Final Flu Shanghai by Jadling

Chapter 6

Jim put his stylish new sunglasses on and walked back to Leizu's van, almost looking the part of a billionaire playboy and most definitely feeling it. His accountant brain chimed in with some quick math on how many new thralls he had on deck. Their faces flashed vividly through his mind, each one beautifully frozen in that miraculous moment of wide-eyed realization of her sudden desperate desire for him. He remembered each of the ten new faces from the hotel lobby this morning and the five from the agency lobby this morning, the three he met on his lunch break, the three personal stylists, and just now nine more models. Thirty. Thirty! Would they all be at this party? How many did they think he could handle? He was shaking his head as he got into the van.

"What's wrong, Jim?" Xiu asked as they pulled into traffic.

"Nothing, doing great. I was just doing some mental math."

Leizu giggled, correctly guessing what he had been counting. "Don't worry Jim, you're a superhero, remember?"

Jim laughed a little, paused, and said, "Seems a little excessive though, doesn't it? Are they all coming to that party tonight? Kai-Ming just added twelve more, so that makes thirty on deck if I counted right."

"Sounds about right," Leizu agreed. "And yes, they're all coming. But that's just who you've met already."

Jim gasped, staring at her. "Wait, more than thirty tonight? That's insane. How could I possibly?"

"I don't know if you can. I wouldn't bet against you from what I've seen. But if we have too many, it's no problem, they can just come back tomorrow or Wednesday. If we have too few, we don't get the information we need."

"Wait, what? What information?"

"Your limits."

"Oh, sweet Jesus." Two moves ahead again. Efficient. Diabolical. "Leizu, you're amazing at this. Really. You're going to kill me. But before you do, I just want you to know that really, you're the smartest, most capable, most impressive person I've ever worked with. Hands down. It's truly an honor to be your victim."

"Aw, thanks Jim!" she said, her eyes sparkling at him in the rear-view mirror. She seemed genuinely touched. "It's not all me; it's a team effort. But you're right, I'm pretty much your arch-villain."

"Stop, right there!" Xiu interrupted, pointing. Leizu quickly pulled over, lowering the windows already.

"Don't pick them up, just white card them," Leizu said. "We're almost to the harbor."

"Excuse me," Xiu called out to a group of five young women, each carrying bags from various high-end shops that this street was known for. They were young rich wives, their ridiculously large diamond rings sparkling in the afternoon sun. They were all pretty, but three of them were gorgeous. Those three gasped and stared at Jim. Noticing that two of the women hadn't reacted and thinking quickly, Xiu said, "You in the blue shirt, I think you dropped this." The woman walked to them, her eyes still fixed on Jim. Her friends watched as she approached, but the two who weren't affected by Jim didn't seem suspicious. Xiu handed her three white cards and spoke quickly and quietly, "That's our contact info. Two of your friends need it too, you'll know which ones by looking at their faces. The others won't understand, so be discreet. Party tonight, hope you can make it."

The woman tucked the precious cards safely into her purse, thanked them, and returned to her friends as the van pulled back out.

"Ok," Jim said a few seconds later, returning to the previous conversation. "Why do you need to know my limits? Once you know my limits you're going to push me to my limits every night until I leave? Or until I die? Is that the plan?"

"No. Think again. Think of what happens if we recruit too many."

"Oh... Right. Wow," he said. Again, many moves ahead.