Baki rode the elevator down with the fake Wang Wei slumped against the wall beside him. The grazes from the bullets were nothing. The fake Wang Wei, however, was convinced he was already dead. His face was wet with tears and snot. "I'm going to die. Oh my God, I'm actually going to die. I'm so young! I haven't even lived yet!"
Baki reached over and dropped him on the floor.
"Ow! Critical damage! Why would you do that?!"
Baki looked down at him. "One more word out of you and I'll make sure you actually meet the devil before we hit the ground floor."
The fake Wang Wei shut his mouth instantly.
The elevator stopped. The doors opened and Hana Yuri was standing there. She saw Baki, then the man on the floor, and her mouth opened.
Baki pulled her inside before she could make a sound and let go once the doors closed. "I'm with the Ministry of State Security. Undercover mission. This man is a victim."
He looked at the fake Wang Wei. The man nodded quickly. "Y-Yeah. That's right."
Hana stared at Baki. "I thought you were an employee."
"That was my cover," Baki said.
She looked at the fake Wang Wei bleeding on the floor, then back at Baki. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Baki was about to say no when the doors opened on the ground floor. Police cars were parked outside, lights flashing. Officers were already questioning the guards at the entrance.
Baki looked at Hana. "Actually, yes."
Her eyes lit up. "What do I do?"
Baki pulled the fake Wang Wei up and handed him off. He pointed at the officers. "Take him over there and make a scene. Tell them he's a victim. Don't mention me. They don't know I'm involved."
Hana nodded and took the man by the arm without hesitation.
Baki moved the moment the officers turned toward her. He slipped through the crowd and walked straight out the front entrance. The junior guard from earlier stepped into his path. "Hey, you can't leave. The building is on lockdown."
Baki kept walking and waved a hand back at him. "Evening exercise. Can't let myself get lazy."
The junior guard turned to a nearby officer. "One of the employees just walked out."
The officer stared at him. "Why didn't you stop him?"
The junior guard watched the officer run off shouting into his radio and muttered, "Isn't that your job?"
Baki reached the motorcycle. He heard the officers shouting behind him. He got on, started it, and twisted the throttle.
The bike shot forward.
Sirens came alive behind him. Three police cars pulled out in pursuit, lights cutting through the evening traffic.
"Pull over!" a voice blared through a megaphone.
Baki smiled and turned hard into a narrow alley. Trash cans flew. The police cars scraped through behind him, paint coming off against the brick walls. He burst back onto the main road. Cars honked from every direction. A taxi nearly took his front wheel. He jumped the bike onto the sidewalk, scattered a fruit stand, and yelled "Sorry!" without slowing down.
More cars joined. Six now, sirens screaming.
He cut through a shopping district, people jumping clear, neon signs blurring past. A police car tried to cut him off from the side. He pulled the front wheel up, the bike hopped a bench, and the police car hit a lamp post behind him.
Five left.
He went down a steep hill and hit the highway at the bottom. Trucks and buses everywhere. He threaded between them and two police cars pulled up on either side trying to box him in. Baki braked hard. Both cars shot past him. He drove straight between them as they hit each other.
CRASH!
Three left.
He cut through a park. A dog chased him for half a block. He exited onto a main road during rush hour and squeezed through gaps the police cars couldn't follow. He was pulling away.
The bridge ahead was clear. Baki opened the throttle all the way.
Then a truck came off a side street at the far end of the bridge and turned directly into his path. It was loaded with steel pipes and it was accelerating, not slowing. Behind the wheel was Zhang Jian, long hair loose, sunglasses on, grinning.
Baki yanked right. Zhang Jian turned right. Baki cut left. Zhang Jian mirrored him. The distance between them collapsed. Zhang Jian's grin got wider and he raised his middle finger.
Baki hit the brakes. The tires screamed and smoke poured off the wheels.
It wasn't enough.
CRASH!
The truck hit the bike head on. Steel pipes tore through the air in every direction. The bike folded and disappeared under the wheels. Baki's body went up, turned through the air, and hit the bridge railing hard.
Then he went over.
The police cars screeched to a stop. Officers jumped out and stood at the railing.
The river was dark below. Nothing came up.
Zhang Jian's truck rolled to a stop, steam rising from the destroyed front end. He opened the door and stepped down. He adjusted his sunglasses and walked to the edge of the bridge without hurrying. The officers shouted at him to stop.
He didn't stop. He looked down at the water.
A ripple spread, but nothing came up.
Zhang Jian smiled.