Chapter 63

(note from TB:  Warning: parts of this chapter contains graphic descriptions of violence and torture. It's probably not bad enough to be rated, but it can be a little disturbing.)

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Chapter 63

On the flight to US, Jian Yao asked Bo JinYan: “How would you describe Tommy?”

Bo JinYan answers: “Cunning, cruel, crazy, craves for blood and death, and he uses lots of tricks and method to accomplish his sick desires.”

Jian Yao thought about what he said: “So… Flower Cannibal no.1 is like an oracle on the philosophy of killing, and Tommy is the expert on the art of killing?”

Bo JinYan gave her a glance, and said faintly: “Why do you make them sound so civilised?  One is a lunatic with delusional disorder.  The other, a lunatic that runs around like a mad dog.” 

———————-

Under the blazing white light, a neatly dressed Bo JinYan sits on one end of the table.  Opposite him, Tommy is sitting quietly with cuffs on both his hands and his feet.  

After Tommy’s request, everyone turns to look at Jian Yao.  Jian Yao just stands quietly.  She is looking at Bo JinYan.  Others in the room are surprised at how calm she is.  After all, it’s a request from a notorious monster.  But the reason is simple.  Jian Yao trusts Bo JinYan.  She knows he will make the right decision.

Besides, if she has to face Tommy, so what? 

After thinking about his request for a while, Bo JinYan pushes his chair back and stands up.  He straightens his suit.  He has an answer for him.

“Nice meeting you again.  Goodbye.”

He takes the files on the table, walks out without looking back at Tommy again.  There is no hesitation in his steps.

On this side of the glass, everyone is quiet. 

Tommy keeps looking at the wall in front, as if he is oblivious to Bo JinYan leaving.  

“Ding.” The metal door opens.  The guard comes in: “You have finished?”

Bo JinYan: “Yes, thanks.”  He walks out briskly.  

“Ok. Ok.” 

At the last moment, Tommy gives in: “Simon, you are so boring.  Can’t you even take a joke?”

Bo JinYan turns sideways to look at him: “Don’t challenge my patience.  Did you forget you were never successful at that?”

Tommy keeps smiling.  But he looks displeased.  

Jian Yao’s heart is like a string that just got plucked.  

In those six months, what sort of games were Bo JinYan, Tommy and ‘him’ playing?

Bo JinYan throws Tommy the files.  Then he sits back leisurely in his chair.  

The room with Jian Yao and the rest of the officers.  

One of the FBI agents says: “Obviously Tommy is eager to know what’s no.1 has done recently.  Bo JinYan knows him well.”

Jian Yao smiles.  Well, don’t play any mind games with Bo JinYan, because he will always win.

Bo JinYan passes the information on the ‘killer machine’ case to Tommy.

“Rough.” He criticises.

Bo JinYan nods: “Yes, that’s true.”

Then Tommy’s eyes are fixed on the photos with the codes written in blood.

Bo JinYan observes his expression.  He asks: “Have you come across this encoding method before?”

Tommy smiles.  He is still looking at the photos: ”He likes to play number games.  And he likes variety.  I don’t remember.”

His answer is vague.  Bo JinYan explains: “The answer is a group of numbers…. and this next group is the sum of the number when multiple them by itself…the difference between the numbers when you divide them by itself… “ He shows Tommy the method used to work out the final set of numbers. “…and convert these numbers to their corresponding alphabet according to their order from A to Z…  so, the message is “Hi, Simon.” “

Tommy smiles: “Oh.  Such a simple but perfect method.”

Bo JinYan asks Tommy: “Why does he use squares and square roots within his calculations.  Is there a special reason for that?”

On the other side of the glass, Jian Yao is amazed.  She never thought it would be of any significance. 

Tommy looks at Bo JinYanY with his blue eyes.  When he wants to, he can look warm and gentle. Just by his looks alone, you would never have guessed he is such a monster. “He likes the concept of ‘square’, because it represents him and me.  Simon, it’s the two of us, saying Hello to you.”

Then Bo JinYan shows Tommy the second file.  It’s the murder case at Yin Ziqi’s company.  This time, it’s a projection on the wall.  A short phrase ‘written’ in English: “I miss you so much, buddy.”

And the last messages are from the arsonist case: “Say Hello to Jenny.” and “Now it begins.”

