The Manchurian Candidate: Pu Yi's Attempt to Restore the Qing Empire

rcduggan: I guess that means I can live a little longer.

Quanto: That depends, as Myth pointed out, if Li is up to the challenge of leading this kind of unit.

Myth: Li has proven to be a flexible individual. It remains to be seen just how flexible his is.

canonized: Thank you sir. High praise indeed coming from you. You and thrashing mad come up with the most interesting theories. Not saying your right, not saying your wrong, but interesting non the less.

Chapter 5​

The Road Less Traveled​

April 25th, 1936…Imperial Security HQ, Changchun…

Major Li was pacing back and forth in his office. His impatience was evident of his face. He stuck his head out the door of his office. “Benjie, has Pinch checked in yet?”

Benjie “The Nose” Wuchen smiled. “No boss, not yet. I swear, as soon as I see him I will tell him you want him.”

Li growled. “Fine. Where’s Chen?”

“He’s in one of the interview rooms. You want I should get him?” asked Benjie.

“What is he doing in one of the interview rooms?” asked Li.

“Uhhh…interviewing. He has some military types in there that he’s talking to. Officers I think”, Benjie replied. “So boss, you want him?”

Li knew this had to be the two officers Chen had told him about yesterday. “No, leave him alone for now. I won’t need him until Pinch shows up anyway.” Li went back to pacing. He hated waiting. Didn’t Pinch know he hated waiting?

Forty-five minutes later there was a knock at the door. Li had sat down at his desk and was skimming through some reports to pass the time. He looked up to see Pinch standing in the doorway.

“Heard you were looking for me”, said Pinch, standing there with some folders in his hand and a satchel over his shoulder.

“Where the hell have you been?!” barked Li.

Pinch raised an eyebrow and then moved to one of the chairs, setting the folders on the desk and the satchel next to the chair. He looked up at Li. “Working”, he said in a level voice.

Li looked at the folders on the desk and started to reach for them. “Is this the report?”

Pinch slapped his hand on top of the folders, startling Li. “It is some of the information that I have gathered. The report is not ready yet. I have just finished up and I have to put it all together. Tomorrow…maybe.”

Li pulled his hand back and glowered at Pinch. He looked around the room, looking for something to vent his frustration on.

“Put the troll face away boss. That crap stopped working on me awhile ago anyway”, Pinch said, a little grin on his face.

Li growled something under his breath. He took a deep breath and then looked at Pinch. “How bad? I not asking you to start your report, but I know you can answer that question, and I promise it’s the only question I’ll ask.”

Pinch sighed. He looked down at his hands, suddenly wishing he had something to do with them. “It’s bad, and that’s all I’m saying for now.” He looked up at Li who was nodding. “How’s Cutter?” he asked.

Li stopped his contemplation at the question and smiled. “He will be laid up in a hospital for about a month. The shot broke the bone. It will take him a while to get the use back after he gets out, but he should be okay. He’s lucky he didn’t lose the arm. Besides that, he is his usual, jovial self. You should go see him”, said Li, the smile getting bigger.

Pinch waved his arms in front of his body as if to ward off a curse. “No way boss, even if it’s an order. Cutter has to be mad as hell and I don’t want to be anywhere near him. Forget it, unh unh, not going to happen”, Pinch said emphatically.

“I’ll let him know. I am sure he will be disappointed”, Li said, feigning regret. He then got serious. “On to another topic. When was the last time someone went out to Mother’s and checked on the cache?”

This question caught Pinch a little off guard. He stroked his chin and thought about it for a moment. “I don’t know, five, six months ago I guess. Why?”

Li’s eye widened a little. “Five or six months?” he said, and then groaned. “Oh, why me?” he said as he dropped his head in his hands.

“Boss?” asked Pinch, “when was the last time you saw Mother?”

Li turned his head to look at the wall. “Eight months”, he said with a sigh.

Pinch just started laughing. “And I was worried about going to see Cutter. She is gong to play merry hob with you, you know. Eight months. She never let you hear the end of the last time. I don’t envy you boss. Why do you want to know about the cache?”

Li stood up and started to walk around the desk. “C’mon”, he said, gesturing for Pinch to follow him.

Pinch just raised an inquiring eyebrow, got up and followed Li out. He picked up the satchel and folders. Li walked through the squad room. “Benjie, what room is Chen in?” he said without stopping.

