7: The Blind Banker – Part III
Happy new year and happy new Sherlock season!
Parker had arrived and she and Ysia sat on stools on opposite sides of the table. Lily stood at the end of the table. "You saw the cipher," Ysia said quietly. "Then you know she is coming for me."
"You've been clever to avoid her so far," Lily said.
"I had to finish…to finish this work. It's only a matter of time. I know she will find me."
"Who is she?" Lily wondered. "Have you met her before?"
Ysia nodded. "When I was a little girl, living back in China. I recognise her…'signature'."
"The cipher?" Parker asked.
Ysia nodded again. "Only she would do this. Zhi Zhu."
"Zhi Zhu?" wondered Lily.
"The Spider," Parker clarified. Thank you two months of Chinese language studies.
Putting her right foot up on her opposite knee, Ysia unlaced her shoe and took it off. On the underside of her heel was a black tattoo of a lotus flower inside a circle. "You know this mark?" There was no response other then Parker shaking her head. "It's the mark of a Tong."
"Hmm?" Parker wondered.
"Ancient crime syndicate based in China," Lily said. Parker raised an eyebrow as if to say: 'And how, exactly, do you know that?'
"Every foot soldier bears the mark; everyone who hauls for them."
"Hauls?" asked Parker. Ysia looked up at her and Parker's eyes widened. "Y-you mean you were a smuggler?"
She lowered her gaze again and put her shoe back on. "I was fifteen. My parents were dead. I had no livelihood; no way of surviving day to day except to work for the bosses."
"Who are they?" Lily inquired.
"They are called the Black Lotus," Ysia explained. "By the time I was sixteen, I was taking thousands of pounds' worth of drugs across the border into Hong Kong. But I managed to leave that life behind me. I came to England." She smiled a little. "They gave me a job here. Everything was good; a new life."
"And then she came looking for you."
"Yes," whispered Ysia. Upset by the memories, she swallowed before continuing tearfully. "I had hoped after five years maybe they would have forgotten me, but they never really let you leave. A small community like ours – they are never very far away." She wiped tears from her face. "She came to my flat. She asked me to help her to track down something that was stolen."
"And you've no idea what it was?" Parker asked.
"I refused to help."
Parker leaned forward. "So you knew her well? You know…when you were living back in China?"
Ysia nodded. "Oh yes." She looked up at the two of them. "She is my twin sister." Parker's eyes widened and Lily closed her eyes for a moment. "Two orphans. We had no choice. We could work for the Black Lotus, or starve on the streets like beggars. My sister has become their puppet, in the power of the one they call Shan – the Black Lotus general. I turned my sister away. She said I had betrayed her. Next day I came to work and the cipher was waiting.
Lily laid the photographs on the table. "Can you decipher these?"
Ysia leaned forward and pointed to the mark beside Sir William's portrait. "These are numbers." Ysia pointed to another photograph. "Here: the line across the man's eyes – it's the Chinese number one."
Lily pointed to the first photo. "And this one is fifteen. But what's the code?"
"All the smugglers know it," Ysia said quietly. "It's based upon a book–" Just then almost all the lights went out. Ysia looked up in dread. Lily straightened up and looked around sharply. "She's here," Ysia said softly, her face full of terror. "Zhi Zhu. She has found me."
Lily instantly raced across the room. Parker called out to her fellow hero softly but urgently. "L-Lily! Lily, wait!" Lily charged out of the room. Parker turned to Ysia and grabbed her hand. "Come here." She pulled her across the room towards another room. "Get in. Get in!"
Lily raced across a large open foyer with a staircase at each end and a balcony surrounding the floor above. She stopped in the middle of the foyer and looked around. From her right, a figure ran across the balcony and fired a pistol at her. Lily turned and ran in the opposite direction, flinging herself to the floor and sliding along it to take shelter behind a statue on a low plinth. The figure fired a couple more times as Lily scrambled behind the plinth.
In the restoration room, Parker looked up worriedly at the sound of gunfire, then turned to Ysia. "I have to go and help. Bolt the door after me." She hurried off and Ysia Oswald's face filled with dread. Parker made her way cautiously out into the foyer, then ducked and ran for cover as more gunshots rang out. The figure ran back across the balcony and disappeared from view.
