Wu Haoyu had nervously shown his badge to the officer at the door. Entering the large apartment, he immediately felt overwhelmed.

Everything was red and gold and totally over the top. Gaudy didn't even begin to describe it. There was nothing harmonious about it. It was discordant and painfully so.

There was a scent in the room. Unpleasant. Stale. Nauseating. It murmured of evil deeds and giggled at them. He couldn't stop a gag.

All of it grated against his raw nerves.

"Do you know where Inspector Nie is?" he asked a passing officer.

"Last I saw him, he was in the bedroom. That place is a cesspit but it is loaded with evidence." was the reply.

'A cesspit? This place gets worse?' he thought stunned.

"Thank you." Wu Haoyu muttered going in the direction the officer had pointed.

What he assumed was Wen Chao's bedroom was disgusting, noxious, and crowded but standing in the middle, like a warlord on a battle field, was Nie Mingjue.

"Excuse me, sir?" Wu Haoyu tried to interrupt the Inspector giving an order to one of his people.

"Who are you and who let you in here?" Nie Mingjue barked.

"I'm Wu Haoyu. I don't know who let me in but I need to show you something and it's - " He was cut off by the Inspector.

"I'm a bit busy here." He looked at the man before him. "Are you even a cop?"

"Yes. In the computer division and I was processing some of the evidence from this search warrant and I found -" The Inspector interrupted again.

"I don't have time to look at any geek stuff right now. Maybe tomorrow." he said as he turned to walk away.

Wu Hoayu wasn't going to allow that to happen. He just couldn't. 

"I have video of a murder being committed by the Mayor's son! Do I have your attention now?" His voice carried across the room and dead silence fell as every eye turned toward him..

Nie Mingjue spun back to him incredulous.

"You have what?"

-----

Jin Guangshan looked at his son out cold on the floor. With the door busted in, all he could do was take him and run.

"Clean the blood off his chin and we'll pass him off as drunk." was the order.

A rough hand wiped at Meng Yao's mouth but only managed to tear his split lip further.

"Just pick him up so we can get out of here." the mayor spit out. He was furious. The day had been shitty and was still going down hill. 'It isn't even eight o'clock so there's plenty of time for it to get worse.' he groused to himself.

Grabbing his upper arms, the bodyguards dragged Meng Yao down the hall to the elevator.
-----

In minutes, Nie Mingjue had Wu Haoyu in a police van with the doors closed.

"Show me."

Wu Haoyu set up his laptop and hit play then pause before handing it to Nie Mingjue.

"All you have to do is hit play. I don't want to see or hear it again. I'll be right outside. Let me know when you're done and I'll show you the rest of the evidence." His voice was quiet but firm.

Nie Mingjue nodded and waited until the door had been closed again before hitting play. He watched stern faced and unmoving.

When it was complete, he turned it off and just sat for a moment. Trying to process what he had just seen.

He opened the door and looked around. The computer tech was leaning against another car. He had a thousand mile stare.

"Show me the rest."

Wu Haoyu entered the van and shut the door. He showed the pictures, explained how he had processed them and the search he had done to find the matches.

Nie Mingjue had listened without interrupting once.

As Wu Haoyu's voice faded into silence, the Inspector asked a single question.

"What's the percentage on the pictures being a false match?"

"Ten to twelve percent given the parameters of the prog- "

"Good enough. I want you to take this information to Inspector Nie Huaisang."

"The Spider?" It leapt out of his mouth before he could stop it. He looked nervously at the Inspector.

A somber nod. "The Spider. This information pertains to a case he's working on."

"Okay. I'll head back to the station."

"He's not at the station. How do you feel about a trip to the hospital?" Nie Mingjue asked.

"Excuse me?"
-----

Jiang Cheng was getting quite a few opportunities to showcase his driving skills lately. His brother-in-law was hanging on for dear life as they zoomed in and out of traffic with sirens blaring and red lights flashing making the scene surreal.

Wide eyed he looked at Jiang Cheng. "You missed your calling. You should have been a race car driver." he said in awe.

"Nope." was the reply as they jerked to the left to miss a motorcycle. "This is all real life. Get it right and you save people. Way better than racing."

It wasn't long before Jiang Cheng slid to a stop in front of the condominium block Meng Yao lived in. Several of his black and whites** were already parked outside drawing the inevitable crowd.

As Jiang Cheng got on the radio, Jin Zixuan got out of the car and began to scan the people milling around. Then he saw them. Meng Yao was being hauled toward a car.

"Cheng!! There! There!!" he yelled pointing before he took off running.

"Fuck." Jiang Cheng growled and took off after him.

"Stop! Stop!" Jin Zixuan was shouting over the crowd and bulldozing his way through.

Jiang Cheng settled for efficiency.

"MOVE!" His bellow cleared the area around him and his brother-in-law.

Speeding up, they stopped in front of the car the two men hauling Meng Yao were apparently headed for.

"Freeze!" Jiang Cheng yelled as he pulled his pistol. "Drop him, take two steps back and kneel with your hands behind your head." The two men did what they were told and dropped Meng Yao. Jin Zixuan darted forward trying to catch his brother before he hit the pavement.

"Zixuan! No!" Jiang Cheng yelled but it was too late. Jin Zixuan was in-between him and the two men. They bolted.

"I've got runners!!" Jiang Cheng was saying into his radio as he began chasing the two men. Several other officers joined Jiang Cheng.

Jin Zixuan missed it all as he gently turned Meng Yao over. Blood was smeared around his mouth and chin. His right temple had a huge bruise forming.

"Di-di?" he called hoping there would be some response. Nothing.

Yanking out his phone, he dialed 120.** It took just a few moments to give them the address and what little he could tell of Meng Yao's condition.

"The ambulance is on it's way, sir."

"Just hurry. Please, hurry." Jin Zixuan urged. Meng Yao was so pale and the bruise at his temple was growing bigger, darker.

It suddenly occurred to him he hadn't seen his father. Only his two body guards.

'That old bastard ran!' he thought incredulously. He turned his head scanning the area but there was no sign of him.
-----

Jin Zixun had made his decision. He would go to India. With the current political climate, the chances of an agreement to extradite him were minimal and Mumbai had a reputation as a party city. He liked the opportunities that might afford him.

A chance to feel the screams caress him again.

He shivered at the memory then smiled.

Two suitcases sat near the door of his room packed and ready to go.

He would buy a ticket to Singapore and spend a few days there. Fly to Thailand for some extended rest and relaxation. The sex trade in Thailand was notorious. Surely he could find someone willing to cater to his specific tastes?

And it would be easy to find someone to smuggle him across the border. No passport trail into India.

Finally, he would arrive in Mumbai and begin his life anew. Perhaps as a respected business man?

Completely pleased with himself, he laughed.

Tonight, he would empty the safe. He'd stay in a hotel then first thing in the morning he would go to the bank and deposit it. The money would be transferred to several different banks before he picked one in Mumbai. It would hide his trail if, by some miracle, the video ever came out.

By tomorrow afternoon, he would be on a plane. Safe from everyone.

'Easy Peasy.' he grinned.

~♡~♡~♡~
120 is the emergency number for an ambulance in China.

'Black and whites' is American slang for a cop car as they are often painted those two colors.

Pass out all the smiles you can!

❤️🍫🫖❤️