Chapter 33

"We have surveillance on all possible points of exit for miles. When he comes out, we'll know." Caid informed Wen as soon as they emerged into an abandoned alleyway. 

"Oh my god." Dema was sure she had some objection to this but wasn't sure where to begin. 

Caid paced the ground for a few moments, calling back and forth with the rest of the men, while Wen watched him patiently. Finally, after only a few minutes, he swung back around.

"They found him, they are following him now." 

Wen nodded. "I want surveillance on him at all times. Update me on his every movement."

Wen stopped to deliberate, before adding, "Send me the coordinates now."

Caid did, but couldn't help asking, "You aren't going there yourself, are you? There isn't anything you can do. Our guys will keep track of him."

Wen didn't reply, he had already begun walking to where the car was waiting. 

"Nothing's happened," Shan said gloomily, "you don't have to be here–neither do I." 

"Quiet," Wen snapped. 

"It's just so boring," Shan slumped down further into his seat, "and pointless."

Wen's watch blinked, and Caid's voice spoke, "Boss, someone's been spotted on the rooftops, moving towards your location."

"Track them."

Wen resisted the urge to shoot Shan a smug look. Truthfully, he hadn't expected this to happen so soon, he had been preparing for several days of surveillance. The same night seemed too good to be true. 

"Two blocks away," Caid reported. 

Wen waited a few moments, looking up at the buildings. He could imagine the shadow of a person sliding from rooftop to rooftop, but in reality couldn't see anything, no matter how hard he looked. 

He looked back to the building he was hidden in front of. It was old and dilapidated, and one of the rooms held Dema's unknowing informant. And now a figure hidden in the shadows was making their way towards them. Although it still felt too good to be true, there seemed to be no other explanation. This was the contact feeding information directly from the source.

"They've reached your location," Caid spoke again.

"Send the men. Keep them at a distance but make it obvious." 

Shan frowned. "That seems like a bad idea. Shouldn't we do a sneak attack or something?"

Wen didn't bother replying. For the first time, he noticed the figure, a barely there blink of pitch black. 

From where they had been waiting, several of Wen's men emerged. Only half hidden, they moved slowly from their spots on the rooftop, closing in the same direction.

"Whoever they are is going to see you coming," Shan whined, not bothering to hide his anxiety.

"Gone," Caid reported, the moment Wen's men lost track of their target.

"See–" Shan started before he heard Wen's reply.

"Send team 2."

From the ledges of the building, several spots of movement became apparent. The figure had dropped down from the roof after being followed and was now about to fall directly into one of several Wen had set. Perfect.

More movement on the side of the building. A body fell to the ground, then another one. 

"Shit," Wen growled. He left a sputtering Shan and raced forward. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. He couldn't see much, just the vague outline of the few of his men who were still left. No sight of the figure. 

That wasn't an option.

Wen doubted the figure would go back to the rooftops, the best way to get away fast would be the tunnels. Wen turned on his heels and sped in the opposite direction. There was an entrance around here somewhere if he remembered right. He should have planned for this outcome, everything hinged on this one, the last lead. But as usual, no matter how tight he tried to hold to it, his control was slipping.

He raced across two streets, not bothering to look before darting in front of several moving vehicles that were only just able to dodge out of the way. He ran faster. 

Wen ducked behind the narrow alley wall and followed it down until he reached the closed-off entrance to the subway station. He pushed his way past the creaky boards blocking it and took the crumbling steps two at a time. 

It was almost too dark to see anything, old hanging lights only blinking on every few seconds before flickering out again. That didn't matter, Wen knew the entrance well enough. Lowering himself carefully onto the tracks, he felt his way forward towards a crumbling hold in the wall, far beyond where anyone would venture. 

He reached the hole at the same time the figure did. He almost missed them; they moved perfectly in sync with the areas of darkness, fast enough they could disappear in the time it took to blink. Wen wasn't blinking, for this reason. He saw the flash of darkness and lunged.

He had tried a stealthier method before, it clearly wasn't his forte. He figured the situation was dire enough he could drop the pretext. He caught hold of the figure's arm. They moved to angle themselves out of his grasp but before they could he shoved his whole body down, taking both himself and his captive slamming into the ground.

After the first slam, he tightened his grip. Everything was spinning, but he ignored it, instead picking his body up as far as he could, and slamming down again, and again until the figure underneath him went limp.