Love I'd Never Hurt You

Kuai was almost thankful to be called out of the office.

Granted, he was going to investigate a suspected homicide, and that should not have been something he was eager to attend. He felt even worse that such a thing was definitely a welcome distraction from whatever the hell was going on with Bi-Han right now.

The case Bi-Han was currently working on had seemed to consume his very being. Every waking hour was spent obsessing over a mysterious serial killer. The murders were almost clinical, like whoever was committing the acts was performing experimental medical procedures. Things like organ transplants, but twisted, like trying to move the heart to where the stomach should be and vice versa. There were usually drugs in the victim's system that didn’t correlate to any known drug used in medicine. It was very strange and so far there had been very few clues to attach even a solid suspect or two to the case.

And Bi-Han was completely losing his mind over it.

“Brother, maybe you should take a break,” Kuai had tried to gently suggest. He’d flinched at the murderous glare Bi-Han had shot his way. “Clearing your mind may help you look at this at a different angle, and you do have other cases you haven’t even touched since-“

“I don’t give a shit about the other cases,” Bi-Han hissed, slamming his hands on his desk. “I care about this case, and catching this fucking bastard!”

“But Brother-“

“No!” Bi-han swept his hands across his desk, sending everything on it flying off onto the floor in a loud clatter. If anyone else in the station heard it, they didn’t come to intervene. “This case is the only one that matters. And if you can’t understand why, then you can get the fuck out of my office.”

“Bi-Han-“

“Get the fuck out!”

Kuai realised he was fighting a losing battle, and left the office with his head hung low.

It was after that he had been requested to go and attend the site of the suspected homicide, and he’d practically jumped at the chance. Honestly anything to get away from his brother for a little while. He hoped maybe when he was done and returned to the office, Bi-Han would have calmed down a bit, realised Kuai was right and they could go out for dinner or something. Kuai was kind of craving sushi at this point, and quite frankly big brother owed him a big apology for the way he treated him.

He spotted a police car pulled up outside an abandoned warehouse. This was his destination, however, it was strange that neither of the attending officers were outside waiting for him. He hit the breaks and parked up, before quickly jumping out. This area was extremely cut off from the rest of the city. Combined with the eerie silence he was starting to get a bad feeling about this.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his radio, clicking the button, “This is Detective Kuai Liang Song, currently on case 759. Could I request some back up? The initial police presence has not come to brief me, and I am currently in a very isolated spot. I believe it would be unwise of me to enter the building alone.”

There was a moment of silence, before a voice on the other end replied with “Sorry Detective, the majority of officers are attending a major incident on the other side of the city at this time. It could be hours before we can get someone to your location.”

“Major incident? How come I was not informed of this?” Usually something like that would have been alerted to all emergency services.

“I can’t say I know, the alert was sent out on all police radios.”

“Is there absolutely no one free?” He tried, slowly walking towards the door of the warehouse. He peered inside, but could see nothing.

“No, unfortunately all units are busy.” Dammit. Just his luck. It still seemed strange though, usually even when there was a major incident, a few officers were kept back to deal with smaller emergencies.

He looked around, the trees and foliage surrounding the warehouse were thick, so much so he couldn’t even see the city. He could, however, make out thick plumes of smoke just above the trees. It did look like it was quite a distance from where he was. At least it seemed the incident was somewhat real, although he wasn’t completely convinced this wasn’t someone hijacking the line to prank him.

“So, what do you recommend? That I stand down until I can receive back up?” He wasn’t completely defenceless. He had a gun, but he still felt it’d be preferable to have others who could raise the alarm depending on what he found inside.

“Are you sure the team already there just hasn't heard you turn up?” The voice asked. “Maybe you should go inside and look for them?”

“I-“ That was wrong. That advice was all wrong. No one at control would ever suggest he go in there alone. That bad feeling was getting worse. “I see. I will keep you informed of my progress.”

He slipped his radio back onto his belt, but stepped away from the entrance to the warehouse. As he did, he slipped his phone out of his pocket, only to curse when he found he had no signal here.

Instead of dwelling on that, he made his way over to the police car. Now he was looking, he could see the tires had all been slashed. Shit, I was right to be on high alert. He reached for the door handle, surprised to find the car unlocked. Another bad sign. He climbed into the driver's seat, hoping maybe to use that radio instead. Only he could see the cable to it had been cut.

