Red Light

Birth of a Spider

Nie Huaisang pulled into the precinct listening to Zhang Zihao argue why Mei-Mei shouldn't be given the merman. Totally inappropriate for a toddler. Lin Cheung's grunt disagreed.

The inspector laughed as he walked to his office. A brief wave to Ouyang Zizhen and he was at his desk, monitors on and sipping his caramel latte.

With both his operatives fairly safe in the restaurant, he let his thoughts wander. He noticed the two pictures on his desk. The first was a picture of him with his mother and his brother, Nie Mingjue, when they were boys. A young Nie Huaisang clinging to his mother's leg and shyly smiling at the camera while the considerably older, teen aged Nie Mingjue had his arm around her shoulders. His wide smile was confident as always. Most people refused to believe they were brothers. They looked at the Inspector of Detectives, tall and muscular, and compared him with the Inspector of Undercover Operations, shorter and lean. They would shake their heads and laugh. There was no way. It worked out nicely for The Spider so he didn't mind.

The second picture was of two police officers. One was young, idealistic. The other was older, experienced but hopeful. It was taken twelve years ago.

'Has it been twelve years already, my friend?' He thought. It saddened him

He sighed. He wasn't always The Spider. Once he had just been Nie Huaisang, beat cop. He and his partner, Lu Jianmin**, spent a lot of time patrolling the red light district. Together they had handled everything from brawls, thefts, assaults, murder, drug busts, prostitution sweeps and one over achiever who was charged with public intoxication, public nudity, and causing a public disturbance while jaywalking. Why he had been dancing in the middle of the street drunk as a lord with no pants on was never known.

Lu Jianmin's wife had died three years before they became partners. He had no children so he mentored the young police officers. He had a good sense of humor, a level head on his shoulders**, and remembered being young. Add his twenty years of experience and he was the kind of mentor who could change your life.

He and Nie Huaisang got along famously. They weren't just partners during his year of mentoring. They were close friends. Nie Huaisang had revealed he was pansexual** during a very drunken evening to his personal horror. Lu Jianmin had merely patted him on the shoulder.

"It's okay, my friend. Your secret is safe with me. We'll find the right person for you!" Lu Jianmin had said with a slight slur.

He had never held it against him nor mentioned it openly again. Lu Jianmen had, however, subtly pointed out attractive individuals of both genders to Nie Huaisang's eternal embarrassment.

There was no reason to believe they wouldn't be friends for the rest of a long, well-lived life.

Until that night.

They had been chasing a perp** down an alley way. Nothing new. Nie Huaisang turned a corner. He noticed the sound first. A sudden loud noise amplified by the narrow alleyway made his ears ring. Then he felt like he had been punched in the chest. He had staggered. Surprised. And then the pain hit. He collapsed.

He remembered Lu Jianmin calling for back up and yelling "Officer down! Officer down!"

It took a bit for him to realize he was the officer that was down.

Looking up, a man was walking toward him, gun still extended. Finger still on the trigger. He was smiling. Like a child who finally got to play with a new toy.

Lu Jianmin was kneeling beside his partner desperately trying to stop the blood that was pouring out of him. Glancing at Nie Huaisang's face as he continued encouraging him to stay awake, he realized the wounded man was looking past him at something. Or someone.