Chinese Pepper
“I need something from you.”
Adamine settled herself at the table and sized up the man across from her. He was handsome and well-muscled, and his hair fell in his eyes.
“Whatever you want, the answer is no,” he replied shortly, with a trace of his native Mandarin flavoring his words. “I don’t work with cops and you’re a damn fool for asking if you know who I am.”
“I do know who you are, and that’s why I’m asking,” she replied, and pulled out a folder. “I know your name is Renshu Zhang, and that your other name is Firestorm. I know you’re the most powerful Fire Power in history, and that you probably have a minor Strength factor on top of it. I know that you’re Ignition’s most notorious enforcer, and I know you have a soft spot for children.”
It was the last pat that really caught his attention, as she hoped it would.
“Kids?” he questioned slowly, and eyed her as he sat back in his chair. He caught the eye of one of the waitresses, who brought him a beer moments later. “What do kids have to do with it?”
“We got word that the Blue Crush Gang is branching out,” Adamine told him shortly as he finally took the folder from her. The gang was all water-powers and Renshu’s own Fire-themed family was at war with them. But the thing was, the Zhang family didn’t deal in human trafficking, and was sometimes known to step in if they caught someone else at it. It was a gamble to reach out to Renshu, but the payoff might be more than worth it. “They’re getting a shipment of children and young women some time in the next month.”
His eyes flickered as he read through the documents, and then jumped back to her. “And what do you want me to do about it?”
“It would be a serious blow to Blue Crush to loose the shipment,” she pointed out and shook her head when a waitress gestured at her with a menu. “And I don’t think you’re the kind of guy to let a bunch of children be sold into god-knows-what.”
“What gives you that idea?”
“You once put out a gang-related house fire to save a sleepover no one even knew about. Your family might deal in drugs and bootlegging, but I don’t think you’re big on slavery.”
That silenced him, and he read through the file again.
“Assuming I might be interested,” he hedged casually. “You know I would have to get authorization before I could say anything about our operations. Ignition likes me, but if he got the slightest hint I was playing both sides, he would kill me in a heartbeat.”
“That’s why I approached you here,” Adamine admitted honestly. She waved at the small Chinese restaurant around them. “I know perfectly well who owns this place. I thought you might have less trouble if your people knew what was going on from the beginning.”
“And what about your people?”
It was a valid question. A turncoat cop was a problem. A turncoat cop with the highest gravity-manipulation Talent on record was a national threat.
“My captain knows where I am,” she explained comfortably. “I have full authorization to work with you within reason on this sort of activity.”
He drank his beer and thought about it, but he hadn’t said no yet, and hadn’t set himself on fire yet, and so it was still possible he would work with her.
Adamine hoped so. The Zhangs were a problem, but they were a problem that could wait until the bigger problems were dealt with.
“Alright, assuming I’m interested,” he said at last. “What would you want from me personally, and us in general?”
Relief would have made her knees weak if she wasn’t already sitting. He was willing to play ball. She could work with that.
“Any information about Blue Crush’s operations,” she supplied, and was gratified when he started taking notes in quick, neat Chinese. “Times, dates, places. Any of it. For this shipment specifically, we need to know when and where it’s coming in so we can get those poor people to safety.”
“Nothing about my people?” He watched her warily and she didn’t blame him. It probably did smell like a trap. “If this is a set-up…”
“It’s not,” Adamine told him. “We’re looking to trade information about a mutual problem. I can’t make promises about what my Captain and the DA might offer to sweeten the pot. I don’t have that kind of authority.”
“Fair enough,” he decided, and considered her. “Why you? I don’t know you, and you’re not Chinese.”
“I was the most likely not to die, if you decided to try and kill me,” she cracked a smile for the first time. “And I’m good at keeping my face out of the media. My working name is Gaia.”
“The gravity-bender who’s been keeping the Earthshakers under control,” Renshu realized. As she suspected, he was considerably more familiar with her public name. “You’re fire resistant too?”
“Heat can be affected by gravity. Chances are good that I’m immune to you.”
It was probably a bad idea to tell him that, but a little trust wouldn’t go amiss right now.
He flashed a quick, white smile in return. It made him look like a wolf, and he might have been intimidating if Adamine wasn’t ready for him.
“What’s your real name, Gaia?” he asked, and offered a hand to shake. She took it and clasped his hand firmly in hers.
“Adamine,” she admitted freely, and shook his hand once. “My email is on the top sheet. Let me know if we can work together.”
“I think I can manage that much,” he laughed, and settled back into his seat. “Better run for home, Ladybug. This isn’t a good place for people who don’t like fire.”
“Look forward to hearing from you,” Adamine took the warning for what it was and left while the going was good.
Maybe, just maybe, he would work with her.
Maybe would have to be enough.
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Will of Fire
Chinese Pepper
Firepower
A Moment’s Peace
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