Chapter 104 - Vigilante

It was after they posed Mr. Zhang's death that The Fox and The Badger had received the summon from The Zookeeper. It came in the form of a burner phone. The communication had always been one-way with their boss. He would always contact them, but they could not return word to him. No way to retaliate if they did not like the orders.

They had spent days getting to their new headquarters. The past one had been in an abandoned zoo. Now they were up in a forest, in a grand mansion hidden behind the trees.

Badger had been nervously fidgeting with his hands the moment they arrived in the property. He had never met the boss in all his years of service in The Zoo. On the other hand, The Fox was strutting, saying hello to the other members that were there. It was only natural for him to act like that. He was one of the newest recruits of the boss and he was favored really well.

It was a maze of corridors before they finally reached the office. The huge leather chair was turned away from them and a deep voice spoke. "Hello, Fox and Badger."

"Good afternoon, boss," said Fox. "We have received your order."

"Yes, I had pulled you out of the Qing's," the boss chuckled, puffs of smoke filled the air. "We are going to lie low for now. A politician is trying to take them down. I doubt he'd succeed." The boss sighed. "I thought I'd stop at nothing to end them, but ever since that Qing Chen was finally using his power, I thought it would be fun to play with them for a little while. There's a paper at the table. Go ahead and read."

The Badger did not make a move but The Fox paced and snatched the paper. He smirked as he read. We'll miss you too. Sincerely Yours, The Qings.

"He's finally getting angst," laughed the boss. "All that repressed anger since his mother died was finally coming out. It was a wise decision to target the wife."

"Isn't she what we really need?"

"Yes," said the boss. "But we really wouldn't be able to get to her with a wall of Qings at the front. They'll protect their own."

"We'll be able too make it," reassured Fox. "I'll take care of Wuming."

The boss' laughter doubled. "Yes, yes, I will give him to you. Just as you requested upon taking this assignment."

The Fox grinned. "Thank you, boss. I won't let you down."

"I know," he answered. "The Sphynx taught you really well. You're his greatest glory."

The Fox chuckled good-naturedly. "It is yet to be proven."

"Of course, you will get your chance." The boss sighed again. "For now, rest. You can stay at this house or go about for a few weeks while we wait for The Qings to be free again."

"I'll stay," said The Fox.

They all turned quiet and Fox looked at Badger, waiting for an answer. "U-uh… I'll stay too, kind boss."

"How is your health, Badger? Let my assistants know if you need more of your medicine. We'll provide them for you."

"With your help, my health had been great, boss."

"Good to know. You too are on hold. Until further notice. Let's sit back and enjoy a good show from that politician. You're dismissed."

The Badger could feel his knees go weak as soon as they exited the boss' office. The Fox was not even concerned. He had that youthful confidence that Badger once had. "Where are you going?"

"To train," said the kid. "I assume you'll sleep? It was a long drive."

"Yes. I'll find a room."

"Okay, I'll see you later. Have sweet dreams."

The training room was at the top floor with huge open windows and a huge empty space in the middle. The Fox immediately found a sparring partner after he had changed clothes. His lean body and long limbs covered with built muscles had worked for his advantage. He used to be a scrawny kid, helpless, but with the boss' help he had been able to make use of himself. He made him stronger—enough that he could easily get rid of the people he wanted out of the world.

That night that he had killed Mr. Wei was an experience he would not forget. He had been inside The Kingly for days before he had made his move. Mr. Wei was a man who had been nervous. With all the debt he had acc.u.mulated, he knew someone was out to get him. It didn't take much to scare him into checking into The Kingly and lure him to his own death.

The Qings and the police had figured as much that he had dressed up as one of the crew on one of the busiest days at the hotel. He had to admit, it took him longer than he expected to lay down the foundations there. The CCTV room was the hardest to get into, he had to knock another man unconscious to gain access. Then he had been a room service guy and got into Mr. Wei's room. That was when his magic happened.

Mr. Wei begged and begged on his knees, tears in his eyes, but as usual, Fox was not swayed. Mr. Wei had been cheating on his wife for years, drove into debt by playing in the casinos, preying on the women in need of money—then he had the audacity of paying them below average after getting his fun. A lot of people had been wanting his head even before Fox had gotten to him. Loan sharks, the women who could do nothing, and The Qings who had probably enough of what he was doing. Even his wife would want his head when she found out what her husband had been doing with his life when he had been telling her he was at work.

Fox smirked as he flipped his partner on the foam in three moves.

The wife would've known by now. The papers and the news had been clear about what Mr. Wei had been doing in his spare time as well as Mr. Zhang's adventures that had gone wrong. Vigilantes was what the journalist Xia Cui called them.

Fox had wanted to laugh when he first saw the headline. But then it dawned on him that maybe, at some point, he was like that. In this line of business, you were never allowed to ask questions, but he had heard that Wuming liked to pry in his targets' lives—wanted to know what they did to deserve their punishment.

If they had one thing in common, that would probably it. They both wanted to do justice in kind. 

Fox's sparring partner got back to his feet.

Wuming was known as one of the best assassins out there. Always got the job done. No traces. No messes.

Just to think there was only one room for the best in this generation... It would really be a shame to kill him.