“My ex lived on the twelfth floor. I find it a little ironic.”
The doors opened to an empty floor that resembled a hotel floor. Two guards stood outside the third door on the right. They were well dressed and armed. One of them gave a knock as he saw them coming and opened the door slightly, saying something through the crack. Once the three men and their unconscious baggage were there, the guard opened the door for them, and they all walked in.
Lóng and his half-brother Li were seated on a couch in the living room, waiting. Their tea sat on the glass coffee table above a white rug. Lóng’s face was pleasantly surprised while Li gave a smug look of pride as they placed the middle-aged man on the wood floor next to the carpet.
“I’m impressed. Four days early,” said Lóng.
“I told you he was good,” commented Li proudly.
Lóng ignored him and stood up, keeping his eyes on the mole like a cat on a rat. “How did you do it?” he asked.
“Made a friend who had access to some police files and I compensated him for it.”
“That explains why you wanted that cash,” Yu interjected.
“I told you I would pay you back,” said Jack.
Lóng picked up his drink and interrupted. “Don’t worry Yu, you will get your money back. And Jack, we will have a conversation tomorrow about this ‘friend,’ but for right now I want to have some alone time with this old friend.”
Lóng poured his drink on the mole’s face. The mole awoke, shaking his head and trying to move his arms and legs. The struggle lasted only a few seconds as his eyes opened and they met Lóng’s. His breathing quickened as the Dragon Head bent down closer. “Good evening. I hope you slept well,” Lóng said.
The mole tried to reply through his duct-taped mouth to no avail. “If I weren’t in my position,” said Lóng, “I would be impressed by your accomplishment in China. However, I am in my position, and you are in yours.”
Tears started to make their way out of the man’s eyes.
“It’s a little late for that,” said Lóng as he wiped the tears away. “Take him to the kitchen; I will be there shortly.”
The man let out a muffled scream as two other guards appeared from the entrance hall behind Jack and picked up the scrambling mole and carried him through a door to the right. Lóng stood up and approached Jack. “Li has spoken highly of you, and now I’m starting to see some good reasons. Li will help you through the rituals while I deal with my old friend. I hope you like tattoos.”
Lóng left through the same door the mole went. Li slapped Jack’s back and congratulated him, though Jack wasn’t fully there as he heard the mole plead for his life from the kitchen, begging to be permitted to call his wife to hear her voice one last time. Li guided Jack to the door. Jack was able to finally step away from the situation and come to realize his hands were getting dirtier. Jack wondered what happened to Thomas Thornhill. Thomas wouldn’t have killed so easily. He was becoming more Jack Montferrand and less Thomas Thornhill, and he didn’t like it. Mallory wouldn’t have liked it either.
“You did it!” said Li with relief in his voice. “No one can question your trust now. Hey, you okay?” asked Li.
“Yeah,” Jack said. Thomas would have said ‘no.’ “Just enjoying this moment of my new life.”
Jack showed no sign of what stirred in his mind as he walked out. He didn’t miss a step as Li explained and joked about the ritual that Jack was about to partake in. Jack felt like he, as Thomas Thornhill, was awaking from a trance. The screams pulled Thomas into third person, and he honestly started thinking about what he had just done as Jack. The man’s muffled pleas echoed in his mind as similar to what Thomas imagined the home base sounded like. Was that but six months ago? Six months ago everyone at base was still alive. This was now only Thomas’s dreams, to hear Mallory’s voice one last time. He wondered how this was any different from the killers and criminals he had slaughtered with his hands before. He had killed more than a dozen men who tried to stab him, shoot him, or strangle him. Thomas Thornhill wondered on the difference, but Jack Montferrand lived the difference. The man he brought to Lóng to be killed was just another step to The Twelve. Jack threw the answer to the back of his mind, and he leaned back in the car, traveling with Li to visit the Incense Master.
