Pete's POV
Tom and I left the building for a few minutes to stay at the back of the club to rest.
"You're doing great, Gorgeous!
"Are you going to call me like this?"
"It's your name! May I?"
Damn...
"Okay..."
"I was afraid this work would be heavy for you, but you seem quite used to it."
"Thank you! It's because Tom instructs me so well."
"You learn fast. But you also said you've worked in nightclubs before, right? I'm concerned about a girl's well-being in an environment like this."
"Mhmm...actually I've worked on a lot of things from an early age to help my family...here is good. You don't have to worry about me. I know how to take care of myself. You must also take care of yourself, Tom...customers here seem... well... pretty pushy with waiters."
"Yeah...they are... your brother seems more worried about me than about you. He chased away all pushier customers near me. I need to thank Narong. I don't know how to be so direct to turn people away. I don't want to cause any trouble to Mr. Andy. He is the one who usually helps me."
"Sorry for asking Tom...but why do you work here? I'm sure you could work elsewhere. You are very committed to work."
"..."
"Don't mind telling me if you don't feel like...I don't want to be nosy".
"You and Narong seem to be so nice...I feel like knowing you for a long time although we've met today...I feel ashamed to tell you why I can't leave."
"Ashamed?!"
"Although I'm quite harassed here, it would be much worse if Mr. Tang hadn't bought me.
"Excuse me? Somebody bought you?"
"Yes...He brought me here to work at the night club...Oh...I shouldn't tell you this..."
"You can trust me, Tom..."
"After my parents died, there were many debts and a moneylender sold me to settle my parents' debts. People being sold into slavery is still a reality. I was fifteen...no relatives to help me. I was going to be sold to a cabaret, but Master Tang, Young Master Tang Yi deceased uncle, bought me and brought me here.
"Who are Master Tang and Tang Yi?"
"Master Tang was the head of one of the main factions of the Taiwanese mafia. After Master Tang died, young master Tang Yi took over the clan's power. He's Mr. Andy's business partner. He doesn't come here often, but when he does, you'll know. Master Tang Yi is known to be very handsome."
"Oh really?! My theory always confirmed. Show me an ugly mafia heir. Ugliness is for the poor mortals."
"Haha...it's true...all main mafia heirs that come here are so handsome..."
"They are all handsome but disgusting...trade people like things..."
"Actually Mr. Tang was not such a bad person, Anong, even being mafia...He actually saved me from a worse fate. I was so afraid someone would turn me into a sex slave...but Mr. Tang Yi and Mr. Andy put me in the waiter position and never made me do things I didn't want to. Same with other guys here.
"Still...how old are you now?
"20"
"Five years as a slave? When will you be free?"
"When I return the money that Mr. Tang paid for me. It's not a bad thing. I have a good place to sleep, to eat, I was able to go to school, otherwise I would be living in the streets. Mr. Andy take good care of us. I know I get paid a lot more than usual, so I managed to save all the money I needed."
"You can buy your freedom then"
"Yes, I can..."
"So... I don't understand...why haven't you left yet Tom?! This is not a place for you!
"...I will..." Tom responds hesitantly... "But this is the closest thing I know to family...Mr. Andy needs my help...and also..."
"Please, don't tell me you are waiting for that Thai guy to come back here..."
"..."
"It's been a YEAR, Tom!"
"I know...but..."
"Jesus, man...move on!"
"You sound like a tough girl..."
"Ow! Uhhh...yeah...having an older brother...you know...I was raised to be tough like Narong."
"I know I'm being stupid, but have you ever felt so connected with a person to the point this person means your whole world...?!"
"...Well..."
You say how Vegas is the air I breathe? Damn it. This boy is doomed.
"I feel this way about him"
"Tell me how that person is, Tom...I'm curious...Let me judge if you're not being dumb. Girls know those things better..."
"I thought girls were more easily deceived than boys?"
"Exactly. Girls know best from experience...bad experience. Go on...tell me... how is that guy?" (1)
"Well, like all mafia heirs, and here you'll meet several, Anong, he was raised like a prince. He has a refined and very polite manner. He speaks several languages. When he talks, you feel mesmerized. However, there is also a reputation for being cold and ruthless."
"Really?!"
Oh...no
"But when that person really lets you know the real him, you realize that person just need to be loved. He knows how to show affection. You feel deeply loved too."
