Nie Huaisang was following the evidence team's van back to the station. He felt sad and angry. The bunny was just pathetic. He could only assume it had belonged to Wei Ying. Who does that to a child?  Madame Yu was one sick twisted bitch and deserved everything she would get in prison.

A deep sigh and he turned his thoughts to the young man at the station. Charlie had sent him an update. Wen Sizhui was throwing up now. It would help clear his system but she feared he was getting dehydrated.

'Time for a hospital visit.' There was no way around it. They needed to know what the kid had been drugged with, if possible, and, if necessary, give him counter agents.

As for getting him out of the station, that was simple. Nie Huaisang gave an evil little smirk.

At the next red light, he made a call.

"Wei?"

"Liu Tingyu?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"Inspector Nie Huaisang. I need your help but it must be done quietly. Feel free to tell your Inspector but no one else." The Spider was serious. "There is a life at risk."

"I would have told my Inspector anyway, sir. How can I help you?"

Nie Huaisang laughed. "I have an idea..."

It wasn't more than ten minutes before he was done with the call. Her final words were comfortingly efficient.

"I will contact your office and gather the required information. After that, it should take perhaps fifteen minutes, sir."

Driving down the road, Nie Huaisang wondered if Jiang Cheng would shoot him if he stole her for his department.
---

Liu Tingyu wasted no time.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." she told the secretary who still cringed when the Sergeant walked up to his desk. In no time she was in the parking lot leaned against a random car. Best place for privacy in a phone call as long as you spoke softly.

She put a call into Ouyang Zizhen's desk.

"Wei?" an exhausted voice said.

"This is Sergeant Liu Tingyu. I was told to tell you purple pumpkin."

"What do you need, Sergeant?" Zizhen's voice was more focused, forceful. She had his attention.

"I need the clothing sizes of your guest. The one your boss doesn't want anyone taking from you." 

"Ahh... give me five minutes, Sergeant. Call back and I'll have it for you."

"Thank you. Five minutes."

She paced a bit. As soon as she helped The Spider, she would tell Jiang Cheng. The circumstances warranted immediate action and she would deal with the consequences if her Inspector didn't approve.

She called back at five minutes on the dot.

"Wei?"

"This is Sergeant Liu Tingyu. Purple pumpkin."

"Of course. Here is your requested information, Sergeant."

She scribbled it down quickly on her notepad. A quick repeat to check for accuracy.

"That is correct. Just so you know, the password will be changed and the current one will no longer be active after today."

"Understood. I should be at your office within fifteen minutes."

"We'll be watching for you."

Liu Tingyu was already on her way back into the building. She went directly to Supply.

"I need a few minutes and no questions. The items will be returned in two days with any luck."

She and the desk clerk had known each other for years. The woman looked at the Sergeant and nodded.

"Will you watch my desk? I have to use the toilet." she said.

"Of course but don't take too long." Liu Tingyu mouthed thank you and stepped into the caged supply room.** It took moments to collect everything she needed and have it in a bag ready to go.
-----

Nie Huaisang was pulling up to the station. He paused to send a message to Lan Xichen.

'Have a patient who needs care and needs it anonymously for their protection. Is this possible?'

He hit send and sat in his car. Waiting. Watching. As far as he knew, he had taken in all the factors at hand. Now it was up to the Sergeant.
-----

Liu Tingyu arrived at the unlabeled offices used by Undercover with a large nondescript brown paper bag.

"Can I help you?" It was a young man who looked hard at the Sergeant. His voice was stiff.

"Sergeant Liu Tingyu. I have a delivery for you."

"ID and password?"

She calmly handed over her badge and ID.

"Purple pumpkin." she added as the man carefully examined her credentials.

"Welcome, Sergeant. The package is in the Boss's office. Please follow me. I am Ouyang Zizhen." His manner and voice had relaxed considerably. "The package isn't doing well. Cold sweats and vomiting. We need to get him to the hospital but child protective wants him. They aren't equipped to protect him as a witness to a double homicide. We are."

Liu Tingyu nodded. When he opened the door, she saw a slender young man curled up on a small loveseat. His face was pale, wan. He was shivering under a thin blanket.

She gently touched his forehead. Too warm but covered in a cold sweat.

'Doesn't anyone in this department know how to take care of a sick kid?' she thought to herself. She turned to Zizhen. 

"I need a few things and tell your boss to add thirty minutes at least to the original estimate." Zizhen nodded and she gave him a short list. "The last item is in my desk. Left top drawer. Tell the secretary to get it for you. I've done that before so he shouldn't think twice about it."

Another nod and he was on his way.

As he left, she approached the young man.

"My name is Liu Tingyu. I'm here to help you so we can get you out of here." Her voice was soothing and kind.

He nodded too tired and queasy to even want to speak.
-----

Ouyang Zizhen trotted to the Sergeant's department. All it took was mentioning the Sergeant's name and the secretary couldn't get the item fast enough.

A quick stop at the bathroom and he was back in a flash.

Liu Tingyu smiled at Zizhen. "Very prompt. Thank you."

