Book I Chapter 7: Lungmen Blues

"Tell him to get out."

Unsurprisingly, dodgy masks and dodgy actions don't play well with the law. The thought might've crossed Luke's mind, had he not been thoroughly preoccupied trying to avoid shitting himself.

Texas sighed. She glanced over her shoulder and jerked a flippant thumb at the officer. "You heard her," she said.

"But I didn't do anything!" Luke protested, voice noticeably more shrill than usual. Had he the presence of mind to think on it, he might've appreciated the bitter irony of the situation. Only a short while ago, he desperately denied Septimus' lurid accusations of adolescent… vigor, yet here he was, being ordered out of the car for ogling a customs officer.

"Sorry, can't disobey the LGD. That's a crime."

He deflated like a popped balloon. His nervous energy vanished as quickly as it'd come, replaced with gut-churning fear. His first day outside Higashi, and he'd already found trouble with the law. At the rate he was going, he wouldn't be surprised if he ended up quickly forgotten, left to rot in some godforsaken prison.

Grani placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be fine. As long as you follow her instructions, she has no reason to arrest you—you haven't done anything that would warrant that, yet."

He smiled weakly, thankful for her encouragement. As a former officer herself, Grani would surely have some insight, even if she'd served half a world away from Lungmen.

Let's get this over with, Luke thought, unbuckling himself with a huff. He rose to his feet, hunching over to avoid the van's roof, and squeezed himself through the narrow space between Franka's seat and the door. He reached for the handle, but a soft grip around his wrist stopped him.

Franka gave him a reassuring smile. "I know that officer. She's a total straight edge, so don't worry," she said.

Even Liskarm appeared concerned. "Just don't do anything stupid. She's temperamental, but not unreasonable."

Luke nodded, opened the sliding door, and hopped out onto the dirt below. The sudden change in environment was jarring, and not at all pleasant. The van had been cool, dry, and comfortable, but the outside air was hot and muggy—an absolute sweat trap.

Luke shuffled around the rear of the vehicle, rather than the front, a meaningless delay of the inevitable. He kicked aimlessly at a stone, wondering how much trouble he was in. Nothing to do now but find out, he supposed, as he rounded the van to face the irate officer.

He was surprised to see the officer was quite short, much shorter than he'd thought. Horns included, she was a good head shorter than him—which, remarkably, did nothing to detract from her intimidating aura. She stood there, leaning on one leg, staring him down from behind a pair of aviator sunglasses. One hand rested on her jutting hip, the other held a datapad against her torso. Confident, clear, and perhaps a touch sassy.

"Hurry up! I haven't got all day," she grunted.

Very sassy. Luke approached the officer nervously, a meek expression on his face. He waved awkwardly. "Uh… hi, Miss Officer ma'am, lady… person. I'm Luke."

Good luck in prison, idiot.

The skin on the back of his neck crawled as he realized dozens of eyes were lingering on him. Other officers, people in line, hell, even a few immigrants waiting to enter had stopped arguing to look over at him. 'What, never seen a guy in a mask?' he wanted to shout, but knew it would probably just make things worse.

The officer frowned up at him. "Officer Ch'en, of the LGD," she said with a subtle nod. "I need to see some identification."

Luke blinked, confused. "Identification…?"

She eyed him with suspicion. "You do have an ID, right?" she asked, impatiently tapping her stylus against her datapad.

In a brief moment of inspiration, he remembered—Franka had said something about identification on the drive to Lungmen. "Well, you can't enter another country without proper identification, can you?" Luke felt a rush of inspiration. My Rhodes ID! He'd have to thank Franka later, once he got out of this scrape.

"Oh, yeah. Uh…" Luke rummaged through his jacket, checking every pocket. He flipped open flaps, unfastened buttons, dug into every crevice, and found nothing. For the first time, he found the abundance of pockets sewn into his jacket cumbersome, rather than convenient. Every second he spent searching for his ID felt like a small eternity with Ch'en glowering at him throughout. After a solid minute of searching, he was near ready to tear the damn jacket off and never look back, gift be damned. From now on, he'd cram everything in the front pockets of his pants, organization be–

Then he found it, right where he'd left it, tucked inside his upper left breast pocket. Thank the divines. Relieved, he handed it over with an entirely undeserved flourish, suddenly convinced that he'd be fine.

