"WHERE IS SHE?!!!!" Wang He Di shouted holding him by his collar. His brows furrowed, feeling the heat rising to his neck from anger.
Wang Yi Bo emitted an evil laugh. "Officer Wang, by the time you get to her, it will be..." he turned his palm upwards, gesturing an explosion movement "POWWWWW. You will only see her pretty face in pieces. If you can recognize them! Oh, I'm good!"
"You are the worst animal ever lived! Tell me where she is right now...or else..." he clenched a fist, aiming at his face.
"Or else what? Officer, you are not very good in persuasive skills, are you? She can be far, yet near" he said, narrowing his eyes with his smug smile.
"Take him away! We are wasting time here." Wang He Di ordered the other Officer.
"But you need me to tell you where she is!" Wang Yi Bo exclaimed. "Where to pick up the pieces!" He laughed as they took him away.
Peng Chun came running. "Wang! We managed to trace Officer Shen's location with her tracker."
"I didn't know she has a tracker."
"She always does. Ever since her near death experience."
Wang He Di pursed his lips.
"Wang...she's in our headquarters."
"WHAT?? That son of a bitch. How did he get past security? Alert all personnel to evacuate the building. Bomb squad to stand by."
"Do we have time?"
"We must. Give me the tools." He commanded and took off.
Wang He Di followed the tracker that led him to one of the conference halls in the building.
"Officer Shen! Are you in here?"
He walked in. She was tied to a chair. Her face was pale. She was taped over her mouth. There was a bag in front of her. She was as still as an animal hiding from its predator.
He rushed to her and removed the tape.
"Officer Wang, don't come any closer. Go save yourself."
"The hell I will."
"This is a command."
Ignoring what she said, he leaned forward to inspect the black bag. There was a bomb strapped to her.
There was five minutes on the timer.
"Listen to me, Officer Wang, we don't have much time. You need to clear the area and evacuate everyone from the building." Her voice was shaky but calm.
He wasn't listening. "I'm here to get you out, Officer Shen, tell me what to do." he said calmly, and then staring right at her.
Yue recognized that resolved look.
"You are still stubborn as a mule, Officer Wang."
He smiled. "We're a match.."
She sighed "Okay, open up the case carefully. No sudden movement. You should be able to find the screws by the side and on the top."
He proceeded to grab his screwdriver and started the process. "I'm doing this for your boyfriend."
She frowned "Didn't I tell you that it's hard to have a steady relationship with a job like mine?"
He proceeded to unscrew the second one. "Who's the guy we met at the cafe?"
"You mean Dylan."
He looked up. "That's me."
"He's Dylan Xiong. My ex-partner's fiancé. But Dylan is married now. I'm happy for him."
"Oh..."
"Oh means.... never mind. My mom thinks that i passed a marriageable age. It's getting harder for me to go back for Chinese New Year. My aunts keep asking me the same question."
She was surprised she was opening up to him. What is there to lose?
"Which is...?"
"Do you have a boyfriend? When are you getting married?"
"Bring a fake boyfriend home." This should be the last screw.
"Are you volunteering?"
"Only if you agree to be my fake girlfriend."
"Sounds like a good proposition, Officer Wang." Yue smiled. She thought his hair looked really soft today.
"Okay, I got it." He unscrewed the case and lift it up. Yue refocused her attention on the real threat.
4 minutes.....
"Tell me what you see."
"Wires. Lots of them."
"Find the main ones that are attached to the switch. The main ones are normally thicker than the rest." she explained.
Her hands were getting tired. Her feet were numb.
"Ok, I got it. There's six here."
"Six? Shit."
"What?"
"This guy loves to play games. He is like a bomb designer who decorates his bomb. No one uses six main wires, damn it!!"
"But you know how to diffuse it right, Officer Shen?"
She closed her eyes and breathed in.
3.30 minutes...
"Officer Wang, if we cut the wrong one, both of us will die. Do we need two good detectives sacrificed for this?"
He smiled "It's a good day to die."
"And why is that?"
"For starters, I will be with one of the greatest detectives in China. We will be celebrated and missed."
She chuckled. She could not believe that he was still joking at time like this.
3 minutes...
"You have a girlfriend. Don't do this."
"Girlfriend? Oh, you mean my stepsister, Lin."
"Oh, sorry." Did he see a look of relief on her face?
"Shen Yue."
Rarely, he called her name. She looked up.
"Do you trust me? I'm going to get us out of here."
She looked into his soulful brown eyes and her doubts fled. She nodded.
"Ok, what are the colors of the first set of wire?"
"Red and blue."
"Cut the red one."
They held their breath as he carefully cut it. Nothing happened.
2.40 minutes.
"The next ones are blue and black."
"Blue."
Again, it was so quiet that they could hear a pin drop.
"The last ones are purple and yellow."
"Purple and yellow? Are you sure?"
"Yes! I'm not color blind."
"You sure it's not brown or something?"
"No, it's purple, I'm telling you. Shen Yue?"
She looked extremely pale. "I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know? You're an expert. You should know this stuff!"
"NO ONE USES PURPLE AND YELLOW! That bastard!" She cursed.
2 minutes.
He sat down. Silence conquered the room. The air was still.
"I guess it is a good day to die." She finally remarked.
"No. I won't let us die." His tone was firm.
"It's 50-50."
"Do you trust me, Shen Yue?"
"Call me, Yue. There's no time for long names." She sounded helpless.
He smiled. "You call me Didi, then."
"Do you trust me?" He asked again.
Yue nodded. She had no one else.
"What do you wanna do when we get out here alive?" He asked positioning himself, to get a better view of the last two wires. His hands were shaking. He had keep talking to lose his nerves.
"Hotpot."
"Are you inviting me?"
She laughed. "You are my lifesaver. Yes, you can come along."
"Spicy."
"I do double spicy."
"Deal."
1 minute.
"Ready, Yue?"
She nodded.
"Purple or yellow?"
"Yellow is my fave."
"Purple is mine."
"So do you wanna 'kill' me or you?"
They both laughed.
30 seconds.
Didi put his cutter on the yellow wire. Then, he hesitated. He moved to the purple one and back to the yellow wire. His hand trembled. Yue saw it.
"Yue?"
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be."
"I should have listened to you."
"It doesn't matter. I shouldn't have judged you."
"No offense taken."
"Didi?"
"Yes?"
"I trust you.....I trust you with my life."
They both looked at each other, in silent understanding. His hand moved to the purple wire......
Suddenly, it was pitch black.
Author's notes:
Do you remember this story? ☺️
Let's read on.
💜💛
Hsien
Final edit 17.1.2021