Angel in the Dark Sky
A/N: Three words: very, very LONG. However, this will be the last of the series of flashbacks and the next chapter will follow up what happened after chapter 3. Forgive my grammar and spelling mistakes but writing is not my best features but I would appreciate corrections. :D
Chapter 5: It's All Over but the Crying
"I'm so excited!"
That was possibly the umpteenth time the secretary gushed the same words that morning. Unfortunately, Lei had to endure the soon-to-be bride's excitement. He wanted to tell her to shut up but he didn't want to be rude.
"Can you believe I'm getting married tomorrow?"
Lei, who was leaning his face against the cool surface of his furnished desk, gave her a jaded reply.
"No, really?"
The ditzy secretary put her hands on her hips. "Aww c'mon, Lei. Just because I'm getting married doesn't mean you have to be jealous."
"What are you talking about? I haven't even thought about getting hitched just yet. Right now, I'm enjoying life to the fullest."
She shook her head, apparently disappointed. "I should have known you're one of those guys who avoid long-term commitments."
She pushed the metal drawer back into the filing cabinet, hard. Lei could easily tell she was bothered by what he had said. With a folder clutched in one hand, she promptly left the office, shutting the door behind her.
"Thank god she's gone!"
The detective sighed in relief, raising himself up from the table and leaned back into his cosy chair. It was a sunny Saturday morning. For some reason, he loved bright days especially in the summer. He had nothing to do momentarily. It was one of those days when he had absolutely done everything. All he had to do was to wait for his boss to give him something to work on.
Just as Lei was about to close his eyes briefly, he heard a sudden booming voice from outside his office.
"Get out of my way, bitch!"
A split-second after, the door opened. Lei smiled sweetly at the person who stepped in.
"I had a feeling that was you." Lei said.
"The staff you have here sucks."
"Bryan, don't say that. Just because of one overly-excited secretary doesn't mean everyone else sucks."
"No, it's everyone in this building except you."
Lei watched with utmost enthusiasm as the taller man approached him. Bryan leaned down and kissed him deeply. That was the one thing that always made his day...
Lei couldn't believe his luck when his boss assigned Bryan, who was a foreign INTERPOL officer, to be his permanent partner. It was only two months since they first met. After that, their only means of communicating with each other were through the telephone, though they rarely did anyway due to work and the occasional timidity of doing so. But now, they've never been closer than ever; Lei couldn't be any more contented.
As the days went by, Lei got to know Bryan even more. He discovered that Bryan wasn't the type who liked to follow orders from his superiors. Moreover, the American never got along with his previous partners as well. Maybe that explains why Lei's boss paired him up with him. Not only that, most of the other detectives and staff members disliked Bryan's crude arrogance and insensitivity towards them. Some of them even suspect Bryan of being a surreptitious criminal of some kind. It was clear to the others that Detective Lei Wulong was the only one whom Bryan Fury respected most, if not, the only one other than some minimal respect to Lei's boss. It was almost an oddity but not too bothering to be questioned about. Perhaps it was because of Lei's charisma that even the cruellest of men found it nearly impossible to get mad at him.
Ironically, no one stumbled upon Lei and Bryan's intimate relationship but the two themselves. Seemingly none of them speculate of such an affair despite how obvious it seemed whenever they spent close to 4 hours alone in Lei's office everyday.
For Lei, his life finally became complete since Bryan moved into his department. As he continued to learn more about him, Lei found out something disturbing about Fury. Something darker about him...
Bryan was a well-known drug trafficker in the underground world. Who would have thought? Actually, that would be everyone except Lei.
Somehow, the naïve Wulong felt betrayed by this. He had lay open his entire life and business to him, only to be left hurt and deceived in the end. Subsequently, things began to change dramatically. Although Lei knew it was wrong, he had covered-up all the mess that Bryan had caused including the shoot-out at downtown, which cost several lives to be taken away.
Every single lie he made, everyone believed. Every single day he felt like he was broken apart.
Lei could only watch his seamless life going downhill. It wasn't until that day that Lei realized he had hit rock-bottom.
