Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4567 | Page 307

Business Loyalty
St . Margaret ' s Co-Educational English Secondary and Primary School ( Secondary Section ), Santillan , Zeidrick – 15

E pigraph : Trust is like money ; spend it too easily or spread it too thin , you ' re bound to get a loss .

ACT 1 : EFFICIENT PRODUCTIVITY
48 TONNES OF OPIUM SEIZED , THE CRIMINALS BROUGHT TO JUSTICE
Zhengli examined the newspaper carefully , making to sure to absorb every bit of information presented before him .
A rickety rickshaw rumbled by , the driver getting wet in the heavy rain that soaked Old Shanghai ’ s dilapidated buildings . Zhengli nervously adjusted his hat and tossed the newspaper onto the street , the ink instantly beginning to bleed . He walked up to a wooden door and quickly knocked eight times .
“ Password .” Grunted a deep voice . “ Um ... p-p-pleasure p-phoenix .” Zhengli managed to say .
Another grunt and a series of heavy clunks followed from the other side and the wooden door swung open . The sentry , a big man with a pockmarked face , silently stepped aside . Zhengli walked in and hung his hat on a rack .
The pungent mix of perfume and alcohol wafted in the stuffy air of the old building . Various sounds emanated from every door . Faded paintings ready to fall off hung from the walls . Zhengli covered his mouth and nose with his hand , uncomfortable with the scent .
An opium den . A centre of precious intel , operations and business . Especially more so since it was the beginning of a new year .
New opportunities . New business partners . New risks .
As part of the Snake Syndicate , Zhengli was assigned to do business with competitors . Never leaving anything to chance and thus a worry wart , he went the extra mile and sure that everything that he did was calculated , executed perfectly and according to schedule . And his lack of friends - of liabilities - was the perfect background for this type of job .
The sound of fireworks and music could be heard from everywhere on this special night , the spectacle painting festive colors on happy faces and entertaining eyes with dances . And some like to end it with a bang , so to speak .
Zhengli scratched the back of his neck , where the black tattoo of the ouroboros was burned onto the skin . He remembered the message he received yesterday .
’ Room 13 ... 15 ... 16 … 17 …’ He thought to himself . He stopped before his location . ‘ 18 .’
He raised his hand to knock , but a mass bumped into him . “ Oh , I ' m sorry .” He turned to see a woman , her black hair flowing to her back . Her outer and only garment was opened slightly , and Zhengli managed to catch a glimpse of a tattoo on her collarbone .
A tattoo of the ouroboros , to be exact .
Their eyes met with a curious understanding and recognition . “ I must be on my way .” The woman looked into Zhengli ’ s eyes once more before shuffling away .
A contact . Good for business . He turned to face the door once more and knocked . “ Who is it ?” Asked a feminine voice . Annoyed , Zhengli breathed out slowly . He quickly assessed the situation and remembered his message . Target is a rich man . Target is British .