SWITCHBLADE (Choi Ziyi Book 1)

by Mike Morris

  Stealing another car was just as easy the second time. They were in Tin Hau forty minutes after breaking out of Control. They dumped the vehicle overlooking the harbour front and cut three blocks in. Song took them to an old apartment building above an even older cinema. It made her own home look like a millionaire's mansion.

  "Your doctor lives here?" said Wing.

  "What? Not good enough for you?" replied Song. "She doesn't ask any questions. That's all that matters." She pressed the button for an apartment on the eighth floor, removing her helmet for the benefit of the security camera.

  The door was buzzed open and they stepped inside. Wing wasn't sure what he'd been expecting but this wasn't it. He wasn't even sure the elevator would make the eight floors it needed to travel, judging by the creaks and groans and the rust-ridden floor and sides.

  The apartment door was open when they arrived on the right floor and the inside couldn't have contrasted more with the exterior. He'd almost been expecting to meet a man with a saw in his hands and dust all over the floor. Instead a woman with flowing white hair hugged Song in greeting while a tall African man loitered in the background. The surgery was as high tech as anything Wing had seen elsewhere.

  "Wing — this is Lori. Best doctor this side of Beijing. I did a placement with her while I was at the academy. She'll get you up and running in no time," said Song.

  Wing shook the proffered hand, immediately feeling comfortable in the older woman's company. She seemed to glow with positivity. "Pleased to meet you."

  "This is a another student of mine," said Lori, indicating the other man. "He's a doctor too, of a kind. You can trust him implicitly. His name's Robert."

  Wing didn't take Robert's offered hand too readily. He looked at Song, who nodded her okay, before shaking it too. "No offence but I'm not in the most trusting of moods at the moment."

  "Hey. None taken," said Robert. "It's a crazy world out there."

  "Wing's got a busted ankle," said Song. "We need you to reset it ASAP. And I need to use your phone to rustle up some help."

  "The ankle I can fix, but I'm not sure if calling anyone is the best thing for you," replied Lori. "Word's out that you and the boy here have gone rogue. They're offering serious money to anyone who reports you. I know that's not true but I'm not sure you'll get that much trust from anyone else. With Xiao missing, everyone's pretty paranoid."

  "Fuck that shit," shouted Wing. "Do you know what we've fucking been through the last twenty-four hours? Do you? Me, Song and Ziyi are the only innocent people in this fucking Empire as far as I'm concerned. It's every other bastard out there that's guilty from what we've found out."

  "Ziyi? Choi Ziyi?" asked Robert.

  "Yeah. Choi Ziyi. You a fan or something?" said Wing. "Well, the fucking People's Princess is the people's only hope right now."

  "I left her ninety minutes ago on Queen’s Road," replied Robert.

  That shut Wing up. His temper disappeared as quickly as it had flared up. "What? How? She okay?"

  "She was doing all right when I left her. She'd been hurt pretty badly but I fixed her up and got her on her feet. She was going to deal with the Americans when I left her."

  Wing turned to Song. "We've got to go and help her."

  "You're not going anywhere until we get your ankle fixed," she replied. "And ninety minutes? Whatever she found, she's already dealt with it or she'd dead. Rushing over there isn't going to help anyone."

  "We've got to do something," said Wing. "She's our best hope right now."

  "I can help with that," said Robert with a smile. "She's got a phone of mine with her."

  27

  Ziyi

  Blood seeped through Ziyi's fingers as she gritted her teeth against the pain. Gut wounds were always the worst for some reason. The mek will deal with it, she reminded herself. She concentrated instead on the woman in front of her — her identical twin. "Who are you?"

  The other Ziyi gave a nod of her head in greeting. "Rui said you were dead but Deng knew better better. Turns out he was right again."

  "Who the fuck are you?" demand Ziyi. She couldn't find any fault in the other's face that said she was an impostor. Only the voice sounded slightly off.

  The woman chuckled, enjoying Ziyi's discomfort. "Surely you recognise me? I'm you." Her pistol was aimed straight at Ziyi's forehead. "Of course, I'm also the one who's stolen your life and the one who's going to kill you."

