The USB

Marcus told Jackson his location and Jackson immediately rushed out the back door of the club, grabbing a hat from the lost and found box sitting at the back as he passed by it; he knew this would be the quickest way to get to Marcus. He ran through the alleyways, weaving left and right, trying to get to his friend as quickly as possible.

As the air quality in Beijing was always unpredictable, Jackson had a face mask in his pocket, so he quickly pulled it out and put it on, just in case he had to conceal his identity.

As he turned into the small alleyway where Marcus was located, he saw three men attacking him. Marcus was sitting on the floor, defenseless, trying his best to block the men's attacks, but they were merciless. They weren't holding back. They were there to kill him!

One man even held a knife!

Jackson saw some children's toys sitting in front of a house. Amongst them, was a baseball bat. He quickly grabbed the bat and rushed towards the three men, swinging it desperately. In the end, he managed to scare them away, but he was cut on the arm and shoulder.

He then turned to his friend, but everything was already too late for Marcus. He had already received multiple stab wounds and was coughing up blood. "They found out..." he said as he choked on his own blood. With his last bit of strength, he raised his right hand towards Jackson. Jackson quickly grabbed it and realized he was holding onto a USB stick. As soon as Jackson received it, Marcus' eyes closed, his arm fell limp and he stopped breathing.

Jackson's friend was gone.

Jackson quickly looked around. He was distraught, but he knew he couldn't stay. Whoever was after Marcus, was after this USB stick. He couldn't let anyone know that he was there and that it was in his possession.

He quickly ran to his car, wiped away some of Marcus' blood and hid the USB stick. He then pulled out a burner phone from his glove box, which he always had ready, and reported Marcus' death. He couldn't let his friend lie there undiscovered.

Finally, he disposed of the phone and went to pick up Halia.

That night, after Halia fell asleep, Jackson had already looked inside the USB stick.

"No wonder they wanted to kill him so badly..." Jackson whispered to himself as he stared at the computer screen in shock.

Inside the USB were a list of profiles; profiles of people. But, they weren't ordinary people, they were police officers; corrupt officers that worked with the gangs! There were personal details that were obviously being used as leverage to control these officers and someone had compiled quite a list. Who did this list belong to?

There were at least 30 officers, scattered throughout Beijing and a few surrounding cities.

But, Marcus was a gangster boss that had been in the gangs for over a decade. Logically speaking, it didn't matter that he knew this information and there was no reason to kill him, right?

Wrong. Jackson had discovered, a long time ago, that Marcus had another identity...and it was likely that his cover was blown. Which meant, his association with Marcus put him in danger too.

The 4 days following Marcus' death, Jackson discovered he was being followed. He was even called into the police station where he saw one of the corrupt officers on Marcus' list. He knew, if he didn't act carefully, they would discover he was the one that tried to save Marcus and that there was a huge possibility that he had the USB stick in his hands, or worse, they may think he was working with Marcus. He couldn't let that happen.

In the end, thanks to Halia, he had an alibi and was freed from suspicion.

But now, he had some time to prepare for his meeting the next day.

...

At this time, over at the hutongs, Halia had just arrived at the guesthouse to meet her handler. As she walked into the usual courtyard, Sean already had a cup of tea prepared for her.

Halia had the roasted chestnuts hidden behind her back. After she sat down, she placed them on the table and said, "Here's a little treat for you."

Sean looked at the bag of chestnuts. He used to eat them with Sara, but ever since her​ death, he had not had any. He was actually thinking about her today, so the chestnuts were a pleasant surprise.

Sean grabbed a piece and popped it in his mouth. It was still warm and the familiar flavor quickly covered his taste buds. It was a subtle but nostalgic flavor that immediately brought back memories he had long forgotten. For the first time since Sara's death, he revealed a heartfelt smile...