Ruse

by Cindy Pon

  The thought made Lingyi nervous for her friend, but she took five long breaths and concentrated on the connections instead. The best thing she could do for Zhou was make certain everything was broadcast, seen and heard.

  “Is this supposed to be playing? It’s early,” Lingyi heard a woman—presumably one of Jin’s security guards—ask Arun through her earpiece.

  “Yes,” Arun lied. “Everything’s preprogrammed, was what I was told.”

  The guard replied with a loud huh. “Da Ge isn’t here to run the show, and Xiao Chen barely seems to know what’s going on himself,” the woman said. Da Ge was probably still in the hospital recovering from his stab wounds.

  “Just following instructions,” Arun said.

  The guard must have left as Lingyi listened after a short silence. “Iris,” she said. “Progress?”

  Iris didn’t respond, and Lingyi could only hear the noise from the crowd in her earpiece, amplifying the real hum surrounding her. Then a gruff voice shouted, “Hey! What are you doing there?”

  “Guarding the speaker,” Iris said. “Just as I was told.”

  There was a noise, like something knocking into Iris’s earpiece.

  “Let me scan your badge,” the man’s voice said. A moment later, the same man said, “Xiao Chen, I’ve got a girl here with silver hair skulking around the speaker. I scanned her badge—it’s a fake.”

  Lingyi felt the blood drain from her face. Iris had been caught.

  “Yeah, I thought so too. Just like the boss warned,” the gruff voice replied after a pause. “I’ll bring her up now.” Then his tone turned nasty. “You’re coming with me!”

  Crap.

  Lingyi sprinted out, ducking beneath the roped area. Because everyone was so caught up with the unexpected projection on Jin Tower, no one took notice of her. Then she heard Arun’s voice in her earpiece. “Xiao Chen asked me to help with the girl.”

  She saw a flash of Iris’s silver hair—that man must have knocked off her cap—as she was dragged away from the crowded quad, toward Jin Tower’s main entrance. Two of Jin’s security guards flanked her; one of them was Arun. Lingyi pushed her way through the VIP area, using her short stature to her advantage in the hubbub.

  She hid behind a pillar when the trio stopped in front of Jin Tower’s main entrance. It was set far back and roped off, away from the masses. “Do you have clearance?” the man with the gruff voice asked Arun.

  “Of course,” Arun lied.

  Lingyi saw the guard nod at the palm scan at the entrance. “Let’s see.”

  Her heart fell. Even if she were at her MacFold, there was nothing she could do to help. Continuing with his bluff, Arun placed his palm on the scanner. The machine must have indicated failure, because the guard said, “Doesn’t look it. Stay down here. I’ve got the girl.”

  “Keep the door open, Arun,” Lingyi said into her earpiece. “Keep it open however you can.”

  The only indication that Arun had heard her was a flick of his head to the side as he glanced toward the VIP area. The lanky guard used the palm scan, and the doors slid open a few seconds later. He roughly pushed Iris into the building. After they had entered, Arun lunged at the slowly closing doors. Lingyi ran toward him a minute later.

  Arun was staring into Jin Tower, and she followed his gaze. Iris and the guard had already disappeared into its depths. “What are you doing out here?” he whispered.

  “I’ve got to help Iris,” she said. She had reacted viscerally when she ran out from where she had been safely hidden. All she could think was that Iris was in trouble. It was happening again—everything was going wrong—just like last time.

  “I’ll follow her,” Arun said.

  He had wedged the only thing he could use, his rectangular taser, between the doors. It probably wouldn’t hold for much longer. “I’ll go,” Lingyi insisted. “Hopefully the police will be arriving soon. Look for a woman—Detective Lu. Take her to the highest floor.”

  Arun’s mouth pressed into a hard line, but there was no time to argue. “Be careful, boss,” he replied, and forced the doors open wider for her. She slipped through easily and considered picking up the taser, but when Arun let go, the device was crushed this time as the doors shut. They stared at each other through the clear glass for a moment, before Arun nodded once and she nodded back, then ran toward the elevator.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  ZHOU

  “Didn’t I say no interruptions?” Jin appeared calm but ready to punish the new guard who had appeared.

