Incensed

by Ed Lin

  I took another swig of Taiwan Beer. Still not great. “I would never allow this brand to sponsor any of Mei-ling’s concerts.”

  “She needs a good manager. Most of them are pretty crooked.”

  “Big Eye probably knows people in the music business.”

  “People like Big Eye are the reason why the entertainment industry is so crooked!”

  “Yeah, you’re right. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t want his daughter mixed up in it.”

  Nancy polished off her beer and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “If you had a daughter, and she wanted to be a singer, would you let her?”

  “Do you mean our daughter?”

  “I’m not asking that!” she said, laughing.

  “Did you know I already have a daughter? I left her back in the States!”

  Nancy screamed and pushed me down on the mattress. I was dimly aware of a can of beer sloshing across the floor.

  In the humid mid-morning, Nancy’s phone thumped with “Sailin’ On” by Bad Brains. She likes to use samples from hardcore punk for her text message alerts. She figures texts are more urgent than phone calls, which she keeps tied to the default ringtone. How boring.

  The occupation of the Legislative Yuan had ended with a whimper and the last stragglers had filed out around daybreak. The student leaders had broken yet another promise when they had closed-door meetings with representatives of the two major political parties. All dealings were supposed to be in a public forum and streamed online. The students were accused of selling out to the highest bidder.

  Nancy’s friends wanted to meet up again and talk about what went wrong. She took a quick shower and pulled on jeans with her hair still wet.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to come, Jing-nan?”

  “I wouldn’t know what to say.”

  “You could just come and listen.”

  “I’ll pay more attention to politics when the next election comes up. I promise.”

  “Democracy is now. It’s always happening and you have to take part in it.”

  “Would you stand in front of a Chinese tank, Nancy?”

  “Why not? It’s been done before and nothing happened.”

  She kissed the top of my head on the way out. I heard the door close and her keys rattle in the lock.

  Then I heard her scream shatter the morning.

  I ran to the door naked and threw it open. The first thing I saw was a splotch of what looked like blood on the hallway floor near Nancy’s feet. Then I noticed Big Eye, slouching against the wall and chewing betel nut. He was wearing light blue cotton slacks and a white linen shirt that was unbuttoned too far down for my taste. Whistle and Gao stood behind Big Eye on the ascending stairwell. Both were wearing black shirts and looked as imposing as human-sized chess pieces that wouldn’t wait their turn to move.

  Big Eye regarded Nancy with open amusement. “You never seen anyone spit betel nut before, little girl?” He smiled, showing off the red juice glistening on his teeth. Then he turned to me. “At least I don’t have my dick hanging out in public. Is that a part of Taipei life, nephew?”

  I covered up and said, “Nancy, this is my uncle, Big Eye, and his two best friends, Whistle and Gao.” They followed me back into the apartment, where I pulled on shorts and a shirt and got Big Eye a cup to spit into. No need to antagonize the neighbors with a splotchy hallway. Gao began to walk around my apartment, stopping at each window to look for rooftop snipers. Whistle sat on the couch, where he could keep an eye on the door.

  Nancy started to excuse herself but my uncle cut her off.

  “Just a moment, miss. Have you seen Chong around? Mei-ling’s darkie ex-boyfriend?”

  She recoiled at Big Eye’s crude language.

  “I’m looking for him. Take a look at this picture.”

  “I haven’t seen him. I also have to add that ‘darkie’ is offensive to me.”

  Big Eye gave a small smile. “Why’s it offensive to you? You ain’t one.”

  “If you don’t treat people respectfully, don’t expect respect from other people. Have a good day, everybody.” She glared at me as she left.

  “Big Eye, are you trying to get me into trouble?”

  He waved away my question as if it were secondhand smoke. “Women get more passionate when they’re mad. You should thank me. Anyway, have you seen Chong around?”

  “No, I haven’t. Why are you looking for him?”

  “Everybody’s looking for him. His friends and his family. Chong disappeared. I figured he must have come back to Taipei to be with Mei-ling.”

