Ambush in a Dark Alley

Broken Rainbow checked her scabbard, hung the Japanese longsword at her left hip, and stepped through the concealed door in the side corridor.

Porsette stood on the gravel path behind the hill, her red hood stirring slightly in the morning wind.

"Let's go."

Broken Rainbow wasted no words. She was already moving as she finished speaking.

Porsette followed her, keeping a few paces between them as they headed down the mountain path.

The mansion's quiet closed behind them. The air outside carried the dry chill of an autumn morning.

"Turn left past the Bridge District bus stop, then cut through the first alley to reach the library," Porsette said quietly as they walked, reviewing her stored coordinates.

"No need to recite the route." Broken Rainbow walked ahead without looking back. "Just walk. Keep the route in your head. If someone follows, don't tense your shoulders, don't look back, and keep going. Watch my movements."

"Mm." Porsette slipped both hands into her coat pockets, clutching the fabric at the edges of her hood.

The mist halfway up the hill had yet to clear, and the Bridge District morning market had only just opened.

The smells of fish, rotten vegetable leaves, and wet paving mingled together. The regular vendors called out along the road, their voices clamorous.

Porsette slipped into the crowd, following the walls deeper into the alleys.

Her red cloak stood out far too much in the drab Bridge District.

After walking some distance, she suddenly slowed. She did not look back, only adjusted the tilt of one shoulder.

Broken Rainbow's gaze swept over from behind.

At a corner diagonally opposite, a man in a dingy gray work jacket stopped and pretended to crouch down to tie his shoes.

His soles were clean, without any mud.

There was also a gaze from behind and to the side-beyond a fruit stall, a man carrying a briefcase was reading a newspaper. He had not turned a page in several minutes.

Broken Rainbow did not rush to act. She continued following Porsette across the Bridge District's main street, then turned into the low shacks of the secondhand market.

The paths were narrower here. Overhead awnings blocked most of the light, and discarded furniture and metal drums were piled all around.

There were fewer people, and the echoes grew louder.

As Porsette passed the entrance to an alley behind an abandoned warehouse, she once again sensed someone following.

The footsteps were unhurried, always clinging to her, impossible to shake.

Broken Rainbow stopped at the alley entrance, turned, and leaned behind a stone pillar jutting from the wall. Her right thumb gently pushed the blade free of the scabbard's mouth.

She tilted her head and said quietly, "Keep going. Head to the backup coordinates at the docks. Don't look back."

Porsette did not hesitate. She quickened her pace and headed straight into the depths of the alley.

The man in the gray work jacket jogged after her. The moment he rounded the blind corner at the entrance, a scarlet longsword lay across his throat.

Broken Rainbow leaned against the wall, her blade pressed to the man's neck, a slight curve at her lips. "You picked the wrong person."

The man froze. His hand had barely reached behind his waist when Broken Rainbow turned her wrist, striking his elbow with the back of her blade. With a dull thud, his entire arm went numb.

Broken Rainbow gave him no chance to catch his breath, driving a knee into his abdomen. He doubled over, and what he held slipped to the ground: rusty short knives.

"Who told you to follow her?" Broken Rainbow pressed her sword tip beneath his chin.

"...I was paid for a job. Someone offered money for Little Red Riding Hood's whereabouts."

"Old Zheng's people?"

"I don't know the name... The middleman only gave me a photo. Said I just needed to figure out her teleportation patterns."

Broken Rainbow stared at him for two seconds, then lowered her sword tip slightly.

"A little souvenir."

A muffled groan came from the alley, followed by the sound of something hitting the ground. Then Broken Rainbow stepped on the rim of a metal drum and landed soundlessly.

A drop of blood clung to the tip of the sword in her hand.

She hurried after Porsette without looking back at the person lying beside the trash can.

Half an hour later, Porsette stood at the entrance to the narrow alley behind the library, turning her head to check their surroundings.

"The one behind us stopped following?" she asked softly.

"He's gone." Broken Rainbow landed beside her and sheathed her sword. "Looks like he only followed you for that stretch. Old Zheng has cast out more than one hook."

"Before I crossed the Bridge District, there was a dark van parked at the market entrance with its engine running.

