by R S Holloway
The only controversy that came was when Joy informed Longwei that she would be one of the people manning the bunkers near the roadside trap. "This all started because of me," she said. "If they see me, they might just get stupid and give you an easier time."
"You're putting yourself in grave danger," Longwei replied, stroking her arms gently. It was the end of the second night, and both of them lay on his bed, cuddled together. While Joy knew she wished she could express her desire for him physically, she was too exhausted to even consider the possibility of sex.
"I know. But you're going to be in greater danger," Joy said. "You're not going to be behind a foot of rock and dirt."
"You're not going to be a dragon."
"Well, we can't have everything," Joy said, closing her eyes. She tried to sleep, but could feel her mind rebelling against the idea. Finally, she sat up, her breath puffing between her nostrils. "Fuck."
"What's wrong?" Longwei asked, his voice not blurred by sleep at all. Joy was surprised, she was sure he had been asleep against her. "Did I pinch you?"
"No, I just can't sleep. My mind keeps going forward to what is going to happen tomorrow and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared."
Longwei nodded. "I understand. I guess I was lucky, the first time I had to kill someone it happened unexpectedly. I reacted by instinct, so I did not have worry beforehand."
"Tell me about it," Joy said quietly.
"You were there," Longwei answered, just as quietly. "I still think about it at times."
"So what do I do? If I go out there exhausted, I'm not going to be very effective help."
Longwei stayed quiet for a moment, then sat up behind her. "You must quiet your mind to allow the body to speak," he said. "Here, join me."
Getting off the bed, he sat down on the floor in a half-lotus position, his hands on his knees. Joy joined him tentatively, trying to copy his posture. "The posture itself is not important tonight," he soothed, taking her hands. "Instead, just focus on my hands holding yours, and the feeling of the breath coming in and out of your lungs. Try to imagine that breath as fog. With each intake, that fog brings in peace, filling your body with quiet stillness. With every breath out, you send the fears and the bad images out, to evaporate into the surrounding air."
Joy tried to follow Longwei's advice, listening as he continued with his soothing, calming mantra. She could feel the words have effect, and she relaxed. Within minutes she slipped into sleep, and Longwei gently maneuvered her until her head lay in his lap, her body stretched out on the floor. Stroking her hair lovingly, he resumed his meditation, preparing himself for the upcoming attack.
*****
Longwei had been sure that nobody would attack during the night time. The Triads knew that there were literally dragons in the village, and would be afraid to attack when a dragon would have not just the speed and strength advantage, but the cloak of darkness as well. Still, he kept lookouts posted in all four directions, working in pairs to allow for reports back to the village. Each team also was equipped with signal mirrors to flash back to the village if necessary.
The morning of the attack, the villagers tried to go about their normal business. The schoolchildren had classes, cooks prepared soups and rice, and other daily activities went on. What made it strange however was that every activity took place within two hundred meters of the walls of the temple. When the alarm came, there had to be almost instantaneous response. Joy was stationed on the top of the temple, checking the horizon, when the first flash came in from the western lookout. There hadn't been time to create any complicated codes, so the simple triple flash was all she needed to know. The attack was coming.
Scrambling down from the roof, she called to Longwei. The villagers quickly mobilized, and before the first lookout could even make it back to the village, the defenses were ready. The car trap had been covered over with a mesh of dirt, bamboo, and leaves, to look almost like it had before. Joy slid into her bunker, picking up the automatic rifle and checking the action once again. Thankfully, the first attackers had favored a variant of the AK-47, and a few of the older villagers had familiarity with the weapon. Simple and reliable, she quickly chambered a round, and waited. Longwei kept himself next to her bunker, ready for the first scout to arrive.
When the scout arrived, he quickly exchanged words with Longwei, who talked urgently with the man. Nodding, he sent him back into the forest, to blend in and try and ambush anyone who came in through the woods. Longwei stuck his head in the back of the small bunker. "Four trucks, maybe twenty to twenty five men. All armed with machine guns from what they saw. He figures we have five minutes."
