novelhk Chapter 12 Let Go of That Child
Chapter 12 Let Go of That Child
The gunshots came from the south of the port, not from Li En's direction.
The sound bounced back and forth between the sheet metal and the concrete, stretching out for a long time before fading away in the night wind.
The moment the gun went off, Li En pressed his body against the top of the container, turned the gun around, and aimed his ear at the direction of the sound.
It wasn't directed at him.
The bullet hit somewhere else, at least 200 meters away.
"Fuck! Did you hear that?"
The man sitting on the dock stood up, his short-barreled rifle now held in his hand, having moved it from his knees.
He turned his head from left to right and then back again, but couldn't find his target; the gun was still pointed south.
The man on the observation tower leaned halfway out from the iron platform, dropping his cigarette, which landed on the concrete ground below, sending up a small spark.
The four patrolmen quickly met up, stood back to back in a circle, and pointed their automatic rifles in four directions.
The leader was wearing a gray jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing a dark tattoo on his forearm.
He raised his hand and made a stop gesture, and everyone squatted down.
"Is someone causing trouble at Port 10 next door?"
"Are they our people?"
"No, it's not the time the boss said yet." The tattooed man's voice was deep and came through the shipping container. "They've been taken care of by someone else."
The group quickly exchanged glances.
The tattooed man waved his hand towards the south, and everyone crouched down and moved in the direction from which the gunshots came.
The man on the dock also climbed over from behind the mooring bollard and joined the group.
The six people formed a team and advanced southward along the main passage between the containers. Their footsteps were dense and rapid, and they soon disappeared into the depths of the port.
The people on the lookout tower did not follow.
He stood back on the iron platform, his body taut, his head turning left and right, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the shadows of the harbor.
Li En slid down from the top of the container.
The moment his foot touched the ground, the people on the observation tower turned around and faced the opposite direction.
Li En pressed himself against the side of the container, waited two seconds to make sure the figure didn't turn back, and then crouched down and darted forward.
Five steps, then stop at the corner of the next container and press your ear against the metal sheet to listen.
The footsteps in the distance could no longer be heard.
Several more gunshots rang out from the south of the port, very close together, as if people were firing at each other.
The person on the observation platform tilted their head in that direction, but did not leave the platform.
Li En bypassed the two rows of shipping containers and approached the longhouse from the side.
This time, instead of taking the open concrete road in front, he groped his way forward along the shadow of the corrugated iron wall.
There is a hidden seam at the angle between the base of the wall and the ground.
The width was just enough for his boots to slip in, with his heels against the wall and his toes pointing outwards, making him walk like he was on a balance beam.
The longhouse's tin gate was still closed.
He went around to the side window, picked off a small patch of dust with his finger, and peered through it.
It was very dark inside.
After his eyes adjusted for a few seconds, he saw the metal bunk bed in the corner.
The blanket was bulging, and the collar of the gray sweatshirt was sticking out from under the blanket, facing the window.
Cortel.
Li En took a step back and returned to the shadow of the corrugated iron wall.
He held the M1911 in his right hand, and with his left hand he took out the spare magazine from his pocket and held it between his ring and little fingers.
He circled back to the front of the longhouse.
The grooves in the sliding track under the door were filled with dirt and debris, and pushing it directly would produce a harsh friction sound.
He squatted down and used his left hand to carefully remove the debris from the groove, his fingernails filled with black mud.
After cleaning it, I pressed the top edge of the door panel with my left hand and lifted it up by half an inch.
Release the pulley from the friction surface at the bottom of the slide rail, then grasp the door handle with your right hand and pull to the right.
The sound of sheet metal scraping against the rails was mostly drowned out by the night wind and distant gunshots.
The door opened a crack, just enough for him to squeeze in sideways.
It was darker inside the longhouse than outside.
The corrugated iron walls and roof blocked out the sounds from outside, leaving only his own breathing and heartbeat.
There was a musty and rusty smell in the air, along with a sour smell left by dried sweat.
Wait until your eyes are fully adapted.
He had confirmed the location of the iron bunk bed in the corner.
There was a bulge in the blanket on the bed, and the collar of the gray sweatshirt was sticking out from under the blanket.
Kotter's face was turned toward the wall, his breathing was shallow, and his shoulders rose and fell slightly.
Li En walked to the bedside and gently pressed down on Cortel's shoulder.
The child didn't wake up.
He pressed it again, this time with a bit more force.
Cortel's eyelids twitched, and he opened them a crack.
Those eyes were unfocused in the darkness, their pupils dilated as if seen through a layer of mist.
Li En bent down, put his mouth close to Cortel's ear, and lowered his voice to the lowest possible level.
"Don't make a sound, I'll take you home."
Cortel's eyes were still unfocused, but his pupils contracted slightly.
His lips moved, but no sound came out, and he shuddered violently under the covers.
Li En pulled back the blanket.
Cortel had a ring of purplish-blue bruises on his wrist, as if he had been strangled by a rope, and several scratches on his skin, covered with a thin layer of scabs.
He was very light; Li En could lift him off the bed with one hand.
"Can you walk?"
Kotter nodded, and he sat up slowly from the bed.
Li En draped his arm over his shoulder, and held the gun in his other hand, pointing it toward the door.
Footsteps could be heard outside.
It wasn't the pace of a patrol team.
Slower and heavier than that, the iron-tipped leather shoes pounded firmly on the cement ground with every step.
There was only one person.
Footsteps came from the left side of the longhouse, getting closer and closer.
Lee En released Cortel's arm with his left hand and gently pressed his palm against Cortel's chest, pinning him against the metal sheet.
He lowered the muzzle of the gun by half an inch with his right hand, pointing it towards the doorway, but not aiming it at the door panel; it wasn't the right time yet.