"Hmm..."
Oh shit...deja vú...
"At least, that's what I thought."
"Give up that trash, dude"
"..."
Tom gets sad.
"Can't you let him go...?!"
"I still believe that at some point he will come back to see me here at the club."
"But this person didn't even have the decency to tell you he was leaving! Do you think he deserves your wait? He's probably already with someone else, Tom. And you're wasting your time and your freedom."
"Am I being dumb?"
"Totally dumb."
"..." Tom gets even more sad.
I need to be tough with him. If this person is old Vegas, then Tom has really been fooled. Besides...that guy is already taken, pal.
"Come on, Tom...don't be like this...I'm just saying it for your own good."
And maybe because I'm a little jealous...very little...almost nothing...
"I know, Anong...Mr. Andy tell me the same thing almost every day. He wants me to be free too...in all senses."
"Tom, how are people purchased so easily here?"
"In the underworld it's not so difficult... but the elite families don't take so many risks. There is a specific place where those kinds of things are traded. But I can't tell you more."
"In the chess room?!"
"How do you know about the chess room, Anong?"
Tom looks at me in surprise.
"Let's just say my life was negotiated there too. I'm looking to find out by whom."
"Oh God...Why? Do you guys have debts too? Shouldn't you be hiding yourselves? Are you hiding here? You picked a bad place, Anong!
Tom tells me apprehensively.
"'Cause of all the mobsters that come here? Isn't it safer to hide where it's most dangerous and unlikely?"
"Hmm...maybe so. But that's not the only reason...please, don't tell anyone..."
"You can bet my life I won't put you in danger."
"I heard Master Tang Yi comment to Mr. Andy that the next chess room meeting will be held here in Taipei in a few days. It is very likely that some chess room members will come to the nightclub."
"Is Master Tang Yi a member?"
"Probably. The young master faction is very powerful here in Taipei. Maybe it's just not stronger than the white clan."
"White clan?"
"Yes... The white clan is the most powerful mafia faction in the country. Have you heard of the white clan?"
"I don't think so..."
"The white clan is not well known outside the underworld...that means the police don't have much information about them"
"Does the head of the white clan usually come to De Light?!"
"No, no... people say the head of the white clan never gets involved with any of that. He's like an urban legend. People say he's an intelligent and very attractive man... as you say Anong, it's the rule, right...?! haha...maybe he is an exception..."
"Yeah...don't believe urban legends...he must be fat and ugly."
Oh well, Lian Wang seems to be clever and is good looking indeed.
"But the white clan is very reserved. I've never seen the head of the white clan and I don't know who he is. I don't think Mr. Andy either. Maybe Master Tang Yi knows. It may sound strange, but you remind me of one of their members."
"Me?!"
"I explain. Chess room meetings take place each time in a different country. I was actually bought in Beijing."
"Oh! Are you not Taiwanese?"
"No, I'm Chinese. Master Tang brought me to Taiwan. I spent a couple of days in the chess room in China, before coming to Taipei. One day I saw a boy around eighteen... He was accompanying a pretty girl, a few years older than he was. I was told that girl was the White Tower...an important member of the white clan, a favorite of their Master. By that time I didn't know exactly what that meant. I only knew that the white clan members always wore white... they had a strict, polished and elegant posture, unlike ordinary mobsters. Very good-looking. I don't know what they were doing there, but I remember that day quite well because that boy was very handsome. The most beautiful boy I had ever seen. Master Tang told me that Chinese boy was sold to the white clan many years before, when he was very young, and trained to be their member, but it was a very hard training...Master Tang said I was not the kind of boy to that kind of environment. It seems he was chosen mainly because of his looks ...he was a beautiful kid. Even so, he had to go under a surgery to change some physical features to comply with the white clan's requirements."
"Are you serious?! This is sick, man!"
"I cannot deny or confirm it for sure. That's what Master Tang told me. For some reason Master Tang felt comfortable telling me things."
"Why do I remind you of that boy?"
"I'm sorry, Anong. Perhaps for a girl to hear that she looks like a boy is not a compliment. But what I mean is that you two have delicate features that look a lot alike. Both are very beautiful! But you are not identical, of course.
"Do you know his name?"
"Not his real name...but he was known by his nickname...related to his ethereal beauty but gloomy face... it's Chinese...Tianshi...the dark angel. (2)"
...