  Ziyi smiled to herself. The pain from her wound was no more than a dull ache as her mek dumped catecholamine into her system. Energy flooded through her as her body prepared to fight or flee. "Who are you?" She stood up slowly, keeping her eyes on her opponent. She kept her hand on her wound even though the bleeding had stopped, close to her other pistol still in its holster.

  "I'm upset you haven't worked it out, Ziyi." The woman's voice changed once more, losing Ziyi's inflections. A trace of the Southern provinces took their place. "I know it's been a while but still."

  It was a voice Ziyi knew, of that there was no doubt, but from where?

  The woman tapped her cheek. "Can't get past the face, eh? I don't blame you. It's good — not that I like seeing it in the mirror much. Thankfully it's not permanent. I can be the real me whenever I want." The woman's face — Ziyi's face — twitched. Moved. Under the skin was mek. The nose thinned. Cheekbones raised. Even her eyes grew wider. And a face joined the voice in returning from Ziyi's memories.

  The shock was like being shot again. Older than when she'd last seen her at the academy, all angry after losing the bout, but it was definitely her old friend. "Xi Lin."

  "Glad to see I'm not totally forgotten."

  "Why have you done this? To get revenge against me?"

  Xi Lin laughed at her discomfort. "None of this is about you — putting you through hell and destroying your life was just an added bonus." She circled to Ziyi's left. "Losing to you — losing my eye — just put me on the path that led me here, but it's not why I'm here. Give me some credit."

  "Give credit to a traitor? I don't think so."

  "When this is all over, I won't be a traitor. I'll be one of the greatest heroes the Empire has ever known. I'll be the instrument of the Heavens." Xi Lin stopped, three foot away, almost close enough to touch. Close enough for a head shot to be fatal.

  "By destroying the Empire?" Ziyi's fingers brushed the grip of the pistol still in its shoulder holster.

  "I'm saving the Empire, you fool." Xi Lin snapped. "That fool Xiao was going to destroy everything that his father — and all those who'd gone before — had built."

  "You're insane if you think taking my place will turn Xiao away from his reform policies." Ziyi slipped her hand over the grip, grasped it.

  "We'll see. Now, if you'll turn around and get on your knees, I'll make it quick for you."

  "Fuck you." Ziyi dived to the right, drawing her pistol as she did so, as Xi Lin fired. A bullet flew past, followed by a second as Ziyi snapped a shot back, firing without aiming as she hit the ground and rolled, trying to find cover. A sharp pain slashed across her calf and she knew a bullet had clipped her. She ignored it, kept moving, kept firing. Her mek would only protect her so much — if she got hit by enough bullets, she was as mortal as the next person.

  She took refuge behind a sofa, listened to it absorbed three more rounds, wondering how many more were left in Xi Lin's clip, and how many were left in her own.

  Her ear rang from the gunfire. Where was Xi Lin? Two quick breaths and Ziyi popped up from cover, already firing as she scanned the room for her target.

  She caught movement out of the corner of her eye. There was just enough time to turn before a lamp crashed into her hand, sending her weapon flying. Xi Lin stormed towards her, weapon raised. Ziyi threw herself onto her hands and flipped over towards Xi Lin, lashing out with a kick. Her right boot caught Xi Lin's gun hand just as she pulled the trigger, sending the shot wide. Ziyi pivoted, struck with a rigid hand snake strike to Xi Lin's wrist, and sent the pistol fl
ying. Xi Lin hit back with a lion's claw swipe at Ziyi's face and a knee into her kidney. The two women's traded blows from foot, leg, elbow and fist in a flurry of movement.

  Xi Lin fought at a frightening speed, and judging by the force of each blow, her mek was as extensive as Ziyi's own. It took all the skill she had just to block Xi Lin's attacks.

  Ziyi tried a side kick, only for Xi LIn to catch her foot, and slam her open palm into Ziyi's sternum. The force of the blow threw her halfway across the room. Her lungs refused to work while she struggled to her feet. Xi Lin flew at her, giving her no time to recover. A fist smashed into Ziyi's mouth, a knee struck her hip. She went down hard again as Xi Lin swept her feet from under her, but Ziyi managed to roll clear before her nemesis could drive a knee into her face.

  Back on her feet, Ziyi manoeuvred out of Xi Lin's reach. "You won't find me that easy to kill, Xi Lin."

