A War Between Spies Chapter 37

Public safety in London was, generally speaking, not a major issue. In most areas, there was no need to worry about being robbed or attacked. However, in certain areas, especially ones with a higher concentration of foreign immigrants, there were often reported cases of illegal activities such as gang violence or vandalism.

Regardless, it was never a good sign to see a bunch of armed men marching on the street. And from where Yang Yi was standing, everyone was trying to hide a gun somewhere on them.

Two of the men were chanting some sort of war cry. Some were just having relaxed conversations as they walked. However, most of them appeared calm and collected.

Danny still had his suit on, but his leather shoes had been replaced with a pair of leather running shoes.

"If you don't need to use your gun, don't. The safety of the bait should be your priority. Protect them at all costs," Danny commanded.

Since nobody seemed to have any questions, Danny decided to get straight to business. "Let's do this," he said simply.

As Yang Yi and Kate stood at the opened front door of Pearl Liang restaurant, the so-called 'bait operation' was quietly announced as having commenced. Yang Yi looked grimly out to the open street. In his hands were the handles of the wheelchair Kate was sitting in. In any case, he didn't seem to have any confidence at all regarding what they were about to do.

It was around dusk at the time. Many people had already gathered outside the restaurant, so Yang Yi quickly blended into the crowd and reached a bus stop. However, after deciding that a public mode of transport was not the safest option, Yang Yi quickly got up and pushed Kate to a taxi stand.

Since it was the peak of the nightly rush hour, none of the cabs seemed to be available. Yang Yi decided to line up behind a queue and wait behind the two people in the lane. As Yang Yi stood behind the line with Kate sitting in front him, a middle-aged man in front of them turned back and politely offered for them to go ahead of him. It took Yang Yi a while but he rejected the offer and left the waiting lane with Kate.

Geez, I must've looked miserable. Yang Yi thought to himself, which was a reasonable assessment in a sense. From a stranger's point of view, Yang Yi's gestures and expression were clearly demonstrating anxiety and distress; he was also accompanied by a young, wheelchair-bound girl who seemed to be in too much pain to speak. Furthermore, the fact that they left the restaurant in such a state would make anyone assume that they were indeed kicked out by the owner.

At the very least, Yang Yi thought his act, whether intentional or not, was natural enough. What worried him the most was that he didn't see anything peculiar happening. No knives. No guns. Just people passing by minding their own business. As the two had already reached the end of the designated route, Yang Yi realized that they must choose between a bus or a taxi in order to get to the train station.

The two circled around the area for a bit. After taking some time for contemplation, Yang Yi decided to board a bus to reach the train station. Because Pearl Liang restaurant was quite close to Paddington Station, it wasn't long before Yang Yi and Kate reached the station and purchased the train tickets they needed.

Of course, every move Yang Yi was making was according to the original plan. He was supposed to reach the train station at a specific time. After that, he was supposed to board a particular train heading to Southampton.

Come on. Don't chicken out. Stop the trembling of your legs.

Yang Yi was already pretty nervous when he arrived at the train station, but the thought of being attacked out of nowhere was what frightened him the most. Considering how vulnerable the two of them were, it would actually be strange if Yang Yi was able to remain calm.

The fortunate part was that Yang Yi didn't have to pretend to be confident at all. His actions would raise less suspicion if he showed some fear. That being said, Yang Yi was rather relieved than embarrassed by the fact that he was trembling with every move he made.

Yang Yi assumed that if the hitmen were to strike, it would happen either before or after the train ride, not while they were on the train and it was moving. A closed, fast-moving environment just didn't seem like a plausible place to set up an attack. On the other hand, choosing an assault at the train station would be a lot easier since the hitmen would have all the channels they needed for both the attack itself and escaping after the attack.

Anyways, none of his deductions mattered if the Destroyers weren't even following in the first place. And more importantly, Yang Yi was proven wrong since they did manage to board the train without incident.

As the two found their seats on the train, Yang Yi began searching around for the escort Danny promised them. But whoever this guardian angel might be, he couldn't be recognized even now.

After a few minutes of being on the moving train, Kate whispered, "What if they lied about protecting us?"

"Honestly, I thought about that too. I think…" Yang Yi replied with an uncertain voice, then out of nowhere said unhelpfully, "they probably won't."

Kate did not say anything in response.

Before they got off the train, Yang Yi quickly scanned around them and then pushed the wheelchair as naturally as he could yet as fast as possible. There were no Dark Knights to be spotted on the train, and no Dark Knights when they get off the train. Yang Yi expected one or two of them to be tailing, but there wasn't even an Asian person that he had seen that could be one of Danny's men.

Maybe they're just good at disguising themselves. Or hiding.

Despite his best efforts to trust Danny and his crew, Yang Yi couldn't help but wonder if Danny had simply tricked him and Kate into leaving the restaurant.  

Being bait holds the risk of injury and death, but if Yang Yi and Kate were simply tricked into leaving the restaurant on their own, whatever suffering that may take place would serve no purpose at all. Either way, Yang Yi really had no safer option other than doing what was planned at the hotel.

Kate's wound was starting to open again. Even though she was sitting in the wheelchair the entire time, she had only had the surgery the day before. Based solely on her physical condition, she shouldn't be going anywhere no matter what means of transport she was using.  

After briefly checking on Kate's wound, Yang Yi decided that it was time to seek some medical attention. Fortunately, a cab stopped for the two of them when Yang Yi waved his hands near the road. When asked for the destination, Yang Yi told the driver to take them to the nearest private clinic.

Public clinics in Britain were not only notorious for their long waiting hours, the quality of treatment was also not quite good in general. If a choice was available, many people would rather spend significantly more at a private clinic, which was what Yang Yi was looking for.

It didn't take them long before they arrived at a private clinic, but the doctors were already done with their working hours. Yang Yi was again forced to choose between two options: public or private.

Considering that Kate's wound was inflicted by firearms, a public hospital was a much less favorable option since it would attract a lot more unwanted attention. As he came to a conclusion, Yang Yi decided that there was really no choice but to keep searching for an open private clinic.

Ten minutes? An hour? He wasn't certain how long it took before they found another private clinic, but he eventually found one and walked in straightaway.

As Yang Yi opened the door while pushing Kate's wheelchair, a nurse quickly came over and apologized.

"We're sorry, but it is way past our open hours. If her injury requires immediate attention, I can call an ambulance and have her transported to another hospital. However, if her condition isn't severe, it's probably a good idea to come back tomorrow."

"Is there a doctor available?" Yang Yi called out desperately, "I have an injured friend here and I'm willing to pay three times the usual fee!"

"Dr. James hasn't left yet, but he just finished an operation. He's really tired now, so I'm not sure if he's willing to…" the nurse said in a troubled voice.

"Five times! I'll pay five times the usual amount."

The nursed paused for a bit with a troubled look on her face, but it didn't take long before she reached for the phone.

"I'll ask the doctor for you. Please hold on for a moment," the nurse said as she dialed the number.

Chapter end