When Li Jie opened his eyes, a spotless white ceiling filled his vision. He tilted his head from side to side and found Wilson lying in the bed to his right, his arm in a sling and cast, gritting his teeth as he practiced deep breathing. Seeing him turn, Wilson smiled. "They all left. You actually managed to fall asleep?"
"What else was I supposed to do? At least the immediate trouble's over."
Clunk... clunk... clatter...
The Chevrolet's door seemed to be jammed. Li Jie tugged hard several times before getting it open, only to find Wilson slumped against the seat, motionless, one hand loosely gripping a gun that dangled toward the ground.
"Holy shit. Did you finally get yourself killed by being stupid?"
Startled, Li Jie hurriedly reached out to check his partner's breathing. Wilson suddenly stirred, let out a long breath, and gave a pained groan.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Li Jie had thought the corpse was coming back to life and nearly jumped out of his skin. Wilson panted and pulled his mouth into a grin. "I was hiding here and couldn't move, so I figured I'd play dead. Maybe I could catch someone off guard and get a shot in."
"Enough. Don't explain. I can't hear you anyway." All Li Jie could see was Wilson's mouth opening and closing. His voice sounded as though it were trapped inside a metal box, drifting closer and farther away. Li Jie pointed at his ears. "I used a flashbang just now. Still feeling the aftereffects."
"So I can say whatever I want about you and you won't hear it? Ha ha... aaargh!"
Wilson burst out laughing, then pulled at his injuries and started screaming, his body twitching with pain.
"My ears are ringing. I'm not deaf, you dumbass." Li Jie looked at him as though he were an idiot. "And Cobblepot sold us out. He got out halfway with the witness and left us as bait. Fuck him. This isn't over!"
Wilson nodded. "Got it. Just wait until I'm healed. Oh, I heard sirens earlier. Did backup get here?"
"What did you say?"
"I said, did backup get... argh, bring your head closer." Wilson groaned. "I don't have the strength to shout."
"No. Only Gordon came to back us up. I don't know whether he came specifically or just happened to pass by. Whatever." Li Jie climbed into the car and tossed his gun aside. "I left the survivors and the bodies over there to him. What's wrong?"
He saw Wilson cock his head to listen. After listening carefully for a moment, Wilson said, "A lot of sirens."
"Nice work. Being late really is a fine tradition." Li Jie laughed. "Remember, ask for medical assistance immediately. Insist you were injured in the crash, couldn't take part in the fight, and don't know anything. I'm unconscious from the effects of the flashbang, and before I passed out, I kept shouting about killing the enemy... never mind. That last part's too advanced for you."
"You're unconscious? But you're not unconscious."
Wilson had barely finished speaking before Li Jie slid down onto the seat, slumped against the window, and lost consciousness.
"They're probably all pestering Gordon with questions now. After all, pinning the blame on two badly injured officers wouldn't look good to the public."
Li Jie tried to push himself up in bed. He hadn't noticed it during the fight, but now that he'd had time to come down from it, his whole body felt drained, as though every muscle had cramped up. The slightest movement hurt everywhere.
"How bad are your injuries, exactly?" Li Jie hopped out of bed and paced around the room. Staying in bed would only slow his recovery. "Just broken ribs?"
"What the hell do you mean, 'just'? Is that how you talk to a patient?" Wilson sighed and gestured toward his left arm with his chin. "They've put this arm back in its socket, but there's a fracture in the elbow joint."
"Tsk, tsk. I remember you have to be careful while the head of the joint heals, or you can end up with lasting problems. You'd better not move around." Li Jie picked up his watch from beside the bed and checked it. "Why isn't it dark yet at seven?"
"You idiot. You must've slept yourself stupid. It's seven in the morning. You slept all night."
"What? No wonder I'm starving." Li Jie rubbed his stomach. "I want dumplings."
"Why would Gotham General Hospital have Chinese food? Lisa and her sister were going to bring me something, but the officers outside won't let them in." Wilson shook his head regretfully. "I'd like one of those pancakes you made, actually."
