Checkmate
“Boss…”
Anthony knocked the door twice, but there wasn’t any answer. He turned to Gregory who looked a bit surprised, then he knocked the door again.
“Boss…”
There was still no answer. Anthony turned back to Gregory, who quickly walked forward and knocked the door twice.
“Boss…”
There was still no answer. He turned back to Anthony, who was looking at the door.
“What about we just break in…”
“Hey! If you want to die, die yourself,” Gregory protested. Anthony looked at him, a bit annoyed, then he turned to the door and sighed.
“But we’ve knocked six times…”
“Knock louder!”
“Why don’t we just punch the door?”
Anthony knocked the door again.
“Boss!”
There was still no answer. He could feel his head heated, then he turned the knob and opened the door.
“Morning, boss!”
Gregory stood at his place, terrified, but then Anthony turned to him. Gregory quickly shook his head.
“Now that you’re in trouble, don’t seek help from me…”
“He’s sleeping, Greg.”
Gregory looked up to his friend, surprised.
“He didn’t fight with his wife, did he?”
“I don’t know…”
“I don’t know…”
Suddenly another door flew open. Anthony turned to the door and smiled.
“Hey there Will…”
He then stopped at his place, shocked. A woman with black hair entered the office.
“Hi, Rebecca,” Gregory said. “Looking for Will?”
“I need to see your boss,” she said. “I hope he’s here…”
“He’s sleeping, actually,” Gregory said as he walked to her. “Let’s wait. Coffee?”
“No, thank you,” she said as she glanced at her watch. “Number one, I need to be quick. And number two…”
She pointed the area outside the door.
She pointed the area outside the door.
“Someone’s waiting for me.” Jason yawned as Anthony put a white mug in front of him. Rebecca was looking at them with a disgusted look.
“Sorry about that,” Jason said. “You’ve come all the way from Admiralty. Are you looking for William?”
“Yes, sir,” she said as she saluted. “Recently, I’ve found some disturbing things about him.”
Jason drank some of the coffee as he looked at her with a suspecting look.
“Disturbing, you say?”
“Sir.”
He turned to Anthony, then he looked at the door. Anthony nodded and walked out of the room. Jason took the newspaper on his desk and opened it as Anthony closed the door.
CLICK
“Sit down and give me a very good explanation.”
“Sir.”
She pulled the black chair in front of Jason and sat down.
“A few days ago, a girl was found dead in Shanghai Road.”
“Yes.”
“And last night, a woman was found dead in her apartment in Admiralty.”
Jason lowered the newspaper to look at her.
Jason lowered the newspaper to look at her.
“Who?”
“It is concluded that she is Adeline Hua,” she said. “Though it was a conclusion drawn from physical appearances. We haven’t been able to conduct a full DNA test.”
“You haven’t conducted a full test,” he said. “To me, that sounds like you’ve actually done a bit of it.”
She smiled and nodded.
“Right.”
She took out a blue folder and put it on the desk.
“This is the temporary report we’ve made…”
He took the folder and opened it. There was a few photographs in there and papers.
“Please have a look.”
He took out all the photographs and put them on the table He looked at them for a while, then he took one of them. There was a picture of a room with a body of a woman lying on the floor. There was a wound on her neck, possibly from an attack.
“As I remember, she’s one of your suspects, right?”
“Yes.”
“You sent William to get rid of her, as I remember.”
“Yes, sir.”
He looked at the other pictures and sighed.
“And why are you looking for William?”
He took a picture and put it in front of her.
“And I don’t see this as an evidence. Why is it here?”
“The picture was taken a few minutes before we found the body, by a security camera…”
He took the picture again and looked at it.
“Is that Officer William, sir?”
Jason opened a drawer and took out a pair of glasses, then he wore it and looked at the picture closely. It was the picture of a man walking on the street, holding his bleeding shoulder.
“Possibly.”
He put the picture on the desk and sighed.
“Do you happen to know this something we call ‘coincidence’?”
“Sir.”
