The Blade of Silence (Fang Mu Eastern Crimes Series Book 3)

by Mi Lei

  It only took minutes for things to get bleaker. Without warning, shots rang out. Bullets struck metal and concrete all around him. Instinctively, Fang Mu crouched a little lower behind his cover, but he quickly realized that they weren't really trying to hit him. They were pinning him down. In between the bang of the guns and sharp crack of the bullets, he could hear two of them storm the workshop. Before he could do a thing about it, they had rushed past him. There was no way for him to get a clear shot at them from behind his cover.

  He took a sharp breath and readied himself. He had to stop them before they could get to the girls. He exhaled and leaned out from behind his cover. Instantly, a storm of bullets whizzed right past his face.

  The metallic scream of their impact was joined by another, entirely human, scream. One of the girls shrieked in pained panic.

  A male voice joined the cacophony. It sounded strangely familiar. "Come out and surrender or I'll shoot the girl!"

  Fang Mu cursed. He was screwed. If he surrendered, there was no doubt they would kill him. But if he didn't…

  How could he just watch her die?

  "Move!" The man accentuated his demand with the metallic click of his gun's hammer. The girl's scream turned to a howl of utter despair.

  There was no choice. Fang Mu emerged from his cover.

  He knew he had heard that voice before; it was Jin Yongyu. The manager of the Bay City Hotel was holding Tian Xiao by her hair with one hand and pressing his pistol against her head with the other.

  "You?" Jin Yongyu could hardly believe his eyes. He would've never guessed that the gentle, somewhat nerdy cop he had met at the Municipal Bureau would have the guts to take on their entire operation.

  It didn't really matter; he had to get rid of him.

  "Drop your weapon!" He pressed his pistol hard against Tian Xiao's temple. "Now!"

  With one last look at Tian Xiao, hanging limp, miserable, almost lifeless in Jin Yongyu's grasp, Fang Mu sighed and dropped his pistol.

  As soon as the gun hit the ground, the three other uninjured hit men emerged from the cover and encircled him.

  With a cruel smile, Jin Yongyu aimed his gun at Fang Mu. Cops, they were all the same. When it came down to it, their ridiculous dreams of heroism and morality would always be their undoing. Hell, if Ding Shucheng hadn't been hell-bent on saving that Lu Lu girl, he thought, he would be alive and probably still a thorn in their side.

  And if you could just stomach watching us kill this girl, we'd be in real trouble, came his next thought.

  Jin Yongyu simply could not understand that kindheartedness was not weakness, but strength.

  "Police! Drop your weapons!" The words rang out like thunder.

  Without thinking, Jin Yongyu spun around. Two men were charging into the workshop. The one in front was the cop he had humiliated and gotten suspended for trying to mess with the security tape.

  After a second of shock, Jin Yongyu raised his gun and took aim at the new threat. He never saw Fang Mu rush him.

  Fang Mu crashed into Jin Yongyu head-first. The two men and the girl staggered and stumbled across the workshop floor. Fang Mu immediately began to pummel Jin Yongyu with one hand, shoving Tian Xiao away with the other.

  "Quick, hide!" he shouted at her.

  She bolted away.

  He managed to knock Jin Yongyu's pistol from his grasp, sending it sliding across the floor. Still grappling, he caught a glimpse of Zheng Lin fighting one of the other hit men. Zheng Lin had grabbed the barrel of the man's weapon and was holding on for dear life.

  Blocking Jin Yongyu's attacks, Fang Mu shouted over his shoulder. "Zheng Lin!"

  He kicked Jin Yongyu's gun. It slid across the workshop floor.

  Zheng Lin shoved his attacker back, spun around, whipped up the gun and fired two shots into his enemy. For a second the man stood frozen in mid-attack, then collapsed.

  In another corner of the workshop, Little Zhan was facing the other two hit men. One of them broke free, raised his gun and fired. Little Zhan's body shook as he stumbled backward at the impact. He slumped to the ground. His attacker lowered his gun to his head, his finger on the trigger, when he heard glass shatter right behind him. Instinctively, the shooter turned, but it was too late. In the midst of a rain of broken glass, a shadow from out of nowhere landed right on top of him, knocking the hit-man to the ground.

  It was Young Hai.