"Sizhui? This is activated charcoal. It will help neutralize whatever is in your belly and should reduce the nausea. The water is warm so it shouldn't upset your stomach either. Okay?"

He nodded. She gave him the capsules one at a time. When both of them were swallowed, she began to wipe his face with a cool cloth. Sizhui sighed. It felt so good.

"Where is Nie Huaisang's shower?" she asked matter of factly.

"Shower?" Zizhen looked uncomfortable.

"Yes. Now."  Zizhen sighed and pointed at the door leading to the lab.

"We need him to walk out and appear to be fine. He was in the traffickers's hands for several days I understand. I don't think they were worried about his hygiene. He reeks. People will notice. The shower will help him feel better and will take care of the smell." Liu Tingyu laid out her reasoning and Zizhen could only agree.

"Sizhui? We're going to get you in the shower. Can you do it by yourself?" Liu Tingyu asked.

"Yes. I think so." he replied quietly.

"The next hour will be the hard part. After that, you can rest. Promise." she told him as she stood him up. It took him a second but he walked steady if slowly where they led him.

Thirty minutes later, Sizhui had to admit he felt better. He didn't have a lot of reserves but he thought he could get through the next stage.

"Ready, Officer Wu?" Liu Tingyu asked Wen Sizhui. He was wearing a new police uniform with his hair combed back to make him appear older.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Call me Sergeant. Less than ten minutes and I'll have you in the car and on our way to meet the Inspector."

Sizhui looked nervous. "Yes, Sergeant."

"Don't worry. I'll talk while we leave." she squeezed his arm. "We'll keep you safe. Hang in there."

He gave her a nod. All the guards had been to keep them safe too but how well did that work?

Liu Tingyu told 'Officer Wu' about the offsite training he was going to all the way to the garage. Once in the garage, she had him in a squad car and leaving in moments.

She watched her mirrors for a gray car. She had been given the license plate number and told there was a single occupant. It wasn't long before it was behind her. It passed her and she pulled in behind him and flipped her lights.

They stopped at an abandoned grocery store.

She told Sizhui to stay in the car. Getting out, she knocked on the car's driver window.

"Can you get out of the car, sir?"

Nie Huaisang complied and gave her his identification. To anyone passing by, it looked like a routine traffic stop.

"He's in the car, sir. You be careful with that boy. Whatever they gave him is ugly. I gave him two activated charcoal and it seemed to help. You don't have to tell me where he is but I do want to know how he is doing. Agreed?"

"Agreed. Thank you, Sergeant." He gave her his most charming smile. "Have you ever considered working in another department? Say Undercover perhaps?"

"No. I am quite happy where I am, Inspector." Her voice was firm.

"Well, it was worth a try." Nie Huaisang said. "Thank you again and I will let you know how he is."

Sizhui watched as the Sergeant talked to the short man who got out of the car. He was so tired. He had told them who shot his father at least. Now he was just waiting for his own bullet to arrive.

'Just wish I knew why.' He wiped at his eyes. He didn't want anyone to see him cry.

The Sergeant had given him a gray zip up hoodie. It covered the police uniform's top and made him look like a civilian again.

She gestured to him. Slowly,  he got out of the cruiser and went directly to the gray car. Climbing into the passenger side, he relaxed against the seat. At least he would be comfortable if they shot him here.

The Sergeant stuck her head in. "This is Inspector Nie Huaisang. He will take care of you."

She gave him a comforting smile. "You are a brave young man, Sizhui. Take care."

"Thank you for helping me, Sergeant." he said softly.

"You are most welcome." Before he knew it, she was in her car and gone.

Nie Huaisang smiled and got in. "I'm going to take you to the hospital and get you checked out. Okay?"

Wen Sizhui nodded, leaned back into the seat and closed his eyes.
-----

Hard eyes watched the transfer from a distance.

He knew the six brats that were part of the 'program' had been taken to the police station. He didn't care about the girls. He had sat slumped in his car and watched as all five of them had left with social workers.

He needed the boy.

It had been a minor miracle he hadn't been caught with the others at the shelter.

'And Ma always said drinking was bad for my health.' he snickered to himself. If he hadn't slipped out to have a drink, he'd be sitting in a cell right now.

But - and it was a big but - he had to find the boy. His orders from Wen Chao had been to kill him. He had decided to make some extra on the side. Give the kid a little something he whipped up himself and the kid was a limp doll waiting for the next 'shipment'.

Word was Wen Chao had been taken by the cops and had disappeared. The worry was he didn't know if the order originated with Wen Chao or someone higher up.

As he pondered this, he aimlessly watched a police car leaving the station. Passing directly in front of him, he was stunned to see the kid dressed up like a cop. Sitting in the front seat plain as day.

Wen Mao had gaped.

Carefully, he followed and watched as Nie Huaisang pulled into the Gusu-Lan Hospital.

"Got you now,  cousin" he said as he reached for his phone.
~♡~♡~♡~

A caged room in this case is one that usually has a heavy grill or bars to protect the items inside such as the supply rooms or weapon rooms.

Snuggle in and enjoy the cool  of Autumn.

❤️🍫🫖❤️