Don’t fight him. It’s not why you’re here.
I look at my toes and think of the window. My next move in this intricate game of escape.
“Kid’s back,” a guard calls from the front hall.
“Is that so?” Longwai settles back in his chair, resumes his sleepy-cat-king position. “Well, boy, we’ll see if you made the right choice, trusting that kid.”
Trust. The word buzzes funny in my head, like a hangover. I guess that is what I had to do. Trust him to come back. Trust him to spare me Longwai’s knife. We’ll see if I was right.
Even though my hoodie is thick and almost too warm, I can’t help but shiver.
JIN LING
Longwai’s brothel is a lot warmer than my tarp camp. I’m shaking anyway. The stall-keeper’s blood is gone, washed clean by the downpour. But his screams cling to my ears. Grow louder with every step I take. Longwai’s man is behind me. He’s been there ever since I ran from the market.
I hug the brick of drugs to my chest. The same way I hold Chma when the nights dip into cold. Shiver, shake, scream. The hallway stretches on and on. Door after door after door. But finally I reach the end: Longwai’s couch. The leader of the Brotherhood opens his bloodshot eyes. They narrow at the package in my arms. My failure.
I never should’ve taken this job.
Dai’s on the edge of his couch. The confident, smirking mask he wore in my alley is gone. There’s a green tinge to his face. Sprouting like moss. He looks as sick as I feel.
I shouldn’t worry about him. I can’t. But the weight of his life keeps crushing. Pressing into my ribs and lungs. Reminds me that I still have a heart.
I can stab a man, but I can’t let one die. Not on my watch.
“Problem?” Longwai growls.
My mouth is as dry as a field in a drought. It takes me a few tries to form the right words. “I–I wasn’t able to finish the trade, s-sir. I found the man who sold the jade carvings. I delivered the package, just like you told me to.”
“And?” His question is severe. Chilling. It takes every piece of my courage to keep talking.
“He didn’t want to give me the money. He said he would pay later. He told me you would understand.”
“And you didn’t believe him?”
I shake my head. What if the jade dealer really is one of Longwai’s close friends? The molding orange half I ate before I came twists in my stomach. All citrus and churn.
Longwai points at the block in my damp hands. “So you took back the package? Just like that?”
“He tried to stop me and I stabbed him. Then I ran.”
Dai’s breath pulls fast into his body. A sharp noise. His left foot bounces on the floor. A nervous beat. Tapping at the same speed as my heart.
“Is this true?” Longwai isn’t talking to me. Instead, his very dark eyes drift over me. Behind me.
The man in black — my temporary shadow — shrugs. “He squealed like a stuck pig.”
The leader of the Brotherhood laughs so hard his whole body shakes. The red dragon on his sleeve shivers, as if it’s about to burst into flame. He laughs and I know the stories are true. All of them.
When the noise dies, I realize the room is completely silent. The girl in the corner has stopped plucking her stringed instrument. Dai’s foot is flat on the rug.
“I wish I’d been there to see it.” Longwai wipes the corner of his eye. “Bring me the package.”
I hold the brick as far away from me as possible. He takes the block and studies it for a minute.
“All there,” he says. “I’m not surprised this happened. He was a new client. He’s given others trouble before.”
Stale breath stutters out of my lungs. I look over at Dai, expecting the older boy to be happy. Or at least not so green.
“It was a setup, then?” Dai’s voice is cool, but his foot is tapping again. Faster than ever.
“More or less.” Longwai shrugs, unconcerned. “I’ve been looking for some good street boys. Runners I can trust aren’t easy to come by.
“But you’ve proven yourself today. How would you feel about becoming my personal runner for my more… discreet jobs? I pay well. Both you and your friend here will get a cut. He’ll need to stay here during the runs. As continued insurance, you understand.”
It’s strange, almost eerie, that Longwai thinks human collateral will work. That he thinks we’re capable of trusting each other. I wonder if he would’ve done the same with other vagrants, or if he looked at me with those black scalpel eyes and cut straight to my weakness. My need to protect.
I say nothing. The third rule burns in my calves. All I want to do is run. Far, far away from this place of stinking smoke, filthy money, and fear.
A sharp snap fills the air — Longwai’s fingers striking together. “More wine! And a light!” he calls over his shoulder.
I’m about to tell him no when a woman edges into the room. Wait. Not a woman. A girl dressed in women’s clothing. Her face is caked in makeup. Just like the girl in the alley. The sight of her — tight red serving dress, tray balanced perfectly in her hands — chokes off my answer. I remember why I’m here.
This girl. I know her. She’s from my province. From the farm four li west of ours. Her name was — is Yin Yu. I saw her face in the back of the van that took Mei Yee away. She was taken the same night.
“Have a fancy for flesh?” Longwai laughs as more wine is poured into his cup. It smells disgusting. Like alcohol and sappy, sweet plums. “Got plenty of that around here. If you’re willing to pay.”
I shake my head. The girl — Yin Yu — walks away. Her silk dress flashes red before it disappears back into the shadows.
If Yin Yu is here, Mei Yee could be, too. It’s not much to hold on to. It’s nothing at all, really. But right now, it’s all I have.
I have to accept Longwai’s offer. I have to keep looking.
“Yes.” I say the word with dry lips, knowing I can never take it back. “I’ll be your runner if Dai wants to sit.”
If he’s willing to risk his life every time I go out into the streets. If he thinks he can actually trust me. “I’ll sit.”
Apparently he is. He does.
Longwai doesn’t even smile. He takes a long drink of wine. Some of it spills onto his hand. The trailing, deep red streams remind me of the jade dealer’s blood. “Come back at sunset tomorrow. I’ll have another job for you then. My man will give you your payment at the door,” he continues with a wave of his free hand. A sign for us to go.
We follow Longwai’s man to the entrance, where he hands us an orange envelope. Stuffed full of cash. All the doors along the hallway are still closed when we pass. I can’t help but wonder if my sister is behind one of them. Waiting.
MEI YEE
There’s a single window in my room. It’s a strange gap, the only one in the whole building. Six cinder blocks forgotten by the construction workers — filled in with afterthoughts of metal bars and glass. It hides behind a bright scarlet cloth, blocking my view of the outside. There isn’t much to see there. It isn’t even a proper alleyway — just a gap between buildings used by street children and cats. The ghost lights that shine from the main street don’t make much of a difference here… only enough to see forgotten piles of trash.
It’s a disgusting sight — all gray and rot. I never understood why Sing loved it so much. During the early-morning hours, when our clients were elsewhere, she sat on my bed, shoved the red curtain aside, and stared through the metal lattice. There was always a glaze in her eyes that made me wonder if she was really seeing the view in front of her.