My Asian Dragon: A BWAM Romance Story (11 page)

Joy
fell in with the main road diggers, attacking the packed earth with
hoe and spade, until the muscles between her shoulder blades burned.
The work was different than the field work or other tasks she had
done since arriving in the village. There was almost none of the
banter and pleasant talk that had highlighted every other endeavor.
The villagers dug in silence, their faces grim as they hacked at the
earth. The car trap was a massive undertaking, taking up the entire
width of the road for a length of almost twenty feet and a maximum
depth of six. Instead of swallowing the entire vehicle, the idea was
to create a barrier. The bottom of the pit was lined with plastic,
and filled with precious fuel for the generators, swirled and blended
with pig droppings. Once lit, the flaming dung would create a napalm
like wall of fire blocking the road. Forced out of their vehicles,
two village gunmen would then fire from protected bunkers towards the
attackers, in the attempt to drive them into the woods where Longwei
and the others could handle the rest.

The
one factor that nobody knew was just how many men the Triad would
send. Hefei was not a large city by Chinese standards, and in their
time there Joy and Longwei estimated that there were less than 1000
Triads in the city, most of which were in no position to be members
of an assassination squad. Still, a squad larger than twenty or
thirty would be almost impossible to defend against.

The
village worked long into the night, using precious candles and
lanterns to supplement the clear moonlight to guide the digging. The
main trap was finished on the first day, and the bunkers were done on
the second. Disguised as piles of compost, the bunkers were protected
by not just packed earth, but a thick layer of rocks from the
roadbed. By the end of the second night, over three thousand mantraps
had been dug in the forest surrounding the village. Even if the
village did survive the attack, there would be no safe hunting in the
eastern forest for months to come, if not years.

The
only controversy that came was when Joy informed Longwei that she
would be one of the people manning the bunkers near the roadside
trap. "This all started because of me," she said. "If
they see me, they might just get stupid and give you an easier time."

"You're
putting yourself in grave danger," Longwei replied, stroking her
arms gently. It was the end of the second night, and both of them lay
on his bed, cuddled together. While Joy knew she wished she could
express her desire for him physically, she was too exhausted to even
consider the possibility of sex.

"I
know. But you're going to be in greater danger," Joy said.
"You're not going to be behind a foot of rock and dirt."

"You're
not going to be a dragon."

"Well,
we can't have everything," Joy said, closing her eyes. She tried
to sleep, but could feel her mind rebelling against the idea.
Finally, she sat up, her breath puffing between her nostrils. "Fuck."

"What's
wrong?" Longwei asked, his voice not blurred by sleep at all.
Joy was surprised, she was sure he had been asleep against her. "Did
I pinch you?"

"No,
I just can't sleep. My mind keeps going forward to what is going to
happen tomorrow and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared."

Longwei
nodded. "I understand. I guess I was lucky, the first time I had
to kill someone it happened unexpectedly. I reacted by instinct, so I
did not have worry beforehand."

"Tell
me about it," Joy said quietly.

"You
were there," Longwei answered, just as quietly. "I still
think about it at times."

"So
what do I do? If I go out there exhausted, I'm not going to be very
effective help."

Longwei
stayed quiet for a moment, then sat up behind her. "You must
quiet your mind to allow the body to speak," he said. "Here,
join me."

Getting
off the bed, he sat down on the floor in a half-lotus position, his
hands on his knees. Joy joined him tentatively, trying to copy his
posture. "The posture itself is not important tonight," he
soothed, taking her hands. "Instead, just focus on my hands
holding yours, and the feeling of the breath coming in and out of
your lungs. Try to imagine that breath as fog. With each intake, that
fog brings in peace, filling your body with quiet stillness. With
every breath out, you send the fears and the bad images out, to
evaporate into the surrounding air."