"Fuck! My car!" The reminder made Li Jie jump on the spot. "Did you get insurance when you bought it?"
"Uh, well..."
Seeing Wilson gape and stammer, Li Jie's face went ashen.
"Shit, we're taking a huge loss here!"
While he was stamping his feet and beating his chest, the hospital room door opened and two men walked in.
The man in front was a tall, burly middle-aged man, even a little taller than Li Jie. Both fat and muscular, he made the man behind him look small and frail. The latter's limp made him look particularly deserving of sympathy.
He held a bouquet of flowers, with an enormous gift box tucked under his arm. Wearing a bashful smile, he waved to the two men in the room. "Good morning. I'm here on Mr. Falcone's behalf to visit two brave officers. I've brought you a bottle of fine liquor. May you both recover soon."
The atmosphere in the room instantly turned ice-cold. Wilson looked at the two visitors, then at Li Jie, whose face showed no anger whatsoever. Puzzled, he quietly asked his partner, "Hey, brother. Aren't we going to say something?"
"Of course not." Li Jie shook his head at Wilson. "There's a custom where I come from. Talking to someone who's about to die is extremely unlucky. It brings misfortune down on you."
Wilson breathed a sigh of relief. That was more like it. Though he knew little about Chinese culture, he knew its many ways of insulting people were a vast and profound art. All he needed to do was play support and enjoy the show. Ignoring Cobblepot's awkward expression, he immediately asked in surprise, "They're going to die?"
"What else?" Li Jie smiled. "You probably didn't know this, but the men abandoned in that ambush as bait alongside us worked for Victor Zsasz."
"Victor Zsasz? Oh... hiss... oh..." Wilson suddenly shuddered, pulling at his injuries and crying out with his teeth bared in pain. "That guy... in a way, he's scarier than Deathstroke."
"Huh? How is that possible?" Li Jie looked skeptical. "Can he really compare to an elite mercenary like Deathstroke?"
"Of course not. But unless someone's paying him, Deathstroke isn't going to waste his time coming after small fry like us. Even eight or ten of my lives wouldn't be worth his fee." Wilson curled his lip. "So... Victor Zsasz doesn't know his men were sold out yet?"
"My guess is he knows already, but not the whole story. Someone probably volunteered a confession." Li Jie narrowed his eyes slightly, weighing it all up. "After all, someone thought he could get rid of Fish Mooney, sell out his allies to claim all the credit in front of Falcone, and weaken The Roman's other men along the way to make himself more important. But a plan to kill three birds with one stone wouldn't fool The Roman. Getting called to account afterward would mean certain death, so he might as well confess everything to Falcone first, acting as though he'd had no choice and was putting the bigger picture first. That way, his achievements would tie The Roman's hands."
He went on talking, completely ignoring Cobblepot's face as it alternated between pale and flushed. "Victor Zsasz might only hate being manipulated and not care about losing his men. But not all his men are dead. We still have one survivor. Do you think he'll hate a certain someone? If he goes back and embellishes the story for his boss, what do you think Mr. Zsasz will do to that someone?"
"Come to think of it, someone pulled this stunt before, back when he worked for Sal Maroni. He killed Maroni's trusted man, Frankie. After they fell out, Maroni made a huge fuss about it and vowed to get to the bottom of it. The Roman had to smooth things over," Wilson said gravely. "...So doesn't that mean we need to protect that man of Zsasz's?"
"Exactly. Just like we had to guard against Fish Mooney. Someone went to all that trouble to kill Fish Mooney, only to put himself in her position."
"Officers... gentlemen, we don't need to let things get to this point, do we? Please, hear me out..." Cobblepot smiled awkwardly, rubbing his hands as he tried to get a word in.
"And once we're back at the East End precinct, we'll probably need to revise our patrol assignments."
As though he hadn't heard Cobblepot interrupt, Li Jie rubbed his chin and said, "We'll have to step up patrols at all of The Roman's casinos, brothels, warehouses, and docks. If he's unhappy, tell him that because of someone's betrayal, the East End precinct no longer trusts Falcone. Unless... he shows some sincerity."
