Habit

Inside the deputy chief's office at the Fortieth Block police station, the air was as stifling as a steamer.

Beyond the one-way glass lay the noisy lobby, where Lin Rui and the others sat handcuffed to a bench, bored out of their minds.

Agent Robin stood ramrod straight with his hands in his pockets, his gaze nailed to Lin Rui.

Ever since the operation in Central Park that had netted the drug dealer Doyle and his crew, the narcotics agent had been unable to forget that Asian face-its sharply defined features, its calm eyes.

People from the Drug Enforcement Administration never believed in coincidences.

Especially in a place like the Bronx, where drugs grew rampant as weeds, every "coincidence" could conceal a hidden thread.

The deputy chief leaned back in his office chair, an unlit cigar between his lips, and asked quietly, "Robin, you seem especially interested in that kid. Know him?"

The office door stood half open. Now and then, the clinking of handcuff chains and low arguments drifted in from the corridor.

Drug dealers in the Bronx were as plentiful as sewer rats. NYPD and DEA personnel worked together year-round-there was competition, but also a tacit understanding born of having to rely on each other.

Robin nodded, his voice low. "Helped him clear up a little trouble a while back. Met him once. He's an international student here to study. Why did he have to settle in your neighborhood?"

The deputy chief shrugged and gave a lazy smile. "How would I know? Maybe the kid was born with a taste for adventure. Or... he's just an unlucky bastard."

Robin shook his head without taking his eyes off the glass. Lin Rui was looking down at the floor, his handcuff chain swaying gently, as though he were counting something.

United States police used handcuffs even for speeding, let alone when arresting a bunch of troublemaking punks. Good or bad, they cuffed everyone first and sorted it out later.

"A kid of Chinese descent, coming to the United States for the first time-his knowledge of New York probably came from nothing but textbooks, movies, and travel guides."

Robin's voice slowed, as though he were talking to himself. "A normal person would choose Flushing in Queens-Chinese signs lining the streets, no trouble finding a hot meal;

"Or Sunset Park in Brooklyn, with plenty of Asian faces and an easier time fitting in. Even Chinatown in Manhattan would be a hundred times safer than here."

He paused and turned to face the deputy chief. "But that kid chose the Bronx, and the Fortieth Block at that-the worst of the lot.

"The population here is mostly Black and Latino. Gangs run rampant, drugs are everywhere, and even patrol cars don't dare drive in just anywhere. Gunshots, sirens, screams-that's the daily BGM here.

"This place is so dangerous that even cops have to go out in groups, yet he's somehow thriving-teaching fitness, helping out at the church, even daring to take on gang punks single-handedly.

"Have you ever seen a kid of Chinese descent with the guts to do all that? It's far too abnormal."

The deputy chief took the cigar from his mouth and tapped it against the desk. He said reassuringly, "Robin, has work been winding you up too much?

"I know narcotics agents are under a lot of pressure. Insomnia, anxiety, even paranoid delusions are common. Maybe you should put in for some leave and relax.

"As for that kid in the lobby... well, there are always a few geniuses in this world. Or... some people are just born to upset the board."

Robin couldn't smile. He looked back toward the glass just as Lin Rui raised his head, as though sensing something. His gaze struck straight through the one-way glass-calm, yet edged with a keen sharpness.

"Geniuses?" Robin repeated quietly, a trace of coldness in his voice. "I've seen too many 'geniuses' end up rotting on the streets. Or... becoming a piece on someone else's chessboard.

"I'll bet that kid won't go to prison. He'll definitely find a way to walk out of your station without a damn thing happening to him."

The deputy chief took the bet. He opened the office door and called out into the lobby. Before long, Officer Kane, who was handling the case, came in and explained what had happened.

"Just a bunch of gang punks short on cash, picking trouble out of nowhere. Only they kicked an iron plate and got the hell beaten out of them instead."

From behind the one-way glass, Officer Kane pointed. "That Chinese kid named Leon fought outnumbered and beat up five gang punks.

"He drove a bare twenty-kilogram barbell bar into a minor gang leader's chest and broke three ribs. But he says it was self-defense.

"I just sent someone to the gym where it happened to collect the surveillance footage. It confirms that Leon was telling the truth.

"Those gang punks beat up and threatened an eighth grader first. After entering the gym, they were also the first to throw a punch and pull a knife.

"Even though he seriously injured someone, as long as the lawyer he gets isn't too stupid, nothing's going to happen to him. Have to say, he's pretty lucky."

While they were talking in the office, several people entered the station in quick succession.