  I tried to focus on Big Eye but the continued vigilance of Whistle and Gao was freaking me out. “He knows where I live and he hasn’t been here,” I said.

  Big Eye spat into the cup and watched the betel-nut juice swirl around. “That little monkey better stay the hell away from my little girl,” he warned the cup. “If you see him, you call me! Get it?”

  “Of course,” I said. “Look, don’t call him a monkey. Really, you’re going way too far, Big Eye.”

  My uncle ground his teeth. Apparently that was also the signal to leave. Gao swung my front door open and the three men stepped out.

  “Have you tried Mei-ling yet?” I asked Big Eye.

  “She wouldn’t tell me the truth. Anyway, I have extra guys watching the building.” He glanced at his hands. “Mind if I keep the cup?”

  It was one of the few microwave-safe cups I owned but it was probably already ruined.

  “It’s all yours,” I said as I walked to the door, ready to close and lock it.

  “Wait, where the fuck are you going, nephew?”

  “Back to sleep?”

  “C’mon, let’s go pick up Mei-ling together and take her to work. I want to see what her illustrious internship is like.”

  The guy barely gave me enough time to put on my shoes.

  We caught Mei-ling still asleep and she moaned like a beached whale about being woken up. She denied that she had seen Chong and went back to complaining. Big Eye barked that she would never get anywhere being lazy and after he searched the bathroom for Chong, he demanded that Mei-ling shower and dress.

  Whistle paced at the front door while Gao walked along the walls, pausing at the windows to scan for threats. I heard Mei-ling throw things around in her bedroom before she stomped out in a red blouse, black slacks, and bare feet.

  “It’s still way too early for me to go in,” she whined as she looked over her extensive shoe collection.

  Big Eye brushed aside her complaints. “You’ll impress your boss,” he said.

  “Nothing impresses her! Ask Jing-nan!”

  “The boss is a little crazy,” I offered.

  “I’ll bet she is,” said Big Eye. “Crazy with money! I’ve done some research online. The Lee family has money all over Taipei—and abroad.” He pointed at Whistle. “They have a goddamned villa in Switzerland near Roman Polanski’s!”

  Whistle frowned and wiped his nose. “What’s a ‘villa’?” he asked.

  “Don’t you know anything? It’s a mansion on a mountain. They look like cookie houses.” Big Eye made a sound like an angry swan and spat into his cup. “That’s what I should have done. Invested in property abroad. Fucking mainlanders like the Lees always know what to do with their money.”

  “It’s a headache,” said Whistle. “You lose fifteen percent when you launder it and then . . .” He looked at me and narrowed his eyes. “There are other things to consider,” he said slowly.

  Big Eye had already moved on, searching the ceiling as he expressed more admiration for Peggy’s family. “It’s all about who you know. The Lees were always in the right place at the right time. Buying old factories and knocking them down before they were rezoned into residential blocks. They had fruit futures when there was a disastrous banana crop
. Hey, Jing-nan, you ever trade futures?”

  “No,” I said. “But I wish I could have traded my future for someone else’s.” My answer hadn’t registered with him.

  “You put your ass on the line when you trade ’em. You could lose everything.” He moved to stand behind Mei-ling. “Get some shoes on and let’s go.”

  “I’m not sure which ones I want yet.”

  “You’re not walking the runway at a fashion show. Put on those.”

  “They’re brown!”

  “Then put on the black ones!”

  “Don’t tell me how to dress!”

  “You’re spoiled!” Big Eye thundered. “When I was your age, I had one pair of broken sandals to wear. I still have the scar on my ankle from that cheap-ass buckle.”

  Mei-ling remained defiant. “Yeah? Show me your scar!” Big Eye’s jaw tightened and he shoved his hands into his pockets.

  “That’s your Hakka side,” he said. “Stubborn and argumentative. You’re only good at wasting time. Let’s go!” He stormed out the door.

  When he was gone, Mei-ling pulled on the black shoes Big Eye had pointed to earlier and marched out as angrily as her father. Gao’s face was stoic as he followed but Whistle looked at me and shrugged. Just another day of family drama.