Benjie looked up. “Uhhh…three”, he said. Pinch dropped the folders and satchel in Benjie’s lap. “Lock these up”, he whispered. Benjie nodded as Pinch hurried to catch Li.

Li and Pinch walked out of the squad room and turned left down the hallway. They passed a couple of doors until Li came to the one he wanted. He opened the door and walked in, Pinch close on his heels. As they came into the room, they saw Chen sitting across from two men wearing the uniforms of the Manchukuo Army. Both men looked up to see Major Li and sprang to their feet. They came to attention and snapped salutes. Pinch came up short at this. “Son of a…” he whispered.

Li stopped, also taken aback by this. He looked at the two men standing at attention, holding their salutes with parade ground precision. “Uhhh…at ease”, he said, throwing a casual salute their way.

Chen rose. “Major Li, these are the two officers I spoke to you about. This is Captain Kang”, he said indicating the man on the right, “and this is Captain Huan”, gesturing at the other. “They served under me during my time on the General Staff as training liaisons.”

Captain Kang stepped forward extending his hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you sir. You will not be disappointed with your decision to bring us on.” The man exuded confidence. He was a good looking man in his middle thirties, of medium height and lean build. Li shook the man’s hand.

The other man, Captain Huan, stepped forward and extended his hand as well. “Sir”, was all he said. Huan was taller than Kang, and not as well built. He had a long face and wore glasses that gave him a bookish quality. He looked more like a professor than a professional soldier. Li shook his hand as well.

“Don’t get too far ahead of yourselves gentleman. The requisitions still need to be submitted and approved and that may take awhile. But, I’ll give you a tentative welcome aboard”, Li said, and then turned to Chen. “I hate to break this up, but we need to be going.”

Chen looked a little surprised. “Where? Now?”

“Yes, now. So wrap this up and meet me downstairs. You will just have to wait to see where.” With that Li turned and walked out of the room. Pinch just smiled at Chen and the two officers, shrugged, and then followed Li from the room.

Chen watched them go.

“So that is Major Li”, said Kang coming up beside Chen. “Interesting.”

Chen turned and looked at Kang, then smiled. “Interesting…yes, never a dull moment, to be sure. You gentleman will have to find your way out. I will be in touch.” With that, Chen placed his uniform cap on his head and walked out to catch up with Major Li.

Chen caught up with the two men as they were walking across the open area in front of the building towards a row of cars. “Where are we going?” Chen asked again.

Li turned to see that Chen was behind him. “We are going to solve that little problem we talked about yesterday.”

They reached one of the vehicles. Pinch got in the drivers side, and Li took the passenger seat, which left Chen to get into the back. Pinch fired up the vehicle and pulled away from HQ.

Twenty minutes later they were driving through a neighborhood of tenement buildings. The area was old and a little run down, but the people who lived here did what they could to keep the buildings in good shape. Pinch pulled over and parked the car. The three men got out, and Pinch and Chen followed Li across the street, through a little gate in a low fence that surrounded a garden. They walked up the gravel walk to the front door.

Li stopped before the door and looked at it.

Pinch smiled behind him. “You ready for this boss?”

Li looked down at his feet and sighed. Then, gathering himself, he set his shoulders and knocked firmly on the door. He heard voices inside, shouting. He heard some footsteps running up stairs, and then someone moving towards the door. Li locked his hands behind his back and waited for the inevitable.

When the door finally opened, Li’s eye went wide.

Myth: Once again Myth, you are correct, and I give nothing away by telling you so.

canonized:Thank you sir. Your wish is my command.

rcduggan: I am told that mimicry is the highest form of flattery, or something along those lines.

Quanto: It is ever my endeavor to bring you to the height of ecstasy...only to have you come crashing to the ground...clutching your huevos on the way. But, being that I am feeling kindly...an update is on the way momentarily. I am sure release is immenent.

Chapter 5​

The Road Less Traveled​

April 25th, 1936…Fanjiadian district, Changchun…

The door to the tenement house swung open to reveal a slim, attractive, women in her early twenties. Her long black hair was held up with wooden pins. She was wearing a white blouse and gray skirt in the western style.

“Wu”, said Li in a surprised voice.

“Wang, how nice to see you”, said the women, in a surprised but delighted tone.

From the back of the house, a women’s voice yelled. “Wu, who is it?”

