Widespread Crime Ring, The Black Pearl, Arrested in San Francisco

Alex McShane

Last night, police forces in San Francisco arrested eight major gang leaders and over fifteen associates, all working for a notorious black market organization, the Black Pearl.

Twenty people were indicted this morning for multiple accounts of money laundering, counterfeiting, fraud and theft. A ten month investigation led to these arrests, spurred from a discovery made in a previously separate case involving a string of illegal designer knockoffs around the city.

In January of this year, San Francisco police department had opened an investigation after several complaints about being sold knockoff designer products made by University of Boston students visiting friends in the city. The students were upset, the police reported, because the products were marketed, and priced, as authentic products. However, when the students tried to exchange their "designer" bags, they discovered they were fake.

This investigation discovered a widespread scam that affected almost a dozen department stores and countless boutiques, most of which were near San Francisco's chinatown and financial districts.

Two months into their investigation, officers received an anonymous tip that suggested the knockoffs may be connected to a separate cluster of scams where tourists have been conned into paying for non-existent hotel rooms around the district. The caller also claimed that both schemes were run by a black market network, the Black Pearl Tong.

Upon further investigation, detectives discovered a link between the two crimes through surveillance footage and shipping records. This discovery led to the arrest and interrogation of two low level confederates who revealed a previously underestimated and intricate organization.

The associates claimed that the Black Pearl Tong was not only involved in fraud, but also in counterfeiting and blackmail schemes. These allegations were later proved to be true after a encompassing and lengthy investigation into the Tong's activities.

The name "Black Pearl" had been a familiar to investigators who had heard rumors about the supposed existence of the shadowy syndicate for almost a decade. Until now, however, its existence had never been confirmed.

Due to their cooperation with authorities the two associates were given minimum jail time in return for testifying at any future trials. Both men agreed to testify and have since been released from jail. One of the men is believed to be under government protection. The other man was reported missing a month after his release from jail.

If the Black Pearl's ranks are as widespread as authorities have been made to believe, then it is unclear how much effect these arrests will make on the syndicate's activity.

Nick could feel heat rush into his cheeks. He reread parts of it again, "arrested... blackmail ... indicted" This can't be happening, he thought, dumbfounded. I wonder who was arrested... If they got the bosses, I might get to go back to San Francisco! The thought made Nick feel both giddy and nervous. See, Nick knew all about the Black Pearl Tong; he could probably tell the police all they wanted to know and more. The tong knew this, which was why, for obvious reasons, it wasn't safe for Nick to be in San Francisco.

Nick stared out the diners windows, seeing the the frosty landscape outside but not really registering it; he was remembering how, eight years ago, he had inadvertently gotten involved in the operations of the most dangerous gang on the West Coast. To be fair, it wasn't his even his fault-it was a girl's.

Growing up in San Francisco, Nick had been good friends with Leesa, a girl that lived near him in Chinatown. The two had avidly explored the surrounding neighborhood, eventually knowing more about that area of town than anyone else, even those who had lived there for their whole life. Well, most other people that is. When they had been twelve, Leesa and Nick came to the attention of the Black Pearl Tong.

Of course, the two had heard of the Tong before; everyone in their neighborhood had, but they had never met them. Nick and Leesa weren't even sure that the organization was real until a recruiter approached them. That recruiter was none other than one of Leesa's two older sisters. Enthralled by the idea of being part of the neighborhood's underground activities, the two twelve-year olds agreed to run errands for members. Over next five years, Nick and Leesa steadily rose through the couriers of the organizations, learning the ins and outs of the secret network.

The two messengers were careful to keep their activities from their parents. It wasn't too hard; Leesa and her two sisters lived with their aunt and uncle who ran a restaurant. Her aunt and uncle were always either cleaning the restaurant, cooking for the restaurant or planning for the restaurant. Nick's parents were similarly busy executives in the nearby financial district and were only at their apartment in the evenings. Equally unwilling for their two most useful couriers to be busted by their parents, the Tong was careful to schedule runs around their parental supervision.

