Clash

"There are still some things Oswald hasn't explained."

Qin Wei tried to trick Charlie into coming back inside, but unfortunately, he didn't take the bait.

"It's late. Whatever it is, we can talk tomorrow." Charlie remained unmoved. Oswald had told him plenty, and the evidence was enough to report back.

Seeing that Charlie was about to step outside, Qin Wei grew frantic.

The fake Harvey was big and burly. If he got out the door, Qin Wei wasn't confident he could restrain him.

Fortunately, Qin Wei had already sorted through his thoughts and figured out who was behind this.

If Charlie really worked for that fox, he would have to drop something explosive.

"Is that so? What a shame. I was going to give you the evidence I have of Maroni's crimes." Qin Wei pretended to draw his hand back. It was a gambit, retreating to advance. If he seemed too eager, Charlie might well realize something was wrong.

Qin Wei's concern was justified. Charlie was a professional con man.

Especially when he had brushed past Qin Wei on the stairs, his sixth sense had already hinted that this man might be difficult to handle.

Now all he wanted was to get out of this building that made him so uneasy.

Yet Qin Wei had chosen that very moment to drop a bombshell.

Evidence of the boss's crimes? God, they actually had something that dangerous! Charlie had almost wavered the instant he heard it.

Watching Qin Wei leave, Charlie gripped the doorknob tightly.

If I go back like this, will the boss blame me for not getting the crucial evidence? What if they've already handed it over to the Gotham Police Department, and I haven't warned him? Will I be held responsible...?

But what if it's fake? What if he's already discovered who I am and wants to lure me inside to silence me...?

Charlie, what are you thinking? Harvey Dent only took office this evening. How could some mob underling have had any contact with him? I look so much like Harvey. There's no way he could see through me!

What truly reassured Charlie, however, was Qin Wei's indifferent attitude.

If he really knew, he'd do everything he could to keep me here. Why would he act so casually?

Charlie reassured himself this way, his arrogance making him forget that he had just used the same tactic to coax information out of Oswald.

The full moon emerged from behind the dark clouds, its pale light spilling through the doorway onto the dust-covered floor.

Ahead of Charlie lay a bright, empty stretch of street; behind him, a staircase hidden in shadow. When he shut the door and followed the direction Qin Wei had taken, fate had already made its killing move.

"Can you give me a rough idea of what the evidence is?"

Following Qin Wei, Charlie still hadn't completely lowered his guard. He tried to pick up clues from what Qin Wei said, but he had seriously underestimated the man's ability to spin lies.

"It was about six months ago, I think. Mr. Maroni sent us to collect a debt, and a beautiful woman received us. When we went over that day, she had white curls and wore a red evening gown, with a priceless pearl necklace around her neck..."

Qin Wei slowed his speech, rambling on as he gradually lured Charlie back into their lair.

As Charlie listened, he finally realized something was wrong. Qin Wei was talking utter nonsense. Asked about the case, he had done nothing but describe this woman, from her looks to her clothing, even detailing her seductive voice.

Charlie put those descriptions together in his mind and realized that the woman Qin Wei was describing was Marilyn Monroe!

Damn it, he's stalling!

Realizing the danger, he turned and ran.

But Qin Wei wasn't about to let him. He spun around and grabbed Charlie around the waist, throwing them both off balance and sending them tumbling down the stairs.

The fall left Qin Wei dazed. The first thing he did when he scrambled up was tackle Charlie, shouting for backup at the same time.

"Help me!"

The apartment lights came on, and Oswald grabbed a bat and leaped down from the third floor. Everything had happened so quickly that Qin Wei hadn't had time to explain his plan, leaving Oswald with no idea what was going on.

One was his most trusted partner; the other was the man Falcone had personally chosen to break the deadlock. Now the two were rolling across the floor, tangled together like maggots in sludge.

Who should he help?

What a joke! Oswald would have felt he'd let Qin Wei down if he'd hesitated for even a second. Without a moment's pause, he raised the bat and smashed it into the back of "Harvey's" head.

Thwack!

The first blow knocked Charlie unconscious, but Qin Wei hadn't told him to stop, so why would Oswald?

Blow after blow after blow. Only when Charlie's skull had become a mess of pulped watermelon flesh did Oswald reluctantly stop, panting hard.

Qin Wei let go, allowing the corpse to slump to the floor like a heap of mud. Blood spatter covered his face and chest.

He would have been lying if he said he wasn't afraid after watching a living man die before his eyes. But panic and terror were useless emotions right now. Unless they hurried to solve their immediate problem, Qin Wei and Oswald were nothing more than two corpses that could still breathe.

"Will, what's going on? I think we just killed Harvey Dent!"

Qin Wei pinched the blond wig lying in the pool of blood between two fingers and held it up in front of Oswald.

"A fake?"

"Yeah. If I hadn't gone to see Harvey first, he probably would've fooled me too. That bastard Maroni has a few tricks up his sleeve!" Swearing, Qin Wei bent down and began searching the corpse.

"You're saying Maroni sent this fake Harvey? Then could we hand his body over as the real thing and claim the credit?" Oswald had a bold idea. That way, they wouldn't have to cover anything up, and they could stick it to Maroni too.

"That was my first thought too, but only if he wasn't carrying any recording equipment. Like this..."

Qin Wei pulled a voice recorder from the inside pocket of the corpse's coat. The red light on it was still blinking, showing that it was still recording.

This was the worst possible outcome. Qin Wei had to dispose of the recorder, but doing so meant he couldn't put on an act for Maroni and claim he had killed this "Mr. Harvey Dent" out of "loyalty."

And this fake Harvey must have been following Maroni's plan to test his underlings' loyalty. As long as Maroni retraced his movements, the two of them would inevitably be exposed.

"Two options!"

Qin Wei held up two fingers.

"First, we get out of here before word of his death reaches Maroni."

After outlining the first plan, Qin Wei almost wanted to laugh himself. The people who had hunted them down a few days earlier, whom Falcone called the "Owl Fledglings," were a group of highly trained assassins.

Escaping from them alive would be no easy task.

"What's the second option?" Oswald asked.

"We find a Harvey of our own. All we need is proof that he left the Senate alive."

"That's even worse than the first plan! It's the middle of the night. Are you going to grab some random guy off the street and tell him, 'Hey, buddy, I've got a well-paid job for you playing Harvey Dent'... wait, you're not thinking of getting Harvey himself, are you?"

"What do you think?"

Slotting the battery back into his phone, Qin Wei dialed a number. Harvey Dent's hearty laughter came from the other end.

"Hahaha! Let me guess. Do you have news, or are you in trouble?"

"Don't laugh just yet. You'll have plenty to laugh about in a minute."