Li winced at the voice. Wu smiled and turned her head to shout down the hall. “It’s Wang, Mother”, she said and then turned back to Li. From the back of the house, “Wang! Oh my. Oh my, oh my, oh my.” An immediate clatter of noise now started to emanate from the rear.

Wu put her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh, her other forearm running up the edge of the door as she leaned against it. “Well Wang, you have managed to make Mother all a flutter at your visit…as you usually do.”

“It was not my intention to cause any…” he waved his hand around fumbling for words as another crash reverberated down the hall.

Wu laughed, a sound like tinkling glass. “It never is. Hello Pinch. Haven’t you found yourself an honest job yet?”

Pinch smiled. “This will be as honest as it gets Wu.”

Wu smiled back. “And who is this new face Wang. Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

Li turned and gestured at Chen. “This is Lieutenant Chen. Chen, this is Wu Lio-fan.”

Chen gave Wu a stiff, formal bow. “A pleasure madam.”

Wu’s eyes widened in mirth. “Why Wang, you are consorting with gentleman now. Will wonders never cease? It is a pleasure to meet you as well Lieutenant Chen”, she said. “Well, I would love to stand here and chat, but I have to be getting back to the school.”

She reached behind the door and grabbed a handbag. Then, over her shoulder, “I’m leaving Mother. I’ll see you tonight.” With that, a short older woman, with skin like old leather, came out of one of the doors down the hall.

“Leaving?” the woman said as she made her way to the front door.

“Yes Mother. I have to get back to the school”, she said, as she bent to give the women a kiss on the cheek.

“Well, at least you visit”, the old woman said. “Unlike some people”, she said as her eyes narrowed on Li.

Wu started to brush past Li, then stopped and put a hand on his shoulder. “You are in big trouble you know?” she whispered. The she kissed Li on the cheek. Li turned crimson. “Call me for tea sometime”, she said as she skipped down the gravel path and onto the sidewalk. She stopped at the gate to look back. “Goodbye Pinch, and nice to meet you Lieutenant.” She smiled and continued on down the street.

Chen watched the girl go and then turned to look at the smiling face of Pinch. Pinch shook his head in the negative, indicating it was not the time to ask those questions.

“Wang Li I am very upset with you. It has been eight months since you have come to see me. What do you have to say for yourself?” said the women, shaking an accusing finger at Li.

Li started to protest but the women cut him off. “Please Wang, don’t lie to me. You would just break an old woman’s heart”, she said in a tone that indicated she might start crying.

“I’m sorry Mother. I know it has been some time since I have been by, but I have been busy” said Li, sounding like a boy who missed his supper while out playing with his friends.

“Busy, hah! To busy too stop by to visit an old woman”, she sighed, clutching her hands to her chest. “I have tea on. You will stay and drink some with me.” It wasn’t a request. With that, she reached up and grabbed hold of one of Li’s earlobes and started to pull him down the hall. “You are going to drink tea with me and tell me what you have been up to, do you hear me?”

“Yes Mother”, Li said in exasperation as he was lead along. The conversation continued on down the hall with the old women berating Li for his bad manners while Li replied with “Yes Mother” until the two turned into a door and disappeared from sight.

At that point, Pinch let go of the laughter that he had barely been able to contain through the confrontation. Chen’s wide eyes looked at Pinch.

“Is that really his mother?” he asked.

When pinch had stopped laughing he said, “No. It’s a long story. Let’s just say that no good deed goes unpunished. C’mon”, he said, as he lead them down the hallway, past the door to the kitchen, where Li’s haranguing was continuing, and towards the back of the house. When they had reached the end of the long hallway, there was a door that lead outside at the back. Just to the left before this was another door. Pinch reached up to a light on the wall beside the door and twisted it aside. He reached in and pulled out a key. He used the key to unlock the door. The two men walked inside what looked to be a dusty storage room. Pinch walked across the room to a shelf that was against the far wall.

Chen watched as Pinch fumbled behind the shelves to either side. “Give me a hand”, he said, and Chen walked over to stand beside him. “Put your hands here, and when I say, push.” Chen placed his hands where Pinch had indicated. Pinch placed his hands as well. “Okay, push.”

Chen started to push and felt the shelves give way and start to slide into the wall. When they had slid as far as they would go, Pinch grabbed the side of the shelf and slid it to the left. The shelf slid easily out of the way to reveal a dark opening. Pinch stepped into the darkness and groped around until he found what he was looking for. Suddenly, there was light above Pinch’s head, and a stairway in front of them that lead down.

