“Song Kuai Liang?” A voice called to him and he turned in time to find a tall man walking over to him. Whoever he was, he didn’t look like an average Englishman. “I am Detective Hanzo Hasashi, thank you for coming.”
That was a Japanese name. Kuai Liang briefly wondered what a Japanese man was doing in England, but he decided not to question it. Instead he offered a bow.
“It’s an honour to meet you,” Kuai Liang replied, before straightening himself out. “I assume you are the lead Detective on this case?”
“That’s correct.” Hanzo gestured for Kuai Liang to follow him, as they began to walk down the docks. “I appreciate that it is not pleasant business that has brought you here.”
“Can you tell me what you know?” Kuai Liang asked, wanting to get as wide an image of what to expect as possible.
“Of course. I’ll explain what I can in the carriage.”
Hanzo paused as they came to a horse drawn carriage. He stepped forward, opening the door and holding it. Kuai Liang gave another bow, before he scrambled up the steps and took a seat. Hanzo hauled himself inside after him, shutting the door and taking the seat opposite. It didn’t take long for Kuai to hear the driver encourage the horse to go, and the carriage to rumble as it began to move.
“There has been a series of murders over the past few months,” Hanzo explained, leaning forward in his seat. “Initially, we believed it to be a serial killer. All the victims are young aristocratic men, all appear to have been killed by being stabbed with a poisoned knife.”
“Sounds like an awfully organised method for a serial killer,” Kuai Liang replied, finding his eyes being drawn out of the window. As depressing as the weather made the place look, some of the buildings were quite fascinating to look at.
“That is what stuck out to me as well.” He heard Hanzo rooting around in a pocket, and Kuai turned back in time for Hanzo to hold out what looked like a silver coin to him. “This was discovered with the body of the latest victim. We are not sure what the symbol means, but some writing on it is distinctly Chinese. Maybe you will know what it is.”
Kuai raised an eyebrow, but took the coin from Hanzo. He held it up, taking a close look at it. When he saw the broken circle with the triangle in the middle of it, he almost dropped it. He hadn’t seen that symbol in so long. Why did his past always come back to haunt him?
“Do you know what this means?” Hanzo questioned, but Kuai Liang already knew that it had to be obvious from his face.
“This is the symbol of The Lin Kuei,” he explained, his fingers tracing the carvings. “They are an ancient and secretive clan of assassins.”
“If they are so secretive, how is it you know of them?”
Kuai Liang stayed silent, eyes fixated on the symbol. He could feel the brand on his wrist burning, almost like he was going through it all over again.
“I know because I was once one of them,” Kuai Liang admitted so quietly it was almost a whisper. He did not like to talk of his past, he’d spent so long trying to escape, to live something of a normal life. He should have realised by now that he could never truly escape it. “But it may be best for that to stay between us.”
Hanzo looked like he was considering that, before nodding slowly in agreement. “So. What you are telling me is that these murders are likely the work of an assassin?”
“Possibly multiple, it is rare for Lin Kuei to work alone.” It was usually duos or trios who were sent on missions. Solo was an extremely rare occurrence, usually only ever reserved for missions within China, as there was less need for safety in numbers. “I would say at this point they want you to know they are doing it, hence why they left the coin.”
“I assume as assassins they can be hired?” Hanzo questioned, and Kuai confirmed that with a nod. “Which leads me to question, who hired them and what was their motive to do so?”
“The Lin Kuei takes jobs from around the world, providing you have the money to pay.” He began to idly flip the coin in his hand. “That said, prices are steep, so it would have to be someone with wealth themselves.” He bit his lip before sarcastically saying “personally, I can think of many motives to kill the British aristocracy. That particular list is rather long.”
“You have a point,” Hanzo muttered, but it did sound a little like he was trying to stifle his laughter. “If we were to catch the assassins, are they likely to speak?”
“Lin Kuei are trained to take any and all secrets to the grave.” Really, he knew the only reason he had not yet been hunted down and killed himself was that he had never spoken of Lin Kuei secrets. He’d never admitted to any of his assassinations, never talked about his clients, never even mentioned the Lin Kuei temples location. They probably saw very little risk letting him live, otherwise he’d have been dead long before now. “While catching them would be an advantage to stop the assassinations, I think you should focus more on whoever is paying them.”
“And if whoever that is needs access to wealth, it does not feel like too big a leap in logic to consider someone else within the aristocracy has hired them.” That was also where Kuai Liang suspected this was going. Because while there were many people across the globe who had some very good reasons to want Britain's rich dead, the ones who’d have the money to do such a thing, in this way, were the rich themselves. “I’m going to have to take another look at the victims, see if I can find a common thread between them outside of aristocracy.”
“I would like to take a look myself, if that’s permitted,” Kuai offered. “A new pair of eyes might find threads you’ve previously overlooked.”
“That would be helpful, plus you may notice something regarding the assassinations themselves that we wouldn’t have accounted for.” Hanzo pushed himself off the seat as the carriage came to a stop. He went over to the doors, opening them up and gesturing for Kuai Liang to go. “After you.”
“Thank you.”
Kuai slipped out into the street, taking a look around. It was still miserable and grey, the cobble streets wet from rain. He looked up, trying to observe the buildings some more when he noticed something… no… someone standing on top of a roof. They were mostly covered by a dark blue hood, the rest of their face obscured by a mask. Yet somehow Kuai Liang would recognise that uniform anywhere.
Bi-Han?
He hadn’t even considered that his brother could have been one of the assassins. He was one of the Lin Kuei’s best, which meant that the client possibly had even more money than Kuai Liang had previously accounted for. Regardless, he stared up at Bi-Han, who glared down at him. Neither of them reacted to the other, they just stared.
“Are you alright?” Hanzo suddenly asked, placing a hand on Kuai’s shoulder and getting his attention. Kuai looked at Hanzo, before glancing back where Bi-Han had been.
But… Bi-Han was gone, and Kuai Liang felt himself swallow.
“Yes. Everything is fine.” He took a deep breath. He was not sure if it was a help or hindrance if Bi-Han was one of the assassins. On one hand, Bi-Han was loyal to The Lin Kuei and would not hesitate to defend their secrets and honour. On the other hand? Well. Despite everything, Kuai Liang wanted to think Bi-Han loved him. He blinked and shook his head, there was no use thinking about that right now. “Shall we?”
Hanzo didn’t look convinced, but didn’t say anything as he guided Kuai Liang into the building.
Whatever was going on here, all Kuai could do was hope Bi-Han wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire too badly.
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