Jack tried to engage the moment as he listened and followed the Incense Master’s instructions. Jack said the oaths and cut the ceremonial pig. But after it was all said and done and he stood there a full-fledged 49er of the Red Dragon, he could still hear the answer. Thomas tried responding to the screams, thinking of the lives that wouldn’t be destroyed once he got to the top of the Red Dragon and found The Twelve. But they persisted, growing louder in his head, louder than the screams, all echoing in Mallory’s voice. Innocent or not, the mole didn’t deserve that kind of death. He was simply a man fighting for a better world, a man exposing the truth, a man trying to live a peaceful life with his family before Jack ended it. He was a man just like Thomas. Thomas had killed himself. Jack agreed to Li’s idea of going to a club to celebrate. If he couldn’t avoid the screams, he would drown them out in noise and liquor.
Chapter 13
Rookie
E veryone’s idea of a celebration is different. Jack’s idea was the polar opposite of Li’s. Though Jack wouldn’t consider this a celebration, he knew it was a success in some way of getting closer to The Twelve. The cab he rode in with Li pulled up to a club called ‘The Boom’ which was as loud as it sounded. Club music pounded at Jack’s eardrums as they entered the dark dance floor. The ground changed colors, as did the spotlights above, with the beat of the music. Li started to explain something about the club until he saw twins dancing with each other. Before Jack knew it, Li had disappeared onto the dance floor after them.
Jack took a breath; he finally had a moment to himself. Being almost a head taller than everyone else, he scanned the club easily. The other side of the dance floor had karaoke rooms filled with happy, tipsy people singing pop songs from around the world. At the end of the club was a bar, double stacked with people waiting for their drinks. Seeing most of the bartenders were men, Jack assumed he would have to wait until morning to get his drink. Right above the bar was a balcony enclosed in glass that looked over the dance floor. The atmosphere of the second floor appeared expensive and blessedly quieter than the first floor. He immediately looked for a way to get up there. It didn’t take long. He located the stairs near the bar, back in the corner, a guard in front. As Jack made his way there, he saw Li dancing with the twins and motioning toward him to join them. Jack smiled and pointed toward the balcony with an open hand. Li nodded. Jack reached the guard, who asked for his name. After giving it, the guard let him through and said, “Welcome to the family.”
A calmness settled into him as the absence of sound filled his ears. The back wall of the second floor was deeper than Jack had thought and was mostly taken up by a yet another bar with colored lights shining up through the hundred bottles. Three bartenders tended it as the guests talked in their small groups standing near the window or sitting on silver chairs that surrounded little glass tables. This fit Jack’s idea of a celebration much better. Jack approached an occupied area of the bar where a black bartender with an afro attended him as soon as he sat down.
“Good evening, sir. How are you tonight?” asked the bartender in a chipper yet calm voice.
Jack let out a tired sigh. “I’m alright,”
“Doesn’t sound like it, girl trouble?” the bartender asked sincerely. The first time anyone asked him a sincere question in a while.
“No. Guilt trouble.” Jack himself was taken aback by what he said.
The bartender stopped from reaching a bottle on the top shelf and opened a cabinet under the bar. “I guess you’re the new 49er then?”
Jack’s ears perked up. “49ers? Like the football team?”
The bartender chuckled as he placed three bottles on the bar and proceeded to mix a drink for Jack. “You
don’t have to play dumb. Lóng owns the place and I’m an old friend of Li. He told me about you yesterday. Jack, if I’m correct?”
“Yeah, and you are?”
“Saul and this, Jack, should help you relax a bit.” Saul placed an orange slice in the drink and a large ice cube on the orange slice which kept it pinned to the bottom of the short glass. Jack took a sip and was flabbergasted by the taste.
“Now that hits the spot! What is it?” He took another sip,
Saul placed the bottles and other items away. “My own concoction. I call it the Rookie. I give it to all the new 49ers who come up here. It helps them through it.”
“So, you know what I went through?” Jack asked softly.