‘Then isn’t this something we call coincidence as well?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Never judge a book from its looks.”
“I know that.”
“Are you sure you’re not being too careful?”
He looked at the papers slowly as she looked away.
“…I see.”
He put down the folder on the table and smiled.
“What do think you want me to do with him, then…?”
“Hey, Greg, what are they talking about?”
Gregory focused on listening to the door while Anthony was standing behind him, curious.
“I can’t focus with you standing over there…!”
“Here, let me take your place…”
Suddenly the door flew open. Anthony pulled Gregory to the back preventing him from falling down.
Rebecca walked out of the room and closed the door. She turned to them and sighed.
“I should get going.”
“Uh… Yes.”
She smiled, then she walked to the door. Gregory turned to Anthony, who was looking at her, then he turned back to her.
“Hm…”
Anthony turned to Gregory, a bit annoyed.
“What?”
Gregory smiled and walked away.
“Oh, it’s nothing…”
Anthony sighed and pulled a seat for himself.
“Stop that, will you?”
“Ahahaha…” “Hm…”
He looked at the paper on the desk and sighed.
“That kid is as usual, troublesome…”
He took it again and looked at it. He read it again and sighed.
The test showed that the man might be Fu, William, police officer, 25 years old.
“I hope this really is just a might…”
He took off his glasses and opened the drawer to save it, then he noticed something inside. He took out a white envelope inside and looked at it.
“I don’t remember having this here before…”
He flipped the envelope and looked at it. It was totally blank on both sides.
“Is it a notification?”
He tore the left corner of the envelope, then he widened the hole with his fingers. He then took out a piece of paper and crumpled the envelope.
“What’s this…?”
He read it slowly, then his eyes widened in shock. He put down the paper to the desk, then he frowned as Anthony opened the door.
“Come in, Anthony.”
Anthony was surprised, but then he got in and saluted. Jason pushed the paper closer to Anthony and sighed.
“Is this Will’s writing?”
Anthony took it and looked at it for a while, then he slowly nodded. Jason could feel his heart stopped.
“Yes, sir. So he resigned…?” “Jiu shi jiu, yi bai! (Ninety-nine, one hundred!)”
The thin boy opened his eyes and looked around. He then walked to a big tree and looked at the back of the tree. There weren’t anybody there.
“Where are you, Xiao Li? I’m going to find you!”
He walked a few more steps before he saw a small house not far from him. He walked to the house and smiled. He opened the wood door and walked in.
“That boy is useless!”
he stopped at his place upon hearing the voice. He quickly closed the door and tried to run as far as he can.
But even if he ran so far away, he could still hear the voice.
“He’s born! He has to be used!”
He kept running further – he didn’t care where he was running into. Into the darkness without exit, or into a death trap, he didn’t care…
“William.”
He stopped at his place and turned back. A woman was standing behind him, smiling.
“Look behind you.”
He turned back and saw a girl standing behind him. She was wearing a white cheongsam and she looked sad.
“Xiao Li…?”
“You will die…”
She suddenly faded from his sight. He looked around, trying to find the source of the mysterious voice, but he could only see darkness.“Within a month…”
William sat up from his bed, panting. He looked around, trying to find someone, but there weren’t anybody. He sighed in relief and lay down on the bed again.
“What was that…”
RIIIIIING
“Damned thing!”
He slapped the ringing alarm clock, which fell down to the floor. It wasn’t broken, but it has stopped ringing.
He looked around to find nobody was around him – again. He sighed in relief and lay down again.
“I’ve done almost everything I must do…”
He looked at the alarm clock on the floor – it read 0900 hours. He sighed and sat up.
“It’s time.”
He stood up and walked to a wooden door a few steps in front of him, then he opened the door. He quickly found himself staring to a sleepless figure. He touched his eyes, then he sighed.
“…”
RIIIIIING
He walked out of the bathroom as he yawned. He opened a drawer in the bedside table and took out his ringing phone.
“Who the heck, at this time…”
He pressed the green button and sat down on his bed.
