Wu. ‘Of course not. He was a great man. A very great man. You should catch whoever did it.’
‘I will,’ said Li, tossing another 5 Star at Crazy Wu. ‘Thanks.’ Wu raised his hand in farewell, integers skittering across his palm. Li gestured to Sexy Chen, who emerged from behind a monitor.
‘These people are a dangerous element in our society,’ said Sexy Chen, as they entered the elevator together.
‘That’s why they keep them in the basement,’ said Li.
15
‘Like I don’t remember you checking me out in front of the police station!’
Propagandist Wang’s room was simple and clean, like his political views. His desk was a smooth black slab floating in mid-air, held in position by maglevs. It was bare, except for his screen, and a small hologram of the Young Prince waving benevolently. ‘ASSERT SUPREMACY OVER ONLINE PUBLIC OPINION!’ said the wall behind his head.
‘Bijli Bose is highly respected in Beijing,’ he said. ‘He was our supporter from the very beginning. He helped prepare appropriate ground conditions. He was the first person to put up a portrait of Chairman Mao here, at a place called Tenali in Andhra Pradesh, in 1967. It’s in the southern part of the landmass formerly known as India.’
‘Who complained?’ asked Inspector Li. ‘Was it him or Sexy Chen?’
‘You’ll know what you need to know!’ barked Propagandist Wang.
Wang was pissed with him. He had good reason to be. Li had caused his downfall. As the Beijing Hero Cop who had brought the Fudan University Poisoner and many other evildoers to justice, Li had once been a celebrity. Girls had mobbed him on the street. His pictures had been all over Weibo. He’d drawn the line at shirtless, although Gao Yu had been keen, and tried to ambush him with a camera on several occasions. He was living proof that the system worked, and that it had a square jaw and close-cropped hair. It was a propaganda triumph, and Wang had been in charge of the propaganda. Their stars had risen together. They had also fallen together, after Li had chosen exile over ridicule. Wang had followed him, hoping to resurrect himself by taming the wild frontier. Or raising enough money to buy back a position on the mainland. The Protectorate was full of people who were either building or rebuilding their careers. Except for Governor Wen, who had given up. Li himself was standing on the edge, thinking about it.
‘I thought we got along pretty well,’ said Li. ‘It must have been Sexy. He even warned me he would do it. Has his loyalty been noted?’
‘The problem with you is, you think you’re smarter than everyone else,’ said Propagandist Wang.
‘My ex-wife says the same thing,’ said Li, ‘you should get together. Maybe you can, once you make enough money to buy a position back home. She has a penthouse on Heavenly Hilltop. The view is fantastic.’
Wang leaned back in his seat and eyed Li. He was a liability. He should have disposed of him long ago, except for the nagging feeling that some day he might be needed. Right now he was being extremely inconvenient. Propagandist Wang had plans. Inspector Li was getting in the way.
‘Your brain is at the disposal of the nation,’ said Wang, ‘not your personal hobbies. Stop wasting time on this villager. We have more important things for you to do.’
‘He’s not the first victim of the thugs,’ said Li. ‘We should probably get to the bottom of this.’
‘You’re no longer on the thug case,’ said Wang, firmly. ‘General Zhou and the People’s Armed Police will take care of it. The thugs have been declared a threat to national security. General Zhou has been asked to investigate and suppress them, which he will no doubt do with maximum inefficiency. But things can no longer be handled at your level, which is very low.’
‘They’re on Elgin Road,’ said Inspector Li, helpfully.
‘This is no longer your problem,’ said Propagandist Wang. He gazed at him sternly. Li gazed
‘I will,’ said Li, tossing another 5 Star at Crazy Wu. ‘Thanks.’ Wu raised his hand in farewell, integers skittering across his palm. Li gestured to Sexy Chen, who emerged from behind a monitor.
‘These people are a dangerous element in our society,’ said Sexy Chen, as they entered the elevator together.
‘That’s why they keep them in the basement,’ said Li.
15
‘Like I don’t remember you checking me out in front of the police station!’
Propagandist Wang’s room was simple and clean, like his political views. His desk was a smooth black slab floating in mid-air, held in position by maglevs. It was bare, except for his screen, and a small hologram of the Young Prince waving benevolently. ‘ASSERT SUPREMACY OVER ONLINE PUBLIC OPINION!’ said the wall behind his head.
‘Bijli Bose is highly respected in Beijing,’ he said. ‘He was our supporter from the very beginning. He helped prepare appropriate ground conditions. He was the first person to put up a portrait of Chairman Mao here, at a place called Tenali in Andhra Pradesh, in 1967. It’s in the southern part of the landmass formerly known as India.’
‘Who complained?’ asked Inspector Li. ‘Was it him or Sexy Chen?’
‘You’ll know what you need to know!’ barked Propagandist Wang.
Wang was pissed with him. He had good reason to be. Li had caused his downfall. As the Beijing Hero Cop who had brought the Fudan University Poisoner and many other evildoers to justice, Li had once been a celebrity. Girls had mobbed him on the street. His pictures had been all over Weibo. He’d drawn the line at shirtless, although Gao Yu had been keen, and tried to ambush him with a camera on several occasions. He was living proof that the system worked, and that it had a square jaw and close-cropped hair. It was a propaganda triumph, and Wang had been in charge of the propaganda. Their stars had risen together. They had also fallen together, after Li had chosen exile over ridicule. Wang had followed him, hoping to resurrect himself by taming the wild frontier. Or raising enough money to buy back a position on the mainland. The Protectorate was full of people who were either building or rebuilding their careers. Except for Governor Wen, who had given up. Li himself was standing on the edge, thinking about it.
‘I thought we got along pretty well,’ said Li. ‘It must have been Sexy. He even warned me he would do it. Has his loyalty been noted?’
‘The problem with you is, you think you’re smarter than everyone else,’ said Propagandist Wang.
‘My ex-wife says the same thing,’ said Li, ‘you should get together. Maybe you can, once you make enough money to buy a position back home. She has a penthouse on Heavenly Hilltop. The view is fantastic.’
Wang leaned back in his seat and eyed Li. He was a liability. He should have disposed of him long ago, except for the nagging feeling that some day he might be needed. Right now he was being extremely inconvenient. Propagandist Wang had plans. Inspector Li was getting in the way.
‘Your brain is at the disposal of the nation,’ said Wang, ‘not your personal hobbies. Stop wasting time on this villager. We have more important things for you to do.’
‘He’s not the first victim of the thugs,’ said Li. ‘We should probably get to the bottom of this.’
‘You’re no longer on the thug case,’ said Wang, firmly. ‘General Zhou and the People’s Armed Police will take care of it. The thugs have been declared a threat to national security. General Zhou has been asked to investigate and suppress them, which he will no doubt do with maximum inefficiency. But things can no longer be handled at your level, which is very low.’
‘They’re on Elgin Road,’ said Inspector Li, helpfully.
‘This is no longer your problem,’ said Propagandist Wang. He gazed at him sternly. Li gazed
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