I locked the door behind me as I went out of AJ's room. AJ was fast asleep, just as Ms Loren was on the sofa at the foot his bed.

Ms. Myna was napping in the adjacent waiting room and I tried not to wake her as I placed a thermos full of java on the table.

"Is that coffee, Gyn?" Ms. Myna yawned as she stretched her legs.

I nodded and poured her a cup. "How's AJ doing?"

"He's still groggy from all the painkillers, miss, but the doc says he'll fully recover."

"That's really good news," she said as she sipped her coffee. "Madame Yu's doctor met with me a while ago and told me she was in a stable condition."

"They haven't figured out what she was poisoned with, miss, so all they could do is keep her breathing." My voice began to waver as tears filled my eyes to the brim. "I heard some of the nurses talking in the corridor and they said that she'll probably not make it by nightfall."

"Oh, Gyn. Dont talk like that." Ms Myna gave me a hug and wiped my eyes dry. "That old lady is just as tough as AJ is. Don't give up on her yet."

"If only I could get a sample. There's an apothecary cabinet full of that kind of stuff in the Dancing Duck."

I knew I said something wrong when she released me from the embrace, crossed her arms and looked me in the eye.

"Oh no, you don't." She said in a hushed tone. "Don't even think about it. You saw what they did to AJ. Don't you dare do anything reckless, young lady. Lorne will be getting a warrant to search the Duck. We need to be patient, Gyn, and let the him do his job."

A knock suddenly came through the door and walked in the G-man himself.

"Well speaking of the devil." Ms Myna said as he gave her a peck on the cheek.

"A very handsome devil. I heard someone mention my name."

"We were just talking about you. This little dame here was planning on sneaking out and pick out samples from Madame Yu's cabinets."

Lorne Order's eyebrow shot up. "I see."

His hand went inside his suit pocket and produced a folded piece of paper. "No need for sneaking, Gyn. I got the warrant to search the Dancing Duck's premises. The car's already waiting outside. Let's go."

I couldn't believe what he said. Even Ms Myna couldn't believe what he said. I started follow the G-man outside when she pulled both our arms and stopped us in our tracks.

"Wait a hot minute, Lorne Order, what do you mean, let's go? Did you bump your head somewhere to think I'd let you take Gyn into No Luk territory? After they tried to kill two of their own?"

"We wont walk there empty handed, Myna. I'm taking three officers with me, and Gyn will only be there as a guide." He said as he gave her a kiss. "We'll be here before lunch."

I knew she had her doubts but finally let us go. She reminded me to be careful and do whatever Mr Order tells me. I promised her I would. I followed her fiance outside and found the coppers already waiting in their car.

"We're going with Officers Carlos, Ray, and Norris" He pointed at the three. "They'll follow us from behind."

I waved at the officers. All looked really tough. "Mr Gm... I mean, Mr Loren, do I get to ride shotgun?" I asked excitedly. "I'm a real crack shot you know. I can help if we get in trouble."

He turned on his heels and looked me in the eye. "Better hope we don't get in real trouble, Gyn. And remember what you promised to Myna."

I knew he was serious. I nodded.

He then walked to the car and opened the door to the passenger seat.

"Hop in."

******

Chinatown is open to outsiders at daytime. People who wanted to eat and do legitimate business inside were let in without a fuss. It was usually Wong's brother, Ming, who patrolled the gate, but today was different. It was Tak's group, and I knew they were loyal to Xiao. To my surprise, they flagged us down. Mr Order stopped the car.

"Agent Order, JingWen. What brings you folks here?" Tak asked smugly as he looked through my window. The smell of bad garlic clogged my nostrils as he spoke. I couldn't help but pinch my nose.

"Ids Gyn and wer heer do remide joo dat doodpaidse isnd a mydth, Dak. I'd brig joo some negs dime."

He gave me a venomous look but Mr Order flashed a copy of the warrant.

"I'm here on official business, son." He calmly said. "Either let us in now, or the whole law enforcement of Busted Gulch will be paying Chinatown a visit."

Tak knew he wasn't kidding. He raised both arms and backed off from the car. His men followed suit. "I won't delay you, sir. You be careful now."

They gave us taunting looks as our convoy drove off. We were soon parked in front of the Dancing Duck. The doors were wide open but a "Closed" sign was hung outside. Mr Order took a deep breath.

"You follow my orders, Gyn. No questions. If I say run, you run. Officer Carlos will be staying in the car, so if something happens to me, Ray or Norris, you head straight to him and you both scram and get the hell outta here. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"You said you were a crack shot. How?"

"I played pro skeet shooting before I ran from home, sir."

He searched for hints if I was lying but found none. He then reached for his leg and pulled a derringer from his ankle holster.

"Last resort. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then let's go."

He stepped off the car and I followed suit. The officers did too, but as was said, one of them stayed behind.

I could see the tables were cleared from the dining hall and a few men were busy polishing the wooden floors. No one noticed us at first, until Old Heng approached us.

"Agent Order, JingWen!"

"Hi gramps." I nervously smiled. The old man's arm was in a sling and half of his face was wrapped in bandage. He smelled strongly of healing poultice. I was very tempted to ask if he'd like AJ to do the other half.

"So sorry, but we can't serve you lunch today. See, we are closed. There was a... an incident here, some very drunk gamblers."

"We're not here to have lunch, Mr Heng. I'm here to serve a search warrant in relation to a murder case, and we would be more than happy if you cooperate. Would you please call every one to gather here?" Mr Order said and let the old man read the document.