She looked the laminated card over, then scanned it with her tablet. The screen flashed, and she frowned. "I'm going to have to ask you a couple of questions. Your cooperation is appreciated."

Luke looked back towards the van, nervous once again. Exusiai flashed him a thumbs-up and a grin. Couldn't be that bad, right?

Her first question caught him off guard. "Where are you from?"

Luke snapped around to face Ch'en. "I, uh… Higashi?"

"Is that a question?" she said, with an edge to her voice.

His shirt was quickly becoming damp with sweat. "Oh, no. Higashi. I'm from Higashi."

"What's the nature of your visit?"

What is this? 20 Questions? "Work."

Ch'en hummed. She held up her datapad and snapped a photo of his face before he could react. They stood in tense, momentary silence before her tablet beeped. "Well, your face doesn't appear to match any known criminals in the database." Luke realized then that he'd been holding his breath, and exhaled, relieved. Not that he had any reason to expect he might be in the criminal database. "But that's because we have no information on you at all." His breath caught again, as quickly as it had returned. Of course he wasn't in the database, but he still had good reason to be nervous.

"Uh… is that bad?"

Ch'en clicked her tongue with irritation. "Remains to be seen. Take off the mask."

Fuck me. So much for reasonable… He was already nervous, and now she wanted him to expose himself in front of all of Lungmen? A nasty blend of anger and fear swirled in his gut. "I'm afraid I must refuse."

She shot him a fierce glare. "You have no choice. Take it off, now," she said with finality.

His heart thumped wildly in his chest, ready to break free from its bony cage. "No, really, I insist. No one wants to see what's under there," he said, more forcefully than he'd intended. Who does she think she is? This face is bad enough as-is, without showing it off.

"Luke, just take off the damn mask!" Texas hollered from the van.

What the hell, Texas? The first time he'd ever heard her raise her voice, and of course, she was busy demanding he expose himself. He looked around wildly, searching for any way to escape, but found none. He was trapped like a circus animal in a cage. "And if I don't?"

The officer leaned forward, glaring over the rim of her shades. "What do you think?" she growled quietly at him, the threat evident by her tone of voice. "Just do as I say, and everything will be fine." She couldn't have sounded less reassuring, Luke thought, even if she'd tried.

"Uh…" Luke stalled, racking his brains for a way out. He caught sight of her slender tail as it wrapped around her leg.

She's a Lung. During his time in Higashi, he had picked up a thing or two about wider Yanese culture. The Lung, he recalled, were infamous for their pride, and from her actions, Ch'en didn't seem any different. He could work with that. Not his first choice, but any port would do in a storm—anything but taking the mask off in public.

"I refuse," he said, glaring down at Ch'en.

She stiffened, clearly surprised by his increasingly brazen defiance. "Watch yourself, civilian. I don't have all day," she growled.

"Request, command, demand, doesn't matter. You don't scare me, short-stack."

Ch'en scowled. Before Luke could react, she had him by the wrist, squeezing tighter than expected. She twisted his arm behind his back, then slammed him against the van. He saw Grani jump back from the window, shock etched on her face. He tried to reassure her with a grin, but the searing pain in his twisted shoulder turned it into a grimace. Behind him, the irate officer slapped a pair of handcuffs around his wrists. "You're under arrest for disrupting LGD operations," she hissed.

"Ch'en?" a new voice asked. Luke couldn't see who had spoken, on account of having his face jammed against a window, but the voice carried a sense of uncertainty. "Can't we just let him go? You said it yourself, he isn't a registered criminal."

"That we know of," the officer barked back. "And we know nothing about him, except—" she jerked the handcuffs uncomfortably tight—"that he is uncooperative with the law."

There was no further protest from the LGD officer who had intervened on Luke's behalf. Inside the van, however, Grani was up in arms.

She pounded her fist against the window. "Let him go! He didn't do anything wrong!" she shouted, somewhat muffled by the windowpane. "This is an unlawful arrest! Release him!"

