Chapter 36
Tao had fled the scene of his failed attack and cursed himself as he walked through the door of his mansion. He would have to send somebody to recover the bodies of the fallen before it could come back that they weren’t United States citizens. The house was dark, but he could still make out things as he maneuvered. He needed to go to his office and have a drink.
He was more than angry. He was embarrassed. How had such a foolproof plan gone wrong? It was his fault for underestimating his enemy, but still he could not bring himself to place the blame on himself. It was that idiot Simon’s fault. How had he not watched the door and seen those three walk in? Even with the best training in the world, Tao’s men were no match for AK-47 assault rifles. He could taste the scotch on his tongue as he grew closer to his office door. He was glad Chu On’s bedroom was on the other side of the house. He would inform him of what had happened in the morning, after he came up with a clever way to tell him that the blacks had ambushed them.
When he got to his office door, it was shut, which was not out of the norm. However, he saw a dim light coming from under the door. That was odd because he was positive that he turned every light off before he left the last time. He entered the room and was shocked to see Chu On standing next to his desk. Tao looked around and didn’t see anybody else.
“Great-grandfather, is everything okay?”
“I should be asking you that. I saw on the television what happened today. My men were killed.”
“You gave them to me, so technically they were my men.”
“They were killed nonetheless. You were not smart. How do you explain this?”
“We were ambushed,” Tao said quickly, going to pour himself a cup of scotch.
“How can you be ambushed at an event that was not yours? You were the one doing the ambushing.”
Tao didn’t say anything. He just tossed the liquid back. He welcomed the hot sensation down his throat. The old man stood there giving him a disgusted look, like Tao was the lowest of scum. Chu On spat at the ground.
“What?” Tao asked and placed the glass back down on its shelf.
“When I am gone, I want somebody who is fit to lead to take my place.”
“It is just one battle, great-grandfather. To think the war is lost is foolish.”
“Since I have been here there has not been one piece of good news brought to me. First I hear that my other grandson, your son, is kidnapped.”
“Who told you that?”
“You forget that the men who surround you now are only borrowed. Their loyalty will always lie with me until I die.”
Tao thought back to his meeting with Caesar. Jin and Lan had been in earshot the entire conversation. There was no doubt in his mind that, when they returned, they reported what they had learned to Chu On.
“What does not sit well with me is that you did not try everything in your power to get him back,” Chu On continued.
“There is no point trying to save a finger when I am focused on the whole hand.”
“What about if that finger is a thumb? The most crucial finger. You are foolish like your father. All of the training you gave your son you should have been giving yourself. You lack discipline. All of your greatest desires are selfish. A good leader focuses on his family, but you? You only focus on yourself. I never liked you.”
“You don’t have to tell me what I already know. You never liked my father either. I’m sure that’s why you did not care for me.”
“No, I did not care for you because I saw your inside at an early age. It is not because of your father. I enjoyed your brother. He was not a leader, but he had a good heart. Where is he?”
The way he asked the question made it sound rhetorical. He just watched every part of Tao’s face in search of a reaction. There was something about the look in Chu On’s eyes that told Tao that he knew something, but how could he? He couldn’t have. Nobody knew what he had done to Shen.
“Great-grandfather, maybe we should finish this discussion in the morning. I am very tired, and I must think of my next course of action. What happened today was unacceptable, and next time I have to hit harder.”
“You do not dismiss me. I dismiss you. I think we should discuss it now.”
Tao felt himself go impatient. He was tired of respecting a man for nothing. The only reason he put up with Chu On was because he wanted to take his place. But there they were alone. If something were to happen to him inside of his great-grandson’s home, nobody would suspect foul play. He was so old that it was only a matter of time before he croaked anyway.
“Where are your guards, Great-grandfather?” Tao asked, moving closely to him.
“They are around.”
“Nowhere close though, right?” As Tao passed a couch along his office wall, he grabbed a decorative pillow.
He could suffocate the old man and carry him to his room. In the morning he would say he died in his sleep. He would send word back to Hong Kong and be crowned the new leader of the Triad by right. He didn’t even feel the creepy smile that spread on his face.
“I don’t understand the nature of these questions,” Chu On asked right as Tao got close enough to grab him.
“It’s because he wants to kill you, Great-great-grandfather.”
The voice shocked Tao, and he stopped moving all together. He would recognize that voice anywhere. It was his son’s. Ming spun around in Tao’s desk chair and faced him. He looked like he had been to hell and back. Still, Tao could see the hateful look on Ming’s beaten-up face.
“Son. You have returned. When?”
“I was released from Caesar’s clutches last night. But I did not arrive home until this evening.”
“Released?” Tao was confused.
“He let me go.”
“He just . . . let you go?”
“Yes. When he saw that you were not going to budge peacefully in the war, he let me go.”
“You must have told him something,” Tao accused him. “Caesar King is not the type to just let a prisoner go. Not alive anyway.”
“Well, he did. And on the contrary—he was the one who filled me in on some things.”
“Things like what?”
“Like about who my father really is.” Ming’s eyes were on fire. “A murderer of his family. A man with no honor.”
“You don’t know what you speak of. Shut your mouth.”
“I wish what I said were not true. You trained me to be an honorable warrior, yet you do things like this?”
Ming grabbed a small black remote from Tao’s desk drawer and turned on the overhead projector in the office. He instantly recognized his Chinese restaurant and himself on the screen. He listened to his own voice tell Boogie where he could find Li to kill him. His body grew tense, and his jaw muscles tightened. He was caught.
“You ran here to show Chu On this?”
“He needed to know the truth. We all did. You killed Shen, too. Didn’t you?” Ming asked.
Tao slowly turned back to him. As he stared at Ming, his own flesh and blood, he didn’t see his son. He saw just another man.
“He was weak. Like you. He was going to betray me. So he got what was coming to him.”
“You are a monster.”
“Then what does that make you? In many ways you are just like me,” Tao reminded him. His chest moved up and down as a crazy laugh escaped his lips. “I did not expect to have to kill the last of my remaining immediate family, but nothing will get in the way of my destiny. Great-grandfather, I’ll lead them well. I will tell them that I came in here and it was too late. Ming had already killed you and so I had to kill him. What a sad story, don’t you think?”
He dropped the pillow and reached for the gun on his waist. Before he could even aim it, there was a loud gunshot. Shortly after, he felt a burning sensation in his abdomen. He looked down and saw blood seeping out of his body. He touched the wound and brought his bloody fingers to eye level as if to make sure it was really blood. He looked back at Ming and saw him holding a smoking. 22 that Tao kept in his desk.
“I am nothing like you. I will never trade my honor for money or power.”
Tao began to feel lightheaded and dizzy. He stumbled back and fell onto the office couch. Chu On walked slowly over to him and snatched the gun from his waist. He spat at Tao’s feet before resuming his position at Ming’s side. He focused all of his attention on Ming.
“You, great-great-grandson, are fit to lead. This borough is yours. And when I die, you will rule Hong Kong. But first, you must prove yourself worthy.”
“How, Great-great-grandfather?”
“This place, New York, is the perfect place to expand to. But we cannot rule over an oversaturated place. You must finish what your father started. You must take over every borough.”
Ming hesitated at first. But after the shock settled, he nodded his head.
“I will. But first I have one more loose end to tie up,” he said and pointed the gun in his hand at the center of Tao’s forehead. “Goodbye, Father.”
He squeezed the trigger one time, and the bullet struck its target, decorating the office in red.
The End
Book 4 coming soon . . .