Fast forward to Leesa and Nick's senior year of high school and the two were involved in ever deeper and more illegal activities. The two of them were not actually members, as one had to "prove" themselves before truly joining. With an extensive history and honor code, joining the Tong was not something to be taken lightly. Once one joined, one was in for life.

Nick had started dating another courier, the youngest of Leesa's older sisters and the three of them were heading to Marin to clear up some business for the Tong. Whenever someone crossed the Black Pearl, a three prong approach was used: intimidation, blackmail, and then action.

The man Nick, Leesa and Lessa's sister were going to see was in the intimidation stage. Their job was to leave a calling card for him in the form of midnight black flower blossom. These blossoms were meant to present the black pearls that would appear in the victims' mouth if they didn't cooperate with the Tong, following an ancient chinese custom. It signified that whatever wisdom they had had that caused their murder...suspicious death, would die with them. Pearls, however, were too important to leave behind during the intimidation stage unless the intended target was important. This man wasn't that important, or so the threesome thought, and so two black flowers were kept waiting on ice during the drive to his apartment.

Nick and Leesa easily let themselves into the apartment building, leaving the car parked with Leesa's sister. They carefully placed the blossoms on two pillows in the master bedroom, before carefully combing the house for any interesting material that their bosses might want for blackmail. Then, the two of them let themselves back out of the target's house, careful not to touch anything without gloves. That's when the first thing went wrong. Leesa's sister was supposed to be waiting with their car outside the apartment building, but she was nowhere in sight.

Realizing that something had gone horribly wrong, Nick and Leesa slipped to the alley behind the building to avoid anyone potentially noting them as suspicious. It was the worst mistake of their careers. As they neared the alley, two police officers accosted them, and ended up arresting them. To make a long story short, Nick got six months of probation and community service for cooperating. When the tong realized that Nick had talked, they came after him for blood. He ended up striking a bargain with them; leave San Francisco and you're safe. Come back, and, well, we'll see if you get home.

Leesa, on the other hand, got a year in juvie. She was too loyal for her own good, or maybe just too stubborn.

Nick gave an involuntary shiver as memories of the last time he had seen Leesa and her sister were brought to mind. They had been standing woodenly behind Nick's former boss. Neither would look him in the eye; Nick knew then that whatever was coming was bad, when his two best friends had already distanced themselves. Fear had already been rising up in his mouth when their boss, a tall, black-haired man with cold eyes pointed a gun at him. Nick had scrambled backwards until his back was pressed against the side of building.

In a liquid voice, the leader had explained exactly what would happen to Nick if he stayed in San Francisco; none of it was very pleasant, and it still made him swallow to think about it. In a fit of insanity, Nick had mustered up the courage to ask the man with the gun, "Then why are you leaving me alive?"

The man had shrugged before jerking his head in Leesa's direction. "She was quite particular about it. But, we got a new member for all our trouble." Nick's eyes pinpointed Leesa behind him, to see if what the boss was saying was true. It must have been, because she was staring determinedly at the ground, her hands clasped in front of her. When Nick saw Leesa's hand, a feeling of dread had bubbled in the pit of his stomach; one hand was bandaged, as it would be after a new member "proved" him or herself to the Tong.

The boss caught Nick's look and grinned. "Why are you still here?" Nick didn't need to be told twice and disappeared. It didn't take him long; he'd come to know this neighborhood all too well.

Zoe's phone buzzed on the table, bring Nick back to the present. He tore his gaze from the frosty landscape outside and looked around the diner, taking in its warmth anew. Across the table from him, Zoe was replying to the text,  grinning as her fingers nimbly flew over her phone.

"What's so funny?" Nick asked.

"Oh, nothing much. Only my sister's getting married in SF in a month! She wants us to come!"

"That's great! Wait, SF as in San Francisco?"

Zoe looked up from her phone. "Yeah, isn't that cool? Didn't you used to live there? I've only visited once; you'll have to come with me and show me around."

Nick was uneasy, how could he explain to Zoe that he would be risking his life if they went to San Francisco. He thought back to the article he had read. If the right people were arrested, he might be able to go back. "Send me the dates, I need to double check my schedule; I'm pretty busy next month."

Zoe nodded happily before returning to her crossword puzzle. Nick leaned back on his side of the booth and drank his coffee in a thoughtful silence.

