For some reason I had thought that the city would welcome me back, embracing me like a faithful lover. Instead, it reacted more like a scorned dame.

I swore, glaring out the windows at the unfamiliar street. The car inched along, wheels moving slowly as I craned my head to read the green rectangular signs, trying to figure out where I was. Did the place change while I was gone, or had I just forgotten my way around? It was hard to tell. Side alleys seemed to have popped up where none had been before, storefronts had disappeared and switched around, street names had changed- it was a nightmare to navigate. I toyed with the idea of ditching the car and just finding my way on foot. After all, my suitcase wasn't very heavy, the only objects inside being the same rotating set of clothes I had worn since I left and the photo of my mother tucked inside a copy of The Metamorphosis.

I parked by the sidewalk and got out, pulling my suitcase out of the back seat. I hailed down a man in a business suit.

"Hey, you. Want a new car?"

He narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously. "That depends. How much are you asking for it?"

I shrugged. "However much you feel comfortable with. I have to get rid of it quickly, the ball and chain doesn't like it." I glanced back at the car. My ex-wife, Magda, actually probably would have loved it, all sleek black lines and style. It wasn't my taste in vehicles that she'd been opposed to; it had just been me in general. "It's brand new, tank full of gas, the works."

"How's a Jackson?" The businessman waved a twenty-dollar bill in front of my face. I nodded hastily.

"That's keen. Here are the keys." We exchanged and I headed off down the road, bag in hand and coat thrown over my arm. I squinted up at the street signs, trying to re-orient myself. There were detours, intersections, whole roads that had been built, destroyed, re-routed. Some of the streets had different names. Who the fuck does that? I wondered for a second if I was even in the right city.

I slogged along the sidewalk, trying to find something I recognized. The longer I walked the heavier my suitcase seemed to become, the hotter I seemed to get in my coat. It was wool, and though we were well into September, the heat wave that had turned August into a hotbox all over the country hadn't broken yet. Some men on the streets were in shirtsleeves and vests and women sat on their front steps, fanning themselves lazily with folded-up papers.

It got hotter as I moved into Chinatown, the air sweltering and heavy with steam that billowed out of open door and windows, carrying the overpowering scent of crispy fucks revolving on rotisseries. I passed people arguing with street vendors, a skinny dog gnawing on a bone. This was better- I recognized where I was now. The alleys and corners of Chinatown were unchanged, and the more time I spent taking in the familiar sights the calmer I felt myself become.

I sat down on the sidewalk, shrugging off my coat. A few feet away, a little girl in a bright yellow dress was jumping rope, muttering a rhyme under her breath. The look of concentration on her face was so focused and serious that I couldn't help but smile. She faltered and tripped over the rope as she caught my eye and smiled back.

"Ni hao ma." I said, the extent of my limited Chinese. The girl giggled.

"Your accent is terrible." She held out a hand.

I shook it. "Can't blame a guy for trying."

She cocked her head to one side exaggeratedly. "Aren't you hot?"

"Very." I tugged at my tie and undid my top button. "Crazy weather, huh?"

"Mm hm." She nodded, her black pigtails bobbing. "My grandma says it hasn't been this bad since she was a kid."

"Grandma?"

She jerked her thumb up at the apartment building behind her, "My grandmother. I live with her because my mom couldn't be bothered to take care of me and my dad ran away before I was born."

I blinked. "You're awfully grown up."

"I'm eight, not stupid." She grinned. "I'm Jubilation Lee, by the way, but you can call me Jubilee. My grandmother says that means a really big party. Parties are great."

I tipped my hat. "I'm…" I hesitated for a second. It couldn't be too dangerous to tell and eight year-old girl my real name. "I'm Erik."

A man in a shabby suit jogged up to us, waving wildly. His slicked black hair flopped out of place over his glistening forehead and he smiled as Jubilee warmly. She waved back.

"Good morning, Dr. Wong!"

He adjusted his glasses, out of breath. "Hello, Jubilation. Is your grandmother in?"

"Uh huh." She leaned forward conspiratorially and hissed in a stage whisper, "Her arthritis is bothering her today."

Dr. Wong nodded sagely. "That's probably the humidity getting to her joints." He glanced up at me. "Hi. I haven't seen you around here before."

I shook my head. "I'm just passing through. Jubilee and I were discussing the weather."

He let out a chuckle. "Yet another innocent bystander ensnared by Jubilee's big mouth. Good luck with that."

"Hey!" She crossed her arms over her chest, pouting. 'I don't talk that much.""