Joy nodded, and socked her rifle to her shoulder. "I'll be ready."
As the minutes worked by, Joy kept her calm by repeating the important facts to herself. She had fifty rounds for her rifle, in two clips. The bunker was exactly seventy five meters away from the car trap. At that distance, aiming for the belt was important to avoid shooting high. Breathe, relax, and squeeze, don't jerk the trigger. Fifty rounds. Make them count.
It actually took six minutes for the first truck to round the curve of the road. It was going about thirty miles an hour, not slow, but not speeding either. Joy could see it was a pickup truck, with a driver and one passenger in front while four gunmen were in the back, two of them standing and already aiming down the road. Joy switched off her safety, and got ready.
When the truck hit the car trap, the results were better and more dramatic than anyone had expected. When they had dug the trap, the design was for a car or SUV. The truck was front heavy, and the impact of its nose into the end of the trap not only crumpled the front, sending the engine block crashing through the cab, crushing both occupants. The men in the bed of the truck were catapulted forward, crashing to the earth hard. One of them didn't get up.
Seeing the other men start to get to their feet, Joy squeezed off rounds, hitting one of the men in the chest, while the other bunker took care of the others. Turning her attention to the other trucks, Joy fired again, trying to pick out men as they jumped from the beds of the other pickups. Thankfully, the second part of their plan worked, and the heat from the engine of the other truck set the fuel in the ditch on fire, cutting off the rest of the road from direct assault. Men scattered under the rifle fire, a few of them dropping to the dirt to return what they could. Thankfully, Joy felt very secure in the bunker, dropping down every few shots to prevent return fire. She heard some more screams, and the sound of men crashing into the woods. Those heading south soon ran into a line of man traps, their screams adding to the sounds. Those heading north found an easier path at first, but Joy knew what was waiting for them. In the northern field, Longwei waited.
*****
Longwei lowered himself as much as possible, knowing that he had to strike quickly and invisibly. He was in between the first staggered line of man traps and the villagers waiting to attack, hoping not to need their sacrifice. Regardless of the villagers' bravery, they were using farm implements against automatic rifles.
Longwei heard the snap and crash as another of the attackers fell into a man trap, and then the twanging sound as another trap, a snare trap that was normally used to capture wild boar, sprung. These Triads may have automatic weapons, but Longwei was sure none of them had grown up in a countryside village. Sliding forward, he edged closer, seeing his prey. There were still eight men left, one of them seemingly leading the others. He was shouting orders, pointing up the ridge as the others ducked for cover behind trees as Joy and the other bunker continued to fire. Two brave souls charged deeper into the forest, ducking behind trees and treading carefully. Longwei knew it was time to act.
Darting forward at his top speed, he whipped his tail into the first man as he passed him, the tree trunk like appendage crushing his chest while sending him flying. Whirling, Longwei snapped his jaws, taking off the second brave man's arm at the shoulder.
The remaining gunmen, seeing Longwei's
effect, started firing in his direction. He was moving too fast for them to get accurate aim, but still there were a few close misses in the wild shooting, and Longwei wheeled, darting deeper into the woods. The gunmen reacted as he had hoped, charging after him. He slowed down just a bit, giving them a better view of his hide before disappearing behind a line of bushes. Flattening himself in the dirt, he waited until he heard another mantrap claim a victim before whirling out of the bush, staying low to the dirt. There were only four men left, and his snapping jaws took care of them in a few seconds. The last one got off a lucky shot, hitting Longwei in the tail, but it was a minor wound, scraping scales and flesh only.
