MAX: JIN IS ON HER WAY TO PICK UP WANG NOW.
MAX: SHE WAS SURPRISED WHEN I TOLD HER CHEN HAD HIM.
MAX: BUT LIKE YOU POINTED OUT, SHE HAS KNOWN CHEN FOR ALMOST HER WHOLE LIFE.
MAX: SO SHE DIDN'T SEEM TO MIND HIS INVOLVEMENT.
REZNOR: I'LL LET CHEN KNOW SHE'S HEADED HIS WAY.
REZNOR: GOT AN ETA I CAN GIVE AZ?
MAX: CALL IT 30.
--
[MAX]
"I should have known," Phoenix said as Dylan signaled a shadowy figure who popped up on a nearby roof, "that the Fugazis would've been nearby."
"Yeah, you should've," I agreed with a slight smirk.
The Fugazis were Dylan's mercenary team, and while I had initially only asked for Dylan's help for this assignment, it was an unspoken fact that his guys would be on call in case any backup was needed. It just so happened that for this sitution, backup was needed, and while no shots were fired, their presences in tonight's situation had been invaluable.
"They're not going to come out and say hi?" Danny asked with a glance to his brother.
Dylan shook his head. "We've got transport arranged and waiting for us. It's too conspicuous if such a big group of us heads that way together, so I gave orders that they were to head out as soon as Jin Té and her people were gone."
"We're leaving that quickly?" Phoenix asked, her brows furrowed.
"Getting you out of the country is priority, Nix," I told her. "Jin Té may have agreed to stop using the Triad to hunt you down, but that doesn't automatically make China a safe place for you to be."
Phoenix mulled that over for a moment. The space between her brows creased and her lips pursed slightly. It didn't take her long to catch on to my line of thought, and when she looked back up at me I could only barely make out the colorful part of her eyes in the scattered light of the now dark clearing. "The other gangs," she realized aloud. "And all those other people that tried to contact me."
"Yes, I'm afraid for the moment you're a hot commodity," I said. I reached up and rubbed at my temples with the pads of my fingers in an effort to ward off an incoming headache. I probably needed caffeine, but that was going to have to wait a little longer. "So I need you—" I gave Dylan a particularly pointed look, "—to take her with you."
Dylan and Danny exchanged a quick glance, no doubt utilizing their twin telepathy, before they turned back to me. Danny looked more confused than Dylan.
"You're not coming with us," Dylan inferred slowly. The look on his face more than suggested he was not thrilled by that.
I shook my head. "My face has been seen by upward of a dozen cameras since we landed. Interpol's probably on their way to Beijing right now. And like you said, the more people that travel together, the more complications there are."
Understanding dawned on the other two.
Dylan continued to look displeased with my decision, but he kept his thoughts to himself.
"She doesn't want all of us to get caught together," Phoenix said. She looked at me instead of them. "Right, Max?"
I nodded mutely. She was right. This wasn't just about getting caught. I'd gotten out of different capturing attempts more times than I could count. The problem was that I'd just thrown caution to the wind in such a way that intelligence agencies hand't seen from me in years. Not to mention the fact that I'd been off-grid for the better part of six months up to this point.
Traveling on my own would make for an easier escape for me, yes, but it would also guarantee that they wouldn't be seen with me. Right now, the file that the intelligence agencies had on me held only speculation about my relationships — speculation which couldn't be proven by a few lousy security videos without a shadow of a doubt. It was information enough to cause Interpol to come looking for me, sure. But when it came to my close associates, Interpol would have to catch me redhanded, as it were, in order to solidify those connections, and so far they hadn't.
I wanted to keep it that way.
"Besides," I said, "it's better this way. I have other business that I need to attend to." Other business which had come to my attention when it had been my shift to stay awake at the hotel. Other business that would perhaps allow me to fall back off the grid and out of the limelight for a while.
Other business that made me suspicious about the bigger picture. Yet I couldn't allow mounting suspicions to keep me visible. Part of why I wasn't imprisoned was because I was skilled at evasion.
Which in turn was part of why Dylan was on me about communication.
"Oh? Anything interesting?" Phoenix asked.
I shrugged. My headache grew with each passing word, and I struggled to keep my tone conversational. "Some illegal gun smuggling and dealing. Possible involvement of a greedy billionaire who's on the FBI's watchlist." And, admittedly, I expected something more was going on than met the eye. But I thought perhaps it could be handled from the shadows.
"All right, so the guys and I will take Phoenix," Dylan said with a glance over at Danny. He gave a one shouldered shrug. "And you, I guess."
Danny rolled his eyes. "Thanks, bro, your inclusiveness is flattering."
"No problem." Dylan gave an amused smirk.
"How are you getting out of China?" Danny asked me. His thick brows arched high on his forehead.
I gave him a what in the world do you think? look, visibly unimpressed.
Danny and Dylan exchanged another short look before: "Alexei."
"Aww!" Phoenix whined immediately after their little stunt. She clapped her hands together, and a pout caused her lower lip to jut out. Her eyes automatically took on a puppy-like quality even in the darkness. "I haven't seen Alexei in so long! Are you sure I can't—"
"I'm sure," I insisted, a little sharper than I intended. The headache threatened to start pounding at any moment instead of lurking.
Phoenix gave a heavy sigh, frown still in place as she now wrung her hands together before her. She gave no indication that my tone had been offensive, which wasn't really surprising. She recognized the signs of an oncoming headache in me almost better than I did myself. Somewhere along the way of our friendship, she'd stopped taking any of my headache induced grumping personally. "Well, will you at least tell him I say hi? And that I also say hi to Svetlana?"
"Yes," I agreed on an exhale.
"Good!" Phoenix chirped. She flashed me a dazzling smile which, under other circumstances, would've caused me to smile back.
As it was I tried to force a smile which I could feel came off as something between a smirk and a grimace. I let that expression drop quickly and turned back to the boys. "I've got to go," I said. I looked between the two of them carefully.
When Danny and I made eye contact he gave me one of his smaller and sweeter smiles. "I'm sure I'll see you soon," he said in a tone that hinted at reassurance.
"Why, are you planning on getting in trouble?" I asked.
Dylan chuckled at my retort and only seemed further amused by the exasperated expression his twin wore. "Nah," he answered for Danny. "See, we like to imagine that sometimes, you actually miss us."
I hummed at that, and a small but genuine smile pulled at the corners of my mouth. "Whatever helps you sleep at night." I turned back to Phoenix before either of them could retort. "I'll be in touch."
Phoenix nodded, and the last I saw of her she wrapped her arms around herself and turned toward the twins. The twins watched me depart, Danny with an encouraging smile that danced across his lips, Dylan with calm reassurance in his eyes. That was the last I allowed myself to see of them before I turned and left. I didn't quite catch any of their conversation as I headed out of the clearing, but I knew if I had looked back, I would've seen each of them watching me go.
So I didn't look back.
