The Unceasing Path
Ch 17 : 之變節
Turning Point : wherein decisions are made at the highest levels
[Luna's Penthouse, several days later...]
Hot water heated through clay at a constant and predictable way. Setsuna held her hand to the teapot until the heat became just a shade unbearable.
That was her cue. The time was right.
She poured the water out, rinsing away the bitter first bloom of the tea.
"Thank you Setsuna. What would I do without you?"
Luna smiled and waved for her to take a seat. Setsuna did so, knowing that Luna preferred to serve the tea personally.
She watched as Luna brought the kettle low over the teapot. Hot water flowed gently over the tea leaves once again. Seconds later, she handed Setsuna the first cup. The second cup went to Minako to her right. They both accepted their tea with a slight bow. They both waited for Luna to pour herself a cup before taking a sip.
Minako lifted the her cup with a shaky hand. The delicate little cup clattered against her teeth. Setsuna frowned, wondering if the woman was more hurt by her ordeal at the hands of the Hung Fa Boys than she'd indicated. That a rival gang would have the nerve to hurt, or even touch, the Yuet To Tong's deputy leader was troubling.
Luna seemed to notice Minako's pain as well.
"Minako, it is good to see you up and about. How are you feeling? Do you need more time off? It's only been a few days. We can afford the rest of the week if you need." Luna spoke in a gentle manner that belied the steel behind the voice. Setsuna turned her attention to Minako as well, curious to see her response.
"I'm good. No worse for wear ma'am." Minako replied, stoic as ever. She smiled brilliantly, showing off her brand new front teeth. "It's going to take more than that to keep me down."
"I'm sorry for your loss." Luna took Minako's hand gently. "We're all one family, but I know you and Ami were particularly close. I promise you, we'll make this right."
Minako bowed her head. "Thank you," she said simply. "Hazards of being in this business. Ami understood that. Better to die young than to live too long. She used to say that all the time. Err...no offence meant of course."
Setsuna pressed her lips tight, hiding a smile. She knew Luna well enough to know that the older woman was more amused than insulted by that comment.
"None taken." Luna waved off Minako's breach of etiquette. "Setsuna dear, I need to know. Where do we stand?"
Given recent events, there was only one answer Setsuna could give. Triad society was a complex and living being, but there was one thing that remained constant and unchanging: Blood demanded blood.
"We must act. The Hung Fa Boys killed one of our ranking lieutenants and tortured another. Tradition dictate that we're owed blood. No one would fault us for taking vengeance – in anything, we're expected to. We must honour the old ways."
"I see." Luna nodded and turned to Minako. "And your people on the street?"
"Hard to say. Rumours are circulating that the Hung Fa Boys took a shot at us, but no one has any details. Wouldn't be the first time stories like that have gone around. It may all still come to nothing."
Luna took a sip of her tea. Setsuna could see it in Luna's eyes the moment she made her decision.
"When you've been in this business as long as I have Minako, you'll learn that rumours may as well be the truth. Face is power after all." Luna spoke with the authority of a woman who very much understood the nature of power. "So be it. Setsuna, I need to speak with Minako alone. Leave us. Go gather our allies. Spread the word. I want the world to know that the Yuet To Tong does not retreat in the face of adversity. As of this moment, we are at war with the Hung Fa Boys and all who stand with them."
[A fancy mansion in the hills. Later that night...]
Artemis yawned and rubbed his bleary eyes.
He'd never liked the middle of the night, no-such-thing-as-"closed", approach to doing business, but this was Hong Kong. They had their ways here.
Artemis slipped his cellphone back into his bathrobe pocket and reflected on the report he'd just heard. He had sent Tenoh to snoop around with the locals at Aberdeen Harbour. She had called to report that she had found nothing at all. In this case, no news was good news. That meant his diamonds had likely fallen into Aberdeen Harbour.
Lost forever.
Artemis breathed a sigh of relief. The bottom of the sea was as good a place as any for his secrets. He was glad to have this mess over and done with. It wasn't the diamonds themselves he was concerned about, it was that they connected him directly to his money laundering system. If anyone ever got hold of the diamonds, they would have enough to own him. He couldn't let that happen. He'd worked too hard to build his empire to let it all crumble down now. That wouldn't be the legacy he'd want to leave for his daughter.
He poured himself a cup of warm milk and sat down to think. Clear heads would win the day. They always did.
First order of business: damage control.
He mentally tallied everyone who was involved and what they knew. Tenoh he trusted. She knew the rules of the game and never questioned her missions. Gurio knew of the diamonds, but he was the perfect combination of well paid and easily intimidated. The accountant wasn't a threat. Artemis was sure he could keep it that way.
...Then there was Tenoh's underling. One Kino Makoto. She knew of the diamonds and that they were important somehow. That wasn't dangerous in and of itself - unless she was the type that was smart enough to dig deeper? Kino had shown some initiative. She was the one who got the information they needed from the Yuet To Tong in the first place. By all accounts, that Aino was a tough one to break. Artemis was impressed. Whatever Kino did. It was effective.
