Yin-Yang Split

by William F. Wu

 

September 30, 1990

 

     Vivian Choy rarely felt scared. Now she stood before the front door of 8800 Glenhollow Road and was more worried than usual. The house was two stories, imposing. She had come up a long front walk through a smooth, green lawn. A high hedge surrounded a large area she supposed was a patio area. The warm, late September day belied the danger she faced.

     “Maybe I’m crazy.” Vivian spoke to her twin brother Ben through the mental link they had always shared. “He has no idea who the hell I am. There must be better ways to get some money.”

     Not this kind of money, said Ben. The cash you can get selling one of Quinn the Eskimo’s designer drugs? You want to work fast food instead?

     “As long as you can steer me to customers later.” Vivian steeled herself for walking into an unknown situation. Desperate for cash just to pay basic bills, she hoped to join the circle of drug dealers around the man known as Quinn the Eskimo.

     Ben had controlled the body they shared for long periods of time while she “rode,” as he was riding now. Whoever was riding could sometimes take over in times of stress. When that happened, their body changed gender. She had ridden while Ben, with his taste for trouble, lived outside the law. He had worked for the Shadow Fists until recently, when she had taken an opportunity to take over their body.

     Vivian had dreamed of becoming a cop someday, but having a twin brother who was a known criminal inside her mind, ready to take over their body when he could, turned that dream into a bad joke. At least he had never been arrested. He had a small stash of cash in the tiny apartment where they lived, but it would not last long. Right now she needed money to survive, no matter what she had to do.

     They had managed to keep secret the nature of their shared body. As the ace Lazy Dragon, Ben could make a small image of an animal out of folded paper or soap or wood and move his mind into it to bring it to life. Vivian had a similar power with mechanical objects. Except for their late parents, no one knew she was the ace called Tienyu, meaning “Heavenly Jade.” When either of them used the ace power, however, their body would lie limp where it was, vulnerable to anything or anyone.

     You got to look confident. Nobody wants a scared drug dealer.                            Vivian leaned against the button and then pounded with an oversized brass knocker to make her point. Whoever was riding at a given time always helped out in the end, because danger threatened both of them. “When I think of all the times you took me into risky situations, well, maybe you should have been scared when you weren’t.” She fidgeted with the pendant they always wore, an old Chinese coin hanging from a chain through andopening in the middle of the coin. Their grandfather had given it to Ben long ago.

     Forget all that. You’re my sister. You’re looking for me and you’re short of cash.     

     “This place seems weird to me. He doesn’t have any fences or walls around this estate. You think he’ll trust me because I’m your sister?”

     The front door opened. “Yeah?” The guy inside had East Asian ancestry, with a stocky and muscular build. He wore a jacket in a distinctive shade of blue. His bloodshot eyes focused on hers and he gave her a wide, phony smile.

     “I’d like to speak with Quinn the Eskimo,” she said. She was sure this guy belonged to the Chinatown gang called the Immaculate Egrets. A white bird emblem on the back of the jacket would confirm it. Word on the street was that some of them were working as Quinn’s soldiers. Ben had worked with them at times, though he had declined to join.

     The guy’s smile remained. “And why should I let you interrupt him?”

     He’s Dave Gee, Ben said. I know him. Use it.                                                    She thought he looked vaguely familiar. “I’m Ben Choy’s sister. He might be here.”

     “No way. What’s your name?” He did not move, waiting for her response.

     “I’m Vivian. My brother worked with Quinn at Chickadee’s.” That was an upscale whorehouse where Quinn had introduced a new drug called rapture to potential users.

     “There we go.” Gee stepped back and opened the door all the way. “Step up.”

     Vivian entered and was startled when he frisked her. I should have known, she told herself. Her tight black jeans and snug, long-sleeved gray pullover could hardly hide even a very small weapon. She did not count the pieces of paper slipped into the front of her jeans, where she could slide them out easily. One piece of folded paper represented a chainsaw on wheels, the other a small helicopter with inch-long missiles. She had also folded a little cash around her apartment key instead of carrying a purse.

     Asshole, Ben said as Gee let his hands linger on her breasts and the inside of her thighs. He’s on something. Watch your back.

     Vivian knew this was not the time to make a scene. "My back’s not the problem," she said to Ben.

(End of excerpt)

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For the complete story, see the mosaic novel Sleeper Straddle: A Novel in Stories

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