Batter My Heart,Mr Xi (Book 2)

Chapter XXXI

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The emergency call had come at the worst possible time.

Xi Jinwei sat in the back of his Maybach, his expression pleasant and relaxed as he scrolled through his tablet. To anyone watching, he might have been reviewing quarterly reports or answering routine emails. In reality, he was reading a detailed account of how a man with code name Viktor had been extracted from a Bangkok hotel three hours ago and also worked for Fu Tuying.

The Maybach pulled into an underground garage beneath one of the Xi Corporation's lesser-known properties—a mid-rise building in the business district that housed a legitimate accounting firm on floors three through eight. The first two floors and the basement were never discussed in official records.

Xi Jinwei straightened his tie and ensured his smile was perfectly calibrated—warm enough to seem genuine, sharp enough to remind people he wasn't to be underestimated. It was an expression he'd been taught and perfected over years of board meetings and family dinners where every word was a calculated move.

The elevator descended smoothly. Soft jazz played through hidden speakers, a touch of normalcy that made the destination's purpose all the more unsettling.

A man was waiting in the corridor—unremarkable in every way that mattered. Average height, average build, wearing a plain gray suit that could have been purchased at any department store. His face was the kind that slipped from memory the moment you looked away. Brown hair, brown eyes, no distinguishing features.

Only his posture gave him away—the economical stillness of someone who'd spent years learning to be invisible.

"Mr. Xi." The man's voice carried traces of an accent that was hard to place. Eastern European, perhaps, or something more carefully constructed.

"Freiz." Xi Jinwei's smiled. "It's been too long since we last saw each other."

"Three months." Freiz fell into step beside him, his movements utterly ordinary. "Kuala Lumpur, if I recall correctly."

"Ah yes. That was your contingency plan that sealed the deal, wasn't it?" Xi Jinwei chuckled. "Their CEO became remarkably cooperative after that unfortunate leak about his offshore accounts."

"Unfortunate indeed." Freiz's expression never changed. "Though I understand he's enjoying his retirement in Bangkok now."

Freiz was a man who Jinwei met when he was doing his training as Xi Successor in Moscow. An unlikely alliance from a foreign group had its perks. He was a man on the run from a group he used to be a core member in because he was too smart for his own good and seen as threat. But for people like these, they were an asset if you treated them well. They had the necessary connections and knowledge.

Freiz in an attempt to get his revenge on the group who discarded him agreed to assist Jinwei in his endeavours if the necessary resources where given to him to exact the said revenge and also start a new life away from Russia so he'd never set foot there again.

They reached a reinforced door that looked like every other door in the corridor. Inside, the room was surprisingly comfortable—carpeted, well-lit, with the kind of furniture one might find in a decent hotel conference room. Nothing threatening about it at all.

Until you noticed the man zip-tied to the chair in the center, and Django huddled in the corner looking like he'd seen his own death.

"Ah, Viktor!" Xi Jinwei's tone was warm, almost delighted, as if greeting an old friend. "I'm so glad we could arrange this meeting. I hope the accommodations during your journey were satisfactory?"