T Group Headquarters
The banquet hall had been decorated for a grand occasion. Dozens of guards patrolled outside while servants stood at the entrance to receive guests. Inside, an elevated platform held two thrones at the far end of the hall. A dozen guards stood in front of it, still and silent. These were not the same as the men outside. They wore tribal masks and had a different quality about them entirely.
Elsewhere in the compound, Wang Wei sat across from Hou Qing, the deputy leader of Red Dragon. Two masked men stood behind Wang Wei. Behind Hou Qing stood Zhang Jian and Li Xiu.
Wang Wei's face was red. He slammed both hands on the armrests. "YOU BASTARDS! YOU THINK THIS IS A JOKE?! I PAID TEN MILLION DOLLARS! WHERE IS LONG TIANHO?!"
Hou Qing kept his voice level. "The leader will arrive before the banquet begins. I ask for your patience."
"PATIENCE?!" Wang Wei grabbed a wine glass and hurled it at him.
A slender hand caught it before it reached Hou Qing. Li Xiu lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip. "Such fine wine. It would be a waste to spill it."
One of Wang Wei's guards appeared in front of her instantly, a hidden blade already moving toward her throat. Zhang Jian's knife met it before it landed. He smiled. "My, my. I may not like her, but how dare you touch a member of Red Dragon."
Wang Wei raised his hand. "Stand down. Return to your position."
The guard stepped back without a word. Wang Wei sat back and tapped his fingers against the desk. His anger was still there but he had pulled it under control. Red Dragon was not an organization he could afford to push too far. "I will overlook this once. There will be no further mistakes."
Hou Qing bowed his head. "Thank you."
They left the chamber and walked through the corridor in silence. Hou Qing's jaw stayed tight. Li Xiu glanced at him with a playful look. "I never thought you could be that patient. You held back well in there."
Hou Qing kept walking. "This is the first mission I'll carry out alongside the leader. I won't allow any mistakes."
Li Xiu smiled. "You can call him brother here, you know. You are his real younger brother. There's no need to hide it from us."
Hou Qing didn't answer. He was already thinking through the hall layout and the number of unknown variables.
Zhang Jian had been staring at the knife in his hand. Deep cracks ran across the blade. This was one of the best pieces in his collection, made from special steel that could hold up against almost anything. One block had done this. He turned it over slowly. "That guard was strong. This blade cracked from a single exchange."
Hou Qing stopped walking and looked at him. "How strong?"
Zhang Jian considered it. "Close to my level. Those masked guards aren't decoration."
Li Xiu crossed her arms. "Wang Wei is paranoid about his own safety. Those masked ones are his personal unit. He brought us here specifically because he wanted the leader's protection on top of everything he already has."
Hou Qing nodded and kept moving. "It doesn't matter. Red Dragon completes every mission."
---
In a room elsewhere in the compound, Vivi sat still while maids dressed her, adjusted her hair, and added jewelry. She let them work without reacting. Her eyes were empty.
Flashes of Xiaolong crossed her mind. She had always treated him like a tool and taken his presence for granted. She understood now what she had thrown away and she understood that the understanding had come too late. She was not a good person and she had never pretended to be. What she felt now was probably what she had earned.
One of the maids stepped back. "Miss Vivi. We're finished. You look beautiful."
Vivi looked at her reflection. She stood up and walked toward the door.
---
Guests arrived at the banquet hall one by one. Servants greeted them at the entrance while guards checked each person and collected any weapons. The hall filled with voices and movement.
Baki arrived with Jeff's group. He had kept his hat pulled low since entering the compound and he pulled it lower now. His eyes moved across the room without stopping. He noted the guard positions, the exits, the sightlines. His gaze settled briefly on the platform and the masked guards standing in front of the thrones. They were still, but they had a sharpness that the other guards in the room didn't have. Baki could feel it from across the hall.
He also felt other eyes in the crowd. Hidden guards mixed among the guests, watching from different angles. Wang Wei had built his protection in layers.
Then he spotted Zhang Jian near one of the pillars, long hair loose, sunglasses on, jacket over his shoulders. He looked relaxed. He wasn't. Baki recognized the type immediately. Red Dragon, he thought. Taehwa had briefed him on the organization. Famous, skilled, and they had been the ones to claim his bounty after the bridge.
Baki smiled to himself and walked toward the refreshment table. He wasn't moving yet. If he acted now, Wang Wei would have time to run and disappear into the compound. He needed him seated, surrounded by people, with nowhere to go quickly. The banquet would give him that.
Across the room, Zhang Jian felt it. A gaze, sharp and direct, landing on him and then gone. He turned and scanned the crowd. Everyone looked normal. Guests talking, drinking, moving between tables. He found nothing.
He settled back against the pillar. Wang Wei's people were probably watching Red Dragon just as closely as they watched everyone else. That was expected. He made a mental note to mention it to Hou Qing and let his expression go flat and bored while his eyes kept working the room.