The silence of the new apartment was a luxury that curdled into a torment. For the first few days, Kai drifted through the sterile rooms, the echo of his own footsteps a constant reminder of his isolation. The view from the balcony, once a symbol of his ascension, now felt like a panoramic display of everything he was betraying. He slept fitfully in the large, empty bed, his dreams haunted by the clatter of mahjong tiles and the scent of Lok's cheap cologne from the bunk above.
He threw himself into his new duties with a grim fervor, trying to outrun the ghosts. Managing his small crew of enforcers was a different kind of challenge. They were young, hungry, and fiercely loyal to the legend of "Jin Kai," the Red Pole who faced down the 18K with words alone. He assigned them collections, oversaw the protection of a few night markets, and reported to Sai Lo with a cold efficiency that earned him more of the mountain-man's gruff respect. He was playing the part perfectly.
But the world he'd left behind wouldn't let him go. A week after his promotion, he was in his new apartment, reviewing a logistics report from Fast Talk Chau, when his phone buzzed. It was Lok. The calls had become less frequent, the conversations more strained.
"Kai." Lok's voice was tight, stripped of its usual bravado. "I need your help."
A cold knot tightened in Kai's stomach. "What is it?"
"It's Boar. My crew leader. He… he set me up." The words tumbled out in a frantic, hushed rush. "There was a deal. A shipment of phones from a hijacked truck. Boar told me to handle the meet, said it was a test. It was a trap. The guys there were 18K. I barely got out. But now… now the shipment is gone, and Boar is telling Sai Lo I stole it and sold it to the rivals. He's saying I'm a traitor."
Kai closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was a classic, brutal power play. Boar, threatened by Lok's connection to the rising Red Pole, was cutting him loose, using him as a scapegoat for his own incompetence or greed. Lok, desperate to prove himself, had walked right into it.
"Where are you?" Kai asked, his voice low.
"The old place. I'm scared, brother. Sai Lo… he'll believe Boar. He'll have me killed for this."
"Stay there. Don't move. Don't talk to anyone." Kai ended the call and stood up, the logistics report forgotten. This was the cost. This was the ripple from the stone he had thrown. His success had made Lok a target.
He didn't go to Sai Lo. He went to the source. He found Boar at a pool hall in Mong Kok, holding court with his crew, a cigar clamped between his teeth. He was a bulky man with a piggish face and a loud, bullying laugh that died the moment he saw Kai standing in the entrance.
The entire hall went quiet. The click of the pool balls ceased. Boar's crew shifted uneasily. The legend of Jin Kai had preceded him.
"Boar," Kai said, his voice cutting through the silence. "We need to talk. Outside."
Boar puffed out his chest, trying to reclaim his authority. "I'm busy, Red Pole. What does Sai Lo want?"
"This isn't from Sai Lo," Kai said, taking a step into the room. The pool players instinctively moved back, creating a path. "This is from me. It's about Lok. And the missing phones."
Boar's eyes darted nervously. "That little thief? He got what was coming to him."
Kai was in front of him now, close enough to smell the cheap cigar and the fear-sweat breaking out on Boar's forehead. He didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to.
"I've seen the manifests from the hijack," Kai lied smoothly, pulling from his knowledge of Chau's operations. "I know the serial numbers of every phone on that truck. They're already being tracked. They surface on the street, I'll know where they came from." He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "But I'm not interested in the phones, Boar. I'm interested in you setting up my brother. You use him as your fall guy again, and I won't go to Sai Lo. I'll come for you myself. And we both know I don't need a bat or a knife to make my point."
He let the threat hang in the air, a palpable force. He saw the blood drain from Boar's face. He was bluffing, but his reputation was a weapon as real as any gun. The story of the docks, of his calm confrontation with the 18K, had painted him as a cerebral, unpredictable force. Boar was a blunt instrument; he didn't know how to fight a ghost.
"There… there must have been a misunderstanding," Boar stammered, his bravado collapsing.
"Clear it up," Kai said. "Tell Sai Lo you recovered the shipment. That it was a communications error. That Lok acted with courage. You fix this, and we forget it happened. You don't…" He left the sentence unfinished, his eyes delivering the promise of ruin.
He turned and walked out of the pool hall, the silence behind him absolute. He had just abused his new authority to protect Lok. He had become the very corruption he was supposed to be fighting.
He went straight to the old tong lau. Lok was pacing the small room, his face pale with terror. When Kai entered, he flinched.
"It's handled," Kai said, his voice weary.
Lok stared at him. "Handled? How?"
"Boar won't bother you again. He's going to tell Sai Lo it was all a mistake. You're in the clear."
The relief that washed over Lok was so profound it left him weak. He sank onto the bottom bunk, his head in his hands. "How did you… what did you do?"
"I talked to him," Kai said simply.
But Lok wasn't a fool. He looked up, his eyes wide with a dawning, horrified understanding. He saw the cold certainty in Kai's demeanor, the unspoken power he now wielded. This wasn't the brother who'd taken a beating for him. This was a Red Pole who had commanded a solution into existence.
"You threatened him," Lok whispered. It wasn't a question.
Kai didn't deny it. He just looked at his oldest friend, the chasm between them now a vast, unbridgeable canyon. He had saved Lok, but in doing so, he had finally and completely become Jin Kai. The ghost had protected its last tether to humanity by acting like a monster.
Lok looked away, unable to meet his gaze. The gratitude was there, but it was poisoned by fear. The brother he knew was gone, replaced by a powerful, terrifying stranger who lived in an apartment in Tsim Sha Tsui.
"Thank you," Lok mumbled to the floor.
Kai nodded, the victory ash in his mouth. He had kept his friend safe, but he had lost him all the same. The mission demanded it. The ghost required it. He turned and walked out, leaving Lok alone in the cramped, familiar room, both of them prisoners of the path Kai was walking.