“What is this place?” asked Chen, as he stared down into the darkness that was the descending stairwell.

“You’ll see. C’mon.” Pinch started down the stairwell with Chen right behind him. At
the bottom, Pinch fumbled around on the wall to his right. Chen heard a click, and lights
started to flicker. As the lights came to life, they revealed racks, crates, and boxes all stacked neatly in a long, narrow room. The room was ten feet wide and seemed to stretch away for at least thirty feet before it jogged around a corner.

“Welcome to the cache”, Pinch said with a flourish.

Chen’s mouth was agape. He went to the first rack that held some sort of large, automatic rifle. “What is this?” he asked, incredulous.

“If I remember correctly, that is a Browning Automatic Rifle. They call it a BAR”, Pinch said.

“I have heard of these, but I have never seen one. Have you fired it?” he asked Pinch, as he lifted the weapon and felt its weight.

“Me? no. Oh, I’ve fired some of the stuff down here, but by no means all of it”, replied Pinch as he looked around the room.

Chen set the weapon back in its rack and moved farther into the room. “Lewis guns!” Chen exclaimed. “You have Lewis guns!” Chen ran over and picked up the weapon. He checked the action on the bolt. It was still smooth.

“Yeah, there ok. But if you come with me, I’ll show you my personal favorite.” Pinch walked past Chen. Chen set down the Lewis gun and followed Pinch. Pinch came to a crate and popped the lid. He reached inside and pulled out a weapon.

“Now this is a gun. Say hello to the Thompson .45 caliber sub-machinegun. Just like that American gangster Dillinger used. It beats the hell out of those PPD-34 Russian made pieces of shit. Now this is a thing of beauty”, Pinch said as he pulled the bolt back, pulled the trigger, and watched the bolt slam home with a satisfying snick.

Chen looked around the room, marveling at the amount of weaponry that was stored here. “Where did this all come from?” he asked.

“I don’t know, here and there. The boss wasn’t one for gun battles, but he liked to be prepared, and he only bought the best. If some arms dealer or smuggler came through town, the boss would always check out what he had. If they had something he liked, he bought it. Didn’t matter how much we already had, he still bought the good stuff. Always said ‘You never know.’” Pinch said as he put the Thompson back in its crate.

“How much is here”, asked Chen.

“Don’t really know. No one has ever done an inventory. We just come by and check it every once in awhile, make sure nobody has been down here and everything’s alright”, said Pinch as he removed his cap and ran a hand through his hair.

“Well, he was right. This solves my problem. Now I just need to find out what we have. Is there any paper around, and something to write with?” asked Chen as he looked around.

“What for?” asked Pinch.

“To start an inventory, of course”, as if it was the most logical thing in all the world.

“What, now?” Pinch exclaimed.

“No time like the present”, said Chen as he started looking at crates.

Pinch rubbed his head again. “I’ll go check upstairs”, he said.

Chen didn’t even hear him go. He was like a kid in a candy store

canonized:Yeah, Lt. Chen is pretty happy right now. Thanks, I am starting to feel like I am writing more of a detective story than a war story, but that is just where it is right now. Mother's and Li's origins, or some, will be revealed in the next update, which unfortunately will not be until Thursday. Yeah, I was able to write two in one day on a slow day at work.

Myth: Yeah, blah, blah, nothiing surprises you. Oh, wait, I surprised you when I shot Cutter, neh. Yes, Mother is a formidable women, but you will find a lot more to her and Li's relationship in the next update.

rcduggan: Your cunning commentary has me overawed as usual.

Quanto: You shall have a partial answer to that shortly.

Ksim3000: Welcome aboard sir, and thank you. Independence is certainly not a foregone conclusion. Next upate on the way.

Rodrico Stak: I welcome you as well. I am actually quite happy to have some new readers and commentors. Not that my regulars are not enough support for any one man...but. I am really glad you are enjoying it.

Dr. Gonzo: Thanks for the second on the movie deal. Now, who to get to direct...hmmmm.

Update next. And if you haven't voted yet please do so. Anonymous has graciously (ughh) extended the deadline again.