  Peggy Lee had to come down to the lobby area of Taipei 101 to personally sign us all in.

  “There’s some bullshit elevated-threat warning today,” she said, turning to Mei-ling. “Hell of a day for your father and his entourage to show up.”

  At the security desk, the man with parted lacquered hair gestured to his monitor and Peggy draped herself over the counter to get a better look. Big Eye took the opportunity to lean back and examine the backside of her pantsuit. He nodded his approval and then spat red juice into his cup.

  “Is this all right with you?” the man asked Peggy.

  She caught Big Eye leering and frowned. “That’s fine,” she told the guard.

  “You can’t bring up any more guests until he leaves.”

  “I understand.”

  The guard stood up and pointed at Big Eye’s cup.

  “Sir, you have to throw that into the garbage can over there. You can freshen up in the restroom.”

  Big Eye smiled. “I don’t need a restroom.” He spat the betel nut into the cup and dropped it into the can. Big Eye unwrapped a stick of gum and said to the guard, “You’re doing a great job, you know? I feel safer with you around.”

  On the elevator ride up, Big Eye turned to Peggy and said, “It’s my juvenile record, right?”

  “You stole money from a temple that helps single mothers,” she said. “Very classy.”

  Big Eye’s nostrils flared. “That place never helped nobody! It was run by crooks!” He recovered himself. “Anyway, all charges were dropped against me. It shouldn’t be on my record anymore.”

  Mei-ling stood in the corner, turned to one of the walls. Whistle and Gao flanked her. I stood between Peggy and the only passenger I didn’t know, a middle-aged man with headphones clamped over his ears who silently tapped his foot.

  “How did you know it was run by crooks?” Peggy asked. She has a knack for cultivating discomfort in social situations.

  “Because I used to work there,” said Big Eye as he gave a triumphant smile. “I was the altar boy! I went to the cops to tell them about the scam and, of course, the police chief was getting his cut from the so-called priests. The one blemish on my record is from me trying to be a goody-goody. That was a lesson. All the stuff I should have been locked up for since . . .”

  The elevator stopped at our floor before Big Eye could provide an overview of his misdeeds. He had wanted to present himself as a savvy and sophisticated operator to Peggy but he blew it by gaping like a country bumpkin as the ornate double doors to Lee & Associates swung open.

  “Oh, boy!” he couldn’t help saying.

  A man with square glasses and a long nose at the reception desk stood up and called, “Ms. Lee, is everything all right?” How many different secretaries did she have?

  “Everything’s great, Kenny,” she said. “This is Mei-ling’s family. Well, her father and his friends.” Kenny nodded and settled back down like a good dog. Peggy said to us, “Let’s go to my office.”

  Whistle and Gao made sure to stand on either side of Big Eye. They let their guard down a bit, but in all fairness there was no room for a potential danger. Could there have been a scuba diver with a harpoon gun in the giant pond?

  Big Eye lingered at the guardrail, wiping his forehead repeatedly. The koi slowly churned near the surface like a giant gold, black, and orange knot lazily untying and tying itself.

  “Look at these fuckin’ fish,” he whispered in wonder.

  “Like ’em?” Peggy asked. “Look at that one. I call her Mazu because her spots look like the goddess’s beaded veil. She tries to talk to me when I come up close.” She took a step to the pond and Mazu wriggled over and worked her bellowing mouth and gills. “See?”

  “Just looks like it expects food,” I said.

  Peggy punched my arm. “That’s my fish,” she said. “And it loves me.”

  Big Eye cleared his throat. “Ms. Lee, you let my daughter do real work, right? She’s not doing something stupid like feeding the fish every day, is she?”

  Peggy turned back to the pond. She produced a microfiber cloth from a jacket pocket and wiped the brass guardrail.

  “I feed them,” she said.

  Peggy offered us drinks in her office. Not even Big Eye was willing to do a shot at ten in the morning. She shrugged, dropped into her chair and spiked her Starbucks coffee with something from her flask.

  “What do you want?” she asked Big Eye. “I assume you came here for a reason.”