The old pastor, Essen Borg, arrived, as did Mrs. Jones, along with Molly's mother, Mrs. Anderson, and all the other students' parents.

The lawyer Mrs. Anderson had hired came with them and sought out the officer handling the case as soon as he entered the station.

After watching the gym's surveillance footage, the lawyer immediately demanded the release of his clients, the victims, while reserving their right to bring charges against the gang punks.

Through the glass, the deputy chief watched the parents and guardians complete the paperwork and take the children away, Lin Rui included.

The paperwork went through at lightning speed-parents' signatures, bail forms, the lawyer's statement, all in one smooth sequence.

Agent Robin spread his hands, silently saying, "See? Wasn't I right?"

The deputy chief had no choice but to dig twenty dollars out of his pocket and hand over his loss to Robin, muttering in frustration, "That gym's been abandoned for ages. Why the hell did it have surveillance cameras?"

By the time Lin Rui walked out of the station, night had swallowed the Fortieth Block.

Following behind the old pastor, he said quietly, "Sorry, Pastor Borg. Sorry for the trouble of coming to pick me up."

The old pastor shook his head, his voice gentle and carrying a rare note of satisfaction. "I don't mind in the slightest. Quite the opposite-I'm very pleased. I watched the surveillance footage the police provided. Your performance was... absolutely perfect."

There was not a trace of religious tolerance in the old pastor's tone. Instead, it held a long-suppressed sense of gratification. "Don't assume that just because I'm a clergyman, I'm good-tempered with everyone.

"In fact, what I hate most are those little bastards who spend all day loafing around the streets and stirring up trouble.

"You must have heard of the 'broken windows' effect. Those little bastards are the very culprits creating the 'broken windows,' gnawing like rats at this neighborhood's last scraps of hope.

"But because of my position, all I can do is pray, preach, and hand out bread. There's nothing I can do about them."

He stopped, his gaze settling squarely on Lin Rui's face. "You did what I wanted to do but couldn't.

"You acted decisively, but once you put your opponents down, you didn't attack them excessively-no finishing blows, no humiliation. You simply ended the fight cleanly and efficiently. That was very good. You showed great restraint."

As Lin Rui listened, the corners of his mouth rose despite himself into a faint, self-mocking smile.

Restraint?

The bare twenty-kilogram barbell bar had felt like a cold spear in his hands. The force of that thrust had been precise to the utmost-striking just below the breastbone and instantly snapping three of George's ribs like brittle crackers.

The only reason he hadn't killed that bastard on the spot was that Lin Rui hadn't wanted things to spiral beyond control.

Otherwise, had that strike landed a little off or carried a little more force, George might now have been lying in the morgue rather than cursing in a hospital bed.

Yet to outsiders, this was called "restraint."

Lin Rui lowered his head and smiled without replying.

Toby and Molly also got into the old pastor's aging Ford.

As the car started, its engine gave a low cough like an old chain-smoker. Molly sat in the front passenger seat, as hyped up as if she'd been injected with chicken blood, chattering nonstop to her mother along the way.

"The moment George and his crew barged in, I knew something was wrong! My first reaction was to hide and find a way to slip out. I'm small, so I squeezed behind the equipment, hoping they wouldn't find me."

She gestured as she spoke, her voice shrill and rapid. "As for Leon, I wasn't counting on him at all. I just instinctively thought-he's an Asian international student. He'll definitely get beaten up badly. There's no way he can protect me."

She suddenly laughed, with a satisfaction tinged by lingering fear. "Turns out I guessed the beginning, but not the ending! I missed the best part.

"My classmates said Leon looked insanely cool! One thrust of that bar sent George flying straight into the dumbbell rack. Blood even splashed up!"

As Mrs. Anderson listened to her daughter's enthusiastic account, her face held a complicated mixture of relief and alarm.

She had assumed this Chinese boy would be reserved, docile, and stay out of trouble-a typical "model minority."

Yet the surveillance footage had shown it perfectly clearly: faced with five punks harboring ill intent, he hadn't hesitated, wasted words, or even offered a warning.

He had simply grabbed a weapon and struck back, then struck again. Clean, cold, and with something still held in reserve, keeping himself from being put at a disadvantage.

Who would have thought? That kid had a nature like blazing fire.

Toby sat beside Lin Rui, his massive frame filling the back seat to capacity. He lowered his voice, with a hint of curiosity and awe:

"Leon, how did you think to install surveillance cameras in the gym ahead of time? If we hadn't had that footage, we'd have been in trouble."

Lin Rui gazed at the streetlights flashing past outside the window and answered calmly, "A habit of mending the roof before the rain. I knew someone was bound to come looking for trouble."