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Tara swore. I’m sure that I wasn’t followed last night when I trailed him, so what are the Police doing here? Frowning, she went over what David had told them about Lao in her mind, her perfect recall bringing up even the tinny sound the laptop speakers had given to his voice:
“He has a job at Yiang Corporation as a Risk Assessor. His apartment is here. He gets home at six p.m. everyday. What his link to the Family Member you just erased is, we’re not certain of, but we do know he frequents a nightclub, The Red Monkey. It’s owned by the local Family Clan, so go carefully.”
As a Risk Assessor to Yiang, Lao had no criminal record or connections with the police so why, all of a sudden, did they take an interest in him? Something to do with a case he was working on?
Tara peered over the edge again. Lao was wandering up the street, his nose in a book and carrying a red rucksack over one shoulder, a uniformed police officer following him.
She shifted slightly, relieving the pressure on her left knee. She was thirty floors up on the roof of the building opposite Lao’s. The edge of the roof she was on had a very low wall, so she had to remain prone, or she’d be seen. Shifting again to adjust her jacket, she took her eyes off the street. When she turned back, there were a pair of uniformed police at the entrance to Lao’s building and Lao himself had disappeared. Damn, why had they left guards? Had they seen her? She debated briefly, then crawled backwards until she could stand up safely in the shadow of the entrance to the roof and stretched. I’ll call Razzi and see what he thinks of the situation.
“Hello.” The soft oriental voice came out of nowhere and she spun around, dropping into a defensive crouch with her back to the wall. No one there. Am I hearing things? She strained her hearing outward. A faint whisper of noise from behind made her throw herself side ways as a foot descended into the space she left behind. Rolling, Tara came up onto her feet. Back where she had been crouching was an oriental girl, about seventeen or eighteen.
Tara frowned. “What are you doing up here, child?”
“I was just going to ask you the same thing.” The girl said, standing with one hand on her hip and her head tilted to the left.
Moving quickly, Tara swept a kick toward the girl’s legs, trying to bring her down. The girl laughed and jumped over it.
She’s over confident. Tara swept again, aiming for the back of the girl’s knee. If I can just get her on the floor, I can pin her down and question her.
The girl jumped over Tara’s head and landed. “You’re looking in all the wrong places.”
Tara spun and let out a barrage of punches that would have quickly incapacitated the girl had they been allowed to land. The girl parried each move with a grace that suggested she’d seriously underestimated her opponent.
Now what? I haven’t had this hard a fight before. I’m stronger than she is, but she’s faster than me. Tara backed away a little.
“Giving up?” the girl grinned. “And just as I was beginning to enjoy myself.” She moved with startling speed taking Tara by the throat with one hand and grabbing her belt with the other.
Tara ripped the girl’s pinkie finger away from her throat, the hand moving with it. She used both hands, pushed the girl’s hand and pivoted on the balls of her feet to throw the girl. The move pulled the girl’s other hand from Tara’s belt, but when she went to throw her over arm, the girl didn’t move.
“That’s better.”
Tara felt herself being dragged backward. She let go of the girl’s arm and turned, straightening her arm and aiming the side of her hand at the girl’s fragile looking neck.
The girl giggled and with one hand she caught Tara’s wrist. The other slammed into her throat and with one deep breath, she pushed Tara up against the wall beside the door.
Tara gasped against the constriction. Her grip is so strong for such a delicate looking girl. She’s no ordinary martial artist.
“Why are you watching Yang Lei Lao? And why ask him for Relaxar when the whole City knows he doesn’t do anything?” The girl sounded pleasant enough, but when Tara took her time answering, the long fingers round her throat tightened further
“I’m doing my job,” Tara coughed.
The girl cocked her head to one side and frowned. “So, you’re a Cop? You’re a Westerner, so you must be with Interpol.”
Tara hummed, hoping that the girl would take that as a yes without her having to betray her oath and lie. The girl’s fingers tightened, and Tara swallowed against the building pressure on her windpipe.
The girl shook her head slowly. “I don’t think that’s correct. I think I’ll take you to see my friend and you can try to persuade him you’re a cop. He is one and I’m a suspicious kind of person.” Her fingers tightened until Tara was gasping. “Very suspicious.”
The pressure released and Tara dropped back to the roof, breathing heavily. The girl twisted one of Tara’s arms behind her and made her get up, pushing her through the open door. They went down the stairs to the maintenance door and towards the lift.
Tara realised with a glance that the floor was empty, so as soon as she got her breath back, she took a chance. Ripping her arm down and out of the girl’s grip, Tara bolted for the stairs. She got to the door, only to find the girl in front of her.
“You won’t get away from me that easily.”