  The guard bowed his head apologetically. “I found this girl impersonating security in the VIP area below. Xiao Chen thought it was best to bring her up to you directly as you had instructed us.”

  The man thrust Iris forward, wrenching her arms behind her back. She winced, and it was hard for me not to lunge at the thug. Jin’s dark eyes lit with recognition. “You,” he said. He nodded once at the guard, an indication of his approval. The man opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say more, but Jin lifted a hand, silencing him. “You aren’t the hacker girl I wanted—but I believe you are someone she cares for.”

  At the mention of Lingyi, Iris doubled over, then slammed her head back, smashing the guard hard in the face.

  “Fuck!” the man screamed. Blood streaked from his already swelling nose. His grip loosened on Iris, but before she twisted free, the guard who had brought me up clamped down on her.

  She stilled and glared murderously at Jin.

  “Yes, we found Ms. Tsai’s wiped laptop in your suite, and I saw video of your group stealing out of your hotel.” Jin smiled an indulgent smile; one you’d give to placate a difficult child. “But I know the design still exists somewhere. You and your friends have soft hearts. You wouldn’t have destroyed it knowing the catalyst can help so many—and help Ms. Tsai’s family, too.” He turned to me, slanting his head. “It’s your predictability that makes this so easy.”

  Jin didn’t even look at Iris but nodded once at the guard who held her. The man pulled a gun and pressed it against her temple. My entire body tensed at the sight, pulse going on overdrive. I forced myself to focus, to think. I could throw my knife and hit the guard, but I couldn’t trust that he wouldn’t pull the trigger even with a knife in his chest.

  Crap.

  I lifted my shirt, pressing my thumbprint to the monitor connected to the prototype, then ripped it off. “I’ve deactivated it. Just take the prototype and let her go.”

  The two guards who had been here with Jin from the start both came forward. One lifted a gun and pointed it at me.

  “That was rash,” Jin said. “And foolish. Like you said, there really is no reason to keep you alive now.”

  Daiyu stepped in front of me. “Enough,” she said in a cool voice, but I could sense her trembling.

  “Move, Daughter,” Jin replied. “You forget whose side you’re on.”

  Daiyu raised her chin, and the diamond drop earrings in her lobes swayed with the motion. “I know which side I’m on—and it’s not yours, Father.” She enunciated the last word, said without warmth; something discarded.

  No one noticed the guard with the broken nose drop to the floor. He had retreated into the shadows, clutching something to his face, trying not to whimper. Lingyi appeared from nowhere and slinked toward Jin, Iris, and the thugs’ backs. I wanted to scream for her to turn around. Run!

  “I have a very clear understanding of how you run your business now,” Daiyu replied. “You resort to theft and intimidation. Is this what you wanted me to witness—what you wanted me to learn as your heir?”

  “So you’d rather side with your thug boyfriend?” Jin’s mouth curled in derision. “A thief and liar?”

  “You’re the thief and liar,” Daiyu said. “You’re a murderer.”

  Jin laughed, shaking his head. “You’ll never pin anything on me. I’ll disown you; you’ll never have Jin Corp.”

  “I don’t care,” Daiyu said. “I was the one who helped them steal back t
he prototype.”

  Jin took a step toward Daiyu. His face had reddened in rage, and he lifted a fist without even seeming to realize it. “You?”

  “Yes, I did it.” Daiyu stared her father down. “Jany’s catalyst is already in production. Thousands will be ready for the market within a week. I personally helped to fund it. Her design will never be yours. Father.”

  “You lie,” Jin said. His jaw muscles jumped, and I saw a vein pop at his throat. I flexed my arm, feeling the heft of my throwing knife, ready to push Daiyu out of the way if Jin was livid enough to hurt his own daughter. I couldn’t see the expression on her face, but whatever Jin glimpsed there convinced him she was telling the truth.

  He looked at the guard pressing a gun to Iris’s temple and gave a slight nod.

  A signal.

  Instinctively, I stepped to the side, away from Daiyu, and threw my knife. A single shot rang out, and something slammed into my side. I reeled backward from the impact.

  “Jason!” Daiyu screamed.

  “Yes, I ordered Ms. Tsai killed. She was dispensable.” Jin directed his words at Daiyu; he spoke slowly and evenly, but there was no mistaking the wrath beneath. “And so is he.”

