Who Are You

The chaos inside the bar didn't last long. The bespectacled man in the suit fled with the Russians, while Luo Xia quickly hoisted Karen Page over his shoulder and carried her out.

Although one of the two remaining Russians was dead and the other gravely wounded, dead people weren't exactly rare in Hell's Kitchen. And when the dead man was a heavily tattooed, obvious gang member, it was even less unusual.

Someone called the police, but most people hurried out, afraid they'd get caught up in trouble. The bar owner was probably the unluckiest of all; he was likely to lose a night's business, if not several.

A little over an hour later, Karen Page woke up to find herself in the back seat of a car.

"Daniel? What happened?" Karen Page asked the driver.

Before he could answer, Karen Page recognized his face in the rearview mirror. He was Asian.

"Who are you? Where's Daniel?" Karen Page asked nervously.

"I don't have time to explain everything right now, but you need to know that someone drugged you at the bar. It was someone from Global Consolidated Investment. It seems to have something to do with the financial records you hid."

The person in the driver's seat was, of course, Luo Xia. He was currently heading for the warehouse docks on 6th Street, so there was no time to take the unconscious Karen Page somewhere safe. Besides, on the eve of this coming chaos, there was nowhere safer than Luo Xia's Sand Off-road Vehicle.

Karen Page was skeptical, but she was smart enough to keep her composure and not do anything rash.

After thinking for a moment, Karen Page finally asked, "Did you save me? What about Daniel? Is he all right?"

"He's fine. He should've already left Hell's Kitchen with his family. You're a little less lucky, though. I'm in a hurry to take care of something, so I can't get you somewhere safe just yet. But if you stay in the car, I can guarantee your safety."

"Are you a cop? Or a federal agent? Can I know your name?" Karen Page asked Luo Xia again.

"Luo Xia. You can call me Luo Xia, but I'm not with the government. All right, we're here. Wait in the car. Once this is over, I think you'll be able to go home safely." As he spoke, Luo Xia pulled over and got out by himself.

As soon as he was out of sight, Karen Page immediately started tugging at the car door, trying to escape this unfamiliar place. Luo Xia hadn't seemed hostile, but who knew if he'd been telling the truth? The only person Karen Page could trust right now was herself.

But no matter what she tried, she couldn't open the door. She searched the driver's seat and couldn't find a button to unlock it, either. Just as Karen Page was about to take off her high heels and smash the window, an electronic voice sounded from inside the car.

"Wait! Ms. Page, I don't think violence will solve anything."

The sudden voice startled Karen Page. She cautiously asked, "Luo Xia? Is that you?"

"No, no. Commander has gone to take care of his business. You can call me Luo Fei. I suggest you put your high heel down for now. We can talk things over. Or would you like me to play some music to help you relax? How about 'Moscow Nights'?" the strange electronic voice said to Karen Page.

"Let me out, or you'll have to talk to the insurance company about repairing this car," Karen Page said, no longer hiding what she intended to do. She assumed it was some kind of remote vehicle-control software. Since the person wasn't here, she felt much bolder.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. The windows look thin, but they're actually bulletproof," Luo Fei explained.

Karen Page refused to give up and struck the window several times with her high heel. To her dismay, the glass was so sturdy that she couldn't even leave a scratch. She gave up on escaping the car.

What bothered Karen Page even more was that the car had actually started playing the kind of old music only grandfathers seemed to listen to.

So locking her in the car was a form of torture, after all! A soundproof-room interrogation!

Luo Xia had no idea Luo Fei was introducing an American to his revolutionary old songs. He was busy climbing onto the warehouse roof with Matt, keeping quiet as they went. White had investigated the place.

Luo Xia had his Tactical Goggles, and Matt had super-hearing. They could both clearly make out what was happening beneath the thin metal roof.

Iron cages were being loaded into containers, then hoisted onto trucks. It was obvious the people inside were being taken to the docks for a deal.

"Five trucks in all. Sixteen people, all armed," Matt told Luo Xia.

"Let's wait until they reach the docks to make our move, when they start unloading. If even one truck gets away, chasing it down will be a pain," Luo Xia suggested.

"Right. We have to—" Matt broke off, his expression suddenly changing.

Luo Xia had noticed the problem too. Of the five trucks, only four were heading toward the docks. The last one was heading toward the city center.

At this hour of the night, why were they heading downtown instead of taking the people they planned to sell to the docks?

"Luo Xia, what do we do now?" Matt asked anxiously.

"Let's split up. I'll go to the docks, Matt. You go after that truck," Luo Xia said.

Compared with Matt, who was on his own, Luo Xia had Violet and Li Bai to help him. He would have an easier time dealing with the larger group of Russian gangsters.

Matt didn't argue. He had plenty of confidence in Luo Xia's abilities, but catching up with the truck would be a problem.

Luo Xia had already taken care of that. Luo Fei came speeding out of a hidden corner and pulled up beside the warehouse.

"Take the car and go after it. The docks are close enough that I can run there."

After saying this, Luo Xia jumped straight down from the warehouse roof. His Sensor Glove clung to the metal framework outside with its powerful magnetic force, slowing his fall safely.

At the end, Luo Xia hit the ground with an easy roll, dissipating the impact of his fall from nearly twenty meters up.

Matt didn't waste a moment, either. He landed lightly on the off-road vehicle, yanked open the door, and hurried to climb into the driver's seat. But as soon as he opened it, a high heel came flying straight at him.

Luckily, Matt's hearing was sharp enough to catch the sound of it cutting through the air, and he caught the shoe in one hand.

"Who are you?"

The man inside the car and the woman outside asked in unison.

Then a Chinese song they could neither of them understand began playing inside the car: "Who are you? Who are you fighting for? My comrade-in-arms, when will you return..."

The lyrics were oddly fitting, but the atmosphere had become intensely awkward.