Lily came out from behind the plinth and hared across the foyer and up the stairs with her super speed. Parker peered out from behind a column at the other end of the foyer as Lily reached the top of the stairs and teared around the corner. She pelted into another display room and the gunman ran out of cover behind her and fires towards her again. Lily ducked behind a display cabinet displaying some ancient skulls as the figure fired again. "Careful!" Lily called out. The gunman fired again.
"Some of those skulls are over two hundred thousand years old! Have a bit of respect!" She paused for a couple of seconds, breathing heavily. There were no more gunshots. "Thank you!" There were no more sounds from the gunman. After a moment Lily frowned, then carefully peered through the glass of the case.
In the restoration room, Ysia looked up anxiously. Ysia closed her eyes in defeated despair. Ysia took a shaky breath and slowly began to crawl out of her hiding place. On the desk, paperwork was fluttering in a slight breeze. Ysia crawled to the edge of the table and peered over the top of it before slowly standing up. Behind her, a woman who looked exactly like her except for a few subtle facial features silently walked up and stopped just behind her, staring at her intently. As if sensing her, Ysia turned slowly around, and then gazed at her with affection as she recognised her. She softly greeted her by name. "Aria Song Oswald…" She hesitated for a moment. "Sister…" She reached out and put her hand on her shoulder. "Please…"
As Parker continued to search for her friend, a single gunshot rang out in the distance. She turned towards the sound, her face filling with appalled horror as she realised where the shot had come from. "Oh no…" She raced back to the stairs and ran down them, across the foyer and back to the restoration room. Entering the room, she slowed down and looked around cautiously for any sign of the gunman. Carefully making her way across the room, she stopped and then groaned in despair and guilt at the sight which greeted her. Ysia lay dead on the table, her outstretched arm revealing a black origami lotus flower in her upturned hand.
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At the Yard, Lily and Parker were standing a short distance away from Dimmock who had his back to them and was rummaging through paperwork on a desk as if trying to ignore them. "How many murders is it gonna take before you start believing that this maniac's out there?" Parker asked lividly. Dimmock turned and walked in between them, heading for another desk. Parker turned around and followed him. "A young girl was gunned down tonight. That's three victims in three days. You're supposed to be finding them."
Lily walked across in front of Parker to get nearer to Dimmock. Parker stepped back and walked a few paces away in exasperation. "Brian Lukis and Eddie Van Coon were working for a gang of international smugglers – a gang called the Black Lotus operating here in London right under your nose," Lily said. She leaned closer to Dimmock to emphasise her last point. Dimmock finally looked round to her.
"Can you prove that?" Dimmock asked.
Lily straightened up, not sure what to do.
Parker got an idea. "I think I know someone who can help."
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In the canteen, Molly Hooper was looking at the choices in the self-service display. "What are you thinking: pork or the pasta?"
Molly turned in surprise at the voice beside her. "Oh, Parker, it's you!" she said. Parker smiled. "I haven't seen you in a while."
"I've had a bit much on my plate, haven't had much time on my hands. Good to see you again Molly." She looked down at the food options. "Personally I'd get pasta, but that's just me." She shrugged. Parker turned to Molly again. "Er…Molly, can I ask you a favour?"
"Uh, sure! What is it?"
"I need to examine some bodies."
Molly was startled. "You need to look at some bodies?" she asked.
"Yeah, I've begun working with The Dynamic Duo Detective Agency. It's for a case. Eddie Van Coon and Brian Lukis."
Molly looked at the clipboard she was holding. "They're on my list."
Parker turned on puppy-dog eyes. "Do you think you could wheel them out again for me?"
"Well…the paperwork's already gone through," she said apologetically.
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Later, two body bags were lying on adjacent tables. Molly, wearing latex gloves, unzipped one of the bags and pulled the sides apart to reveal the face of Brian Lukis. Parker led Dimmock into the room. "We're just interested in the feet," Lily said.
"The feet?"
"Yes. D'you mind if we have a look at them?
Smiling at Molly, Lily led Dimmock to the other end of the body bag. Molly followed her and unzipped the bag at that end, pulling the sides back to reveal the bottom of Lukis' feet. On the bottom of the right heel was a tattoo identical to the one which Ysia showed the girls earlier. Lily straightened up, a smug expression on her face, and walked over to the other table. "Now Van Coon, please."
Molly and Dimmock followed her to the second table and she unzipped the other body bag. Van Coon had an identical tattoo on his right heel. Dimmock sighed silently. "Oh!" Lily said in mock surprise.