“Shit.”

The sound of gunshots rang out and he instinctively ducked behind the dashboard. It went on for several seconds, before coming to a halt. He stayed hidden for as long as he could, before gingerly sticking his head out. Whoever had been shooting didn’t start again, and Kuai realised the police car seemed to be completely unscathed. That’s when he looked over to his own car.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He scrambled out the police car, walking over to his own. It was littered with bullet holes, most specifically in his tires. The shots weren’t trying to kill him, just take away any method of escape he had aside from on foot.

“I recommend you come inside now, Detective,” the radio suddenly sparked into life again. “I would advise against running. I’d really rather not harm you, if possible, but I will shoot your legs if you force me to.”

Kuai plucked the radio from his belt, turning to glare at the warehouse. He couldn’t even see where this person could be.

“Who the fuck are you?” He growled eyes darting around the building hoping he’d spot a shadow or something.

“You’re going to have to come inside if you really want to know,” the voice chuckled, “then we can be introduced properly.” Kuai didn’t dare move, not until he figured out how to proceed. “I’d suggest you don’t keep me waiting, Detective. Like I said, I would really rather not hurt you.”

Kuai didn’t exactly know what choice he had at this point. He slipped his radio back onto his belt, replacing it with his gun instead. He swallowed, taking a deep breath before slowly pushing forward towards the warehouse’s entrance.

Inside was dark and dingy, and every shadow on the wall had Kuai jumping at the slightest movement and sound, even when it was something he had caused. As he entered what looked like it had once been the main storage area, he couldn’t help but think how empty it looked. That meant the two humanoid figures sitting on chairs stood out a mile.

This is a trap. It was so obvious, and yet Kuai, for reasons he couldn’t fathom, still went towards them. He held the gun up. It was clearly the two officers who’d come in before him, but they looked lifeless. He hoped to god they were just unconscious.

“Hello?” He chanced, but got no reply. “Can you hear me?”

Still no reply. Even so, he pushed on, rounding to stand in front of the officers.

Only to find their guts spilling out of their abdomens and onto the floor.

He wretched, stumbling backwards, desperately turning his face to look away from the sight in front of him. It was never easy to find dead bodies, especially in such a brutalised state as this. The officers weren’t people he was particularly close to, but they were still people he’d worked with on a nearly daily basis.

“Ah, hello there Detective.”

Kuai spun on the spot from where the voice had come from. It was the same one that had been on the radio. Standing behind him, was a man with long hair wearing a suit and his hands behind his back. Kuai didn’t take much notice of any further details though, as he aimed his gun at the stranger.

“Now, Kuai Liang, is there really any need for that?” The man asked, laughing slightly as he did and tilting his head. “And after I put in all this effort to get you here.”

“What?” That made it sound like this had all been deliberate. A coordinated effort to get Kuai, specifically, here. But Kuai had never seen this man before, and he didn’t have any current cases that felt like they fit these methods. “Who the hell are you?”

“My name is Shang Tsung,” the man replied, taking a few steps forward but pausing when Kuai straightened his aim slightly. “I am the one your dear elder brother is looking for.”

“You…” He didn’t finish the sentence, letting what had been said sink in instead. This man was claiming to be the serial killer of Bi-Han’s case. But… Who would just admit that? Especially to a detective? Kuai tried to steady his hands, realising they had started to shake. “If that is true, then you’ll be coming with me.”

Shang Tsung chuckled, finally moving his hands from behind his back. Revealing he was holding something. Kuai prepared to shoot, until he realised it wasn’t a gun. It was a strange silver cylinder. Kuai’s eyes flicked between the item and Shang Tsung, looking for an explanation.

“Please. Put the gun down, Kuai Liang.” Shang Tsung held up the cylinder as if to let Kuai get a good look at it. “This is a trigger to a bomb that is set up inside your brothers office.” Kuai’s mouth went dry as his eyes widened. “Put the gun down, and I won’t have to press it.”

“You’re bluffing,” Kuai hissed, squeezing the trigger of his gun. Really he wasn’t as good a shot as his brother, and wasn’t entirely sure he could shoot before Shang Tsung could press the button.

