Chapter 23

For the next three days Lee and Roger went through the files on her computer that she had brought with her. Roger found that the Triad's business was protection, immigration, smuggling, insurance, prostitution and gambling. Protection was the main source of income. He found that his computer skills had taken the triad to areas that had been above their expertise before Ben had introduced him to the society.

On the third day two cars pulled in front of the cabin. A man was pulled out of the first car. The man was tied so that his arms were tied but he could walk on his own. The doors on the second car opened and two men walked to the trunk. An older Chinese man and woman were dragged out of the trunk of the car along with a girl about sixteen years old. The four people were pushed into the cabin.

"I'm going to take a walk," Lee said as she walked out of the door.

The Four were tied to the kitchen chairs. Roger stood, staring with hate at the man. He didn't even look at the older couple or the girl.

"Why did you try to kill me," Roger snapped at the man.

The man spat at Roger. Without thinking Roger backhanded him and the man fell to the floor still secured to the chair. The older woman started wailing in Chinese.

Roger looked at the older woman and one of the men that had brought them to the cabin volunteered that the woman and man were the assassin's parents and the young girl was the assassin's sister.

Roger walked to the window and looked out, seeing nothing but his rage. He was having trouble thinking through his rage. This killer had taken the thing from him that mattered most in his life. Worse, the killer had killed something inside of Roger that he knew he would never get back.

After a couple of minutes he turned to his men, "Take this scum and his mother and father out and drop them in the Pacific. I want them alive when they go into the water. Weight them down so that they never come back. Take the girl and put her in one of our houses. Make sure that she becomes the main girl at the house. I want any traces of this scum and his family to be erased from any government records that we have access to."

Roger motioned with his hand for his men to get the killer and his family out of the cabin. The Ningjing started screaming obscenities at Roger as he and his family was dragged out of the cabin to the cars.

About fifteen minutes after the cars had started down the mountain Lee came back to the cabin. She looked at Roger as if awaiting his instructions.

"Let's get packed up. I want to get back to San Francisco tonight."

Just before midnight Roger and Lee pulled into his driveway. They unpacked the car and just sat all of their gear in the living room. Little was said between them as they got ready for bed. They both got into bed naked and they held each other for a while until Lee turned to go to sleep. Roger stared into the darkness as sleep eluded him.

His mind was racing. Lei's killer had changed him. There was something new inside of him; a hardness that he didn't like but that was now a part of him forever. This new world of his was a reality that he didn't want to be real. Roger knew that he had embarked on a path that he could never return from. He had sworn to himself that he would never allow Ben to drag him into a life of crime but here he was taking Ben's life and living it as his own.

It wasn't long before Roger began arguing with himself. He tried to tell himself that Ben had tricked him into entering Ben's world. As soon has he told himself that foolishness he knew that was wrong. Roger had known all along what Ben's world was like and Roger went along for the ride willingly. Roger knew all along that his computer company was furthering Ben's activities and helping the triad. Roger had enjoyed the fruits of Ben's criminal activities and he had always rationalized that he was just conducting business and that it was none of his business what his customers did. Roger was as much a part of the triad as Ben was only Roger didn't have formal membership until now.

Lee moved a bit in her sleep. Roger looked at her sleeping peacefully. He didn't know what their relationship would be now. He was sure that Lee had been ordered to stay with him. Roger knew that he would never love her like he had loved Lei. Lei's assassin had robbed him of the ability to love. He felt that to force Lee to stay with him would be to rob her of a life. Roger knew that he needed her for now to help him with the business. He would have to make it up to her somehow. He would have to see where this new life took him and if Lee would be a part of his new life.