Brendan stood up, but his knees gave away the trembling. His own hands shaking, Aiden grabbed Brendan’s arm, rubbing it. Their eyes met. Laughing, Aiden’s hands stilled, and Brendan’s knees stopped jittering.
“Boys!”
Jumping, they followed her into the garage.
Diane’s heeled boots made no sound against the hard floor when she walked around to the license plate and tore off a thin sticker to reveal a completely new license plate number. She placed stickers of various scratches against the veneer of the car, replaced the decorations hanging from the window, and added a three-dimensional sticker to the bumper that made it appear dented in.
“Gloves.” Diane tossed them both a pair. “I’ve informed the Guo agents about the plan. They’ll take you to safety once I’ve ensured we have everything to bring Infinite down.”
“And to bring He Bao and Zhu Zhu with me.”
“Ah yes. That too.” She dropped herself into the driver’s seat and unlocked the rest of the car.
Aiden lost track of time the second he sat down in the back and Diane started the engine. He vaguely remembered grabbing Brendan’s hand. He believed he counted his breaths. He thought that Brendan’s body began trembling again beside him, barely concealed. The ringing in his ears clouded his vision, leaving him blinking in shock when Diane parked the car in a public parking lot.
They had arrived.
Am I scared?
It didn’t feel like nails scratching against a chalkboard.
Am I excited?
It didn’t feel like the bouncing bubbles dancing inside him.
What exactly do I feel?
Diane motioned for the two to follow, and they trekked the remaining journey to the formidable Chen family mansion. In the darkness of the night, Aiden realized it looked more gothic than it had during the day. With pointed roof tiles and a dark stone color, he mused at the perfect combination of eastern and western palaces the home seemed to represent.
“You’re certain there will be fewer guards in the smaller garden?”
“The smaller garden exists only for the children to run around. They don’t put too much protection around that area, and it conveniently leads right into the playroom. It’s a perfect place to enter now that everyone’s in the middle of eating.”
“Such little emphasis on protecting children. It’s like they forget they have them,” Diane mused. They avoided the front yard, taking a roundabout way around the large house and through wall-like bushes to sneak into the smaller garden of the ginormous backyard.
At first glance, it looked perfectly normal with toys scattered across the grass, a swing propped up, and a small swimming pool for kids to kick their small legs and feet in. Only two guards patrolled it, and even from where they hid in the foliage, Aiden could tell they were more inexperienced by the way they almost tripped over the toys when walking.
Diane sprung toward one of the guards.
The guard had just managed to pull out his gun before she swiped it out of his hands, wrapped her legs around his neck, and pulled him down to the ground while covering his mouth. Aiden stepped out and shot the silenced gun at the other guard, who dropped instantly when hit with the tranquilizer. Beside him, Diane stuck a needle into the guard’s neck and stayed wrapped around him until he stopped struggling.
Brendan popped up from the safety of the shrubs at their cue. The three scurried over to the back door, and Diane looked in through the glass at a playroom devoid of people. “Like you said.”
She broke them in. After closing the door, she pushed her special lock against it. The lock clicked in activation, lighting up in mild blue.
They skipped around the game consoles strewn on the ground.Mr. Yang’s children must be here,Aiden thought.
The wide space reminded him of his living room. The cards crumpled in his grip. Laughing, playing, and unaware. Aiden clenched his teeth, and his steps fell heavier against the carpet.They will not be involved,he swore as they slipped deeper into the mansion.
The clattering of silverware and the scent of food wafted through the large dining room and into every hallway.Mei cai kou rou. Liang fen.Aiden recited the dishes to himself. He grabbed fast to Brendan’s hand, noticing the boy slowing down, caught by the allure of a feast with people shoving as much food onto the plates and into their mouths as possible. Saliva gathered on Aiden's own tongue as the sound of silverware scraping against plates beckoned to him.
At least until he turned down the hallway closest to the dining room, and the sounds fell to silence.
His stomach twisted.
What am I feeling?
“I’ll be where you told me to ambush her,” Diane said. “You’re certain you can do this?”
