Red Light

A Moment of Calm

"A'Sang? Who is Lu Jianmin?"

Nie Huaisang turned and looked at Yu Bin thoughtfully.

"He was my partner and a dear friend." His voice was reserved, respectful, sad. "He was murdered trying to save me."

"I'm so sorry, Huaisang." Yu Bin didn't know what he was expecting him to say but that was definitely not it. He gestured for Nie Huaisang to come closer. The fatigue was visible in the lines of his face.

"Come sit." He patted the edge of his bed. "We can rest together."

He didn't know how long ago Lu Jianmin had been murdered but there was a lingering grief and pain in Nie Huaisang's eyes. It didn't matter that others were in the room. What mattered was A'Sang needed comforting.

Seating himself on the edge of the bed, Nie Huaisang gave Yu Bin a small smile. "I think you would have liked Lu Jianmin. He had a wonderful sense of humor and he loved his job. Like you, he believed police were supposed to help, not just catch criminals." Absentmindedly, he drew circles on the back of Yu Bin's hand.

"He sounds like a good man." Yu Bin answered softly.

"He was. He really was." Nie Huaisang yawned behind his fan. "Excuse me."

Yu Bin squeezed his hand. "You need to sleep."

"I will soon. A nap sounds really good."

As if on cue, his phone rang.

"Wei?"

"We got five search warrants, Di-di. Any last instructions?"

Nie Huaisang sat up straight, suddenly alert.

"If there are crumbs on his kitchen counter, I want them photographed, tagged and bagged. We only have one shot at this, Ge-ge. Make sure they take anything that is electronic. Computers, phones, storage, thumb drives, disks - literally all of it. Watch for photographs. Blackmail has been a past MO. If it seems fishy, tell the cops to trust their instincts and take it. If it's nothing it can be returned but if it's something, it could be the difference between getting this fucker and him walking again." All his previous signs of fatigue had disappeared. He had waited for years for this chance. "Profiling says Wen Chao would want to keep important things close to him so make sure you go through his bedroom and office carefully. I think there's going to be things in there that may be pretty horrifying so don't give the job to a rookie. They won't be hard enough to deal with it yet. And call me if you find anything especially note worthy."

The Spider was giving instructions like a general to his best commander.

Nie Mingjue laughed. "Anything else, brother? Caramel latte?"

Nie Huaisang laughed back. "Maybe later, brother. Don't worry about bringing my things. I'll get them myself. This is more important."

"Agreed. I'll let you know when we begin."

"I'll be waiting for your call."

Nie Huaisang's smile was delighted and rather wicked as he hung up. "We got the search warrants. Not many but I believe they will be enough."

The three other cops in the room had been paying attention to what they could hear of the conversation. With the evidence Wei Ying, Wei Yuan and Yu Bin could bring to bear, they already had a good chance of a conviction. Any additional evidence would be just frosting on the cake. Providing, of course, they could get past the gauntlet of the Judicial Branch and its corruption.

It was no secret. Justice went to the highest bidder on the whole. A few years ago, however, someone had begun exposing the most corrupt of the judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys. Watching Nie Huaisang's vindictive smile, all three of them had a good idea who might have been responsible.