- Chapter Twenty-One -

Boys Will be Boys

Team divided to cover more ground, the sniper had vanished into the hills and had activated her camouflage ability to disrupt the enemy radars while the medic was camped between the party and generally laying low. Savage a raider as he was, Jian had been placed at the end of assault line to better protect the base while the rest ventured off to capture the enemy flag. It was a fair system of rotation among the fighter class, and due to how large the map they were playing was, there was no doubt that he'd be kept plenty busy. Shame really that real life didn't run half as smoothly as his crew in the new console-exclusive first-person shooter that was all the rage.

Ruddy sienna gaze fixated on the new 84" curved flat screen his cousin had had installed in the loft, he no longer noticed the highly polished stone base that held everything entertainment-related. A most welcome bribe, Jian wondered fleetingly when his next reminder would be phoned in. Pan Yahui was an elder cousin through Jian's mother, yet the Deputy Mountain Head felt less like a branch of the family tree and more like an over-bearing grandmother that never shut up. Eat your greens, do your homework, pay attention to your elders, and above all else bring honor to the family.

Ruan Jian was clever enough to work his own way up the ladder to get where he was, which was exactly where he wanted to be. Alas, Yahui had misread his end goal as ambition and had implored Wen Zhihao for the opportunity to prove the worth of their line. Now Jian was stuck having to make a marriage work when all he really wanted was to be in a place where he could be free of obligation. Twenty-four and catered to on the clock, this was his dream and his own personal nightmare on a collision course.

Phone ringing with the standard chime, he was snapped from his reverie by the sudden vibration on the end table more than the noise itself. Groaning to himself as he was shot from behind, the young man took the opportunity of his death to answer the call while his avatar respawned as a zombie that was doomed to watch the rest of the match unfold while the AI took over.

"Wèi?" Greeting the caller in Mandarin and expecting them to identify themselves, Jian waited for a response. True, he could have just looked at the caller ID, but he liked to assert his importance in any little way that he possibly could. Making the crew practice their Mandarin in such a fashion was a pretty decent place to start in his mind.

Clumsily fumbling through even the simplest words, the caller identified themselves as Ashley Davids. If memory served, that one had quite the reputation in this part and was wanted for questioning in an arson case and several burglaries; prior to getting pulled from one gang into another, Ashley had started as a street-level dealer. Keeping tabs on his men as a strategic business move, Jian didn't much care for Ashley as a person, however the partner Angel was quite the gem to have on your side, so he tolerated the extra.

According to Ashley, they had bagged the girl and were in the process of moving her to the place uptown so she could sleep off the drugs they'd given her. Damn near on the opposite side of the city from the loft, the facility uptown was where they usually took all the special guests - acknowledging that this one was to be his bride, Jian ordered them to not treat her too rough. Inseparable from the insufferable counterpart, Angel could be heard in the background sighing about the limitations. Considering the dastardly duo would still have time for themselves to do with the heiress as they pleased (within reason), he didn't feel bad for denying them their heart's desire.

Mandarin his mother tongue and English still lacking, the boss opted to keep the operation in a language that not everyone on the street would know. Maybe one or two passersby, so that was why they often used codes. From what Ashley understood through the language barriers, Jian was pleased that setting up goons across the city had finally paid off. Explicitly forbidding that his future bride die on their watch, as their leader he instructed them to keep her company before ending the call and returning to his game. But not before Ashley confirmed a certain theory.

The sniper kindly informed him once he had returned to the fray, "You forgot to turn off your mic again."

Before Drake had to go and completely kill it by bringing up her old company, Nadine realized that she had a potential lead that could determine if they were dealing with Orange Tiger Association or not. More than willing to bring that relationship to light so that they might rescue the girl, the only thing that had stopped her was Drake's stupid mouth. It was petty, but he just had a way of getting under her skin and pressing all the wrong buttons; at the end of the day, Sam wasn't the worst thing ever, however they'd never be drinking buddies without a third wheel there to keep the pair from murdering one another.

His brother wasn't much higher on her list, but Chloe vouched for him: Nadine trusted her partner, so that was good enough for her to at least attempt to set history aside. As an ex, Frazer's faith and praise spoke volumes about Nathan's character. Difficult as it had been, she'd figured out that Nate wasn't entirely a scoundrel like his older brother, however it wasn't like they'd be hitting up bars together either.

Screw the Drakes, that was her philosophy, and it had worked pretty well for her so far.