Ch'en shook her head. She grabbed Luke by the upper arm, now, and steered him away from the vehicle. "The rest of you can leave." She glowered over her shoulder at Texas. "Get a move on before I change my mind."

Exusiai leaned out of her window. "We'll get the boss to bail you out."

Luke nodded. "Make it quick." He wouldn't need a lot of time. The Sankta watched as the van sped through the gates, a trail of dust wafting lazily in its wake.

Clicking her tongue, Ch'en turned towards him with a fierce glare. "This could have been avoided."

"I agree. This could have been avoided." The officer crossed her arms beneath her chest and humphed with satisfaction. Luke smirked. Let's get this show on the road. "If you weren't such a bitch, that is."

Ch'en's eyes narrowed. Her lips pulled back in a snarl as she leaned towards him. "What did you just say?" she asked, voice dangerously low.

Luke stood as straight as he could, glaring down at her and casting a long shadow over her lithe figure. He stepped forward, getting almost uncomfortably close. "You heard me, shorty. Far as I can tell, you're a raging bitch." From the corner of his eye, Luke noticed a few officers backing away silently. "I bet you're still single, huh? Never fu—"

Ch'en seized him by his collar and jerked him down to her eye level. Her tail flicked back and forth aggressively. Looks like I found a sore spot…

"Listen here," she hissed, mere inches from his face. "You're on thin ice. I suggest you tread carefully..."

"Why? Gonna lock me up for shooting my mouth off?" Luke asked haughtily. "I don't think so. I might not be very worldly, but I'm pretty sure that's not a crime anywhere. Certainly not one worth serving time." He puckered his lips and spat, hurling a wad of spittle by her feet. "You're nothing but a stuck-up bitch who's too prudish to get fucking laid." He watched anxiously as her slender brows crushed against each other, twisting her beautiful face into an ugly rage. He felt a bit bad, but at this point, continuing on was his only choice. "Why should I listen to an expired, washed-up, Christmas cake of a hag? (1) Face it: No one wants you." Nothing could be further from the truth— hell, he'd landed himself in this mess by over-appreciating her looks—but that didn't really matter now.

"You bastard!"

Luke forced a cocky grin onto his face. "It's the truth." His faux amusement, however, was short-lived. Ch'en's fist lashed out, cracking against his exposed eye. His head snapped back, vision exploding with bursts of light. He stumbled back, tripped, and fell back onto the dusty ground, clutching the unmasked portion of his throbbing face. Fucking hell! He had expected a punch—counting on it, actually—but nothing like that.

Ch'en seized Luke by the right bicep, hauled him back to his feet, and dragged him towards a nearby vehicle emblazoned with the LGD's crest. She flung the rear door open with one hand and shoved him in with the other, slamming it shut behind him. Not going to buckle me in? What if we get in an accident?

Cursing under her breath, Ch'en slid into the driver's seat. "You've made a huge mistake today," she said as she started the car, "you hear me?"

Luke grunted as she floored the accelerator. He needed to tread carefully from here on out. He wanted to keep her angry, but not too angry. He still needed her to be somewhat reasonable if he ever wanted to get out. He was playing a dangerous game, and he knew that, but by constantly rising and backing away, he hoped to keep her in check with emotional brinkmanship. After all, an angry person was predictable: a cornered animal was not.

"Did you hear what I said?!"

"Yes'sm." Luke flopped his head against the leather upholstery. He couldn't wait to take a nap…

Grani wrung her hands nervously as the van hurtled through a major intersection. She was beside herself with concern for her partner. She wasn't entirely confident he could take care of himself, and if the LGD was anything like the Victorian police, justice was far from their top priority.

She watched another highrise zip by. Grani didn't like Lungmen. Not one bit. At first glance, the city seemed like the perfect place to live. Unlike Londinium, Lungmen appeared free of crime and violence. Everything seemed to run smoothly. Almost too smoothly. She couldn't quite put a finger on it, but something about Lungmen's tranquility rubbed her the wrong way.

