Crimson Instinct

*Xin Lei*

I felt sweat trickle down my forehead.

Chu Jie…He was that teenage boy!?

Cocoa was nudging his head against my thigh.

Bai Li asked, "What happened? I sense Cocoa is restless."

I shook his arm hard.

"What?"

Bai Li also looked alert.

Damn, how will I tell him! My phone is not with me!

I felt I would go crazy. I saw that boy twice! We could have saved him!

"Xin Lei?"

I let out a deep breath.

Okay, this is not the time to panic. How should I tell this to Bai Li? I don't have my phone. So what are the other methods?

Well, there were a few.

There was tracking. Bai Li would lightly place his hands on my wrists to help him track the signs as I move around in space. But the downside was that it can only be used if the person still retained a limited field of vision.

So that was out.

Then there was tactile sign language that is read by touch, and words were spelled out manually. This was the method with which Anne Sullivan used to communicate with Helen Kellar. The most popular form is American Sign Language or ASL, where words or letters were represented using hands, also known as fingerspelling.

I sometimes used ASL for communicating with others if in case I didn't have my phone. But since others could see me, they don't need to touch me, whereas Bai Li would have to.

There was a tracing or print-on-palm method where I would write letters on his palm or his body. I had done that before.

Braille signing was one method, but I wasn't familiar with it. So that was out as well.

There were also others like the Tadoma method. He would put his hand on my throat and on my lips to understand the vibrations as I speak.

And then there was lip-reading almost similar to the Tadoma method.

Bai Li said, "It's fine if you got no phone. I understand sign language."

I snapped out.

"Well, when I got blind, I learned all forms of communication as much as possible."

I wrote on his palm. "ASL?"

"I know that."

That was great. I took his hand in mine and started moving his palm and fingers.

C - Palm forward, thumb bent out.

h - Palm in, index and middle finger stretched out sideways.

u - Hand straight up, palm in and index and middle finger stretched up.

Then I paused.

J - Slightly tilt hand, palm in, only little finger stretched out.

i - Same as J but hand is straight.

e - Four fingers on the thumb like a claw.

Bai Li said, "Chu Jie."

S - Make a fist, thumb on top of fingers.

a - Make fist, thumb stretched sideways.

m - Surround thumb with four fingers.

e - Four fingers on the thumb like a claw.

B - Palm open, thumb touching base of the little finger.

o - Four fingers and thumb make o, opposite to body.

y - middle three fingers in, thumb and little finger stretched out.

M - Surround thumb with four fingers.

C - Palm forward, thumb bent out.

D - Index finger out.

Bai Li asked, "Chu Jie is the same boy you saw outside MC'D? The one who was waiting for his date?"

Similarly, I signed other letters with his hand as well. We decided that I tap once on his hand if yes and twice if no.

I tapped once.

H-e, w-a-s, o-u-t-s-i-d-e, h-o-t-p-o-t, p-l-a-c-e, t-o-o

Bai Li looked surprised.

"What was he doing there?"

M-e-t, a, g-i-r-l.

"Wait. The same bus stop?"

Y-e-s.

Bai Li said, "Damn! If he is the target, then she wasn't his date. Just like how that man picked up Liao Chuntao, that girl must be a trap too."

I said nothing. I felt guilty for not saying it to Bai Li in the hotpot restaurant.

I am so stupid…

Slowly, Bai Li leaned forward and pulled me in his embrace. I was surprised for a moment. I couldn't help but rest my forehead on his chest.

"Hey…" his voice was so soft and gentle. I felt as if it would wash away all of my guilt and worries. "why does my palm feel wet?"

Through my blurred vision, I saw the teardrops on his hands.

"Xin Lei. It's not your fault. Stop blaming yourself. It wouldn't have struck me at that moment either even if you had told me about it."

Liar. Bai Li would have surely noticed something.

Oh God, now I felt like crying even more.

Bai rubbed my back and tightened his embrace. "Okay, you are crying more than before. I am clearly not good at this."

"Arf!"

Cocoa suddenly jumped on my lap and started licking my tears.

"See? Even Cocoa agrees with me. Trust me, Xin Lei. It's not your fault. And we can still save him. It's not a lost cause. Now is the time to take action as soon as possible."

I sniffled and wiped my tears.

That was right. We couldn't waste more time. I tapped once.

Bai Li smiled. "Now that's the Xin Lei I know. We need to get out of here."

Somebody knocked on the door.

It was one other soldier, not Sergeant Qian.

"General Song wants to meet you. I am here to take you to him."

Bai Li said, "How about you say to the General that we catch up later, and you let us go for now?"

"We cannot do that, sir."

We had no choice but to follow him.

We entered the General's cabin. There was a big desk at the center with a globe miniature model on one side and some stacks of papers on the other side. There was a bookshelf at the far end corner with stacks of books neatly piled in them. There were two Chinese flags hung on the wall behind his chair on the left and right.

"Arf! Arf!"

Cocoa was barking a lot since we came here.

General Song sighed. "Have a seat, both of you."

I took a seat on the left. Cocoa stood alert on my side. "Grr…."

"Cocoa."

Bai Li called out his name, and Cocoa quietened down. He didn't bother to hide at all how grudgingly he was tolerating all this. "Such a nice escort."

"So, impatient, Bai Li."

Bai Li cut to the chase. "How long are you going to keep us here?"

"Depends on what you are going to do next."

General Song alternated his gaze between both of us. He slightly narrowed his eyes. "What's in it for you? For Xin Lei's father, she can take the help of the cops. Why are you investigating on your own?"

The cops weren't trustworthy. But we said nothing.

"We were just freely exploring places."

"Dongcheng police headquarters and Gen Gen's base comes under freely exploring?"

"We were going to complain Xin Nianzu but coincidentally met Fu Ting, and so we just chatted a bit as fellow citizens of the country. But then we couldn't lodge it because of a bizarre occurrence like a stranger planting evidence in her pocket to trap us. And Gen Gen started the whole thing by sending his friends after us. So we just visited him."

"Is that your story?"

"That's the truth."

"And then you ran away?"

"Nobody likes jail."

General Song paused. "Are you two together?"

I raised my brow.

He said, "That is irrelevant. If you think I'm here because it's all personal for me, then you are partially wrong."

"What is the full correct answer, then?"

"Apparently, while on our exploration, we came to know that I can find a certain old enemy of mine if we continue this journey."

"Rodey."

"Whatever you think."

"You want to settle scores?"

"I didn't give fourteen years to the country to leave with a stain on my uniform."

"We are investigating."

"How far have you reached?" Bai Li asked back.

Silence.

General Song asked. "Bai Li, you have caused enough trouble. Our reputation is already at stake."

"And that is not because of me. Kindly let us leave. You may not like me very much, and the feeling is mutual, but even you know, General, that I didn't do it. No point in keeping us here."

He was quiet for some time.

"Alright, I will let you go, but only on one condition."