My Name Is Smith

My name is Smith.

I lied.

On May 22, 2010, my partner and I were assigned to stake out a fraudster named Zhang Huanan. The man was cunning, with multiple prior convictions and an uncanny ability to evade capture. This time, he'd been flagged as a key suspect in a major scam, and we'd been ordered to monitor his apartment around the clock.

"Captain Li, want one?" Xiao Liu pulled out a pack of premium *Cordyceps* cigarettes from his jacket. The kid wasn't rich but always carried expensive smokes he never touched himself, offering them like bribes.

"How much do you earn a month?" I ignored his gesture, fishing out my own cheap *Red General* brand—¥8 a pack, harsh but reliable.

"Twenty-seven hundred," Xiao Liu replied. "You know that, Captain."

"Then why waste money on *Cordyceps*?" I lit my cigarette. He scrambled to hold out his lighter.

"Wouldn't dream of smoking these myself," Xiao Liu said with an ingratiating smile. "They're for you, sir."

"Cut the flattery. In our line of work, skill trumps brown-nosing."

Xiao Liu nodded eagerly, swapping his premium pack for a ¥6 *Changbai Mountain*. ​

The kid had talent. Top of his class at the police academy, sharp as a tack—if only he'd ditch the bureaucratic schmoozing.

We parked across from Zhang's apartment, eyes glued to the entrance. Stakeouts were always two-man jobs for rotating shifts, but the open-ended grind wore you down. The car filled with smoke as we chain-smoked, Xiao Liu periodically cracking the AC to clear the haze.

By the next evening, Xiao Liu was nodding off. "Get some rest," I said. "I'll wake you in a bit."

He lasted twenty seconds before snoring.

I checked my phone. Three texts from Xuanxuan:

*Dad, coming home for dinner? *

*Dad, Grandma says you're on a mission. Stay safe! *

*Parent-teacher conference Friday. Can you come? *

I typed a reply—*Home soon. Eat well*—before opening the fourth message from an unknown number:

*Still staking out? *

Glancing at Xiao Liu, I shifted away and fired back: *Shut up and stay hidden.*

The car's leather seats sighed as I reclined. Fancy new cruiser, electric adjustments—no more jerky motions to throw out your back. Not that Zhang Huanan would show. Not while I was here.

---

**Chapter 85: Premium Problems**

Xiao Liu shook me awake in a panic. "Captain! You fell asleep too?!"

"Relax," I grumbled, straightening my seat. "Just closed my eyes for a minute."

The kid was frantic. "What if he slipped by? My first assignment and I—"

"I'll take responsibility."

Xiao Liu morphed into a caffeine-fueled sentry after that, staying awake for two straight days while I dozed intermittently. When my phone buzzed again—low battery flashing—Zhang's latest text glared: *Getting bored yet? *

"Captain?" Xiao Liu peered at my screen, eyes bloodshot. "New orders?"

"Junk mail." I pocketed the phone and emptied my cigarette pack. "Go buy more smokes. And grab water and bread while you're at it."

As Xiao Liu stumbled off, I texted Zhang: *STOP CONTACTING ME.*

No reply.

The car door clicked open minutes later. Not Xiao Liu.

"Long time no see, *Officer Liu*."

Zhang Huanan slid into the backseat. My spine turned to ice.

"Are you insane?" I hissed. "This is a police cruiser!"

He plucked the cigarette from my fingers. "Unmarked piece of junk."

"I should drag you to the station right now."

"We're tied tighter than a hangman's knot." Zhang exhaled smoke. "Remember the ¥100,000 for Xuanxuan's liver transplant? Show some gratitude."

The words punched through me. Seven years ago, I'd arrested Zhang—only for him to offer blood money to save my daughter. Xuanxuan wasn't even mine by blood, the orphaned child of a fallen comrade. But she'd called me Dad for a decade.

"You've overstayed your welcome," I said coldly. "Disappear, or I'll—"

"Or what?" Zhang leaned forward, breath reeking of cheap liquor. "My friends know where Xuanxuan's classroom is. Fourth grade, room six."

Rage blurred my vision. "Touch her and I'll skin you alive."

"Then keep being my good little dog." He kicked my seat. "Now drive. I'm starving."

The engine purred. My hand drifted to my holster, thumbing the safety off.

Zhang lounged in the back, oblivious. I veered into an alley—

Steel wire garroted my throat.

"Think I'm stupid?" Zhang snarled, yanking tighter. "Your partner's gonna notice you're gone!"

Black spots danced as I clawed at the wire. My pistol barked three times—deafening in the enclosed space.

Zhang's grip faltered. I slammed the seat recline button.

Fancy machinery whirred, lowering me millimeter by luxurious millimeter as the world faded.

Expensive cars… sure are… comfy…