S.I.D.

Chapter 5

"Zhao Yunlan, we would like you to be our chief, the leader of S.I.D. Will you do this for us?" Shen Wei spoke in a quiet voice.

Zhao Yunlan knew there was only one answer. "I accept."

The S.I.D. was now complete.

"You -" Zhao Yunlan pointed at Shen Wei. "We need to talk NOW."

"I'm sure you have many questions. We will go to the office we have prepared for you." Shen Wei led the way.

"And you," Zhao Yunlan pointed at Lin Jing as he walked by. "I will deal with you later."

"Yeah, yeah." Lin Jing had already gone back to playing his video game.

"Lin Jing, I forgot to mention that Chief Zhao now also controls our bonuses, if we are lucky enough to have any. I wouldn't antagonize him, and in fact, you should think of an appropriate apology for the "girl" remark." Shen Wei smiled benignly.

Lin Jing's fingers froze and his jaw dropped open with those words. He was so screwed.

Inside Zhao Yunlan's office, Shen Wei motioned to Zhao Yunlan to sit behind the desk - it was to be his from today. Zhao Yunlan sat heavily in the chair but did not relax or lean back. Shen Wei studied his face.

"You obviously drank last night and probably did not eat anything. How is your stomach?" he asked, reaching for Zhao Yunlan's wrist.

"Never mind my stomach," Zhao Yunlan kept both his wrists out of reach. No way was he drinking that so-called potion that was probably made with cockroach dung and lizard tails.

"I warned you what would happen if you abused your body again," Shen Wei said, as he tapped a few words into his phone.

"My stomach feels just fine," Zhao Yunlan smirked. "You, on the other hand, have a lot of explaining to do."

"And I will answer as many of your questions as I can, but not another word until you drink your medicine."

The door opened and that familiar bitter, moldy smell wafted around his head. Zhao Yunlan groaned.

"I'll have you know that I spent a lot of time coming up with this formula for you. Shen Wei was very specific and picky," Zhu Hong said as she brought in the foul smelling liquid and set it in front of him. "Now drink it to the last drop. I spent a lot of money on this," she added as she curled her fingers into a tight fist, her knuckles popping.

Zhu Hong was quite beautiful when angry, and very intimidating. Zhao Yunlan again held his nose as he swallowed the concoction. He did not want to admit it, but his stomach did feel better after drinking it. Zhu Hong took the empty bowl away and closed the door behind her.

"Now then. You may start interrogating me." Shen Wei settled back into his chair.

There were so many questions, accusations that were going through Zhao Yunlan's head - where to start? He chose the easiest and most obvious question -

"How did you kill them without leaving any wounds or toxins in the bodies?"

"That's an easy one. Depending on the size of the VIP, I used acupuncture and overstimulated certain points to paralyze all the muscles. The heart is also a muscle, so when the body goes limp, so does the heart. There were a couple times when I couldn't get them alone to stick needles into them, so I would bump into them now and then, pressing different points each time. It took longer but had the same results. I assure you none of them suffered any pain, unfortunately." Shen Wei answered matter-of-factly.

"Uh, did you touch any of those points when you massaged my arm?" Zhao Yunlan unconsciously flexed his formerly injured arm.

"Just one and I applied only a little pressure to loosen the muscle so that the pain would go away. If you were my target at the time, well, we probably would not be sitting here chatting today."

Chatting??? Zhao Yunlan felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand, realizing he could have died at Shen Wei's hand that day.

"All pressure points can help and can also harm. It depends on how they are used. If you had gone to an innocent practitioner, he would probably have used that same point, and you would have been fine. You were in no danger that day." Shen Wei smiled.

"Okay, then why that funky mask?" That mask was quite unforgettable.

"You may not believe this, but I was afraid whenever I killed. The mask hid my fear and made them afraid of me instead. They may not have felt physical pain, but they probably felt much terror at the end, I'm sure." Shen Wei looked down at his hands.

"How long have you been planning all of this?"

"Over a year for the prison stint. It took a while for me just to get hired; they screen your background quite thoroughly. I had just returned from a famous school studying acupuncture and acupressure, so that was my alibi. S.I.D. is much more recent. At the prison, I heard all kinds of stories - the guards like to gossip. I approached Chu and a couple others, and others contacted me through word of mouth."

"Did you learn acupuncture and acupressure specifically for your 'justice'? I can't believe there are people who teach you how to kill." I can't believe YOU can kill so easily. Zhao Yunlan shuddered.

"It didn't start out like that, but you'd be surprised at how many doctors have dark energy and skills." Shen Wei looked troubled for the first time. Zhao Yunlan cleared his throat.

"You made a mistake quitting the prison so suddenly. Now that you're gone, the deaths will stop and they will suspect you. They will track you down somehow." Zhao Yunlan started to think of ways to hide Shen Wei.

"The deaths will not stop, not for a while. I was able to slip a little extra something into some medications and health tonics that are set aside for certain VIPs. The regular doctor who started at the same time as I did will unknowingly give these to the VIPs, and they will either die in prison or at home after they are released. Unfortunately some of them will suffer a bit; I got a little "sloppy" with some of the doses, and the doctor will be blamed for tampering with the medications and tonics. His motive will be because he got greedy and wanted more money from the VIPs for the contraband he was sneaking in for them."

Damn, this guy is good! Zhao Yunlan wondered why HE was needed; Shen Wei could do everything!

"Shen Wei, you're so smart and capable. Why do you need me?"

Shen Wei leaned forward in his chair.

"The prison was a controlled environment. As long as I knew the system, it was easy to manipulate things. The real world is too chaotic, too many variables. This is your world, your forte as a detective."

"EX-detective, no thanks to you." Zhao Yunlan pouted, yes, he pouted. He should have been angry, but he knew it was not Shen Wei's fault that he got fired.

"I'm sorry you got fired. But was there any real future for you there, chasing small crooks, going after VIPs only to have them slip through your fingers? You can and will accomplish so much more at S.I.D."

"I could have stuck it out and then retired with a pension from the government," Zhao Yunlan smirked.

"Without me to take care of you, you would have ended up with at least one ulcer and would probably have quit earlier, or maybe spent your retirement years with no stomach," Shen Wei grinned back.

"You know me so well." Zhao Yunlan also leaned forward. "I really feel like we've met before."

"Who knows? Maybe we have." I have watched you from afar for so long, Shen Wei thought to himself as he gave his enigmatic Mona Lisa smile.

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A/N:

Dark Shen Wei is so cool.  Maybe we'll get to see him in action later.  But first he must take care of Zhao Yunlan's health.