Feb 21, 2017 13:37:27 GMT -6
Post by Ling on Feb 21, 2017 13:37:27 GMT -6
Stakeouts in the dead of winter were not her idea of a good time, but Ling immediately regretted the thought when she returned to the office that afternoon. Her sister (and partner), Mei-zhen looked at her gravely as she took the film from Ling's hands to send it off for development.
"What is it?" Ling asked nervously. Mei-zhen rarely had such a look on her face.
Wordlessly, her sister handed her a case folder; Ling opened it to see a familiar photo: an old gang buddy. She blanched, reading over the case summary. For some reason, her old gang had somehow angered one of the much-deflated Triads and her buddy had wound up collateral damage. An enforcer in her old gang wanted her to find out which Triad, and swore up and down that they'd leave her in peace after.
So, within twenty minutes, Ling found herself in the seediest parts of the Dragon Flats district. She drew her khaki trench coat around her more tightly, the winter winds biting at her viciously. She had insisted that Mei-zhen stay behind; there was no way she was going to drag her family back into danger.
She met with her contact, who passed off the police reports the gang had managed to nick from the station; feeling uneasy to be looking at the contents in the middle of the street, she slipped into a nearby eatery, keeping her face down. She was lucky, in a way, that her face seemed to be so forgettable and that she wasn't some stunning beauty; no one gave her a second glance as she slid into a booth and ordered coffee and toast.
The little bell above the door dinged, and out of force of habit Ling looked up as a gangly young man walked in.
Anonymous
Feb 22, 2017 16:24:55 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2017 16:24:55 GMT -6
Xian shoved open the door with his left shoulder, sliding into the local eatery in a lazy manner. Days off work were welcomed—but the grueling walk from his house to grab something to eat was something else, especially in the winter weather. As the door slowly closed behind him, Xian observed his surroundings and the other diners. Everyone seemed vaguely familiar, as most patrons who went to this eatery were regulars. He couldn’t help but feel that something was off though, but maybe that was just his stomach talking.
Making his way towards the front counter, Xian spoke with the cashier briefly to order his usual: a steamed fish; several small, plain buns; and a side of whatever special juice was being offered today. Stepping away to go find a seat, Xian chose a booth and promptly sat down. The eatery wasn't usually this busy, was it a holiday or something? Xian always preferred sitting in a secluded booth, further away from other patrons, but today it didn't seem like that would happen.
“Whatever,” thought Xian to himself. Resting his right elbow on the table and leaning on his right fist, Xian scanned the eatery once more. There did seem to be someone who didn’t frequent the eatery—a woman who seemed a few years older than him. She seemed to sit alone, across from his own booth.
“Probably just another loner, nothing to be worried about. . .” thought Xian as he began tapping his feet against the wooden floor, impatiently waiting for his dinner to arrive.
Feb 23, 2017 11:30:03 GMT -6
Post by Ling on Feb 23, 2017 11:30:03 GMT -6
The newcomer slipped into the booth across from her. He looked vaguely familiar, which was unsettling; Ling hadn't been in this part of the Flats for years, trying her best to distance herself from her former gang ties.
A waitress came over to ask what Ling wanted to eat, and she ordered some steamed barbeque pork siopao, her favourite on-the-go lunch, and a glass of a faux-cocktail called cold of lychee. She shuffled her papers when the food arrived, eating the steamed bun with one hand as she browsed over pages of information.
A photograph caught her eye, and suddenly she realised where that feeling of familiarity came from: the guy across from her was the guy in the photograph for this police informant.
She looked up at him, and when their eyes met she cleared her throat. "Excuse me," she said. "Would you mind joining me for a few minutes?" she asked with a charming, gap-toothed grin. "Your next drink is on me."
Anonymous
Mar 9, 2017 0:27:13 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2017 0:27:13 GMT -6
Xian's muscles relaxed as his food arrived. The familiar scent of home-style cooking always seemed to calm him down.
Beginning to eat his meal, Xian shifted his thoughts away from suspicion and onto other matters. Food really is the way into a man's heart, or brain in this case.
Noticing a woman approach his table, Xian peered at her through the corner of his eyes.
"Excuse me . . . Would you mind joining me for a few minutes? . . . Your next drink is on me."
Xian shrugged as he swallowed another slice of steamed fish. Grabbing hold of his drink, Xian proceeded to chug the remainder down in one gulp. Resting the cup back down onto the table, he replied, "Sure, just my luck."
Xian continued, "And I'd prefer we stay at this table. I always sit here."
It was a lie, he didn't always sit in this particular spot. Xian always swapped seats, depending on who sat where. But in cold winters like these, warm seats were hard to come by.
Mar 10, 2017 18:57:34 GMT -6
Post by Ling on Mar 10, 2017 18:57:34 GMT -6
Ling nodded, scooping her paperwork up in one arm and grabbing her food and drink with the other.
She slid into the seat opposite the guy, and flashed him another gap-toothed grin. "The name's Ling," she said by way of introduction. "And you look like the kind of guy that doesn't like time wasters."
She tapped the folder full of papers. "I'm a private detective. I can show you my permit if you'd like. But basically, some bad stuff went down in this area a little while ago, and a few former friends of mine called in a favour to help me figure things out. The file —" here, she jerked her head in its direction, "— lists you as a witness."
A waitress passed by. Ling flagged her down and ordered another drink for herself, adding "and another of whatever he's drinking," to her order.
"I'll be honest with you," she said, "I don't want to be here. I washed my hands clean of the stuff that goes on in this part of the district years ago. But the guys promised they'd stop involving me after this, so here I am. You feel like helping?"