The blow that landed, threw her up against the maintenance door. She felt her right arm break from the impact and clenched her teeth against the pain. The next blow landed across her head and broke the skin, blood dribbling down her forehead and into her eyes.
“Tara!” Razôule’s voice sounded from behind the girl, who swore in Chinese and opened the maintenance door.
The door pushed Tara aside and crushed her broken arm, the pain leading her thankfully into unconsciousness as Razôule followed the girl out onto the roof.
––––––––
When she came round, she was lying in a hospital bed, a plaster on her right arm and butterfly stitches on the left side of her forehead. Razôule sat beside her, holding her other hand.
“Hel -lo.” She said, wincing as her voice cracked halfway through the word.
“How are you feeling, Taz?” he asked.
“Sore. Did you get her?”
“No. She jumped off the roof, landed on the next building and was away before I could even get a good look at her.” He looked at her, “Do you remember what she looked like?”
“Oriental. Seventeen to eighteen. Slim, but well muscled with long black hair. That’s about it. No distinguishing features.”
“Well, she sure messed your arm up some. What happened exactly?”
“That will have to wait until the Doctor has seen her, Mr. Mendosa.” Another voice interrupted them, and Tara followed it to its source in the door, where an oriental nurse stood. “Now I would like you to go and get yourself some food and rest, or I’ll have Officer Wild arrest you for loitering with intent. ”She glared at him, “Especially as Visiting Hours are over for this morning.”
Razôule stood up, smiling. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours to see you Taz, save the story until later.” He left the room, inclining his head to the nurse as he passed her.
“Well, that’s one bedside leech I won’t have to surgically remove at least.” The nurse said as she came into the room. Her badge said, SRN Shen Chio. She took Tara’s temperature, pulse and blood pressure, smiled and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Well, everything seems to be normal, no fever or high blood pressure and the head wound is healing nicely, the coagulation factors have already sealed it. The Doctor will say for sure, but I think you’ll be out of here by the weekend.”
Nurse Shen studied her wounds, “Mr. Mendosa is correct in saying that your attacker made a mess of you.” The nurse patted her good arm and rose, tucking her watch back into her pocket. “Be careful next time you take a walk though, huh? Downtown is dangerous.”
And with that she left the room.
Tara winced as she moved her arm in the sling. The painkillers were making her drowsy, and she was trying to stay awake from the comfort of the sofa in their suite.
“This is a severe set back, Tara. I told you not to alert our quarry to our presence.” David said in a monotone.
Razôule frowned, “You trained Tara in the art of stealth yourself, David. You told me she was the best. How, in the name of all that is holy, can you blame her for an intelligence slip up?”
David’s face darkened, then he sighed. “I know, we weren’t told that Yang Lei Lao is a perceptive. But we still don’t know how the police got wind of Tara’s presence, let alone how one of the Snake Clan found out.”
“You know who the girl is then?” Tara asked, easing her arm against her body.
“She’s Cheung Ennio, one of the Snake Clan’s best intelligence gatherers. We are not sure if she has been officially ‘Claimed’ by them, but as you were attacked in broad daylight, it is safe to assume she hasn’t. I’m sending over all the information we have on her. Don’t be fooled by her innocent exterior, she can kill with a blow.
As she responded to Tara’s presence at Lao Lei Yang’s apartment, it is also safe to assume that she is the next link in the chain that includes him. Razôule, you track her, Tara needs to get some rest. If you need help, just call in and I’ll send someone over.”
“David! I’ll be ok with a couple of day’s rest, don’t go all fatherly on me,” Tara snapped irritably.
“I know you will, but despite the potions you’re pouring down your throat, you will take at least three days to heal properly... and I don’t want to lose my best operative through over eagerness, so rest.”
“Is that an order David?” Razôule asked slyly. Tara shot an angry look at him.
“Yes, it is. Tie her to the bed if you have to, but make sure she rests.” David laughed, “If my calendar is correct, you’ll have to restrain her soon anyway. Oh, Razôule,” David said as he turned away from the screen, “Take a couple of days off yourself as well. It wouldn’t do for my best team to get too exhausted, would it?” The screen went blank and Razôule laughed. Tara curled herself into the corner of the sofa and growled under her breath.
“Now come on Taz, calm down. We have a couple of days before we can do anything and anyway, I wouldn’t go tracking Cheung without you, would I?”
Tara grumbled a bit but accepted what Razôule was saying. She was more annoyed with herself than in pain. How she could miss the fact that Lao Lei Yang was a Perceptive was one thing, but the thing that annoyed her most was how Cheung had managed to sneak up on her. She had been concentrating on her target true but observing the world around you was basic level training, and she was a master at that.
Razôule watched her expression get blacker and decided to get her out of the room and do a bit of sight seeing. It would give both of them a break and stop Tara thinking about work.
