The Poisoned Pen: A Guardian Story

Chapter Nineteen: The Close Call

Shen Wei was in a world of trouble.  He had been almost on top of the shadowy figures before he had realised that the shape on the ground was actually just a clump of dead leaves and branches.  As he looked up in confusion, he had not had a moment to call out or question the situation before an arm was around his waist and a hand clamped over his mouth, and someone began to drag him away, further into the darkness.

Even as recently as a couple of weeks ago, he probably would have panicked to the point that he was incapable of doing anything other than just letting himself be taken.  However, a week of self-defence lessons with Zhao Yunlan had made a difference.  While he was not in a position to fight back with any degree of aptitude, what he was able to do was calm his mind for an instant and consider his options.

His assailant was strong.  He would not be able to prise the man's hold away by dividing his strength.  Consequently, he focussed all of his attention on the hand covering his mouth.  Reaching up with both arms, he grabbed the wrist of his attacker and twisted the skin in what would no doubt feel like a painful burn.  Immediately the grip across his face relaxed for an instant, and he was able to shout out one word.  But it was not 'help'.

"Yunlan!"

Zhao Yunlan would know that voice anywhere, even as laced with fear and desperation as it was.  He swallowed down his own terror, turned immediately in the direction of the sound, and began to run.

In the meantime, Shen Wei was doing everything he could to make as much noise as possible, kicking at the dead leaves and branches on the grassy floor of the park and grappling with his would-be abductor.  It was not much, but he hoped it was enough.

With no exact destination to head for, the private detective closed his eyes and focussed on picking out the individual sounds around him.  He filtered out all of the clinking and bustle of the party behind, and instead homed in on the sounds emanating from the darkness of the park ahead.  Diagonally to his right, leaves were rustling furiously, but there was no wind.  It was suspicious enough to prove decisive, and he set off in that direction without another thought.

Seconds later, his hunch paid off, and he came upon the sight of the author confined in the tight clutches of a man in a dark coat with a cap pulled low over his eyes.  Once he had established that there was no weapon involved, he launched himself into the fray.

When the wiry frame of Zhao Yunlan appeared in front of him, Shen Wei almost sagged with relief.  He knew that his ordeal was not over, but surely two against one yielded decent odds.  He dug in his heels and prepared for a bitter struggle, but to his surprise, it was not to be.  The hands that had been holding on to him so insistently released their grasp, even before the form of his assistant could barrel in and force them apart.  Still, they lingered just long enough to wind their way around his throat and give a brief, but intense squeeze, leaving him gasping desperately for breath.

As the assailant released Shen Wei and stepped back, Zhao Yunlan almost missed him.  In the end, they made the slightest connection as the detective's shoulder made contact with a collarbone.  It was enough to send the other man spinning, but he used the momentum to slink back into the darkness, and the punch that had been aimed at his head met with nothing but air.  Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Yunlan drew his weapon and aimed it at the last place he had seen the attacker, but the light was too poor, and he knew that if he fired now, it would only bring unwanted attention at a minimum, and hit an innocent bystander at worst.

For a moment, he considered following the man into the night, but then he looked to the side and saw Shen Wei standing hunched over, his hands on his knees as he struggled to breathe.  Making his choice, he holstered his gun, hurried to his employer's side, and placed a hand on his back.