Tommy maintains the same smile on his face.  He looks up: “What do you want to know?”

“What can you tell me?”

Tommy’s hand reaches under the table to press the button to call the guards.  Then he stands up.

“I can tell you this - His aim is to kill you, to avenge me.” 

Bo JinYan is quiet.  All the others are stunned, including Jian Yao.

The guards open the door.  Tommy reaches his hands out to them.  He turns to smile to Bo JinYan: “Thank you for showing me the messages.  As a token of my appreciation, I will give you a hint.  He and I, we like to hunt the strongest prey.  This is his favourite trick - to wear you down slowly, to provoke you.  Then when you are in his hands, he will devour you.  Good luck, Simon.  I can’t wait to see you getting into one of those big black plastic bags for corpse.’”

——————

A new moon hangs in the horizon.  They are walking along the waterfront in a wharf.  It’s twilight.  The city lights starts to sparkle and reflects on the waves before crashing the pier.

There is another eight hours before the flight leaves for Hong Kong.  After leaving the prison, Bo JinYanand Jian Yao walk along the road together.  This city is new to Jian Yao, but it’s a familiar place to Bo JinYan.  He brings her to the wharf, and look out to the yachts and boats on the water.  

Jian Yao holds on to his sleeves: “There’s not a lot of people here.  We need to be careful.”

Bo JinYan looks at her, then at the beautiful scenery.  He smiles: “What are you afraid of?  No.1 is in Hong Kong.”  

Tommy’s words are still ringing in her head.  But she is distracted by Bo JinYan as he grabs her hand and walk towards a yacht. 

A white yacht is leaving the harbour.  Bo JinYan takes off his suit jacket.  He is steering the boat.  Jian Yao stands behind him.  She sees his broad shoulders and back, and a sense of comfort fills her. 

This is beautiful.  The shimmering stars in the sky.   The sparkling waves in the sea.  They can feel a cool breeze on their face.  Bo JinYan has a glass of red wine in one hand.  He doesn’t seem concerned about the current situation at all.  Jian Yao, on the other hand, is not so relaxed: “ Does No.1 want to kill you?” She asks.

“No.  He doesn’t want to kill me.” He turns around to look at her: “You believed Tommy?  I knew he was lying right from the start.”

Jian Yao is shocked.  

BJY stops the yacht in a sheltered bay.  He sits down next to her.  His masculine scent mixed with the salty air wafts to her nostrils. 

“What was his first sentence?”  He asks.

Jian Yao replies: “If you allow me to meet her, he will tell you the identity of No.1.”

“No.1 is his spiritual mentor and support, he will never betray him.”  Bo JinYan says: “He only said that to entice me.”

Jian Yao nods: “You said that No.1’s status is higher than Tommy.  He won’t consider Tommy as his equal.” 

“Yes.” Bo JinYan agrees: “After he saw the messages left by No.1, he was not pleased.  It’s obviously not what he expected.  As for his final words….” Bo JinYan gives a small smile: “If he didn’t really care, based on his cunning personality, he would make up another lie and try to trap me again.  But he decided to leave almost immediately. Even though he was trying to cover his emotions, I knew he was most upset.”

Jian Yao is puzzled: “You mean… he thinks that No.1’s goal is to make you his new partner?”  

Bo JinYan nods.

More than anyone in the world, Tommy understands No.1.

“No.1 wants to defeat you, break you then control you?” Jian Yao asks.

Bo JinYan is right.  No.1 is a lunatic with delusional disorder.  He will not get his wish. Bo JinYan is much stronger than he thinks.

But Bo JinYan didn’t reply Jian Yao straight away.  He looks out to the sea for a while, then answers in a slight mockery tone: “Of course he won’t succeed.”

Jian Yao does not feel any more relaxed than before this discussion.  They are dealing with a madman.  A psychopath who wants to make the most famous criminal psychologist in the world his partner.

She turns to him.  He is still looking out to the sea.  She doesn’t know what’s in his mind.  Eventually, he realises she is staring at him. 

“I just remembered, it’s been a long time since our last kiss.”

