Crimson Instinct

*Bai Li*

I heard the loud smashing and thrashing and breaking of the car. I could sense how badly they must be destroying it.

Damn, there, we lost our ride!

The wind carried the faint smell of petrol up my nostrils that said the gas was leaking out from the car, and it was now really out of order.

On top of that, we were stuck with the younger sister. And she was reckless.

I said that with utter surety seeing how she jumped in to investigate Liao Chuntao's case without having the faintest idea of the danger she was getting into.

And then she had held Xin Lei hostage. I didn't know what to get angry about. The fact that I was stupid to let Xin Lei approach a stranger or Liao Huifang, whose one slight movement by mistake could have caused irreparable damage.

I let my anxiousness overwhelm me, and the pitch blackness surrounding me made me feel useless. And I mustn't because enemies were only looking for weaknesses. One slip up, and you were as good as dead.

Once again, I felt helpless. Xin Lei was hostage, yet I couldn't think of how to save her. My mind was blank, yet muddled with thousands of thoughts at the same time.

How should I talk to the woman? How should I negotiate? What if she was psychotic? What if my talking only worsened the situation for Xin Lei?

Why! Why, why why was I always so useless whenever it concerned Xin Lei!

It was the same as the day outside the pub.

Nothing changed.

Thankfully it was Liao Huifang. What if it was a real enemy?

I questioned myself.

Was I really...right for Xin Lei? I always failed to protect her. How could I forgive myself if something happened to her because of me?

No, focus Bai Li!

There is Fu Meili. There is Chu Jie, whose fates were unknown. There were Liao Chuntao and those countless other victims that need answers.

I cannot get so weak at this stage.

Then I felt Xin Lei's warm fingers intertwining with mine. She firmly pressed her palm, and her soft touch calmed me.

Damn, did I show the thoughts on my face? Was I looking anxious again?

How was Xin Lei looking at me? Questioningly? Worried?

She might be wanting to ask me, but we were in a tight spot. I smiled. "Nothing. I am fine."

I hoped that did the trick.

The men continued to beat the car. I guess it was completely unusable now, hell it would be irreparable!

The man, who I presumed to be the leader said,

"You are the ones who are giving us such a headache. Now just like the car, it's time for you all to go to hell."

Yeah, not so soon, though. Sorry to burst your bubble.

I had led many investigations in the past like drug dealing, black market, illegal prostitution rackets, weapons dealing, and much more.

I remembered one particular case.

There was a gang selling little girls out of the country for the sex trade. Sergeant Qian Shihong was assisting me in cracking their base.

Unfortunately, while undercover, they caught him as he jumped in to save a girl, and he exposed himself in that process.

Qian Shihong had a tiny earpiece attached deep inside in his ear so that they don't see the listening device. Through that, I heard that they were going to end his life. For them, obviously, why not?

I relayed a message. "Tell them that you secretly managed to save a girl during transit and altered the records to hide the discrepancy. She is with me, who is going to tell everything that she knows. Your business is as good as finished. We can strike a deal in exchange for her."

It was a lie. I acted to be the bad guy.

For them, it was their precious business. They couldn't afford to get exposed. We arranged to meet at a place, and it was a bloodbath to capture the gang, but we did it.

So the moral of the story was that Qian Shihong suddenly became valuable to them whose life they were going to end just a few seconds ago.

So, experience said that we could do something similar here, and that is what Xin Lei suggested too.

We had to offer leverage. If we didn't want them to kill us, then we had to be useful.

The leader was standing at my right, so I turned my head. "Not quite. You will be at the losing end."

There was a pause.

The leader laughed. "Oh yeah, I remember from the intel given that you are blind that I notice how weirdly you are looking at me."

Ha ha ha. Good joke. I will die of laughter if not for your bullet.

I felt Xin Lei's grasp on my hand tighten. I heard her taking a sharp breath, and I sensed her discomfort.

Was she angry for me?

I sighed. I patted her hand in response, but I still didn't feel her hold loosening a bit.

Xin Lei was furious.

I pitied the leader's fate. Maybe I should leave him to Xin Lei to deal with him after their use will be over for us.

The leader asked, "Why would we be at the losing end?"

"Because we have an important piece of information that could get your ass in a lot of trouble. Kill us, and your shady business is over."

Nobody spoke.

"What information?"

Got you.

"I am not stupid to say it to the likes of you minions."

"Say that again, you bastard!" A man on my left roared.

I heard him hearing a step towards me as his boots clicked against the ground.

"Stop," it was the leader's voice. "We are not going to believe you."

I shrugged. "Don't. But then be ready to offer your heads to pay the price."

Alright, to make it look like we weren't bluffing, I said, "Chu Jie."

That was enough to tell them that we knew something about their target who they just kidnapped.

I paid close attention to their reactions.

I heard them faintly taking a sharp breath. I sensed light movements from my left, like them shuffling in their place. The tiny stones on the road made stifling sound as their shoes shifted. They could be looking at their leader to know the next step.

The leader said, "What do you want?"

I felt the wariness in his tone. But we got the job done.

I said, "Take us to your base. Let's strike a deal."