Armed policemen and fully-equipped national guards could be seen everywhere on the streets of Washington. Every vehicle heading out of the city was subjected to stringent checks while comprehensive searches were done in the airport and subways.
Terrorists had attacked Lockheed Martin and killed their CEO, Madam Folsom. This was the official statement produced by the company. It brought out unsettled fear among the civilians of Washington DC.
Almost the entire city was in search of the so-called terrorists, but the person they were looking for was lounging in a high-end white community housing area watching the news comfortably.
The house owner was a single man who worked for Wall Street. He was beaten to a pulp by Xia Lei and had his limbs restrained then chucked into the storage room.
Crunch… Crunch…
Zhu Xuanyue sat on the pristine leather couch with her legs folded. She munched noisily on chips as she watched the news. At the moment, a news anchor was reporting about the assassination of Lockheed Martin’s CEO Folsom. The woman pointed at the TV innocently and asked, “Uncle Xia, didn’t we do that?”
“Yeah. And you still dare talk about it?” Xia Lei rolled his eyes at her. “If you hadn’t kicked Folsom down the building, this whole thing wouldn’t have happened.”
Everything was under control but that kick had foiled an otherwise perfect plan.
“Do you blame me?” Zhu Xuanyue blinked her round eyes pitifully at him.
Xia Lei sent her a sharp glare. “Are you not the woman to blame?”
It was then that Zhu Xuanyue silenced herself and resumed snacking on the chips.
Xia Lei returned his attention to the TV, but his heart had spiralled off to think about other things.
Folsom’s death was a shock to America. An increase in investigation efforts was needed for the near foreseeable future. Hasty operations would bring great danger.
There was still no news on Hattori Mei’s fate. It would be great if she died. That way, all traces of their escapade would be buried. If she was alive, she would most definitely tell them all she had experienced after awakening. Perhaps she might even raise suspicion about his true identity.
Hattori Mei was a thorn in his side.
“If she’s still alive, she must be in the surgery theatre in some hospital now. But there are so many hospitals in Washington, where could she be at?” Xia Lei pondered quietly.
Crunch… Crunch… Crunch…
Zhu Xuanyue continued to snack on her chips. Extending her arm, she picked up the remote and pressed it around like Xia Lei. However, her unfamiliarity with the device was very evident. She unintentionally pressed on the volume controls, which caused the programme to blare deafeningly. After a while, she toyed the channel buttons, causing the screen to fade into a solid black.
Xia Lei ignored her, choosing to bring out his hacking laptop from his bag. The man wanted to obtain some information on terrorist attacks, keying in relevant keywords into the search engine. In a few minutes, Xia Lei found some viable information. After every severe case, the Washington police force would send the casualties to a certain hospital for medical attention.
The particular hospital was well known for treating casualties that resulted from terrorist attacks.
It was a hospital named Lincoln Hospital.
Xia Lei connected his device to the internet, attacking the IP address he had obtained from his search on the hospital to gain access to its surveillance system. Fortunately, Lincoln Hospital’s network defence was very weak.
The laptop screen displayed multiple windows of real-time feedback footage that showed the main lobby, ICU, corridors, elevators and an office area. There was no footage of the patient wards but it was to no surprise. The aspect of patient privacy was important after all. No one would wish to be watched when they were admitted to the hospital, right?
“Hattori Mei fell from a high spot. Though Folsom’s corpse cushioned her fall to an extent, there was no way she got off with light injuries. She’s probably in the ICU or in the surgical theatre receiving emergency care.” Xia Lei’s fingers knocked on the keyboard loudly and the footage on-screen changed abruptly.
All intensive care units in Lincoln Hospital were now shown on display, there was also footage of the emergency room.
As he expected, Hattori Mei was currently under the knife.
One of her legs suffered an open fracture, causing a piece of bone to jut out from her calf. The sight was gruesome and horrifying. Her leg wasn’t the only casualty. She also sustained broken ribs, which warped her torso weirdly. Just from the observable bone injuries, Xia Lei could determine that her internal organs were severely injured. Hattori Mei must be facing a serious concussion to her brain.
Two main surgeons and a few nurses hovered over Hattori Mei to rescue the unfortunate woman. The electrocardiogram machine on the side showed her pulse rate. Her palpitations were weak and the lines depicted unstable trends, but it was still beating.
Hattori Mei was very much alive.
Xia Lei jolted up. A wild idea manifested in his heart. He should head over to Lincoln Hospital and kill Hattori Mei!
Just as that thought was cemented, the surveillance footage outside the emergency room captured a few casually-dressed people. They came to the doors and barged into the treatment room without hesitation.