"So…" Dimmock said awkwardly.
"So either these two men just happened to visit the same Chinese tattoo parlour or I'm telling the truth."
Dimmock sighed in resignation. "What do you want?"
"I want every book from Lukis' apartment and Van Coon's."
"…Their books?"
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The girls walked into the living room, taking off their coats. Parker sat down in her chair; Lily remained standing. "Not just a criminal organisation; it's a cult," Lily said. "Her sister was corrupted by one of its leaders."
"Ysia said the name."
"Yes, Shan; General Shan."
Parker shook her head. "We're still no closer to finding them."
"Actually, we're closer than you think. We've got almost all we need to know. She gave us most of the missing pieces." She looked at Parker, waiting for her to agree. When Parker said nothing, she impatiently explained. "Why did she need to visit her sister? Why did she need her expertise?"
"She worked at the museum."
"Exactly."
Parker finally caught up. "An expert in antiquities. Mmm, of course. I see."
"Valuable antiquities, Parker. Ancient Chinese relics purchased on the black market. China's home to a thousand treasures hidden after Mao's revolution."
"And the Black Lotus is selling them." Lily tilted her head as she got an idea.
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Later, Lily was sitting at the dining table surfing Crispians' website for recent auctions, focusing on the auctions of Chinese and other Asian works of art. Parker was leaning over her shoulder to look at the screen. Lily skimmed through the list "Check for the dates…" She pointed to a particular auction lot – two Chinese Ming vases. "Here, Parker."
"Mmm.
"Arrived from China four days ago." She ran her finger down the details and looked at the Sale Information at the bottom which includes the statement "Source – Anonymous". "Anonymous. Vendor doesn't give his name. Two undiscovered treasures from the East."
"One in Lukis' suitcase and one in Van Coon's," Parker said.
Lily moved to the Quest search site and typed into the search bar, narrating as she does so, although she actually typed the word "Chinese" first. "…antiquities sold at auction." The results list showed up. "Look, here's another one."
"Mmm."
"Arrived from China a month ago: Chinese ceramic statue, sold four hundred thousand."
Parker consulted Lukis' diary as she spotted another entry on the screen. "Ah, look: a month before that – a Chinese painting, half a million."
"All of them from an anonymous source. They're stealing them back in China and one by one they're feeding them into Britain."
"Huh." She looked at Lukis' diary again and then at the printout of Van Coon's calendar. "And every single auction coincides with Lukis or Van Coon travelling to China."
Lily smiled. "So what if one of them got greedy when they were in China? What if one of them stole something?"
"That's why Zhi Zhu's come."
Mrs. Coleman knocked on the open door of the living room. "Ooh-ooh!" The girls turn to her. "Sorry. Are we collecting for charity, Lily?"
"What?"
"A young man's outside with crates of books."
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Two uniformed police officers were carrying in yet another of the many plastic crates which had been dumped in the living room. "So, the numbers are references," Lily said.
"To books," Parker said with a nod.
"To specific pages and specific words on those pages."
"Right, so…fifteen and one: that means…page fifteen and it's the first word you read."
"Yeah."
"So what's the message?" wondered Parker.
"Depends on the book. That's the cunning of the book code. Has to be one that they both owned."
Parker looked around despairingly at the many many crates in the room, each either labelled "Van Coon" or "Lukis". "Okay, right. Well, this shouldn't take too long, should it?" She went over to the nearest crate and flipped open the lid, sighing tiredly as she saw the amount of books inside. Lily opened another crate and started taking books out, looking at the cover of each one. Parker took a handful from her crate and carried them over to the dining table and sat down.
Dimmock walked in and held up an evidence bag to Lily. "We found these, at the museum." She showed the bag to Parker. It contained the photographs of the cipher which Lily had been showing to Ysia. "Is this your writing?"
Parker took the bag. "Uh, we hoped Ysia could decipher it for us. Thanks." Dimmock nodded and turned back to Lily, who was still unloading his crate.
"Anything else I can do? To assist you, I mean?"
"Some silence right now would be marvellous," Lily said, continuing her search. Dimmock stared at her, then looked across to Parker, who shook her head apologetically. Biting his lip, Dimmock turned and left the room.
Lily took out a book from a crate and realised that she already got one like it from another crate. She put them side by side – hard backed copies of Iain Banks' "Transition". Opening one of them to page fifteen, she looked at the first word on the page and then narrated the word in exasperated disappointment. "Cigarette." Slamming the book closed, she put both versions on top of the pile on the desk.
