Jin Corp. I felt a cold sweat break at the back of my neck. The company that manufactured you suits for all the rich people who wanted to live life in a self-contained bubble while the world went to rot around them. These suits were sold worldwide, but only about 5 percent of the population could afford the twenty-million-yuan price tag.
“I knew I recognized that voice,” I said.
We didn’t look at each other. All of us were thinking the same thing.
Jin Feiming was the richest and most powerful man in Taiwan. He owned half of Taipei. And he had ordered Arun’s mom killed like she was an annoying pest, a mosquito buzzing in his ear. He could kill each of us just as easily, making them look like accidental deaths. Nobody would care. Lingyi might garner some attention, being the daughter of the disgraced CEO of Fortune Securities, but even then, a week’s worth of headlines, at best.
“What can we do?” Arun finally asked after a long silence. “Jin can get what little evidence we have dismissed. He’d buy his way out of this easily. We’d never get a conviction.”
“Assuming he doesn’t have all of us murdered,” Victor said.
Arun flinched, and I glared at Vic. But he was right. Victor only said aloud what we were all thinking.
“So he’s been systematically threatening and bribing politicians to stop any environmental legislation from being introduced for years—,” Lingyi said.
“For the sake of profit,” Iris interjected, jumping to her feet again, prowling the room like a caged panther. “He’s unstoppable.”
“Is he?” I flicked the blade out on my knife, then spun it. “There’s no profit to make if there’s no product to sell.”
Victor cracked his knuckles. “What are you suggesting, Zhou?” As successful as Vic was at running his business and doing deals, he was cautious. He made decisions only after thoughtful consideration of all his options. Victor was careful and restrained—basically the opposite of me.
He’d be the hardest to convince.
“I’ve read up on Jin Corp, on Jin Feiming’s success,” I said. “He’s currently got plants in Nevada, outside of London, and in Mexico City. But they’re assembling factories. Jin’s said in interviews that he’s kept all the production and development in Taipei—he’s proud of that fact.”
“So, what—we blow up the building?” Arun asked.
Iris was swinging up the wall again, her toned arms flexing as she skipped from one handgrip to the next, using her upper body strength only, with obvious ease. “He’ll just rebuild.”
“But that’d take time,” Arun replied.
I nodded. “We leak the evidence we have after we destroy Jin Corp. The media will have a feeding frenzy. Jin will be under heavy scrutiny—and it’ll give us time to work on pushing through legislation.”
“To finish what my mom started.” Arun rubbed his hands and stared at the floor.
“The suits won’t work if Jin Corp blows—Jin’s said as much. Suits power off if the servers at headquarters are down,” I continued. “Two or three years without a suit might be what the yous need to pull their heads out of their asses and really take a look around. See how bad things are. Breathe the air we breathe.”
“Or they can just stay shut in, flying from one extravagant regulated space to the next,” Victor said.
“Like trapped dogs?” I smirked. “I think some of them would be pissed. The yous aren’t used to being denied anything.”
“It’s impossible to pull off,” Victor said. “We’re outmatched in every way. Jin Corp uses the best security, the highest tech. No chance in hell you just walk in and blow the place up. Not all of us seek danger, Zhou, just for the thrill.”
I cocked an eyebrow at Victor. “Jin killed Arun’s mom, Vic.”
Victor winced, as if I’d punched him in the gut. I knew he cared for Dr. Nataraj as much as I did. Pushing away my guilt for speaking so bluntly when we were all still grieving, I went on, “We have evidence that he’s bribing members of the legislative yuan to keep Taipei polluted so he can continue to turn a profit with his suits. At the cost of mei lives. We can do something.” I slammed a fist hard on coffee table in vehemence, and Lingyi jerked at the loud noise, while Arun clutched his hands tighter. “So what if the odds are against us? We can try to fix this. I’m so sick of doing nothing.”
Iris, the only one who hadn’t reacted to my fist pounding, had slipped over to sit by Lingyi once more, leaning against her chair like a cat. “I agree with Zhou,” she said simply.
I tried to hide my surprise.
Iris was fearless, but not rash. Her love and devotion to Lingyi was probably only rivaled by her love for Taipei. She was an orphan with an obscure past, and her fiercest ties were to this city. That much I knew. She roamed it every day, laying claim on the only thing that had been a constant in her life.
“Jin’s filth. A murderer,” Lingyi said after a pause. “But we wouldn’t be much better if we blew up Jin Corp and killed innocent people to stop him.”
“No one has to be in the building.” I spun the knife in my hand. “We can secure it somehow.”
“We’d need millions just to pay for the equipment alone,” Victor said. “Never mind the logistics of breaking into Jin Corp. It’s impossible. And we’d be risking our lives. Is this worth dying for?”
My eyes swept the room. Iris was in. Arun’s jaw was clenched; his knee hadn’t stopped bouncing this whole time. As if he felt my gaze on him, Arun jutted his chin out. “I’m in. Smite the fucker.”
I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. Leaning over, Arun and I bumped fists.
Victor slouched lower in the armchair, folding his arms and kicking his long legs out in front of him with an air of resignation. “You’ll get us all killed,” he muttered.
“Maybe it isn’t impossible.” Lingyi pushed up her black frames and regarded each of us. “I think we can do this. I know I can gain access to Jin Corp’s security system. We just need some time, and a good plan of attack.”
Time, a good plan, and for the gods to be on our side. For the stars to align and the wind to blow just right. We’d also need a shitload of money, like Vic said. All that and we might have a slim chance of succeeding. I felt my body tingle with a rush of excitement. “I can’t see any other way to force Jin’s hand.” I ran my thumb over the cool handle of the knife, then met Victor’s eyes in challenge. “The man isn’t just underhanded or greedy—he’s a murderer. He needs to be stopped.”
I flicked my gaze toward Lingyi. If she was in, then everyone else would follow.
She gave a single nod of her head. “Let’s start planning, then,” Lingyi said.
CHΔPTER THREE
ONE MONTH AFTER THE KIDNAPPING