Excusing herself from the table once the three had assigned themselves a role in the recovery effort, Nadine left her portion of the bill out for the waiter and stalked off. A poet could have used daintier words to describe the way she walked off to go about her business, but the woman moved with purpose and had no such need for flowery terms. Thick leather combat boots with steel toes weighed down her step, that was true, but so what? It wasn't as if stealth was necessary at the moment.

Phone full of contacts from work, the number she needed was right at the top of the most frequently dialed tab. Thumb hovering over the call sign before she even realized that the device was in her hand, Ross opened the door and bit back a shiver as the damp air smacked her full in the face. The rain had let up after what felt like full days without a break, but the top of her head knew that it wasn't finished yet.

Time to break out the hair band. Digging in her jacket pocket for something to keep the tangle of curls out of her face, the woman held her phone underneath her chin while she tied back her dark locks. Once that was out of the way, she rang up the one person that could really make a difference in the case.

"Mother?" Shushed - most likely from being at his own job - a young man with a strong South African accent answered. Deep, his was the voice of a seasoned solider that didn't know what it was to be a child.

Obsessed with learning who he was and why he had grown up the way he had, a young adult identifying himself as Wyatt Ross had tracked down his birth mother for an explanation. And if that was lacking, quite probably her head. Finding blunt answers and connecting from there, Wyatt had only just stopped calling Nadine by her name, so she hadn't been sure what to expect when calling up unexpectedly like this.

More than she deserved in her mind, despite trying to keep strong, just hearing the young man call her that filled her heart in a way that nothing else had before. Expect that was dangerously close to feeling, and that was something she was not terribly great at expressing. Tone formal and stiff, she let him know that this was strictly business. "Ja."

"..." Considerably more patient than the woman - although it wasn't exactly a very high bar - he waited for her to speak.

"Do you still have that contact in Orange Tiger? I'm helping a friend find a missing girl." Glad that no one else was around to hear her call Drake such, the former mercenary specified, "Daniella Adler went missing today, and we need to find her before things get ugly."

Wyatt immediately understood what his mother was getting at. "I'll let you know what I find."

Group splintering off from one another to get to work, Sam took the path that made the most sense to him, and that was to hit the pavement. Perhaps he wasn't quite as fit as he had been when hunting for Avery's treasure, there was no arguing that freedom had given him more excuses to slack off in his exercise regiment, yet he was still formidable enough at his age. No, making little birdies sing wasn't the dilemma so much as finding the canaries in the first place, but he wasn't sweating just yet.

Armed with a snapshot of the video and the determination to get what was his back, Samuel's first stop was to find an old acquaintance that was rather imfamous in certain circles for how good he was with both names and faces.

Ronnie was greasy, cheated at cards, swore like a sailor, and was your run-of-the-mill scumbag, but if you ever needed to find someone, chances where good that he should have been the first person you went to. Or his neighbor Tyrone. A disgraced cop formerly on the take, he took over when the resident snitch had done something stupid and was serving time, but everyone knew that Ronnie had the better info. It was more up-to-date, usually much more invasive if it involved a pretty face or extra moolah, and his network seemed to spread that much further. Having said that, Tyrone could get into certain files that not everyone had access to, and was much better at handling his clientèle.

However the problem was that going after Ronnie (or Tyrone) meant that it would take Sam further away from the site of Daniella's disappearance.

Trio becoming a twosome before crumbling down to less than that, there wasn't a big hullabaloo when they parted ways. Nadine was doubtlessly going to make inquiries and Drake was actively looking for a fight (not a bad idea, since his little ingénue wasn't around to help him blow off some steam). Glossing over her own fault, naturally that left Chloe to pay the rest of the bill and dig deeper into where the heiress had vanished with her new friends. Frankly the woman had no clue how successful she would be in her endeavor, but they all had to try.

Money was good, but a life held so much more value than any treasure.

Pizza parlor at her back as she headed out to canvas the laundromat and surrounding areas, the wind howled as it threatened to pick back up. Turning her collar up against cold that cut through marrow like an ancient Tibetan blade, or from anywhere really, the dark haired beauty cast a final glance back at her friends. Weather hell on its own without bouncing curls to become a hindrance, Ross could be seen heading up the sidewalk and putting her hair back as she jumped on to her phone. Drake checked something on his own cell before kicking his bike to life, a frown etching deeper into the lines on his face as he stored it away for the drive.

Would any of them have luck finding the missing Adler girl, or would this be her final swan song? Nate had gone up against worse odds on numerous occasions and had somehow or other managed to come through the other side in one piece, but not everyone had the Devil's own luck. Admittedly they hadn't known each other very long, but the teen wasn't so bad. Not that anyone deserved this fate. Still though, how long would she have to endure while they scrambled about?