  To Fang Mu the fighting was all a blur as he wrestled with Jin Yongyu. Exhausted from his long trek, the deadly fight in the cave, and an arduous journey down the mountain, he was no match for his still fresh opponent. All too soon, his grip was broken. Jin Yongyu used the opportunity to deliver a fierce kick to his chest.

  But he didn't follow up on his attack. As Fang Mu stumbled backward, Jin Yongyu turned and ran. A hail of bullets erupted from the door, covering his retreat. The shooter was the man Fang Mu had hit in the leg earlier. During the fight he had crawled back to the entrance and now opened fire with all he had.

  Fang Mu crouched down and together with Zheng Lin dragged the wounded Little Zhan into cover behind a pile of molds. On the other side of the workshop, Young Hai was crouched behind a wheelbarrow, a captured pistol in hand. The man he had landed on was still on the ground, groaning as blood trickled down his face.

  Safely behind cover, Fang Mu took a deep breath. When he'd entered the cave hours ago he had very much expected to die; it still seemed unreal, but maybe – just maybe – they'd all make it out alive. With a relieved sigh, he asked Zheng Lin, "How did you find me here?"

  Zheng Lin didn't seem to hear a word said. Even though he was panting from exhaustion, his face had drained of all color. He was staring down at Little Zhan. The young officer was lying on the ground, his right hand clutching a dark red stain that was spreading across his abdomen. Fresh blood was pushing its way past his fingers.

  "How bad is it?" Fang Mu asked gingerly.

  "I'm fine." It cost him all his strength, but Little Zhan managed to sit up. He reached around his waist. "It's through and through. I'll live."

  Pangs of guilt tugged at Fang Mu's heart as he watched Little Zhan's deathly pale face grimace in pain.

  "I'm so sorry. Thank you, thank you..." Fang Mu didn't know what to say.

  "Fucking cut that crap!" Zheng Lin snapped. "Where are the girls?"

  Fang Mu poked his head out behind the mold and looked about the warehouse. To his right he saw a ladle and sticking out of it, several trembling feet.

  Fortunately, the ladle's walls were easily thick enough to protect the girls inside from the crossfire.

  "Over there." Fang Mu pointed at the ladle. "They're safe for now."

  "Who are they?" Zheng Lin asked as he tore a piece of cloth from his shirt and used it to bind Little Zhan's wound. "And what exactly is going on here?"

  "Old Xing's case is tied up with an international human-trafficking ring. These girls are the victims. They were being kept in a cave in the Dragon Tail," Fang Mu said, summing it up as best he could. "I was able to overhear that they call the mastermind behind all this Boss Liang."

  "Oh?" Zheng Lin exchanged a meaningful look with Little Zhan. "This time, we picked the right fight."

  When he turned to Fang Mu, Zheng Lin's eyes had lit up and an exuberant smile was spreading across his face. After a quick check of the gun, he quickly told Fang Mu, "I've already called it in. There are still three of them left and there are three of us: You, me, and Young Hai." Little Zhan was struggling to get up. "You just stay here, don't move." Zheng Lin firmly motioned him to stay down. "We'll have no problem dealing with them." He paused and straightened his back. "We've got to get the girls out of here."

  At that moment Young Hai shouted out from the other side of the workshop. "Boss!"

  Zheng Lin turned in his direction to see him pointing at the ceiling above. Fang Mu followed his finger. His eyes widened in shock.

  The ladle the girls were hiding in was rising off the workshop floor. A chain hanging from o
ne of the ceiling tracks was pulling it up and away.

  Fang Mu jumped to his feet, but before he could move a spray of bullets hit the mold with loud metallic clangs. He dropped back down just as a bullet struck sparks where his head had been a second ago. Desperate, he turned to Zheng Lin. What were they supposed to do?

  The girls inside the ladle had realized what was happening and started to scream in terror. Several seconds later, something made their high-pitched screams grow even louder.

  Fang Mu clenched his teeth and took a look over the edge of their cover.

  The ladle had begun to tilt, its mouth slowly dipping down as if to pour. The girls tried to hold on with hands and feet, but one by one, they slid down into a large mold below.

  Then it got even worse. With a mighty roar, the furnaces came to life. Fang Mu felt a nameless fear grip hold of him.

  The enemy had taken control of the machinery.

