November 28th, 1985
Six years later

Exhaling of cigarette smoke mingled with the dense air in the busy street. Lien was leaning against a brick wall on the sidewalk outside of a grocery market. He had peace huffing away until a fresh tomato was launched at his head and splattered on the wall behind him. "Peng! What the fuck?" Lien bemoaned while his cigarette fell from his lips and down into the grit of the sewer drain. "That was my last one. Are you trying to ruin my day?" He felt the pang of addiction hitting his stomach and Peng, his bodyguard, chuckled holding a brown paper bag with groceries. "Smoke break is over." Peng retorted as he set the bags into the trunk of the car. He reached over and opened the door to the black Mercedes for Lien.

Lien rolled his eyes when heading towards the heated leather seats, "You owe me a new pack." He says, plopping down into the car and tossing the empty carton of Double Happiness into the floorboard. Peng closed the door, heading around to the drivers side. The pair held a tumultuous relationship, evident from Lien's bratty attitude and rude remarks. Peng took each of them and swallowed his pride for fault of his softness he had in his heart. Sometimes that meant Peng was too lenient to Lien's desires. In particular, last year Lien had an obsession with partying at the clubs until the early hours of the morning, always drunk and coked out. The greatest obstacle for Peng was Lien trying to bring men back with him to the estate. Carefully, Peng delivered Lien safely each time and threatened the men who followed to leave. The engine stalled before starting up, "You're no fun at all, just a buzzkill," Lien muttered, fidgeting with his shirt. They drove down the street towards the private road connecting to the Cheung estate. "Little Lien, are you always going to cause trouble? You'll give Master Cheung a heart attack with how much you smoke." Peng attempted to persuade that part of Lien that feared his grandfather. However, that fear had been decaying over the last couple of years, especially when Hana disappeared.

"C'mon Peng, my older brother is the prodigal son of the Triad. Grandfather barely pays attention to me nowadays with all this Russian bullshit." Lien said and gazed out of the tinted windows. When the car came to a halt, he made haste to get out and into the house. With unbothered confidence, he approached the butler who bowed his head upon Lien's arrival. "Good evening, young Master Lien. Is there anything I can do for you?" The butler asked and Lien swiftly affirmed, "A pack of Double Happiness and a hot bath." He requested against Peng's wishes. Following behind, Peng carried the paper bags inside the foyer and glared at the butler who handed Lien another pack.

"It'd be wise not to undermine me, Yu. This kid is becoming a chain smoker and we can't have that." Peng ordered the butler who was unimpressed. "I serve the boss and his family, not you." Yu turned on his heel and ascended the stairs to the parlor where Master Cheung resided most times. Unfortunately, this was not by choice as the Triad boss was in ailing health, suffering from liver failure. He held onto his position and feigned a resemblance of strength. He did not have the time to worry about Lien's trouble making, nor his habits. "Master, can I get you anything?" Yu bowed his head, the boss grunted. "Leave me, I must think." Master Cheung denied service, seemingly wrapped up in the dancing flames.

Over the past couple weeks, he had been cooped up in the parlor. His eyes staring intently into the crackling fireplace and occasionally imbibing from a flask. He was in his seventies now and had extreme bouts of paranoia. He could trust no one. This was due to information handed to him about a traitor in the ranks of the Triad. It festered in his mind like tangled strands of cancer tugging at his ability to think rationally. Shadows in corners where foes were ready to attack, sudden sounds and chimney smokes all made Master Cheung jumpy.

Upstairs, Lien had been planning his own way to make his grandfather proud after several failed attempts to be involved in the Triad. He was always protected in a sheltered environment in attempts to erase Hana's influence. It was also fear of the risks Gao faced when rising to leadership and Lien was bound to be the runner up. Lien felt he had to pave his own way to have purpose. While his bath was filling up, Peng had knocked on his bedroom door and Lien pulled him inside. "Little Lien, is something wrong?" Peng went into bodyguard mode and Lien groaned, "Quit calling me little, I'm nineteen and your boss' grandson." He sat down on the leather coach with his eyes keeping watch on the bath in the the en suite. He had changed into a red silk robe with golden detailing of a dragon. "I got his number." Lien lifted his head proudly.