That night at his apartment, Nick paced for almost an hour before picking up his spare cell phone, only used for calls like this, and dialing a number he had always known by heart. She picked up on the third ring, "Who is this?"

"Leesa, hi, it's nice to hear from you again..."

From the top level of the ferry, Zoe looked out at the afternoon water, watching as the waves turned a multitude of blues in the sun's afternoon light. As she leaned on the railing, the hand clutching her cellphone hung above open water. Zoe wondered what would happen if she just dropped it said what the hell. But, she thought with a sigh, then the next person to be majorly screwed over would be me. Her boyfriend Nick appeared from the lower deck holding two styrofoam cups. Zoe quickly slipped the phone into her jacket pocket.

Nick came up next to her, and nudged Zoe with his shoulder.

"Here," he told her handing his girlfriend a cup of watery cocoa. He turned back to face the water, "beautiful view, isn't it?"

Zoe nodded, gratefully clasping the cocoa; she breathed in deeply taking a breath of the warm, chocolatey drink. She took a sip and almost gagged as the scalding water burned her throat, leaving only the smallest traces of chocolate. Nick leaned on the railing next to her. "I used to ride the ferry back and forth just for fun at least once a week."

Zoe was just now starting to be able to see the San Francisco skyline through the blanket of late afternoon fog that appeared to be flowing over a faraway mountain like a blanket."It's kind of cold though; I thought California was called the sunny state? It was always nice and hot when I was a student in UCLA."

Nick shrugged. "I guess it's cold, but it's a nice cold." He leaned over the railing a bit. "On the water you feel like you're flying." Zoe leaned farther out over the railing, enjoying the feeling of the wind on her face.

"Where do you want to go to dinner? We should try and suck in as much of San Francisco as we can before your sister's wedding."

"What places are good?" Zoe asked Nick, trying to figure out a way to get him to take her to the place she wanted to eat. As it happened, she didn't even have to bring it up.

"Well, there are a ton of places in the ferry building. And I have a friend who owns a Dim Sum restaurant, and-"

Sensing her chance, Zoe broke in, "Wait, what's Dim Sum?"

"Oh, I'm sure you've had it before; it's like Chinese food, but way better because they bring the food around on these little carts & baskets. And you can pick and choose which foods you get."

But Zoe was shaking her head; this was going to be even easier than she'd anticipated. "No," she told him, taking a sip of the now lukewarm cocoa,"I don't think I've ever had that before, Nick."

Nick broke into a sly grin, "Well, then we'll have to go out for Dim Sum."

When their ferry arrived in San Francisco, Zoe discovered it was almost as cold in the city as it had been on the water and the two of them gratefully hurried into the dove blue ferry building. As it was only Zoe's second visit to SF, and her first time actually inside the ferry building, she was fascinated in spite of herself; the eclectic collection of restaurants made her want to stay and eat there, but Zoe knew she didn't really have a choice about the dim sum, and didn't protest too hard when Nick dragged her outside.

Once outside the main doors, a typical SF wind blasted the couple, and they walked close together in the half-hearted afternoon light. Time to put that theatre major to work, thought Zoe. "So Nick, tell me about this friend of yours, the one that owns the restaurant. What's he like?"

"She," he corrected her. "We went to high school for awhile together before I moved east to go to college." He smiled at her. "I used to date one of her friends."

Zoe had known this, but she raised her eyebrows just the same. "Are you sure you were just friends?"

"Don't worry, it's ancient history." he told her. "Plus, Leesa's an intimidating force. Not my type; too intense." Zoe had to smile inwardly at this...if only he knew. "anyway, she took over her parent's restaurant after she got back from college. Last I remember the food was beyond awesome."

The two of them were walking briskly, and were crossing in front of the Ferry building to continue up Market St. It was on a steep hill and before long both of them were sweating underneath their fleece jackets.Zoe paused for a moment to catch her breath, "Where exactly are we going?" she called out to Nick.

Ahead of her, Nick didn't even stop, but simply turned around and walked backwards. He grinned at her, "Come on, it's only a few more blocks."