"Mei mei, you could talk the ear off an elephant." Wong patted her head fondly. "Anyway, your grandmother is expecting me. I'll see you soon, okay?"

The small girl nodded. "Okay."

Wong reached over to shake my hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

Jubilee tugged at my elbow as Wong made in way up the steps. "Where are you from?"

"Around." She raised her eyebrows incredulously. "I used to live downtown but I had to go away for a while."

"How long?"

"Three years."

Her eyes widened. "That's like forever."

I shook my head. "You have no idea."

She sat down beside me. Across the street, a green car was idling, smoke spilling out the exhaust pipe. "Are you happy to be home?"

"I suppose." I thought wistfully about how much I missed my old apartment. The hotel rooms I had been staying in as I traveled from town to town, city-to-city had all started to blend together after a while, and I had almost forgotten what my old room looked like. The apartment probably had new owners now; my lease had been about to expire when I jumped town. "I missed it here, you know? But it's changed a lot since I left."

"Grandmother says the city never stops moving. It doesn't wait for people."

I nodded. "Your grandmother is a smart woman."

As if on cue the front door opened and Dr. Wong came out, followed by a stooped old woman. She nodded to him warmly, smiling. "Xie xie, Dr. Wong."

"It's not problem, Mrs. Lee. Just make sure to keep pressure off your knees, alright?"

"Of course." She caught sight of her granddaughter. "Jubilation, sweetheart, come in! It's almost lunchtime."

Jubilee leapt to her feet. I looked up, glancing around as I dusted off my suit.

Suddenly a flash caught my eye. I squinted at the car across the street and froze as I saw the silver barrel of a machine gun poking out of the open window.

"Get down!" I shouted, launching myself towards Jubilee. I knocked her to the ground, covering her small body with mine just as the bullets began to fly.

Dr. Wong and Mrs. Lee didn't even have time to scream. I could hear the rat-a-tat-tat as the Tommy gun spat lead from it's hiding place, the soft sucking sounds of bullets meeting flesh, the crash of broken windows. Shards of shattered glass rained down on my back. There was the roar of the car's engine as it sped away, and then silence.

Well, except for the sound of my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.

I lay on the sidewalk, my limbs wrapped protectively around Jubilee. My ears were still ringing with the boom of the gunshots, but I raised my head to look down at the little girl. "Are you alright?" I panted.

She nodded slowly as she lifted her hand fro the ground, her palm and fingers stained red by the stream of blood running down the incline of the sidewalk. I glanced up at the mangled bodies of Dr. Wong and Mrs. Lee and pulled her to my chest in a hug so that she wouldn't see.

"It's going to be okay, Jubilee." I muttered uselessly. "It's going to be okay."

I heard a cut-off scream and looked up to see a skinny Asian dame with her hands clasped over her mouth. She had almost tripped over the bodies on the steps.

"Oh my God." She chocked out, her voice cracking. A short man in a flannel shirt appeared behind her, his dark hair sticking up in all directions, and swore loudly as he caught sight of the corpses. My breath caught tin my throat as I recognized him and I ducked my head down, hoping to not be noticed.

"Jubilee!" The little girl's head shot up as the broad ran towards her, her heels clicking a tattoo on the pavement. She scooped her out of my arms and hugged her tightly before giving her a once over "Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay." Her voice was small, her eyes wide. "Are they dead?"

"Oh honey." The woman embraced the girl again, stroking her disheveled hair. "I'm so sorry."

"Betsy, I'm gonna phone this in to the station, get a squad car down here on cleanup. "A deep voice growled from above. "You should-" He paused suddenly and I winced. The game was up. "Lensherr? Is that you?"

I raised my chin sheepishly and met the other man's eyes. "Hi, Logan. Long time no see."

Logan raised an eyebrow, which was as close to a dropped jaw as he ever got. "No kidding." He glanced at Jubilee in the woman- Betsy-'s arms. "You get the kid out of the way?"

I nodded.

"Thanks." Crouching down next to the two girls, he pulled a cigar out of his breast pocket. "Betsy, take these two inside. Keep 'em upstairs until I come back."

"Look, I can just leave…" I got to my feet.

"Bullshit. I don't want any of the guys on the squad to see you; they'll arrest you in a second. Go in and I'll tell you when it's safe to leave." Catching sight of Betsy's nervous frown, he shook his head. "He's safe, Bets, don't worry."

She sighed. "Okay, fine. Let's-" her voice faltered as she glanced back at the bodies on the front step. "Let's go in the back door."