CIA Tip#7: The night is always the best time to do your research.
"Hey Liên, you okay?" Amelia asked. She tilted her head down to catch my glance.
"Huh? Oh, nothing. I'm just worried about something," I answered quietly, while twirling the pasta into my fork.
Amelia looked at me quizzically. "Is it the Chinese mafia?" she asked quietly. She spooned some mixed vegetables into her mouth, staring at me with her stuffed cheeks.
I remained quiet. I didn't want to burden Amelia too much about the Chinese mafia, but at the same time, I knew that I couldn't capture the mafia alone. "I'm not sure, but today while riding the subway, I saw a man speaking Cantonese and calling someone dai-lo. Not only that, he mentioned Enrico!."
The American lady's eyes widened immediately. "Are you sure Liên? Enrico's here in New York? Do they know that you're here?"
I shrugged. "Unless if they planted in me some transmitter, then yes. Otherwise, no. Wait, but aren't they supposed to be in Las Vegas?" What if they…knew that I'm in New York? I immediately broke into a cold sweat.
Amelia tapped her index finger rapidly on the dinner table, her eyebrows creased into a serious expression. "Liên, where did you see him get off?"
"77th street."
"We're going there tonight to see if what you see is true. Don't forget to bring the phone you use for missions," Amelia said.
"Next stop is 77th street. 77th street," the speakers announced.
A wave of crowd entered into the subway. Amelia gripped tightly onto my wrist while we squeezed our way through the crowd.
I lead Amelia to the left, at the same time fumbling for my Metro card. I carefully placed my Metro card on the shiny metal machine. A beep followed from the machine.
The street was brightly lit with warm colored lights. Stores gave off a bright ivory glow, luring girls to buy more clothing. A group of young men were screaming and shouting happily while walking past us.
Amelia looked around carefully. "Liên, I don't think there's anything too suspicious." She continued to walk at the same pace like me.
A blue Chevy caught my eye, its white highlights glowing with the yellow street lights. It seemed so familiar….
Alfred look out!
The car license number was 989KLP00. Wait! I remember! I saw that on the first day of New York. They could be here somewhere…
The same tall, lanky man I saw on the subway stalked slowly and took a turn. I tapped Amelia on the shoulder. Amelia was looking chatting with a group of native New Yorkers.
"Liên, what's wrong?" Amelia asked. She excused herself from the New Yorkers. I pointed at the turn the lanky man entered.
"Amelia, remember how I saw a possible member from the Chinese mafia? That possible member entered into a turn. Let's go check it out." Amelia nodded and placed a hood over her head. I did the same thing as well. We need to be as careful as possible.
We took the same turn as the lanky man. Immediately, the stench of vomit, urine, and trash mingled together, entering into my nostrils. Amelia leaned over to a corner, retching loudly over the scent. My heart beat quickly at the sound of distant footsteps. Cantonese swear words emerged from nowhere. I rubbed Amelia's back gently, hoping that the footsteps would go away.
The footsteps and Cantonese conversations faded away. I took this as an opportunity to move on. "Amelia, you okay?" Amelia nodded in reply. "Let's go. I know it smell like bull crap but bear with it. Once we're done with this search, we're going home. Okay?"