More than a few blocks later, Zoe, sweaty under her jacket, caught up with Nick at a corner where he was waiting. Nick looked at his watch and made a fake disapproving noise. Zoe ignored this and asked, "So where are we going exactly?"

Nick gestured down the intersecting street, "Welcome to my former home." As soon as Zoe rounded the corner onto the crowded street, she knew where they were: Chinatown.

While the rest of San Francisco Zoe had seen was characterized by glass, steel and concrete. Chinatown was a burst of color, from the red decorations adorning the streets to the multicolored wares being sold at the cramped shops. It was loud, crowded, exotic and wonderful. Just like she remembered.

If she had been alone, Zoe would have stopped and sketched the busy street, but, hurrying behind a confident Nick, Zoe did her best to soak in every detail of the scene; later, in their room, she would do her best to recreate the street from memory with her vivid pastels.

The couple weaved through the crowd for almost a block before Nick pulled Zoe into a small entranceway. When they walked into the restaurant, it was cozy, crowded and smelled deliciously of something distinct and tangy.

As the pair waited to be seated Zoe curiously examined the traditional wall hangings and decorations, awed by their color and detail. When the harried hostess finally came to seat them, Nick, to Zoe's surprise, asked her something in rapid Chinese. The hostess, a short, young women in a red headband who was vaguely familiar, said something back to him, nodded, and then hurried off to the back of the restaurant.

Zoe nudged Nick's arm, "I didn't know you speak Mandarin," she said.

"I don't," he told her, letting the look of surprise hang on her face for a second. "That was Cantonese." Zoe had to laugh at that.

"Where did you learn it?"

"Oh here and there," Nick answered vaguely.

Even though she had a fair idea of the answer, Zoe would have still pressed Nick on that point, had their hostess not returned walking behind a young Chinese women in a wearing an apron with long hair and intense, dark eyes. When she saw Nick she broke out in dimpled smile and said something teasing to him in Cantonese, causing Zoe's boyfriend to laugh.

The woman gave Nick a friendly half hug, before holding out her hand to Zoe. "Leesa, this is Zoe, my girlfriend. Zoe this is my friend Leesa." Zoe cast a slightly cool eye over the other woman, being careful not to look Nick's old friend directly in her eyes. Leesa gave Zoe a warm, knowing squeeze.

"Long time, no see, Nick. What brings you back to here?" Leesa asked as she led them to a table in the back of the restaurant. Although still crowded, the restaurant was not as loud in the back as it had been near the entrance way.

"Oh," Nick replied as they sat, both of them hanging their fleeces on their chair backs, "just visiting my cousin that still lives around here. Do you remember Byron? He was a year younger than us?"

Leesa grinned wickedly, "Was he the one who went with you that time you went skinny-"

"Moving on," interrupted Nick, his face turning bright red. Zoe was holding back a smile, her brown eyes twinkling at what she guessed Leesa had been about to say.

"Restaurant still going strong?"

"Of course," answered Leesa, "I'm running it; it better be going strong."

"Are the," Nick said a word in Cantonese, "still here?"

Leesa gave him a look. "No, they're not, they got taken," she said cryptically. "I have to go back to the kitchen, it was nice seeing you though. Nice to meet you, Zoe," Leesa nodded in other woman's direction, not meeting her eyes. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask: I'll make sure you're taken care of!" Leesa smiled once again before disappearing behind two swinging doors and into the kitchen.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you something, Zoe," Nick said as they sat down.

"What? I'm the most amazing person in the world?"

"

That, and you and Leesa both went to UCLA," Nick paused thoughtfully. "I don't know if you were there at the same time though. Either you were both there for a year or Leesa came right after you left." he shrugged, "Maybe you guys saw each other and didn't even know it."

Zoe thought back to her college dorm. Nick had no idea how close he was. "Perhaps," she replied, " Leesa did seem kind of familiar."

Nick was right: dim sum was delicious. Zoe was fascinated by the push carts stacked high with little trays of delicacies. By far, her favorites were the Bao, steamed sweet buns stuffed with savory pork.

After countless dishes, Zoe sat back in her chair and told Nick, "I'm stuffed; there's no way I can eat anything else!"

