[ilikeoldchangke]

9pm

Yiling appeared in the pantry just as I stepped out from the shower.
Hong was waving a stack of monopoly bills in the air having bankrupted Seven with his Mayfair hotel.


The pantry went quiet the moment Yiling entered.

You could feel the change in the atmosphere.

Something is definitely wrong.
Yiling looked rattled and nervous.

She’s afraid.

In her hands, she carried 3 envelopes.


Her eyes scanned the room for Kamal who was stirring his tea by the counter and I could see her eyes lingering a little too long at the armoury key around Kamal’s neck.

Yiling : guys…

All of us stopped what we were doing and we gathered closer to Yiling.

Yiling : guys…..i …

No one said a word as we waited for Yiling to compose herself. Her free fist is clenched tight.

Yiling : i… I don’t want to mince my words…. So I’m saying this upfront….and I’m giving you guys a choice to sit this one out if you want to….

Hong : Huh…. Why… what is it… ?

Kamal : Boss… what’s wrong… ?


Aaron : we won’t sit anything out …. Just tell us what is it… we’ll get it done…


Yiling exhaled and looked at the 3 envelope in her hand before setting one aside.

She opened the other 2, spreading it’s contents out on the large table we were gathered around.

Yiling : In a few hours time, there is going to be an attack…… not at us… not at the Rajahs….

Hong : Where is … where is this place….. it’s in the middle of a HDB estate….

Yiling : It’s a childcare centre…


Aaron : WHAT !!

Yiling swallowed a mouthful of saliva and as she relayed the contents of the envelope to us, it hit us hard.

It hit me hard.

It hit me so hard that I want to throw up.

Yiling : They are going to hit….. multiple locations at once…. And… and… we are spread really thin….

Jackson : Call the police… send in the fucking army !!! what the fuck are we waiting for…. People are going to die YIling !!

Yiling : I can’t !! We can’t !!

Her bloodshot eyes and her clenched fist told me she was doing all she could not to break down right there and then.

Yiling : Listen guys… we… we don’t know who we can trust….. Teng is in on this… and if he gets word that we know, he’s going to hit all the locations at once…. Bring forward the attack…

Jackson : What …..? he’s the fucking defence minister for god sake….

Yiling : He is in on this…. He is IN ON THIS !!


Yiling shouted out of the blue and you could see the frustration on her face.

Yiling : I don’t want to waste time… you guys will split into 2 groups… leave the castle at 5am and be at these location at 5.45am….. the attack will commence at 7am sharp….. and you will stop them…..

Yiling wanted us to get the men as fast as we can before they can warn their friends and spark off a chain reaction.

Yiling : we know for sure…. That they are taking the school and kids hostages, so stop them…. At all cost….

Kamal : We should stop everyone from going to school then !! these are fucking terrorists….

Yiling : we can’t…. we can’t….

Yiling explained that her sources revealed that explosives have been set at several locations, and any indication that the plan has been revealed might trigger an early attack….


Yiling : We have almost 20 locations… we don’t know for sure if they are going to hit every one but we will cover as much as we can….

Hong : CCB ! ( curse ) How can this happen ?? it’s not possible…

Kamal : Who… who’s taking care of the other locations…. ?

Yiling : You don’t need to worry about that… we just worry about this 2…. There will be people taking care of the other locations…

Aaron : This… this is madness…. No… no way…. I don’t believe this…. This is a joke right Yiling ?

Yiling was looking down at the pictures and print outs of maps on the table and I saw a tear drop wet the picture taken of a childcare centre’s exterior.

Kamal : This is… this is bullshit man…

Declan : Yiling… are you,…. Are you sure…. ?

Yiling : yes… yes I am very sure….


Resting her hands on her waist and speaking with her eyes red, Yiling told us that we’re going to be racing against time once it starts.

Yiling : remember…. We are on our own… this has to be fast…. Take them down fast…..

My throat felt dry and I find myself starting to get short of breath.
It’s like I can hardly breathe.

My heart felt as if someone had just stabbed a knife into it as I closed my eyes and I recalled the glass jars Yiling brought over to the farmhouse the other day.


Jackson : How… how many kids….are… are there…. ?

Yiling brought the 2 maps up on top of the piles of documents.

Yiling : about 70…..at Tampines…. And 60 in Pasir Ris….

I shook my head and looked at Yiling in her eyes.

Jackson : No… no… I don’t mean this 2….

I gestured to the 3rd envelope that was left unopened.


Yiling shook her head.

Yiling : Jackson …. Don’t…. it’s too far away…

Jackson : How many….?

Yiling : It’s too far away… we’ll never make it….

Jackson : HOW MANY !!...

Yiling looked away as the rest caught on to what is happening.

Yiling : 40…. In Hougang….

Kamal : Jesus….

Jackson : we’ll split into 3 groups…


Yiling : NO.. !... you’re stretched thin as it is…. I don’t trust the rest of the men enough to involve them in this !!!... and if you fail at your site…. More will die…

Hong sang into the chair, unable to believe what Yiling just revealed to the lot of us. Seven rubbed his head in frustration before grunting and kicking a chair over.

Yiling : chaos is about to descend on this country….. there’s no way to stop it…. But we can try to minimise the damage.

I went over for the 3rd envelope and Yiling held onto my hand.

Yiling : Jackson…. It’s too far…. You cannot make it…

Jackson : You don’t know that…. !


I shook my hand free from her grasp and held up the 3rd envelope in front of the other guys.

Jackson : We’ll wrap up Tampines and Pasir Ris…. And we meet at Hougang immediately….. as soon as we can…. All agreeable… ?

Everyone nodded.


Yiling looked at Kamal who knew exactly what she wanted.

Kamal loosened a button off his top and removed the gold chain he was wearing, handing over the armoury key to Yiling.

Kamal : They’ll hang us if they catch us with those Boss….


Yiling : Then take only the smalls ones….

Hong laughed.

Hong : will we ever get to use the big ones….

Yiling : in our lifetime…… I hope not….

We walked quietly behind Yiling to the armoury and she unlocked it with a combination of biometric identification and the armoury key.
The heavy metal door slid open a little and Yiling turned to look at us.

Yiling : I know this is a lot to ask you guys for…..but a plague is about to be hit this place…. A madness orchestrated by a mad man…. And…. And it’s unfortunate….. that we don’t have enough …..good men to stop him….

I walked over to Yiling and I reached for the metal door.

Swinging the heavy door opened, I looked at the long shelves and racks filled with a boy’s wet dreams.

Jackson : we're not good men Yiling……


I paused as Hong caught onto what I’m about to say and he chuckled.


Jackson : we’re fucking gangsters….


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