Smoke and Shadow (20 page)

Chu shook his head and fought the
urge to lash out, not knowing who angered him more. Was it Baker
for his pig-headed insistence to ignore good tradecraft, or Trent
for throwing himself into the job and not displaying any common
sense? Maybe he was just mad at himself for the choice he already
made.

“
How soon can I
start learning parkour, Shadow?
”

“
We can get you
into Brooklyn Zoo on Sunday. They have an open
…”

“
No,
”
Baker
cut him off with a wave of his hand.
“
I
don
’
t want any
training in public. I
’
ll talk to someone over at Chelsea Piers and get you some
private time after hours. We need to keep all of this under
wraps.
”

“
Ok
…”

Baker turned to
Chu with the cold and final tones of a parent.
“
And we need you to square your shit
away. No more passive resistance, no more half-hearted involvement.
If you
’
re in, be
all the way in. You
’
re a liability to everybody if you
’
re not.
”

“
No worries, I
got it.
”
But Chu
didn
’
t get it and
his confusion ate away at him more than anything about the mission
could.

“
So why the fuck
is this so important, anyway?
”

Chu
’
s
confused frustration echoed through the cavernous expanse of the
empty sports complex. Chelsea Piers used to be just another
warehouse on the Hudson, storing meat and other cargo from ships
docked in the adjacent harbor. But gentrification in the area
produced an inevitable wave of high maintenance health conscious
professionals who pushed out the butchers, longshoremen and hookers
from this part of town. Now Chelsea Piers was one of the most
exclusive health clubs in the city. Chu didn
’
t know what connections Baker had to
get them into the space in the middle of the night, but
Baker
’
s social
network didn
’
t
concern Chu tonight.

Trent
didn
’
t share his
anxiety.
“
The gap
jump is important because no one wants you falling five stories
into a rat infested alley or breaking your legs as you try to make
the jump. If you
’
re going to land properly you have to keep your legs bent
when you
’
re in the
air with the ball of your foot pointed towards
…”

“
I know why the
jump is important, moron. That
’
s not what I
’
m talking about.
”
Chu took a running start of half a
dozen steps and then launched himself into the air. He sailed over
a mat Trent used to represent the space between the two buildings.
Chu
’
s task was to
run up to the mat as if it was the edge of a roof and then leap
over it. A successful jump would place him on the other side
without injury. But Chu landed on the mat, stumbled and collapsed
onto his knees near Trent
’
s feet.

“
It is
important, because if you keep jumping like that
you
’
ll be dead
before the op even starts.
”

Chu got up and
stepped away from the mat.
“
I get it, but it still
doesn
’
t explain
why Ghost needs this done so bad.
”

Trent
’
s body
glided up to the mat, over the imagined expanse and down on the
opposite side with the natural grace of a cat. He landed without a
sound into a roll ending right in front of his
friend.

“
So saving a
dozen women from a life of slavery isn
’
t enough for you?
”

“
Sure, but
we
’
ve rescued
women and children before. Baker never let the work cloud his
judgment in other ops. He never let the goal become more important
than his tradecraft.
”
Chu took another jump, pumping his legs harder as he ran. His
body cleared the mat, but he landed in an awkward stumble, almost
crashing into Trent as he tried to stop himself.
“
There
’
s something else going on this
time.
”

“
Well, you need
to figure it out or forget about it if you
’
re going to do this right.
You
’
re not
concentrating on the movement. If you keep this up,
you
’
ll break both
your ankles.
”

Chu took a swig
of water from his bottle before he responded.
“
I
’
m starting to think
he
’
s trying to get
revenge on the Fuk Ching for some reason. Maybe saving the women is
just a cover for taking out someone inside the
gang.
”

“
I doubt
it.
”
Trent made
the second jump look easier than the first, landing without a roll
and continuing his run as if in mid stride.
“
If this was about one gang member or
even a group of them, he wouldn
’
t be so fixated on the Red Crane.
He
’
d have us take
them out away from their home base because they
’
d be easier targets when they were
isolated.
”

“
Then what do
you think is going on?
”

“
Maybe
he
’
s trying to
save a specific girl in the building.
”

“
But this
isn
’
t
a rescue op. It
’
s
an assault. He didn
’
t tell us to find anyone specific in the building or pull
them out. Who are we saving by building up a body
count?
”

“
Maybe
it
’
s not about a
woman in the building. Maybe it
’
s for a woman on the
outside.
”

“
Like
who?
”

“
The
client
”

“
How do you know
the client is a woman?
”

“
Because Baker
lives for women. What man does he spend time with besides
us?
”

Chu shrugged.