"But we're not done yet!" he protested, "didn't you save room for dessert?"

Zoe gave an exaggerated sigh," Well, I guess I could fit in a fortune cookie."

Recalling the Black Lotus gang, Nick inwardly blanched but pretend to be offended instead. " A fortune cookie? WHat is this blasphemy? No good Dim sum place has fortune cookies! In real Chinese restaurants, they have jin deui."

"What are jan-dei?" Zoe asked.

"Jin deui, not jan-dei. Wait and see, my dear. Wait and see." The next time one of the cars came near them, Nick accordingly picked a little basket off the cart. Inside, were two golden, little balls of dough, covered in sesame seeds.

"These are Jin deui," Nick told her.

Zoe tried to pick one of the Jin deui up with her pair of chopsticks and promptly dropped it on the tablecloth. As with most of the other dishes, she gave up and resorted to picking up the dessert with her hands; Zoe was pleasantly surprised to find that it was still warm.

After putting the Jin deui on her plate, Zoe glanced up and caught Nick staring at her, his chopsticks paused in mid-air, barely constrained amusement on his face. Zoe gave him the, "I don't possibly know what could be so funny" eyebrow. Causing Nick's half-grin to be replaced with a look of wounded ignorance. Zoe laughed and felt her conscious prickle slightly, but ignored it.

"You should be an actor, Nick," Zoe told her boyfriend. "I've never met a person over age ten with such a good puppy-dog face."

"What, an actor, like you? No," Nick told, "I couldn't do that; you might break up with me if I steal your part! And anyway, who was talking about a puppy-dog face; you can practically speak with your eyebrows!"

Zoe smothered the offending brows. "I know, I would tell you how I do it, but it's a family secret." Nick laughed again. Nodding toward the jin deui on her plate, Nick told her to try what he called a 'real' Chinese dessert. Zoe picked up the sesame covered dough ball and bit into it. As she did, she discovered that it the dough was merely a shell for a subtly sweet paste.

"Waste onseed?" Zoe asked Nick between chews.

Nick gave her a look. " I don't speak gobbledegook. What did you say?"

"The filling that's inside, what's it made out of?," she repeated to Nick after she swallowed.

"A type of sweet bean paste." Nick told Zoe, before biting into what Zoe guessed was his second or third jin deui of the day.

"Well, whatever type of paste it is, it's good. But, there's no fortune inside!" Nick chose not to honor that statement with a response and simply rolled his eyes.

Later, after paying what Zoe suspected was a reduced price for the dinner, the two of them went back outside and were blasted by the icy winds of a typically San Francisco winter as they walked through chinatown. Zoe checked her watch.

"The last ferry leaves at eight and it's six-thirty now, so we have some time to explore before heading back."

"I can go show you around the rest of the embarcadero if you want. The shops might be closed, but there's an ice-skating rink, usually." replied Nick.

"Can we walk around here for a little bit instead?" Zoe asked appeasingly.

For some reason, Nick seemed reluctant to stay in Chinatown. Ever since they'd left the restaurant, he'd been jumpy. Zoe pleaded and finally he relented. "guess we could do that. But, let's not stay too long; it's pretty cold out." Nick had noticed Zoe had started to shiver, and put his arm around her shoulders. He pushed his nagging worry out of his mind; the gang couldn't possibly know that he was in Chinatown. After all, he'd only gone out to dinner, it's not like he was running a competing business.

The two of them walked several blocks, in both directions, Zoe soaking in the exotic atmosphere and Nick keeping a weather eye out for anyone he might possibly recognize. Finally, the two of them, still freezing, despite their walk, started to make their way back down to the ferry building.

The sky was streaked with grey as the sun, only a white light behind layers of clouds, set against the city. As the couple walked, streetlights began to be turned on, mixing with the light already spilling from the city's skyscrapers. Chinatown was still busy, but the gawking tourists that had been walking around earlier had been replaced with a crowds of families that lived in the area and men dressed in dark business suits on their way to dinner.

Holding hands with Nick, Zoe smiled as they neared Market st, where they would turn and leave chinatown for San Francisco proper. Nick, who had been preoccupied on their walk, scanning the people near them as though he had lost something, noticed her smile.