  "I'm counting on that," smiled Xi Lin. She clenched both fists, and short blades appeared from each of her knuckles. Ziyi'd heard stories of weaponised mek being developed but she'd never seen any until that moment. She didn't want to find out how sharp the knives were.

  Ziyi continued her retreat, scanning the room for her discarded weapon with her periphery vision while keeping her main attention focussed on Xi Lin.

  Xi Lin circled left. She feinted a jab to Ziyi's face, followed through with an uppercut to her ribs. The blades punctured Ziyi's flesh but her mek stopped any further damage. She staggered back but Xi Lin threw herself at Ziyi, slashing again and again with her claws.

  Sweat covered Ziyi's forehead as she struggled to stop Xi Lin's attacks. The woman was a better fighter without her mek blades giving her even more of an advantage.

  Xi Lin got a punch past Ziyi's defence, slicing through the skin on her shoulder. Ziyi threw herself backwards under another slashing swipe and cartwheeled out of the way. Spotting the exit, she dashed for it, barely breaking stride to snatch up her pistol. She didn't stop once she was in the hallway.

  Ziyi sprinted for the stairs at the end of the corridor. She threw herself down the first steps, bouncing down the stairs before she regained her feet and continued on at a sprint into the darkness of the floor below. She needed to seize back the advantage somehow. Find another way to beat Xi Lin.

  Gunshots ripped up the stairs behind her. "Run, Ziyi. Run all you want. You're only delaying the inevitable," shouted Xi Lin from above. "You can die quick. You can die slow. It's up to you."

  Ziyi kept running.

  "Hiding in the dark won't help," Xi Lin called out. "Unlike you, I'd no qualms about giving up my eyes. Not after what you did to me. They didn't just give me your retina — but lots of other goodies too. Motion detectors. Automatic targeting. Eye cameras. And, best of all, infrared. I can see you glowing like a star." To emphasis the point, Xi Lin fired more rounds at Ziyi.

  Ziyi flung herself to the ground at the bark of the gun and skidded down the stairs on her front. The bullets pulverised the wall where her head had once been. She half-fell, half rolled down more stairs, cursing her luck. So much for the shadows giving her some respite.

  Ziyi carried on into one of the main rooms — a conference room of some sort. She raced past the long desk, looking for a place to hide and catch her breath.

  "Hey Ziyi," said Xi Lin. "Gotta ask you something before I kill you. It's about Xiao."

  Ziyi burst through another door to find sunlight streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, almost blinding her. A ledge rang along the side of the building, a foot or so wide. For a moment she considered climbing out and using it as an escape route, but discarded it almost as quickly. Even if it wasn't a hundred and fifty levels above the ground, it'd leave her too exposed and an easy target for Xi Lin to pick off. But that didn't mean it wasn't a good idea to have Xi Lin think she'd gone that way. She smashed her fist through the glass and watched the shards disappear below. She made the hole big enough for her to climb through before retreating into the deep shadows off to the side of the room.

  "So, Ziyi. Here's the question. Was it worth it? Worth all that sacrifice? All the hardship? The loneliness? Because I've seen you on the vids, and I've got to say you never looked happy," said Xi Lin. Her voice drew closer, but the woman, in her confidence, saw no need to rush her pursuit. After all there was nowhere for Ziyi to go.

  With her back against the wall, Ziyi checked her gun. A full mag, thank the Heavens.

  To her left, she heard Xi Lin enter the room, heard her footsteps on the floor. Holding her breath, Ziyi held the HK two-handed. She traced Xi Lin's footsteps in her mind, pinpointing her position on the other side of the wall while wondering how long the thickness of the concrete would hide her own heat signature.

  "And Xiao," continued Xi Lin. "Did you really believe in all that self-righteous nonsense he spouted?"

  Ziyi clenched the pistol grip, fighting the urge to start shooting at Xi Lin. She knew the woman was trying to bait her into doing something foolish, but it didn't make it any easier to listen to.