Texas threw the van into a sudden, sharp turn, plastering Grani against the window. She frowned as the vehicle skidded to a halt inside a garage. She'd ridden with Texas enough times to know her driving wasn't likely to result in an accident, but still, she didn't see why every trip had to be made at breakneck speed. Not every minute spent in a car needed to be a thrill ride.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dark orange light. The garage, while grungy and disorganized, was similar to the spaces utilized by the Mounted Police. Tools lay scattered about on shelves, tables, even on the floor. Grani craned her neck around to get a better look around the large room. A startled penguin tumbled through one of the doors, cussing and shaking its fist. She unlatched her seatbelt, threw it over her shoulder, and shimmied past Franka.

Exusiai leapt from the van in a panic with Grani hot on her heels.

The stocky penguin in white shuffled up to them. "Exu, about goddamn time! Was beginning to think you quit on me. Sora's itchin—"

"Boss, you gotta help!" Exusiai cried, cutting him off. "We were just trying to enter the city and we didn't mean any harm, but he—"

Emperor reared back, startled. "Who's, what? What're you on about?"

Grani pulled at her own hair. "Some officer arrested him! Something about disrupting LGD operations? I don't know!"

"Lil' pony, hold your horses," the Emperor said, pointing to both women. "Both of y'all are gonna run me out of business, talking at that speed. One more time, from the top."

Exusiai closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Ch'en arrested your godson."

His beak flapped open. "Fo' real?"

"Yes."

Emperor pressed a flipper against his forehead. Grani moved to speak, but stopped when he waved. After a momentary silence, Emperor sighed heavily. "What's my lil'man Lucy doin' here? Ain't he supposed to be in Higashi or something?"

Franka stepped out of the van, followed closely by Liskarm. "That would be our fault," Franka said, eyebrows knit with concern.

Emperor looked up at her, surprised by her serious expression. "Frankie? The hell did you do?"

"Luke recently joined Rhodes Island where we," she explained, gesturing between Liskarm and herself, "are his mentors. After receiving your request last night, we decided to bring him along."

"You what?!" he squawked. "I asked for a guard detail, not a peashooter. Lucy's got no business here! This shit's whack!"

Liskarm bowed deeply. "Words cannot express how sorry we are. We thought it would provide him with valuable experience."

"Valuable indeed…" the penguin grumbled. He scratched his head. "No use crackin' eggs over it. What's done is done." He pointed to Grani. "And you! You said Officer Ch'en took him in?"

A deluge of rage surged through Grani's mind. She balled her hands into fists, struggling to hold back the tide of emotion. "She didn't even explain! She just—" Grani slammed a fist against the van. "Just arrested him! Just like the corrupt Victorian Police!" she bawled, slipping into her natal vernacular. (2)

Franka and Liskarm exchanged weary looks. The law Ch'en had cited while cuffing their now-absent trainee was extremely vague in definition. It allowed the LGD to arrest someone, more or less, whenever they felt the urge. However, neither was sure how to broach the topic with the furious Grani.

Thankfully, Texas intervened. "Technically, he was arrested for failing to comply with lawful orders from the LGD," she said, throwing in her two cents from the van. "She asked him to remove his mask, and he refused."

"'Course he did…" Emperor bowed his head and gurgled out indescribable penguin noises. He repeatedly bobbed up and down, croaking out strange cries as he moved. "How dare she! If she lays one finger on my servant boy—"

"Servant boy?" Grani asked, a touch exasperated.

His beak snapped open. "Bah, godson, same thing!" He waddled up to the van, urging them to follow. "Let's go, we're already running late!"

Luke shuffled out of LGD HQ a little worse for wear. He didn't stick around to see what became of his arresting officer. He was more than glad to put the entire fiasco behind him. He didn't have plans to return to Lungmen after the mission, so he took comfort in knowing that he would never have to deal with the draconian officer ever again. Hopefully…

A wave of pain lashed through his rapidly darkening eye, drawing a grimace from him. He reached up instinctively, covering the injury with his looked around in confusion. He had no idea where he was. He was standing in a large public square, surrounded by towering buildings. Thankfully, the clearing was mostly empty. He didn't want prying eyes staring at his injury.

"Luke!"

He looked up. It was Grani. She leaned back, shouting around the corner she had emerged from. "I found him!"

