Red Light

Bits and Pieces

Gao Muchen looked at his little sister. She stood defiant but with tears in her eyes. They wanted them to sleep in separate dorms. It made sense for the shelter to have a dorm for boys and a dorm for girls but this was different. They were siblings.

"I won't. " It was sheer defiance. Gao Yuxi turned to her brother wiping angrily at her eyes. "Can we leave? I don't want to be here."

He picked up his backpack and put an arm around her shoulders.

"There are other places. No problem, little sister." he looked Wen Mao. "Thanks for the meal."

Charlie listened to the calculated gamble. If Zizhen and Xin Di were separated, they were more vulnerable. A brief smile. They might look like defenseless teens but they were experienced officers and damn good ones at that.

"Look, we can set up a pair of cots in a corner of the dining hall. Would that work? Nobody wants you two out on the streets. It's not safe." Wen Mao said. He didn't want the profit these two would bring walking out of his door.

The siblings looked at each other. They whispered together for a few moments before they seemed to strike an agreement.

Muchen nodded at Wen Mao. "For tonight, at least."

It didn't take long for two cots with bedding to be set up in the far corner of the dining hall.

"There are even two plug ins to charge your phones. You can listen to music." he gave a charming smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Softly of course!"

"We'll be quiet." Gao Muchen said. He looked intimidated and tired. Gao Yuxi didn't look intimidated but she looked tired as well.

"Perfect." Again the saccharine smile**. "Good night. Sleep well!"

Gao Yuxi spoke softly to her brother. "He's a big creep. I don't like him, Muchen. His eyes don't smile."

"I know. Come on, let's put the cots side-by-side. Safer that way."

Wen Mao watched from a distance as the two shifted the cots around. He'd wait a few hours and chloroform them while they slept. In no time, they'd be trussed up like chickens.

He rubbed his chin. Gao Yuxi was beautiful and just the right age. He liked breaking in new stock. The only question was would the pleasure be worth more than the profit?

He smiled as he walked away.

------

Jiang Cheng was so fucking done with this god-awful day he was about to explode. What had happened to Wei Ying. What his mother had done. Selling people. Selling his brother. Resisting arrest. Her project. That asshole extorting sex out of Dr. Yu Qing just so he would do his actual job. Now mayors attacking their own sons and letting goons haul them off?

He growled as he pounded after the two body guards.

'Why didn't they split up? At least one of them would probably get away if they did.' he thought. That's when it hit him. 'Fucking decoys.'

He grabbed his radio. "Keep an eye out for Jin Guangshan. Hold on to him any way you can." There was a spat of mixed calls, partial messages and exclamations of surprise.

"Yes! I mean the Mayor!" Jiang Cheng yelled cutting through all the chatter. "Find him!"

He could hear the three officers not far behind him. Two to one were good odds for the officers. He also knew he was exhausted. His reserves were almost gone. How much help he'd be in a fight he didn't know.