Jin Guangshan got out of the cab a block from the Mayor's Mansion. He had managed to flag down a cab and given them his neighbor's address. He had stood and waved the cabbie out of sight before walking toward his own house.

The day was churning in his head. The lawyer had been simple and direct.

"Don't tell anyone anything. Not until we have to."

The traffickers, when they had finally answered, gave him a flip response.

"We'll see where it goes and get back to you." It was followed by a click. They'd hung up on him. He had fought down a shiver.

He was furious it had all come to this because of that stupid woman and he wanted someone to take it out on. Who else but Meng Yao? Screaming at his bastard would blow some steam** and he would feel better.

Except that's not how it worked.

Meng Yao had screamed at him! His own father! The nerve!

After he had slapped Meng Yao, it had all gone downhill.

He rubbed his forehead to fight the growing headache as he walked up his driveway.

He was startled to see Jin Zixun get into a cab and leave. He watched the cab pull out of the far side of the large u-shaped driveway.

"Where the hell is he going this time of night?" he muttered as he opened the front door.

Deciding a drink would make sleeping easier, he opened his liquor cabinet. Not a single bottle remained.

"What the hell!" He started yelling for his night staff.

"Yes, sir?"

"What the hell happened to my liquor cabinet?"

"I understand from day staff the Young Master emptied it. He took all of it up to his room, sir." The man's tone was bland. He knew better than to let even a hint of his opinion leak into his voice.

Swearing, Jin Guangshan stomped up the stairs.

He stood in the doorway to Jin Zixun's room stunned. The room look like a tornado had gone through it. Clothes falling out of drawers. Hangers scattered on the floor. Shoes randomly spread around.

"What the hell?"

He hit the intercom. "What the hell happened to his room?"

"On my way, sir." It was the night butler again.

When he arrived, he gave the Mayor a slight bow. "How can I help, sir?"

"What is going on in here?"

"The Young Master said he was taking a trip, sir."

"HE SAID WHAT?" It was a scream of fury and frustration.

"WHERE DID HE GO?" he yelled.

"I do not know, sir. He did not confide in any of the staff." The man looked at the rug and simply waited. There was nothing he could say that would make the situation any better.

For the next thirty minutes, Jin Guangshan threw a tantrum. Howling his anger. Cursing his luck to have worthless sons. Kicking things out of his way. Hurling whatever came to hand against the wall.

It was all crumbling around him and he knew it.

When he was done the room was destroyed.

Panting, he grabbed one of the few bottles he hadn't broken in his fury. He paused at the door and looked at the butler.

"Have this cleaned up immediately." he barked.

"Of course, sir."

------

Wu Haoyu shifted from foot to foot nervously as he pulled out his phone and dialed the number Nie Mingjue had given him.

"Wei?"

"Is this The Spi- um Inspector Nie Huaisang?"

"Yes."

"I'm Wu Haoyu with Electronic Evidence. Nie Mingjue sent me. I'm in the lobby."

"I'm on my way."

"How will we know each other, sir?"

"I'm carrying my second favorite fan. It has red peonies on it."

There was a click and the call was over.

'Carrying a fan?' Wu Haoyu was fairly sure he was being made fun of.

Nie Huaisang looked at Lan Wangji.

"He's here. Together or one at a time?"

Lan Wangji looked at Wei Ying. "Do you need me to stay?"

Wei Ying fidgeted. He wanted to say 'Yes!' Strongly. Emphatically. But, he knew Lan Wangji was a police officer. He couldn't expect the man to stop his life for him. He smiled.

" I'll be just fine." he assured.

Lan Wangji looked him in the eye. "Wei Ying is a very bad liar."

He just stared at Lan Wangji. 'How did he know?'

"Wei Ying must only tell me the truth. It is important." Lan Wangji wasn't angry. His voice wasn't judgemental. He was simply stating fact.

"I'm sorry. Yes, I'm scared but you can't sit in this room with me forever."

"You won't be in this room forever. Are you okay if I leave for an hour?"

Wei Ying sincerely considered it. "I can do it. I can." He paused. "One hour?"

"One hour."

"Okay."

Lan Wangji turned to Nie Huaisang. "Together."

Nie Huaisang looked at Wei Ying. "Can you and Jiang Yanli keep an eye on Yu Bin for me?"

He had glanced at Yanli but she was quietly talking to her husband about Meng Yao and Jiang Cheng. They had gotten the word from Dr. Yu Jiang Cheng would be fine given enough sleep and ice. They were still waiting for the word on Meng Yao.

"Of course" Wei Ying nodded.

"Thank you. We'll be back."

