Ning grinned, counting his cash. He had shifted 53 units, 29.99 a piece, and was, needless to say happy. He still had most of the van full and plenty of clients.

He was headed to Golden Sun restaurant. Ce owned the place, another one of his fronts. He pushed the van door closed with his hip, still counting the money. He didn't check if it was locked, NO ONE had the Chutzpah to steal from Gan Ning!

Ning pushed the door open, tucking the notes back into his pocket as some of the patrons turned to look at him. He sneered a little, walking up the counter, where a slightly drained looking woman was serving.

"May I take your order sir." She sighed, pressing her glasses further up her nose fingering through a magazine on the lower counter just out of view.

Ning smirked, leaning over the counter slightly. "I'd like 6 45's." He muttered.

The woman looked up, her glasses slipping slightly down her nose. "What kind of 45?" She asked.

"S.A.A, naturally." Ning grinned.

She smirked slightly, walking over to the side and opening the swing gate at the side of the counter, "Best ask the manager about that." She said, motioning him in quickly so no one got suspicious.

He went out the back quickly, to the door labelled, 'staff only'. He always thought the system was stupid, but it stopped anyone waltzing in. When he came to the door of Ce's room, he stopped for a second, there was talking. Someone else was in there.

He could make out Ce's laughing tone, he was talking to a friend. Then that erratic jumpy voice, that unmistakable tone like a fighting cat. It was Zhou Yu.

He listened carefully, Zhou Yu was shouting, as usual.

"…Get him off my back man!" Yu shrieked.
Ce laughed, "Calm down, you've been hitting the good stuff again haven't ya?"

"Shut up! He's gonna get me if I don't get him first!" Yu snapped.

"He's not going to get you, you are so paranoid!" Ce chuckled

"Then if you won't help me, I'll just have to do it myself, won't I?" Yu barked

"Yes, you do that" Ce ridiculed.

This was stupid. Ning tapped on the door, hearing Ce invite him in, opened the door. Ce was inspecting his prized Colt, while Yu rushed around him like a dog waiting be taken for a walk. Ce seemed to be blocking him out mostly. Ce loved his guns, he was an avid collector of Colts, having a wall lined with every model from the python to the double eagle.

"Ning! What a nice surprise? How goes it?" Ce said, pulling the cylinder aside and cocking the hammer, pointing the empty gun at Yu.

"Not too good, business is slow." Ning lied, pressing the money further into his pocket.

Ce looked up, smiling. "Ning, you are so full of crap!" He grunted, standing up and punching him in the shoulder playfully, "But that what I love about ya, now give me my cut."

Ning grumbled, pulling out the money and counting out half, slapping it begrudgingly into Ce's waiting hand. Ce counted it, keeping a few notes lodged between hiss middle and index finger, pocketed the rest and flicked his hand over Ning's head, tucking the loose note into Ning's Bandana.

"Go buy yourself a shirt!" Ce teased, sitting back down and pulling out some money, waving it in front of Yu.

Ning screwed up his nose, plucking the notes out of his bandanna and tucking them back into his cash wedge.

Yu snatched at the money but Ce pulled it away, tutting. Yu protested loudly

Ning turned to take his leave, his guts boiling. For once he wanted the profit.


"Haven't you got a job tomorrow?" Zhang He asked, pawing through the days paper to see if his.. 'work' was in there. It never was. The towns paper had learned not to write about the gangs. In fact, he wasn't sure if the paper wasn't owned by a gang.

Liao smiled, "what do you mean me, you're coming too."

Zhang He looked up, raising a brow. "What?" He gasped a little.

"Come now, Cao said I'm leading, and as leader I expect you to be there." Liao growled playfully.

"Why me?" Zhang he grumbled.
"Zhao Yun will be there." Liao said.

Zhang He fell silent, his hands silently curling into fists as his nails crumpled the pages of the paper.

"I'll do it." he grumbled.

"That's what I thought." Liao sighed.


Ma Su was in the hospital and wasn't expected to make it, Zhuge Liang had gone all out this time, at least it let everyone know what his intentions were…

Wei Yan was standing on the fire escape in the dark, the glitter of the streetlights below. He took a drag, a little something to calm his nerves, and sighed, blowing grey smoke out into the cold night air.

He was thinking about Liu Bei again.

Bei was a good man, in fact the apartment where Yan lived was provided by Liu Bei. Bei had purchased an entire block to house his men. Liu Bei may be a gang boss, but he was kind to his people. Much too kind.

He slipped his shirt sleeve over his wrist and checked his watch. 1 AM. He sighed, stepping back, and butting out his joint on the wall and flicking it away in the dark, walking back into the block and closing the door behind him. He fumbled for his keys in his pocket, turning to walk up the stairs.

He lived above Zhuge Liang, and wasn't surprised when he saw little Jiang Wei perched on the steps, wearing nothing but a dressing gown tucked close into his body. He looked up with a start when Wei Yan appeared at the bottom of the stairs, he was crying. His robe had slipped down over his arms, showing, what, even from a distance Yan recognised as bruising.

Zhuge must have finally done it.