  Zheng Lin grabbed Fang Mu's arm and demanded, "What's happening?"

  Fang Mu's entire body was trembling. He barely managed to press out, "They're in the mold… Liquid steel… They'll be..."

  Even though Fang Mu was barely coherent, Zheng Lin immediately understood and his eyes widened. Valuable seconds passed as they stared at each other in shock.

  "Those bastards!" Zheng Lin shouted, raising his gun as he got ready to charge. He didn't make it far. The moment he stood up, bullets whizzed overhead and forced him back down behind cover. They were trapped.

  Fang Mu's mind was racing. He had to get the girls out of that mold or they would be covered in molten steel, burning at 2,700 degrees.

  The ladle stopped rising with a loud metallic bang. It was now right beneath one of the furnaces. With a roar, red-hot, boiling liquid steel slowly began to flow into the waiting mouth of the ladle.

  Zheng Lin stared up, his chest heaving with barely controlled terror. "Young Hai, fire!" He jumped to his feet and opened fire in the direction of the entrance.

  Young Hai leapt from his cover and began shooting.

  The hit men stood their ground and returned fire. When the shootout was over, the two men at the entrance were riddled with bullets. A staggering, disturbingly synchronized half-step later, they both collapsed, dead.

  A bullet had grazed Zheng Lin's face, leaving a long, bloody gash and Young Hai's right arm had been hit, but that didn't stop them. Both officers dropped their now empty pistols and stormed to the casting platform.

  Fang Mu had already run to the mold. He jumped up on the casting platform and looked down at the girls. It seemed hopeless.

  The bottom of the mold was a semi-circle about nine feet in diameter. The problem was that it was more than 12 feet deep. The girls were squeezed inside, desperately reaching out to him, but their hands were just too far away.

  Fang Mu looked up. The ladle was already full of molten steel. It moved along the track again, slowly drawing ever closer.

  There was no time to waste. Fang Mu jumped into the mold. He squatted down next to the wall and had the first girl climb onto his shoulder. He gave her a boost up.

  "Not quite!" Zheng Lin shouted down to him, watching. "Higher!"

  Fang Mu felt his leg muscles begin to shake, but he still stretched higher and higher. He felt the girl go up, up…but it was not enough.

  Zheng Lin was lying flat on his stomach at the side of the mold, trying to reach down as far as he could, but his hands were nowhere close enough to the girl.

  Clenching his teeth, Fang Mu kept pushing. He couldn't see what was going on above his head, but the weight of the girl on his shoulder told him that she was still outside of Zheng Lin's reach.

  His mind searched for what to do. Precious seconds were wasting by.

  Suddenly a shadow fell over Fang Mu and the girls. With a thud, one, then two, then three men jumped into the large mold. It was Zheng Lin, Young Hai, and even the wounded Little Zhan. Eight bodies now stood down in the mold, leaving barely any space to move.

  Zheng Lin pushed one of the terrified girls out of the way and without a word crouched down. He patted his shoulder. "Fang Mu, get on!"

  "Are…you sure?" Fang Mu hesitated.

  "Less talking! More doing!" Zheng Lin shouted. "There's no other way! Fuckin' move!"

  Teeth gritting with determination, Fang Mu climbed on top of Zheng Lin's shoulders. With a grunt, Zheng Lin stood up, pushing Fang Mu close to the rim of the mold. Then he grabbed one of the girls and lifted her up above his head. Fang Mu took her from there and thrust her onto his own shoulders. It was a little much for Zheng Lin. His face turned a purplish shade of red and his legs began to buckle, but he managed to remain standing. The girl was hoisted to the edge of the mold. Propelled by her sheer will to live, she pulled herself up and finally, she was out.

  There was no time to rejoice. Above them, Fang Mu could see the ladle relentlessly approach. "Zheng Lin, quick!" he shouted down into the mold.

  At the same time, Little Zhan had climbed up on Young Hai's shoulders and they, too, had formed a human ladder. Already they had lifted another one of the girls to safety.

  Every inch up cost another ounce of strength none of them had left, but it pushed a young life one inch further away from the jaws of death. They struggled on.

  The third girl.

  The fourth girl.

  And then they were all free, out of the mold and safe.

