20

“It looks like I just can’t sit back and watch everything turn into hell.”

Angela whispered, grabbing her jacket as she walked out of her apartment and started her 2011 white Ferrari. She knew that time was the most important thing right now, whoever grabs first place in this race will win. All she needed to do was keep her lead and hopefully she will come out victorious.

She made sure that no one followed her to this place. As of now, no one was to know about what she who she was meeting. When she arrived at the place where she was going to meet with someone, Angela hugged her jacket closer to her body as she turned her engine off, getting out of her car only to stop and look at the vintage looking bar. Every store on this street looked like time has froze, a vintage feeling.

As she approached the building, her heart beat was beating quickly so she hugged her jacket closer to her body. Wishing that this feeling would stop, her heartbeat was beating louder than her thoughts, irritating her to no end. ‘It must be the smell of tobacco that was causing her to feel like this’

When she walked into the bar, an melancholy sound greeted her that instantly made her feel like she has walked through a time machine, back to the 80’s. What was popular back then? Jazz. The sound of the saxophone was beautiful, the beauty of the saxophone was its ability to produce sounds that give an warm feeling. Along with the sound of the saxophone which gave of a melancholy feeling, she glanced around the bar and a faint smile appeared on her face. Nothing has changed, thankfully.

A bartender welcomed her, taking her order while she sat down, waiting for the drink to slide over to her. The handsome bartender handed her drink over to Angela who thanked him by sliding money over to him, he flashed his dashing smile as he walked away, leaving her alone while he attends to some other folks.

“Long time no see sis, to what do I owe this pleasure?” The side of her lips curve into a grin as she turned her eyes to meet the gaze of a man, he was no stranger to her nor was he. He took of his leather jacket, revealing his black dress shirt paired with dark jeans. Of course, no man would be complete without their prefect accessory, cologne. His hair was styled to perfection, unlike his personality, his clean appearance did not match him. Not one bit.

“How’s Ge?”

“Annoying as always. But besides him, what have you been doing all this time?” She heard a chuckle from him before taking a drink out of his glass of strong liquor. “Surviving.” He chuckled once more before continuing. “Well anyways, why is it so important that you had to meet me now and at this time? There’s something about tonight that doesn’t feel right.” Angela took out a folder, sliding it over to him as he glanced over to her, locking his gaze with hers,  questioning her with his eyes. This wasn’t a simple get-together, this was something else and she is getting desperate as time passes by.

“I need your help.”

“Why? Just go to the police and ask them to start digging or even better, hire a detective. They are the best at uncovering stuff, I mean it’s their job and area of expertise! And aren’t you big on morals? You keep saying how you want to work with a good mind-set, if I do this for you, you know you are almost following Ge’s path right?”

“I want this done secretly... and you fit that description.”

“Me?” The man opened the seal and took out the papers revealing the contents. Again, she heard him chuckle. “If the cops can’t find them, how do you expect me too? I am no miracle worker and–“ Angela rolled her eyes as she slid another envelope. This time, he took it out and smirked, finding a check, signed and valued at 100,000.00 TWD.

“Seriously, I need your help.”

“Why? Why are you suddenly interested in this? It has been so long, they could have plastic surgery and altered their look! Have you ever thought about that? You guys might be chasing after ghosts! All this time, has it ever occurred to you that maybe they have left the world? As in, they died?”

“No, they are not dead. Seriously, I need you to help me. The police are idiots and there is no one I can trust. Ao Long... that b*stard got me started. Even if they are dead, the police or someone would be able to find their corpse. But just recently, Ao Long came and asked for the documents, you and I know what he has been doing but there’s something about his actions that seemed different. Just recently, a forest fire occurred right? Well, it belonged to the Wu’s. Forensic is working on rebuilding evidence but it will take weeks, maybe even months before it becomes useful. Anyways, help me. I need your help with this, no one should know what I just showed you, do not tell anyone kay? Not even that person I call my brother, he makes me crazy.”

“Don’t I make you crazy too Angela Jie?” When his arm went over her shoulder, Angela glared at him as she nudged him in the stomach. “Ow.” He laughed it off, finishing the cup of liquor in one gulp. He was ready to go when he got up but before he disappear, he looked over to his sister.

