Chapter 44: Bonds of Life and Death

Chen Anquan didn't hesitate. He unbuckled his holster, and with a crisp, echoing *clack*, slammed his gun onto the tabletop. He picked up a can of cola, took a sip, and said, "Big Boss, I know people in Macau. I'll handle this."

The eyes of Lin Tiansheng, Zhong Zhihui, Zhang Jinrong, and Deng Gengyun all locked onto the firearm. Lin Tiansheng crossed his legs, leaned back against the sofa, and said softly, "What have you been up to in Macau these past few years?"

Chen Anquan kept drinking his cola without answering. Zhang Jinrong spoke up, "Between brothers, we share everything. Sooner or later, everything has to be laid on the table. If you keep things hidden, how can the Big Boss dare transfer you to the Major Crime Unit?"

Zhong Zhihui nodded in deep agreement and advised, "Ji-tou, gambling—winning or losing doesn't matter, and playing around with women is fine too, but don't gamble away your brothers' lives."

"A blood oath requires killing outsiders, but it applies to traitors among brothers too!"

Chen Anquan dug his fingers into the aluminum can, stiffened his neck, and retorted, "What else could I do? Win at gambling and live it up in luxury; lose at gambling and kill people to pay off debts."

"Damn it! You won the Silver Whistle at the Police Academy, and you ended up sinking so low as to become a hitman?" Zhang Jinrong pushed Chen Anquan in frustration, unable to accept seeing him fall so far. Standing up, he yelled, "Have you no ambition at all?"

Chen Anquan slumped back against the sofa, a look of humiliation flashing across his face before he suddenly erupted, his voice raspy. "Is being a hitman without ambition? Is shining shoes and doing laundry ambitious?"

"Is directing traffic and writing parking tickets ambitious?"

"Or is guarding the reservoir ambitious? Zhihui has ambition, right? Yes, Zhihui is ambitious, but can he keep the rest of us in line?"

This sudden flare-up among the brothers made the atmosphere tense, but it was the price of tearing down that thin paper wall between them. Without tearing it down, how could they truly open their hearts to one another and eliminate hidden dangers?

After all, among five sworn brothers, they couldn't keep pushing one aside indefinitely.

Since Chen Anquan had volunteered to go to Macau, Lin Tiansheng was certainly not going to let the opportunity slip by. At that moment, Zhang Jinrong was left speechless, standing frozen in place. Zhihui puffed on his cigarette, lowering his head in silence.

Gengyun couldn't figure it out. When a person was broke and at their wit's end, was there really something wrong with becoming a gun-for-hire?

What was there to argue about?

Lin Tiansheng waved a hand. "Write down the names of anyone who knows your identity. Once they disappear, I'll transfer you to the Major Crime Unit."

Chen Anquan replied, "I never take jobs directly. My agent, A-Fei, handles everything. In Macau, only he knows my identity, and he would never betray me."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Zhang Jinrong frowned. "You treat him like a brother, but what about us? An agent like that—if you don't take care of him, you'll end up dragging the Big Boss down with you!"

Chen Anquan snapped back, "We've been through life and death together! Are you trying to put me in an impossible spot? When I was most helpless, A-Fei was the one who helped me..."

"If the Big Boss hadn't helped you back then, would you even be alive today?"

"That's why the Big Boss is back in the game, and I'm here to risk my life for him. Understand? Go sober up, you drunk." Chen Anquan refused to yield an inch.

Zhong Zhihui suddenly spoke up, "The Water Room lodge master, 'Rotten Life' Fei—wasn't he the one who trained with you at the police academy and got expelled by the instructor for fighting?"

Rotten Life Fei could be considered Chen Anquan's best friend. He had once worked as a pimp in Wan Chai, and after 1977, he took a group of girls to Macau to make a living, eventually crossing over to join the Water Room triad.

He had no personal connection to Lin Tiansheng and the others, but they had all heard his name.

Chen Anquan glanced at Zhihui and replied, "That's right. We share a life-and-death bond, and we swore never to betray each other."

Back at the academy, he had been the one fighting alongside Rotten Life Fei. A-Fei had figured that getting one person expelled was better than ruining two, and since they would need someone to look out for them on the streets later anyway, he stepped up to take the fall.

And things had indeed turned out that way. For a time, the two of them had worked hand in hand, raking in money hand over fist. It was a pity that fate was fickle; after the police reforms, those golden days were gone forever.

