Opium Warfare

by Justin Bienvenue

  “Now Miss Morgan, if you have any more questions about my future endeavors and the future of Shanghai, then by all means, ask away. But if you’re going to make further blasphemous accusations that are incredible and make you look amateurishly foolish as a reporter, then I declare this interview over.”

  “My apologies Mr. Shaojin, I only have a few more questions, and I promise they will be relevant.”

  “Ask away then,” he said with an evil grin.

  “Do you have any ventures outside of Shanghai? I know many businessmen such as yourself tend to expand into multiple cities and on an international level.”

  “Ah, excellent question. I actually have two other corporations and two other Shin Shaojin Enterprise locations, which are located in Beijing, Wuhan, Hong Kong, and the final one is just past the Himalayas.”

  “Would you consider yourself a friendly and fair businessman?”

  Shin laughed at the question. “Have I not been friendly enough with you Miss Morgan? Aside from my slight sign of anger a moment ago, but that was merely a misunderstanding.”

  “I think it’s all a facade. I think you wear a mask to show us, the media and the public, how you want to be perceived, but behind closed doors and deep down inside lies the real Shin Shaojin. A man who is so egotistical, maniacal, and so power driven that he would sell his soul to the highest bidder if it meant getting to the top.”

  Shin’s face turned red with anger, but he soon realized that if he shows his weakness he would just be proving that she’s right, so he decided to take a deep breath, let the complexion in his face settle down, and turned to Mia.

  “Well Miss Morgan, we all have our opinions, and here I assumed you thought highly of me.”

  “I do Mr. Shaojin, I think you have a great vision for Shanghai, but I also think that it’s more about you and it’s backed up with a hidden agenda.”

  “And what would that agenda be, Miss Morgan?”

  “I thought I was the one asking the questions, Mr. Shaojin.”

  “On the contrary Mia, you are, but if you say I have a hidden agenda, then I’m curious as to what you think that might be.”

  “I don’t know, I just know you have one.”

  “Ah, so you’re engulfed with uncertainty, but I assure you my only agenda is to see that Shanghai is as strong as it can be.”

  “You only treasure what you cannot possess,” Mia said.

  Shin smiled laughingly.

  “Well, Miss Morgan, I take it we are done?”

  “Yes, I think I’m about done here Mr. Shaojin. I thank you for your time and I’ll be in touch with you to let you know when my report is out.”

  Mia then saw herself out of Shaojin’s office and out of the building. She then decided to go to the docks to pay Ryu a visit. As Mia got closer to the docks, she notices that the authorities have blocked it off. She decided to head back to her hotel. As she made her way back to the hotel, she saw a group of people standing around in a circle outside of it. She slowly walked over to see what the fuss was all about until she noticed Ryu sitting on the steps of the Astor.

  “Ryu?”

  “Mia!”

  “I was just going to go to the docks to see you, but I noticed it was blocked off, what’s going on?”

  “There was an accident, my boss Rafael died.”

  “Oh my god, Ryu, I’m so sorry. How did it happen?”

  “Someone noticed he was gone, so he called the police and they found his body in the water. The hook of the ship was embedded to him.”

  “Oh god, that’s awful!”

  “Yeah and to make matters worse, when I went by Chao’s, I noticed it was still closed, and I saw that guy again.”

  “Wait, what guy?”

  “Some guy I saw at the market a week ago and then again inside Chao’s deli. He drew this weird pistol on me, and so I apologized for causing any trouble and got away as fast as I could from there.”

  “I’m glad he didn’t use the weapon on you.”

  “Yeah, me too. So why were you looking for me?”

  “Well, I just came from interviewing Mr. Shaojin, and, well, let’s just say you weren’t the only one scared for your life today.”

  “Oh god, did he hurt you?”

  “No, but he got angry. I pressured him about Chao and caught him in a lie twice. I asked him why Chao was closed and he acted as though he didn’t know why.”