Heng handed back the warrant and called one of the dishwashers to call everyone down to the dining hall. A dozen men gathered.

"Where's everyone else, gramps?" I asked.

"Ah, AhJing, I sent the crew home. KanBo and Xiao are out to have new furniture made."

"Let's not waste time, shall we?" Mr Order nodded to Officer Ray and me to head upstairs.

I led Officer Ray to Madame Yu's quarters. The door was broken, but he checked the room before he let me in. I pointed to him where the cabinets were but as we opened the drawers, my heart sank. They were all empty.

"Does she store her stuff anywhere else, Gyn?" Officer Ray asked.

"No. She made sure everything was here. She herself labeled the packets and bottles neatly and wouldn't let anyone but KanBo gather medicinal stuff from here."

"They must have cleared it last night after AJ. They probably haven't taken it to the landfill yet." He said. "We'll check the dumpster later."

Ray went around the room, checking every nook and cranny but still found nothing. The room was cleaned.

"KanBo's room!" I blurted out.

"What?"

"Maybe he kept the poison he used there!"

"You're on to something, kid. Lead the way."

Soon enough we were going through KanBo's things: his closet, the mattress, even under the potted plants by the window. Nothing. Ray stomped his foot frustration when the floor board creaked. Something changed in his face and he began stomping around the room.

"That's a very nice talent, Mr Ray, but I don't think you should be tap dancing right now."

He didn't seem to hear what I said kept at it until his foot landed on a hollow board. He knocked on it with his knuckle, pried the board with his butterfly knife and smiled.

"Jackpot!"

He pulled out a biscuit tin. He opened it to reveal a thick wad of cash, a few faded pictures, and a dozen of amber vials. He handed the tin to me.

"How'd you know?" I asked in awe.

"You learn how to hide stuff when you live with five brothers. Let's go. We're outta here."

I smiled and followed the officer out of the room when I suddenly heard a muffled scream from the end of the hall.

"Officer Ray!"

"Yeah, I heard that too." The copper brought out his revolver and double checked if it was loaded. "Stay behind me."

We crept down the hall to the room where I knew the NoLuks held their prisoners. As usual the door was locked, but as the door knob rattled, someone screamed from inside.

"We're here!" Ray said. He gave the door a few kicks but it won't budge. "Run down to the Gman, Gyn. Tell him we got someone here. Go!"

I hurried downstairs to relay the message when a gunshot erupted. I was met at the foot of the stairs by Officer Norris.

"What the hell's happening, kid? Where's Ray?"

"They got someone in there. Ray went in to get him."

"Where?"

"The last room at the end of the hall."

"Alright, we got this. Stick to Agent Order."

I nodded and made my way to the dining hall, where the air was thick with tension. I found Mr Order on a contest of wills with old Heng, both of them ready to pounce at each others necks if the other made the wrong move.

"Mr Order."

"What is it, Gyn." His eyes never left the old man's face.

I whispered to his ear what we found. He just nodded until we heard footsteps from the stairs. It was the two officers, with two severely beaten up men, Wong and his brother Ming.

I ran to help then but suddenly things flew from nowhere. We all looked at Ming as he screamed in pain. A knife buried itself in his arm. What happened next was all too quick.

I felt someone push me and soon enough I was huddled with the brothers. Wong supported Ming while the coppers and Mr Order had all their firearms out. I noticed a gash on the Gman's cheek, and Norris' hand was bleeding. Heng and his men had thrown a few knives and now brandished an assortment of weapons. They moved to form a circle around our group, blocking our way out. All of them were taunting to strike, but were hesitant, until one guy made a move. He dashed blindly, his target was anyone his cleaver could reach.

Shots rang out as Mr Order pulled the trigger of his .45. The man instantly crumpled to the ground as slugs found his legs. He loosed another shot to the ceiling. Everyone froze. Old Heng stared angrily at us, but Mr Order shook his head no. Our group began to move to the door, the lawmen's guns still trained at the NoLuks. We quickly went outside the Duck and thankfully the streets were still empty. The street marshals weren't aware of the goings on yet.

The brothers went with Norris and hopped in Carlos' car. Ray started the other as Mr Order and I jumped in. We drove out of there faster than a heartbeat. The other car was close on our tail.

"We can't go through the gate, sir." Ray said as we zoomed through the streets. "I'm betting my socks off they've been waiting for us since we came in."

"I know. They won't be too happy when they see who tagged along. Gyn?"

"Sir?"

"You said you know a way out of here. Show us where it is, sweetheart."

I quickly told them which turns to take and it brought us to the old district of Chinatown. It was burned down a long time ago, and the streets were empty. I pointed to a narrow alley. Only one car could fit.

"That leads to the old red light district. We exit a few blocks from Main St."

"I think I know where this leads to." Ray said. "But I'm not sure if we should go down that way. We're sitting ducks if someone is waiting on the other side."

"No choice. Just do it. Keep your head down, Gyn."

Ray revved the car and drove down the alley. We got through without incident, and only then did I notice I was holding my breath.

We reached the hospital in no time. The brothers were taken in for treatment. Mr Order instructed me to deliver the tin to the doctors, and to tell Ms Myna what happened. Ray was staying to get the brothers' statements.

"You're not coming inside, sir?"

"No, Ray. I'm heading to the station. This whole affair is getting way out of hand."

I watched as Gman hopped on the car with Carlos and Norris.

"We better get inside, kid." Ray said. "An old lady's waiting for you."