There was no voice coming from the footage but that did not stop Xia Lei from putting his lip-reading abilities to use.
A surgeon stared at the unannounced intruders and fumed, “What’s the matter? Who are you? Don’t you know that you’re not supposed to enter the theatre in the middle of a surgery?!”
A Caucasian man answered, “We’re from the CIA. This patient is important to us. She’s relevant to a terrorist attack. Doctor, please enlighten me with her current condition.”
“Oh, I see.” The surgeon continued, “She’s in grave condition, her injuries are very severe but we’re confident that she could survive.”
“Can she speak?”
“You mean now?”
“Yes, now.” The Caucasian man uttered, “I need her to give her testimony on the attack.”
The surgeon shook his head urgently. “No way, she’s too weak. There’s no way she could participate in your investigation.”
“Can’t you give her a shot of adrenaline?”
“No, that will only kill her.” The surgeon firmly rejected it.
“When do you presume that she would be awake?”
“At least eight hours later,” answered the surgeon.
“Very well, we’ll be back in eight hours.” With that, the Caucasian man brought his underlings out of the emergency room.
As they exited, the Caucasian man halted in his footsteps and turned around. “You guys stay here and protect her. She’s the daughter of Japan's Land Self-Defence Force’s general, Hattori Masao. Her status is significant. Madam Folsom’s assaulters may come back for her. Your duty is to protect her. As soon as she wakes up, contact me immediately.”
The Caucasian man exited the building after giving his underlings instructions.
Watching that, Xia Lei decided against the urge to kill Hattori Mei at the hospital. Though there were only a handful of CIA agents present, Hattori Mei’s status would garner reinforced protection. Some members of the Japanese side may be lurking around in the hospital too. To attempt an assassination at such timing would be suicidal. Plus, his motive was to silence Hattori Mei for good. If he had brought Zhu Xuanyue along to the building, wouldn’t there be more witnesses of him and her?
Xia Lei plopped himself back onto the couch. He watched Hattori Mei through the screen, studying her dangerously as he thought darkly, “I’ll let you live to see a few more sunrises. The next time I see you, I’ll kill you”
“Mm... Ahhhh... Yes! Yes!” Some questionable voices came pouring out of the TV’s sound system.
Xia Lei’s attention was immediately captured, prompting him to take a peek at the screen.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Xuanyue had fumbled around with the remote and pressed on a paid subscription adult channel. On the screen, a hunky black man was lifting up a blonde woman as they indulge themselves lustfully in unspeakable actions.
Zhu Xuanyue stared at the screen curiously. “Uncle Xia, what are they doing?”
“Uh… They’re…” Xia Lei was taken aback. Instead, he scowled. “How about you switch to a cartoon channel? Why are you watching things like this in the first place? Change the channel this instance!”
“Nah. I quite like this show,” answered Zhu Xuanyue.
The blonde continued to spew out delirious moans, her wanton expression and actions unrealistically exaggerated.
“Uncle Xia, does she feel no pain?”
Xia Lei froze.
“She seems very comfortable.” Zhu Xuanyue pressed on.
“Why do you have so many questions?” Xia Lei snatched the remote away from her grip and turned the TV off.
“Hehe.” She giggled. “Uncle Xia, you must be embarrassed. Actually, I know what they’re doing.”
Xia Lei stared at her in surprise. “What do you think they’re doing?”
“Well…” Zhu Xuanyue tilted her head. “They’re exercising.”
The answer elicited a relieved sigh from Xia Lei. Zhu Xuanyue was as pure as paper. He wasn’t keen on having her innocence sullied.
“Uncle Xia, let’s go to sleep. I’m sleepy,” urged Zhu Xuanyue.
“You go ahead, I’m not sleepy yet. There are some things I must do.” Xia Lei tried to put on a serious face.
“You liar!” Zhu Xuanyue pouted. “You promised me that you’re going to sleep with me tonight. If you’re not coming to bed with me, I’m going out for food. My tummy’s rumbling.”
Xia Lei smiled wryly. He relented, “Fine, let’s go to sleep.”
Zhu Xuanyue was probably the only woman in the world that he couldn’t handle.
Xia Lei diligently packed up his equipment and headed towards the bedroom. As he rose from his crouched position, Zhu Xuanyue abruptly threw her arms around his neck and jumped on to his back. Swiftly, she wrapped her legs around his waist, tightening her arms around his neck.
“What are you doing?” Xia Lei was shocked by the cushiony sensation against his upper back.
“Piggyback me to bed!” Zhu Xuanyue squealed.
“Charge!”