Chapter 5 Assessing the Situation
five
Assessing the Situation
Ispend the morning calling all the companies. Water, electric, the real estate guy, and Ace’s new school. By noon, everything is squared away and we’re all fighting for the first shower. Nai Nai gets it, of course.
And I get a phone call from Boston.
Special Investigator Armhurts scrawls across my screen and I tap to answer.
“Hello, Armhurts,” I say.
She huffs a sigh. “Are you settled in? We’d like to send someone to set up a security system, since you’ve been refusing a police watch.”
“For free?”
“Um, yes, as part of the protection we’ve been trying to afford you. It could be months, even years before Shang goes on trial.”
Years…damn it. What have I gotten into? Ace will have to finish school here? He’ll be devastated.
“We’re invested in your and your family’s safety for the long haul, Jaw-hway.”
My brow ticks at her attempt at my name. It was at least better than before. Maybe she’s been looking up how to say our names. I shouldn’t be such a dick to her…
“Yeah, Amherst, that’s fine. When will your bros be by?”
“The security company can stop in tomorrow morning. It’ll take about three hours to get everything rigged up.”
“Good, good, sounds fine. Is that all?”
She chuffs. “In a hurry?”
“Yes. My source of income has drastically changed, and I have a family to keep afloat.”
And a mob boss I still have to pay if my parents are ever going to come home.
“Your previous source of income was illegal,” she reminds me.
“All the more reason for you to let me go make an honest living.”
“I’ll check in with you weekly, but please don’t hesitate to reach out if something—anything—of concern happens.”
“Sure thing, Armhurts.”
She sighs deeply. “Good day to you too, Ms. Feng.”
The line clicks dead and I blow a raspberry as I toss my phone on the counter.
“The cops?” Ace asks.
“Yeah, gonna set up a security system tomorrow.”
He grins. “Yessss.”
I arch an eyebrow. “Getting ideas already?”
“You know it.”
I shove his arm. “Well, get that big brain of yours focused. We’ve got a café to get back in business.”
He enters a horse pose, his arms flexed and face screwed up in the war cry, “Let’s gooo!”
We take stock of what’s waiting for us downstairs while Nai Nai hoards the shower.
The seating area is spacious, and there are already several tables and chairs.
They all look about twenty years old, but whatever.
We can give them a little elbow grease, paint if needed, some hand-sewn cushions, and we’re good to go.
The ceiling is wide and open just like the apartment upstairs.
It seems like the building is three stories tall, but the extra height was split between the two floors.
Afternoon sun peeks through tears in the newspaper, making moats of dust glitter.
I look toward the windows and my inner kid gets a little excited.
We’ve never had Christmas before, but I’ve seen kids in shows on TV ripping open presents. I want to rip this place open like a present.
I run to the window and grab a fluttering edge. It makes a loud tearing sound as I pull it free. Ace gasps and I smile at him. He grins, getting the same feeling as me, and runs for another window. We laugh as we shred the place, leaving the floor littered with news stories from a decade ago.
“Huh, look at this,” Ace says as he grabs a clipping off the ground.
“What’s up?” I say as I stuff another fistful of paper into a black trash bag.
“Says this place would host seances every Wednesday. Maybe we could host them again, get some more customers?”
I take the sheet from him and give it a once-over. There’s a picture of a woman with big rimmed glasses and a bird’s nest of a hairdo next to the title, “Connect with the other side!” I snort and shove the page into the trash bag.
“Back to work, peon. Oh, you start classes on Monday, so make sure you, like, do the stuff I told you about this morning,” I say, not really remembering what the stuff was that I told him about. An online portal signup or something.
“Did it,” he says in a bored tone.
“Did you also hack their backend or whatever?”
“Bruh, no, that’s not…” He rolls his eyes and groans.
“Respect your elder!” I yell, throwing a wad of newspaper at him.
“I’m still on probation, remember? Any of that business and I’ll get in trouble.”
He grabs the rumpled newspaper and shoots for the open trash bag, but misses.
“What about the business of all Nai Nai’s contest wins?” I ask, grabbing the last scraps from the floor.
He shrugs. “That wasn’t hacking. I was just using her information.”
I’m teaching him bad habits.
“Zixin, you know I love you, buddy, and I’m just worried. I don’t want you to—”
“End up like you?” he asks, and it stings a little but…
“Yeah.”
He scrunches his nose. “But you cook.”
I laugh. “All the girls in my high school would disagree. They’re graduating with four-year degrees by now, and I’m slaving away as a janitor at my grandma’s coffee shop in witness protection.”
“That’s pretty cool, though. Plus, those girls got, like, millions of dollars of debt, too,” he says and makes a silly face.
I tie off the trash bag and grab the broom.
