Page 16 (1/2)

was the spider, and Johnson the fly The pathetic old fool had no idea who he was dealing with, or the power he wielded

He’d shudder if he knew the lengths Xiao had gone to in order to secure his position And he’d be terrorized if he kne far Xiao would be willing to go to preserve and increase his power

Success was his He was already the Dai Lo of the Red Dragons, hand chosen and sent to the United States by the triad’s Dragon Head hi, clawed and killed his way to so the supreme leader

And Johnson? He was on his way to hell

Xiao ordered his driver to go The bodyguard obeyed instantly, inserting the key in the ignition and turning over the azed across the street at the sprawling manor as they pulled away from the curb Then, he plucked the disposable cell phone out of his jacket pocket It had been purchased for hi

The first call hein Cantonese, he confirmed that the wire transfer was complete All of the five hundred thousand dollars that had been deposited in his Cayman Islands account earlier this week had been transferred to the designated account in Hong Kong Ten percent of the full fivein the Museo de Arte Moderno An excellent price for a stolen nizable to sell Then again, the world would never see this painting again Its buyer had other plans

The second call Xiao LongFor that call, he spoke in the unique dialect of the Loong Doo region of Guangdong He’d learned it for a reason And that reason was at the other end of the phone

Xiao Long provided the facts The deal had gone off as always Clean No hitches No atteotiate One week after the on Head’s bank account had received payment in full

That was all the Dragon Head needed to know Until further instructions were issued, the rest was Xiao Long’s problem And he’d handle it any way he had to

He was far too shrewd not to have noticed a change in Johnson The procedure they’d just gone through ht have been the same, but the mood that ith it was different Johnson had been nervous It was no secret why The FBI and their fucking investigation Johnson being on their interview list The fact that Jin Huang, Xiao Long’s enforcer, had paid Johnson a visit, warning hie that the art collection Johnson owned could send hiuy nervous

Doubtful that Johnson would crack He hadn’t even been there And to tell anyhimself killed

But it would also on Head wouldn’t tolerate that Especially not at Johnson’s hands Nor would the Dragon Head forgive

It was Xiao Long’s future on the line He’d ensure it at all costs

With that in ain to

Words were one thing Pain was another A small reminder of the consequences was needed