Post by Ling on Oct 1, 2017 19:36:10 GMT -6
A bead of condensation dripped lazily down Ling's glass of fizzy drink as she dialed the telephone. "Yes, hello, operator? Please connect me to Downtown oh-two-seven-five." Ice cubes clinked together as Ling raised the glass to her lips, waiting to be connected. The clerk she was connected to then patched her through to Detective Sek Hei-Ming's desk.
"Hello Sek," Ling languidly said into the receiver, a smile playing on her lips. "It's been a while."
And indeed it had. At the clinic, the two of them discovered quickly that the healer had treated about a dozen cases of unknown illness; at the time he had been incredibly puzzled as to the cause, but since there were no commonalities between the patients, had not thought to ascribe it to a poisoning. Armed with anonymous dossiers on the patients' vitals, environmental information, and symptoms, Ling and Sek had quickly worked through the list and were able to narrow down how the drugs were being spread, and even where, but not who was responsible for it.
But that's where their luck had ended. Soon after, Ling found herself buried in a pile of cases. Mei-zhen had even taken time off from the clinic to help her with her case load, and before she knew it winter had thawed and summer was just around the corner. She had barely any time to see Jia, much less work on an additional case with Sek — who, by all accounts, had been equally busy.
That changed today when a young boy had arrived at her office, not an hour before Ling had decided to call Sek. She had alerted her contacts in the Dragon Flats to let her know if they ever saw anything suspicious: in particular, a well dressed individual or individuals attempting to covertly give anyone something.
The boy, a young newsie, had shyly approached saying that the past month he had seen a man standing in the alleyway behind the local shoe factory. The man came by a couple of times a week, his clothes clearly of excellent make far beyond what anyone in the Flats would have been able to afford, despite the wear and tear and obvious attempts to blend in. The boy had been too afraid to approach the man, but Ling rewarded him with five yuans and her signature smile and thanked him for his efforts.
She couldn't risk anyone knowing about this lead, though, and so spoke to Sek with the vaguest of allusions. "I was wondering if you had time to join me in my office for lunch? I have some curry and rice being delivered and would love some company. We can catch up, and I can tell you all about the new man in my life."
The thing was, Ling wasn't interested in men. That much had been made clear during the time she and Sek had worked together.
"I'll see you soon, then." Ling glanced up at the clock: a quarter after noon. If Sek took their motorcycle, they could be at the office in about twenty minutes.
And in twenty minutes, there they were, punctual as always. Ling let them in with a smile. "Hey you," she said. She hadn't needed to tidy the office this time, as Mei-zhen had taken care of that for her. Ling had set up the delivery cartons of rice and curry on the desk, along with a pitcher of ice water and a couple of cold bottles of fizzy drink.
"Glad you could make it."
"Hello Sek," Ling languidly said into the receiver, a smile playing on her lips. "It's been a while."
And indeed it had. At the clinic, the two of them discovered quickly that the healer had treated about a dozen cases of unknown illness; at the time he had been incredibly puzzled as to the cause, but since there were no commonalities between the patients, had not thought to ascribe it to a poisoning. Armed with anonymous dossiers on the patients' vitals, environmental information, and symptoms, Ling and Sek had quickly worked through the list and were able to narrow down how the drugs were being spread, and even where, but not who was responsible for it.
But that's where their luck had ended. Soon after, Ling found herself buried in a pile of cases. Mei-zhen had even taken time off from the clinic to help her with her case load, and before she knew it winter had thawed and summer was just around the corner. She had barely any time to see Jia, much less work on an additional case with Sek — who, by all accounts, had been equally busy.
That changed today when a young boy had arrived at her office, not an hour before Ling had decided to call Sek. She had alerted her contacts in the Dragon Flats to let her know if they ever saw anything suspicious: in particular, a well dressed individual or individuals attempting to covertly give anyone something.
The boy, a young newsie, had shyly approached saying that the past month he had seen a man standing in the alleyway behind the local shoe factory. The man came by a couple of times a week, his clothes clearly of excellent make far beyond what anyone in the Flats would have been able to afford, despite the wear and tear and obvious attempts to blend in. The boy had been too afraid to approach the man, but Ling rewarded him with five yuans and her signature smile and thanked him for his efforts.
She couldn't risk anyone knowing about this lead, though, and so spoke to Sek with the vaguest of allusions. "I was wondering if you had time to join me in my office for lunch? I have some curry and rice being delivered and would love some company. We can catch up, and I can tell you all about the new man in my life."
The thing was, Ling wasn't interested in men. That much had been made clear during the time she and Sek had worked together.
"I'll see you soon, then." Ling glanced up at the clock: a quarter after noon. If Sek took their motorcycle, they could be at the office in about twenty minutes.
And in twenty minutes, there they were, punctual as always. Ling let them in with a smile. "Hey you," she said. She hadn't needed to tidy the office this time, as Mei-zhen had taken care of that for her. Ling had set up the delivery cartons of rice and curry on the desk, along with a pitcher of ice water and a couple of cold bottles of fizzy drink.
"Glad you could make it."