  “So he didn’t tell you if he knew anything about it?”

  “He claimed he didn’t know, but he jumped to defend himself too quickly and as a reporter, I know that as a clear sign of lying.”

  “Well, what do we do now?”

  “Well, I plan on sending my report on Shaojin back to Chicago, but I’d like to see if I can dig up some more dirt on him and expose him for the liar that he is.”

  “So what exactly did you say to Shaojin to tick him off so much?”

  “I told him I suspected that he did something to Chao and then he gave me some excuse that Chao’s trying out his freedom to see what retirement will be like. Oh and get this, according to Shaojin, he already owns Chao’s, has been for weeks now, but allowed him to stay there longer so he could collect some extra money.”

  “What?! Chao told me he would never sell out to him...can’t believe he would lie to me like that. Though, it would explain why he was so distraught the last time I saw him. That’s why those two men were there that day. The guy I’ve seen three times now must be one of Shaojin’s men.”

  “Yeah, that definitely all makes sense.”

  “Did he say anything else?”

  “When I first asked him if it was true that he was going to buy out Chao’s, he jokingly said he was using Chao’s back room as an opium den.”

  Ryu’s eyes grew wide. The minute Mia said opium it was like a light bulb went off in his head.

  “Are you sure that’s what he said?”

  “Yeah, but he was just joking...at least, I think he was.”

  “I think he was being sarcastic and blunt Mia, and I think he was being serious.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve been seeing things around town, of people, just normal people around town smoking opium.”

  “What? Really?”

  “Yeah, I’ve never thought anything of it, but then, it occurred more frequently, like just the other day on my way home, I came across an old building that was run down that looked like it was still in use for something. Then I saw a man on his balcony smoking and then I saw the same man on my street outside my apartment before I closed the blinds.”

  “Hmm...well, I don’t know if the two events are related in any way, but if they are, we’re going to need to get some proof first.”

  Ryu walked Mia up to the main entrance of the hotel. They said goodbye before agreeing to meet up again at the park in a few days. Instead of heading back from his usual direction, Ryu decided to cross the Garden Bridge and head to the Huangpu District. As he crosses the street, he stopped to examine it from afar. He smiled as he looked at it. Ryu had always loved the Garden Bridge. It was one of Shanghai’s prized structures, and he loved its history. It was the first all-steel bridge built in 1856. As Ryu was crossing it, he remembered the unforgettable tragedy that took place on it just five years prior. The governor of Shanghai Admiral Tseng Ju Cheng was assassinated while on his way to the Japanese consulate when a bomb went off. The perpetrators also managed to get off eighteen shots. Ryu remembered being in the center of Chinese City when it happened. His father had friends who worked for the governor, who also died on the bridge that day.

  He continued walking along the historic bridge taking it all in, and he stopped halfway and looked over to his right to survey the Wusong River. Ryu was used to the Huangpu River, which is adjacent to the Wusong as it is the river nearby the docks where he worked. It was quite a beautiful sight. Ryu was always either walking places or using a rickshaw, since he didn’t know how to drive. Then again, one didn’t really need to d
rive to get around in the city. He kept walking until he got into Huangpu. Ryu didn’t normally find himself in this district except to run an errand for Rafael every now and then. As he looked around, he wondered if opium had crossed the bridge and found its way over here too. It wouldn’t surprise him, given all the random places he had come across it. Sure enough, before he even took six steps into that town, he looked over to his left and saw smoke coming from a small circular building. He thought to himself that there was no way he could be right about that so quick, so he walked over to the building to get a better look.