"So, I take it you enjoyed dinner then?" he asked Zoe as they neared the end of the block.

Zoe glanced up at him, smiling coyly, "It was fine, I guess....except...never mind..."

"Except what?" interrupted Nick, pretending to be insulted, "the food was too good, the tea too strong?"

"Except there were no fortune cookies!" Zoe answered, and both of them laughed.

The two of them had barely taken five steps when someone touched the back of Zoe's arm.

It was teenager dressed in a black fleece jacket, his short black hair spiked up with gel. "Excuse me, did you say you wanted a fortune cookie?" The boy held one out to Zoe, the cookie smooth and pristine behind the cellophane wrapper.

Zoe glanced at Nick, her look reading, This is weird, right?It's not just me?"

The boy seemed to be able to read their looks. "Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with it." He pointed to the entrance of a desserts shop a few stores down. "We're handing them out to people because of our sale." In the store front's light, Zoe could see a second boy handing out more fortune cookies. He caught her looking at him and nodded in her direction, Zoe turned back to face Nick and the other boy.

"Thanks," she told him. Zoe took the fortune cookie from the boy.

"No problem," he shrugged, before slouching back in the direction of his friend.

After a few moments of examining the cookie under a streetlight, Nick and Zoe began walking again. Zoe tore the wrapping open and inspected the folded cookie again. It seemed safe enough to her, and she wholeheartedly chomped off one off the ends. Sticking out of the remaining half was the fortune.

Nick was watching his girlfriend with barely concealed amusement, his earlier paranoia having seemingly vanished. "Go ahead, open it. What's your fortune?"

Zoe pulled the slip of paper out, stuffing the rest of her cookie into her mouth. She read it, and snorted through a mouth full of cookie. Shaking her head, Zoe crumbled the paper in a ball in her hand; she was careful not to look at Nick. Timing was key here.

Nick was intrigued, "What is it?"

"Nothing; it was some sort of stupid joke." said Zoe, forced closer to him as they left Chinatown and returned to the commuter-filled sidewalks of financial district.

"What'd you mean?" asked Nick, stopping in the middle of the busy sidewalk.

"Here," Zoe fished the paper out of her pocket and handed it to him. "That boy must have been messing with us."

Nick smoothed out the paper. It was written in a smooth handwriting that he instantly recognized with a feeling with dread. It read, "Your life is in danger. Run" There was no signature except a red Chinese stamp. A perfect circle with two lines curving through it. Nick knew it was supposed to represent a pearl coming out of a shell. The symbol of the Black Pearl Tong.

Nick grabbed Zoe's arm, practically dragging her down the street. "Come on, we have to go. Now!"

Zoe pulled away from him, " Wait, Nick, what's going on?" Nick didn't answer, just continued to pull her down Market st. In response, Zoe simply stopped walking. "Nick what's going on?"

Nick paused for a moment, and Zoe noticed he looked pale, like he had seen a ghost. "I'll tell you on the way, we just have to hurry!" Nick started walking again, "C'mon Zoe!"

Zoe was jogging to keep up with her boyfriend now, Nick was walking so fast.

"Remember how I told you I went to live back east with my aunt," he told her as they hurried down the street. "A gap year between high school and college?"

"Yeah, you told me," Zoe reminded him between breaths. "Your uncle died and she didn't want to live alone on her property."

Nick glanced behind them. About half a block back, there was a man dressed in a nice business suit, but, like Nick and Zoe, was weaving purposefully through the sidewalk traffic.

Nick's throat went dry as he recognized the lieutenant. He picked up the pace even more. Zoe was almost running to keep up with him.

"Well, that wasn't completely true," Nick told Zoe, "I got into some...trouble down here, in Chinatown I mean." By now they were almost at the waterfront. Nick could see a trolley almost at their end of the Embarcadero. "I think we can make that trolly, hurry!" The two of them broke out in a flat out sprint, diving into the almost empty carriage as soon as it stopped. While Nick fished out money for their fare, Zoe grabbed two seats near the back, giving the obligatory drunk hobo a wide berth. When Nick sat down next to her, his face sweaty under his hat, Zoe gave him the "You should explain now or face mortal peril" look.