Those words struck Cobblepot like lightning. He stumbled back two steps and leaned against the wall, his face even whiter than the wall behind him.
"That's right. Falcone won't like a troublemaker who causes problems for him." Wilson grew excited too. "Tsk, tsk. I wonder if The Roman will have someone killed?"
"Of course not. Getting rid of someone who's earned his stripes isn't The Roman's style." Li Jie shook his head gently. "He'll just gradually sideline someone, cutting back his power and his men. Once nobody remembers him anymore and he's lost The Roman's protection, other people will naturally come after him."
"Wait, wait, officers. Please, I'm begging you. We can talk about this. Really, I can explain. It was all... all because I had no choice..."
"And, brother, you're badly injured, but someone still wants you dead." Li Jie waved a hand beside his ear as though shooing away a fly. "Someone brought you liquor. Alcohol interferes with your metabolism, prevents bones from healing, and can even react with medication and cause sudden death."
"What?" Wilson was stunned, his gaze involuntarily turning toward Cobblepot. "Fuck! He's actually trying to kill me! Son of a bitch! If I could move, I'd shove their heads up their asses."
"That's enough, you bastard!"
The middle-aged man beside Cobblepot stepped forward and reached for Li Jie's neck. As a bodyguard, he had stayed silent throughout; this wasn't an occasion where he ought to interrupt. But if he remained unmoved while his boss was insulted like this, he might lose his job as soon as they left. Whatever happened, he had to make a show of doing something.
Li Jie remained seated on the edge of the bed and merely glanced at him. Just as the large hand reached his chest, Li Jie's right thumb, index finger, and middle finger clamped around the middle-aged man's index finger like pincers, lightning-fast. Then he bent it downward.
"Ah... aaaaaargh..."
A string of piercing screams rang out. The bodyguard clutched his arm and dropped to his knees. Li Jie wasn't using much force, holding the finger right at the point before the bone would break. Whenever the bodyguard tried to endure the pain and make another move, whether to attack or escape, he added a little pressure, drawing an even more agonized howl.
"Well? Want to keep going?"
"No, no, sir... aaaaaargh..."
Sweat covered the middle-aged bodyguard's head as he shook it frantically. When Li Jie loosened his grip slightly, he hurriedly cradled his finger and retreated to one side. He watched Li Jie press the call button, and a nurse came running in shortly afterward.
"Hey, sweetheart, could you have these visitors leave? My colleague and I are both injured, and we're probably looking at hefty medical and rehabilitation bills. Our car was totaled too, and it wasn't insured. We're heartbroken about it and really don't feel like receiving visitors."
"Huh? We'll send your final medical bills to the Gotham Police Department, but..." She looked at Cobblepot and his companion, then at Li Jie. "Gentlemen, this isn't a good time for a visit. Why don't you come back another time?"
The long stream of nonsense left the nurse confused, but Cobblepot's eyes lit up. He handed the flowers to the nurse, picked up the gift box, and bowed to Li Jie and Wilson.
"My sincerest apologies, gentlemen. I'll make sure to bring gifts that satisfy you both. Please give me just a little time. Believe me, we'll be friends."
As though he hadn't heard, Li Jie simply lay back down and closed his eyes. The moment the door clicked shut, Wilson gritted his teeth and shifted toward the edge of his bed.
"Ow... hhh... hhh..."
"What?" Li Jie opened one eye to look at him. "You'd better not move around."
"I wanted to ask earlier..." Wilson lowered his voice and asked conspiratorially, "How do you know The Roman will be unhappy with him?"
"I made it up. It's not like he'd dare actually ask Falcone." Li Jie chuckled softly. "He'll remember it and fill in the blanks himself. From now on, every little disturbance will feed his fear and suspicion."
"But..." Wilson hesitated. "What if he doesn't keep filling in the blanks?"
"Might as well try. Trying doesn't cost anything."
Before you continue