by Zhou HaoHui
* * *
It had been a brilliant plan, Pei admitted. He also knew, however, that something must have gone terribly awry.
Yuan’s eyes were distant as he peered eighteen years into the past.
“It was Meng. I underestimated her. And she was the last person I should have underestimated.” Pei heard a hint of admiration in Yuan’s solemn words. “Both of us have matched wits with her. And in the end, both of us lost.”
“What did she do?” Pei said, unable to keep his voice from shaking.
Yuan squinted, and continued to recount what had happened inside the warehouse.
* * *
It was 4:13. Two minutes remained before the explosion.
Meng drifted back to consciousness. Her face was warm with blood, her ears were ringing, but she was sharp, and her wits quickly returned to her.
Yuan was gone, and she was handcuffed to a stranger. The man’s eyes were shut, and he was motionless. Meng couldn’t tell whether he was dead or unconscious. Then she noticed the explosive device attached to the man’s waist. The timer was counting down, second by second.
She quickly inspected the bomb, but she had no idea how to disarm it. Only a minute remained on the timer.
Meng looked up and frantically searched her surroundings. She spotted a figure retreating into the distance. Comprehension came to her. It was a trap.
“Yuan Zhibang!”
He stopped. Yuan turned around and met Meng’s eyes. Time seemed to stop as guilt and sorrow darted over his features.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly, before turning back around and walking toward the warehouse exit.
“You son of a bitch! Stop and look at me!”
A magnetic force emanated from her. Yuan, almost at the door, stopped again in sudden shock. He turned around to look at Meng. Even then, he was still confident that everything was under his control. She could do nothing to interfere with his plan.
Less than a minute until the bomb would detonate, but he only needed seconds to reach the exit. Just enough time for him to flee, but impossible for Meng to free herself. What would be the harm of delaying his escape by just a few seconds?
That was his mistake—he assumed that Meng wanted to save herself.
Glaring at Yuan, she grabbed the bomb’s lead wire and yanked.
Yuan gaped in horror as he realized what she was doing. She had no intention of surviving. At once he leaped for the warehouse exit, but it was already too late. A wave of scorching heat lifted him up, and the world faded into fire and darkness.
* * *
Pei’s head felt like it was floating miles above the earth. Tears ran down his cheeks. Somehow, he was relieved.
“It wasn’t because of me,” he said.
With the realization that he was not the cause of Meng’s death, the stone that had pressed down upon his heart for eighteen years finally lifted. Even stronger was the feeling of admiration he felt for his dead lover. He had never imagined that her death could have been so heroic.
Wiping his eyes, Pei stared at Yuan. “That was Meng, all right,” he croaked. “Never one to admit defeat. She was unbeatable!”
“Yes,” Yuan said, unmoved by Pei. “I wasn’t able to beat her. Nor could I beat you. She took almost everything from me. Now, because of you, I can finally lay the remnants of my life to rest.” He paused, as if suddenly reconsidering. “But even so…neither of you was able to defeat me. You’ll understand soon enough. When this eighteen-year-long struggle of ours ends, it’ll be easy to tell who wins.”
Pei shook his head. “I’ve found you. It ends here.”
“I wanted you to find me.” Yuan laughed, painfully. “And I’m not Eumenides. Not anymore, at least. I stopped after your girlfriend burned me to a crisp.”
Pei closed his eyes, ashamed of his own hubris. The explosion in the warehouse had crippled Yuan, but not his motivation. That was why he had waited eighteen years. He had to.
“There is another,” Pei said, testing his new theory.
“Yes.” Yuan nodded, and he tightened his grip on Guo.
Pei clenched his jaw. Yuan had needed time to train a successor, to teach someone the skills needed to carry out his mission of justice.
“I’m going to find him.”
“No, you won’t.” Yuan smirked. “He has no records. Not even a single photograph. Tell me, Pei, how do you find someone who doesn’t exist?”
“Deng Hua!” Pei exclaimed, his enthusiasm not at all diminished. “That’s how I’ll find him. And I already know the location that’s essential to your plan!”
Yuan’s cracked face contorted into a grin, one that took Pei back two decades. The feeling was haunting beyond words.
“I like the way you’ve turned out, Pei.”
Pei stiffened.
“Think back to eighteen years ago, before the explosion. Back when we were roommates—practically brothers—both fighting to prove that we were the top students at the academy. Did you ever think that one day we would end up like this? Here we are, on opposite sides, fire against ice. We do all we can to best the other, yet neither has the least assurance of victory.”
Pei said nothing. His brow furrowed in concentration.
“I know that you’ve thought about this, just as I have,” Yuan said. “We both crave challenge and excitement, yearning for a great enemy more than a good friend. I know that we’ve both fantasized about the same thing: standing face-to-face on the battlefield in a life-or-death struggle. Either you kill me, or I kill you.”
Pei hissed through his teeth. Yuan laughed, but he sounded like a dying animal.
“I turned our fantasy into reality. You should be thanking me, really. I’m the one who wrote the letter that brought you here. I’m the one who invited you to join the game. And you haven’t disappointed. To tell the truth, I’m jealous. You still have a chance to face off against an exceptional opponent.”