  I felt wet warmth on my stomach and glanced down; the left side of my shirt was soaked in blood. I didn’t feel pain, only like the wind had been knocked out of me. I drew another knife. My body buzzed with adrenaline. The man who shot me had doubled over, grasping a hilt in his chest, then collapsed to the floor, writhing. I guessed we were even. Iris stood alone, a sleep injection in each hand, physically blocking Lingyi from Jin.

  Spots danced across my vision, and I clenched my knife, letting its cold hilt ground me. My thumb grazed over the hidden button that activated the blade’s poison. Jin pivoted and, seeing Lingyi behind Iris, lunged at the girls. Jin was tall, and his reach was long. Iris dodged, keeping Lingyi behind her. Jin had missed grabbing Lingyi but was lunging again. I cocked my arm back and threw the knife.

  “Stop! Police!” a woman’s voice bellowed from the elevator. I heard the echo of feet running toward us.

  “Jason,” Daiyu said, her voice hoarse when she caught my arm’s smooth motion.

  The blade struck Jin in the upper back, and he stiffened, then jerked to face me, snarling in rage. Lingyi and Iris scrambled away from him even as the police surged toward us.

  “Don’t move!” shouted the policewoman. “Drop your weapons!” Her gun was pointed at Jin.

  Jin swayed on his feet, his eyes never leaving me. “Arrest this boy. He stole from me!” he roared.

  Daiyu stood beside me; I could feel her holding her breath. She had seen the hilt of the knife that hit her father—one of two she had gifted me not so long ago. But it felt like a lifetime.

  “You’re under arrest for the possible murder of Jany Tsai,” the policewoman said as two of her colleagues came up and one grasped him by the arm.

  “You can’t arrest me,” Jin said. “I know people in the police department.”

  “You can’t bribe your way out of this,” the woman replied. She held up a Palm Plus, showing a video of Jin displayed across Jin Tower’s side. “Everything you said and did in here was broadcast live to millions. It’s already gone viral.”

  Jin stared at the moving image of himself on the Palm, his words transcribed and scrolled vertically beside him, finally comprehending what had happened. His face leached of color, and his breathing became ragged. “I want to speak with my lawyer.”

  “I don’t know how things work in Taiwan, Jin,” the policewoman said. “But you can speak to your lawyer when we allow it.”

  They ushered him into the elevator in a wheelchair, swarmed by police.

  I stumbled, and my vision blackened.

  “Please, can someone call an ambulance?” Daiyu had wrapped an arm around me, holding me up. “He’s bleeding out from a gunshot wound.”

  I leaned into Daiyu, breathing in her familiar perfume warmed against her skin. In the end, I hadn’t activated the poison. I had told her long ago in a dark alleyway that things were never the same after you’d killed someone. I’d rather Jin rot in jail for as long as we could keep him there—knowing exactly what we’d taken away from him.

  Lingyi ran up and pressed something against my wound. My knees buckled from the pain, and if it weren’t for Daiyu, I would have fallen over. Suddenly, a squat policeman was holding me up from the other side. “Let’s get him onto the stretcher,” he said.

  The next thing I knew, I was lying down, shaking uncontrollably. Paramedics bustled around me, applying pressure to the wound, which made me black out. I woke again and saw blearily that Daiyu was clutching my hand, but I couldn’t feel it. Iris and Lingyi stood on the other side. Arun suddenly appeared. I blinked, wondering if I was hallucinating.

  “Hang in there, man,” he said. Arun looked like he was about to cry. “I’ll follow you to the hospital.”

  I tried to nod.

  “Jason,” Daiyu said. My eyes had closed without my realizing, and I forced them open to look at her. There was a bright glow around her head, exactly like a halo. My vision was going. She was crying.

  “Don’t,” I whispered. “I’ll be all right.”

  I couldn’t seem to draw enough breath to say more.

  “I love you, Jason,” she replied from somewhere far away.

  I felt an oxygen mask pressed over my face and the rumble of wheels below me as they pushed the stretcher away.

  I love you too.

  Bright lights seared my vision and loud voices pounded in my ears. Then people spoke in hushed and serious tones. I felt pain through a heavy fog that blanketed my body, robbing me of movement—robbing me of my thoughts and senses.

