Little Thieves

The ghost-boy had been right. Xiajun had expected the three teenage kids- which included a girl and two boys- to have some guts after they had attempted such a reckless robbery, but they now stood in the middle of the road with guns pointed at them, crying and blubbering. One boy had peed his pants.

Policemen approached the teens with handcuffs and soon enough, all three of them had their hands tied behind their backs. Xiajun watched the scene with unsatisfaction.

"Hi there," he said to the policeman who was barking orders to others on his megaphone. The policeman lowered his megaphone and the two men shook hands.

"Detective Jun," the policeman- who was middle-aged yet had a face adorned with deep set wrinkles, accumulated through years of tough grind- said. "I must apologize for the damage done to your car; it seems very expensive. I'm sure the city would be willing to-"

Xiajun waved his hand with utter indifference. "That doesn't matter at the moment. May I know what you are going to do with them now?" He gestured towards the three teenagers who were now being forced into police vehicles.

The policeman scratched his chin with the edge of his megaphone. "We'll be taking them to the police station for now until their parents can be contacted. Do be rest assured, though. Their crime is not going to go unpunished."

"I'd like to come along," said Xiajun.

The policeman frowned. "Yes, of course. We'll drive you since your own vehicle is in no working condition."

Xiajun nodded. "I'll make a quick call to the tow-truck company, if you please." He had to get his Bugatti to an authorized body shop as soon as possible if he meant to make his journey back to Guangzhou on his own.

****

"Right," he muttered. Xiajun was in no mood to beat around the bush, or any bushes, for that matter as he faced the thieves who had stolen and then wrecked his car. "So, what are your names? One by one, nice and easy, does it." He was not being courteous; his voice was menacingly calm. The kids wished he'd rather yell at them.

"U-Um," the eldest boy went first. He had short cropped black hair and a freckled face, and by the looks of him, he seemed to be from a well-off household. "My name is, uh, Wencheng."

Xiajun rested his gaze on the girl that sat beside him, and to him she seemed like Wencheng's sister. Through her stifled sobs, she found the strength to speak.

"Wenqian."

Xiajun nodded slowly and moved on to the third boy, who seemed to be the only one unrelated to the other two. He had bleached hair and a tight facial expression.

"What's your name?" Xiajun asked and the boy narrowed his eyes.

"Why should I tell you that? Why should we tell you anything at all?" he spat.

Xiajun raised an eyebrow before checking his wristwatch. Only 10:30 a.m.. He had time to spare.

"Why should you tell me anything?" Xiajun repeated as he sat back in his chair. The jail cell they were seated in was far from comfortable, but then that was the point. The floor was concrete and the walls were stripped bare.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Xiajun muttered, "but aren't you the guy who refused to give his parents contact information?"

The boy's face tightened. "Yeah. And?"

Xiajun shrugged nonchalantly. "No, nothing. I was just wondering how you'd feel if you'd have to stay here overnight if no one comes to bail you out. And what about tomorrow? They won't keep you here forever, boy." Xiajun smiled. "I'm certain you'll be put to trial. You know what's the punishment for stealing a vehicle in Hong Kong?"

None of the three kids replied.

"Up to 10 years in prison." Xiajun leaned forward and clasped his hands. "I'm sure that would be a lovely 10 years for you, won't it? How old are you all, anyway? Sixteen? Seventeen? You don't want to waste 10 ears of our lives just like that, huh?"

The boy with the bleached hair gulped, clearly shaken, while the other boy comforted his crying sister by rubbing her shoulder. Xiajun sighed.

"Look," he said eventually, raking a hand through his smooth hair, "I'm willing to not press charges if you answer my one question."

The thieves looked at the man warily and exchanged nervous glances.

"How the hell did you drive my car without the key?"

The kids frowned.

Xiajun cleared his throat. "You see, my car has a special security system which prevents anyone from starting the engine unless the original key is used, which I've had all along," he said, brandishing a shiny black key from his pocket. The kids stared at it, confused.

"I-I suppose you'll have to ask Ru for that, since he's the one who figured it out." Wencheng pointed at the other boy, who went red at his name turning up. Xiajun smiled.

"So you're name's Ru." When the boy didn't respond, Xiajun continued. "Did you hot wire the car or something? How did you drive it?"

The boy was adamant to spill nothing, it appeared, because he bit the inside of his cheeks for a long time before he came around with a sigh.

"Yes, well, they don't teach you about hot-wiring cars at school, do they?" Ru muttered bitterly. "I used a dummy key, I have a couple which work for most cars."

Xiajun frowned. "Dummy...key...?"

The boy shrugged. "Yeah. Though it appears that I may have lost the one I used for your car. I think I dropped it somewhere...?" he muttered in thought.

Xiajun sat back for a while, thinking about it. The boy that sat before him- Ru- seemed to be smart. He didn't have the same look of pained regret on his face like the other two, it was almost as if he was sitting there, evaluating his next move. Xiajun knew he'd come meet the boy again.

Finally, he scoot back his chair and got up, telling the guard by the cell door that he was done. He stopped outside for a few minutes to talk to the nearest officer in hushed tones, which made the kids wonder. Xiajun turned around and gave them all a quick, elegant wave as the officer tipped his hat.

The kids stared as the man in the tailored suit exited the police station with a small smile gracing his lips.