8 You look different

Captain Roberts didn't look too scary enough to successfully pull off a clandestine vibe so the two of them took their seats and ordered their food, looking like any normal men would on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The captain was wearing brown khakis and a white shirt, which made him look like a dad with an ill-concealed paunch. Han was in jeans and loafers. Nothing clandestine about him either. Just a young man out for a meal with his old man.

The restaurant was called The Hartford, a rather pretentious name for a restaurant stuck between a pharmacy and an optical store. There were not many people inside either, just a couple of kids with their parents and two old people consuming a large amount of fries on their plates. Han took a bite out of his burger and grunted his approval. The burger was moist and fresh, cooked the way he liked it and the fries were not greasy either. Golden brown and crisp and piping hot from the fryer.

The two men didn't talk while they ate their burgers. That had been part of the discipline. You went in and went out in five seconds tops. There were no circuitous routes to take, just the straight and structured until the mission was completed.

Han had lived his life the same way. He had been born to a family of enormous wealth and been given everything he wanted since he was born. But that hadn't been enough for him. Even as a kid, he had felt this itch to walk the earth until there were no more roads to take; fly until the vast sky had been thoroughly explored and wasted.

He knew his parents didn't understand. His mother always had this strange, weird look every time he said something or did something his other brothers wouldn't even think of doing. His father was the worst, controlling and demanding but he finally put his foot down and joined the army without even telling his parents. He knew he must have broken his father's heart numerous times with that decision.

After all, they expected him to pick up a spoiled brat's hobby to while away the time. Then he'll marry a nice girl from a nice family, have kids and grow fat until he dies at the age of 50. Nobody expected him to hunker down and live the life of an ordinary soldier subsisting on a monthly wage not even enough to pay for one of his mother's made-to-order Italian shoes.

A few months after his transfer, his father visited him and they finally sat down and had that talk they waited years for before everything went south between them. But by this time, Han had already cooled his heels long enough to see and understand his father's side of the argument. There were no recriminations, no anger or resentment expressed on both sides this time. His father was disappointed but he was starting to accept the situation and that was that. A phone call from his mother followed soon after.

A letter from his lawyer arrived a few days later, informing him that his father had opened an account in his name to the tune of $100 million. The letter arrived with a newly-minted card and a note from his father that said he needed to go out and eat more because he was looking thinner and bonier and he didn't want his mother to get alarmed the next time Han came home and saw her. Han chuckled when he read the note.

Years passed and not a dollar was ever drawn out of that account. The money kept earning interests but Han didn't give a damn. He realized he could survive on a measly pay just as easily if he had a million dollars. His needs were small anyway. It would have been different if he had been married, like he was planning to do with An Ning before the plan blew up in their faces.

The plates were taken away and a pot of steaming hot coffee sat between the two men. Captain Roberts inhaled smoke from his pipe and squinted at the young man before him. "You look so much like Han it's uncanny. Did your parents ever had any problems telling you apart when you were growing up?"

Han chuckled. "I was the refined more conservative brother. My brother left for the army when he was 16. We rarely saw him but when we did his head was always buzzed close to his skull. It wasn't difficult to tell us apart then."

"He was a good man, your brother. Good head on his shoulders and a master tactician."

Han took a sip at his coffee. "I took my wife to the hospital that day," he said, beginning his tale. "I called my brother to tell him to meet us there. There was a pile up on the road and I called him again to tell him it would be faster if he took my plane. I keep it in on a tarmac at the building where I work.

I told my secretary to make the arrangements. She told my pilot and also someone in the hospital. It was a last minute arrangement that few people knew about but someone considered it important enough to tell someone about it. If you don't mind, I would like to make inquiries into the matter from my end.

Someone deliberately murdered my brother, Captain Roberts, and I'd like to know who the person behind it is. My parents are old and the matter is weighing heavily on them. I want to give them the peace of mind they need to get over this tragic incident. They need closure, captain. All of us do."

"Would you mind answering some questions, Richard? I need them to help me understand the bigger picture."

"Go ahead."

"Why Han? You were with your wife so why call your brother to meet you there?"

Han hesitated. "My wife and I are divorced. She met my brother and....she's pregnant and he told me they were planning to marry. It's his baby so..." Han finished awkwardly.

"I understand. Your secretary and this pilot...how long have they've been with you?"

"Christie, my secretary, has been with me five years. In fact, since the agency started. Dan, my pilot, used to work for my dad. His father was also my dad's accountant."