“Is that really something you're willing to risk?” That was unfair. If there really was a bomb in Bi-Han’s office, then it wouldn’t just take out his brother, but a lot of other people who had nothing to do with this case and even those with nothing to do with the police. And Kuai had no way to warn anyone.

Reluctantly, he took his finger away from the trigger, slowly bending over to put the gun on the floor.

“Kick it away,” Shang Tsung ordered, and as much as he didn’t want to, Kuai did as he was told. The gun went skidding across the floor, far out of his reach. Shang Tsung was positively glowing at this turn of events. “Good boy.”

Kuai stayed stock-still, even as Shang Tsung began to approach him. He wasn’t even sure he was actually breathing, all he could feel was his heart beating so hard in his chest it felt like it was trying to break through his ribcage. He blinked and then he found himself looking directly into the other man's eyes. Looking to his side, he saw Shang Tsung was still holding the trigger, thumb dancing over the button.

“Don’t,” Kuai begged in a whisper, feeling sick at the twisted grin that came over Shang Tsung’s face. He pressed his finger down on the button. “No!”

Jerking into action, he grabbed Shang Tsung’s wrist with one hand, the other practically wrestling the trigger from his hand. Despite it having already been pushed, it felt the only thing he could do at this point.

Except…

When he took hold of it, he realised that despite how it looked, the trigger wasn’t metal. It was plastic. He could also feel that it was hollow inside. The more he looked at it, the more he realised it looked like some sort of fidget toy. His gaze slowly trailed up to Shang Tsung, who looked far too pleased with himself.

“It seems you were correct,” he gleefully exclaimed, “I was bluffing after all.”

The hairs on the back of Kuai’s neck stood on end. He attempted to dive forward, towards where his gun still lay on the floor, but Shang Tsung quickly grabbed him. In one swift motion, Kuai felt something knock into the back of his legs, causing him to fall backwards. Thankfully, he managed to avoid slamming his head on the floor, but then he felt a pressure on his abdomen as Shang Tsung got on top of him, pinning him down. He threw a fist, only for Shang Tsung to easily catch his wrists, and push them above his head. The floor next to him was wet, liquid soaking into his shirt, and as the metallic smell hit him, Kuai came to the horrific realisation he was lying in the officer's blood.

“Stop struggling,” Shang Tsung softly whispered, making sure he gripped both of Kuai’s wrists with one hand, while the other trailed along Kuai’s jawline. “I already said, I do not want to hurt you.”

“That’d be a lot more believable if I wasn’t lying next to the corpses of my colleagues,” Kuai hissed, squirming slightly and hoping he could knock Shang Tsung off him. Unfortunately that did not happen, and Kuai was slowly beginning to run out of steam with which to struggle.

“They were just meaningless fodder, Kuai Liang.” It was sick how someone could talk so callously about human life. “Not like you.” Kuai finally stopped trying to fight. He’d just end up wearing himself out. His head fell back slightly, and Shang Tsung lent forward, making sure he was still in Kuai’s field of view. “There we go, that’s better, isn’t it?”

“What do you want?” Kuai sobbed, trying so desperately to keep his composure. “Why are you doing this?”

“I need to talk with you, and I figured a written invite would go unanswered.” Shang Tsung’s fingers still gently laced Kuai’s face. A softness that directly clashed with the otherwise brutality of the man's actions. “I’ve been watching you for some time now.”

“What?” Kuai’s stomach twisted, his gaze fixed on Shang Tsung’s face. He looked so indifferent, like he didn’t realise or care how much that statement terrified Kuai Liang.

“Well, it started with me watching your brother, he is the detective on my case, after all, it would be stupid of me to not keep an eye on what he’s doing.” Shang Tsung’s hand reached behind Kuai’s head, undoing the tie that kept his hair up in a bun. “But I couldn’t help but find myself captivated by you.” His fingers ran through Kuai’s hair, causing Kuai to shudder under him. “My interest in him is professional. My interest in you is personal.”

“Please.” Kuai had no idea where this was going, he had no idea what he was pleading for. He just knew that he wasn’t sure he was going to make it out of this situation alive.