Frazer wasn't very comforted by the probabilities when she thought about it, so she was glad that none of them had voiced the concern aloud.

Pretty little thing that she was, Jian didn't so much as bat a lash when the baseball bat collided in a supernova of splintering wood and twisted metal. There were always other cars; custom work could be leased out, even if in the end the product wasn't quite the same as before. It wasn't like he payed close enough attention to notice any sort of a difference, so really this was no sweat off his brow. Or whatever the saying was.

Anyways, it wasn't even his vehicle - the Cadillac belonged to one of the guys, maybe Rhee or Kyle. A perk to being a part of his crew, the damages would be covered and the car replaced, so the angry woman could feel free to let it out. But by all means, he wasn't about to correct the woman her mistake.

Yahui's loft was on the sixth floor of the complex, the ground level an indoor parking garage for the tenets and their guests. Jian owned a number of cars, however his pride and joy was an ombre Bugatti that faded from a blood-stained scarlet to an immaculate eggshell white. Host to a number of parties and smarter than to deal with jilted lovers that could carry a grudge, the young man never left his car anywhere he couldn't secure.

Ranting and raving, a little hood rat he might have slept with was frothing at the mouth as she jumped on the hood of the Escalade. Weight causing the frame to sink, the sporting equipment repeatedly beat on the windshield until it cracked, each swing accompanied by a threat or insult. Once the front had been too damaged to see out of, the incognito trollop reached into the messenger bag swaying at her side and pulled something large out. Feed on the security monitors pristine as the typical summer blockbuster, the spray paint was a nasty shade of yellow, label specifying that it was intended for outdoor use.

Letter 'L' as far as the invader got before the phone rang again, Jian scoffed in annoyance and motioned one of the girls over. While he waited, his finger pressed the button to call security to deal with the one night stand.

Kickbacks as random as they were plentiful, Kyle had arrived shortly after he had turned off the game, that week's flavor on his arm. Impressed by the money his friend was throwing around with the price of the drinks alone, it hadn't taken long for two more just like her to show up. With them came a boyfriend wanting a job and a protective cousin of indeterminate gender. Provided nothing happened that might ruin a potential partnership, the boyfriend was as good as hired.

Air still strong with the lingering oder of marijuana, Molly number three had a strong enough tolerance to obey the command. American from the Midwest with big dreams of becoming a famous singer on Broadway, or some other generic dream, the redhead seemed to glide when she moved, but that might have been the drugs working their magic.

"Yeah?" Whispering for fear of hearing herself, the lethargy was taking its toll on everyone.

Phone ringing once more with the same old chirp, he pointed to the device on the table. It could have been important - in fact it probably was - but somehow it felt even more important that he keep up the act of not knowing any English at all. For whatever reasons, it seemed to work exceedingly well with most women.

Bobbing her head in understanding, the redhead handed him the cell with a come-hither smile and a mischievous wink. Despite the smart phone being accepted into his grasp, she didn't let go of his hand; instead she took the extremity and began to kiss every curve. Vivid like an orchid, her lipstick left a violet-magenta trail across his skin. Once the call was over, he had a mind to taste the flower for himself...

"Wèi?" Jian would have looked at the caller ID this time, as per the feeling he had previously, but it wasn't really much of an option. Not when the kisses migrated from palm to wrist with the promise of more to come.

Entire call taking place in Mandarin, it didn't take Yahui long to figure out what had kept the young man so busy. Suffice it to say that he did not approve. "In the future you might find it prudent to practice discretion - your bride-to-be is the granddaughter of our honored Dragon Head." Always one for the guilt trip, Jian thought that Yahui might just cut formality and open with the lecture. "Or have you forgotten your family and all that rests on your shoulders? Wen Zhihao will not thank you for dishonoring his kin."

"Is that all? Last I checked that deal has yet to go through." Truthfully he wouldn't have been terribly heartbroken if things never came to pass in the fashion ordained by man. "Wen Zhihao's granddaughter is as good as in my custody."

Trouble was, word on the street was that someone was already kicking up stones trying to find her. But his cousin didn't need to concern himself with that.

Hands grazing the grainy stucco as she searched for clues or secret passageways (in her line of work, she head learned that nothing was impossible), Chloe shook her head. Nothing was there but wall, plain ordinary wall. A girl's life could have been at stake, and she was trying to feel up a vertical barrier - worse, after over ten minutes of fondling, she didn't even have anything to show for it. But there had to be something!

People just didn't vanish into thin air.