Joy
tried to follow Longwei's advice, listening as he continued with his
soothing, calming mantra. She could feel the words have effect, and
she relaxed. Within minutes she slipped into sleep, and Longwei
gently maneuvered her until her head lay in his lap, her body
stretched out on the floor. Stroking her hair lovingly, he resumed
his meditation, preparing himself for the upcoming attack.

*****

Longwei
had been sure that nobody would attack during the night time. The
Triads knew that there were literally dragons in the village, and
would be afraid to attack when a dragon would have not just the speed
and strength advantage, but the cloak of darkness as well. Still, he
kept lookouts posted in all four directions, working in pairs to
allow for reports back to the village. Each team also was equipped
with signal mirrors to flash back to the village if necessary.

The
morning of the attack, the villagers tried to go about their normal
business. The schoolchildren had classes, cooks prepared soups and
rice, and other daily activities went on. What made it strange
however was that every activity took place within two hundred meters
of the walls of the temple. When the alarm came, there had to be
almost instantaneous response. Joy was stationed on the top of the
temple, checking the horizon, when the first flash came in from the
western lookout. There hadn't been time to create any complicated
codes, so the simple triple flash was all she needed to know. The
attack was coming.

Scrambling
down from the roof, she called to Longwei. The villagers quickly
mobilized, and before the first lookout could even make it back to
the village, the defenses were ready. The car trap had been covered
over with a mesh of dirt, bamboo, and leaves, to look almost like it
had before. Joy slid into her bunker, picking up the automatic rifle
and checking the action once again. Thankfully, the first attackers
had favored a variant of the AK-47, and a few of the older villagers
had familiarity with the weapon. Simple and reliable, she quickly
chambered a round, and waited. Longwei kept himself next to her
bunker, ready for the first scout to arrive.

When
the scout arrived, he quickly exchanged words with Longwei, who
talked urgently with the man. Nodding, he sent him back into the
forest, to blend in and try and ambush anyone who came in through the
woods. Longwei stuck his head in the back of the small bunker. "Four
trucks, maybe twenty to twenty five men. All armed with machine guns
from what they saw. He figures we have five minutes."

Joy
nodded, and socked her rifle to her shoulder. "I'll be ready."

As
the minutes worked by, Joy kept her calm by repeating the important
facts to herself. She had fifty rounds for her rifle, in two clips.
The bunker was exactly seventy five meters away from the car trap. At
that distance, aiming for the belt was important to avoid shooting
high. Breathe, relax, and squeeze, don't jerk the trigger. Fifty
rounds. Make them count.

It
actually took six minutes for the first truck to round the curve of
the road. It was going about thirty miles an hour, not slow, but not
speeding either. Joy could see it was a pickup truck, with a driver
and one passenger in front while four gunmen were in the back, two of
them standing and already aiming down the road. Joy switched off her
safety, and got ready.

When
the truck hit the car trap, the results were better and more dramatic
than anyone had expected. When they had dug the trap, the design was
for a car or SUV. The truck was front heavy, and the impact of its
nose into the end of the trap not only crumpled the front, sending
the engine block crashing through the cab, crushing both occupants.
The men in the bed of the truck were catapulted forward, crashing to
the earth hard. One of them didn't get up.

Seeing
the other men start to get to their feet, Joy squeezed off rounds,
hitting one of the men in the chest, while the other bunker took care
of the others. Turning her attention to the other trucks, Joy fired
again, trying to pick out men as they jumped from the beds of the
other pickups. Thankfully, the second part of their plan worked, and
the heat from the engine of the other truck set the fuel in the ditch
on fire, cutting off the rest of the road from direct assault. Men
scattered under the rifle fire, a few of them dropping to the dirt to
return what they could. Thankfully, Joy felt very secure in the
bunker, dropping down every few shots to prevent return fire. She
heard some more screams, and the sound of men crashing into the
woods. Those heading south soon ran into a line of man traps, their
screams adding to the sounds. Those heading north found an easier
path at first, but Joy knew what was waiting for them. In the
northern field, Longwei waited.