"You were saying? What exactly were you involved in?"

Nick swallowed. "The sort of stuff for which you end up either being arrested, killed or moved halfway across the country."

Now it was Zoe's turn to swallow. "Oh." was all she managed to say, her actress' imagination going into overdrive. Then a thought struck her, "If you got in so deep you needed to relocate across the country, why the hell did you come back?"

Nick looked out the trolley window to avoid Zoe's accusing gaze. He'd been hoping she'd not ask that question.

"They were arrested," he explained. "The leaders, I mean. I read it in the newspaper, and Leesa contacted me too. It was a big deal."

Zoe looked out the window, not exactly thrilled with that answer. The trolley stopped again, but no one got on. Outside, little kids were chasing seagulls, and Zoe suddenly felt separated from them as she envied their uncomplicated lives.

"Apparently, whomever the police arrested, they missed someone who had a grudge against me."

Zoe drew her gaze from the window. "Really, sweetheart, you don't say!" she said sarcastically. She drew her jacket tighter around her as though it would protect her. "When are we getting off this thing?"

Nick stood up, grabbing a bar for balance. Zoe stood up as well, but was thrown into Nick as the trolley screeched to a stop. "Here's our stop."

Zoe could tell they were still in the financial district by the buildings, but they were a few blocks away from the Embarcadero. Nick lead her to a busy hotel entrance; it was crowded with valets, shoppers, and guests milling in and out of the revolving doors. It was decked out for Christmas like there was no tomorrow, and even from the street, Zoe could see a towering Christmas tree.

As they strolled in, Nick leaned down and muttered in her ear, "Just act like everything's normal. You just had a wonderful dinner with your amazing boyfriend. Everything's fine."

Zoe pointedly stared at the six foot tall nutcrackers that flanked the hotel entrance. "Normal," she said dryly, "right."

Nick ignored this as he and Zoe moved to the back of the lobby and chose chairs in the farthest corner. Behind magazines, they could see almost everyone in the lobby. But, anyone looking at them could only see a model displaying the new fall fashions and their hats. Both of them relaxed slightly.

Zoe leaned into Nick and said, "Nice Victoria's Secret model you got on the cover of that magazine there, Nick." Nick's eyebrows raised and he flipped the magazine over to find a picture of an older couple sitting on a bench.

He gave Zoe a flat look. "There are some things you don't joke about. Victoria secret models are one of them."

Zoe laughed, but sobered quickly. She still felt slightly dizzy from all that had happened since they sat down to dinner. "Now what?" she asked Nick.

Nick pulled out his phone. "Now, I ..." But instead of turning on his phone and making a call, Nick just stared at it deep in thought, his magazine hanging limply from his other hand.

Zoe looked at him questioningly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just how did they know I was back in SF? I mean, we only went out to dinner; I've been off the map for almost eight years. It's not like I was laundering money or some..." Nick trailed of, a shocked expression coming over his face.

Zoe raised her eyebrow, "Money laundering...?"

He was frantically digging through his pockets, but coming up empty. "Did you hang your jacket up at the restaurant?"

"Yeah," Zoe replied, edging away from him slightly. "I put it on the back of my chair. Nick, honey, are you okay?"

Nick suddenly lunged at her, dropping his magazine on the floor. He practically pushed her out of the armchair in his haste to go through her pockets. Zoe protested, pushing him off of her. She extracted herself from the armchair, standing defensively in front of him.

"Slow down, you don't just pat me down without explaining! What's going on?!"

Nick's face went bright red at her words. "Check your pockets, is there anything in there that isn't supposed to be?"

Sighing dramatically, Zoe dug through her own pockets. Her face paled as she pulled a small black box out of her puffy coat. Its red light blinked accusingly at her. Uh oh...

Nick's eyes met her own, and he raised a finger to his lips. "You didn't find anything?" he said, to her surprise. "Damn, I think I left my hotel key at Leesa's restaurant. Oh well, I'm sure we can get another one at the reception desk." Zoe's confusion was rapidly disappearing.

"Yeah, I don't think it'll be a problem, no need to go all airport security on me there!"