Arms of the ally not quite broad enough across to support sketchy black vans - were white vans still an automatic red flag? - that didn't mean that there wasn't one waiting for the heiress at either end. Thinned at the tip, the far point of the lane connected to the back of the pizza parlor used to be an old arcade before it was was used to store wine and other surplus. Cut marginally wider, the lot behind the pawn shop was used for additional storage.

Storage for a teenage girl with nothing but money and problems? Perhaps.

Obvious choice being the pawn shop, if the woman were going to illegally house ill-gotten goods, Chloe liked to think she would be smarter than that. Hiding things in plain sight was probably the cleverest thing one could do, although there was fine line between being intelligent about it and being shortsighted.

Unsure of how far the captors had lured the young woman before showing themselves for what they really were, it was smart to try to look at it from their perspective. Angry as the Adler girl had been when they removed her from the store, the logical thing to do was to calm her down. What was the best and fastest way to do that? To get her high. And where would a bunch of kids go to get high? Well, pretty much anywhere, yet there was one place where they could do so with irony: the old arcade.

Blindfolded with a strip of silk, walked into an elevator, intentionally spun around so that she was disoriented further, and led into a room so bright that it radiated through the dense material, Daniella was forced to sit down. Knees reluctant to buckle after the last chair she had been in, someone had dug their thumb into the hole Ashley had made on her shoulder. Yelping like the wounded child she was, the heiress relented.

Some pirate she turned out to be.

Modern chariot bearing the reluctant Romeo to woo his impure Juliet, the stage had been set to impress a highborn lady of taste. Floors swept, polished, and transformed by antique Persian rugs, the manacles hanging on the wall had been blocked from sight by marble statues of lovers in the act. No less than a hundred twinkling lights had been strung from the ceiling, the flashing hard to make out at first. A dozen scented candles had been lit and placed around the golden sofa in clusters, the flood lights of the interrogation room dimming gradually. After hours in the dark, Jian wanted to be the first thing that she saw.

Food and refreshments waiting on an actual silver platter on the other side of the dimpled divan, he allowed Angel and Ashley a roast beef sandwich removed of its crust before ordering them out. This was a matter between a man and the woman that should be his wife, so there needn't be any interlopers. Or witnesses to possible humiliation. The paramours two had no doubt done a decent job of breaking the woman down, yet there had only been so much time for them to work.

Armani suit rustling as he reached around her head to remove the olive Hermès from her eyes, Jian flashed his most charming smile.

Ear picking up the Mandarin word for "leave", there was a ding of metal-on-metal and something being grabbed off a flat surface. Throat constricting with the fresh memory of steel incisions, the heiress listened keenly to the demure shuffle of two separate bodies walking away. Movement less than a hushed whisper between shadow cats, a sturdy old door was shut behind them with a groaning creak. Even if by some miracle escape could have been possible, that door would be a challenge with her hands still cuffed.

Before the grand unveiling that she had no way of anticipating, a whole new fear was bubbling up inside. Acting on raw instinct, the minute she felt hands going around her person, Daniella lashed out and banged her head forward.

Fueled by panic, the blow wasn't quite as strong as it could have been, and for that Jian was thankful - his nose had taken the worst of it and was bleeding. Carmine dripping down and staining the ivory collar of his pressed dress shirt, the put-upon suitor wanted to swear and call the whole thing off, yet he couldn't. For better or worse, he had to go through with the wishes of his betters. But there was no one there to dictate his terms for the relationship.

Indicating the spread at her side, he used a language that might make her more comfortable. "Refreshment?"

Refusal clear when she shook her head, the heiress did an admirable job keeping the surprise and confusion off her face. Silence was always an ideal trait in a woman, and as his wife she would learn the importance of holding her tongue, however the look shining in her eyes was not one of respect. Sooner or later that would have to change.

Voice straining to remain contained even as the pain turned into a steady throb, he spoke from the heart. "I apologize for the situation."

Daniella wasn't biting, although he could tell that he was in her head. Women clamored for honesty, yet they always seemed so shocked when they finally got it.

"We don't need to war with one another." Inspecting the girl in her tattered attire closer, he deemed the creature beneath the cuts to be acceptable in person. Pictures told him all he had required to know about the heiress, but sometimes film had a way of lying or even doing a disservice to the subject. Though he preferred Italians, she would do. "Our families are the ones that desire this marriage, but we're the ones that have to live it. We could co-operate with one another and come to an arrangement that we would both enjoy."

Searching his face for deception, she met him halfway and replied in Mandarin, "Such as?"