Their tongues tangle.  Soon Jian Yao is sitting on his knees.  Bo JinYan wraps his hand around her waist with one hand. The other supports her head so that he can kiss her more deeply.  The cool brisk evening is turning into a steamy hot night. Bo JinYan carries her and walks to the bedroom cabin…

——————-

When they get back to the pier, Bo JinYan looks calm and cool again, but with a smile on his face.  Jian Yao’s face is still blushing.  They walk off the yachts with their arms around each other. 

Why does she feel like a little kid who just stole some candy?  

She treasures every moment she spends with him. 

When the two of them meet up with the other representatives from China, one of them tells them: “He has begun.  Something very serious has happened in Hong Kong. No.1 sent us a ….cruel and perverted video. ”

—————

Two days later.  In the Hong Kong Police Criminal Unit.  Conference room.

Beside a rectangular table, the team that consists of elite officers from China and Hong Kong are sitting down in rows.  Behind the closed curtain and dimmed lights, a projector is hooked up to Anam’s laptop.  They are about to see a video sent to them by No.1.  It was delivered in an envelope with a USB inside.  Of course there’s no signs of any fingerprints or clues that they can use to track where did the envelope came come. .  

Bo JinYan and Jian Yao is sitting in the front row, listening intently to what’s been shared so far.

The video begins.

A black screen.  There’s some background noise. It’s not very loud.  It sounds like a woman’s crying, mixed with footsteps. 

Suddenly, it’s bright.  Someone has turned on the lights.  It’s a prison cell.

In the small space of around 10 metres square, there is a woman.  Her hands and feet are tied with a long chain. She is sitting in bed.  There is a toilet seat next to the bed.  When she saw the lights turned on, she looks frightened and desperate: “Please… No!… Please let me go… Don’t hit me anymore!”

The room is quiet.  Jian Yao feels the chills are running down her spines. 

The girl is in her 20s.  There are lots of wounds on her body.  Her clothes are torn, like rags hanging on her.  Except for her face, everywhere is filled with bruised marks caused by whipping.  There are several open wounds as well, some of which looks horrible.  

She is curling to the corner of the bed.  There is nowhere to hide in this small cell.  Then, a whip appears in the video.  The whipping begins again.  It lasted for about 10 minutes.  By the end of it, the girl is whining like a small animal, shaking uncontrollably on the floor.  

The screen goes dark again.  

A few seconds later, another image appears. 

The second cell. 

This time, there’s an old man in the room.  He is over 60 years old.  His hands and feet are also in chains.  There are no marks of physical abuse on him.  

But he looks scared.  He is looking around the cell. This is because there is a speaker on in a corner of ceiling.  And the sound coming out from the speaker is the sound from the woman’s cell.  

The old man’s eyes look empty and spaced out.  He is covering his ears with his hands and yelling loudly: “Who are you?  Let me go! Do you want money?  You can take all my money.” 

—————-

The third room.  The lighting is different in this room. It’s dark red.  It’s probably shot through night vision camera.  The images are not very clear.  

Here, a man is tied up onto a bed.  He is struggling to break himself.  But he is not successful.  There is a piece of masking tape over his mouth.  Then, a man with medical white robe walks in, wearing a cap, a face mask and night vision googles.  

That’s him.  Jian Yao thought to herself.  

She never expects that it would be under such circumstances that she ‘sees’ him for the first time.  He is holding a scalpel and a towel.  He walks over to the bed.  Then he cut off a small piece of flesh from the man’s left arm. The man whimpers like a wounded animal.   He holds the piece of flesh in his hand.  It’s around the size of an egg.  He throws it into the air, then catches it.  He walks out of the room.

The fourth room.   Jian Yao’s heart is aching. 

There’s a boy in this room.  He is approximately seven years old.  He is a good looking boy, but he looks extremely pale at the moment.  He is still wearing his primary school uniform, curled up in a corner of the bed.  He is in fear because there’s something else in the room besides him.  A dog.  A black dog that seems to have starved for a long time.    The dog is almost half the height of a man.  Patches of its fur is missing, and there’s also wounds on its body.  

Then a man’s hand appears on the bottom of the screen. It pushes a tray with some raw meat through the bars into this cell.  

Both the child and the dog are starring at the food.  The dog pounces towards the tray.  The boy looks scared, but he closes his eye and jumps out of the bed to grab the meat.  He gets it before the dog.  The dog bites his leg…

Four scenes of physical and mental torture.  

