Chapter 454 - Always--ALWAYS

Everyone was relieved to see that it was only Wuming trying to break into the Qing's Mansion.

Qing Lok dropped the dagger on the kitchen island. "I swear to God, Wuming. One of these days, I'm going to put something in your food and drive you down in a hospital for the criminally insane."

Wuming tried to find a clear space for his hands so he could get up, but Qing Chen already grabbed the collar of his shirt and hauled him to his feet. "Make sure that it's a new poison. I kind of made my body immuned to some of them." Then he winced, clutching his rib. "Geezus, Chen, are you made of steel? I think I'm getting a bruise."

Qing Chen took the magazine out of the pistol. "Grandmother's going to kill you."

"I'll fix it all up tomorrow," he groaned when he saw the mess. His grandmother was REALLY going to kill him. His eyes lighted up when he saw the reprimanding look on Addison's face. "Hey, honey!"

Addison made her way to the closest fridge took out a pack of frozen from the freezer. She tossed it to him.

"Don't be mad," he said and pressed a kiss on top of her head. "It's fun, isn't it?"

Nobody answered him. Still, he found it funny.

"You know, you were all like traipsing on a line when the alarm was activated. It was like taken out of a film. I could all see you. Tip: don't walk near the windows, alright? A sniper might be waiting for you."

He tried to put an arm around Addison but she only elbowed the spot that he was protecting with a palm. He quickly buckled away. "I was going to say that you did best!"

"Show's over," Qing Chen said. "Let's all get back to work."

=============

Everyone endured a few more chiding comments from Wuming. Then they were all back to the living room and kept him up to speed. He stretched and yawned. "I'll trace La Hiena down tomorrow. I might pay a visit or two to some of the gangs." He leaned and smield to his sister-in-law, Feng Xuan. "Wanna come with? It's going to be fun."

Feng Xuan smiled back at him. "Let's see."

Addison squeezed on her knee. "It'll be nice to have some female companion on the rounds at night. Let's go together."

Feng Xuan nodded. She had never been had that much time to spend with Addison. She would love to jump on the chance.

"Qing Lok," said Qing Chen, "you're going with Clown tomorrow. You make sure that everything is up and running, that we're all stocked up in the armory, and begin some trainings with the younger members." His eyes flickered to the fragile-looking girlfriend of his brother. "It'll be nice if you'll learn to defend yourself, Meilien. Even just a little. Perhaps even just a gun."

"What was she trying to look for again?" asked Wuming.

"We don't know what on earth she was trying to look for," answered Qing Lok. "It's not like Chen was keeping things he should not in his office. It's all just things about The Kingly."

"I think it's financial records," Qing Chen said. "That's the only place that you'll find an anomaly. She'll see that our money had no real source in the first place. But those files had been buried years ago. All the money The Kingly has was because of the profit from the past years. Nothing more in it was from the mafia."

Feng Xuan recalled Chi Mi on her last moments. She was really searching. If it had been the files that she had been after, she would've taken all the latest ones from Qing Chen's table and ran.

"Maybe it had been Enigma's papers she's after," she voiced out. "Maybe she knew who we really are. She said something about how it was true that we're bad people."

There was a collective sigh.

"Well," said Qing Chen, "hasn't things just gotten more interesting?"

==========

The person that the Qings were trying to track, the mysterious caller who used burner phones, was getting more and more frustrated. 

"Why isn't she answering?" he screamed on the plastic flip phone. "After everything that I did for her?"

Chi Mi used two phones alternatively. It was part of the whole scheme for not to get caught. She had an assigned phone for the day. She was not answering the one that was scheduled for the day.

He did not dare call the last phone. She might have lost it as she did not come back nor call back the night that she attended the party. Something must have happened to her.

She always—ALWAYS—called back. If she that was not possible, she always came to their meeting place. He had been waiting for the past two days and there was not a single shadow or message from her.

"I'm going to make her pay," he stated and grabbed another phone. This was the phone that he used whenever he was engaging in some sketchy business and did not want for people to know.

His family was well known in Chengshi. He could not risk anything. He could not risk dragging their name. If that happened, it was going to affect him as well.

He dialed the only number that was saved on that phone and it was picked up on the fourth ring. "Con Services. Can I help you?"

He pinched his voice and said, "I'm trying to look for someone."

"Yeah?"

"Her name is Chi Mi," then he proceeded to give the last place and that he knew where she was, physical descriptions, and he emailed a photo of her.

The private investigator gave him a price.

"You know I don't care about that!" he hissed. "Just find her. Bring her to me alive."

He was fuming.

He knew he shouldn't have let her handle it.

He groaned. Did he have to do everything?