“Unfortunately, my fascination with the pair of you hasn’t gone unnoticed by my higher ups.” Shang Tsung kept playing with Kuai’s hair, sighing wistfully to himself as he did. “They believe my obsession with you both is impacting my work.”

“Your work?” Kuai questioned, finally noticing the quiver in his own voice. “Are you an assassin?”

Shang Tsung burst out laughing, “oh no, my dear, not an assassin. I’m a scientist. Everything I do is in the pursuit of science.”

Killing people for science? It sounded so fucking bizarre to Kuai. Then again, it would explain the strangeness of the deaths, the almost experimental nature of them. His victims were his guinea pigs.

“Regardless, they are not happy with the way my attention has been diverted.” He finally let Kuai’s hair fall between his fingers, watching in fascination. “They have decided it would be in their best interests to eliminate you both. That’s why I lured you here today. I wish to save you and your brother from their wrath, Kuai Liang.”

“Why should I believe you?” Kuai asked, flinching slightly when Shang Tsung’s fingertips once more trailed his face, specifically following the edges of the scar that ran across his eye. “You haven’t exactly given me much reason to trust your word.”

“I understand your hesitation.” To Kuai’s surprise, Shang Tsung actually released his wrists. As Shang Tsung pulled back, still sitting on Kuai’s lower abdomen, Kuai used his now free arms to prop himself up slightly. Shang Tsung’s hand disappeared into his pocket, and Kuai flinched slightly, expecting a weapon of some kind. Instead he pulled out a phone. “Here is a video of them discussing their plans to bring about your demise.”

Shang Tsung twisted the phone so Kuai could see the screen. The image looked like it was from the security camera of an office somewhere. There were three men standing inside, including Shang Tsung himself. A finger tapped the screen, and the video began to play.

“You are getting far too attached to those detectives, Shang Tsung,” one of the men said, the largest actually, towering above the others. “Your little obsession is getting in the way of your work.” He began to pace back and forth. “The elder one, I understand why you would keep an eye on, but the younger one is irrelevant to your work.”

“My surveillance on Kuai Liang is purely for personal reasons,” the Shang Tsung on the video replied. It looked like he was about to open his mouth to add something but the large man snapped back.

“I do not want to hear about your fucked up wet dreams about that brat,” the man spat, slamming his fist down on a nearby desk. “You are spending too much time on them, if you do not start to produce more results for me, I may be forced to take drastic action.” The man tilted his head. “Do you understand?”

“Clear as day,” Shang Tsung replied, bowing at the man slightly. The man just pointed to the door, and Shang Tsung sauntered out.

“You know he’s not going to stop, right?” The other man chimed up as soon as Shang Tsung was out of earshot.

“I am fully aware.” The tall man walked around the desk taking a seat. “Reiko, I have a job for you.”

“Am I to assume you wish me to make a visit to the dear detectives?” Reiko asked, and even on the zoomed out footage, Kuai could see the sadistic grin at the mere idea.

“The only way Shang Tsung is going to learn where his priorities should be is by taking away the things that distract him.” The man lent forward on the desk, linking his fingers in front of him. “As the younger one is clearly his favourite, make sure to do something extra special with him. Just to make the point clear.”

“I could decapitate him and present his preserved head as a birthday gift.” Both men burst out into laughter at that, but Kuai couldn’t help the high pitched whine that came from the back of his throat.

The video ended there, with Shang Tsung replacing the phone back into his pocket. Once more, his hand reached over to Kuai’s face to cradle it.

“You see.” He stroked Kuai’s face, and Kuai hated that he almost lent into it. “I just want to keep you and your brother safe.”

“Why?” Kuai asked, changing his position slightly, his arms starting to ache slightly from the weight of keeping himself up. “I mean. I understand why you want to save me, you have some… weird crush on me. But why Bi-Han? He’s trying to catch and stop you, wouldn’t it be more advantageous for him to be out of the picture?”

“Hm, well I’m a little hurt you think my crush on you is weird.” Shang Tsung pouted, his other hand now slowly caressing Kuai’s side. “But to answer your question, I rather enjoy the chase.” He gave a sloppy smile. “Killing really isn’t fun when there isn’t someone on your tail trying to stop you.”

