Page 54 of Soul on Fire
“You have erred, Comrade,” Assistant Si hissed. He did not use Bai’s rank. The omission was a slap, a blade sliding between his ribs. “There is no need for investigation of this murder.”
The Party slogan Bai had put up in his office—significantly smaller than Assistant Minister Si’s—wasSeek truth from facts.
“My apologies, Comrade Assistant Minister. I meant no disrespect. I will conclude my investigation at once.”
“Your investigationneverhappened.” Si beckoned to his escorts, palm down, four fingers pulling toward him. They crossed his office and handed over Bai’s briefcase.
His thoughts floated away as a rock sank inside him.
Si popped his briefcase open and removed Emily’s laptop. “This laptop does not exist.”
“Yes, Comrade Assistant Minister Si. I will continue to fulfill the trust the people have put in me.” Another party slogan.
“Go back to your work!” Si snapped. “And do not stray from your duties again!” Bai waited, watching even as he bent in a bow. Si waved, not looking at Bai as he dismissed him like a dog. “Do not put yourself where you do not belong.”
He kept his gaze down as he accepted his empty briefcase from one of his stone-faced escorts and shuffled out of the office. His escorts did not follow him, instead staying with the Assistant Minister.
As soon as the office door closed, Bai straightened and walked faster. He skipped the creaking elevator and took the stairs, moving quickly, his ears peeled for sounds from above. Nothing. No shouts, no angry calls to stop.
He forced himself to slow in the lobby and walk with serenity, holding onto a forced calm inside his heart as he made his way to the front doors and past the security guards. Their eyes traveled over him and past him, one of the hundreds of faces they recognized every day.
Outside, he headed for Kunming Lake, walking faster along the sidewalk. Bicycles and cars sped past him as people jockeyed for space, bumping and jostling each other as he pushed through. He was moving faster than the crowd, past clouds of cigarette smoke and women in face masks. Sidelong stares followed him, bitten off curses.
At the lake he turned north and walked toward the Summer Palace. There would be taxis there.
He flagged down the first one he saw, nearly lunged into the street for the driver to stop. Screeching brakes, and Bai jogged to the back and slid in.
“Where are you going?”
“The airport.”
The driver hissed. “Long journey. It will be expensive.”
Bai pulled all of the cash from his wallet, five hundred yuan. The trip wasn’t even half that. “Go.”
Without another word, the driver pulled out and merged into traffic.
Breathing deeply as he tried to try to calm his racing heart, Bai rested his hand over his jacket pocket.
Emily Wu’s hard drive fit into his palm through the fabric.
To be an investigator was to see the world and everyone in it differently, to see cause and effect and to fill in the empty spaces to find truth. To wrestle with the darkness of doubt and bring facts into the light.
He was entrusted by the people to find truth. To keep order.
The VPN teased his mind, thoughts like fish under the water rising up to the surface and then flitting away. What did she see? What was in that spider’s web of data? If he stepped back, what picture would emerge?
Where did Assistant Minister Si fit into her web?
Seek truth from facts.
Fact: Emily Wu was murdered.
Fact: Emily Wu was not what she seemed.
Fact: Assistant Minister Si was blocking an investigation into a potential threat to the People’s Republic.
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