My Asian Dragon

“They said too much heat starts a fire,” he laughed. “I guess that’s their way of saying stop making a public scene.”

“Well, maybe I can get them back,” Joy said, getting to her feet and chasing them down the hallway. Longwei surged to his feet, and joined in the merry chase.

*****

The lights were low, allowing the city lights of Hong Kong to stand out clearly against the night sky. The penthouse on top of the skyscraper was expensive, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford it.

Taking a deep drag of his Turkish cigarette, he looked out at the peaceful skyline, knowing that in the teeming streets below, he controlled things. He was the man in charge of it all, and with a simple word or gesture he could cause the whole thing to come crashing to a halt.

He considered such an action now. For too long, he had let Long Xue Yu stay autonomous, a benign tumor in the body of his kingdom. He had even let those fools in the central government do as they pleased with the village, sending in money and supplies on occasion. It kept the dragons quiet, at least.

But now this. It wasn’t like he could have anticipated the connection between the American journalist and the dragon. She had gone from an annoying fly in the ointment, a minor situation best dealt with through indirect means, to a major situation. Her work had laid open too many vital elements of his organization, even if she hadn’t known what she held. He was grateful that his telecom connections had caught her file transfer before it left China, but he was sure she still had the hard data. The woman’s apartment was picked clean, and he knew no journalist would leave their computer behind. She had it with her in the village, that was for sure.

Still, for all of his power, the man knew that he wasn’t omnipotent. The Triads controlled most of China, and had tendrils winding their way through many areas of Asia and North America, but that didn’t mean he could shut down the world’s second largest economy because a few men were killed. Things had to be handled appropriately, after all.

He looked over at the other two men in the penthouse, both of whom were standing in deference to his position. The first was a fat pig of a man, his lieutenant who had been tasked with taking charge of things in the industrial city of Hefei. The other was one of his gunmen, whose hand was still bandaged after the dragon had left it with only three fingers. He looked haggard and scared. He should have been.

“So none of the other men survived?”

“None, Boss. I thought I had sent enough. There were twenty four men, all armed with Kalashnikovs.”

The Boss nodded. “For most cases, you would have been right.” He tapped a button on the arm of his chair, and four bodyguards stepped into the room. The Boss continued, his voice rising into a thunderous roar. “For a normal fu*king village, you god-damned idiot! I sent you to Hefei with the express briefing on what Long Xue Yu contained, and you send in a squad of only twenty four? You could have sent twice as many, and with the warning they apparently had because you can’t keep your head out of your pathetic di*k, and it wouldn’t have mattered.”

“And you,” he continued, looking at the other man, “you were defeated when you had a clear shot. You could have shot her from hundreds of meters away, and instead you walk in like an American fu*king cowboy? Fu*king incompetent.”

He nodded to his bodyguards, who grabbed the wounded gunman by his arms. The man struggled, but to no avail as the massive bodyguards’ strength was equal to their size. Carrying him like a child, they dragged him out to the balcony before throwing his body over the edge. His scream echoed for a few seconds before fading out of sight.

The other two bodyguards used the opportunity to close in on the fat boss of Hefei, kicking him in the back of the knee and forcing him down before locking his arms in their steely grip. The Boss of all Triads looked at his underling, his fury not yet abated. “Now, what the fu*k should I do with you? I don’t think my men would appreciate having you join the coward, you’d make too much of a mess on the pavement to clean up.”

“Please Boss, I’m sorry, it won’t happen again,” the man blubbered, his fat lips flapping as tears and spittle rolled down his cheeks.

The Boss nodded. “All right. One more chance. Perhaps some of it was my fault, not taking a more personal interest in the story sooner. But, know this. Disappoint me again, and the dragon is going to be the least of your worries.”

The Boss looked out his window at Hong Kong, his fingers tightening into a fist. “I want Long Xue Yu wiped from history.”

The end.