“Morning…”
“I’m coming to your place.”
William raised an eyebrow upon hearing the voice.
“How do you know?”
“Heh,” the voice said. “I also have an intel. Do you think you’re the only one who have one?”
William smiled as he scratched his head.
“Not really.”
“Whatever,” the voice said. “I’m at the front door. Open it.”
DING DONG
William sighed, then he pressed the red button and walked to the door. He opened it and saw a man with white shirt standing there. He smiled as he looked at William from head to toe.
“You look pretty neat for a man who just woke up.”
“Shut up.”
He opened the door wider and sighed.
“Come in.” “Do you want something to drink or what?”
“Oh, my train leaves in another 30 minutes. No need.”
William sighed and looked out of the window.
“By the way.”
William turned to him, who was sitting on the wooden chair.
“I’ve heard,” he said with a smile. “I’m evil, no?”
William looked out and sighed.
“It’s not like I’m going to blame you, but…” He paused. “Don’t try to stop me.”
“Oh, my!” he exclaimed. “And why am I going to do something that stupid? I’d better stay away.”
William turned to him, feeling annoyed.
“Are you here to give support or to make me feel depressed?”
“Both.”
“Go away.”
The man chuckled, then he looked at William for a while, and smiled.
“Are you getting excited?”
William didn’t asnwer. The man looked at him for a while, then he turned to the table.
“I don’t know,” William said. “But this is something I must do.”
“Why?”
“To make me feel better, I guess.”
“To make me feel better, I guess.”
“You don’t have to do it.”
William turned to him, who was looking down to the table as if he was thinking very hard.
“Why not?”
“Because there’s no value in it.”
He looked up to William and smiled.
“I mean, you wasted your life hating him,” he said. “Now you’re trying to kill him and get yourself killed. That’s stupid.”
“I don’t care,” William said. “I am made of hatred.”
“That’s what you think,” he said. “You may be, but I know you’re not.”
William looked at him for a while, then he loooked away.
“Why not?”
“My, you do have the ability to love someone, don’t you…”
William sighed as he walked to the bathroom.
“Haven’t I told you not to stop me?”
“I’m not trying to…”
He watched William got into the bathroom as he frowned.
“it’s not like I’m trying to stop you,” he said. “I’m trying to tell you to think over.”
“I’ve thought enough.”
“I’ve thought enough.”
“My, are you sure?”
“What do you understand?”
He could then hear the voice of water gushing out from the bathrrom, then he sighed.
“The police is after us.”
He ould hear the voie of the water stopped, then William walked out to him.
“Not scared.”
“That’s not the point,” he said. “You are one of us now. Losing someone will be more than troublesome to us…”
“Whatever.”
“Don’t say that,” he said. “If they got you, it will be more than troublesome to us.”
William looked at him for a while, then he pulled a chair in front of the man and sat down.
“At the end, it was your problem and not mine.”
“My problem is yours as well.”
William looked at the clock on the floor, then he smiled.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in your train right now…?”
The man could feel his heart stopped, but he quicklt regained conciousness and looked at his watch.
“I suppose you’re right.”
He stood up as William watched him leave happily. He walked to the door as William stood up to follow him.
“Should I accompany you to the station?”
“My, no need.”
He opened the door, then he turned to William and smiled.
“I don’t know if it’s right to say this but…” He paused. “Good luck, I guess.”
William smiled and nodded. The man smiled to him, then he walked away to the lift. He pressed the button with an arrow heading down and sighed.
CLICK
He looked back upon the click sound and noticed that the door that was open before has been closed.
DING
The door opened, then the man got into the lift and pressed the button with the number ‘1’.
“I should’ve known.”
He could feel the room moved down as he looked around.
“But why bother doing such a thing when you can do something worth more than that…”
He smiled as he looked at the ad stuck on the wall.
“Or maybe it’s not about the value.”
The door opened in front of him, then he walked out to the lobby.