"One hour." Lan Wangji said with a soft small smile.

"One hour." Wei Ying's eyes were hopeful. He believed in Lan Wangji. It wasn't just because he had saved his life though he had undoubtedly done so. It was undefinable so far. He just did. If Lan Wangji said one hour, he could make it that hour.

He smiled back.

______

Walking off the elevator, Nie Huaisang wafted one of his second favorite fans and scanned the room. No one stepped forward or acted like he was looking for someone. He pulled out his phone and dialed the number of Wu Haoyu.

The man who reached for his phone had been sitting staring into nothing. Lost in thought. He answered with a quiet 'Wei?'

"We're here. Where are you?" Nie Huaisang said.

The man who stepped forward almost smiled. "I thought you were pranking me about the fan. It's beautiful."

"Thank you. It's a habit, the fan." the inspector smiled. "I am Nie Huaisang. This is Detective Lan Wangji. What can we do for you?"

Lan Wangji nodded.

Wu Haoyu was startled. Surely this charming man couldn't be The Spider?

"I have something to show you. A video from the search warrant on Wen Chao. Where can we go so you can watch it?" He couldn't repress a slight shudder. He never wanted to see that video again.

For the first time, Lan Wangji spoke. "Follow me."

It didn't take long to reach the quiet conference room. Wu Haoyu didn't speak as he set up his lap top. He started the video and hit pause.

"I'll wait outside. When you're done watching it, come get me so I can share the rest of the evidence." He moved to the door.

"You won't be watching it?" Nie Huaisang asked surprised.

Wu Haoyu didn't turn around. "I've seen that video more than enough for one lifetime." With that, he left.

The two remaining men exchanged a glance and hit play.

The video ended and they didn't move. Nie Huaisang was stunned. He knew there would be evidence of horrifying crimes but this? It was beyond his reckoning. He went to the door and peered out. Wu Haoyu was just standing further down the hall. There was something about him that looked broken, forlorn. A puppet haphazardly hung up and left.

He called softly, "Wu Haoyu?"

The man jerked, startled. He walked into the room. Carefully, he took the pictures and case files out of his bag and laid them on the table.

"The victim is Mo Xuanyu. He was beaten to death a week ago in the red light district. The murderer is Jin Zixun. He's the mayor's son."

There was astonished silence.

All Lan Wangji could think was, 'That could have been Wei Ying.'

Wu Haoyu explained how he got the pictures from the video and processed them to improve their resolution. He described the searches and how he had whittled** down the search parameters until he had a match.

"He stood there and beat him to death because he could and he knew no one would do anything about it because he is the Mayor's son. Please don't let him get away with it." Wu Haoyu quietly gathered the papers and his lap top. He handed the pictures and files to Nie Huaisang. "Make him pay."

His gaze was even. Level. Lost.

"We will do our best." Lan Wangji said. His voice was solemn.

A nod and Wu Haoyu quietly left without a backward glance.

_____

Charlie peered around the corner. She was right behind the back up. They had two officers going to each dorm to keep the kids safe and out of the way. With any luck, they'd be able to evacuate them but sheltering in place was better than nothing.

From the sounds of it, there was a full scale fire fight going on. She turned the corner, scanned the room and continued toward the source of the gun shots.

When she got to the front of the police deployment, what she saw didn't make sense at first. The gun fire was all from a group of men shooting at a door in a long hallway. Their figures were illuminated by their own gun fire.

"Oh shit..." it hit her like a ton of bricks. They were trying to get through the door where most likely Zizhen and Xin Di were trapped. She snarled.

She whispered with the backup's lead for a moment before taking the bullhorn from him.

"This is the Beijing Police. Put down your guns and kneel with your hands behind your head." the bullhorn blared. Even with the gun fire, it could be heard. The gun shots trickled off.

"I repeat. This is the Beijing Police. Put down your guns and kneel with your hands behind your head. If you do not comply, you will be shot." She paused.

She could hear the muttering as they were discussing it.

'Enough of this shit.' she thought. "You have the count of five to comply."

She looked around at the officers. They were arranged on both sides of the hallway's entrance. The perps had no place to go. If they didn't give up, the hallway would turn into a killing zone.

"Five!"

The conversation in the hallway got louder but was still unintelligible. It sounded like an argument was taking place.

"Four!"

Officers adjusted themselves into firing positions.

"Three!"

Charlie felt her stomach tighten.

"Two!"

'Gods, don't take any of my people, please.' she prayed silently.

"One!"
~♡~♡~♡~

Letting off steam is slang for relieving stress.

Whittling is using a knife to remove shavings from a piece of wood until you have created something such as an animal or a picture.

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