Bingwen led Li out of Chinatown and into an area of the city known as Hogan’s Alley. It was not far from the harbor and was frequented mainly by sailors, many of whom were of the sketchy variety. Li had visited the place before but she hadn’t found it very safe and thus usually avoided it. She was a bit surprised that Meeks would choose this part of the city for his hideout but then again, she mused, he was trying to lay low… and nobody would be looking for him here.
Bingwen eventually stopped outside an apartment building and studied the row of buttons that were on the switchboard. He buzzed G-8 and after a moment, a voice that Li thought she recognized as Meeks’ answered.
“Yes?” Meeks demanded.
“It is I,” Bingwen answered.
The door popped open with a electric hiss. “Come on up,” Meeks said.
Li rushed forward and grabbed hold of the door before it slammed shut behind the old man. She peeked inside and saw that Bingwen was already moving up the stairs. As quietly as possible, she stepped inside and let the door clang behind her.
It suddenly dawned on her that she should have just stayed out on the street — it was unlikely she would be able to find out anything else from inside the building. She’d confirmed that this was Meeks’ new base… Charity would probably be thrilled with that information.
But then she heard the sounds of conversation drifting from above. Creeping over to the stairwell, she leaned over and looked up. She couldn’t see anyone above but the old building’s walls produced fine echoes that almost made it sound like she was right next to Bingwen and Meeks.
With a huge grin, she realized that Meeks wasn’t inviting Bingwen into his apartment — he was talking to him in the hallway!
“What did you tell her? Exactly?”
“Nothing!” Bingwen responded. “I told her to get out of my shop!”
“And you don’t think you aroused her suspicions? You should have just shrugged your shoulders and pretended not to care.”
Li’s grin spread wider. Meeks sounded seriously upset with the old man.
“I thought it best to cut her off before she questioned me further,” Bingwen replied. “She is just a nosy whore… do not worry about her!”
“She might go around telling people that you got upset when she asked about me. That’s going to start a new round of questions. If you panic when the cops come to see you, what’s to stop you from leading them right to me?”
“I would never do that! I have been loyal to you, have I not? I turned away from the Ten Fingers, in favor of you. I’ve helped you find the occult objects you’ve needed… and I helped you find this place.”
“That’s true… and all because you want to receive your just due when I’ve gotten my power….”
There was a pause before Bingwen agreed, saying that it was only fair payment for all his assistance.
What happened next was somewhat of a mystery to Li, since she couldn’t bear witness to it… but its aftermath would be permanently seared into her brain.
There was a flash of light from above, brighter than an exploding light bulb but similar in most ways. Accompanying this was Meeks’ raised voice, shouting, “You stupid gook! You’re worthless to me now!”
A moment later, a body hurtled over the railing, landing with a thud mere feet away from Li. It was smoking, the flesh having been seared away in a burst of extreme heat. The smell was revolting — a sickly sweet odor that emanated from the old man’s body, reminding her of roast duck.
Despite her precarious position, Li couldn’t stifle the scream that bubbled up inside her. It exploded in a terrified ejaculation. She tore her eyes away from the corpse, seeing Meeks’ head appear over the railing. For a moment, their eyes met and what she saw there was enough to break the spell of fear that had descended upon her.
Li bolted for the door, running out into the streets of Sovereign. She ran as fast as she could, not stopping until she stumbled onto the front steps of 1931 Gibson Avenue.
Gasping, she climbed the front steps and pushed the doorbell. Though she was out of breath and sweating profusely, she still managed to stand up straight and toss her hair when she saw the man who answered the door.
Momentarily forgetting Meeks, Bingwen’s death and everything else related to it, she smiled and asked, “Are you Max Davies?!”
Li sat back in the cushy chair and sipped her hot tea. She was enjoying the pampering she’d received since her arrival at Gravedigger’s home, especially when she’d told about Bingwen’s murder. She’d spared no detail, relishing the interest shown by her audience.
Max and Mitchell were standing, both looking very handsome to Li’s wandering eye. Charity, dressed in a summery green dress, was seated at her friend’s side.
“You’re positive it was Meeks?” Max asked. The handsome philanthropist stared at Li with an intensity that brought a flush to the young girl’s cheeks. She’d always thought he was handsome, having seen his picture in numerous society columns, but up close, he was breathtaking.
“Positive! He got a good look at me, too.”
Charity sighed. “I shouldn’t have asked you to do this. Now you’re in it deep.”
“I had fun!” Li argued, drawing a surprised look from Charity.
“I know you’re a daredevil,” Charity replied. “But I took advantage of that and sent you into trouble. You could have gotten killed.”
“But I didn’t.”
Mitchell spoke up, his strong British accent seizing control of the moment. “We can’t second-guess ourselves, mates. We’re a team now, every one of us.” To Charity, he said, “Your friends are doing this of their own free will.”
Charity looked away. She hadn’t really thought of Mitchell as being a friend and that realization shamed her. He’d been very good to her and she certainly needed his counsel.
Max drew up a chair and sat down, resting his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward. “While you were out, Charity, I did some digging around on those objects that Meeks stole. I think I have an idea what he might be up to.”
“Let’s hear it,” Mitchell prodded.
“Both the ring and the urn have histories that suggest they are repositories for sorcerous energies. I think Meeks is going to draw the energy from the both of them and use them to open a gateway.”
Li set aside her tea. Her eyes were wide with curiosity. “A gateway to where? Hell?”
Charity barely hid her smirk. Li actually sounded like she was hoping for some terrifying reply to come from Max.
“Not quite, but close. According to the information Mitchell and I were able to piece together, Meeks has been collecting rare artifacts and books related to a group of entities known as The Great Old Ones and The Outer Gods. This jibes with what Goldstein told Charity — that Meeks has possession of The Necronomicon. I think that Meeks is going to attempt to summon one or more of them to Sovereign.”
“Hasn’t he ever read Faust?” Mitchell asked. “Deals with the devil never work out well.”
“That never seems to stop men like Meeks,” Max countered.
Charity drummed her fingers on the armrest of her chair. “Okay. So, it’s like Josef said… I need to kill him before he can do that.” She looked at Max with challenge in her eyes, as if she expected him to try to talk her out of her plan. To her surprise, he nodded in agreement.”
“We need to move quickly… before he vanishes again.”