He gasped upon the sight of his village burning to the ground. Charred bodies lay in the street, the wood of the homes crackled in the flames that lit the darkening sky, and the stench of death hung like a thick fog. Xun didn’t even think of the corpses that lay scattered around, instead breaking into a run through the remains of the town. The first thing he noticed as he approached his land was that it seemed to have been struck worse than the other homes. More than that, his field was left in ashes.
But the two bodies were what drew his full attention. One of them, a full grown person and in the arms, a much smaller one. She wrapped herself around him to try and shield him from it, but it was futile in the end. Xun dropped to his knees, then fell further, his arms striking the ground. He reached one hand out, wrapping it around the body’s crisped, blackened fingers. Everything they’d worked for, their dreams for the future were now nothing more than smoldering embers.
It took Xun some time before he was able to rise. His eyes were red and glassy, and his cheeks slightly moistened. He wandered through the town, searching for survivors. Or some sign of life. Or anything that could let him know what had happened here. And what he was met with was one of the young men in town, his arms and legs bound by thick ropes.
“Xun!” He was laid out on the ground and he struggled to move closer, twisting like a snake.
Xun took a knife from his boot and cut the man’s ropes. “What happened here, Bill? Tell me what this was all about!”
Bill sat upright, staring out into space. He wouldn’t even look at Xun, just kept looking straight ahead, his wide white eyes a sharp contrast to his dark skin. “There was a whole crew of ’em. Hit us by surprise. Set fire to damn near everything, and then…”
His voice trailed off. Xun pulled tightly on the young man’s shirt with one hand, lightly slapping his face with the other. “Bill, come on. I need to know!”
Bill’s eyes and mouth remained wide open, as if the scene were still playing out in front of him. “Th-they made me watch… said they wanted to make sure you knew…”
“Knew what?” asked Xun. “Who did this?”
Bill slowly turned and looked at Xun. “They said they was the Morning Dawn.”
Xun’s head dropped, his grip on the shirt slackening. “Why? After all this time, why now?”
“They made me watch, Xun!” Bill started to shake his head, and his bottom lip quivered, his voice cracking. “They made me watch…”
Xun laid a gentle hand on Bill’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I’ll find out who did this, and I guarantee they’ll be made to pay for what they’ve done.”
He rose to his feet, removing his hat and rubbing the back of his head. Bill finally looked away from the town, glancing down to the knife Xun used to free him.
“I can’t shut it out,” said Bill. “Just keep seein’ what they did… over an’ over again…”
“I know,” said Xun. “Believe me, I damn-well know…”
“I’m sorry, Xun… I can’t take it…” Bill grabbed the knife.
“What are you—” Xun glanced down and instantly snapped. “Bill, stop!”
Even as the words left his lips, Xun still could do nothing more than watch as Bill dragged the knife across his throat. He fell, his eyes still open, lifelessly looking up at Xun.
* * *
Xun groaned while he stirred in the rented bed. He tried to keep his eyes shut, but sleep had apparently eluded him and refused to return. The heat certainly didn’t help matters. He pulled himself up to a seated position and looked out the window. The moon was bright over Chinatown, and it seemed Xun had only slept for maybe a few short hours.
The sounds of some commotion rose from outside. Xun peered from the window, watching a Chinese couple argue in the alley. Although it didn’t seem like the typical lovers’ quarrel, and they didn’t seem like they were any sort of actual lovers.
The man was about the same height as the girl, and she herself was not very tall. He grabbed her cheeks roughly and held them tightly in his grip, glowering at her as he continued to spout off insults in her face.
“You listen and you listen good. We paid good money for you, brought you over here and everything, and now it’s time for you to start working it off,” he said. “So I don’t care who the client is or what he wants, as long as he’s paying the price, it’s his show, you understand?”
The girl had fire in her eyes, and she wouldn’t let him see any fear. She spat right in his face. He retracted, more from the shock than anything else, and wiped the saliva from his cheek. He grabbed her again, but this time, his hand went around her neck, while his free one went into his jacket, drawing a knife that he twirled in front of her.
