[CHEN BOHEI]
There was a gentle rap against the door of Chen Bohei's office. His gala had ended hours ago, but he had yet to head to his private room for rest. His assistant had dutifully remained as well; he shadowed his master's behavior as he always had. Chen looked up from the grand and expensive desk as the door to his office opened. His assistant paused in the doorway to bow from the waist before speaking. "Your guest has arrived, sir."
Chen nodded. It may have been between the hours of two and three in the morning, and perhaps his guest was under the impression he would be caught off guard by the visit, but Chen Bohei was expectant. The people of China did not call him Quánzhī for nothing.
His assistant disappeared from the doorway and left the door open behind him. A few seconds later a different, larger form filled the door's frame. Rather than the usually graceful and distinguished features of his assistant, there stood the squatter, harsher face of a man on a mission. He was unsteady as he entered the room, yet he had enough wits about him to pause in front of Chen Bohei's desk to bow in respect. His bow was not as deep as Chen was usually given, and that fact did not evade hisnotice. "Master Chen," the man greeted.
Chen did not respond right away. He was silent as he considered the brutish man before him. Then he stood, the action surprisingly smooth for a man of his age. "Wang Hong," Chen answered by way of greeting. "Your choice of visiting hours would make even the most naïve man suspicious."
Wang Hong's attempt at a smile came off as a grimace. That did not stop Chen from noting the apparent glee in the larger man's eyes. "I have a proposition for you, Master."
Chen responded to this with a wave toward the chair that was across from his desk.
Wang waited until his elder had returned to his seat before he sat in the indicated chair. It was impossible to ignore how giddy he was, how he seemed near to bursting with thrill; an odd display for a man so large and intimidating in appearance as he. No sooner had he sat in the chair than did he continue: "There is a girl, a Firebird, who holds a great secret." He paused, presumably for dramatic effect.
Chen hummed, his eyes narrowed on Wang. "You do not seem yourself."
Wang's sigh of frustration was poorly concealed. A dark and vicious anger passed over his face. "I was in a fight earlier. I got hit in the head."
Chen responded by arching his brows in silent intrigue.
"But that isn't what I'm here about!" Wang rushed to say. "This Firebird, her secret, it is the likes of which could remove Jin Tè from power. The Triad could come under new leadership. Better leadership." He leaned forward. "So for you, sir, I have a proposition."
Chen allowed silence to stretch between them for a near uncomfortable length of time. He picked up his cellphone off his desk and directed his attention to it for a few seconds as he typed out a message before he put the phone face down on the desk once more. Only then did he give Wang Hong his full, undivided, unemotional attention, his hands clasped neatly together. "I'm listening."
--
[MAX]
Dusk had fallen upon Beijing, and the streets were bathed in hues of pink and orange, with purple beginning its creeping descent above it all. Shadows stretched long in the streets where buildings stood tallest, casting chilled darkness across the streets as the three of us walked. Every once in a while the setting sun would cut through the cracks in between the buildings, sending blinding rays of light staggering across our silhouettes.
We gradually approached one of the more sprawled parts of the outskirts of the city. The further we went, the more the crowds thinned. The buildings got shorter, almost like stairs, each one we passed giving way to its smaller neighbor. Here, not all of the buildings were jam-packed with businesses and storefronts. Entire floors were empty, and FOR SALE and FOR RENT signs were plastered across doors and windows. It wasn't exactly a pretty part of town — so far as I remembered, it was considered run down, even abandoned.