Chapter 5​

The Road Less Traveled​

April 25th, 1936…Fanjiadian district, Changchun…

Lieutenant Chen put the pen down and rubbed his eyes. He had pulled some empty crates from the storage room upstairs earlier and built himself an ad hoc desk, which he now sat at compiling the inventory of the weapons cache. Pinch had brought him paper and pen, showed him how to close and lock the secret door and went back upstairs. Later Pinch had come back to tell him that he and Major Li were leaving and some comment about ‘having fun’. That had been some time ago. How long had he been down here? He reached into his breast pocket and pulled forth a battered pocket watch, flipped it open and looked at the time. It was almost eleven. He had been down here for ten hours.

Chen put the watch back in his pocket. He was tired, but he wanted to finish this tonight. As he stood to inspect the next crate he heard a voice from the top of the stairs.

“Hello, are you down there?” said a female voice.

Chen walked to the bottom of the stairs and looked up to see “Mother” standing at the top of the stairs peering down at him. “My apologies madam if I am disturbing you. I realize it is late, but I am almost finished here. I hope I have not kept you from your bed?”

“No, no, not at all. I don’t sleep well really, so I am usually up late. Would you like some tea or something to eat?” asked the women.

Chen considered the offer. Some tea would be nice. “I think I would like some tea madam. Thank you.”

“Well, come on up to the kitchen. No need to drink it down here in this musty hole in the ground”, she said smiling and gesturing at him to come up.

Chen looked back at the room. A few minutes break would actually be good. He turned back and trudged up the stairs. He followed the old women into the kitchen where she gestured for him to have a seat at the small table. He sat. The women brought over a tray with a pot of tea, two cups, and some sugar. She put a cup in front of Chen and poured him some tea. Then she poured some for herself and sat down at the table.

Chen spooned some sugar into his tea and slowly took a sip. “This is very fine tea…uhmm…madam, how should I address you?” he asked.

She smiled at him. “You may call me Mother, everyone does” she said.

“I see” said Chen. “Well, Mother, this is very fine tea” he said returning here smile.

They sipped their tea in silence for a few minutes. Then Chen decided to ask the question that had been nagging at him all day.

“Uhmmm…Mother, I understand that you are not actually Major Li’s mother. How is it that you two are acquainted?” asked Chen. “I don’t mean to pry, but I must admit that curiosity has gotten the better of me” he said, sounding apologetic.

Mother smiled and set down her cup. “That’s simple enough Lieutenant, he killed my husband.”

Chen was just taking a sip of tea when she answered. The response made him swallow a large dose of the hot liquid which caused him to jump thus spilling more hot tea from his cup onto his hand where by the cup dropped from his hand, clattering on the saucer and spilling what was left of the tea onto the table and floor. “Madam, my most humble apologies. Please allow me to clean up this mess” he said, shaking his scalded hand as he stood.

Mother laughed in a raspy chitter while waving her hand at Chen to re-seat himself.

“That won’t be necessary Lieutenant” she said through the wheezing intakes of breath. “Please sit. Some spilt tea is nothing to get upset about.” With that, she rose and walked to a work table in the middle of the room, grabbed a towel, returned, and started to wipe the tea from the table and floor. “How is your hand Lieutenant?” she asked when she was done cleaning up the tea.

Chen looked at the red skin and decided that he would survive the ordeal. “Fine madam, it is fine.”

Mother returned the towel to the work table, came back, righted Chen’s cup and proceeded to pour some more tea. She then sat down and reached into a pocket on the front of her dress, pulled forth a battered pack of cigarettes along with matches and looked at Chen. “Do you mind Lieutenant?” she said holding up one of the long cigarettes.

“Not at all madam, it is after all your house” Chen replied.

“Actually it’s Wang’s house. I just take care of it for him” she said after lighting the cigarette.

“The Major’s?” Chen inquired.

Mother blew out a long stream of smoke. “Yes, the Major’s.”

“I must admit”, said Chen, “that your relationship with Major Li is…well…most complicated.”

“Not at all Lieutenant, I shall explain it two you.” Mother took another drag from her cigarette as she gathered her thoughts.

“You must understand Lieutenant that my husband was not a good man. We ran a laundry and business was not good. He blamed me when times were tough, and when he drank he would beat me. Things like that happen, I accepted that. But when he started to go after Wu I had had enough, so I fought him. I fought him with anything I could get my hands on, rolling pins, pans, kitchen knives, broom handles, whatever was in reach when he went into one of his rages. Understand Lieutenant that he still beat me badly, but I fought him hard enough that he left Wu alone and usually left the home to go drink with his friends carrying a few bruises of his own.” She paused.

“And this is why the Major killed your husband?” asked Chen, thinking he had found another reason to respect his commanding officer.