Yan sighed, yet again about to regret his actions. He waked over, slowly lowering himself down next Wei. Wei looked startled, shuffling away when Yan put his hand on the boy's shoulder, being gentle so as not to hurt him. Wei stopped moving, looking over at Yan with that same gaze

"It…. Gets… easier." Yan sighed.

Wei attempted a little forced smile, then lay aside slightly, resting his head on Yan's shoulder and closing his eyes.

Yan swallowed, blushing secretly beneath his mask. He was more than a little embarrassed, but the boy needed a shoulder to cry on, and who else was going to do it?


"Get the money!" Ma Chao grunted under a bandanna scarf pulled up over his nose, he resembled something from an old western movie, clutching a shotgun in both hands.

"This seems too easy!" Zhao Yun sighed, loading the boxes up into the back of the car. Unmarked plates, naturally.

One of Cao's men perched on the rooftop, watching the action. He squeezed the button on his radio slowly. "Hui here, they've taken the van, our inside was right!"

Cao Pi heard the transmission, immediately picking up his radio and responding. "Good work Hui! Can you hear me Ai?" He muttered.

"Loud and clear Pi, we're good to go?" the radio crackled in a deep, static mutated voice presumably belonging to Deng Ai.

"Report in as soon as their car rounds into TianShui avenue, got it?" Pi said.

"Gotcha, out!" Ai crackled.

Pi smiled, looking up at Zhang Liao and He, and the rest of his small following of vagabonds. "We all know the plan?" Pi asked, nodding at Zhang Liao.

"Let me take Zhao Yun!" Zhang He growled.

Cao Pi laughed, "Please Zhang He, he's no good to me dead!" Pi laughed.

Zhang He tilted his head a little, "You are going to… capture him? Why?" He asked.

Pi smirked that same insidious grin as his father. "He's Liu Bei's personal whore, I hear he's pretty, so I want to see just why Bei keeps him." Pi grinned darkly.

The remark came as a surprise to no one. It had long been known that Pi was bisexual, and his wife wasn't pleasing him at the moment.

"So we want him alive…" He sighed.

At that moment the radio crackled. "they've turned into the Avenue, all yours!" Ai spluttered.

Zhang Liao looked up, "You heard him! Everyone, into positions!" he shouted.

The Westerner's vehicle was headed for a lock-up on ChengDu street. Liao and Pi had sawn off the padlocks and snuck inside, having one man on the outside to re-secure new locks when they were in. Yun would never suspect a thing.

They waited silently. Sure enough the sound of a car skidding to a halt, doors slamming and soon the sound of keys in the padlock could be heard. Soon the door slid open and the car drove in. The two doors slammed, Yun and Chao making idle chatter, their other men having left them at the scene, each fleeing a different road to confuse the police.

They were alone.

Yun closed the door behind them, walking back to the car, saying something about a good haul.

And that was a queue if ever Liao had heard one. "NOW!" Liao shouted.

Zhang He, along with all the other leapt out of hiding, surrounding them and blocking any retreat the men of the West had. Zhang He's lips curled a sick grin as he laid eyes on the shocked and frightened gaze of Yun. This was delicious.

Chao swore loudly jumping towards the car, he had left his shotgun on the backseat. As he moved, Liao made one swift move and fired a shot straight into Chao's shoulder, sending him spinning to the floor in a blossom of scarlet. Liao instantly turned his barrel on Yun. "Comply and you won't be hurt." he grunted in a painfully serious tone.

Yun raised his hands slowly, his eyes darting from Chao, writhing on the floor, to the gun on the backseat. He edged slowly over but Zhang He ran forward, knocking Yun over and pinning him to the ground.

"Get something to bind him with before I snap his neck!" Zhang He spat, making no attempt to restrain himself as he ground Yun into the concrete floor. Liao Nodded to his men, half the company rushing to lead the money and the other half to Zhang He. Ma Chao swore, trying to pull himself to his feet, but Pi kicked him back to the floor. "Stay down dog and I'll let you keep your worthless life!" Pi growled.

The men finished loading the Money and He had bound Yun's wrists behind his back with mercilessly tight cable ties.

"Ok, lets get out of here!" Pi said.

"Wait a second." Liao said, walking over to the far side of the lockup in the dark, pulling a dust cover from something that had been moved recently.

He grinned wide.

"I'm keeping this!" Liao laughed.


Gan Ning sipped at his coffee, resting back on the badly re-padded old bench of the diner. It was a little odd that Lu Xun wasn't here. He always came to have lunch here. It was just about the only time he ever got to see him, he didn't come to the base so often anymore because of Zhou Yu.

"Here's your bagel darlin'." the waitress chirped up next to him.

"Thanks, hey did Lu Xun come in here today?" Ning asked.

"Who? The lil' feller who always sits with you? No. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him in a few days." she said, slanting her hips so that her hands could be placed upon them efficiently.

"A few days? That's not like him… oh thanks, here's your tip." Ning said, giving her a couple of notes.

"Thanks hun'." she smiled, taking her leave.

Ning sat for a while, thinking. Maybe he should drop by and see Xun later, to be honest, he was worried.