...Then again, Kino was also the one who'd let Aino go free. That was less impressive. Artemis hemmed and haawed. On the one hand, Kino took decisive action to avoid a situation with the police. On the other, she had the guts to overstep her bounds to take that action in the first place.
While brains and balls were normally welcome in his organization, this could be problematic. He made a mental note to have Tenoh arrange a meeting sometime soon. He'd have to keep an eye on this one.
Moving on. Second order of business: The Yuet To Tong.
This was a complicated situation. Right now, it looked like war. He'd had one Yuet To Tong leader killed, and another held captive. They should be furious and out for revenge – those were the rules of the game.
That was going to be a problem.
He had no desire to go to war with the the Yuet To Tong. Violence on the streets had a way of bringing attention that was bad for business. Hong Kong was big and complex juggernaut of a city. There were plenty of opportunities for everyone, so long as the police stayed away. Artemis knew from experience that gang wars were just pissing contests that so often led to the downfall everyone involved.
Artemis chuckled. No need to be so dramatic now. Not all was lost. Heck, he might even have to thank Kino for letting their hostage go. That might play out in his favour in the long run. He began to map out a viable strategy.
He could spread the word that the recent troubles were a mistake. That it was all work of some overzealous mooks in his employ. The Hung Fa set based out of Tseun Wan would be good scapegoats. They were getting too big and loud for the amount of money they were bringing in – more in love with the idea of being gangsters than with being smart businessmen. Artemis had been wanting to cut ties for a while now.
Yes, Perfect. This was two birds with one stroke. He could have them "taken care of" as a sign of good faith. That would be a good start... but probably not enough. The Yuet To Tong member that died was apparently an important one. He would have to lose something of worth to make up for that. Maybe the Kwun Tong minibus route? The South Tsing Yi docks? Either one should defuse this powerkeg.
He knew Luna, and Luna knew him. If he showed his belly, she would know what to do. She'd take a swipe at it, draw a drop of blood, and stop. That would be that. Luna was a smart woman. She knew how things worked. There was no way she wanted a full out war either. Violence was merely a means to an end, and profits were the end.
Violence, on the whole, was bad for business, but a little bit went a long way. A quick bit of theatre to satisfy all the little people, and then he and Luna could both walk away with the status quo intact. That sounded feasible. He could make this work. He'd get on it first thing in the morning.
Artemis stretched, arching his back until he loosened up and relaxed again. Now that he had a plan, it was time to go back to sleep. He whistled as he walked back to the comfort of his bedroom. He took his time, enjoying the art and sculptures he saw along the way.
It was damn nice to be rich. He didn't get to be where he was without learning how to spin any situation into his favour.
Brains and balls. That's what it took to get to the top these days.
Artemis twitched. Something caught his eye. A movement. Shadow. A shape in the window.
No. It couldn't be.
"Hello?" Artemis called into the dark "Is someone there?"
If there was an answer, Artemis never heard it. All he heard were two gunshots.
And then he heard nothing at all.
"Holy shit! Are you serious? What the hell?! Artemis! Did he just – who killed him? AMI! What happens next?"
Ami blushed. Makoto's reaction was oddly validating, even if it was mostly just cussing. It was excited cussing at least. This seemed like a good point as any to leave her audience hanging. Besides, she was finally out of steam. Ami had no idea what was going to happen next. This story was getting more complicated and involved than she had expected when she started this silly little tale.
Better think of something soon for Mako's sake though. For some reason, Mako seemed really interested in the story. As much as Ami enjoyed being the centre of her girlfriend's attention, it was a somewhat guilty pleasure. So far, she'd mostly been shamelessly ripping off archetypes and tropes from popular movies, but now... this was the end game. The plot she'd set up actually needed to be resolved. This was normally the point in the movies where everyone dies. She already felt bad enough killing Artemis' character. The more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable Ami felt. It was easy to joke about it at paintball centre right after the match, but now, thinking about killing all her friends left a bad taste in her mouth.
Ugh. Either way, this was a really really pointless thing to get upset about. It was just a stupid story anyways. Ami forced herself to smile at Mako's excitement. It was very sweet how Makoto humoured her with her weird ideas. Ami chose to focus on that instead of the little voice living in the back of her head that told her to stop this nonsense and use her brain for something more worthwhile.
A.N.
What ho! I just noticed that as of the previous chapter, this fic became the longest fic I've ever written.
I had fun writing Artemis as a man cat. I'll miss writing him in the future, but alas, the plot must go on!
Speaking of, let us take a minute to appreciate how lame the chapter summary for the next chapter is. I got nothing.
Cheers,
-Drift.
Up Next
Ch 17 : やくざの墓場 - Yakuza Graveyard: wherein there are Yakuza, in a graveyard.