"It only moved once I was far away." Porsette's voice was level.

Broken Rainbow turned her head and looked down at Porsette. "You didn't tell me that earlier."

"You told me just to keep track of the route. I was thinking, there had to be at least two people watching from a van. One to drive, one to get out and follow. Only after losing me would they realize the van was useless."

"So you deliberately slowed down to draw him after you."

"I could get away anyway," Porsette said as matter-of-factly as if she were reporting coordinates. "You could only make your move once he followed."

Broken Rainbow did not answer immediately.

Her green eyes rested on Porsette for two seconds, and the corners of her mouth slowly lifted.

"Little Red Riding Hood," she said lightly. "You're pretty good at fishing, aren't you? That act you used to put on, looking pitiful in front of Mother-it comes quite naturally to you."

"That's different." Porsette lowered her head, looking at the fingers clutching her cloak. "I acted pitiful in front of Mother because I was afraid of being hit. Now I don't want anyone tracking down the mansion."

Broken Rainbow said nothing more. She turned her head and glanced at the street outside the alley.

A dark van sat at the curb across the street. Its engine was hard to hear at that distance, but it seemed to be running.

The window was halfway down. Someone sat in the driver's seat, half his face hidden in the window frame's shadow.

"The van's still here." Broken Rainbow shifted her sword hilt into an easier position to grip. "They're waiting for the man who lost us to come back."

"Do we wait?" Porsette followed her gaze without moving.

"No." Broken Rainbow stepped forward. "One lost us, and the other's in the van. The one in the van is probably keeping track of the time. If his partner doesn't come back, he'll withdraw on his own."

"Then what do we do?"

"He lost his target, so he'll have to find another way to report back." Broken Rainbow kept walking and had already left the alley. "He'll run back to Old Zheng's hideout. My brother must be reeling in the line over there."

Porsette paused for half a beat, then hurried two steps to catch up. "You know where Old Zheng's hideout is?"

"No," Broken Rainbow replied frankly. "But after today, he'll reveal it himself."

The little street at the edge of the secondhand market had a fair amount of traffic. Trucks and three-wheelers crowded together, with occasional honks mingling with the wind.

The driver of the dark van sat with his right hand on the steering wheel, watching the rearview mirror.

When the person tailing him turned onto the street, he visibly hit the brake, then shifted gears and turned the van toward the passage along the edge of the secondhand market.

Broken Rainbow stopped behind a pile of scrap metal at the market entrance. After watching for a while, she suddenly crouched.

Porsette stopped beside her without a word.

Broken Rainbow pointed her thumb toward the van. Porsette looked that way and nodded.

"He's leaving," Porsette said quietly.

"Mm." Broken Rainbow stood, undid one button on her coat, and held her hand near her sword hilt. "I'll follow him now. Go straight back to the mansion from a coordinate point. You should have a landing point to get from the mansion to Old Zheng's hideout."

"The warehouse area of the secondhand market. I stored coordinates there last time," Porsette replied.

"Good." Broken Rainbow was already moving. "Wait for me at the mansion. Don't sneak over alone."

By the time her words fell away, she had crossed the street and landed lightly in a side alley of the secondhand market.

In the warehouse area behind the secondhand market, metal awning frames cast parallel shadows in the sunlight.

The dark van slipped through the market's side gate, made two turns, and stopped in front of an old warehouse with its roller shutter down.

The driver got out, walked to a side door, and gave several short knocks.

The door opened a crack from inside, and he slipped in sideways.

Crouched on the metal awning frame of the opposite warehouse, Broken Rainbow watched the entire process from above.

She had not seen Old Zheng, but this warehouse was indeed guarded.

There were at least two hidden lookouts by the entrance, one on either side behind stacks of crates.

She estimated the distance her blade could cover, then dropped from the frame.

She did not charge straight at the door.

She circled behind the warehouse. The rear window was iron, half rusted and welded to its frame, but moving shadows were visible through the gaps.

She crouched beside the rear window and listened for a moment, then slowly drew her sword. Holding the hilt, she gently scraped the back of the blade against the iron window frame.

A harsh scrape rang out.

Footsteps quickly approached.

