Red Light

Do you know...?

Detective Lan Wangji stood in the cold drizzle and looked down at the man's body. He couldn't have been more than twenty.

"We don't have any identification currently. We do think he was a sex worker." Lan Wangji listened to the voice of the coroner on duty, Xue Yang. He could have been discussing what he had for lunch.

Squatting down, the detective started doing what he did best - observing. There were new bruises around the victim's throat. Either the perpetrator had large hands or had shifted their hands deliberately to extend the bruising while choking the man. Purple bruises littered his body. A cut, perhaps from a ring, on the cheek he could see. Someone had beaten this young man until he probably succumbed to internal injuries. How far had he run hemorrhaging internally?

Looking up, Lan Wangji began to take note of who was watching from behind the hastily taped off crime scene. Most were in groups of two or three, whispering and pointing as if this had been arranged for their personal entertainment.

Until he saw him.  He was alone and his eyes never left the body sprawled on the asphalt. Tears stood in his eyes.

This was someone who knew the victim. Lan Wangji had no doubt. He stood and stepped towards the possible witness. There was no recognition that anyone was moving in his direction. Just a tear that was quickly wiped away.

"Excuse me." Lan Wangji flashed his badge. "I am Detective Lan Wangji. May I ask you a few questions. Do you know..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the grief and horror in the man's eyes turned to stark fear within a single blink. He just shook his head and began to back away. Hemmed in by the crowd, he couldn't back away fast enough and Lan Wangji grabbed his wrist.

"I must insist."

The man looked from his wrist to the detective and back to his wrist. Panic was written clearly on his face.

Pulling the man closer, Lan Wangji spoke low and soft. "I know you are afraid. Most likely of your pimp."

A widening of his eyes. An almost imperceptible nod. A tug again at his wrist as if proving he didn't want to talk to the police. A show for whoever he feared was watching.

"You're coming with me." The detective's voice was hard, loud and brooked no argument. He pulled trying to make it look rougher than it was.

The man pulled harder making sure there would be marks on his wrist. Lan Wangji did his part in the charade and held on. A quick shake.

"Stop it or I'll arrest you. Understand?" His voice was cold. He yanked the man forward until they were nose to nose. "Get in the fucking car." It was a growl.

Everyone had shifted their attention from the sad corpse to the new tableaux of interest. Whispers flew and Lan Wangji heard one quite clearly.

"They are taking Yiling."

The man's hair was long, falling just past his shoulders. His pulling and thrashing to give the appearance of trying to get away had spilled it across his face obscuring it.

'So, you are Yiling.' The detective didn't recognize the name but that didn't mean any thing. Surreptiously, he scanned the crowd watching for anyone concerned or angry that he was hauling Yiling to his work vehicle.

'Ahhh, there he is. The reason for the act. Wen Chao, you slimy bastard.' Lan Wangji tucked the fact away. 'How did he end up in Wen Chao's stable?'

Wen Chao was well known in police circles. He was one of the more brutal pimps. He was suspected to be heavy in human trafficking but there just wasn't enough proof to get a conviction. He was connected to the wealthy Wen family who, while not openly claiming Wen Chao, always seemed to cough up a lawyer to cover his ass any time Wen Chao was in trouble.

It wasn't a surprise that the wealthy slummed their way into this part of town with an ugly regularity. The current mayor, Jin Guangshin, was well known for fucking anything he could get his hands on. Age and gender didn't matter. Lan Wangji didn't care that he, along with the rest of the police force, had been told to keep the mayor's extra curricular activities quiet. If given a chance, he had every intention of arresting Jin Guangshin and then calling the papers. A full front page picture he had plans of framing.

Beijing didn't give a shit if most sex workers weren't involved of their own free will. As long as it wasn't thrown in the public's face and there were young bodies available for tourists in what was a well known secret.

He slung Yiling into the back of his car. "Get out of this car and you'll regret it." Terrified eyes lurked with in the hair lying across his face. The detective scratched at the side of his face to hide a wink. The eyes widened slightly. A hesitant nod. "Good."

A slam of the car door like he was pissed at having to wrestle Yiling completed the image. "You!" An imperious finger pointed at a young beat cop, Yu Bin, and crooked his finger gesturing for him to come over.

As far as he knew, Yu Bin hadn't been bought. Not yet anyway. How that much innocence was surviving as a beat cop, Lan Wangji didn't know. He trusted Yu Bin. It was that simple.

"He doesn't get out of that car! Understood?" The irate detective announced. He leaned closer. "Take good care of him, Yu Bin. He's terrified, I think, of Wen Chao."

"Of course, detective." A decisive nod. Lan Wangji nodded back and waded back into the crowd.

He chose several individuals who had shown up early for the show and put them in various squad cars to be questioned downtown. He treated all of them just like he had treated Yiling. He hoped the smoke screen he was creating would be enough to protect the terrified man from his pimp.

Returning to his car, he realized Yiling hadn't moved. Head hung low with hair wild and shoulders hunched.
So still the detective wasn't even sure he was breathing.

"Any problems?", he asked Yu Bin.

"None at all, sir." He leaned in slightly to speak in low tones. "Wen Chao took a slow walk past the car but he didn't approach." He backed up. "Anything else, sir?"

"No. Thank you for your assistance." Lan Wangji was already back into his normal persona. Quiet efficiency.

"Have a nice night, sir."

"Mn." Was the only answer.

He got into his work car. Nothing screams "Cop!" quite like a totally non-descript beige sedan. "Seat belt, please." A reminder to Yiling who fumbled at the strap.

When he heard the snik of it locking into place, Detective Lan Wangji headed for the station.

~♡~♡~♡~
While I have not researched the situation for sex workers in Beijing, they are sadly the same the world over. Do not see this as finger pointing at any location in particular. Beijing was chosen because The Untamed was produced in China.

This is inspired by both The Untamed and the music video Red Light by Stray Kids. It isn't my usual subject matter but there will be happy ending. ❤

I hope you enjoy your excursion into my story!

Here's the beginning, BozBozo! Hope you like it, WXW!!!

❤🍫🫖❤