Cobblepot's townhouse was tucked away on the quietest street in the Diamond District. Li Jie rang the bell twice and waited a full three minutes before the door opened a crack. His bodyguard answered, saw Li Jie's face, and stepped aside.
"The boss is in his study."
The study was at the end of the upstairs hallway. Cobblepot sat in a recliner in his dressing gown, his hair a mess and a blanket draped over his knees.
"Hi, Jay."
He glanced behind Li Jie, made sure no one else had followed him in, then pulled a sawed-off shotgun from beneath the blanket and set it beside him.
"Tsk, tsk! Planning to kill me and switch sides?" Li Jie asked, half joking.
"It's three thirty in the morning. When you show up at this hour, it usually means bad news."
Cobblepot rose and limped over to the liquor cabinet, taking out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. "I heard someone wanted you dead. I thought you might have been taken hostage."
"Maybe. Things aren't looking great, anyway." Li Jie sat on the sofa. "That's why I came to you."
"Ha! So when things aren't looking great, you come to poor Cobblepot?"
Cobblepot sat opposite Li Jie, twisted the stopper off the bottle, and poured them each a glass. "No problem. We're friends, aren't we?"
"Yes, we're friends."
The glasses met with a clear clink, the light shattering across the liquid into countless tiny flecks of gold. Their eyes met through the amber-filled glasses. Li Jie took a small sip and set his glass back on the table.
"But what about later?" he asked with a smile. "Oz, they want to kill me, and I'm not going to sit around waiting to die. A war is about to start."
The smile