Anam pauses the video.  

Everyone is disgusted.  Jian Yao takes a look at Bo JinYan. He has no expression on his face.  

One of the officers from the Hong Kong Police Force explains: “The identity of the four victims has been identified.  It’s inside the report in front of you…

Hwa Tiao.  Female. 25 years old. She lives in Sai Kung. She is a sales assistant.  She has been missing for 5 days.  Last seen on her way home from work.  

Zhou Lin Po. Male, 64 years old.  He lives in Aberdeen.  A retired government employee.  He has been missing for 6 days.  Last seen on the way to visit his family.  

Yang Yu Zhe. Male. 29 years old.  He lives in Lamma Island.  He is an architect.  Disappeared four days ago.  He was trekking at the time. 

Li Kai Xuan.  8 years old. He lives in Tuen Mun.  He is a student.  He has been missing for seven days.  Last seen on his way home after school.

Four very different victims.  At this stage, there seems to be no connection between them.  

—————————

Anam continues to play the video.

 The screen is split into four boxes, with one image in each box.  This is actually the end of the video.  Just four still frames.  

The top left frame shows a woman lying on the floor, motionless.  Her skin has been peeled off from her body.

The top right frame shows the old man lying on the floor.  His throat is slit. He is lying in a big pool of blood.  It looks like all his blood has been drained. 

The bottom left frame shows a man lying on a metal bed.  His body is full of holes where flesh has been scoped out.  The largest hole is on his left chest.  His heart has been ripped out.  

The last frame shows a boy also lying on bed.  His hands are chopped off.  

Four very different deaths.  

———————-

Then a voice that’s been processed to sound mechanical and coarse coming from the video: 

“Hi Simon.  I am here.”  

Everyone turns to look at Bo JinYan.  Jian Yao’s feels like a rock has just fallen onto her heart.  

Then ‘he’ declares war. 

“Simon.  it’s your turn now.  Profile me.”

Extra story (His voice 2)

The truth is, Bo JinYan only ever sang in public once before he met Jian Yao.   

But for some things, once is more than enough.

It’s the graduation day for his doctorate degree.  His pro-Asian culture professor has invited his pet student and some others to a karaoke bar.  Bo JinYan does not like to attend social functions.  But this is an invitation from a professor he highly respects.  He can’t decline.

After everyone else has had a turn, they ask Bo JinYan, who has been sitting by himself and drinking sake at the back of the room,  to choose a song.  

“Yes, come on. Simon, sings us a song.”

“We have never heard Simon sings.”

Bo JinYan sweeps them a look: “I am not interested.” He turns to the professor: “Can I leave now?”

The professor is half drunk.  He says, with his face blushing from the alcohol: “No, this is my party.  Everyone has to sing.  This is your last task for the night.  Simon, don’t tell me you are tone deaf.”

Bo JinYan smiles mockingly: “How can that be true?”

That means he’s agreed.  Everyone is so excited.  They eagerly wait for the handsome star of their faculty to perform.  

Bo JinYan walks up to the microphones.  He chose the hit song at the time - You are beautiful.  It’s not because he particularly likes this song. But it’s so popular and catchy that even he remembers the tune.  

As for whether he could sing… well, Bo JinYan thinks there’s nothing wrong with his singing. Reason?  How can a genius like him not able to master such a simple skill?

The music starts…

His lips starts to move…

“My brilliant life..”

Everyone dropped their jaw at the first line of the lyrics.  

He is…. he is…. totally out of tune! 

Bo JinYan can tell from the reactions of his peers that something is wrong. But he is confident he can fix it…

His voice, which is usually deep and magnetic, is now a torture to all who are present.  

Gradually, more and more people are laughing out loud.  Then at the end of the song, Bo JinYan throws down the microphone and leaves without saying goodbye.  

The next day, a text is spreading at lightning speed around the campus.  

Girls, do you believe that perfect guys exist? 

Of course not.  

The winner for the hottest and most perfect Asian man - Simon Bo… yes, that’s him.  If you would like to date him, we suggest you click on this internet link first: xxxxx - Simon’s solo. 

PS.  Consensus amongst those who were present on the night - It’s a total disaster.

PPS.  You are most welcomed to forward this message to your friends.