The Van

The Van was the council of elders that ran the Red Dragon crime syndicate until their eventual overthrow and murder by Vicious.
== History ==
Not much was widely known about The Van, except that they were the highest power in the syndicate. In the mid-21st century, it consisted of Wang Long, Sou Long and Ping Long.
In 2071, the Van agreed to end hostilities with the White Tiger crime syndicate and had Mao Yenrai sign a truce with them. They learned later that the White Tiger ship had been destroyed and Mao was killed. With existing concerns about Vicious' ambitions and intentions in the Syndicate, they openly suspected he had killed Mao, but Vicious denied it.
When Vicious asked permission to conduct a deal directly with a contact on Callisto, the Van agreed and sent Lin with him.
The Van consulted a fortune-teller later in 2071, who would advise that Vicious would attempt a coup. They staged an ambush in their chamber and allowed Vicious and the New Guard into their trap. Simultaneously, they sent men to kill those connected to Vicious – including Annie, Julia and Spike Spiegel. The Old Guard successfully trapped Vicious and imprisoned him to be executed at a later date, claiming he had to learn humility and his pride had to be broken first.
Unbeknownst to the Old Guard, there were still members of Vicious' men in their ranks. Just before his execution, they assisted Vicious in escaping and The Van were quickly executed by Vicious himself, stating that the syndicate didn't need "corpses who can't fight" as leaders. Vicious then claimed absolute power over the Red Dragon for himself.
==Recessional of the Red Dragons==
The Van weren't really seen, but rather mentioned by Laughing Bull as he was discussing with Jet and Trudy, before the Bebop left for Earth. The Van used to have the nomad as a vital part of the Syndicate, mostly with his shamanistic abilities, including healing or the black arts that Kim Yokushimo used for himself. Laughing Bull shortly left the Syndicate and has been a nomad to avoid detection, otherwise he'd be put to death because of his desertion. It's possible that Laughing Bull may have a strong resemblance to the Van on account of how they look, and they always sit in a fetal position much like him!
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