  Fang Mu could barely feel his body. Standing on Zheng Lin's shoulders, his legs had long begun to shake uncontrollably. He propped himself against the interior wall and with all his failing strength reached down to Little Zhan who was now lying at the bottom of the mold.

  "You're wounded; you go first!" Fang Mu shouted down.

  Little Zhan looked up at the hand extended to him with partially opened eyes. He turned to Zheng Lin and Young Hai. The three of them looked at each other and laughed.

  "Move!" Fang Mu urged. The ladle had stopped above them. With it, a powerful wave of heat came crashing down into the mold.

  Little Zhan crawled to Zheng Lin and wrapped his arms around his right leg, and then he pushed up. Young Hai was also moving. His wounded arm had gone completely limp, but he knelt down and took hold of Zheng Lin with his good arm. As soon as he had a firm grip, he pushed up, too.

  Zheng Lin began to sway. It left Fang Mu reeling. As he found his balance again, Fang Mu noticed that he was being pushed toward the edge of the mold. Now he understood what they were trying to do. Horrified, he shouted, "Don't! You—"

  "Shut up!" Zheng Lin gasped, straining under the pressure. "We're wasted. There's no way we can all escape in time," he panted, fighting for air. "My brothers and I will die together. It was worth it."

  Tears and the shimmering heat waves of the slowly tilting ladle began to cloud Fang Mu's eyes. "Old Zheng..."

  "Stop it." Zheng Lin's voice was growing weaker with every word. "For Old Xing, please!"

  Fang Mu struggled to say something, anything, but there were no words. He could no longer see Zheng Lin. The only clear thing in his world was Young Hai and Little Zhan's faces, flushed red, veins bulging under the strain.

  With a final grunt Zheng Lin counted, "One, two..."

  A deafening roar rose from deep within the chest of each of the three doomed men as they gave one last, mighty push. And then, Fang Mu felt himself thrown upward with almost unbelievable force.

  Their thunderous shout ringing in his ears, he cleared the edge. He was out.

  And then everything behind him exploded with searing heat. The ladle had tipped and liquid steel, burning at 2,700 degrees, poured down into the mold.

  Fang Mu dropped flat on his stomach as the incredible heat seared and scorched his skin. He frantically rolled off the casting platform and ran toward the door.

  He couldn't look back. He didn't dare look back.

  As the molten steel fell and the very air turned to hellish fire, the entire workshop resounded with its almighty roar.

  Then, suddenly, the bellowing noise died.
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  CHAPTER

  21

  The Silent Witnesses

  Bian Ping crossed his arms as he silently watched Fang Mu through the glass. Beside the police chief stood Xiao Wang. On the other side of the glass, the young criminal psychology expert was lying on a hospital bed. Two nurses were busy dressing an angry red burn that covered much of his back. Blood and liquid wept from the wound.

  "Chief Bian."

  Bian Ping turned to see two men approach him from the other end of the corridor.

  "This is Deputy Commissioner Wang Keqin, and this is Deputy Captain Xu Tong," Xiao Wang told Bian Ping, then turned to his old colleagues. "This is Chief Bian of the Provincial Department."

  They barely had time to shake hands and formally introduce themselves before Bian Ping demanded a status report. Xu Tong handed him a file and filled him in:

  "This morning we received an emergency call advising us of a gunfight at the Juyuan Steel Mill. When our officers arrived, they found signs of a sustained firefight, as well as three dead males, a wounded male and four girls at the scene." Xu Tong motioned toward Fang Mu. "We had no idea that it was him. There was also a Santana parked in the vicinity. In the vehicle we found another girl. We're continuing to investigate."

  Bian Ping nodded and closed the file. While Xu Tong had been talking, Fang Mu had gotten up and put his clothes back on. He came out the door without so much as a greeting to Bian Ping. Hastily, he asked Xu Tong, "What about the girls?"

  "Don't worry; they're all at the Bureau. We got their details from the Department of Household Registration Affairs and we've already contacted their families. With them being underage, we'll have to get permission from their guardians before we can question them. But," Xu Tong said, showing them a notepad he was carrying, "we haven't been able to find any information on the girl from the Santana. As of now, we have no idea who she is or where her guardians might be."

  Noticing Fang Mu's frown, Bian Ping interjected. "I've had people bring Eldest Sister Zhao here, as you requested. We've taken the Lu Lu girl to her. How is your wound?"