“
And he only
tolerates us because we
’
re useful. Trust me, Baker might be getting paid for this op
and he might gain some strategic advantage from it, but when you
strip away all the nonsense, Baker
’
s first and only love is the
ladies.
”

“
That
’
s some
stupid ass straight boy bullshit.
”
Chu took another jump, pounding angry steps
before takeoff. The harsh boom of his landing echoed through the
empty warehouse and shot pain up the back of his
legs.

“
Land on the
balls of your feet, not your heels or you
’
ll break your...
”

Chu
wasn
’
t interested
in advice.
“
Baker
has a hot wife in an open marriage. He can pick up any woman he
wants any time he wants and do whatever he wants with them. Why the
fuck would he risk our lives to get a piece of
ass?
”

Trent
didn
’
t match
Chu
’
s agitated
tone.
“
If I had to
guess, I
’
d say
this is about frustration.
”

“
Your damn right
it
’
s about
frustration. Why the hell should I get shot for his sex
life?
”

“
It
’
s a good
question, but I wasn
’
t talking about your frustration. I was talking about
his.
”

The words stopped
Chu
’
s rant as the
anger formed in his mouth. He listened to what Trent said, although
it was hard to hear over the heavy exertion of his own
breathing.

“
Ever since
Karbala, Baker
’
s
felt impotent. Not in terms of sex, but when it comes to
operations. He doesn
’
t want to lead from the rear. He wants to be with us, on the
street and in the fight. But he can
’
t and it kills him. In a lot of
ways, the sex he looks for is a coping mechanism for his inability
to work in the field.
”

“
We
’
ve had
other ops since Karbala. What makes this one so
different?
”

Trent shrugged
before taking a third vault without apparent effort or
exertion.
“
Maybe
the client is a woman and the Red Crane is important to her. Maybe
Baker wants to do the op himself to impress her, so he pushes us to
do it because we
’
re the ones he trusts the most.
”

“
Do you really
believe that
’
s
what this is about?
”
The thought of Baker
’
s crippling injury and his constant
frustration couldn
’
t wipe away the color of blood from Chu
’
s vision.

“
I
don
’
t know, but I
don
’
t really care.
People have used us for worse goals than women. Politicians send us
into raid insurgent camps when they want to get more votes.
Corporations use us to make more money. Generals stroke their own
egos with useless combat operations. Everyone has an angle when we
start sending rounds down range. At least this
way
…”

“
How is this
better? Since when did this make more sense?
”

“
Since forever.
Julius Caesar went to war to satisfy Cleopatra. Helen of Troy
sparked one of the biggest conflicts in ancient history. Men have
always used violence and power to get women. Baker
isn
’
t breaking any
new ground here.
”

Chu thought about
his jump and all his previous mistakes. He ran to the mat thinking
about Baker and Cleopatra, Helen of Troy and his own father.
He took off wondering how much blood spilled and
how many men died for a handful of leaders to prove their
manhood.

Chu collapsed into a roll on the
other side of the mat wondering if he would be the next casualty of
lust.

He stood up next
to Trent wondering why he couldn
’
t walk away.

“
That was
better.
”
Trent
’
s
encouragement had no hint of irony or ridicule.
“
Your form and your focus are getting
better. Try it a few more times.
”

Chu went back to
the mat without a word. His form was getting better, but he
couldn
’
t let go of
an image of Baker building his bed on the corpses of his
friends.

“
Go! Go!
Go!
”

Chu took the point, feeling the
harsh blast of early morning air hit his ears as he moved. The
bandana covering his nose and mouth kept the lower half of his face
warm. The goggles and watch cap protected the top. But the wireless
microphone wedged in his ear did nothing to keep out the cold. Chu
shut out the whistling wind as he reached the first door, crouching
near the frame against the wall.