"Who's number?" Peng rose his brows and crossed his arms. Lien aggravatingly kept his lips sealed for a few minutes, beginning to smirk. "You know, that Russian boss. Who knew! Gao called and gave me the details. I think I should give him a call." He hummed with confidence. Peng appeared apprehensive and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Does Master Cheung know about this?" Peng asked, though being Lien's personal bodyguard for years, he knew when the other was being sneaky. "Of course not, grandfather would never let me get involved and honestly the less he knows the better. I've got my own ideas of how to take down the Russians." Lien stood up and fastened the tie on his robe to prepare for his bath and Peng blocked the door.

"This is a terrible idea. I can't let you put yourself in that position." Peng sternly exclaimed and Lien pushed his arm away, "That's alright, because I wasn't asking for permission. Now leave me be." Lien gave Peng some serious side eye and closed the bathroom door, dropping his silk robe and stepping into the gold claw tub. He grabbed his clunky phone off the side table and paused for a moment. His hands grew sweaty as he hovered over the buttons, getting a rise from that mixture of intrigue and anxiety. The ringing lasted a few minutes, making Lien grow impatient until a soft voice answered the phone.

"Young Master Lien, we have been expecting your call." The voice was effeminate and definitely was not the man he was intending to call. "Ah, you must be a secretary. Why don't you be a good servant and give the phone to Mr. Reznikov." Lien scoffed with disappointment in his voice as if he were entitled to respect. "Your reputation wasn't exaggerated. The spoiled brat of the Triad already leaving a bad taste in my mouth. My boss is selective of who he gives his time to, but you can set up an appointment at a later date." The voice had the tongue of a serpent, flicking an insulting venomous tone over the line

Lien mouth fell agape from a the audacity of this bitchy secretary, already trying to come up with something fiery to respond with. However, heavy breathing and the sound of a car door closing made him listen closely. The voice faintly echoed, "Sir!" with a sense of urgency. Lien stood up with an annoyed expression, the water in the bathtub splashed when got out. He heard the call disconnect and he tied the robe back around his body, muttering to himself. "Ugh, Russians." He said and went to his bedroom to lay down in the king bed. To his surprise, the phone began to ring just as he got comfortable and answered.

"You have two minutes." A deeper and colder voice came through the other side. "I'm guessing the first person to answer my call is your secretary and whore." Lien teased, he had a talent of getting under people's skin. A light chuckle came from the other end of the call, "I'm surprised. Were you calling for fun or is this what you do?" Mr. Reznikov growled and Lien furrowed his brows. "Trust me, you sound like the killer of joy. I've heard the stories about you." Lien pressed on while laying in the bed, his heart steadily beating. "As have I, the Triad and it's scattered heirs and an infestation. Might be wise to weed out traitors before you make serious enemies." The man replied lowly leaving Lien in brief silence. "A traitor in the Triad? You're bluffing," Lien pretended to know more than he let on.

Mr. Reznikov remained quiet and not so much a breath could be heard on the call. "I find it precious that you have so much time on your hands. But, I am a busy man so if you call you can expect Sasha to pick up." The man was straightforward and to the point, not interested in games or small talk, nor giving away any intel. For Vitya, he already knew he had the upper hand as the Triad was in delicious decline, soon to be running around like headless chickens. Lien had bit his lip, turning over on his stomach and holding the phone close to his ear. Outside of his bedroom door, Peng had been eavesdropping on the call.

"Mr. Reznikov— er — can I call you Vitya? I have one more important matter to discuss." Lien had a devious expression forming on his face, rolling onto his back and letting his hand run down his sternum, parting his robe to let the air hit his skin. "Fine. What is it?" Vitya responded bleakly. "Would you like to know what I'm wearing?" Lien asked as his silk robe began to fall open, "Or rather, what I'm not wearing." Lien's tone shifted into something sensual and sultry. He wouldn't admit that Vitya's demeanor and voice turned him on; however, he was playing the long game, at least for now.

Vitya faked a chuckle, "I'm not particularly interested—" He began, but Peng had barged inside of the room and jerked Lien into an upright position, the phone clattering on the ground. "You can't be serious! This is why you can't be trusted to handle this." Peng stammered over his angered words. Lien immediately became flustered and pulled himself away from Peng.

The call ended and Vitya had smiled to himself, "Brat, doesn't know what he's getting himself into." He whispered to Sasha who was laying across his lap in the back seat of their SUV, still reeling from the moment they had during the first call. The evidence of Vitya's undone belt and Sasha's swollen lips one could imagine exactly what purpose the secretary served.