Maybe he wasn’t so bad, Fei’er thought. She would get the Director’s opinion of him first, though.

“Do you want me to get us some coffee from downstairs while we wait?”

“No. Just wait here.”

Inside his office, Liu Xiaokai was finalizing the arrangements he’d started two days before. As promised, both houses were furnished, paid for, ready to be lived in, and—perhaps most importantly—the addresses were a total mystery to Xiaokai. He pressed the intercom button on his phone. “Go ahead and send them in.”

Xingyu and Weiran appeared a moment later in his doorway. “What was so important you had to keep us waiting?”

“Xingyu, believe it or not, I have other things to do.”

Weiran dropped the folder he’d brought onto Xiaokai’s desk. Xiaokai raised an eyebrow.

“This is…?”

“Physical copies of everything we have.”

“And the digital copies?”

Weiran dug the flash drive out of his pocket and put it on top of the folder. “Is there a reason we need both? I thought we were sending it in.”

“We are. I’m having someone take it to the police in person.”

“Who?” Xingyu asked. “Why?”

“I can ensure it gets to the right person this way. If we just send an email, we don’t know where that information will go, but if I send someone I can trust, I know exactly where that information is going. The two of you should make preparations for what to do afterward.”

“We aren’t done yet,” Weiran said. “We aren’t going anywhere.”

Xiaokai rolled his eyes. “Of course you aren’t done yet. But you should still know what you’re going to do afterward so you aren’t caught off guard. Talk to Xingyu and he’ll help you make any purchases you need.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“I mean…” Weiran leaned on Xiaokai’s desk. “What are your plans for after this is over?”

“Retirement,” said Xiaokai simply, “what else?”

Weiran didn’t seem like he liked that answer.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’ve done enough work to last a lifetime.”

“That’s not what I—” Weiran stopped, made a frustrated noise.

“Who are you sending with the Files?” Xingyu asked. “Can we really trust them? I hope you’re not going on your own. You know you have eyes on—”

“Huang Fei’er,” Xiaokai said. “We can trust her.”

Xingyu blinked at him. “Huang Fei’er? Who is that?”

Xiaokai gave him a look that he hoped properly communicated his utter disdain. “Figures that the man trained by Liu Baiyan wouldn’t have any idea of the names of the people around him.”

“Just tell me.”

“Miss Huang is my secretary.”

“Meimei?”

“Yes. Don’t call her that.”

Weiran glanced back at the door. “That woman who’s outside? She’s so young.”