The meeting with his father had not solved the mystery of AE but he had gained knowledge of his father’s status and what he had done for him. This was enough for Xia Lei. His father had given him life twice, and had disappeared suddenly to hide from the CIA and FAs. It was all due to circumstances – how could he resent his father?
Knowing the truth unknotted the heaviness in his heart and Xia Lei was in a good mood on his way back to the embassy. He smiled when memories of his childhood with his father surfaced in his head.
“You sure have nerves of steel.” The re-transformed babushka Yelena broke the silence in the vehicle. “Those people were killers from the FA. I’m still feeling nervous now. You really are quite something, aren’t you? Killing six of them on your own.”
Xia Lei just laughed and didn’t say anything. He knew though that if it had been in another environment and he were visible to that team, that the result would be different.
Yelena sighed. “Your father and I have to be on the run again after I send you back. We’ll lay low for a period of time so you’d better do the same.”
“Oh, right…” Xia Lei abruptly remembered something.
“What?” Yelena glanced at Xia Lei.
“Never mind, it’s nothing,” said Xia Lei. He’d wanted to ask Yelena to investigate the Russian mafia members who had come to kill him last night but he remembered that his father was on the run from the FA and that it was not convenient for him to move around, so he gave up on the idea.
He’d wanted to mention it when he had been talking with his father earlier but the FA team and turned up unexpectedly.
Yelena smiled. “I can guess even if you don’t say it. The thing you want is in the storage box. Open it up.”
“You know what I want?” said Xia Lei in surprise.
“Open it up and take a look.”
Xia Lei opened the storage box. There was a document envelope inside. He unwound the string of the envelope and took out its contents – printed information and some photographs. He saw a familiar face in the photographs, and the owner of that face had been killed by him last night.
It was now obvious what was in the document envelope.
“The mafia hit on you was carried out by a Bratva called the Violent Bears. Their leader is called Sergei. This Bratva has operations in South Korea and their main business is car smuggling, arms and drugs. Your enemy Ahn Suhyeong is familiar with Sergei. You know where I’m going with this?”
“I know. Ahn Suhyeong put the hit on me,” said Xia Lei.
“This is Russia. Do not enrage the Violent Bears. They are numerous and all of them are brainless crazies. It’s not worth getting into a fight with them. It’s best to deal with Ahn Suhyeong in China. After this period of running is over your father and I will help you deal with him if you need to.”
Xia Lei thought for a bit. “It’s better for me to handle it myself. You take care of my father.”
Xia Changhe and Yelena were great helpers but they were being pursued by the CIA and the FA. They were threatened with death every time they surfaced. He did not know it before but he was aware now and he did not want his father to be in danger.
“We’ll see when the time comes. There’s no way to decide on the future now,” said Yelena.
Xia Lei nodded. He was mulling over his thoughts.
Yelena stopped the vehicle a few hundred metres from the embassy and Xia Lei alighted, then walked over. Yelena turned the vehicle around and drove off, quickly vanishing into traffic.
Xia Lei glanced back, feeling at a loss. He did not know when would be the next time he could meet with his father.
Xia Lei did not go through the front door but to the back walls of the embassy. He wanted to get in from a blind spot in the cameras but there was, unfortunately, none. There were soldiers on guard on the top floors of the embassy too, surveying the embassy and its surroundings from a bird’s eye view. He finally braced himself and went to the main gates of the embassy.
Fortunately, the previous soldier who had stopped him had changed shifts. The soldier on duty stopped him but let him in after asking him for his status and checking his entrance permit.
Ling Han was still busy working in an office and didn’t seem to have noticed that Xia Lei had left. This was entirely possible since he would definitely have done something if he’d discovered that Xia Lei was missing. He would have at least sent someone to search for him.
Xia Lei sneaked back into his own room.
All was normal in his room except for the missing engineering box. Xia Lei grew anxious – had Ye Kun stolen it? But Ling Han and Tang Yuyan were not wallflowers; there was no way the guns could have been stolen from under their noses by Ye Kun and his cronies!
It was not Ye Kun – then who?
Knock knock knocking came from the door.
Xia Lei’s left eye twitched and he saw Tang Yuyan outside the door immediately. She was carrying the missing box in her hand. Xia Lei let out a quiet breath of relief and went to open the door.
Tang Yuyan entered and waited for Xia Lei to shut the door again before saying, “Where did you go?”
Xia Lei had his story prepared. “I discovered a suspicious motorcycle rider after lunch. He looked like he was from the same group as the people who had tried to kill me last night, so I went over the wall to chase after him.”
Tang Yuyan wrinkled her brows. “Don’t lie to me.”
Xia Lei smiled. “Why would I?”
“So what did you find out?” said Tang Yuyan, “Don’t tell me you found nothing.”
“I did. The gunmen who came after us were from a Bratva called Violent Bears. Their boss is named Sergei. Violent Bears has business in South Korea, smuggling cars, arms and drugs. This Sergei is on close terms with Ahn Suhyeong. You don’t need me to point out that the incident last night had been arranged by Ahn Suhyeong, right?”
