The city air blocked the smell of the tea, steam rising from the small cup. A trembling hand reached for the cup, shaking it wildly in its attempt to get to a mouth. The attempt was counted as vien and the cup set back down. To most, another Asian man drinking at a tea shop wouldn’t even register from the background of the Chinatown setting. The introverted trembling man felt like he stood out more than the blinking neon orange mandarin symbols that announced the tea shop.
The sound of his exhaling breath distracted him from his over-beating heart. He intended to sip the tea, but instead downed the small cup like a shot. He intended to pore himself more, but a cold breeze left him feeling exposed. He layed down his payment for the tea, as well as a sizable tip, and blended back into the crowd as he walked to the subway station.
By the time he got home he had stopped shaking, but he wasn’t any less anxious. He sat on his bed, but it felt neither comforting nor inviting. Minutes passed, and a constructive thought finally formed. He pulled out his phone and pressed number three on his speed dial. It rung only twice before a frantic voice bellowed through the speaker.
“Dude! I heard! What were you thinking? What happened? I mean…… is it true?”
“Yeah”
“Oh jeeze man…” The voice trailed off, but then returned in a changed tone to support his friend. “Look it was an honorable kill man, full on, no ones ganna question it, you can’t beat yourself up about it.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“What happened man, you usually just brush off their insults.”
“She’s dead” he trembled and held back tears. “I found out this morning.”
“Oh my god dude, I’m so sorry I…” Silence was dominant for several seconds, but his friend tried to help. “Look, we can get together and deal with your mom’s death later, right now you need to worry about retaliation.”
“Right.” He rubbed the tears off his eyes. “I…….have no idea what to do.”
“Well he was a Dragon right? I think your best bet is to see if you can join with the Tangs.”
“Join a Triad gang? Do you know how hard my mom worked to keep me out of gangs?”
“Do you know how much she’d want you to be alive? As much as those gangs try to spew about honor for their p.r. crap, if you hit them, they’re going to hit you back.”
“I know , I know.” HE trembled again as he ran his fingers over his haircut needing scalp. “So I just show up at the Tang’s and say I killed one of your rivals, protect me?”
“Look man, they’ll probably let you in and all, but these guys didn’t get where they are through charity work, they’ll make it cost you.”
“I’m a grad student in colony development, what can I offer a gang?”
“Remember that story you told me about New Attica?”
“Yeah I guess you’re right.” The trembling stopped, but shame replaced it. “You don’t think I’ll get some bad karma or, I don’t know, damnation by using New Attica to save my skin?”
“Sorry Oliver, but that’s kind of what a deal with the devil is.”
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