Death Notice

by Zhou HaoHui

  The last look Xiong had given him chilled him to his core. Han stumbled through the tunnel in a trance. When Yin appeared, Han did not recognize the officer at first. Instinct made him lash out at the silhouette rushing toward him; in doing so he transferred Xiong’s blood from his hand to Yin’s, blood that would later appear on the gearshift.

  Once they had rushed Xiong to the hospital, Yin noticed the blood on his hand under the building’s fluorescent lights. His mind edged closer to the horrifying truth. It was a hypothesis he did not dare to believe, yet at the same time he could see no other explanation.

  Yin kept his uncertainty buried deep inside his mind. Han was not only a leader to him—he was a mentor and a hero. To see his ideal of the man crumble before his eyes was more than Yin could bear. Faced with terrible reality, he saw no better choice than to hide from it.

  But Liu insisted on dredging up the matter at the following meeting.

  Han gave his alibi, saying he had put the blood on the gearshift, and Yin still stayed silent. Han was not surprised. He had pushed Yin out of the way of a burglar’s knife three years earlier. Since then, the young officer all but treated him like a second father. Yet Han could not remain quiet. He needed to tell Yin the truth.

  Inside his office, Han told Yin everything. From the messy killings at Mount Twin Deer Park to the threatening phone call from Eumenides. Because of his loyalty to Han, Yin agreed to protect his secret. However, he demanded that Han resign from his position as investigation team leader immediately, so as to prevent him from becoming Eumenides’s tool once more.

  Han intended to do just that. But Eumenides would not let him off so easily.

  Two hours before the task force met to discuss Deng Hua’s death notice, Han received another call in his office.

  * * *

  “You did well, Han. I’m watching the video from the mine again. Very compelling. You have a real talent for killing police! But the game isn’t over yet, Captain. I have one more task for you. Complete it, and I will delete the video.

  “Deng Hua will be surrounded by his bodyguards at the airport. No one will be able to get close to him without being caught. Don’t worry. Do you honestly expect me to ask a police captain to kill someone in plain sight of everyone else?

  “I will be at the departure lobby tonight. When I’m ready, you will cause a diversion where I tell you. This will be child’s play for you. No one will suspect a thing.

  “That’s all I need you to do. I’ll alert you via text message when it’s time.

  “Once the game ends, I’ll destroy the video. You know I keep my word.”

  Every sentence left Han more of a nervous wreck. He was furious. Furious at himself for having made that mistake ten years earlier. Furious at his own helplessness now. Han was simply in no position to refuse Eumenides, and they both knew it.

  However, Han wasn’t naive enough to believe the promise of an enemy as devious as Eumenides. He would stay in the game, and he would bring it to an end. He had a plan of his own.

  “I’m going,” Han told Yin, as he prepared for the day’s operation within his office.

  “No, Captain. You can’t.”

  “I’m going and that’s final!”

  “What are you doing, Captain? This has to stop.” Insistent on stopping his captain from going down any further on this path, Yin grabbed at his shirt.

  Han’s face contorted with anger. He struck his assistant.

  This first blow led to more. The more experienced Han subdued and knocked out the younger officer with a punch to the temple.

  Han saw only one option now: to tie up Yin inside the locker room, and hope that by the time he woke up it would all be over with. If he succeeded tonight, or so Han told himself, everything could still be all right in the end.

  OCTOBER 25, 6:30 P.M.

  THE LONGYU BUILDING

  Within the citadel-like headquarters of his empire, business mogul Deng Hua was in an extremely disturbed state of mind.

  He had never expected the case from eighteen years ago to leave such a bothersome trail. Who is this dead cripple? he wondered. How was he connected to those murders from two decades ago?

  Was he close to Bai Feifei? How else could he have known about the narcotics bust?

  Were the slayings of Xue Dalin and Yuan Zhibang meant to avenge her death?

  How much did he tell those two officers?

  What the hell is going on?!

  The questions would not leave Deng’s mind. But regardless of the situation, the answers didn’t matter.

  What mattered was that the man was already dead.

  In his office, Deng had received the news from his men that the bomb at the Jade Garden restaurant had exploded, and the cripple was dead. Of course, even if the bomb hadn’t gone off, Deng had taken precautions. He had arranged with certain officers at the scene that if the man showed his face, whether to surrender or to flee, a bullet from a police sharpshooter would end his life.

  Despite everything, Deng enjoyed the irony that he owed Eumenides a debt of gratitude for murdering Vice Commissioner Xue Dalin all those years ago. That corrupt bastard had taught him so much, but he had gotten too greedy.

  No one understood Deng better than Xue. When the officer had taken Deng out from lockup and started grooming the young man as his informant, Xue was essentially taking on a wild animal. Deng’s raw but deadly instincts had shown themselves when he had turned on Liu Hong during the narcotics operation that brought Xue so much acclaim. Xue had seen an opportunity. He needed a wolf, a wild beast that he could control. And so he had stayed his trigger finger and allowed Deng to live. As they continued to work together, Xue kept an iron grip on the collar around young Deng’s neck.