The silence as the last of the gunmen were killed was strange. Longwei looked around at the ambush site, which only three minutes before had been a quiet stretch of country dirt road, was now the site of a bloodbath. One truck was on fire, another four were parked, and bodies littered the ground in all directions. Longwei went down to the road, looking back the way the Triad had come, doing his best to make sure none escaped. He couldn't see or hear any, and he turned his attention back to the burning hulk on the road. Shifting into human form, he staggered. Reaching down, he took his hand away from his right leg, covered in blood.
So wounds could transfer from dragon to human form, he thought. How interesting. Going to a knee, he looked up to see Joy running towards him, her rifle slung around her neck. "Somebody get the fucking doctor!" she yelled as she ran up, throwing his arm around her neck. Leaning on Joy's shoulder, Longwei took a few tentative steps before nodding to her. The wound stung, but he could still walk. "I'm fine," he said carefully. "Gather the weapons."
Joy looked him in the eyes carefully before following his request, gathering the discarded weapons on the ground before checking the pickup truck cabs. Most of the trucks had some sort of cargo boxes in the back, which Longwei was certain contained more ammunition. Making his way carefully around the flaming pit, Longwei limped over to the bunkers, where he had stashed an extra pair of pants. He was a dragon, but he still felt uncomfortable going around naked in human form.
*****
Longwei felt the bandage wrapped around his thigh rub uncomfortably as he looked down on the wounded Triad. The survivor of the previous attack, the terrified man was the only one he had let live. Most of the wounded Triads who fell into the mantraps bled out before the doctor could even begin to treat their wounds. The others died even as the doctor worked on them. The traps had been effective.
Longwei stared at the man who was tied up and shivering. His missing fingers had been sutured, and his face was still pale from the blood loss. Picking the man up, Longwei set him in the driver's seat of the rearmost pickup, which had been turned around carefully. "Now, do you know the way back to your boss?" he asked carefully, looking the man in his eyes and speaking in clear Mandarin.
When the Triad nodded, Longwei continued. "Good. Go back, and tell your boss two things. First, tell him what happened here. Tell him this is what happens whenever any of your people even try to come to this village."
"And secondly, tell him that the Triads time is coming to a close. I am coming."
The Triad nodded fearfully, and Longwei slipped the keys into the ignition. The engine cranked over, and the Triad shot down the road towards home, accelerating as he went. Joy came over, and looked at the rapidly disappearing taillights. "Was that a good idea?"
"I don't know," Longwei said. "But I'm not going to go killing prisoners. We killed today because we had to, but I'm not a butcher of unarmed prisoners. It may be a subtle difference between the Triad and me, but it's still a difference."
Joy nodded. "I can accept that difference. Come on, we've got a lot of cleaning up to do."
Chapter 8
Joy was stunned by the transformation of the temple. The villagers had quickly decorated the normally serene temple after the battle with festive colors, with paper lanterns and streamers hanging everywhere. Joy had spent the entire afternoon working on cleaning up the battle site, gathering the guns left behind and burying the bodies of the Triad. Thankfully, most had died in the deep mantraps, and required little more than scooping dirt on top of the corpse. The rest were to be buried in the car trap, which was already over four feet deep.
Joy had avoided that work for the most part though, as she was one of the few people in the village who knew how to drive a car. Once the fire in the car trap went out, they pulled the wreckage out using another two trucks, then filled in the gap enough to let her slowly drive the pickups around the barrier, parking them near the school. Over the next week, the plan was to strip the trucks of everything useful to the village.
For Joy, the trembles had begun as she pulled the second truck over the quickly filled in section of road and started driving to the village. In her mind, she kept seeing the explosion as the fuel in the car trap went up, and could hear the bullets pinging off the stone facade of the bunker. She was proud that she hadn't frozen up, but knew she needed to purge her feelings.
Stepping into the temple, which the left behind villagers had adorned so festively, she felt conflicted. Part of her wanted to celebrate, to rejoice in the victory and in still being alive. On the other hand, part of her wanted to scream and cry over the horror she had seen that day, and the lives she had taken. Even if they were Triad bastards, they were still human beings.
