Red Light

Vignettes

Nie Huaisang glanced over at the young man next to him. Slender. Solemn.

"How are you feeling?" he asked kindly.

'Like I was drugged for five days after watching my parents be murdered!' screamed through his thoughts.

"Nauseous, sir. Exhausted." he mumbled.

Huaisang cocked an eyebrow. There was a subtlety to the boy he didn't expect.

At the next red light he turned slightly to observe the boy more fully. Expensive haircut. Wisps of a moustache he had missed when shaving to pass as a cop. Graceful hands with a pen callous on his right middle finger. Haunted eyes.

A honk jolted him and he slowly pulled away. Student. Most likely devoted to his studies resulting in the callous and the vocabulary. Expensive haircut... private school then...

"Which academy are you attending?" he asked casually to test his ideas.

"International School of Beijing**. Science emphasis." he answered.

'So his parents were very wealthy...' he ruminated. 'That could be a reason for the attack but Wen Chao is more likely to try for blackmail or some other scheme to bleed money off the family.'

"Which aspect of science are you interested in?" he asked.

"Aerospace engineering." His reply was short. Almost crisp but not quite. He was getting annoyed.

"Interesting choice. What did you want to do with it?"

"Work with my d-dad in his company..." His voice trailed off.

Nie Huaisang  gave a noncommittal 'mmm' to give the boy some space. So the father was a successful engineer with his own company. Most likely contracted to the government. Lucrative to say the least. Especially if his designs were successful. China's lust for space was well known.

How the hell did Wen Chao fit into this picture?

He pulled into the hospital parking lot. A quick text.

"I've sent a message to a doctor who will treat you quietly. We don't want to advertise your where abouts."

"So they can't shoot me too? Does it really matter if they do?" The voice was filled with loss and grief.

"It does. To your parents and to those of us trying to put Wen Chao behind bars for the rest of his miserable fucking life." Nie Huaisang allowed some of his hate for the man leak into his voice.

"Wen Chao? I want him dead. I want him DEAD." Wen Sizhui yelled. He sank back into the seat shivering.

"I want him dead." he whispered and wiped at his eyes.

"So do I but I want him to suffer first. Horribly. If you stay alive, you can testify. You can help drag him down but you have to be willing to survive. Can you do that?"

"Do you promise he'll go to jail?" It was a plea.

"I can't promise it but I will move heaven and earth, Sizhui. I won't ever stop." Nie Huaisang's voice was completely honest in its vindictive viciousness.

"Okay."

It was said so softly, he almost missed it. Nie Huaisang knew intimately vengeance wasn't the best reason to live but he needed Sizhui to be willing to hang on and, if necessary, fight for his survival. As time passed, there was a good chance the boy would find other reasons to live. Huaisang hoped he would and was willing to help him find them. For now however, this was better than nothing.