  As he walked over to the building, he soon realized that it wasn’t a smoking den but a temple in which incense was being burned. He sighed in relief and continued walking further. He didn’t know what it was about it, but seeing a bunch of people smoking opium just really bothered him. It probably went back to the day he saw Liu who said he had tried it. He just didn’t see what the fuss was all about. Ryu decided he would explore the local market in the area and perhaps shop a bit; after all, he didn’t know when he might come back in this district again. His market browsing was suddenly interrupted when he happened to glance over down the street to remark what appeared to be the other one of Shin’s men, the one with whom he did not have any direct encounters, but who was in Chao’s that day. In fact, he was the one who was talking to Chao while the other guy was holding him back. Ryu shook his head and decided to keep browsing in the store. He was tired of his sharp eye catching things that for all he knew could have been completely coincidental. For all he knew, it could have been a simple friendly gathering. Not wanting to spoil his time in Huangpu, he decided to keep walking along the market and enjoy himself.

  * * * * * *

  As Mia walked into the Astor House Hotel lobby, she stopped and remembered the last thing she said to Shaojin and her final suspicion about him. She then remembered what she told Ryu about how Shaojin jokingly said he was using the place as an opium den. She then put that together with what Ryu said to her about seeing use of opium around town. Suddenly a very interesting thought crossed her mind.

  What if Shaojin’s hidden agenda just revealed itself to her? Now she was more determined than ever to prove it was true.

  Chapter 8 - The Silencing

  Mia was looking over her left shoulder as she was picking the lock of the back door of Chao’s deli. Since Mia had come to a sudden epiphany in the hotel lobby, she decided to do some investigating and look into her idea. Given what Ryu and her suspected, there was no doubt that it needed to be looked into. As she heard a small click, she realized that she picked the lock. For the second time in her life, she had picked a lock, the other time being to assist her friend in getting into her apartment back in Chicago. She slowly opened the door and took another look to her left to make sure no one was around. When she saw that there wasn’t anyone, she made her way inside. Since it was a bit dark, she went to reach for the light switch and then closed the door. As she turned the light on, she looked into the room and, while there was no immediate evidence of opium use, there was evidence of something else. Upon the ground were two large stains of what was either residue of water or blood. She wasn’t sure which one it was at first, but as she approached closer, she realized it was blood.

  She gasped as she looked down to examine closer. The ground was clearly stained in dark red and black blots of blood. As Mia looked around the room, she noticed how unorganized it was. What was once a corner stacked orderly with boxes and rectangular crates was now a mess of scattered opened and broken containers. Supplies and even some food were all dispersed around the floor. Mia also noticed that two of the shelves, which were meant to stock supplies and kitchen equipment looked like they had recently been moved. She walked over to the shelves and looked down and noticed mops in front of them. The mops were dry and cakey, which clearly meant they were used to wipe up the blood. As she turned to her right, Mia’s feet hit a medium sized metal bucket, which made a loud echoing sound throughout the whole deli. She stopped and stood as still as a statue after hitting something. Hoping no one heard anything, she kept moving farther in the back room. She looked around and noticed mostly everything else other than what she had already seen seemed to be intact. As she made her way over to the kitchen area, she noticed three dirty rags hanging over the sink. Two of the rags were brown and black covered in dirt and soot from wiping up the floor, meanwhile the last rag had orange, black, and red stains from wiping up the blood. While they may have gotten whoever was bleeding out of here, Mia felt they did a bad job by leaving the evidence behind. Talk about careless, she thought.

  Suddenly, she heard what sounded like talking coming from outside the back door. Thinking they might come in, Mia decided to make her way out into the dining area and hide behind the counter. She kneeled down beneath the left side corner of the counter next to a large plant. The back door opened and she heard two people talking to one another.

  “Well, I know someone was in here, cause I locked the door before we left, Mr. Shaojin made sure of it as he always does and-”

  The man stopped mid sentence upon noticing the light was on. He pressed a finger to his lips to convey his partner to be quiet. The two men began walking and looking around everywhere, and then made their way over to the kitchen area. One of the men grabbed the three dirty rags off the sink and threw them into a black bag. He then returned into the back room and grabbed the dirty mops and broke off the heads and stuck those into the bag as well.

