THE SADDEST GIRL SINCE THE SONG DYNASTY

BATTLE OF THE LEVEL NINE CORRIDOR - PART II

Then, a sudden – excruciating – metallic scrape interrupted the verbal sparring, shocking Lady Zhao and Ander into silence. It was the retraction of a poorly oiled dead bolt, and a precursor to the door of the adjacent apartment opening. A man, a fifty year old in just boxer-shorts, stepped out holding a phone and a heavy flashlight. He asked what the time was, knowing exactly what it was, and said he was going to call the police if all the commotion continued, adding that he was one thumb twitch away from having the two dismal looking miscreants locked up for disturbing the peace. And next, like the pantomime the whole affair was turning into, the door on the other side of Lady Zhao's apartment opened, and a woman in a silk night dress came out wielding folded arms and a dreadful grimace. Their aggression was directed exclusively at Lady Zhao – the man giving reference to previous disturbances that had the common factor of being her fault.

These were reinforcements, it occurred to Ander, the cavalry riding over the hill just in time to save him, he hoped. Lady Zhao was now being assaulted on three fronts, so he decided it was time to counter-attack with his own incredulity. In broken Mandarin for the benefit of his new allies, and in a tone that said, "you may have to live next to this woman, but I have to spend time living with her," Ander began his maneuver.

"I mean, you still haven't explained why last Saturday you said it was a terrible place, this Dar-For Mountain, but by the middle of the week, you're desperate to go. Have you considered that you may be acting unreasonably, that this sudden enthusiasm looks to me, to everyone in this corridor, crazy?"

The woman in the nightdress chimed in to say that Lady Zhao was not only crazy but promiscuous. "A different man every week."

"No, Ander. I am doing this for your sake. I am being very selfless. For you and Bingbing."

At the mention of Bingbing's name, as though summoned from the underworld and presented by the opening of the elevator doors, forty-five minutes earlier than agreed, Bingbing showed up wheeling an all-crocodile suitcase. She had heard the use of her name, and she sought quickly to determine in what context it had arisen.

"I was just saying," Lady Zhao continued, "that the reason for our trip is for the good fortunes of you and Ander. And Bingbing, I told you, you should bring as little as possible, just a rucksack maybe."

Ander tutted, "Oh, please."

"We should move inside, let these two dinosaurs go back to their caves. Give me your keys, Ander."