Luke offered a weak wave as the group entered the courtyard. "Hey."

Grani was by his side in an instant. "Oh my—What happened?" she gasped, fussing over his frazzled look. She cupped his chin, turning his head every which way in search of other injuries. She grabbed his head and pulled it down, forcing him to bend over so she could inspect the top of his head. It must have been an amusing sight, considering the disparity in height, Grani had to reach overhead in order to touch his face.

His godfather waddled up to him next. "Nasty bruise ya got there, Lucy."

Luke gently pushed Grani's hands away and straightened his back. "Yeah. Got punched in the face."

"By who!?" Grani cried, stomping her foot in frustration.

He glanced over his shoulder and gestured towards LGD HQ with his chin. "Who do you think?"

Texas appeared unconvinced. "You're saying Ch'en punched you? I find that hard to believe," she said.

Exusiai nodded. "She may be strict, but she's level-headed. It'd take a lot to get under her skin." She hummed in thought. "You must have done something."

"Well… Yeah, I kinda goaded her into it. Said some rough things, and then spat at her feet."

Exusiai, Franka, and Liskarm were horrified by his admission. "You what!?" they shouted simultaneously.

"Said some shit, spat at her feet," Luke repeated.

"Why?" Exusiai cried. "Are you insane!?"

Luke smirked and rubbed his chin, proud of his plan. "You know, I just might be… regardless, the LGD is Wei Yenwu's pride and joy. It's practically the face of Lungmen. It would be a PR disaster if news got out that an officer assaulted a civilian without due cause. Not to mention, it'd make both the superintendent and Wei Yenwu appear weak for being unable to properly control their subordinates."

Exusiai's halo brightened. "So you provoked Old Ch'en into assaulting you and then blackmailed the LGD? You're a genius!"

Grani rolled her eyes. "Or extremely foolish. There was no guarantee the LGD would give in."

Emperor threw back his head, beak trilling with laughter. "Hah! The lil' man grew a pair! That's my boy!"

Luke took a haughty step toward his godfather. "Little man? The last time I checked, you were two feet shorter than me, Little E." The gathered members of Penguin Logistics paled. "And drop the Lucy. It's Luke."

To their surprise, the Emperor seemed to enjoy their verbal spat. "The lil' fighter's got spirit!" He exclaimed, slapping Luke's arm. "Still hidin' that ugly mug of yours behind a mask, I see."

"Bold words, considering that freakshow you call a mouth." Luke countered with a slight grin.

"You talkin' 'bout this?" Emperor opened his beak to reveal a horror of fleshy spines and edges.

Luke reeled back, and threw up his arm to cover the horrific sight. There weren't many things he considered uglier or more horrific than the rough side of his face, but the Emperor's mouth was definitely among them. "Yes, like that, you shitty bath toy!"

The penguin dipped a flipper as though challenging him to a fight. "Man! Show some respect, Lil' Lucy. I didn't hatch a delinquent."

"Today's escapade might suggest otherwise," Texas muttered under her breath.

Luke sighed, rolling his eyes. It'd be easier to simply agree with the penguin instead of arguing his point. "Yeah, you're right, E," he conceded, exasperated.

"Aye, don't worry 'bout it, kid. I ain't gonna let it get to me. I was just foolin." Emperor took stock of the various reactions around him. He returned their astonished looks with a glare over his shaded rims. "What? We all got family. I didn't really hatch him, obviously. Speaking of which," He held out a flipper. "Lucy Jones! Things are getting outta hand! We're running late. What're you gonna do 'bout that?"

"You don't have hands," Luke replied, ignoring Emperor's entire speech.

Emperor head-butted him in the gut. "Shaddup!" The others couldn't help but laugh as the Emperor went back to berating him. Luke grinned a bit, in spite of himself. Maybe not the best morning, but at least it was behind him now.

(1) East asians (particularly the Japanese) believe that women 25 and older are beyond marriageable age. They're usually considered "old/used" goods. Because Christmas falls on the 25th, "Christmas Cake" has become an insult for single women 25 and older (in some circles)
(2) Grani's native accent is Cockney English (IMO)