  “Hey, did the boss want the floors cleaned?” the man with the bag in his hand asked.

  “Nah, don’t worry about it. He says he’s going to have a cleaner come in tomorrow morning to give it a good scrub.”

  The man by the sink walked out into the front and looked around the area fleetingly and then returned into the back room.

  “You find anything suspicious?”

  “No, come to think of it, I probably forgot to turn the light off and lock the door. Either that or the boss was here. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  The two men began to make their way out of the deli and one of them turned off the light and closed the door.

  Mia then crawled along the counter until she reached its end and turned to face the back area, but couldn’t see anything from afar. She got up slowly and walked cautiously into the back room. She noticed that the men were gone as the light is off. She decided to wait a bit for the guys to at least leave the outskirts before walking out. After she thought the coast was clear, she opened the back door and exited the deli. She then walked out of the alleyway and back into the streets. As she was walking, the two men were talking in the opposite direction outside the deli. One of them took notice of Mia walking and figured she came out of the deli.

  “Rezel, look!” Kazar exclaimed.

  “Yeah, it’s a woman, so what?” Rezel asked.

  “It’s that reporter who interviewed Shaojin, Mia...Morgan, I think her name is. She didn’t walk past us or come from across the street; I think she was at the deli.”

  “You think? I didn’t see or notice anything suspicious.”

  “Well, how else can you explain the direction she’s coming from? Besides, the door was unlocked and the light was on.”

  “You wanna follow her?”

  “She’s probably going back to the Astor House Hotel. I’m staying there anyways; boss had me tail her and get a room to keep an eye on her.”

  “Oh, so that’s where you were the other day.”

  “Yeah, I do things for the boss on my own sometimes, you know, without you.”

  “Well, lets follow her and see where she goes. If it’s the hotel, then it will be all the easier to get her.”

  Rezel and Kazar began to follow Mia, but kept their minimum distance, so she wouldn’t get suspicious.”

  * * * * * *

  I returned home after shopping a bit at the market area in Huangpu district. I wanted to take a nap before going over to my parents’ house for dinner. I promised my mothe
r to come by today, given the events of the last few days, I was actually quite glad that it was Saturday. I put the bag on my bed and opened it. I didn’t get much, really. I bought myself a new sweater as it was going to be getting colder out soon and I know my mother would have told me to buy one if not buy one for me anyways. I also picked up some fruits and vegetables for my mother for dinner. I know she likes to cook with fresh ingredients, so she would be most pleased with my selection. I put everything back in the bag and placed it next to my bed. I decided that nap needed to happen, so I lay down on my bed. I closed my eyes and began to fall asleep. However, my eyes opened as soon as I heard commotion outside my door.

  I closed my eyes and tried to just ignore it, but that proved to be pointless as the commotion got louder. I normally never butt into other people’s business, but given that they were being quite loud, I decided to see if everything was alright. I opened the door, stepped out into the hallway. I noticed it was the American man who I had seen pounding on the door a few days ago. He was standing there with my neighbor, and they were both yelling at each other. Suddenly, the man swept my neighbor off the floor and slammed him against the wall. I wasn’t really sure of how to react to this, but I didn’t want my neighbor to get hurt, so I decided to intervene.

  “Is everything okay here?” I asked.

  The man looked over at me, still holding my neighbor against the wall.

  “Go back inside kid, this doesn’t concern you,” the man said.

  “Well, I live in this building and you’re causing a disturbance, not to mention you have my neighbor there up against the wall, so how about you just let him go and kindly leave?”

  “Tell you what you dumb bastard, how about after I’m done pounding your neighbor’s face here, I come over and bash your face in?”

  “Sir, I don’t want any trouble, alright? I’m sure whatever issue you have is not worth hurting this poor man. I don’t want any trouble, so please just let him go or I will call the police.”

  Suddenly the man backed up and released my neighbor who dropped to the floor. I thought I had reasoned with him, except he came running over to me and got in my face.