Someone pulled open the rear window. Before he could fully poke his head out, the back of Broken Rainbow's blade struck his wrist.

His hand went limp. Broken Rainbow grabbed him and hauled him out through the window, throwing him down at the foot of the wall.

Broken Rainbow lowered her center of gravity. Ignoring the man on the ground, she turned her wrist and held her blade across the inside of the windowsill, blocking a second man charging from within.

"Don't move." Her voice was quiet as she extended the blade another half inch. "Where's Old Zheng?"

The man inside saw her face clearly, and his pupils contracted slightly.

"Scarlet Mallow..."

"Where's Old Zheng?" Broken Rainbow asked again, no faster than before.

"...Not here." His voice was unsteady. "He left this morning. It's just the two of us left to clean up."

"Clean up?" Broken Rainbow turned her wrist slightly, resting the blade against the skin of his wrist without cutting. "Does that mean waiting for the tail to return and report?"

The man did not answer, but Broken Rainbow had already found her answer in his hesitation.

Only when the tail returned would they know Porsette's final stopping point and notify Old Zheng.

"What unfortunate timing." Broken Rainbow flipped her wrist and smashed the back of her blade into the man's shoulder.

He stumbled back with a muffled groan, crashing into a metal cabinet.

Broken Rainbow did not strike again. Instead, she sheathed her sword, picked up the man on the ground, and propped him against the wall. Her tone was as casual as conversation. "The man you're waiting for won't be coming back. Old Zheng's turn will come soon, too."

A faint crackle of static came from deep inside the warehouse. Someone spoke a few clipped words over a radio.

Broken Rainbow turned her head toward the other end of the alley. Out on the street, Jin'en stood below the steps to the warehouse's side door.

The door was half closed. There was no one behind him, only sunlight falling on the concrete steps.

"Old Zheng isn't here." Broken Rainbow walked over, stopped in front of him, and said quietly, "He slipped away faster than expected."

"I know." Jin'en's voice was calm, his gaze passing over Broken Rainbow's shoulder. "He won't get far."

"How did your investigation go?" Broken Rainbow asked.

"He took something when he left. The vehicle's still here."

Jin'en said no more, and Broken Rainbow did not press him.

She tilted her head, took the sword from her waist, and held it in her hand.

"There are still two men cleaning up in the warehouse," she said.

"They're yours." Jin'en stepped back and leaned against the wall at the alley entrance.

Broken Rainbow drew her sword and headed back toward the warehouse's rear door.

Before long, several dull thuds came from the warehouse, followed by a brief silence.

Broken Rainbow emerged from the rear door, sheathed her sword, and jumped down the steps.

"Cleanup's done," she said, landing beside Jin'en and hanging the sword back at her waist.

"I already dealt with the tail. Old Zheng probably got word and sacrificed this line to save himself."

Jin'en did not speak immediately.

He stood in the middle of the open space in front of the warehouse, his gaze sweeping over the metal roofs of the secondhand market before settling on the drab warehouse area farther away.

"Once he abandons a line, he'll find a new hideout," Jin'en said. "This line is broken, but he still has files he hasn't had time to move out. Moving those takes vehicles and people. The vehicle left, so the people must still be here."

Broken Rainbow tilted her head toward him. "You want to follow the van?"

"The van is a trap." Jin'en turned his head.

"But traps are fixed, and people are not. If the van doesn't pick up the people it's waiting for, it'll head back. The places it passes on its way back will give us the general area of Old Zheng's new hideout."

"You're following it?"

"Where that van is going, there's no need for me to follow." Jin'en lifted his head slightly and looked toward the other alley entrance. "Porsette."

Porsette poked half her body out from the alley entrance, then hurried over to his side.

"You've stored coordinates around these warehouses. Whichever way that van drives, open a door beside it.

"No need to go out. Just open a crack. Let Broken Rainbow see which way it turns."

Porsette nodded without asking why.

She pulled her hood up a little, steadied her breathing, and gently raised her right hand, pointing east of the secondhand market.

An extremely thin rift opened in the space beside her hand.

Broken Rainbow looked through the gap and saw the dark van driving out of an alley, turning onto the road toward the Miguel District.