“You’re saying Ahn Suhyeong’s the mastermind?” Tang Yuyan looked surprised.
“Not just him. There’s one more, right next to us. You know who I mean,” said Xia Lei.
“Ye Kun?”
“Yep.”
“Damn it!” Tang Yuyan said angrily, “He dared to do this? And that Ahn Suhyeong too. They’d better not let me get any dirt on them!”
Ye Kun and Ahn Suhyeong – both were difficult people to deal with. There was no way to pursue the matter even though they knew that they had done it. This couldn’t be helped, and it was also a representation of how the world worked.
Tang Yuyan suddenly gave Xia Lei an odd look. “You were out for just over two hours and you found out so many things?”
“What can’t you buy if you’re willing to spend money in this world? I caught up to that motorcycle rider and brought him down. 100,000 Euros settled it,” said Xia Lei.
Tang Yuyan smiled wryly. “You sure know how to spend money. You’re actually willing to spend 100,000 Euros on this bit of information.”
“I spent even more in Afghanistan. You guys haven’t paid me back yet,” said Xia Lei.
Tang Yuyan sighed. “Forget it. Hu Hao and I know about this. He wanted to tell Ling Han but I stopped him. But there’s no next time, you hear? You need to tell me the next time you make a move.”
“Sure.” Xia Lei agreed right away.
His mouth was full of lies but this couldn’t be helped. Lucky thing Yelena gave him that information or it would’ve been hard to come up with this bluff.
Tang Yuyan handed the box to Xia Lei. “I was worried about Ye Kun and his people after you went off so I took your guns and brought them to my room. You’re back now so you keep an eye on them.”
Xia Lei opened the box, glanced inside, then closed it. “Any movement on Ye Kun’s end?”
“Nope. They’re busy preparing for the light weapons exhibition too.”
Just then, knocking came from the door and a woman’s voice said, “Mr Xia, are you in there?”
Xia Lei didn’t need to use his X-ray vision to know that the woman outside was Ye Kun’s secretary, Chen Man.
Xia Lei opened the door. “What do you want?”
Chen Man had a smile on her face and she said politely, “Mr Xia, our President Ye invites you over for tea.”
“No thanks,” said Xia Lei.
Chen Man did not give up. “President Ye has something he wishes to speak with you about.”
“I don’t have anything to say to him. Please leave,” said Xia Lei coldly.
Chen Man gave a laugh. “Mr Xia, President Ye said you’ll regret it if you don’t go.”
Xia Lei wrinkled his brows. “Is this a threat?”
“I dare not threaten you,” said Chen Man.
Just then, Ye Kun walked out of his room and said in a loud voice, “Are you really being so discourteous, Mr Xia?”
Xia Lei just looked at him coldly. He didn’t even want to speak a word to him.
Ye Kun walked slowly over with a sneer in the corners of his lips. “If that’s the case then I’ll be frank. I found out something very interesting, Mr Xia. Do you still remember the deal you had with China Industrial Group? The deal about the intelligent lathe? I found out now that you were the one who had brought it back from Germany, and you brought a German girl with you too. Her name’s Annina, right?”
Xia Lei’s heart sank and anger bubbled up. “What are you trying to say?”
Ye Kun spoke in an odd tone. “I wonder what the German would do if they knew that that woman is in your company?”
“You dare…!” Xia Lei grabbed Ye Kun by the collar, his eyes terrifying cold.
Ye Kun was not scared by Xia Lei at all. He laughed. “You care a lot for her, huh? Woman or company – pick one. I’ll give you one last chance. 5,000,000,000 for your company and the design plans for your XL2500. We’ll still be friends after this bit of business. We, Hanwu Weapons will have no lack of purchase orders for you. How about it? Think about it.”
Xia Lei pulled Ye Kun before him and his other hand curled into a fist.
“Let him go.” It was Ling Han’s voice. He walked over to them in the corridor, his face calm.
Xia Lei did not let him go and he did not relax his fist either. He hated being threatened most, especially by those who threaten to hurt him with the people close to him. He wanted nothing more than to beat Ye Kun to a pulp in that moment!
“Hahaha…” Ye Kun laughed. “Don’t dare to hit me, huh? Then let go. You don’t respect me but I am still willing to give you a chance. Accept my proposal.”
“Let him go, Xia Lei.” Ling Han was close now.
Xia Lei thrust his hand forward violently and the chubby Ye Kun was slammed into the wall before he fell to the floor.
“You…” Ye Kun was so humiliated he was angry. “Did you see that, Mr Ling? How are you going to resolve this?”
Ling Han spoke disinterestedly, “I’m not the police. I don’t know how I’ll resolve this. If you want me to suggest something then I suggest you don’t fight with him. Will you do that?”
Ye Kun was speechless.
Xia Lei drew close to Ye Kun and said in a low voice, “Listen up, I won’t sell my military factory to you no matter what dirty tricks you use. If you have the balls to leak information to Germany then the crime of treason awaits. When that time comes, I’ll kill you even if Bureau 101 doesn’t.”
The look in Ye Kun’s eyes was dark and he said nothing.