  "You listening, Ziyi?" Xi Lin approached the window, pistol in hand, ready to fire. "The one thing in his favour though is he's a great fuck. My god, he's the best. He was quite surprised when I approached him. You should have taken your chance, and not gotten all righteous about 'doing your duty'. At least you'd have had some fun in your life." Xi Lin was at the window as she checked the ledge, her back to Ziyi, and Ziyi wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

  "Time to die, bitch." She stepped out of cover, raised the HK pistol and fired. The first bullet hit Xi Lin's left cheek. It wasn't her eye, but a hit was a hit. A spray of blood confirmed the impact. The second and third were both body shots, tightly grouped. One struck under the collarbone, the other just lower on the edge of the right breast. The bullets tore through skin and with enough force to knock XI Lin off her feet.

  Ziyi closed the gap between them, firing as she did do. She was under no illusion the bullets would puncture through the woman's mek but they'd do enough damage to keep her from fighting back. Time enough for Ziyi to get close enough to do the job properly.

  Even with blood poured from multiple entry points, Xi Lin tried to climb back on her feet. She was on her hands and knees when Ziyi kicked her in the head with all the might of her own mek. The woman's head snapped back, flipping her over onto her back and Ziyi straddled her, full of anger and fear, eager to put an end to her enemy's life.

  Xi Lin wasn't going to die easy. She managed to slip past Ziyi's guard and sink a right hook into her side, cutting deep with the knuckle blades. Ziyi took the pain, ignoring it, concentrated on bringing the pistol to bear on Xi Lin's only true weak spot. Her eyes.

  Xi Lin's face morphed as she bucked under Ziyi. Suddenly she found herself staring at her own face once more.

  "We loved the idea of setting you up," Xi Lin snarled, hate burning. "Laughed our arses off he did. Now fucking do it. Do it and prove you've got some balls."

  Ziyi pulled the trigger. It was the easiest thing she'd ever done. The blast from the gun barrel scorched Xi Lin's face — Ziyi's face — and the bullet punched through her right eye. Blood and brain splattered across the floor. There was one last twitch and then Xi Lin was still.

  Ziyi pushed herself off the body. Her heart raced and she gulped lungfuls of air as her mind struggled to accept that she'd won. She looked down at Xi Lin and could only see herself lying there. The famous Ziyi with a bullet through the eye. It could so easily have been really her, lying there. She staggered back. Had to get away. Her stomach churned and spasmed. She made three more steps before she threw up. Her whole body quaked with shock, relief, fear, anger and every other emotion in between.

  Breath by breath, she steadied herself. She still had a job to do. Blood poured from the injuries in her sides and stomach. She bandaged the wounds and sat on the floor while she waited for her mek to do its work. The sun sparkled over Hong Kong and the ocean beyond.

  Anger filled her while she waited. How dare Deng dism
iss the lives of the Empire's citizen? Money and status didn't make one worth more than someone without either. She'd witnessed more nobility in the Floating City than she had in all her time with Xiao. Every life was precious.

  Two hours passed before she felt ready to move again. She reloaded the HK, slipped it back into her shoulder holster and got back onto her feet, careful not to reopen her wounds. With one last look at Xi Lin, she headed for the elevator back to the street.

  Ziyi exited the building with a pervading sadness around her. The Heavens only knew what horrors still faced the Empire and what lives would be lost in the process. She stood in the street, and gazed up at the starscrapers overhead, full of their own self-importance and so detached from those that lived below. Highest of all the buildings, the Imperial Residence stood like a modern-day Olympus. Ziyi shivered despite the morning heat.

  "I will save you, Xiao," she promised, a tear running down her cheek.

  Robert's phone vibrated in her jacket pocket.

  28

  Wing

  Wing sat in the back of Lori's car, wondering once more what he fuck he was doing. Ziyi, with her one ear and vicious scars across her face, sat in the passenger seat while Song had the wheel. Lori and the other doctor — Robert, or whatever his name was — had stayed behind. It wasn't their battle after all. The stupid thing was Ziyi and Song both given Wing the opportunity to drop out. His ankle might have been fixed but that didn't make him any more of an asset in the coming fight. But he had insisted he came with them, the Heavens only knew why because he sure didn't. Maybe it had been the last of the MTC giving him the courage, but that had long worn off. Now he was just doing his best not to shit his pants.

  At least Ziyi was with them. From his spot in the back of the car, he watched her out of the corner of his eye, amazed at being with her in person. She'd joined them at the Tin Hau safe house, battered and bruised; but that no different from the rest of them. The news about Deng shocked all of them. Had he been the voice behind Wing during his interrogation?