So he enjoys the thrill, go figure. Shang Tsung could claim his kills were in the name of science all he liked, but at the end of the day, he was like anyone else who killed people for their own sick enjoyment. Kuai wasn’t sure if he should feel honoured or disturbed that he was apparently worthy of being more than just an experiment.

“So why lure me here and not Bi-Han?” Really, how the fuck Kuai got involved in any of this was questionable. Bi-Han had requested Kuai’s assistance a few times, but he had very little to do with the case. “If you’ve really been watching us, you’d know Bi-Han will do anything to catch you. If you’d have called him here, he’d have come running.”

“Oh, I’m very aware of that. The problem is, as you said, he would do anything to catch me.” Shang Tsung sighed and rolled his eyes. “He’d have shot me the second I attempted the bomb trick on him, let alone giving me a chance to explain my intentions.” He looked Kuai up and down. “From my observations however, he does at least seem to listen to you most of the time. It seemed most logical to get you on my side first and then attempt to contact your brother.”

Well. He supposed that was true. Kuai had lost count of how many times he was called away from something he was working on to go and try to calm Bi-Han down when his temper got the best of him. It was a joke around the station that Kuai Liang was Bi-Han’s morality pet, the only thing preventing him from becoming a serial killer himself. Kuai didn’t find that joke particularly funny however, given how uncomfortably close to the truth it was.

“So… What exactly do you suggest?” He was cautious to do anything with this man, but at the very least, it seemed Shang Tsung was genuine in his word that he did not wish to harm Kuai. Given the situation, he could have easily killed Kuai if he really wanted to by now.

“Call your brother, ask him to meet us at another location…” Shang Tsung trailed off as his eyes drifted over to the corpses beside them. “Somewhere other than here, anyway. I think we should let someone else clean this mess up.”

He’s talking like I had involvement in that. He glanced down, the one side of his suit was practically stained red from the blood that had seeped through it.

“I don’t have any signal here,” Kuai quietly informed him, hoping to god Shang Tsung wouldn’t get mad that he’d tried to call for help before coming in here.

“Well, we’ll be leaving this location anyway. You can just ring as soon as your signal returns.” Right. Kuai’s gut twisted, he should have realised that he would not be leaving this place alone.

Finally however, Shang Tsung stood up and off him, and Kuai rolled onto his side, having not realised how uncomfortable it had been. Shang Tsung walked over to where Kuai’s gun lay discarded on the floor, bending over to pick it up.

“I hope you don’t mind if I keep hold of this, rather than returning it to you,” Shang Tsung said as he slipped the gun into his pocket. “Not that I don’t trust you or anything darling, but I think I’ve had my fill of seeing you pointing a gun at my face for one day.”

Kuai didn’t reply to that. What could he even say? He’d have much preferred to have the gun, even if he didn’t really intend to use it on Shang Tsung.

Thankfully Shang Tsung took his silence as agreement, as he walked over and held his hand out. Kuai reached for it, feeling the other man haul him to his feet. He stumbled slightly, not realising how dizzy the adrenaline had made him. He was surprised when Shang Tsung snaked an arm around his waist and let him lean his weight against him.

It also seemed this position allowed Shang Tsung the benefit of leading Kuai exactly where he wanted them to go. It wasn’t long before they were going through a backdoor in the warehouse. Back outside, Kuai saw another car parked behind the building, having been hidden from sight when he’d pulled in. Dammit, I should have looked around the outside more thoroughly.

Disappointment in himself aside, Shang Tsung unlocked the doors, opening one and guiding Kuai to sit down in the front passenger seat. The door slammed behind him, and Kuai looked up in time to see Shang Tsung make his way around the front. Seconds later he was getting in the driver's seat, and starting the ignition.

“Keep an eye on your signal,” he instructed as he began to back out into the pathway. “As soon as you get some, tell me, and I’ll pull over.”

Kuai nodded, reaching into his pocket and keeping an intent eye on his phone. Really, focusing on that was at least grounding. If he didn’t, he had a feeling he’d be zoning out from how mentally exhausted he felt. Was he being abducted right now? He’d gone pretty willingly, yet at the same time somewhat by force. What was even happening to him right now?

He looked up briefly to find they were just joining the main road again. Glancing down he saw his signal go from nothing up to 3 bars. Typical.

“I have signal.”