“Pfft, but prospects to pay it off. I’ve got a retro café in a tiny town…”
“Still a net positive.”
“Ugh, are you like, made of sunshine today?”
He puffs up his chest. “I’ll beam positivity right into your eyes!”
We laugh and I try to pretend like I’m not disappointing everyone for a while. I turn on some music and we really get to work cleaning the place up. By dinner, the windows are sparkly, the floors are spotless, and all the seating has been cleaned off.
Nai Nai made my favorite—a simple pork congee—on account of the fact that all we have is a rice cooker.
After we eat, Ace and I dig the rest of the stuff out of the trailer, and I set an alert on my phone to make sure I drop it off at the local towing place in the morning.
We have a small living room, so all the stuff gets piled there for the time being.
Finally, nine rolls around and I get the bathroom to myself. The shower feels so good after being sweaty all day. The heat wraps around me, courses through me, fills me up.
Tomorrow night, Firecracker…
I growl at the intrusive thought. How dare a warm shower remind me of him. I don’t even know his name. Asshole it is, I guess.
I finish my shower, definitely not thinking about Asshole and his weird tail, big forearms, and burning eyes.
The mirror reflects a healing black eye and short, messy, dark hair.
The pink is already fading from the two stripes up front.
Maybe there’ll be some fun hair dye options at the grocery store, which I desperately need to go to.
My mental checklist is getting really long. Fortunately, I’ve already forgotten half of it. If it’s important, it’ll come up again, or an alarm will go off for it.
I throw on a nightshirt and some sleeping shorts, then head out to the kitchen to help Nai Nai clean up. The rubber plant in the corner sends me nasty vibes and I stick my tongue out at it while I boil more water in the electric kettle for tea and dishes.
She tells me about her grand ideas for redecorating the apartment while I scrub the caked-on congee out of the rice cooker.
Green paint is soft and calming; it pairs well with the warm wood floor.
Red trim for the windows, best for keeping demons out when she scrawls her black lacquer wards on them.
I just might watch her and learn some new things that I can use to show up Mr. Hot and Grumpy.
Shit. I’m supposed to meet him down there tonight to do just that.
“Hey, Nai Nai, what ward would you use against a cockroach demon?” I ask.
She hums dramatically. “Already run into some here? Yes, I knew you would…”
I can never tell if she’s messing with me.
She pulls a random sheet of paper from one of her many pockets and produces a pencil that’s been worn down to the nub.
She scribbles a few quick symbols and passes me the page.
They’re not in Traditional Chinese writing, which is what I’ve always seen her use before, but they have a similar feel to them. They’re ancient, that’s for certain.
“These will keep them out, as long as we don’t have any more spills,” she says.
I narrow my eyes on her. “You know about the sugar?”
She smiles, salt and pepper eyebrows waggling. “And the fiery man.”
“He’s not a man. He’s an asshole, and probably an ifrit. I should ward against him, too,” I say.
She scoffs from the back of her throat. “Nonsense. A son of Zhurong? You should invite him up for tea when you’re done.”
“That’s not happening,” I say.
“Suit yourself. Off you go,” she says, shooing me away.
I run to my room to change. I’m not wearing a nightshirt and skimpy little shorts to draw wards with a demon. I rip open my backpack and dump all my clothes out. I throw each piece of clothing aside as I assess its potential until there’s a big pile of rejects and nothing left in front of me.
Shit.
I roll my eyes. Why do I even care? Just cover up my bare legs and go meet this stupid, hulking, fiery asshole. I grab my blue jeans and throw them on. My oversized shirt looks stupid, but whatever, I’m not trying to win a beauty contest.
I poke my head out the door and check around. Ace is on his bedroll with headphones on, clickity-clacking away on his laptop.
He laughs. “Dude, that’s crazy. I’ve only been gone three days.”
I linger, though I know I shouldn’t.
“Maybe a few months?” he says after a pause.
My heart squeezes painfully and I reach out for him with my astral spirit. His aura is shrunken, pulled in on itself, defensive. He’s scared and lonely.
“Yeah, definitely.”
I shouldn’t be spying on him.
“Games tomorrow, then?”
I retract my intrusive presence and dash down the hall. The door clicks shut behind me and I tiptoe down the stairs that still creak like mad no matter how hard I try to quiet them.
“You’re late.” His voice makes me jump and I grasp my heart.
Maybe if I’d been minding my own business instead of snooping on my brother, I would’ve sensed him.
I purse my lips. “Yeah, well, some of us have a life.”
He rises from a chair in the darkness, all brooding, smoky wings and hot coal eyes. “You are not among that hypothetical some.”
I choke on my retort. That asshole. I do too have a life…
Just not right now.
He smirks. “Are you ready to get to work, or not?”
I clutch Nai Nai’s paper in my hand and smile right back. “I was born ready.”