*****

Longwei
lowered himself as much as possible, knowing that he had to strike
quickly and invisibly. He was in between the first staggered line of
man traps and the villagers waiting to attack, hoping not to need
their sacrifice. Regardless of the villagers' bravery, they were
using farm implements against automatic rifles.

Longwei
heard the snap and crash as another of the attackers fell into a man
trap, and then the twanging sound as another trap, a snare trap that
was normally used to capture wild boar, sprung. These Triads may have
automatic weapons, but Longwei was sure none of them had grown up in
a countryside village. Sliding forward, he edged closer, seeing his
prey. There were still eight men left, one of them seemingly leading
the others. He was shouting orders, pointing up the ridge as the
others ducked for cover behind trees as Joy and the other bunker
continued to fire. Two brave souls charged deeper into the forest,
ducking behind trees and treading carefully. Longwei knew it was time
to act.

Darting
forward at his top speed, he whipped his tail into the first man as
he passed him, the tree trunk like appendage crushing his chest while
sending him flying. Whirling, Longwei snapped his jaws, taking off
the second brave man's arm at the shoulder.

The
remaining gunmen, seeing Longwei's effect, started firing in his
direction. He was moving too fast for them to get accurate aim, but
still there were a few close misses in the wild shooting, and Longwei
wheeled, darting deeper into the woods. The gunmen reacted as he had
hoped, charging after him. He slowed down just a bit, giving them a
better view of his hide before disappearing behind a line of bushes.
Flattening himself in the dirt, he waited until he heard another
mantrap claim a victim before whirling out of the bush, staying low
to the dirt. There were only four men left, and his snapping jaws
took care of them in a few seconds. The last one got off a lucky
shot, hitting Longwei in the tail, but it was a minor wound, scraping
scales and flesh only.

The
silence as the last of the gunmen were killed was strange. Longwei
looked around at the ambush site, which only three minutes before had
been a quiet stretch of country dirt road, was now the site of a
bloodbath. One truck was on fire, another four were parked, and
bodies littered the ground in all directions. Longwei went down to
the road, looking back the way the Triad had come, doing his best to
make sure none escaped. He couldn't see or hear any, and he turned
his attention back to the burning hulk on the road. Shifting into
human form, he staggered. Reaching down, he took his hand away from
his right leg, covered in blood.

So
wounds could transfer from dragon to human form, he thought. How
interesting. Going to a knee, he looked up to see Joy running towards
him, her rifle slung around her neck. "Somebody get the fucking
doctor!" she yelled as she ran up, throwing his arm around her
neck. Leaning on Joy's shoulder, Longwei took a few tentative steps
before nodding to her. The wound stung, but he could still walk. "I'm
fine," he said carefully. "Gather the weapons."

Joy
looked him in the eyes carefully before following his request,
gathering the discarded weapons on the ground before checking the
pickup truck cabs. Most of the trucks had some sort of cargo boxes in
the back, which Longwei was certain contained more ammunition. Making
his way carefully around the flaming pit, Longwei limped over to the
bunkers, where he had stashed an extra pair of pants. He was a
dragon, but he still felt uncomfortable going around naked in human
form.

*****

Longwei
felt the bandage wrapped around his thigh rub uncomfortably as he
looked down on the wounded Triad. The survivor of the previous
attack, the terrified man was the only one he had let live. Most of
the wounded Triads who fell into the mantraps bled out before the
doctor could even begin to treat their wounds. The others died even
as the doctor worked on them. The traps had been effective.

Longwei
stared at the man who was tied up and shivering. His missing fingers
had been sutured, and his face was still pale from the blood loss.
Picking the man up, Longwei set him in the driver's seat of the
rearmost pickup, which had been turned around carefully. "Now,
do you know the way back to your boss?" he asked carefully,
looking the man in his eyes and speaking in clear Mandarin.