Saul made a glance down the bar. The customers at the bar all had a drink and were talking among themselves. Saul returned his attention to Jack. “I know more than an internet search. You should be aware by now the Red Dragon has a lot of trust issues at the moment. Whenever they get new blood, they have to be certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that the rookie isn’t a mole… certain by any means necessary. Through innocent blood, moles are ratted out.”
Jack swirled the ice cube around in his glass softly. “I mean, it’s smart.” Fire and blood started to fill his mind again.
Saul straightened up as if an idea had hit him. “What you need is a friendly conversation not related to triad affairs to get your mind off of it.”
“I thought that’s what this is for?” Jack held up his almost empty glass, a little bit of him hoping Saul would make him another.
Saul scoffed. “I told you it would help you relax, not forget it. Alcohol is the worst for taking care of guilt. Conversations with beautiful women with just a bit of alcohol will help you forget.”
Jack shook his head while lowering his glass back to the bar. “I’m not really in the mood for sex.”
Saul gave a short laugh. “I know. If you were, you wouldn’t be here.” Saul glanced around for a conversation partner.
“I’m not even sure I’m in the mood to talk to a girl.”
Saul looked back at Jack with a raised eyebrow. “Oh? Still getting over the last one?”
Jack remembered the hard way how personal questions in Hong Kong could get. “Sort of, it was a really bad breakup.”
Saul made a painful sigh. “Breakups are the worst, but hey. Better now than five years into a marriage.”
Jack nodded in agreement while finishing off his drink. Mallory’s office space covered in ash and blood invaded his mind.
Saul brought out a few different bottles and made Jack another drink. “I’m saying all this stuff to show you it could be worse.” He placed two pink colored glasses in front of Jack. “But, in the end, it still sucks even when you try to move on. It gets better in the long run. So, how about a fun talk?”
Jack looked at the two glasses. He wondered what Mallory would say, what her input would be. She never did like it when he was sad and did whatever she could to bring him out of his little funks.
“I don’t see how it would hurt,” Jack murmured.
Saul took one of the glasses and tapped the bar. “Stay here.” Saul almost started to walk away, but Jack stopped him.
“Why are you doing this?”
Saul put the drink back down but didn’t take his hand off of it. He looked at Jack dead in the eye with a sympathetic smile. “Because I was once in your shoes. I had been through some shit, done some shit that I’m not proud of, ran here to get away from it all, found myself alone with no friends, people just staring at me because of obvious reasons, and a bunch of guilt digging at my soul. I was, no lie, one terrible day from hanging myself, and I had a lot of terrible days. But then I met Mr. Lóng, Li’s father, and everything changed. And I will tell you rest of it later, but first I want you to meet someone.”
Saul left with one of the drinks and approached a group of girls already dispersing, except for one who was checking her phone. Saul exchanged words with her, nodded toward Jack, and handed her the drink. The girl placed her phone away and walked over to Jack. Her attire was of one who knew how to dress. She wore a pink sundress that was quite modest compared to the rest of the dresses in the club. As she walked, her short hair bobbed, revealing her ears and the several small earrings she had.
She stopped next to Jack and asked in perfect English, “I hear you’re an American?”
Jack smiled in relief. “It’s so nice to hear English. Yes, I am. I take it you are as well?”
She smiled and took a seat beside him, not taking her attention off him. “Yes. My father was an American, and my mother was Vietnamese. So, I spent a lot of time in America.” Her voice was energetic. Her hands made small movements as she spoke. “My name is Amy, by the way.” She reached her hand out. Jack shook it, her hands soft to his touch.
“Nice to meet you, Amy. My name is Jack. So, how did your parents meet?”
“My father was a pilot, and my mother was a stewardess. They met on one of his international flights.”
“That’s cool.” Jack took a sip of his new drink. It was much lighter than his first, but still delicious.