"All fine and respectable people in other words."

"Yes, but I also believe one of them caused my brother's death. I don't want to go to the police with this because I don't want the publicity. My brother is dead, captain, and I don't want this splashed all over the papers for everybody to feast on like vultures. We've barely managed to conceal the cause of the blast as it is. The hospital will not say anything about it either because my father is in the board of directors. "

"How would you go about investigating them then?"

"Leave it to me. I just want to open a dialogue between us and apprise you of where we are now and maybe give you a heads up in case we uncover something about this terror organization you were telling me about."

Captain Roberts frowned. "I wish you wouldn't. It might be dangerous."

"Here's the thing, captain. Unless my brother really goofed up and did something criminal we don't know anything about, I fail to see why anyone would want to kill him. Kidnapping maybe because of his background but not assassination. And those men at the rooftop were not amateurs. One was carrying a bazooka and the other one was carrying a high powered rifle with plenty of ammunition."

"You think there might be a connection?"

"I hope so because it would give me the greatest pleasure to tear those scums apart with my bare hands."

Captain Roberts felt something cold ran down his spine as he met the steely determination in Han's unblinking eyes. He wouldn't want to be anywhere near this grim-faced youth when the shit hits the fan, that's for sure.

"My advise to you is keep your cards close to your chest if you want to survive this shit with your skin intact. If what you say is true and that Han was targeted by this organization, then you might be walking in the same danger as him. I will help you with everything I can. Just keep yourself safe, okay?"

"How deep does this shit go do you think?"

"Deep. I don't even trust my priest during communion and you shouldn't either."

The sun was already high when Han drove back to the city. Instead of going home, however, he took a right turn on Wilson street which took him to a quiet street he hadn't been to in several years. The neighborhood was plainly working class. The marquee on the sign of a movie theater says The Exorcist. When he drove by a Presbyterian church, a priest was standing by the door bidding goodbye to his flock.

Han parked in front of a small non-descript house with a porch. He waited in the car for several seconds before alighting and walking towards the house. The curtains fluttered in one of the windows. He climbed the stairs; the door opened even before his hand touched the knocker. Inside was a big man sitting on a rocking chair in his bathrobe watching TV.

Duffy Duck was screaming at Bugs Bunny in his lispy voice. They chased each other around a tree before Yosemite Sam arrived and pointed a gun at Bugs. Han quietly sat on a chair and watched as the blast from the shotgun plucked almost half of Duffy Duck's feathers away. The three of them again ran around the tree chasing each other.

Then it was Duffy and Sam. The camera panned at the top of the tree where a carrot-munching Bugs leaned against a trunk, watching the two idiots running around like headless chickens below him. The Warner Brothers theme song blared. A click and the TV was turned off.

"Long time no see, you idiot," the man greeted, showing strong white teeth in a very tanned face.

"Glad to see you, too, Tommy. Wife okay?"

"Elsa died a year ago."

"So sorry to hear that."

"Don't be. I'm fucking her sister."

"Right. So, the team still together I take it?"

"You look kind of different."

"Different? How?"

"Your hair maybe? It looks nice."

"I got out of the army and grew it out."

"Oh.

"I need you to do something for me, Tommy. Nothing unusual just surveillance. There's a nice bonus with it for you if you give me the results in five days."

"No prob. I'll get the boys on it immediately."

Han handed him a thick manila envelope. "The details are inside. You still have my number?"

"Even your email."

Han took out another envelope from his pocket. "A little oil to make the engine run smoothly so to speak."

"You don't need to but thanks," Tommy said, taking the envelope.

"I'll wait for your email then. Give my regards to Elsa's sister."

An ambulance was parked in front of the big house when he drove thru the gate a little after three. Stifling his sudden fear, Han jumped out of the car and raced through the house into the west wing. He pushed open the door to An Ning's room but stopped when he saw his mother.

"What happened? Why didn't you call me? Is she okay?"

He went around his mother and rushed to the bed, heaving a relieved sigh when he saw An Ning sleeping peacefully amongst the covers.

"What happened, Ma? What's with the ambulance outside?"

His head whipped back to the bed when he heard a groan. An Ning stretched on the bed and opened her eyes. She blinked owlishly at them then her gaze rested on Han. A smile split Han's face in joy. He rushed to the bed but stopped when the girl on the bed rudely asked:

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my bedroom?"

f