"Ah…" Parker said quietly.
Lily went back to rummaging through crates as Parker puts her pile onto the floor and went back to get more from a crate. Later, Lily found two more identical books, "Freakonomics", from the two men's collections. She flicked to page fifteen, which is the beginning of a chapter headed "What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?" Moving down to the first word of the chapter, she read it and then looked up in frustration. "Imagine."
Again, she dumped the two books on Parker's pile.
After having been at it all night, sunlight seeped through the windows. Lily had removed her jacket and Parker had taken her sweater off but they were still in the same positions as they were when they began. Time moved on and the day light was even brighter outside. Books were scattered everywhere over the table and the floor and some of the crates had been shifted about. As Lily ran her fingers through her hair and then looked around at the crates and sighed. An alarm went off on Parker's watch. She looked at it and then out of the window as if to confirm that it really is the morning. She sighed tiredly and buried her head in her hands.
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The receptionist at the surgery looked up apologetically at the first person in a queue of patients waiting to speak to her. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting." Someone in the queue sighed pointedly. "But we haven't got anything now 'til next Thursday."
The woman at the front of the queue turned aside with an exasperated look on her face. "This is taking ages."
"Er, sorry."
John Watson had just happen to be walking through the waiting room but turned back and came over to the reception. "What's the point of making an appointment if they can't even stick to it?" one of the patients asked.
John turned to the receptionist. "Um, what's going on?"
"That new doctor – Ms. Kiehof – she hasn't buzzed the intercom for ages."
"I'll go and have a word."
"Yeah, thanks," the receptionist.
John went to Parker's consulting room and knocked on the door. "Parker?" he said. He waited a few seconds but got no reply. "Parker?" There was still no reply so he opened the door and looked inside. Parker was sitting behind the desk, her head propped up on one fist, fast asleep.
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Parker came out of her consulting room, putting her sweater on and walking over to John who was standing behind the reception desk. She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Um, looks like I'm done. I thought I had some more to see."
"Oh, I did one or two of yours."
Parker was silent for a moment. "One or two?"
"Or…five…or six."
Parker sighed. "I'm sorry. That's not very professional." John was silent. "I had, um, a bit of a late one."
"Oh, right." Parker continued to stand there awkwardly. "So, um, what were you doing to keep you up so late?" John asked.
Parker shrugged. "Uh, I was, er, attending a sort of…book event."
"Ah…Date or just with some friends?"
Parker was a bit startled. "Hm? Oh, no…no, it wasn't a date." She glanced over John, trying to figure out what he was implying.
"Do you have one tonight?" he asked.
Parker couldn't help but grin. "No…Unless you want to be."
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Lily was still working on the crates but tried a different tactic. "A book that everybody would own." She turned to her bookcase and pulled down the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, the Holy Bible and Harry Potter (of course everyone would own Harry Potter!). Putting them on top of the nearest crate, she opened the dictionary to the indicated page. "Fifteen. Entry one." The word was 'add'. She moved on to Harry Potter and the first word on page fifteen was 'that'. Putting that aside and flicking to page 15 of the Bible, partway through the Book of Genesis, the first word was 'I'. As she closed the book Parker's bedroom door slammed shut and she propped her elbows on the crate and ran her fingers through her hair. Parker walked into the room having changed into a casual dress.
"I need to get some air," Lily said. "We're going out to–" She stopped short when she spotted her friend. "Wait, wait, wait. Why the dress? Yeah, it's not very fancy, but the only time I've seen you in a dress is on Sunday when you go to church."
Parker smiled. "Now don't be surprised when I tell you this, but I've got a date."
Lily stared at Parker blankly for a moment before slowly reaching into her back pocket and taking out her cell phone. She pushed on a speed dial and held the phone to her ear. "Elizabeth, you won't believe this, but Parker's got a date." Parker groaned and fell back into her armchair, knowing there was no point in trying to stop the conversation. "Parker," Lily said. Parker looked up. Lily was holding her phone away from her mouth. "Is it the same guy from earlier? The other doctor?" Parker nodded. Lily turned back to her phone. "Yeah, it is." Parker put her head in her hands.
"And his name is John Watson, just because I know you'll end up asking that question."