  Then Eumenides murdered Xue, and Deng Yulong vanished into the wilderness never to submit to another master again. He reemerged as Deng Hua, powerful businessman, and began to forge a future of his own making.

  As the last man standing, Deng swiftly established a firm hold on the province’s resurging drug trafficking industry. His career as an informant had made him an expert on police habits, and also allowed him to amass a sea of connections. With these advantages, dodging investigations and legal sanctions simply became a matter of careful planning and execution.

  Deng amassed massive capital, but was fully aware of the consequences of his kind of business. Trafficking in narcotics was a short-term venture at best. By the time the police launched their next crackdown, he had already stepped away from that industry. However much it baffled his colleagues at the time, their misgivings cleared when China’s police forces launched a nationwide anti-drug campaign and narcotics squads began arresting drug dealers by the hundreds. Deng’s empire continued to grow unfettered.

  As China’s economy boomed during the 1990s, Deng began investing in leisure and consumer industries. With the help of his far-reaching connections on both sides of the law, his businesses flourished more with each passing day. He then oversaw the construction of the most luxurious entertainment complex in the entire province, and with his new headquarters he was able to increase both his power and political connections.

  Deng’s prominence grew in commercial, criminal, and even governmental circles. No one was more gracious when it came to networking. When it came to confrontations, no one was more vicious. As his influence increased, so did his enemies.

  Just as he had told Pei, more people wanted him dead than he could count. He barely batted an eyelid at the written death threat Eumenides had sent him. With Brother Hua at his side, and the police watching his back, Deng’s mind was perfectly at ease.

  He had lived his life under the threat of death—what was so special about this particular occasion?

  Deng was more interested in deciding what to do with a certain female psychologist. If she really did have that tape recording, then he had a
real problem.

  I’ve weathered storms much worse than this, he thought. After all I’ve accomplished, there’s no way that one little problem from eighteen years ago is going to ruin me. I’m untouchable. No one will destroy my empire.

  Pity about the girl, though. There really is quite a bit worth admiring about her…

  A knock came at the door.

  “Come in,” Deng said.

  Sheng entered. He avoided looking directly at Deng. This meant that there was a problem.

  “Sir, the two men we sent after Mu…”

  “Did they find the tape?”

  Sheng finally made eye contact with Deng. “There were…complications.”

  * * *

  Emerging from his secure office, Deng was on schedule to depart for the airport.

  Captain Han was standing by in the lobby of the Longyu Building. He gave the order and officers sprung into action, clearing the vicinity of any unauthorized personnel. Deng’s chauffeur guided his Bentley to the guest-reception platform in front of the entrance. Coordinating their actions with the other members of the operation, Liu’s SPU team stood guard around the platform.

  A dozen black-uniformed bodyguards streamed out through the building’s doors with synchronized steps. They were all tall and wore black sunglasses, as if they had sprung from the same mold.

  The bodyguards formed two lines, creating a safe path from the building to Deng’s vehicle. Once his people were in place, Deng entered the lobby. An entourage of three men accompanied him—two bodyguards, and his trusted attendant.

  Brother Hua stayed at Deng’s side, matching him stride for stride. As they approached the Bentley he quickened his pace and opened the door for Deng. Despite the circumstances, Deng carried himself with assured ease, appearing totally unfazed. This was business as usual. Or so it appeared.

  Pei watched from nearby, keeping himself apart from the other officers. Something wasn’t adding up between Captain Han and Peng Guangfu. He hadn’t figured out all the details yet, but what he already knew was troubling enough.

  When he’d studied the ballistics report in the files on the police slaying at Mount Twin Deer Park, he learned that the bullet that killed Han’s partner showed significant signs of wear and tear. But after entering Zou Xu’s chest, its velocity would have been severely reduced, meaning that the tip of the bullet couldn’t have struck the rock behind him with nearly as much force as it had appeared to, despite exiting through his back. The conclusion was irrefutable: the bullet evidence had been tampered with.

  He was forming several hypotheses, but could not yet raise them in public. Doing so wouldn’t just challenge a captain of the Chengdu criminal police force and the leader of the 4/18 Task Force—it would question the authority of Chengdu’s entire law enforcement system.

  The facts behind Xiong Yuan’s murder had seemed clear enough—he had been ambushed by Eumenides. But with the revelation of Han’s tampering with the evidence in the Mount Twin Deer Park murder—and the fact that Peng Guangfu had also been present at the mine—Pei saw a different picture. Xiong was renowned for his fighting skills, and the wound on his neck indicated his attacker came at him from the front. Pei was now certain that Xiong’s attacker had been someone the SPU captain would never have thought to defend himself against. An ally.

  Liu Song had suspected Yin. However, Pei could see no convincing motive for him, and he set his sights upon Han. If Pei was correct that something very bad had happened at Mount Twin Deer Park, then Han would have done anything to make sure that Peng Guangfu did not survive.

  Pei had to get approval from Han’s superiors to officially investigate his fears. He was confident that this move would checkmate Eumenides and cripple the scheme he was preparing to carry out, while simultaneously giving the police an opportunity to turn the tables on the killer.

