smile broadening. "It's all playing out exactly as it did in that movie."
"So what do we do about it?" Xiao Wang asked urgently. "We only have the one car following the kidnapper. The others are still at the train station."
"Have Xu Tong's team leave the train station; there's no reason for them to stay there." Fang Mu paused to think again. "Wait a minute. Get me a map."
If Fang Mu was right, the best opportunity to catch the suspect would be the moment he collected the ransom, but it would not be easy. If the team followed him too closely, there was the chance that the kidnapper would notice his pursuers and abandon the ransom money. That could be very dangerous for Pei Lan. On the other hand, if the police did not follow the kidnapper closely enough, they could easily lose him.
But there was a solution to this conundrum. If they could figure out where the kidnapper would demand the ransom be thrown from the train, they could set an ambush. It was clearly the optimal solution.
The officer on the computer quickly brought up a detailed plan of the 5301's route. Fang Mu bent over the map, studying its stylized roads and fields. His mind raced.
Laden with four million yuan, the case would be very heavy. And if the kidnappers wanted to avoid putting themselves in any additional danger, they would want to make a quick getaway. It therefore made sense that they would demand the drop to be made somewhere close to a road in an unobstructed area. Soon Fang Mu had isolated the three most likely locations: Under a railway bridge, along the roadside of Highway 104, and Highway 107.
Having formulated his new plan, Fang Mu requested that the officers on the 5301 keep them informed of the train's progress and report in the moment the kidnapper made the call. All the while, Xu Tong's team would split up and rush to the three likely drop locations. It was critical that they set up an ambush at each location before the kidnapper arrived at the scene. The car following the silver-gray Mazda finally was to keep its distance and update them on the direction the kidnapper was traveling. Fang Mu was also preparing for the worst. If the kidnapper did not demand the drop at any of the three locations, the officers shadowing him were to immediately move in for the arrest.
Minute after long minute passed. The air in the cramped command car had become heavy with thick smoke. Its occupants did not care or even notice. Every one of them was entirely focused on either the train or the Ganghua Estate, raptly waiting for that crucial call or any sign of movement from Apartment 502. The walkie-talkie and the periodic updates it provided were at the very center of their world now: "The suspect's vehicle has passed the railway bridge…"; "All three ambush sites have completed their preparations…"; "No changes to report from the train. The kidnapper has still not called…"
In stark contrast to the frantic activities along the train route, things were eerily quiet for the officers at the Ganghua Estate. The curtains of Apartment 502 remained firmly drawn. They had no idea what was going on inside and could do nothing about it.
At a glance, Xiao Wang's outward calm and composure remained intact, but a closer study showed clearly that everything inside him was wound, taut and ready to go. He had already smoked an entire pack of cigarettes and his eyes ceaselessly darted from his watch to the window and back again.
"Or," he said tensely, tearing open another pack of cigarettes as he emerged from an internal discourse, "we go now and get our side of the job done."
"No." Fang Mu lightly shook his head at Xiao Wang's half-questioning statement. "Tang Xiaomei is probably in constant communication with our male suspect. If we act first, we'll put Xu Tong's team back on their heels."
Xiao Wang cursed and then began to intently smoke his next cigarette.
"Patience," Fang Mu said in as tolerant a manner as he could. "Things will move soon enough."
Twenty minutes later the walkie-talkie brought new information: The kidnappers' car had passed the second ambush. He had still not contacted Pei Lan's family.
All eyes again turned to Fang Mu. The young criminal psychology expert seemed not to notice. Wordlessly, he finished his cigarette before lifting a pair of binoculars to his eyes.
After a moment of study, he calmly said, "Let's move."
Fifteen minutes later the train neared the location to pass the third and final ambush. It no longer really mattered if the kidnapper demanded the drop or not—it was imperative that the officers carried out the arrests.