“You asked for it now.”
Whu-whu-whu-whu-THUNK!
Something flew past his head and made a sound right by him. He glanced to his left and saw a hatchet embedded in the wood. Spinning on his heel, the Chinese man found the alley blocked off by another figure, who calmly smoked a cigar, hat pulled down over his eyes.
“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing? Trying to get yourself killed?”
“Suppose I should ask you the same thing,” said Xun, strolling into the alley. “What say you leave the nice lady alone and we go somewhere to talk about this.”
The knifeman laughed as he brought his weapon to bear. “I see how it is. You wanna take her place, huh?”
“Which are you?” asked Xun. “Morning Dawn or Society of Peace?”
The Tong scoffed. “You got some nerve. It doesn’t matter who I work for, all that matters is I’m going to cut your goddamn head off, you—”
A blunt strike ended the Tong’s threat. His eyes bulged and he collapsed. Xun looked up with surprise at the woman. She was slim and not very tall, and from her face, she probably wasn’t more than seventeen. Wearing a red cheongsam with gold trim, and her hair was done up nicely in a pair of buns. But what looked the most out of place was Xun’s hatchet, which she held firmly with two small hands. She used the blunt end of the hatchet on the back of the Tong’s skull, and it brought him down in an instant.
“He’s with the Society of Peace,” she said. “Thought I’d save you the trouble of playing his games.”
Xun smirked. “Thanks.”
“Why’d you ask?”
“Because if he were Morning Dawn, would’ve used him to send a message,” said Xun.
“You’ve got the look of a hatchet man. Why are you after Morning Dawn?” asked the girl. “Turf war?”
“They killed some people very important to me.”
She eyed him carefully, hefting his hatchet in one hand. “And I should believe you?”
“You can believe whatever the hell you want. Makes no difference to me.” Xun extended his hand. “Just give that back and I’ll be on my way.”
She paused, staring down at the hatchet. “Maybe I know a way you could get at them.” She passed the hatchet to him. “Assuming you’re willing to play dirty.”
Xun took his weapon. “Let’s hear it.”
The girl explained her plan to him. It was short, but simple, and would be extremely easy to pull off. And it had the added bonus of being quite effective. Once the telling was finished, Xun lit a fresh cigar.
“What do you think?” she asked.
He stared down at the unconscious Tong, then his gaze drifted up to meet hers. Xun had to admire how she was able to put herself to the kind of risk she was no doubt taking. Adding to that, how strong her will must have been to escape the clutches of the Tongs.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Tao.”
Xun snickered. “Tao. Fitting name for a woman who’s going to throw everything out of balance. You got yourself a deal.”
* * *
The women in the brothel immediately ran to the aid of their sister when she arrived, her dress torn in numerous places, her hair a total mess, and she moved with a limp. Her eye make-up had been smeared by her tears, and the w
omen crowded around her, trying to check up on her.
“The hell is going on here?” The deep, baritone voice came from Wei, the Tong who was in charge of this particular brothel. Wei pushed through the women, sometimes forcefully, pulling them away from the girl they gathered around. He saw Tao in the midst of them, and he frowned.
“Don’t tell me you’ve been causing trouble again.” He sneered down at her, turning up his nose. “Didn’t Jin set you straight?”
She fervently shook her head. “No, it wasn’t my fault! I didn’t do anything!”
Wei seized her wrist and pulled her away from the other women. “You think I’m going to put up with any of your crap? Where’s Jin?”
“Just listen!” she pleaded. “He took me into the alley and some men attacked us!”
Wei’s sneer faded into a frown. “What do you mean attacked? Who?”
“They said they wanted to buy me from the house,” said Tao. “Jin told them their price was too cheap. They said if he didn’t accept it, they’d take the price out of him! Said they weren’t going to let the Society of Peace move in on their territory!”