It started off as a usual day for Lei. However, he had completed all off the tasks assigned to him in advance. So, that afternoon, he spent the rest of his working hours in his partner's office in secrecy. Watching Bryan count his day's profit from his side 'business', a lot of things had bothered him, namely Bryan's criminal activities. It wasn't a big surprise that keeping a close eye on a dirty police officer was difficult. Lei knew he had to put an end to this.
"Isn't this great, Wulong? We're earning double the amount from selling drugs than from police work, only half the effort!" Bryan snickered.
Lei couldn't help but feel disgusted by the American's words. Thus, he remained quiet, gazing at the pack of one-hundred US-dollar bills in his partner's hands.
"At this rate, we'll be rich in no time. Then, we would quit our pathetic jobs and go someplace far from here."
How things have changed, Lei thought.
Fury looked at him, concerned.
"Something bothering you?"
"I'm worried about this, Bryan. What if the others find out?"
"As long as you help me, we'll be okay."
Finally, the detective could no longer repress his guilty conscience as he promptly stood upright.
"I don't want to be a part of this anymore!"
Fury's piercing blue eyes stared up at Lei. He didn't like what he was hearing from his partner. He stood from his seat, towering over Wulong, his eyes remained fixed on the shorter man.
"I've worked hard to make this happen and I'm not going to let you ruin this for me. Can't you see? I'm doing this for the both of us!"
"Until now, I've yet to see the benefit of helping you sell illegal drugs."
"Money, Lei!" Bryan exclaimed as he held the packed money in front of Wulong to see, emphasizing what he had meant. "Easy money! Money that we've never earned from our shitty jobs!"
Lei's eyes in turn started to glaze. "Is that what's really important to you, Bryan? Do you even care about how I feel?"
Out of unrelenting anger, Fury whipped his hand across the table, causing all the contents on the tabletop to fly everywhere. Lei trembled in fear. He personally had never experienced Bryan's rage before.
"It's all about you, isn't it? You always act as if you're the main character in a tragedy!"
"Bryan, that's not true!" Lei cried out in protest.
"I thought you were someone I could count on but obviously I though wrong. You're just like everyone else!"
After his last statement, Fury stormed his way out the door, not bothering to close it. Now Lei was left with the after-effects of their conflict. The floor was littered with bills mostly, some papers and various office supplies. Xia Lian, who happened to witness an angry Fury leave the station, went straight to Lei's office in inquisitiveness.
As soon as he came across Lei's private working space, he was surprised to see the Chinese standing over the mess on the floor, not knowing where it had come from in the first place. Wulong glanced over his shoulder, giving Lian a monotonous look.
Lian sought for the right words to say.
"I just saw Bryan leave and he looked...mad."
Lei did not retort to his co-worker's statement, instead, he knelt down and began plucking the items from the floor. As Xia Lian walked closer to where Lei was, he realized what the small pieces of paper on the floor really were.
"Lei are those—"
"Make it whatever you think it is." Lei sighed, not in exasperation, but more like in resignation. He comprehended completely that he was close to spilling forth all of the truth that he had been hiding from his force for a long time. What else was there left to do?
Confusion and fear crept over Lian. Everything seemed to piece together: the way Bryan had left, the US bills that was all around the table...There was only one thing left to do.
"Lei, you better start explaining."
When Lei didn't appear to listen to what he had demanded, Xia roughly pulled him up by the arm until Lei was on his feet, causing Wulong to moan in pain.
"Let me go!" Lei demanded as he attempted to withdraw his arm.
In return, Xia jerked the other's straining arm even more.
"Not until you tell me what this is all about. Where did all these money come from? Fury's behind all this, isn't he!"
Don't answer. Don't tell him.
"Lei, I swear, if you don't tell me this instance--"
No.
"LEI!"
"YES!" Lei bursted into tears as the suppressed, bitter truth slipped from his quivering lips.
Xia stared at the weeping man, horrified.
"You had something to do with it, too, didn't you!" his voice raised even higher than before.
"I had no choice!" Lei shot back, pleadingly.
