CH 28

‘Zui Xiao let the little boy go and the judge will give you a lighter sentence,’ Officer Huang said.

‘Do you think I’m stupid?’ Zui Xiao asked. ‘You’ll shoot me if I let the little boy go.’

‘Zui Xiao if you let the little boy, my colleagues will grant your requests,’ Officer Huang negotiated.

‘Bring me one hundred thousand in cash right now!’ Zui Xiao demanded.

Officer Huang whispered an order to his juniors.

A short while later, a junior officer brought a bag to the carpark.

‘Officer Huang, I brought the money,’ the junior officer said.

Officer Huang intended to use the excuse of bringing money to Zui Xiao to unarm Zui Xiao, but Zui Xiao refused to let him approach.

‘Don’t move!’ Zui Xiao said to Officer Huang.

Zui Xiao looked around him and saw Yue Gu Zai protecting Zhen Wu.

‘Let that little boy bring the money to me,’ Zui Xiao said.

Zhen Wu was scared of Zui Xiao would shoot Xiao Jiang. But he looked at his dad’s calm face and felt less scared. He slowly stepped toward Officer Huang.

‘Be careful,’ Officer Huang whispered to Zhen Wu.

‘What are you whispering?’ Zui Xiao asked. ‘Hurry up and bring the money here!’

Zui Xiao pressed the gun onto Xiao Jiang’s face, and Xiao Jiang was too scared to move.

Zhen Wu carried the bag of money and stepped slowly toward Zui Xiao. He was worried Xiao Jiang would faint.

‘Uncle, why don’t you let Xiao Jiang go and take me instead?’ Zhen Wu asked. ‘Uncle, look how scared Xiao Jiang is. What are you going to do if he dies of a fright? If you lose a hostage the policemen won’t let you leave.’

‘Zhen Wu!’ Zhen Zhen called.

Zhen Zhen taught her son to be a courageous person. But she didn’t mean he should offer himself as a hostage. Her husband held her hand and shook his head so she didn’t say anything else.

Zui Xiao looked at Xiao Jiang who looked frightened to death and thought what Zhen Wu said was true. The cops would shoot him if he lost a hostage.

‘Little boy come here,’ Zui Xiao said to Zhen Wu ‘Don’t do any tricks.’

‘Uncle, I’m just a little boy,’ Zhen Wu said. ‘What can I do to hurt uncle?’

Zui Xiao pushed Xiao Jiang to Mr Chen and grabbed Zhen Wu.

‘She’ll be the driver,’ Zui Xiao said and pointed at Zhen Zhen.

Zhen Zhen’s hands trembled.

‘Don’t be scared,’ Yue Gu Zai said calmly to Zhen Zhen.

Zhen Zhen took a deep breath and Yue Gu Zai’s calmness helped her compose herself.

‘Hurry up and get in the car!’ Zui Xiao ordered Zhen Zhen.

Zhen Zhen quickly sat in Zui Xiao’s car in the driver’s seat, and Zui Xiao shoved Zhen Wu onto the backseat.

‘Hurry up and drive,’ Zui Xiao said. ‘Don’t try any funny business or I’ll shoot your son.’

Zhen Zhen turned on the engine and reversed out of the carpark. When she drove past her husband, she looked into his calm eyes and trusted he would save her and their son.

The moment Zhen Zhen drove off, Officer Huang ordered the cops to chase after Zui Xiao’s car, and Yue Gu Zai called Cheng Yi.

‘Activate the GPS tracking device on Zhen Wu’s watch,’ Yue Gu Zai instructed Cheng Yi. ‘Tell Chu Gian and the others to chase after Zhen Wu and bring a sports car here within two minutes.’

‘Yes boss,’ Cheng Yi said and hung up.

Cheng Yi didn’t ask any questions. He understood from the rare subtle panicked tone in Yue Gu Zai’s voice that something bad must have happened to Zhen Wu.

Inside Zui Xiao’s car, Zhen Wu discreetly input codes into his watch to communicate with to Cheng Yi.

‘Drive faster,’ Zui Xiao ordered Zhen Zhen.

‘It’s a residential zone,’ Zhen Zhen said and stopped at the red light.

‘Run the red light,’ Zui Xiao said and checked if cops were still behind them.

Zhen Zhen hesitated running the red light before stepping on the accelerator. The cars at the intersection braked and Zhen Zhen drove past them.

‘Where do you want me to drive to?’ Zhen Zhen asked.

‘To the southern ferry port terminal,’ Zui Xiao said.

Zhen Wu input the destination coordinates into his watch.

Cheng Yi received Zhen Wu’s coded message and reported to Yue Gu Zai.

‘Boss, young master said that they’re heading to the southern ferry port terminal,’ Cheng Yi said.

After Zhen Zhen drove to the terminal, it was pouring rain and more than ten black cars were waiting for them at the terminal.

Yue Gu Zai and Chu Gian arrived before the cops. While Zui Xiao was distracted, Chu Gian navigated behind shipping containers to ambush Zui Xiao.

‘After I arrive at a safe place, I’ll let this little boy go,’ Zui Xiao said. ‘But if any of you make a false move, I’ll shoot the little boy.’

Apart from the paranoid Zui Xiao, everyone else could see Chu Gian standing on top of a shipping container behind Zui Xiao.

Chu Gian winked at Zhen Wu and he slowly nodded his head. He saw his dad signal Chu Gian then she jumped onto Zui Xiao and his dad pulled him to safety.

Chu Gian pressed one of her knees on Zui Xiao’s back, and restrained Zui Xiao’s arms and legs.

‘Stop moving!’ Chu Gian said to Zui Xiao.

‘I’ll leave the rest to you,’ Yue Gu Zai said to Chu Gian.

‘Yes boss,’ Chu Gian said.

Yue Gu Zai wanted to quickly take his wife and son home, but the cops arrived and prevented him from leaving.

‘Thank you for capturing the criminal,’ Officer Huang said. ‘But I need to escort you to the police station. It’s illegal for you to carry a gun.’

Yue Gu Zai dismissed Officer Huang’s request. He led his wife and son to a sports car. When Officer Huang ran to the driver’s seat, he gave Officer Huang a business card.

‘I don’t know what you and your officers were doing while on duty,’ Yue Gu Zai said. ‘But you allowed a criminal to escape with a gun to a public place. I’ll ask someone to investigate this matter.’

Officer Huang looked in disbelief at the business card while Yue Gu Zai sped off with his wife and son. On the business card was a private contact number of the head of the national security department.

***

End of Chapter Twenty-Eight