“Goddamn Dawns,” muttered Wei. “Think they can keep us out of this territory, do they? We’ll see about that. We’ll see who the real kings of Chinatown are.”
“Don’t be stupid.” The house mother was an older woman, a former worker in the brothel herself. She was in her fifties now, and her boldness only grew with her age. “What are you gonna do anyway?”
Wei had already begun going around to several of the rooms he knew some of his men were in, banging on the doors, signaling them to come out. “We’re going to kill any Dawns we find, that’s what we’re gonna do.”
“You gonna start a damn war, is what you’re talkin’ about,” said the house mother.
Wei stormed up to her, staring her down. “So what’d you have me do? Lose face to those bastards? Gotta send them and everyone else out here a message that nobody messes with the Society. Don’t matter how long they’ve been out here!”
“And how many paying customers you gonna kill in some stupid pissing contest?” she asked. “How many more are gonna be scared off to some other town?”
Wei dismissed her with a wave of his hand. “Dumb bitch, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The house mother was about to move to grab Wei by his ear and pull him over her knee, but Tao stepped in front of her. The look on her face was pleading. The house mother recoiled, thinking she would only cause more trouble for her girls.
What she didn’t realize was that Tao was tugging at her heartstrings.
* * *
Over the next few days, Xun kept a low profile. He kept to the shadows and watched as the Morning Dawn and the Society of Peace waged a war in the back alleys of Chinatown. Of course, he and Tao couldn’t take full credit for the scheme they cooked up. From what Tao had told him, tensions had been building among the two rival Tong gangs for months. All they needed to start killing each other was for a spark to light the fuse. And Xun was more than content to be that spark.
He kept his eye on the other people, though. If violence ever threatened any of the locals, he stepped in. Surveying from the rooftops, he watched as a young child was almost caught in the center of a firefight between four Tongs. They hadn’t even noticed the boy.
Xun dropped into the alley and darted into the street. He grabbed the boy and pulled him out of harm’s way. When the Tongs looked to see who would dare interfere in their feud, Xun was quick on the draw. He fanned the hammer of his Peacemaker, putting a bullet dead center in the heads of three of the Tongs. One was left, but rather than waste another round, Xun holstered the gun and gave him a message.
“Your war, it stays between the Tongs. The second you come close to hurting someone else, I’ll be there. Make sure your bosses get that message.”
The young Tong swallowed hard, his knuckles whitened from the tight grip on his own pistol. The Colt .45 was a favorite among the hatchet men, and this kid was no exception. But as he held it tightly, his hand shook violently.
Xun sighed, drew his own Colt, and fired. The bullet struck the gun and the Tong dropped it in shock. Xun twirled the gun around his finger and slid it back into the holster under his jacket.
“If you can’t use it properly, I’m gonna take it away from you,” he said.
Xun calmly walked past the Tong. The young man was still shaking, staring straight ahead. The young boy who almost became a casualty of their war walked up to the Tong and stared up into his face. He was puzzled as he tried to figure out why his uncle had told him to beware of these boo how doy. As far as the boy was concerned, this man was nothing more than a coward, incapable of facing off against a real man like the mysterious gunslinger who came to his rescue.
After dealing with that group, Xun went to Cheung’s opium den. His elder was seated on one of the cushions, enjoying his own product as he talked and laughed with some of the other old men in the town. But once he saw Xun, the laughter ceased and his expression became deathly serious.
Cheung moved faster than a man his age should have been able to, especially after smoking copious amounts of opium. But nonetheless, he managed to move with incredible speed, ushering Xun into the back room as if the place were on fire.
“What is wrong with you?” asked Xun once he was in the back. Cheung closed the curtain behind them.
“I could ask you the same thing.” Cheung struck a match and lit a small lantern. “It’s chaos out there. And don’t tell me you had nothing to do with it. Few weeks ago, everything’s more or less fine. Then you show up, and next thing I know, the Dawns and the Society are at each other’s throats!”
