Dispatched

[Min]

41,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean.
Moving at 675 mph.

The Pilot was about to announce that they were now entering American air space. But she turned off the speaker before he even cleared his throat. She knew where they were and didn't need to be interrupted with redundant information. She had far more complicated things on her mind. Things she did not know. Her liaisons was one Mr. Huang, a useless dinosaur from the Red days. He wore his disdain for her openly, and it ... amused her.

"Fei hua." {This is nonsense}

"Speak English!"

Min snapped, causing Mr. Huang's face to constrict while turning an angry purple at the same time. This girl did not even rate a piece of garbage in his world. With her outlandish make-up and attire. She would not even be let in the service entrance as a whore to one of his minor guests. He didn't say anything, but instead gasped and puffed like a fish out of water at the 'indignity' of it all.

"You really are an artifact, Huang. A real waste of The Republic."

Her English was superb, with just a hint of Hong Kong dialect that kept her 'exotic'. Americans always thought they were superior to 'immigrants'. Even when all the signs pointed to the exact opposite. America was nothing more than a crumbling Empire. China was the city on the hill now. But there were still some old scores to be settled before the future could unfold. That was where Min came in. She stood at 5' 3" with a classic Asian frame, yet beneath her outlandish wardrobe and style... a finely trained system of muscles lay close to the bones, hidden and ready at all times.

"Now wait just a minute! If you think I am going to stand here and be insulted by the likes of you, a woman. I wouldn't feed you to my dogs."

Whump!!!!!

Mr. Huang tumbled over backwards, screaming as he tried frantically to pull the ballpoint pen from his eye socket. He screamed until Min's 2 inch heel slammed into his trachea, closing it permanently. Her leg was perfectly extended down its line, all of its secret force focused into a point little bigger than an American dime. The blood was minimal at best, but every second was painful. Mr. Huang's face froze in full recognition of what was happening to him, gargled ineffective breaths sent spittle to the corner of his bluing lips.

"By order of The People, Mr. Huang. You are retired, gloriously, for your years of 'selfless' service. May the whores of America weep at your obese passing."

Min mocked everything he had believed in; everything that had made him who he was. She tore the secret order from the table top file and crammed it into his frozen mouth as his pupils dilated and showed him all 10 levels of Chinese hell, intimately.

"In other words, the future doesn't need old men like you."

The very idea of him being her liaison was ridiculous. If he hadn't become so fat and slow during his time in America? He would have seen the writing on the wall and maybe, just maybe done something about it. Twenty years ago he would have done just that. He probably would have eliminated her back in China before the plane had even cleared the runway. But today, he was just fat and dead.

"Now."

She drug the body from the center of the main cabin to the tail storage. The ChiComm ground crew would take care of it with their usual, frightening efficiency. The body would disappear in America like so many before. Min and especially her bosses would hate to wake-up the rest of the dinosaurs. They were still dangerous and numerous enough even if all they did was bask, eat and fuck.

As soon as she closed the door, her crystalline mind disposed of Mr. Huang. She did not need such a small task cluttering her thoughts and distracting her from her real tasks. She walked back over to the small, illuminated table and straightened up the pages of Chinese characters and photographs that littered the glass top, which had not shattered after being used as a launch pad by Min. One face in particular stood out, and she focused on it alone until everything around it lost focus.

"You won't be so easy, will you. You just might kill me... again."

[Min]

Dance Club: Night's Disgrace
Chinatown, New York

The bass was thick with exotic smokes as the club doors opened. Bodies packed, churned and touched, heating the club against the New York winter streets. New money was alive. New money was young. New money had no morals. The bar lined with neon glasses and bottles of Ciroc fueling the burn.

"Welcome to Chinatown!"

The proud owner, Li, opened his arms with obvious pride at the underworld he had created. A master of ceremonies and a mover of money. He was at his peak, which meant his time was borrowed. It was a rule with Gangsters of any cut or color, even the Triads. Min's face did not relax or mirror her hosts good nature. She 'left him hanging' as the saying went, until his smile turned sour with business.

"Right."

He snapped his fingers and jerked his head to the side. Body guards moved in practiced, well paid precision as they cut a path through the gyrating bodies. The DJ pushed the equalizers to the red zone and started the human frenzy again. Min had her own rhythm, dressed in business black and buttoned to the top with only minimal slashes of red setting off her frame. Dark glasses covered her 'outlandish' make-up. Two body guards covered her blind side through the club until they reached a private elevator. The doors closed, finally giving her peace and quiet in which to think. She hated loud noises.

"Is everything as we requested?"

"I think you will find us far more effective than even you expected."