The footsteps stopped at the entrance of the longhouse.
The sliver of light that was getting in through the crack in the door was blocked by a shadow.
A moment later, the light started to seep in again.
Footsteps sounded again, lighter than before, the soles of shoes crunching over gravel.
Li En walked sideways to the door, braced his shoulder against Cortel's armpit, and freed his left hand to reach for the doorknob.
Li En opened the door wide, grabbed Cortel's lower back with his left hand, lifted his body up, and hoisted him onto his left shoulder like a sack of grain.
Cortel remained silent, his arms hanging limply at Li En's chest, his head tilted back, his eyes half-open and half-closed.
He stepped out the door, his right foot just touching the concrete, when a shout suddenly came from behind him.
"Hey!"
The sound exploded from behind, loud and clear, with a hint of drunken excitement.
"You're a real pervert! This is collateral sent from next door, don't even think about playing around with it."
The footsteps turned back, getting closer and closer, the iron-toed leather shoes pounding on the cement ground, each step rhythmic.
Li En did not turn around.
His back was turned towards the direction the sound came from, and his hoodie and beanie covered his body completely, making him indistinguishable from the gang members from behind.
She felt that gaze fall on her back, linger for a second, and then move to Cortel.
My heart was pounding in my chest, each beat like someone knocking on the door.
Breath exhaled from the nasal cavity, condensing into a layer of dampness on the fabric of the woolen hat.
His mind was racing.
Judging from the intervals and intensity of the gunfire, the six men on patrol were in the south and had engaged in a firefight with the people at Port 10.
Short, single shots, occasionally interspersed with bursts of two or three, the sound of bullets hitting the metal echoing from afar, across half the harbor.
The person behind him is the gatekeeper.
The one on the observation tower is still there, but its back is to this side.
Nobody will come.
Li En straightened up.
He adjusted Cortel's body from his left shoulder to make the boy's weight more stable.
With his left hand gripping Cortel's thigh, he raised his right hand from the outside of his thigh, bending his elbow and pointing the gun backward.
sideways.
My gaze passed over my right shoulder and I saw a blurry outline.
Bald, wearing a gray T-shirt, not holding a gun, with his right hand in his pocket and his left hand unbuckling his belt, about 25 meters away.
Those eyes saw Lee Eun's face.
The three holes in the woolen hat revealed two patches of pale skin and a pair of expressionless eyes; his pupils suddenly dilated.
Li En clenched his index finger.
A flash of light shot out from the muzzle before the M1911's slide recoiled.
The sound was compressed into a short, sharp burst in the aisle between the containers, like someone smashing something with a hammer.
The bullet pierced through the area above the forehead and exploded into a dark red mass at the back of the head.
The bald man leaned back, his arms swinging out to his sides, and slammed face down onto the concrete floor, where he remained motionless.
Li En lowered the gun, steadied Cortés with his left hand, and took off running.
The cot on his shoulder bounced up and down with his steps, the hood of his gray hoodie blowing in the wind.
The gunfire in the distance stopped.
Someone was shouting, but the sound was torn apart by the wind, and it was impossible to hear what they were shouting.
Li En walked through the narrow passage between two rows of shipping containers, around a pile of rusty iron barrels, and the outline of the grove of trees came into view.
The brick wall, two meters high, stood in front of the woods, and the broken glass on top of it flashed briefly in the beam of light from the searchlight.
He did not slow down.
He stepped onto the stone at the base of the wall, supported Cortel's thigh with his left hand and lifted him up, while gripping the top of the wall with his right hand.
The shards of glass cut the skin on the outside of my palm, and warm liquid trickled down my little finger.
He gritted his teeth, pushed Cortel off his shoulder, let the boy lie on the wall first, then flipped over himself, catching Cortel's body with one hand and supporting himself on the ground with the other.
When I landed, my knees hit the muddy ground with a dull thud.
Li En picked up Cortel again and carried him into the grove.
The decaying leaves and broken branches crunched underfoot, but I didn't slow down.
More shouts came from the port behind them.
Li En ran out of the grove, got on the road, and turned north.
There were no streetlights.
Moonlight peeked through the gaps in the clouds, casting a pale, bright spot about seven or eight meters in front of him.
He ran toward the bright spot, ran past it, then disappeared into the darkness, and reappeared in the next bright spot.
Cortel on his shoulder shifted.
One hand gripped the fabric of Lee Eun's hoodie tightly from the back.
His fingers dug into the fabric, his nails poking at his shoulder blades through the clothes.
"Don't let go." Lee En's voice was panting from running.
Kotter's fingers tightened even more.
A second gunshot rang out from the direction of the port behind us, followed by a third.
Someone is firing shots into the air; perhaps they are sending a signal, or perhaps they are simply venting their anger.
Li En turned into a small alley, bypassing the main road.
Remember to walk through here; two blocks away is Bright's Black neighborhood.
My lungs felt like they were on fire, my throat tightened with every breath, and the muscles in my calves were trembling.
The scraped skin on my knee was rubbing against my trouser leg, and it stung painfully.
But he didn't stop.
The outline of the neighborhood came into view ahead.
Lee Eun walked onto the street, which was shrouded in dim light.
He put Cortel on the ground, took a deep breath, and shouted towards the neighborhood:
"Hey, there's a little black kid here!"
"Fuck, what are you doing, you disgusting white man?!"
Rapid, rhythmic roars echoed from inside the building, and people stuck their heads out of the windows.
Someone rushed downstairs, probably still holding a weapon, cursing and shouting:
"Let go of that child right now, get out of here!"
Li En turned and ran away, his figure disappearing into the dark night once more.
……