Nie Mingjue took a swallow of his coffee. Unlike his brother, he liked it black. It was so strong he was fairly sure it could be chewed. He sighed in contentment. It was perfect.

There were a few coffee trucks who had discovered if they got in good with the cops, they would call them if they were pulling a long night doing a search, providing security at an event, what ever it was.

Throw in sandwiches and other snacks to go with the coffee and you were going to make money.

Currently, the Inspector was standing next to the truck with a sandwich in one hand and his coffee in the other. He would never tell his men but he needed a break from the stench of Wen Chao's apartment.

He shuddered. Most wouldn't guess it, but the Inspector kept his home clean and tidy. He wasn't a neat freak but the idea of living in that filth just made his skin crawl.

As soon as the search warrant was completed, he was going home. He would strip, throw his clothes in the washer, saunter his naked ass to the shower and clean the scent of that cesspit off and then saunter his wet naked ass back to the washer and turn it on.

'It's good to have a plan.' he laughed to himself. When you've been up all night, it was ridiculous what was funny.

He looked around. Probably a third of his team were standing near the truck. Most were just outside, taking a breather.

A quick glance at his watch. Fifteen minutes more and he'd head back up.

'Probably should send Di-Di an update.' he thought. 'See how Yu Bin is doing.'

He knew about his brother and Yu Bin though he hadn't met him yet. Huaisang hadn't opened his heart since everything had happened. There were friends, dates that allowed him access to information but nothing else. Not until Yu Bin. If the boy hurt his brother, he had every intention of crushing him in every way possible. This was the first glimpse of what Huaisang had been like before he was shot and watched his partner's murder.

Nie Mingjue wouldn't allow that to be lost. Not again.

-----

Charlie scrubbed at her face and popped another chocolate. She was watching body bags being put into the coroner's van. Six bodies. One she knew was her responsibility. She felt no remorse. Those fuckers didn't deserve to die so easily. They should have suffered first. A lot.

It always took forever when there was a death much less six. Photographs should be reasonably fast so why it always took so long was beyond her.

She had finally yelled at the man. "You aren't taking wedding pictures, damn it! Get this shit done so I can evac those kids. I'm not dragging them over bodies to do it. Finish it up now!"

He had looked bored apparently used to being yelled at. The day before he'd been yelled at for taking butterfly pictures during a search warrant. It was a rare and protected Kaiser-i-Hind male totally out of his usual habitat in southeastern China**. Enchanted, he had managed take several pictures before a sergeant had startled it into flight. These heathens have no appreciation of - he glanced up at Charlie. Her glare ate a hole through him. He swallowed nervously and hurried up.

Xin Di had heard Charlie giving the photographer hell and smiled. She was holding one of the girls who couldn't stop crying. All of the kids were awake.

At first it had been a disaster. All of them had been sure Xin Di and Ouyang Zizhen were dangerous. The lone young man had gathered the others behind him in a corner. He was obviously still fighting the effects of the drugs but he had warned them to stay back. It was brave of him especially when he was swaying on his feet.

It took them getting their badges and ids from Charlie before the kids believed they were really cops. The relief had poured off them. Tears and laughter had been the common reactions. The young man had collapsed to his knees, shaking.

Zizhen had patted his back trying to reassure him.

"Where am I?" he asked. His voice was fearful, tired.

"You're still at the Koi Tower Shelter." Zizhen answered him.

"Koi Tower?" He looked sideways at the officer, confusion on his face. "Is that still in Beijing?"

Now, Zizhen was confused.

"You didn't come to the shelter for help?" he asked.

The young man just shook his head. He pulled up his knees and wrapped his arms around them. Hugging them tight in a vain attempt to hide the shaking.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Zizhen kept his voice calm, soothing.

"What day is it?" his voice was quiet. Zizhen gave him the date.

"Five days ago. Screaming. Gun shots. The guards were dying. I was trying to get my mother to the safe room but it was too late. They shot her. S-she collapsed. Just collapsed. No sound. My father stood in front of me trying to save me. They shot him too. A man leaned over him as he was dying. Said, 'When you get to hell, tell'em Wen Chao sent you.' I punched him and that's all I remember..."

The boy's voice was flat, emotionless but he was shaking harder.

"What's your name?" Zizhen asked gently.

"Sizhui. Wen Sizhui."

------

Dawn's light was filtering into Wang Hao Xuan's cardboard box. He rubbed at his eyes before cuddling further into his blankets. He already had breakfast so he didn't have to worry about scrounging early. He glanced at the take out box. Yep, still there.

He wondered about the two men who had bought him dinner. They had fed him but had made no effort to touch him. Too many had tried to lure him in with food before grabbing him.

He took pride in always having escaped. Even having bit a chunk off one man. He had thrown up afterwards then hid for two days. Grabbing his few belongings from their hiding spot behind yet another restaurant, he had run to another part of the city.

That had been last year after his uncle died. He had woken up and his uncle hadn't. Crying, he had just laid next to the corpse until he had to move away. The body was cold and absorbed his heat. He was freezing.

He had knocked on the restaurant's backdoor. A red-faced cook had answered the door.

He was going to yell when he saw Wang Hao Xuan's tear stained face.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Hao Xuan just shook his head and pointed at the box while his teeth chattered. The cook had peeked in and simply dropped the flap. A pause and he turned to the boy.

"Come in and have some tea to warm up." He put the shivering child in a chair, slipped a coat around his shoulders and brought him a cup of tea.

People had come and taken his uncle's body away. The police had come as well as the coroner's office. Policemen were scary and who knew where they would take you? Hao Xuan had slipped away in all the chaos.

He sat up and yawned. A huge stretch. Washer boxes were the best. Just the right size for him without being too big. He had told the appliance store he was making a play house. They had given him the box.

He might be only eight but he knew how to play the game.

He opened the take out box and began to eat his breakfast. His thoughts returned to the two men again. He had liked them. They felt good to be near. It had been a while since that had happened.

He didn't go to the park all that often but maybe they did? A smile as he chewed.

'Maybe I could go to the park more.' he hummed happily as he ate. It was a good thought.
~♡~♡~♡~

The Kaiser-i-hind is the only butterfly to be on China's first class protection list. It is considered the rarest butterfly in the world.

May you see butterflies today!

❤️🍫🫖❤️