Pei stared at Yuan for a long time before he finally shook his head. “You’re insane.”
“Insane?” Yuan sneered. “I may be insane in your eyes, but at least I am able to punish acts of injustice. I’m doing the work you and the rest of the police should be doing.”
“But we would never murder someone who was innocent!” Pei roared in indignation.
“Come on, Pei. What does it really mean to be innocent?” Yuan shrugged. “Let me ask you something. If I hadn’t killed Meng or Zheng Haoming—if I had only killed those who deserved to be punished for their crimes—would you arrest me?”
Pei barely needed any time to consider his response. “Of course I would.”
“Fine. Now take another look at her.” He tugged on Guo’s arms, bringing the sobbing woman back into their frame of reference. “Pretend, for a moment, that I’m someone who has always been a good, law-abiding citizen. However, I find it impossible to stomach this woman’s despicable actions, and now I want to kill her. Would you go as far as to shoot and kill me in order to stop me?”
“Yes, I would,” Pei said resolutely.
“But you also detest this woman. You don’t actually hate what I’m doing, but in spite of this, you still have to do whatever it takes to stop me. You would even kill me if you thought you had to. All because of your need to uphold your rules, and because you believe these rules protect the people.”
“That’s right,” Pei said, nodding.
“I’ve done something that you want to do, but are unable to carry out. Yet you’d still shoot me. Now tell me: Would I be considered innocent?”
Pei merely shook his head.
“Why are you hesitating? Let me answer that for you. I wouldn’t be innocent. You see, we’re already on opposite sides of the battlefield. Even if we can sympathize with each other, even if we’re pursuing the same brand of justice, we’re doomed to fight to the death. We’re bot
h prepared to sacrifice ourselves in order to punish crime—all for the good of the public. No one is truly innocent.” Yuan exhaled deeply before he went on. “Besides, with the exception of Meng, everyone I killed deserved it. Even the man I used as a decoy for my own death had done unforgivable things.”
“But Zheng was innocent. Your successor killed him anyway.”
“Zheng was too curious for his own good. I’m prepared to eliminate anyone who gets in my way.”
Pei looked Yuan in the eyes. “Then why haven’t you killed me?”
“Do you remember the ‘catfish effect’?”
Pei thought back to those hours he had spent in the lecture hall. Professor Yang had taught that the term originated from an old Norwegian fable. Long ago, when Norway’s fishing boats would sail out from the coast in search of sardines, the fishermen found that the valuable fish rarely survived the trip from sea to port. However, to the others’ astonishment, one ship captain was able to bring home live sardines without fail. His secret was surprisingly simple: He would drop a catfish into the fish tank. As soon as the sardines spotted the predator, they would dart around the tank in an anxious effort to avoid it. This forced the sardines to grow strong, and to survive until the ship returned to harbor.
“You’re the catfish,” Yuan explained. “Your presence is what keeps Eumenides on his toes. That’s why I won’t kill you. I have nothing left to teach him. You, on the other hand, will become his greatest opponent in the days to come, and at the same time you will become his greatest teacher.”
Pei wasn’t sure whether Yuan intended the label as an insult or a compliment. Perhaps neither.
“You’ve lost it, Yuan. You’re so wrapped up in your own lies that they’ve blinded you to the truth. You can’t even see that your days of killing are coming to an end.” Pei allowed himself a cold grin. “I’m looking forward to sinking my teeth into that sardine of yours.”
Yuan licked his cracked lips. “You’re really going to try to stop me from killing Deng?”
“Of course. Are you saying I can’t?”
“Oh, I have no doubt that you can. You already know what kind of person Deng is. He’s a criminal. He traffics in narcotics. He’s neck-deep in blood. Is this really the kind of person you’d risk your own life to save?”
“The law judges by its own standards. Deng’s crimes are one thing. For you to try to execute him through illegal means is another. The law doesn’t permit you to carry out your own perverse brand of justice, and neither will I.”
“Such nobility comes so easy to you.” Yuan bared his bone-white teeth. “You only think this way because you’ve never had to face a more difficult choice. But soon enough you’ll understand. There’s no way out for you, either.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“When Mu left this restaurant earlier,” Yuan said, smiling, “she was carrying something that I’d given her. Your powers of observation have always been razor sharp. I’m sure that particular detail didn’t slip past you.”
Pei froze as he remembered the hurried manner in which Mu had rushed out from the Jade Garden and into a taxi. His jaw clenched. “What did you give her?”
“It doesn’t matter what I gave her.” Yuan’s cheeks twitched. “But what does matter is what Deng believes she now has in her possession. The tape that Bai Feifei recorded all those years ago.”
Pei’s breath caught in his chest as he realized what this meant for Mu. Slamming his fist against the table, he leaped to his feet.
“You son of a bitch. You’re going to get her killed!”
“I won’t harm a single hair on her body. Deng wants her dead. Oh, and don’t bother trying to convince his lapdog Hua that it’s a trick. I’ve already told him that you’d do anything to save your teammate.”
“You bastard…” Pei’s rage was burning so fiercely that it charred away every other thought. He grabbed Yuan by the collar of his trench coat. The veins in his neck bulged as he demanded, “Why did you have to drag her into this?”