  He cleared his throat and showed her Chong’s picture. “Have you seen this bastard around here at all? He’s Mei-ling’s idiot ex-boyfriend.”

  Peggy held the photo and turned it forty-five degrees to the right. She regarded it with interest before turning to Mei-ling. “Not bad for a starter,” she said. “I agree with your father, though. You can do much better. Is he part aborigine?”

  “Worse!” growled Big Eye. “He’s one of those quarter-Chinese from Indonesia.”

  “I see,” said Peggy. She handed the photo back to Big Eye. She took a big gulp of coffee and pursed her lips as she swallowed. “So that’s the problem.”

  “Yes, it was a problem,” said Big Eye. “Mei-ling did the smart thing by ending it with Chong, but now he’s gone missing. I think he’s in Taipei trying to meet up with my daughter.”

  Peggy turned her desk stapler on its side and played with its teeth. “Have you heard from Chong, Mei-ling?” Mei-ling shook her head. “No calls, texts, or emails?” Mei-ling shook her head again.

  “She would probably lie about it!” said Big Eye.

  “She’s not lying,” said Peggy. “I know because she looks a little sad about it.”

  I could smell that coffee from here and I sure could’ve used a virgin cup. I felt a yawn coming on and turned it into a full-body stretch. “Well, now that that’s all settled,” I said, “maybe we should all be on our way and let Mei-ling work.”

  “Just a minute, Jing-nan,” said Big Eye. “I just wanted to ask Ms. Lee something while you were here.”

  “What’ve you got?” asked Peggy, her eyes narrowing.

  “A few months ago, your family’s company forced Jing-nan and a lot of other vendors in the night market to move or get shut down. What are you going to do with that street?”

  “We’re not sure yet,” was Peggy’s calculated reply. Despite her penchant for boozing it up at any and all times, she was always sharp. I watched her hands come together, left and right fingers taking turns caressing each other. “And we didn’t force anybody. We incentivized them with cash and better fac
ilities. Some people took the money. Some, like Jing-nan, opted for a bigger stall elsewhere.” She turned to me. “Are you happy, Jing-nan?”

  “Sure, for now.”

  “Were people upset they had to move?”

  “Honestly, Big Eye, some people took the money and ran with no regrets.”

  My uncle still had his doubts. “You and your family are up to something, Ms. Lee. You’re probably trying to get it rezoned again so you can build a condominium there, huh?” Peggy shrugged and drank more coffee.

  Mei-ling, out of concern that her internship was in jeopardy, spoke up. “Big Eye, I think—”

  “Hey, be quiet! I’m trying to find out what exactly this company is about. I can’t figure out anything on your website. Everything seems like double-speak!”

  Peggy slid open her middle drawer and took out a pencil. She began to doodle on her coffee cup.

  Peggy was always an accomplished artist. In high school, she’d once slipped into my desk a picture of me hanging from a noose with Iggy Pop’s The Idiot playing on a nearby stereo. That was how Ian Curtis had checked out of this life. My offense was that I had chosen to date someone else instead of her. Still, I had to admire her craft. She had captured my face, if not my heart.

  “If you were a client, Little Eye,” she said sleepily, “you would have a password to access the material areas of the site.” Peggy hadn’t looked up. I stepped back to see what Peggy was drawing. Big Eye was in for the caricature treatment. He was on his hands and knees, eating from a dog bowl. “Unfortunately, we’re not accepting new money at this time.”

  Big Eye assumed the posture of the embarrassed Taiwanese man: head slumped forward and shaking, hands on the hips, and legs together. Peggy had cowed him in a way Wood Duck hadn’t. She was younger, richer, and more powerful than Big Eye and he had nothing on her. Both Whistle and Gao were wearing pained expressions.

  After a few seconds, Big Eye cleared his throat and pointed at Mei-ling. “Look at that woman. I want you to be as strong as her someday. She doesn’t give in to pressure!”

  Mei-ling swayed slightly. “I shouldn’t listen to you, then? Is that what you want?”