After a long conversation, Lily hung up the phone. "So where is he gonna take you?" she asked.
"Cinemas."
Lily frowned and sighed. "Cliché. Try this." She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. Parker accepted it. "In London for one night only. I think it would be interesting for the girl to take the guy for once."
Parker smiled lightly and shook her head. "Sorry, but I don't think that's how this works."
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John and Parker walked down the street. "So…circus instead?" John asked.
Parker sighed. "Sorry about this, my friend's too stubborn. She ordered the tickets no matter what I said to try and convince her not too."
"Perfectly fine," John said. "In that case, I'll pay for it while it's in her name." Parker smiled.
They walked for a bit longer and looked at a number of large red Chinese lanterns strung outside the hall. "I think they're probably from China!" Parker said with a laughed.
"Yes, I think…think so, yes," John agreed.
"There's a coincidence!" Parker said under her breath.
They went inside to the Box Office where the manager was giving a customer her tickets. "That's wonderful," said the customer. "Thank you very much."
"Okay," the manager replied.
The customer turned and walked up the nearby stairs and Parker went over to the office. "Hi. I have, er, two tickets reserved for tonight," she said a bit awkwardly. The guy is supposed to take the girl and right now it's the other way around, thanks a lot Lily.
"And what's the name?"
"Er, Falda."
The manager rifled through the reservations, then turned back to her with an envelope. "Actually, I have three in that name."
Parker was slightly confused. "No, I don't think so. We only booked two."
"And then I phoned back and got one for myself as well," came a voice. Parker looked up in annoyed disbelief and turned as Lily walked over to them, looking at John. She offered him her hand. "I'm Lily."
John glanced at Parker momentarily, then turns back to the new arrival and shook her hand a little nervously. Parker turned away in exasperation.
"Er, hi," John said.
"Hello." Lily gave Parker a not-so-discrete thumbs up before turning and walking away and calling back as she did so. "Quick word, Parker?"
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The girls were standing a few steps up the stairs as people made their way past them. The two heroes kept their voices down as they spoke. "You couldn't let me have just one night off, could you?" Parker asked.
"Yellow Dragon Circus, in London for one day. It fits. The Tong sent an assassin to England–"
"–dressed as a tightrope walker. Come on, Lily, behave!"
Lily sighed. "We're looking for a killer who can climb, who can shin up a rope. Where else would you find that level of dexterity? Exit visas are scarce in China. They need a pretty good reason to get out of that country. Now, all I need to do is have a quick look round the place…"
"Okay," said Parker. "You go do that. I'm going back to John."
"Come on, Parker, I need your help!"
Parker glared at Crystal. "Look, you were super happy for me when I got a date and now you come crash it?! Go do…whatever it is you do as a detective. I'm finding John." Parker left without letting Lily get in another word.
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In the performance area there was a stage on one side of the large hall and the curtains were closed. However, it looked as if the stage was not going to be used. A circle of candles had been laid out in the middle of the floor, about thirty feet in diameter. The room was dimly lit. The patrons were gathering around the circle but there were no seats. The number of tickets had been limited and there was room for everyone to stand around the circle with a clear view. John and Parker stood side by side while Lily stood behind them with her back to them, looking all around the room and peering up to the ceiling. Parker talked quietly over her shoulder to her fellow Golden Trio member, turning her head away from John so that he couldn't hear. "You said circus. This is not a circus. Look at the size of this crowd. Lily, this is…" she grimaced with distaste, "…art."
"This is not their day job," Lily whispered back over her shoulder.
"No, sorry, I forgot," Parker said, rolling her eyes. "They're not a circus; they're a gang of international smugglers."
The performance began with someone tapping out a rhythm on a tiny hand drum. Lily turned to face the same way as the others and Parker looked over her shoulder at her. Lily quirked an eyebrow at her. An ornately costumed Chinese woman with a heavily painted face – traditionally known as the Opera Singer – walked into the centre of the circle and looked imperiously out at the audience before raising a hand in the air. The drummer finished his riff. The Opera Singer walked across the circle to a large object covered with a cloth which she pulled back to reveal an antique-looking crossbow on a stand. She picked up a long thick wooden arrow with white feathers at one end and a vicious metal point at the other and showed it to the audience before fitting it into place in the crossbow. Straightening up, she pulled a single small white feather from her headdress and again showed it to the audience. On the rear of the crossbow was a small metal cup and she gently dropped the feather into it. Instantly, the arrow was released and whizzed across the room. Lily's head whipped around to follow its flight while John and Parker were still gasping at the sound of the arrow's release. By the time they look round a moment later, the arrow was embedded in a large painted board on the other side of the circle. Parker turned to John and laughed, dramatically putting her hand over her heart.