“Maybe it’s more about…” He smiled. “The ‘will’ to do that…”
He walked out of the building and looked at the busy traffic on the road. Suddenly the cars stopped and the trespasser standing next to him started to walk on the road.
“Kenji is right,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have thought about it from the very beginning, since it’s going to be useless.”
William fished for something in the shirt he wore the previous night and took out a small piece of paper. He looked at it for a while, then he smiled.
2300 hours
288 Avenida Commercial de Macau
He could feel his hands shivered upon reading it. He put the paper down on the table and smiled.
“At last…” he told himself. “Tonight, everything will be over…”
2300 hours
The man with crimson shirt rolled the dices on the table, then four dots appeared from the first dice and six dots appeared from the other. The men crowding the table sighed and protested.
“Hey, you’re not using any dirty tricks, are you?”
“No, of course not!”
The big room was still bright and crowded although it was late. There were laughter and angry cries everywhere. Music was still thumping very loudly in the room. There were a few employees walking around, offering drinks in cocktail glasses.
At the corner of the room, a man was sitting on the chair. He had a scar on his left cheek and he looked a bit tired. He would drink something from the cocktail glass.
“Darren.”
He looked up and saw a man with black long hair and blue changsan sitting in front of him. He sighed and drank some from the glass again.
“How are things going for you?”
The man didn’t say anything as he looked at his friend. Darren looked up to him and smiled.
The man didn’t say anything as he looked at his friend. Darren looked up to him and smiled.
“Not well, I guess.”
“She’s fast,” he said. “She must be in Tokyo or Kyoto or whatever. But…”
He took out a pack of cards from his pocket and shuffled them.
“Never mind me,” he said. “What about you?”
He stacked the cards and put them in the middle of the table, then he took two cards for himself and gave Darren two cards. Darren took them and opened it.
“Lau is dead.”
The man raised and eyebrow as he looked at his cards. He looked up to Darren and smiled.
“You’re not going to replenish your troop?”
“It will be lovely if you do that for me,” Darren said. “Stand.”
“Hit,” the man said as he took a card from the stack, then he sighed and put his cards on the table.
“By the way, what are we betting over today?”
Darren put his cards on the table and smiled. The man looked at them and was stunned.
“Why didn’t you say it’s a blackjack from the beginning…”
“Because it won’t be fun.”
“Because it won’t be fun.”
“That’s against the rules.”
“Who cares?”
Darren took the cards and shuffled them.
“Still, such rules are useless here in the real world,” he said. “At the end, everything is controlled by greed.”
The man looked at his friend in a serious way.
“Even in the government,” he said. “At the end, that thing called ‘corruption’ exists There’s no such thing as an ideal world or the absolute rule.”
“Even in the government,” he said. “At the end, that thing called ‘corruption’ exists There’s no such thing as an ideal world or the absolute rule.”
“Right,” the man said. “At the end, all rules expire.”
“Time changes everything. Rules, etiqques, standars… They change by time. The old one will be forgotten…”
He put the cards on the table and distributed them.
“And the new one will take over.”
“That’s annoyingly right.”
Darren smiled as he flipped open his card.
“Hit.”
The man took a card from the stack, then he quickly sighed and put the cards on the table. Darren put his cards on the table, revealing an ace and a diamond three.
“You shoudn’t have rushed into a hit,” he said as he stood up. “I’m going bak to my room.”
The man nodded as Darren left the table. He could somehow feel that it would be the last time they meet.
It is. Darren opened the wooden door and walked into his suite. He looked around to make sure nobody was there but him, then he smiled and walked to the window in relief.
“Hm…”
He looked at the colourful cityscape of Macau as he pulled a seat and sat down.
“It’s going to rain tomorrow.”
He turned back and saw a man with black hair and black tangzhan standing before the door. He smiled and stood up to greet him.
“Right, William…?”
William didn’t say anything as Darren turned to him and greeted him with a smirk.
“Are you tired of living under the shadows now…?”
“I’m here to end this craziness, here and now.”
“Have you hated me enough to do so…?”