  “You always said you weren’t afraid to die, Zhou.” Little demon me appeared on my bare shoulder. He had removed his tuxedo jacket, and a lock of hair fell into his eyes. His white shirt was drenched in blood. “Are you afraid now?”

  DAIYU

  There was so much blood.

  Daiyu didn’t realize until Jason swayed, and she wrapped an arm around him, then looked down; his shirt was soaked dark red. It seeped bigger, growing like an ink spill. His face had gone ashen, and a sheen of sweat gathered at his hairline. She watched in horror as his eyes slowly rolled upward. She was going to lose him; he would die right there in her arms.

  For a second, she couldn’t find her voice. The she screamed, “Please! Can someone call an ambulance?” She swallowed the sob erupting in her chest. “He’s bleeding out from a gunshot wound.”

  Jason slumped against her, and inexplicably pressed his nose against her throat; it almost felt like a kiss. Lingyi ran up, the whites of her eyes standing out. Lingyi’s terror hit Daiyu hard, resonating with her own. Lingyi put something against Jason’s gunshot wound, and he doubled over in pain.

  A stout paramedic appeared. “Let’s get him onto the stretcher.”

  Suddenly, they were surrounded by people and a cacophony of noise. Multiple conversations buzzed in her ears, people shouted instructions, and voices crackled through in earpieces. Jason was lifted onto the stretcher, and although Daiyu tried to stay near him, she was repeatedly pushed aside as emergency paramedics worked to stabilize him. She and his friends managed to speak with Jason for a few seconds before they wheeled him away. “I love you, Jason,” she shouted in desperation; she needed him to know. But she wasn’t sure if he heard her.

  Daiyu forced herself into the elevator with the stretcher. Lingyi and Iris stayed behind, stopped by a police detective who wanted to speak with them. She followed Jason closely when they were on the ground floor. Arun was by his side, talking in urgent tones with one of the paramedics. They emerged at the back exit, away from the crowds, and Jason was loaded into the airambulance. But when she tried to climb on, one of the paramedics blocked her. “There’s no room.”

  Arun had gotten on, and he nodded at her. “Meet me at the hospital.”

  She was feeling frantic and trying hard not
to panic. Every second counted, she knew. “I’ll see you there,” she managed to reply, before they pulled the doors shut in her face.

  After the ambulance drove off, lifting into the air, Daiyu stood frozen, watching it grow smaller and smaller. She suddenly felt lost. She had to get to the hospital. Running back inside Jin Tower, she headed toward the front entrance, only to be confronted with a flurry of flashes, blinding her momentarily as the photographers took their photos. “Ms. Jin! Ms. Jin! Is it true about your father murdering a Ms. Jany Tsai?” It seemed hundreds of voices shouted at her. The crowd in the VIP area surged, and the only thing keeping them back were the few Jin security guards who had lingered in the quad.

  But all attention shifted when a police car appeared from around the building. Her father sat in the backseat, his hands cuffed in front of him like a common criminal. But the most astounding thing was the knife still buried in his upper back, forcing him to hunch over. She learned later that when the airambulance arrived, they deemed Jason as the emergency, and her father was relegated to a police car instead for his ride to the hospital. A paramedic had determined he was stable, but it was safer to wait for a surgeon to extract the knife. Daiyu gaped along with everyone else, and the reporters all stampeded toward the police car, but were shoved back by police escorts.

  The car lurched awkwardly, trying to maneuver its way through the mobs. Her father bowed his head; his hair was sticking up and his collar askew. She had never seen him look so disheveled. And that, inexplicably, broke Daiyu’s heart. She mourned for something that had never been—a loving relationship between them. He had never truly been a father to her, but he was still her father. Then he raised his head to look out the window and met Daiyu’s gaze. She flinched but didn’t turn away. Instead, she fisted her hands and jerked her chin up in defiance, and his eyes slid from her, barely registering recognition.

  When the car disappeared behind the throngs following it, a sob she had been holding back ever since Jason collapsed into her arms shuddered through her entire being. Again and again. She wiped the tears from her face and hugged her arms around herself, trying to still her body, trying to swallow down the sobs that threatened to rip from her throat.