Shang Tsung made an affirmative sound, pulling the car up on the side of the road.

“There are some abandoned storage units on the other side of town, down by the river, ask him to meet us there alone by 6pm.” Shang Tsung turned on his seat as if to keep a close eye on what Kuai was doing. “Feel free to mention me, I’m sure it’ll get his attention.” Kuai sighed, because yes, that would get Bi-Han’s attention. “Oh, and put it on speaker. I want to hear his reaction.”

Kuai just sighed, pulling up Bi-Han’s contact info, hitting both the buttons to call and for it to be on speaker phone. The phone rang out. Come on Bi-Han, please answer.

The phone clicked to life and Bi-Han’s voice called out clear as day, “what?”

“We need to talk,” Kuai started, staring straight ahead so he didn’t have to acknowledge the way Shang Tsung watched him.

“We’ve been over this. I am not giving up on this case,” Bi-Han growled on the other side. Kuai closed his eyes and grimaced. He couldn’t believe his brother was still holding onto that.

“It’s the case we need to talk about. I have a lead for you,” he said quickly, hoping it’d stop his brother going on another tirade.

There was a moment of silence, before Bi-Han questioned “what kind of lead?”

“Someone who wants to talk to you,” Kuai replied. He didn’t want to outright say he was in a car with a serial killer. Bi-Han would go completely off the rails if he did.

“What? Like a witness?” Bi-Han sounded so confused and Kuai knew that he had to tell him.

Kuai finally looked across at Shang Tsung, expression as smug as ever. But there was something else there now, a strange possessiveness in his dark eyes. Kuai had the feeling that even when everything was over, that Shang Tsung wasn’t going to just let him walk away from all this. As if to emphasise the point, Shang Tsung reached his hand forward again, wiping away a tear rolling down Kuai’s cheek, and then tucking a strand of Kuai’s hair behind his ear.

“I found your killer,” Kuai whispered, hating how wrecked his voice sounded.

“Kuai Liang,” Bi-han growled, the alarm clear in his voice. “Kuai Liang, where are you right now?”

“He hasn’t hurt me,” Kuai assured him, although was that true? Kuai ached in various places and he was sure there were some bruises forming on various parts of his body from the struggle.

“Where are you?” Bi-Han asked again, and Kuai could hear him shuffling in the background, no doubt grabbing his coat and anything else he’d need to come to Kuai’s rescue.

“He wants to meet you,” Kuai continued, once again resisting the urge to lean into Shang Tsung’s hand as he stroked him. “There’s some abandoned storage units down by the river. He wants you there by 6pm, but don’t bring anyone else.”

“Can he hear me right now?” Bi-Han was breathing heavily, and all Kuai could do was make an affirmative sound. “Listen here, you son of a bitch, if you so much as lay a finger on my brother-“

“He’s already told you that I have not hurt him,” Shang Tsung interrupted, eyes never leaving Kuai, giving an enamoured sigh as he continued to gently pat him. Kuai finally gave in, nuzzling into the hand. “I’m trying to save both of you, it’d be counter productive for me to harm either of you.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Kuai heard someone in the background asking Bi-Han what he was doing, but given there was no reply it seemed Bi-Han was laser focused on getting to the storage units.

“I’ll explain everything when we meet,” Shang Tsung calmly replied. “Like I said, I have not hurt your brother, and I would rather not if I can avoid it. Just focus on getting to the location.”

“I’m okay Bi-Han,” Kuai reaffirmed, although he’d probably sound a little more convincing if he didn’t have tears in his eyes. “We’ll explain everything when we meet you.” He smiled slightly at the phone, adding a quick “I love you.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I love you too.” Bi-Han sounded miserable, but in the background Kuai could hear the sound of an engine starting. “I’ll be there, just, stay safe.”

“You too.”

And with that Bi-Han put the phone down.

Before Kuai could do anything, Shang Tsung snatched the phone from Kuai’s hand. He opened his door, carelessly throwing the phone out, before slamming it shut again. If Kuai was to guess, it was to avoid him getting anyone else involved.

“Now,” Shang Tsung sighed, reaching to turn the key, “let’s go meet big brother, shall we?”

Kuai lent back in the seat, closing his eyes and hoping to god that this was all just a bad dream.

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