So, across the street from my apartment, there's a parking lot. Most of the time, there's not much going on. But there are a couple of decrepit buildings on the lot, too. At first they were deserted, but then, the dirty shirtless guys who run the lot started covering up the windows with plywood and opaque glass. And they also built walls to hide the passageway between the two buildings. Then they started putting up cameras all over the lot. Now they're putting up some more. They also seem to have bought the house that touches the lot, because now the cameras cover that, too. The house faces my street, the parking lot faces the main road.

What the hell are they doing in there? The lights are on at all hours of the night. One night there was a whole row of identical black Mercedes parked in the back of the lot. Every month or so, the police cruise through the lot and then leave. Are they making pirated CD's? Moving stolen cars? Drugs? Gambling? Man, the possibilities are endless. With that house facing my street, they've got at least three different ways out of that place. None of this can possibly be legal. There are lots of "gangsters" in Taiwan, and Taichung is famously corrupt among cities. For me, the dead giveaway that this place has mob connections is that there's a betel-nut stand on the lot as well. The dirty bastards who chew that stuff are trouble incarnate.