“This is your test,” Yuan said slowly, enunciating each word carefully. “I needed to give you a difficult choice. I needed to see how you’d respond.”
Pei’s hands began to tremble, and he let go of Yuan. Taking out his phone, he frantically tapped for Mu’s number. But there was no answer. Pei slammed his phone onto the table.
Yuan did not appear the least bit flustered. “It’s time to go, Officer Pei. If you wait any longer, it’ll be too late for you to have a choice.”
Pei picked up his phone and walked toward the door.
Yuan called out from behind him.
“Wait.”
Pei stopped, and looked back.
“Don’t I even get a good-bye?” Yuan asked.
The two men looked at each other. Their entire history—from the friendship to the eighteen years of grief and longing and regret, and even the enmity and anger that defined today’s encounter—coalesced into a single moment.
“I’d rather leave you in peace, before you go to hell,” Pei hissed. Turning back, he ran out the door.
Yuan felt his life force ebbing with each pounding step that Pei took. He leaned back against his seat, as frail as a man on his deathbed.
“We’ve had a good run, Guo, haven’t we?”
“That cop is right. You’re insane,” she hissed.
He draped an arm around her shivering shoulders. “Maybe I am. But the two of us won’t have to worry about that for much longer.”
Yuan had completed what he had set out to accomplish. He’d completed the mission that had consumed the latter half of his life, but he felt no joy.
All he had was loneliness.
* * *
This was certainly the most miserable day in his entire law enforcement career, Sergeant Chen thought. It was bad enough that a hostage situation had sprung up in his jurisdiction, but it was even more infuriating that none of the individuals who had met with the hostage taker so far had stayed behind at the scene to debrief him in any way as to what was said, or what to do next.
However, when Pei left the restaurant, he at least had the courtesy to shout two words to the police: “Fall back!”
“Everyone, move back!” Sergeant Chen promptly yelled at his officers. While he was not sure what had happened, one look at Pei made him fear the worst.
A blast shook the ground, shattering the windows of several neighboring buildings. The Jade Garden collapsed into a pile of concrete and plumes of dust. The only sound Chen could hear was the deafening ringing within his ears.
Chaos engulfed the scene. People screaming in shock while others ran for cover, and others even pushed toward the rubble as if drawn by an awful curiosity.
Pei, meanwhile, had already crossed the barricade at the end of the street. He did not look back. When he reached the intersection, he looked in the direction Mu had taken. The roads in this area could lead anywhere, and he was not an expert in the local geography.
Just as he stood at the crossroads, his phone rang and he saw Mu’s name on the display. He answered without a second thought. However, it was Zeng’s voice.
“Hello? Captain Pei?”
“Zeng?” Unsure whether to expect good or bad news, Pei anxiously asked, “Where are you? What about Mu?”
“We’re at the Number One People’s Hospital. Mu ran into some trouble. Shit, I’m just lucky I got there before anything really bad happened!” He was fuming.
Pei needed to get moving. He scanned the crowd for the young officer that had driven him, Mu, and Hua. The man was nowhere to be seen. Frowning, he looked at Sergeant Chen, who was currently hurling orders at the officers swarming outside the restaurant. He could ask Chen to provide him with transportation to the hospital, but every one of his instincts told him that the sergeant would deny this request without a second’s thought.<
br />
Turning his head, he spotted a row of taxis parked several dozen feet away. He sprinted over to the one in front and wrenched the passenger door open. The driver, who had been gaping at the destroyed restaurant, yelled in shock as Pei slid into the taxi.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he asked.
Pei showed the man his badge. “I need to get to the Number One People’s Hospital as fast as humanly possible.”
“Sure, sure,” the driver said, finally calming down. He shifted the taxi into gear. “Anything you want,” he said, eyeing the gun poking out of Pei’s side holster.
Pei dialed Zeng’s number. The younger officer immediately picked up, and Pei asked him to explain what had happened earlier.
“After Mu left for the Jade Garden,” Zeng explained, “I couldn’t put my mind at ease. I left the station and headed for Xingcheng Road, arriving outside the police barrier just in time to spot Mu entering a taxi. She was carrying a package. I got in another cab and followed her. After a while, Mu exited the car and entered some dilapidated alleyway. I wasn’t sure why she went there, but judging from the way she carried herself, she didn’t plan on being noticed. I waited outside the alley. Soon, two men entered. They were looking for something. I heard Mu cry out, and I rushed in!”
Pei exhaled in relief.
“I found her on the ground, deep in the alley,” Zeng continued. “She was unconscious, but still breathing. One of the two men I spotted was keeping watch while the other searched her. The first guy saw me, and then rushed over. You should have seen me! I was about to kick his ass, but then the other guy whistled and they were both gone in a flash. I was too concerned with Mu to pursue. I hoisted her on my back and carried her to the first taxi I could find, and now we’re here at the hospital.”
“I’m almost there,” Pei said. “What’s her present situation?”
“The doctor told me later that she suffered a minor head injury. She’s going to make a full recovery. She’s awake now. We’re in room 417 in the east wing.”