Avoiding the celebration, Joy made her way to her room, washing the dirt off her skin and changing into clothes that didn't reek of gasoline, blood, gunpowder, and sweat. Staying in the back of the temple, she found Longwei sitting quietly in the inner private courtyard. The sight of him in the place where they had first made love pushed back the darkness, and she sat down beside him. "How's the leg?"
Longwei opened his eyes, his small smile breaking out on his face as he saw her. "The bleeding has stopped. It seems that while wounds carry over, I heal from them more quickly as well. The doctor says I will carry a small scar in my human form on my leg, but nothing more than that."
"And your dragon form? I'd hate to see those perfect scales marred."
Longwei chuckled. "I do not know. It is not like there are many dragon experts in the world."
Joy reached over, laying her hand on Longwei's thigh. "I've been having trouble handling all of it. How are you handling it?"
"So far? Well. But I could not enjoy the party. It just seemed wrong."
"You are the head man of the village," Joy said softly. "They expect you there."
"I know. I don't like it, but I know."
Joy leaned over, and kissed Longwei softly. "Just know I'll be there with you if you want."
Longwei pulled her in tighter, their kiss deepening. "The villagers can wait a bit," he said, nibbling on her earlobe. Joy sighed, knowing this closeness was what they needed to heal the pain both of them were feeling from the battle. She pressed herself against him, letting her breasts squash against the firm muscles of his chest. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she shifted to straddle his lap, feeling his cock already hardening in his pants. She ground down on him, warmth spreading through her pussy as Longwei kissed down her jawline to her lips.
For slow, lazy minutes they kissed, letting the warmth of their connection build slowly. Longwei stroked his hands up and down her back, pulling her against him gently. "I love you," she said, when their lips parted.
"I love you too. I think that's why we made a mental connection so quickly in my dragon form."
"So the dragon in you knew before we did, huh?"
"Dragons are supposed to be wise."
Words gave way to touches and kisses again. Longwei brought his hand around and cupped Joy's left breast, his fingers brushing over her nipple and making her moan. She squirmed against his lap, her eyes closing as she pushed into him, forcing Longwei to lie back on the wooden walkway surrounding the courtyard.
As Longwei slipped his hand underneath her shirt, his fingers sensuously making their way to her breast
, Joy was suddenly shocked as both of them were doused with cold water. Sputtering, Joy rolled off and sat up to hear the giggles of children running down the hallway. One of the children stopped and yelled something back at them before running off again. Joy looked over at Longwei, who was wiping the last bits of water from his eyes. "What did they say?"
"They said too much heat starts a fire," he laughed. "I guess that's their way of saying stop making a public scene."
"Well, maybe I can get them back," Joy said, getting to her feet and chasing them down the hallway. Longwei surged to his feet, and joined in the merry chase.
*****
The lights were low, allowing the city lights of Hong Kong to stand out clearly against the night sky. The penthouse on top of the skyscraper was expensive, but it wasn't like he couldn't afford it.
Taking a deep drag of his Turkish cigarette, he looked out at the peaceful skyline, knowing that in the teeming streets below, he controlled things. He was the man in charge of it all, and with a simple word or gesture he could cause the whole thing to come crashing to a halt.
He considered such an action now. For too long, he had let Long Xue Yu stay autonomous, a benign tumor in the body of his kingdom. He had even let those fools in the central government do as they pleased with the village, sending in money and supplies on occasion. It kept the dragons quiet, at least.
But now this. It wasn't like he could have anticipated the connection between the American journalist and the dragon. She had gone from an annoying fly in the ointment, a minor situation best dealt with through indirect means, to a major situation. Her work had laid open too many vital elements of his organization, even if she hadn't known what she held. He was grateful that his telecom connections had caught her file transfer before it left China, but he was sure she still had the hard data. The woman's apartment was picked clean, and he knew no journalist would leave their computer behind. She had it with her in the village, that was for sure.