Wulong knew his last reply was a desperate attempt to save himself from being humiliated, blamed, and stripped of his title.
"I'm taking you to the Chief Inspector's office." With that, Xia Lian dragged Lei out the door and into the hallway. When they passed by several staff members and officers, Lei's embarrassment became immeasurable. He felt like a criminal being dragged into his cell. The onlookers' curiosities were fed even more as the two detectives headed for the Chief's office.
"Please, Lian...don't do this...don't do this to me..." Lei continued to plead.
Without bothering to at least knock on the door, Xia invaded into his boss' private space, bringing Lei with him as well. Sure enough, Chief Chang was very surprised at the sudden intrusion.
"What in the world—"
Promptly, Xia threw Lei infront of him, causing Lei to hit the floor, hard.
"This man is a traitor!" Xia stated accusingly, pointing his finger at Lei as if he was nothing but trash. "Him and Fury have been up to something!"
The bewildered Chief Inspector was shocked by this accusation.
"How could you make such a statement! Do you even have any proof!"
Xia Lian scoffed, knowing all too well that what he saw in Lei's office was more than enough to pass off as 'proof'.
"If you come take a look at his office, I'm sure you'd believe me."
"No! Please, just let me explain—"
"Shut your fucking mouth, you worthless traitor!"
"Xia Lian!"
The frustrated detective instantly stopped himself from losing his temper. His teeth clenched and his narrowed, opalescent eyes were locked on Lei. Chief Chang exhaled, trying his best to comprehend the situation in hand.
"Before I see your 'evidence', I want to hear the story from Lei's side as well. Lei?" he said calmly, almost soothingly as he faced the detective that lay on the carpet. The Chinese avoided his gaze in shame and said nothing.
"Are you going to tell me, Wulong?" his boss persisted, still with the same tone of voice.
"I-it's true..."
It was clear that Lei's words had disappointed Chief Chang more than he had thought. Wulong could never bring himself so much as to lie to his boss whom he had highly respected.
Without further ado, the Chief Inspector agreed to Xia Lian's request and made his way out, with Xia following behind him right after giving Lei a final look of disgust.
Minutes passed as Lei now sat on a nearby chair, contemplating, awaiting his boss' reaction. No sooner did he hear Chief Chang's angry voice upon seeing what Xia had been talking about.
"I want Fury in my office-right-now!" was what Lei could perceive from the blur of words outside Chief Chang's office.
Lei Wulong raised his head slightly, seeing the Chief Inspector enter the office, this time without Lian, then shut the door close. He could see the creases of tension that were made visible on the older man's face.
"I'm disappointed in you Lei. Of all the detectives in this building..." the Chief sighed, not looking at Lei; his chest, heavy. "I really thought you were one of the best rookies that walked into my division."
"If there was a way I could repay for what I have done."
The older man commiserated the pitiful sight of Lei. Clearly his words were spoken with utmost sincerity, but he knew he had to approach the situation professionally. Whatever the truth was behind this disorder it must not be compromised. No matter how much he wanted to vindicate the Chinese from the humiliation he was sure to confront soon.
The door swung open.
"Chief! The officers went ahead and started shooting at Fury! I-I'm afraid he's dead..."
Lei turned to face the informant with wide, horrified eyes.
"Goddamnit! I didn't release an order to start shooting! What the hell are they doing!" Chief Chan's voice roared, aggravated even more.
"We had no choice, they said. There was no other way to bring him down."
"Six officers can't bring down one man!"
"H-He was too strong..."
The two men ceased their conversation, hearing the suppressed sobs in the background. Not a single word was spoken for a long while.
Although his boss had forgiven him conditionally, the damage had already been done. Not everyone had forgiven Lei; most of his fellow detectives had lost their respect for him. The dishonour was unbearable to the point where his self-esteem had sunk. Above all, he had no one else to blame but himself. If only he had the courage to disallow himself from being a part of it. Love, if that was what it was, made a fool out of him, just as Fury did.
Sometimes he felt as if Bryan had turned out to be the lucky one. Death had become the ultimate solace from the pain and Lei yearned for it...