Chapter Two: Playback of Death

Zhou closed his fist around the token. “I'm only a refrigeration mechanic. I was one twelve years ago, too.” At B1 the doors opened on security chief Luo Qing and two guards. Luo's calm suggested he had been waiting. “Equipment fault,” he said. “Mr. Shen should return to his interviews.” Zhou abruptly smiled. “I pressed the wrong floor. Our goaltender helped me back.” After Shen escaped the reporters, Zhou was gone. The employee database contained no record of him. The blue line returned at practice the next day. Gao shot from the opposite end. Shen dropped his shoulder before the release, but the puck divided into three futures: low, high, and off the crossbar. Ringing filled his ears.