“Don’t get it wrong,” William said. “I came here today, bringing not just my hatred.”
He took out a small knife from his pocket and dashed to Darren. Darren smiled as he took out a flying star from his pocket and and threw it toward William’s hand. William ducked and feel on the floor. Darren walked to him, then he pressed him to the floor.
“My.”
He looked at William for a while, then he smiled and looked away.
“It’s bad,” he said. “I thought you will charge on me and kill me directly. But…”
“It’s not that simple,” William said. “I’d like to do that, but it would be lovely to hear your story before I do that…”
“As expected of you.”
“As expected of you.”
William suddenly sat up, then he stood up and cornered Darren to the wall. He stabbed his stomach with the knife before Darren pushed him away, but William stood still at his place. He then grabbed his throat and pushed him to the wall.
“Answer me,” he said. “Tell me in detail. Don’t miss out any.”
Darren didn’t say anything as he could feel the pain in his stomach became greater. He tried to grab William’s collar, but in vain as he felt his arms became weak.
Darren didn’t say anything as he could feel the pain in his stomach became greater. He tried to grab William’s collar, but in vain as he felt his arms became weak.
“You don’t get anything from killing me, do you…?”
“Who cares.”
“Who cares.”
William tightened his grab as he could feel something went across his body.
Wrath.
“Why do you do this…?”
“No reason.”
William tightened his grab and his victim coughed a few times.
“That’s not the answer I want to hear right now.”
“Who cares about what you want to hear and what you don’t want to hear?”
“I do.”
“Who cares about what you want to hear and what you don’t want to hear?”
“I do.”
William could feel his hand lifted Darren, but he didn’t do anything against it. Darren looked much more in fear compared to the time they met at the alley, but then he smiled.
“You’ve grown.”
“Are you expecting me to stay small all the time…?”
“Actually, yes.”
“Are you expecting me to stay small all the time…?”
“Actually, yes.”
“So that we’ll stay in your control and not find our own paths?”
Darren looked at William sharply, as if he wanted to kill William with his sight.
“Don’t get it wrong.”
“Then, why?”
“That’s not something I can tell.”
William lifted Darren a bit, causing him to choke on air. William didn’t say anything as he tightened his grab again.
“Never mind,” he said. “Tell me everything.”
“No – you won’t understand,” he said. “You’re just a kid.”
William smirked as he looked up to him.
“Tell me as a kid, then.”
“I have nothing to tell a kid, as you see.”
“Then, you have to die.”
‘That sounds neat.”
William smiled, then he held the knife, preparing to pull it out.
“But I do have questions for you to answer before you die.”
Darren looked up to the skies and closed his eyes.
“Yes…?”
William prepared to pull out the knife as he could feel his heart beated faster.
“Do we ever mean something to you…?”
Darren opened his eyes as he could feel like something heavy has been taken from his shoulders. He then closed his eyes again as he could feel something has came closer to him.
“I see,” he said. “That must be the question you’ve been trying to answer by yourself for your whole life.”
William could somehow hear the sorrow in that sentence.
“Do you really want to hear my answer…?”
William looked down, trying to think, but then he sighed.
“What are you planning?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, no resistance,” William said. “You know what’s going to happen and yet you didn’t try to prevent it from happening.”
“My, are you trying to tell me to defend myself?”
“I mean, that’s what you’re supposed to be doing right now.”
“Yes, it does make me sorrow that I’m going to die, but…”
He smiled again as he could feel something came even closer to him.
“Let me just make one thing right,” he said. “Do you want to hear it?”
William didn’t say anything as Darren took a deep breath, but William knew no much air got in as his hand was blocking the airway.
“I once promised my fellow brother…” He paused. “That I would give the reason I would live for, for him…”
“Why?”
“He saved my life,” he said. “I was so lost back then – I had no reason to live.”
William looked down as he could feel what the dying man was trying to tell him. He pulled the knife and walked away, leaving Darren laying on the floor. He walked to the door as he hid the blood-stained knife.
“What a bullshit.”
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