  But Eumenides had reacted too swiftly, presenting Pei with a major dilemma. If Pei stopped Eumenides, Deng would live but Mu would likely die. If he wanted to save Mu, the only way was to stay out of Eumenides’s way and let Deng Hua die.

  It was either Deng or Mu.

  Pei watched Deng climb into the Bentley. Then Pei observed the captain, the central figure of Eumenides’s scheme, standing nearby.

  The Bentley’s motor started with a purr. Deng’s bodyguards entered their own vehicles, forming a protective phalanx that guarded the luxury vehicle from the front and rear. Han and his officers entered two police SUVs waiting ahead of and behind the formation.

  Night had fallen. The city streets were radiant with light, and the sidewalks bustled with pedestrians. It was time to move.

  They reached Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport at 7:17 p.m. Liu and the SPU officers were preparing their reception. Deng’s driver pulled into the underground garage and up to the airport’s VIP entrance, which was cleared for exclusive use during the operation. Once all bodyguards and law enforcement personnel were in position, Hua exited the vehicle’s front seat and opened the door for Deng.

  Before Deng exited his limousine, he donned a fedora, face mask, and sunglasses. By the time he stepped onto the pavement, he was masked from head to toe.

  Pei exited his police SUV, and gritted his teeth at the performance. There was nothing inconspicuous about Deng’s grand entrance.

  Brother Hua remained at Deng’s side, and the black-uniformed bodyguards crowded around. The police were responsible for clearing the way forward and remaining vigilant against any potential threat. Deng took the green path that had been exclusively opened for him, following it directly to the airport’s security checkpoint, which led directly into the departure lobby. The officers leading the group showed their identification to airport security, and they were all permitted into the room.

  Having already received orders from his superiors, the head of the airport police sub-branch was on hand to personally lend his cooperation to Deng Hua’s security arrangements. When Deng and his entourage passed through the checkpoint, the chief of airport police approached Han. “Captain, you and your men can rest assured. You won’t find a safer place in the world than this lobby. There’s never been a single serious crime committed here in the history of this airport.”

  It was 7:35 p.m., and Deng’s flight to Beijing was scheduled to depart on time. Deng would be able to board within the hour. The airport’s staff had pulled the passenger manifest to compare it against Zeng’s list of those matching the Eumenides profile, but there were no suspicious hits—no last-minute ticket purchases, no names linked to recently stolen IDs. A major politician would have a private car ready to receive Deng upon his arrival in Beijing. His safety in the capital was guaranteed by the government.

  Deng found a spacious seat in the lobby and sat as his bodyguards gathered around him. They were anything but subtle, and they attracted many curious stares from other passengers.

  Captain Han marshalled his officers, distributing them evenly throughout the terminal. Based on Eumenides’s threats, he anticipated that the assassination attempt would occur in the lobby. If the security detail was impenetrable, then Eumenides would have to reach out to Han to ask for a clear path to Deng.

  That was what Han was hoping for. He was ready for Eumenides.

  Meanwhile, Pei kept an eye on both Han and Deng Hua. As Eumenides’s target, Deng would be Pei’s best chance to catch the killer. Having also concluded that Han was one of Eumenides’s pawns in this round, Pei resolved to watch the captain closely for any abnormal actions until Deng was safely on board, and the plane was in the air.

  Pei had made his decision. One that he hoped he could live with. If he allowed Eumenides’s assassination of Deng to succeed, Mu could stay safe. Then he could seize this opportunity to bring both Eumenides and Captain Han to justice.

  Pei was carefully scanning the lobby, as was Han. Even Deng was doing the same. All of them were searching for
the same target: Eumenides.

  * * *

  Eumenides tracked the police as they entered with Deng and his bodyguards. His lips curled as Captain Han Hao glanced anxiously around the airport lobby. Without looking at his phone, Eumenides sent the message he had already composed.

  “I’m here. It’s time.”

  Seconds later, Captain Han felt his mobile phone vibrate and slyly removed his phone from his pocket to see the display.

  His left eye twitched, and he swept his gaze over the entire terminal. Han did not identify his target with any assurance, but he did pick out several candidates.

  The man who had just exited the restroom looked in Han’s direction before turning his attention to search for a place to sit. Even though he was holding a newspaper, he flipped through the pages quickly. It was easy to tell that his attention was focused elsewhere.

  There was a man using the computer terminal in the lobby’s business services area. Dressed in a suit and leather shoes, he appeared to be a government employee. But why was he wearing sunglasses indoors?

  Then there was the cleaner standing on the other side of the terminal window. Han had been watching him sweeping the ground there for some time. Could he be monitoring the lobby through the reflection in the window?

  As much as he wished it weren’t so, Han could not order any of his officers to question these individuals. Eumenides could not fall into the hands of the police. Instead, Han could only observe while he hurried to analyze the situation in silence.

  At the same time, someone else was observing Han.

  Han’s eye twitched again—the phone in his hand had vibrated.

  “There are two officers standing ten meters south of Deng. Move them somewhere else.”

  Han sucked in a deep breath. He saw the two members of his team. Why did Eumenides want them moved? Was he near them, or was he going to launch his assassination attempt from that direction?