“Seems it was coming,” said Xun.
“Not like this,” said Cheung. “You’ve started something, Xun. Something that can’t be contained. And for what? The Knights of Labor have just been waiting for a chance like this, for something to blow up so they can point to it and say, ‘See? We were right about those chinky bastards! They’re nothing but trouble!’ And you’ve gone and handed it right to ’em.”
Xun folded his arms and leaned against the wall. He glanced down at the slippers he wore on his feet, fixated on them. At his hip, he felt the weight of the Colt, and the pressure of the hatchet pushing into the small of his back.
“You think I wanted to come back here? Wanted to be boo how doy again?”
Cheung sighed. “No, I don’t. But your personal war has expanded far beyond your control. It’s up to you to make things right. Although I’m not sure how you can do that. Things have grown far beyond anyone’s expectations.”
Xun stood upright and pulled back the curtain. Cheung made him pause.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
Xun shrugged. “I don’t know any more.”
* * *
“What?”
There was a building anger in Tao’s voice when she spoke. Xun had bought some time with her at the brothel, the only way they could have a chance to speak in relative privacy. But if Tao kept raising her voice like that, it would be difficult to manage without drawing suspicion.
“Keep it down,” said Xun. “I said I’m going to put an end to this. These wars have gone on long enough. Someone’s going to get hurt.”
“The women forced to work in these places have been hurt enough. The Tongs say they’re here to protect the Chinese, but they’re only out for their own gain.” Tao’s arms were crossed over her chest. She stood in front of him. “You make sure those bastards only kill each other.”
Xun sat at the foot of the bed, his hat on the dresser and his elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped between them. “I can’t be everywhere. And they’re starting to get more and more brash. There’s a new battle going on all the time. It’s building. Whites are starting to make a racket about it, too. If things keep going on like this, someone’s gonna get hurt.”
Tao sighed. “So what are you gonna do?”
“This was
always about Zhao and the Morning Dawn. What I gotta do is get an audience with ’em. Tell ’em I’m the one responsible for this.”
Tao’s eyes went wide. “Wait, what? But they’ll kill you!”
Xun looked up. “I won’t go down without a fight if that’s what you think. Those bastards burned my whole village to the ground. Took my family away from me. Everything I’d built up for myself in this godforsaken country, they just snatched it away in a single afternoon.”
“You against how many?” asked Tao.
Xun shrugged. “Let’s not pretend that I got a whole lot more to live for. They wouldn’t let me live out my life peacefully, so going down fighting seems appropriate.”
“And what about me?” asked Tao.
Xun sat up. “What do you mean?”
“If you take out as many of the Morning Dawn as you can, it’ll weaken ’em. And if you die, I’ll be all alone. The Society’s gonna continue to bring in girls from overseas, force them into this kind of work,” said Tao. “It’s not gonna stop with Zhao. What about all of us who are still suffering?”
Xun slouched, his head drooping below his shoulders. “What would you have me do? I’m not a magician, Tao. I can’t stop all this from happening.”
Tao knelt down before him. She placed her hand under his chin and gently lifted his face. “Then just stop it happening to me. Help me get outta here. Let’s just go. Together. Tonight.”
Xun shook his head. “I’m sorry, I can’t. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nothing against you, it’s just, my wife—”
Tao scoffed and lightly slapped his cheek. Standing, she said, “Don’t flatter yourself, cowboy. I’m not interested in being your woman. Not interested in being anyone’s for that matter. But you can get me outta here, and that’s all I’m asking.”
Xun contemplated what she said. Certainly was tempting. A chance to get out, before things got too hairy. But that would leave his debt unsettled, and he couldn’t live with himself if he allowed Zhao to get a free pass.
“I’ve gotta do this, Tao,” he said, finally. “I’m sorry, but there’s no two ways about it. Once I’ve settled this, we’ll get out of here.”
Asian Pulp Page 8
