"Dad…. I heard there'd be a music festival at Granny's in New Orleans, right? How 'bout you and the kids visit there?"
Harker's father was busy cooking when he heard this. "Hmm? You mean the French Quarter Festival? Yeah, it's been so long since the kids had visited your mom's family, but that's too far away, son. And where would even get money to get there?"
Harker patted his shoulder. "Don't worry 'bout it! I hear the festival's gonna be good, so you all should go visit. You love jazz, right?"
"Eh…. I'm not sure. What about your school and work—"
He presented 4 plane tickets. "I already bought tickets and excused the kids to their teachers, so no backin' out now!"
His dad sighed. "If you already had it planned, why even bother asking me about it. But I guess you're right, the kid's could have some fun besides trying to sell newspapers everyday. But why only four? You're not coming with us?"
Harker's face turned serious for a split second. "I have something to take care of."
He then smiled to reassure his father. "It's fine! Just take a lot of photos with our Polaroid or buy me a souvenir. And if you find any good-looking girl, take photos of that too—"
"Looks aren't all that matters, Harker." Chloe appeared, about to take her daily medicine. "It should be a girl that's compatible with you, have honor and dignity, and wouldn't abandon you just for your flaws."
Harker chuckled. "Of course, Boss Chloe! That's for you and the two Sam's to handle! You get to know the girl and tell me about her."
"YOOO ARE WE GOING TO THE BAYOU!?" Samson exclaimed. "I heard there were times when soldiers exchanged fire in the bayous during the World War! And there should be base camps there too! I wanna see 'em!"
"I doubt Granny and Gramps would let us go to swamps and military camps." Samuel said, arms crossed. "I for one am looking forward to some Cajun cuisine. Dad could never perfect a gumbo. And I'm craving for beignets just from seeing them in my schoolbook…."
His dad sighed. "I should ask Mama Del to teach me how to do it right. You boys have never tried Josephine's gumbo, but I swear if a girl cooks you something as good as that, you'd want to marry her on the spot."
Chloe agreed. "Mamaw's gumbo is the best, even though I was only 6 when I last tasted it. I miss it a lot…. I wonder if her house had Mom's old things."
Harker was happy that they were excited about the trip. The faster they got out of New York, the better. He doesn't know what happened when he suddenly fell asleep. Apparently, Mr. Xi just went back to Vegas the next day after dropping by at the police station and his house.
Roland told him that it would take a really long time for the investigation to be over and any trial to be held, as this involved many cases at once. So Mr. Xi said he won't be returning to New York until needed, and focus on having a funeral for his wife in Vegas.
But still, it's better to be safe than sorry.
Harker needed to face these demons alone. He'll go to Vegas himself while he still has Xi Hua's Snake Ability. It's a risk, but all he needed was a sliver of Mr. Xi's DNA to get an Enhanced Ability.
On the same day that his family went to a flight to New Orleans, Harker took a plane to Las Vegas, Nevada.
-------------------------------
When Harker finally arrived in 'Sin City', it took a little while to get used to the weather and his surroundings. It was busy just like New York, but in a different way. There were many tourists as one could tell from the luggages and backpacks people carried about. Most of them would be headed to the Strip.
The Strip was most known for the luxury and outdoor activities, where people go to experience the 'Vegas life'. Everywhere you turn, there would be a fancy hotel, palm trees, fancy clubs, palm trees, fancy casinos….. and of course, even more palm trees.
Harker focused on the address he got from Roland. He had smoothly driven the conversation towards it, just feigning to be interested about the Xi family out of curiosity. The Jiaoren Pearl Company, it's headquarters in the Sahara Avenue and the factory just a few blocks away.
He rented a car to drive to his destination, and Yan appeared by his side.
"Do you know what jiaoren means, Master Harker?" The eyeball asked.
Harker shook his head as he made a turn. "Nope. That's the problem, it might take a while to recognize the building since the name is still in Chinese."
"Well, jiaoren actually means 'shark people'. They're like mermaids of the west. They live in the South China Sea." Yan informed him.
"Mermaid, huh?" Harker said. "That can't be just a coincidence. Maybe they use these mermaids to find pearls and clams for them, that's why their business is thriving."
"Actually, they don't need to. You see, the jiaoren can cry—"
Harker suddenly slammed the brakes when a police car pulled over in front of him. He raised his eyebrow. "Yan, vanish for a bit."
"Oh, okay…" The eyeball disappeared before he could give his trivia.
A policeman went out. Harker observed if he was going to the nearby 5-star restaurants, but it was pretty rude to just stop in front of someone without warning. The policeman didn't go to the restaurant and instead approached closer and closer to his car.
Harker rolled down the window. "Good morning, Officer. Is there something wrong? Traffic violation?"
"Are you Harker Jones?" The policeman asked.
Harker tensed up. "Yes. And you are?"
"Haha, don't be nervous, kid. I was sent by someone. You need help getting to the Jiaoren Co., right?"
Harker was still cautious. "Who sent you?"
"That's classified." The man smiled. "If you don't buy it, I have a Jiaoren factory employee uniform, an ID and even some make-up and prosthetics to disguise your face."
But Harker did not need to ask him to know who set him. There's only one person who can hire this policeman to help him and knows that he was going to Mr. Xi's company.
"Ah, Roly-poly." He sighed. "I tried so hard not to get you involved."