Together with three other officers, Fang Mu and Xiao Wang carefully edged their way around the building's corner and into Unit Two of Building Three. They stealthily went up the stairs and onto the landing between the fourth and fifth floors. Here they waited for the signal, quietly checking their sidearms and making sure that both the battering ram and signal jammer were ready.
All eyes were fixed on the wooden door of Apartment 502, almost within reach. The seconds ticked away, each matched by heightened pulse-beats. Finally Xiao Wang put his finger on his earpiece. For the briefest of moments his brow creased, but just as quickly his face returned to its calm and steadfast self.
"The kidnapper has stopped at the side of Highway One-O-Seven," he whispered, leaning to close to Fang Mu's ear. "He parked his car no more than five hundred feet from the railway embankment."
"And our officers?" Fang Mu anxiously asked.
"The team following the suspect has passed him to avoid arousing his suspicion, but don't worry, our people are in place and ready at the site." Xiao Wang looked at his watch. "The train will pass there in about three minutes."
The news brought an immediate sense of relief to the team. Then, almost as one, they tensed again, ready to strike. Xiao Wang remained their ears on the action, his finger firm on his earpiece. Suddenly, his eyes widened. Fang Mu noticed the abrupt change but remained silent. The young officer's expression was hard to read as he listened to the tiny communication in his ear, but Fang Mu guessed that it was good news.
Xiao Wang lightly tapped Fang Mu's shoulder with his fist, grinning. "Good job, buddy. It's just like you said!" he whispered hurriedly, barely containing the thrill in his voice. "The kidnapper has demanded that they throw the ransom out of a window!"
For a moment the tension was cut as they turned to each other, readiness and excitement written on their faces.
"Is that it? Do we act now?" one officer asked in a hoarse whisper.
Xiao Wang gestured for them all to keep their quiet as he again concentrated on his earpiece. Listening closely, he passed on the developments. "They've thrown the ransom out of the train… The kidnapper has taken the money… He is walking back to his car… Our officers are on the way… Fuck!"
The curse still on his lips, Xiao Wang tore off the earpiece and was on the move, charging forward. "Go, go, go!" In the blink of an eye he was at the door. "He was in contact with Tang Xiaomei the whole time!"
One of the officers had already activated the signal jammer and another was swinging the battering ram toward the door's lock. With a mighty crash the wooden door crashed open. A piercing scream erupted from within as they stormed Apartment 502.
It was a woman. A second ago, she had been standing right behind the bursting door, but the force knocked her violently to the floor.
Even on her back, she seemed undaunted by the
five officers invading her apartment. With a quick scramble she was on her feet and off running through the living room to a door on the far side. The murky dark of the apartment didn't conceal the flash of metal in her hand. She had a knife.
Xiao Wang charged. With one hand he ripped the knife from her and with the other he slammed her to the ground.
"Go! Check in there!" he shouted to the officers.
Two of the officers immediately rushed to the room the woman had been so eager to reach. A moment later, Xiao Wang heard one of them call out from within the room.
"The hostage is here!"
Fang Mu hurried to join them.
It was the bathroom. The two officers were already lifting the hostage from the tub. Pei Lan, completely unaware of what had just happened, struggled for her life. Her eyes were wide open, but her desperate screams were muffled by the duct tape covering her mouth.
"It's all right. It's all right." Fang Mu reached out to console her as she tried to thrash out. "We're the police. We're here to rescue you."
It was the word police that ended Pei Lan's struggle. With a final twitch, she went limp, her head slumping to the side as she passed out.
Fang Mu took his walkie-talkie. "Everything is under control here. Call in the rescue team."
Outside the bathroom, the female kidnapper was lying face down on the floor, her hands cuffed behind her back. Xiao Wang was standing by her side, speaking into his cell phone. As he saw Fang Mu emerge, a smile engulfed his entire face. "They've done it. They caught the other suspect and we've retrieved the ransom."
Fang Mu nodded and then turned to the woman on the floor. "Have we confirmed her identity?"
"Yes." Xiao Wang hung up. "It's Tang Xiaomei."