Instrumental music began, and the audience applauded as a new character entered the circle, wearing chainmail and an ornate head mask. He held his arms out to the sides and two men came over and started to attach heavy chains and straps to him, strapping his now-folded arms in front of him and then backing him up against the board and starting to chain him to it. "Classic Chinese escapology act," Lily said quietly.
John and Parker turned to her. "Hmm?" Parker wondered.
"The crossbow's on a delicate string. The warrior has to escape his bonds before it fires."
The Opera Singer loaded another arrow into the crossbow. The men attached more padlocks and chains and one of them pulled a chain tight, yanking the warrior's head back against the board. The warrior cried out. The men looped the chains through solid rings attached to the board and secure the warrior, who cried out again. Once they finished, they stepped away. The music began building in intensity and cymbals crashed unexpectedly. Parker jumped, clutching at John's arm. "Oh," she said. "Gosh, sorry." She laughed in embarrassment, taking his arm with her other hand as well. John laughed with her, then smiled delightedly as she let go with her more distant hand but continued to hold onto his arm with the other. Lily felt the need to roll her eyes and yet felt the need to give Parker another thumbs up at the same time.
The Opera Singer picked up a small knife and displayed it to the audience. "She splits the sandbag; the sand pours out; gradually the weight lowers into the bowl," Lily explained. The Opera Singer did just as Lily predicted – she reached up to a small sandbag hanging on a long cable and stabbed the knife into the bottom of the sack. Sand began to pour out, and the warrior repeatedly cried out with effort as he tugged at his chains. The sandbag's cable was looped over a pulley and a metal ball was attached to the other end. As the sand continued to pour out of the bag the weight lowered towards the bowl at the back of the crossbow. The warrior got one hand free. John was watching the weight lower, and Parker now looked nervously at it as it crossed paths with the sandbag on its way up. They turned to look at the warrior as he got his other hand free and started tugging at the chains around his neck. The weight was now only a few feet above the bowl and Parker clung tightly to John's arm, grimacing. The warrior cried out again as he pulled at his chains and the weight got ever closer. As it almost reached the lip of the bowl the warrior loosened the chains around his neck and struggled to free himself.
The weight touched the bowl and the arrow streaked across the room. With a split second to spare, the warrior pulled free of the chains and ducked down and the arrow thudded into the board. The warrior cried out triumphantly as the audience began to applaud. Parker gasped in relief. "Oh, goodness!" she said, relieved.
The warrior stood up and took the applause. Still clapping, Parker looked over her shoulder, but Lily had vanished. Parker looked around the hall but couldn't see her anywhere.
Lily had managed to make her way onto the stage, which was being used as the performers' dressing room. There was a dressing table with mirrors, free-standing clothes rails and many other items all around. She looked at everything and noticed that it was almost as if another warrior was standing nearby – except that the chainmail and mask were hanging on a stand.
In the performance area, the Opera Singer raised a hand to halt the audience's applause. "Ladies and gentlemen," she said, "from the distant moonlight shores of the Yangtze River, we present for your pleasure the deadly Chinese bird-spider." As she walked away, a masked acrobat descended from the ceiling, rolling through the air as the broad red band wrapped around her waist unraveled. The audience applauded and she stopped a couple of feet above the ground, holding her body parallel to the floor.
"Did you see that?!" John asked excitedly to Parker. Descending to the floor, the acrobat removed the band from around her waist and split it, revealing that it was made up of two strips of material which she wrapped around her arms and then ran around the circle before taking her weight on the bands, lifting into the air and flying around in a circle several feet above the ground, the red bands soaring out behind her. Parker, John, and the rest of the audience, stared up open-mouthed.
On the stage, Lily went over to the curtains and parted them slightly to look out at the performance. She looked with interest at the acrobat as she floated around. "Well, well," she said quietly.