“Oh heavens no. Major Li, or back then it was Mister Li, would never concern himself with some trivial domestic matters. They happened all the time, on any street corner, in any home, at all times of the day. That’s just life in a marriage. No, Major Li killed my husband because he owed him money and had failed to pay back the loan” she said and then took another drag on the cigarette.

Chen stared at Mother for a moment, clearly taken aback by this revelation about his commander. He knew that Major Li had dealings with the criminal underworld, but he assumed they were at the orders of Minister Chin, and always in his capacity as an investigator with Imperial Security. But then Chen remembered that Manchukuo had only been in existence for about two years, and the Major must have had a past before he went to work for Chin. For that matter, Chen himself had a past that he rarely wanted to think about. A past before the Army of Manchukuo, before the General Staff, before…he shook his head, not wanting to go down that road tonight.

Mother continued. “My husband always wanted to be a big man. You know, rich and powerful, with money to throw around and impress his friends. So, he went to Mister Li and asked for a loan with the laundry as collateral.”

Chen looked up. “I don’t understand. If there was collateral, then why did the Major kill your husband?”

“Patience Lieutenant, I am getting there. My husband took the loan and proceeded to live the life that he thought he deserved. After that he rarely came home, which was fine with me. He stayed in hotels or at the brothels he started to frequent. He drank with his friends every night, buying them drinks to impress them with how important he had become. He hardly bothered to come into the laundry anymore, leaving it to Wu and myself to run and try to make a living. We actually did fairly well without him around” she paused to take a last puff of the cigarette and then put it out.

“Eventually though, Mister Li came to collect on the loan. When he came to the laundry I told him that my husband was not there, and told him where he might find him. He thanked me and left. The next day my husband came back with Mister Li. He had been beaten badly. Mister Li informed us that the laundry now belonged to him, that we could stay on as his employee’s, and that one of his men would come by once a week to pick up his profits. For the next week or so my husband was as meek as I had ever seen him. He was polite to both Wu and myself during the day at work, but rarely spoke otherwise.”

“But”, she sighed, “it did not last long. One night after work he did not come home with us. I assume that he went out drinking because when he came home he smelled of alcohol. He had stormed into Wu’s bedroom and started yelling at her. I awoke with a start and rushed to see what the matter was. When I came into the room, Wu was huddled in the corner with my husband standing over her. She was holding her cheek so I knew he had struck her. I must admit, I think I lost my mind at that moment. I shrieked and leapt onto his back tearing at his hair and clawing his face. He spun and threw me across the room, but I came back yelling and screaming, pummeling him with my fists. He struck me hard across the face and then threw me into the corner with Wu. I put my arms around my daughter and told him that if he touched her again I would kill him. He left.”

“Two days later he returned home to gather some of his things. He told us that he was better than this and left. I found out later that he had gotten another loan from Mister Li. A month later, Mister Li came by the laundry to inform me that my husband was dead.”

Chen was by now staring down at the table. It was a terrible story, but he had to admit that something very much like it played itself out all over Manchuria, and, he thought, all over China. “I’m sorry”, he said as he raised his eyes to look at her.

“There is nothing to be sorry about Lieutenant. It actually worked out very well for Wu and I. Three months later we were moved in here. Major Li had gotten Wu a placement in the Jesuit school where she now teaches, and for once in her life, Wu was happy. I am not sorry it happened Lieutenant, not sorry at all”, she concluded.

“But how did you end up here?” asked Chen.

“Ah, Lieutenant, that is a story for another time. It is late, and though it will be hard, I must try and get some sleep.”

Chen pulled out his watch and opened it. One o’clock. They had talked for over an hour. He looked at Mother. “Your right madam, it is late. Do you mind if I come by tomorrow and finish my work. I am too tired to complete it tonight.”

“You may come by at any time Lieutenant. I am always grateful for the company”, she said, taking his hand and smiling.

“Very well madam. I will close up the room and let myself out. Goodnight”, he said, and then went to lock up the cache. After he finished, he let himself out the front door and pulled it shut. He stuck his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground as he walked down the path to the street. When he reached the street, he stopped and looked back at the house.

“It seems we all have pasts that we would rather forget” he said to himself. “But maybe, just maybe, we will all end up in a better place.” Chen sighed and then started walking down the street. ‘Damn’ he thought ‘should have had Pinch send back a car.’ It was going to be a long walk home.