"The Little Things"

The visitor

The beeping sound was annoying and loud. He really wanted it o stop. Why do people need such sounds? It was frustrating to hear it go beep- beep non-stop. The moment he thought of it, the beeping quickened. Just great!

There were some other sounds too. Zhao recognized Da Qing's voice and tried to focus on the words.

"...will probably come round soon. His pulse is getting faster. No, two more days after that. He was given an antivenom, but we must wait to see if there aren't be any side effects. Luckily Hong Jie knew the type of snake that bit him. Any luck with...? Oh, ok, keep looking." Da Qing ended the call and reached for a bag of crisps. He opened it and started munching.

"Am I a TV show that requires eating while watching?" Asked Zhao. He cracked opened his eyes and stared at the white ceiling. Da Qing's smiling face appeared over him.

"You're finally awake. The doctor wasn't sure when that would be," he said with his mouth full, and some chips crumbs fell onto Zhao's face. He swatted Da Qing's head away and made a disgusted sound, then grimaced at the pain in his muscles. With that pain, the memories came back, and he sat up abruptly. Da Qing's hands were on him the next instant. "Wait, what are you doing? First, let me get the doctor."

"How long was I out?" Zhao demanded.

"You, um..." Da Qing scratched his ear.

"How long, damn it?!"

"An ambulance brought you here Friday night. It's already Monday morning."

Yunlan twisted and lowered his legs to the floor, at the same time tearing away the PVC from his arm.

"And where do you think you're going?" Zhu Hong marched in along with doctor Cheng.

"Shut up, Help me up. We need to go."

"Go where? You need to calm down."

"That son of a bitch kidnapped Shen Wei! How the hell am I supposed to calm down!"

Da Qing and Zhu Hong exchanged looks, and Zhao felt his fear rising.

"What?!"

"Nothing, that only explains why we haven't been able to contact Professor Shen."

"Call Lin Jing, tell that geek to look for any energy anomalies in the past three days."

Zhao Yunlan was pacing in his office. How could they have nothing? No strange activity, no energy flows, no demons appearing. Not a single hint to reveal the place where Shen Wei was being kept. Zhao had been ordering around, and his people were doing more than he had expected. Still, the detective felt guilty about throwing a full-blown tantrum when they came back with nothing. So now, he forbade them from entering his office without something new.

Da Qing knocked, and his head appeared a second later.

"You have a visitor. It's urgent," he said quickly and made way for the man in his late fifties.

"Yunlan," Zhao Xinchi walked briskly in and closed the door behind him. Da Qing looked inside worriedly through the glass.

Chief of the Guardians took a deep breath and curled his hands into tight fists. "I really don't have time for this," he said, barely managing not to snarl. His father had chosen the worst possible time for a visit.

"Then you do not want my help finding him? Fine," the Chief of the Xingdu Bureau turned to the door.

"Wait. How exactly can YOU help?" Yunlan really didn't want any favours from his father, but for Shen Wei, he would do anything.