To the right of the stage, a door opened. Lily ran to take cover, pushing through the middle of the clothes on the clothes rail and then quickly spreading the items out again as the Opera Singer came onto the stage. She went over to the dressing table and picked up a mobile phone, checking it, but looked around sharply as one of the hangars on the rail falls to the floor. Lily ducked down, mouthing things to herself. The Opera Singer headed towards the rail so Lily crouched even lower but the woman continued on and left the stage. Lily looked down and saw a bag on the floor near her feet. Flipping it open, she found several spray cans inside. She picked up one of them and saw that it was labelled "Michigan". A yellow band was across the bottom of the can denoting the colour of the paint. "Found you," Lily said in a soft, sing-song voice. Standing up, she pushed through the clothes on the rail and walked over to the mirrors on the dressing table, shaking up the can as she went. She bent down and sprayed a single almost-horizontal yellow line across one of the mirrors. As she looked at it, the warrior's costume behind her started to move. Frowning, she turned around and realised that the costume was no longer on a stand, but now had a man inside it. The man charged forward, lashing out at her repeatedly with a large knife. Lily ducked backwards to avoid the blows as the warrior pressed forward.
Outside, John and Parker were still watching the acrobat. On the other side of the circle, the closed curtains on the stage began to billow in one particular place. Parker frowned at the curtains for a moment but was then distracted back to the acrobat.
On the stage, Lily used the can she was holding as a bit of a weapon, using it to block a blow from the warrior, ducking below the next swing of the man's knife, then clouting the can across the man's elbow. The warrior responded by kicking her hard in the stomach. The warrior grabbed Lily by the throat but dropped his knife in the process. Lily lashed the man's hand away from the neck and then sprayed the can directly into his masked face before bundling into him and shoving him away firmly. The warrior fell onto his back but used his momentum to raise his legs and then roll forward and flip to his feet again. Lily gave the man a quick impressive look. He took a flying leap at Lily, spinning as he went and his feet hit her in the chest. Lily was propelled backwards through the curtains, straight over the edge of the stage and onto the floor a few feet below. Crashing onto her back, she struggled to get upright again but was too winded and couldn't move much as the warrior came flying out of the curtains and onto the floor in front of him. On instinct, John rushed forward, running towards the warrior as he raised a knife and prepared to plunge it downwards. John charged straight into him, pushing him back against the edge of the stage but the warrior lashed out with one foot, sending John stumbling across the room.
As the audience fled, the acrobat took off her mask, took one look at the fight and decided she wanted no part of it, running off. Only one person was heading towards the fight and that was Parker, who had found a sturdy broom and came charging across the hall while John was still stumbling across the floor trying to catch his balance and the warrior headed towards Lily who was still lying on the floor winded – and the warrior had a wide-bladed sword in one hand. As he raised the sword above his head, his concentration focussed on delivering the killing blow to the figure at his feet, Parker raced across the floor and slammed the handle end of the broom over the top of the warrior's head. He cried out in pain and before he could react or retaliate she swung the broom sideways and smashed it across his ribs. She instantly delivered a second blow to the same area and he fell to the ground, grunting and almost unconscious.
As Parker straightened up, flicking a lock of hair out of her eyes, Lily sat up and leaned forward to the warrior's right foot, pulling off his shoe to reveal a Tong tattoo on his heel. John had finally managed to turn around, though he was almost doubled over in pain and was still trying to catch his breath. As Lily scrambled to her feet, John grabbed Parker's hand and started to pull her towards the exit.
"Come on," he said, almost voicelessly.
Lily raced off ahead of them. "Come on!" she called out. "Let's go!"
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At the Yard, D.I. Dimmock stormed into the office, followed by the girls and a rather – considering the situation – calm John. Dimmock was clearly not in a good mood. "I sent a couple of cars. The old hall is totally deserted."
"Look," Lily insisted. "I saw the mark at the circus – that tattoo that we saw on the two bodies: the mark of the Tong."
Dimmock reached his desk and turned to face the others.
"Lukis and Van Coon were part of a-a smuggling operation," Parker said. "Now, one of them stole something when they were in China; something valuable."
"These circus performers were gang members sent here to get it back," Lily finished.
"Get what back?"
Lily bit her lip, looking away angrily. Parker was hesitant to answer. "We don't know.
"…You don't know." Lily still wouldn't meet his eyes. "Ms. Falda…" He sat down. "I've done everything you asked. Lestrade, he seems to think your advice is worth something." Lily lifted her head and gave a faint but proud smile. "I gave the order for a raid. Please tell me I'll have something to show for it – other than a massive bill for overtime."
