N0 B0DY, N0 CRIM3 | Bang Chan

Out of the pot, into the frying pan

The pair walked side by side as they headed down the white tiled hallway. The cream colored walls, with occasional black folding chairs pushed to the side, made it feel more like a hospital hallway rather than a banquet hall. The scent of lemon floor cleaner hung in the air. 

The further they walked, Han was starting to wonder if the whole thing had been a set-up. They hadn't seen anyone since the security guards. He glanced back over his shoulder to look behind him. 

"Would you stop?" Lee Know mumbled through clenched teeth. "Just play the part already, would you?" 

Han forced himself to pull his head up and relax. All he wanted to do was look down at the floor, turn around, and walk out. This wasn't a place where people like him were supposed to be. He'd rather be back in Chicago doing another minor task that Chan assigned him. He hadn't felt this nervous about an assignment going wrong in months. 

The two turned left along with the hallway and kept walking. Down the hall, two metal doors were swung, and held open by their doorstops. The further they went, the louder the voices became. Lee Know glanced down at the silver watch on his wrist. "Right on time," he muttered. 

As the two walked through the double doors, Han's brain went on autopilot. He glanced around the banquet hall and took everything in. A large wooden table, arranged with a bright red table cloth, had been set up in the middle of the room. Sparkling white plates had been sat down at each chair. 

Silverware had been neatly placed. Forks on the left of the plates followed by knives and spoons on the right. Black cloth napkins had all been placed directly beneath the forks. 

Four cemented pillars hung near the corners of the rooms preventing the roof from caving in. The floor, completely different from the hallway, was a black and white marble. In the back of the room, there was a long rectangular opening. Glancing through it, there were chefs buzzing around what seemed to be a kitchen in the back. The smell of sizzling meat wafted through the air.  

 Around the table, there were already a few different people seated. The only ones that Lee Know and Han knew were the president's family. Besides that, they'd be sitting around strangers. This worried Han whereas Lee Know enjoyed not knowing. That meant he could easily ask questions and not have to pretend that he was clueless. 

A large gasp caused Han to snap his head towards the table. A woman wearing a long black dress stood up. Sandy blonde hair fell to her shoulders. She quickly hurried towards them with her high heels clinging among the floor. 

"Hello, hello, hello!" She called out cheerily. "You must be Henry and Clyde. We are so excited to have you guys here! Oh my goodness, this is so exciting!" She held her hand out to Lee Know. "We've never met before, I'm Willie's wife, Beverly." 

"I'm Henry," Lee Know grabbed her hand and shook it. 

"And that must mean you're Clyde," she held her hand out to Han. 

He forced himself to smile and shook her hand. All he could think about was how sweaty his hands must have been. He shoved aside the thoughts and focused on the conversation at hand. 

"We're so glad you're here. We've been hearing whispers about the two of you recently, but we wanted to meet you for ourselves. I'm also a big fan of charity work. Since we're in the white house now, I've been trying to think about all the publicity we can bring to different charities. This meeting is filled with the people who run the charities I'd like to bring awareness to." 

"Really?" Lee Know's eyes widened. "You're thinking about supporting our charity?" 

She nodded, brown eyes gleaming brightly. "Of course! I've been looking into your website and your credentials. I've talked to the people you've worked with and they all seem to be so impressed by you. Willie and I wanted to meet you ourselves." She turned her head towards the table, "Willie?" She gestured her head towards the two men. 

He excused himself from the man he was talking to and came over to the two of them. "I'm glad you guys could make it." He quickly shook each of their hands. "I know this probably isn't where you're used to meeting, but I wanted to meet somewhere a little more low-key, if you know what I mean." 

"Of course, we understand. It's hard being a public figure with a large following. Now you're in the white house where you have millions of people watching your every move. Better to have a smaller location rather than have a crashed party." 

Willie chuckled and shook his head. "You can go ahead and say that again. It's already happened a few times and I hope it won't happen today. I see the two of you have already met Bev." 

Han decided it was time to stop silently standing there like a coward. "We have and she seems like a pretty wonderful woman." 

Willie nodded his head in agreement and reached down to squeeze her hand. From behind him, his wife blushed, and waved away Han's comment. He didn't have to pretend. He went ahead and let a smile grow across his face. 

"If the two of you are okay with it, we'd like to sit near you, so we can get to know you better. We've heard a lot about you, but we've never talked to you before. Bev says the two of you do a lot of traveling." 

"We do," Lee Know nodded. "There's always new places to be. Events to be held. People are always going to need help." 

Han glanced over towards the table looking at the few other people that had shown up. While he let his eyes glance across the table he wondered how Chan did it all. Henry and Clyde weren't real people and yet somehow Willie and his wife seemed to know everything about them. How did Chan manage to cover everything? 

His eyes came to a stop on a woman sitting towards the edge of the table. She huffed air onto the fork she was holding and used the napkin to buff the metal. Han ran back through his memories trying to figure out who she was. She was the only woman at the meal so far, besides Willie's wife. He watched her for a few more moments until it hit him. 

Kiera Campbell, age twenty-two, the only daughter of Beverly and Willie Campbell.