The man in black gestured Li Yun to move toward a black sedan parked by the side of the street. The few pedestrian loitering the street barely took a glance and continued shopping. They couldn’t see the gun hidden underneath the man’s trench coat. Li Yun, incapable of protect them from stray bullets, chose to comply. Once inside the car, the man instructed Li Yun to unlock his phone. The man sensed Li Yun’s hesitation.

“If you want to stay alive, follow my instructions,” the man steadied the gun with his left arm as it pointed toward Li Yun’s heart. 

From the front, the driver of the car also had a gun prepared. Li Yun had used a gun before, but not enough to know what they were carrying or to know what would happen if they shot him. Gunshot wounds were rare in the hospital and he had never been shot before. If it hit his vital organs, he would likely be dead. 

Li Yun unlocked his phone. The man sent a message to someone on Li Yun’s phone, took out the battery, and encased the phone into a specialized metal box. He then injected Li Yun with a tranquilizer and tightened a zip tie around Li Yun’s wrists. Li Yun fainted within a few minutes and the man instructed his partner to drive. A few hours later, the car pulled up in front of a cabin surrounded by a wooded area. The two men dragged Li Yun’s body into the cabin and chained him to a chair and a wooden column. By nightfall, the man, codenam Gamma, inspected Li Yun's body. 

“How is he?” Gamma asked. 

“He’s still knocked out,” replied the driver. “The drug should be wearing off at any moment.”

They waited. From the corner of the room, Li Yun lifted his head but was unable to move about. He could see nothing but the darkness of the cloth covering his head. “Where am I?”

“Dr. Li, you do not need to know where you are,” Gamma said. “What we need is information. Once we have it, we will release you. It is best for all of us if you answer honestly.”

“How do I know you will keep me alive?”

“You do not know my identity and my voice is masked. It will be more beneficial to keep you alive.” The kidnappers were trained for this sort of operation. In most cases, it was less of a hassle to keep a person alive. 

“What do you need to know? I just want to return home.

“How do you know Zhang Shuyi?” Gamma asked.

“I don’t know him well. By coincidence, he saw me on the Great Chef and tracked down my location. He saw my calligraphy on the net and wanted to see if I have a more perfected version of it. ”

Gamma had investigated Zhang Shuyi for his assignment and knew about his obsession. It made sense for Zhang Shuyi to track down the doctor if it was for calligraphy.

“Where is he now?” Gamma asked.

“In police custody, he said someone is after his life.”

Gamma flicked his thumb repeatedly, trying to think about his next move. He had failed the assignment and the client wanted him to complete the assignment. But now that the police were involved, it would be trickier to fulfill his assignment without further backing from higher up.

“Why are you investigating this case? What interest do you have in it?”

“I’m not personally interested, but I have more resources than my police friend.”

The doctor had a personal connection with the police captain in the local province. All of Li Yun’s answers were reasonable, but there was something off about the doctor. Gamma couldn’t quite shake off the unpleasant feeling. The burner phone beeped and he picked it up immediately. It was a special ringtone, reserved for priority assignments. He left the cabin, closed the door, and answered.

“You have Dr. Li in the cabin?” A scrambled voice came through from the phone.

“Yes,” Gamma replied.

The Blue Moon organization operated with secrecy to protect each other’s identity, but Gamma knew the voice belonged to someone from higher up the chain of command. No one knew the identity of the people in charge, but it was likely a group of powerful people within the country.

“Kill him.”

Gamma remained silent at the sudden change in direction. He was aware of Li Yun's connection with the Song. It would be messy to clean up all the loose ends.

“You will receive 5 million USD in a suitcase and you will leave the country immediately. The cleanup crew will come in to cover up after you.”

Gamma flicked his thumb to think about the mission. As someone nearing his fifty, his career as an assassin was nearing the end. He never heard about what happened to the others, but it also mer there was a chance to survive. It was likely they were disposed of, but any small grasp of hope for an end was worth it. Everyone dreamt of disappearing to another country. If he could leave the country and never come back, then this would be his last mission. 

“Confirmed,” Gamma ended the conversation and returned the phone back in his pocket. In its place was a knife. He took a deep breath and re-entered the cabin.

****

Tang Hutian ended the conversation with the assassin. All that was left was to wait for confirmation.

The Tang family had operated the secret organization for centuries. It was only available to the upper echelon of the Tang family clan like his grandparents, uncles, and father, who used it to remove competition and unwanted politicians. They specialized in assassinations made to look like accidental deaths or suicide.

Tang Hutian had chanced upon the family secret when his father used it to remove one of his mistresses. He heard about her car accident the following week and knew it was likely a hit job. He had taken steps to learn about how the organization operated. A dozen pairs of two-way burner phones were distributed every month. A set to the upper echelon and a set to a random group of assassins. If the phone was not used, the internal battery and mechanism would self-destruct. The owner would dispose of it on their own as the next batch of phones arrive.

After removing the mistress, his father had only used the phone twice. Tang Hutian learned his habits enough to intercept the phone to remove Zhang Shuyi. Tang Hutian did not care about Zhang Shuyi, but the laundering operation was his private slush fund. He offered Chi Ling a deal to take the fall in exchange for money and an opportunity to change his identity. Any evidence and connection would be loosely tied to his brother Jiang. Tang Jiang would never be charged, but it was enough to make the elders assume it was his brother. The elders did not care whether Tang Jiang killed anyone, but if he was to kill someone relating to the Song, they wouldn’t hesitate to remove Tang Jiang from succession to appease Song Taiji.

Killing Li Yun was not originally part of his plan, but since the opportunity had presented itself, it was better to remove the nuisance and pin it all on his brother. There was also a part of him that resented the doctor after the incident in Macao. Although his public persona was to make his family underestimate his ability, he still had his pride. 

The burner phone beeped. “Mission completed.”

Tang Hutian smiled and returned the phone back to his father’s safe. The phone would self-destruct in the next few days with no one the wiser…