"East, toward the Miguel District," Broken Rainbow reported.

Jin'en withdrew his gaze, turned, and headed out of the secondhand market. "That should about do it. If Old Zheng changes hideouts, he won't go too far from here, and he won't stay on a main road."

Broken Rainbow followed behind him on his right, with Porsette bringing up the rear. Jin'en stepped out of the market alley, autumn sunlight falling on his shoulders.

His steps were not quick, but they were steady.

"No need to follow anymore." Jin'en stopped at the intersection. "Let's head back."

"What about Old Zheng-"

"After this run, he'll find somewhere to lie low for a while," Jin'en said. "Next time, we'll wait for him to reveal the rest of his lines himself."

Broken Rainbow said nothing more.

She secured the sword behind her waist and followed Jin'en onto the road back to the mansion.

Porsette walked at the rear, pulling down the hood of her red cloak and glancing back at the uneven metal rooftops of the secondhand market.

The wind carried over a wisp of smoke from afar. There was no longer any movement from the direction of the warehouses.

That afternoon, in the mansion's side corridor.

Jin'en pushed open his bedroom door and hung his trench coat on the coat rack.

Broken Rainbow leaned against the doorframe, fished the dark red braided cord from her sleeve, and slowly wound it back around her wrist.

"Little Red Riding Hood, you did all right today." She turned her head toward Porsette, who had stopped in the hallway. "You spotted that van yourself and reported its direction accurately."

"I happened to see it." Porsette straightened, remaining at the doorway rather than entering the room.

"Don't say 'happened to' next time." Broken Rainbow tied the cord and walked inside. "Before you start watching a vehicle, first go over which nearby positions give you a view of it. Get a clear look before you act."

Jin'en sat at the desk, opened a drawer, and placed the note he had taken from the file envelope back on the desktop.

Old Zheng's name had been on the list at the logistics storefront before. Now that list had been almost entirely cleared, leaving only this middleman who had yet to show himself.

But all the bait had already been laid.

"Which way will Old Zheng go next?" Broken Rainbow sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed and tilted her head to look at Jin'en.

"He'll head toward the docks." Jin'en's fingers paused at the edge of the note. "He's lost a whole street's worth of contacts. He still needs somewhere to hide the remaining files and goods.

"There are plenty of abandoned passages around the docks, and moving goods is convenient there. It's the place he knows how to use best."

"Then when he goes, will he take the negatives he hasn't sold yet?"

"He probably will," Jin'en answered.

"The negatives and files are the only bargaining chips he has to save his life. He won't let them out of his hands."

"Are you going to keep waiting?"

"Not for much longer." Jin'en folded the note.

"He's lost his tails and his old warehouse. He's bound to come out himself to look for a way out. Once he makes a move, we can track down where he's staying."

Broken Rainbow leaned back a little, her gaze settling on the unnumbered badge at the corner of Jin'en's desk.

She asked nothing more, rose, and headed for the door. As she passed Porsette, she reached out and gave her hat a light pat.

"You're coming out of the mansion with me tomorrow." Her voice carried from the doorway into the corridor.

"Keep going through the coordinate points?"

"Yes. Old Zheng's about to move. We can't stop either."

Porsette turned her head and watched Broken Rainbow walk toward the far end of the corridor, then drew a soft breath.

She turned around and looked into Jin'en's room.

"Big Brother, should I keep going tomorrow, then?"

"Yes." Jin'en rose from the desk and walked toward the door. "Training ground, six tomorrow morning. Practice the distance for opening doors. Broken Rainbow will teach you new landing points tomorrow."

"What we didn't finish practicing today... we'll continue tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"All right." After saying that, Porsette did not leave right away.

She stood outside the threshold for a while, her gaze lingering on Jin'en from beneath her hat brim. "Old Zheng got away today. Will he switch his target from me to the mansion?"

Jin'en was pushing the drawer back into place and did not turn around. "He'll focus on saving himself first. Only after he's recovered will he think about his next step."

"What if he tries to get into the mansion?"

"He can't." Jin'en's voice was level. "The mansion isn't just for show."

Porsette did not reply, but her shoulders visibly relaxed a little. Without another word, she turned and headed up to the third floor.