“You know I have been trying to keep my distance from all of this drama that you and Ge created, but no matter how far I run or how long it has been, you guys always bring me back.” He held up the folder as an indication of why they keep pulling him back.

“Sheng Yi...” She lightly whispered as he closed his eyes, recalling the last time he heard someone call his name. “He was always the one who won. I am older than he is but how come I feel small compared to him?” Wang Zi’s hands clenched tightly. “Sheng Yi... Out of you two, you know I always side with the one who sounds more realistic right?” He ruffled his hair, flashing his charmer smile. “I know... You have always been on my side. How can I forget?”

Angela smiled as she watched him leave the bar. There was a time when she wanted to find a medium between them, a balance. She hoped that they could see eye-to-eye on the same things, agree on things together on the things that matters to them. But Ao Long was always the one who stood out, he was the one wanted to build a new path. It wasn’t his personality to follow nicely with rules and comply with them, he hated being used, toyed and bossed around. That all changed when Alan found comfort through fighting and violence, leaving Sheng Yi and Angela to clean the mess that he caused. Two brother... She had two brothers. But why were they so different? They share the same blood, trait, characteristics, and looks. Yet, they are so different. Angela sighed as she paid for the drinks and walked out of the bar.

................

^{_{warning: read at your own risk}  [M]}

“Boss, we got him.”

Alan looked up from his cup of alcohol to find two of his men dragging in a man in his 40’s. His men held him in front of Alan, kicking him in the knee so that the 40 year-old man knelt in front of Alan. Now, the man was pleading for him to spare his life but it wasn’t a concern to anyone in the room. As the man continue to plead for his life, Alan ignored his cry, bending down to his eye level.

“Where’s the money? I gave you 3 weeks.” He asked as the man shook his head, crying for him to let him go. “Someone took it from me! I SWEAR! HE AMBUSHED ME AND TOOK ALMOST EVERYTHING! If you let me go, I will claim back everything that–“ Alan smirked as his fingers rubbed against the cold metal gun, admiring it’s exquisite beauty. “Oh! Someone help me! I am in desperate need of money, please save me and I will repay you back! I will do everything I can repay you! Just let me go one more time, just one more time! All I am asking for is just one more time, let me go and I swear that once I have the money, I will give it all to you!!”

Alan burst into a laugh as he pointed the gun at him. “I guess it’s a good thing someone robbed you of everything, now you can say bye to this world without any regrets.” Alan piercing gaze pierced through the man’s eyes, he knew what he was doing outside. He was a gambler, he gambled his way through life, only to end with an huge sum of debts. This man even went on to sell his daughter’s soul to another man, just to gain what he lost. What a twist of fate life had for him. In the end, when his wife found out, she quickly filed for divorce and relocated with her daughter. Erasing any traces of her whereabouts, which was a smart move on her part.

“As odd as it sounds, I have bigger plans in stored for you.” So without hesitation, despite the man’s cry, he pulled the trigger, ending his life on the spot. He tossed the gun away as he glanced at the pile of blood that he laid in. Alan shot the bullet so that it penetrated his mind, right in the middle where the bullet hit. He was known for hitting perfect targets so it was expected that he hit bulls-eye. The men who followed orders from Alan felt sorry for the man but they looked the other way. “Boss, what now?” Alan wiped his hands with a tissue as he stared at the man lying on the ground, watching his blood flow out of his lifeless body. “With his life, he was useless to me but it was a fun chase, chasing after this hooligan was like giving candy to a little kid. Who knows... Maybe this lifeless body would be our key.”

“What?” One of his men asked as Alan put his hands into his pockets, feeling superior. “When he had a life, he was useless. Now that he is dead, he is now special to us.” He looked up to see his men scratching their heads, wondering what the heck he was talking about. “Boys, we are going to create an diversion. We are going to draw the Wu’s out with this body.”

“Yes boss.”

“By the time the sun greets the world once again, the streets of Taipei won’t be so quiet anymore." Alan scan the cold metal gun with his fingers, everything has its mind of its own. The gun in his hands has been aching to be lifted and caressed like a newborn. It was screaming to be used, like a samurai with a sword, he has his gun to aim for victory.