His cockiness and flamboyance irked her, but not the same way the dearly departed Mr. Huang had. It was obvious this one liked to hear himself talk. He also liked other people to hear as well. If the gangsters of the world learned how to shut up, they would be truly dangerous. But for now? They were useful.

"Qu." {Go over there}.

The body guards split off into a side room as Min and Li entered the main body of his oppulent office.

"Qing ni." {Please, sit down}

"Bu shi. {No.} I will not be staying that long if you are half as effective as you think you are."

Her arms crossed high on her chest told him that he was already slipping in her standings. He was wasting time she did not have and she was keeping track. Li pushed a button on his desk, buzzing another room.

"Guolao! {Get in here!}"

Another door opened, bringing in a well dressed man who kept his hair short and his eyes focused on that particular space between people. The Chinese way of keeping your head down while doing Heaven's bidding. He put a black case on the table, and flipped open the two locks. Facing it towards Min, he opened it slowly so she could see the basic contents before turning it towards his 'master'. He wasted no energy. He made no wrong moves as he bowed, turned and left. Min watched him leave behind her shaded eyes before looking back and finally removing her sunglasses. The short haired man had, impressed her. Lin ran down the inventory in a much more direct tone.

"We have you a room at New York's Hotel Pennsylvania. It is unregistered but secure. We have an 'agreement' with all labor inside the hotel, from the desk to security and housekeeping."

An Underground union of sorts, membership was mandatory is you were Asian. If you were not Asian? You would not get the job, unless your 'family' had a working agreement. Either way Lin got his money and his superiors got theirs. That all added up to Min getting exactly what she needed. She was not a boss. She was not a bosses right hand. She was the thing nobody talked about even when she was gone. She was a bosses gun, and a gun only has true destiny.

"You are in a corner room with a clean line of sight. Both rooms on either side have been emptied. They are at your disposal. Transportation is in the parking garage. Money is in the safe. Your meals..."

As he spoke, he produced the corresponding items: room keys, vehicle information, several forms of local identification, and on and on and on. Her requests were detailed, precise and Lin had been thorough. There was not doubt he had checked the list a hundred times before her arrival. Each item was a 100 pound weight off of his shoulders. He had not drank, fucked or gambled since receiving her message. He planned to do all three simultaneously as soon as she was out of his world. She begrudgingly admitted to herself that things, were satisfactory. She lowered her glasses to the end of her nose and made very direct eye contact with Li.

"I can not make this clear enough for you, Li. So please listen carefully. You will notify me of anything that is out of the ordinary that happens in that hotel. I don't care how small you think it is, because Li?"

She slid her sunglasses back over her eyes.

"In my world, thinking will get you killed. Wo leile, women zou le ba! {Let's go. Now!}

With the case in hand she headed back to the private elevator and back to the noise, sweat and sin of the Night's Disgrace.

[Min]

"Get us out of here, now."

Min had definitely had enough of the 'music' and the smells of the Underworld. She hated dealing with gangsters. But they were necessary, especially when you were working in America. They were an excellent supply line, and could get there hands on almost anything. They also made an excellent camouflage for any prying eyes. The FBI would file her picture in the back of the 'Li' box they undoubtedly had. Any other unnamed investigation/enforcement bureau wouldn't be looking for her either, because she was already dead.

"The best day of my life."

Sitting in the back of a black, Audi A8 she was able to finally able to relax for the first time in over 27 days. She removed her sunglasses, and rubbed the space between her eyes with two fingers in a small circular motion. The back of the car was quiet, separated from the drivers by a tinted partition glass. She could pull the Jericho 941 from her shoulder holster and turn out the lights permanently without the driver hearing a thing. 'Wouldn't he be surprised', she thought to herself.

"Drive past the Penn Plaza."

The Audi changed lanes smoothly as New York's monotonous towers cut across the windscreen. Once you looked past their names, they were all the same really. Tall, ugly buildings that were famous for long forgotten reasons. Because they were old? Because they were the first? Because they were tall? A monument to the ridiculously small minds of human beings and their shiny things. But the Penn Plaza? That was different. That was personal. That was the home of the woman who had put a bullet through her and left her drowning in a pool of her own precious, yet quite limited in quantity, blood.

"Just enough to get me back here."

The cycle of life would come full circle again as the black Audi rolled quietly by the towering structure. She looked up at the many windows lit against the night, wondering which ones might have her. Oh yes, she had much work to do and all the time in the world to do it. Min never accepted deadlines because they all too often became a self fulfilling prophecy. No, she had died once in the name of time and schedules. She had no intention of playing that game again.

"Take me to the hotel."

She snapped off the intercom for the final time and closed her eyes again. The light inside the car dimmed as they were swallowed by the parking garage nearby. Nearby was exactly where she planned to remain until she was ready.