"Sorry, hon, do you want tea or something from the restaurant?" Nick's eye's willed her to say yes.

"I guess," Zoe told him petulantly. "I really deserve a mocha after that, but," she shrugged, "if a tea's the best you can do..."

"One mocha it is, I'll be right back." However, instead of walking to the bar, Nick walked outside. Zoe only hoped Nick knew what he was doing; when he was gone her phone buzzed with a numberless txt, "hows ur trip going?". Zoe looked up to make sure Nick was no where in sight and then sent, "ok, u?". She had barely sent that text when her phone buzzed with the answer. "Y. All good here 2". Satisfied, Zoe went back to educating herself on the winter's fashion trends. Five minutes later, as Zoe was becoming engrossed in pros and cons of winter boots, Nick came back empty handed.

"Hey, where's my mocha?" Zoe asked him, pretending to be hurt.

"Very funny. I left your mocha in a taxi when I ditched the tracking device."

"Oh, that's what it was. What exactly did you do to these people exactly?"

Nick laughed, "Doesn't matter. I just hope they enjoy a wild goose chase through holiday traffic. C'mon," Nick pulled Zoe to her feet, "we have better places to be, my lady."

"I prefer your royal highness, thank you very much."

The couple walked across the lobby, Nick's arm across Zoe's shoulders. No payed them any attention as they turned to the left at the entrance, and, instead of going back outside, ducked into the fire escape stairwell. Nick plopped down on a step and removed his fleece jacket. It was clearly something he had wanted to do for awhile, because as soon as he did, Zoe's boyfriend sighed in relief, plucking at the front of his shirt to cool down. The shirt was almost sticking to Nick, though, and Zoe suspected that had her boyfriend not been wearing a black shirt, there would be some serious sweat stains making an appearance.

"Much better, can I use your phone Zoe?"

She fished her phone out of her pocket and handed it to him. "Here."

Nick's fingers flew over the number pad as he dialed the call. After what seemed an eternity of ringing, he began with a, "Hey, dude. Yeah, it's me." before continuing in rapid Cantonese.

After several minutes of intense conversation, Nick hung up and handed Zoe's phone back to her. A half hour later, a nondescript Honda picked them up, a fortyish man driving. Nick merely nodded at him and he drove away without a comment. It took awhile to realize that they were not going to some super secret safe house, but back to their hotel; that was surprising. Zoe nudged Nick and mouthed the word hotel. He nodded, clearing his throat slightly before explaining, "I got us new rooms; we'll have someone bring our stuff over tomorrow."

Zoe nodded, her doubts aussaged. She spent the rest of the drive looking out the window, her thoughts as varied as the moonlight's reflection on the ever changing surface of the bay.

By the time they arrived at their new hotel, it was almost 10:00 p.m. Nick left a $100 bill on the back seat and that was it for their ride. The couple sneaked inside, taking the back stairs up to the floor above theirs and then the elevator to the floor below. When they had shut the door to their room, Nick wrapped his arms around Zoe's waist and kissed her.

"Sorry, about all of this," he told her when they had broken apart. He let go of her waist and turned towards their bed, throwing his jacket on top the dresser. "I think if we leave tonight, we'll be okay. We still might be able to stay for your sisters wedding; I know a friend who will let us crash at his house. But, tomorrow we should probably get--" Nick's voice caught in his throat.

Zoe turned around. On each of their pillows sat a single, perfectly formed lotus blossom, its velvety white petals practically glowing in the dark. There was also a slip of paper on the nightstand, such as one might find in a fortune cookie. Nick walked over and picked it up, his hands trembling. In a familiar script, it read, "I said run."

Zoe turned from away from Nick to hide the smug expression on her face. Leesa is a genius, Zoe thought as her phone vibrated in her pocket. Nick didn't notice' he was still staring at the note clutched in one hand, fingering a blossom in the other, still in complete shock.

The text simply read, "Did it work? -L". Zoe quickly texted back, "He's totally freaked out". Again, the reply came almost instantly, "stage 2-L?". Zoe glanced at Nick one more time, terror written plainly all over his face. "Let's do it. " And then, she smiled.