*Sigh.* Lin Tiansheng sighed inwardly. Since Ji-tou insisted on protecting Rotten Life Fei, he could no longer use him in an important role. He could only treat him as a pure black-glove asset and reinforce the firewall around him.

"Ji-tou," Lin Tiansheng said, "I respect your loyalty, and I honor the bond between you two, but I cannot transfer you to the Major Crime Unit. Tomorrow, I'll have a word with Pink Prawn, and I'll transfer you from the Mobile Unit garage to the O Bureau in West Kowloon. Rotten Life Fei's life is entrusted to you. If a day comes when the brothers get into trouble because of you, I won't spare a single one of you!"

"As for Knife-Edge Dong, if you're confident, go ahead and do it. Let's settle it that way."

Seeing the Big Boss stand up and head to the bathroom to wash up, Zhong Zhihui walked over to Chen Anquan and patted his shoulder. "The brothers haven't always done right by you, but don't hold a grudge against the Big Boss. Everyone has a hard time."

Chen Anquan said, "I don't resent anyone. Life is just a gamble. Winning and losing are perfectly normal."

"Good to hear."

Before leaving, Zhang Jinrong also added, "Be careful at the O Bureau. Even though you'll have a badge and a gun, Sheng Gor won't be able to look after you directly, and you might run into some trouble."

Chen Anquan let out a dry laugh and nodded in acknowledgment.

After taking a shower and changing into a T-shirt, Lin Tiansheng walked out to the living room, only to find the apartment empty. Transferring Chen Anquan to the O Bureau was not an impulsive decision.

He had previously considered that having all four top detectives in the same department was indeed good for getting things done, but if a core team wanted to grow and expand, they sometimes needed to stretch their feelers outward.

Zhihui was in the Intelligence Unit, which was already immensely helpful. Planting someone inside the O Bureau was like placing a piece on the board ahead of time—it had both advantages and disadvantages.

Instead of huddling together in the Major Crime Unit and waiting in line for promotions alongside a bunch of useless deadwood, staying within the same police district meant the O Bureau could still conduct joint operations with the Major Crime Unit when needed. They wouldn't be completely cut off from support.

It served as a firewall while still keeping someone close at hand.

...

The next morning, Chen Anquan didn't even return to headquarters. He made a single phone call and requested a day off from his supervisor. Every district had a Mobile Unit station, the largest of which was at the Central Headquarters, housing a six-man vehicle management team. They were responsible for vehicle scheduling, fuel expense reporting, maintenance, paint touch-ups, and other odd jobs.

Normally, whenever Chen Anquan received a hitman job and needed to get to work, he would ask his supervisor for a day off. He had bribed his superior generously, making it easy to manage his schedule.

To his supervisor, an old gambling addict who occasionally won big and took the ferry across the harbor to play a few hands was nothing out of the ordinary.

After arriving in Macau, Chen Anquan found Rotten Life Fei, and arrangements were made swiftly. Only a gambling addict truly understood another gambling addict, knowing precisely what they desired most.

It wasn't women or cash, but the pure thrill of winning money.

He immediately had Rotten Life Fei find two impoverished Singaporeans, giving them one hundred thousand dollars each to disguise themselves as wealthy overseas Chinese, lose money in the casino, and put on an act as easy prey.

They deliberately lured the loan sharks working for the Number Gang in the casino, letting things play out naturally so they could infiltrate the private gambling dens frequented by "Knife-Edge Dong." These were commonly known as "outer courts"—underground casinos strictly banned by the Macau Judicial Police. Regular casinos had betting limits for tourists, which meant unlimited-limit "outer courts" found a ready market, though they were mostly frequented by seasoned gamblers and underworld figures.

As long as things didn't get too out of hand, the casino bosses simply didn't have time to care.

Three days later, on Friday, Chen Anquan was holding a high-pressure water hose and had just finished washing a police vehicle when he heard his pager beep. After calling the paging station to listen to the voicemail, he changed his clothes, went off duty, and walked to a roadside telephone booth. Dropping in a coin, he dialed Lin Tiansheng's mobile number and said, "Big Boss, the big fish has taken the bait. We'll collect tonight by the waterfront."

"Stay safe." Lin Tiansheng was sitting inside a police car, leading Ma Delong and He Li to form a surveillance team staked out beneath "Wu Xikun's" apartment building. Although traps had been set in Macau, one shouldn't put all their eggs in one basket. Group E was splitting up to cover multiple fronts while continuing their operations.