“I know, I’ve been trying to get my father to write it all down, but he’s always putting it off. But what about you?” she asked with a tilt of her head.
“What about me?” Jack repeated with a small chuckle. She laughed in return. Jack’s eyes brightened up.
“Yeah, sorry,” Amy said. “How did you end up in Hong Kong? Traveling through and wanted to see the nightlife?”
“No,” said Jack. “I just moved here. Doing some contract work around the city, freelance stuff. What about you?”
Amy smiled. “What about me?”
They both laughed. “Kidding,” she said, “I’m an interior designer at an architect firm. I moved here after I graduated from NYU and did a couple of internships around the city before finally getting hired for a full-time position.”
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
The balcony lounge emptied of old customers, filled with new, and emptied again until all that was left was Jack and Amy with a few employees. They had talked the night and part of the morning away about a wide variety of things, from favorite bands and books to embarrassing childhood stories and arguing over the best children’s cartoon. Amy finally departed after she saw the time, leaving Jack in a much better state than he arrived in. Saul came up to him with his jacket on.
“How are you doing now?”
Jack reached for his wallet and smiled. “A lot better, how do you know her?” Jack handed Saul the last bit of cash he had for the drinks.
“Don’t worry about the drinks,” said Saul. “49ers get a free pass their first night.”
Jack was inwardly relieved as he put his money back in his empty wallet.
“She comes here every once in awhile,” said Saul. “She’s very easy to talk to, so it was easy for us to become friends. I always see at least one or two guys hit on her, but she hates fake people.”
Saul and Jack walked out together, passing the janitors cleaning up the trash and mopping the floors.
“I’m not surprised by that,” said Jack. “Thanks for sending her my way. The talk was helpful.”
“Don’t think of it.”
A few lone cars drove past them as they exited the building. The only light came from the signs and street lamps. Buildings hid the moon, and man-made lights swallowed up the moonbeams.
“Well, it was fun to talk to you, Jack.” Saul shook Jack’s hand.
“It was my pleasure, Saul. Hope to see you again soon and hear the rest of that story.”
“Oh, you will. Be careful out there, Jack. Though, I think you already know that.”
The corner of Jack’s mouth smiled. “Yeah, sort of. This isn’t my first time with organized crime.”
“I wasn’t talking about that.”
Jack’s small smile faded. “The last thing I want is a girl in my life at this moment.”
Saul nodded, his fac
e understanding. “I know. You’re a smart guy thinking that way. Just try not to fall too hard for her, okay? Guys have a tendency to do that.”
“I’m not surprised. I hate to disappoint, but I won’t be one of those guys.”
“Sure,” Saul said sarcastically.
They laughed and went their separate ways. Jack hoped Saul’s prediction was wrong. Guilt knocked at the corner of his mind as he thought for a moment about Amy, guilt that came not from murder, but from cheating.
Chapter 14
Daughter of a Dragon
J ack was still drowsy as he followed Yu up the back stairs of the gym. The upper room looking over the gym floor was similar to a lounge. It had a pool table, a dartboard, and a refrigerator next to the counter. The Incense Master, a man by the name of Ink, sat next to the railing, watching a few young 49ers sparring. He was in his late seventies. His hairless skin seemed to drape over his bones. His tattoos dropped with it. A black bag sat beside him. Yu stopped at the pool table and tapped on it.
“Take your shirt off,” Yu told Jack.
Jack obeyed and sat on the pool table while Ink stood up with his black bag and walked over. Jack watched Ink opened his bag and brought out a tattoo needle and ink.
“Nice to see you again,” said Jack trying to start up a conversation. Ink said nothing tapping on the table. “Is this part of the initiation?” Jack asked as he laid chest down on the pool table. Yu shook his head.
“Used to be optional, but Lóng wants every new 49er to have one.”
“Do I get an option on what it is?”
Yu wasn’t amused. “No, but don’t worry, it will look good.”
Ink turned on his tattoo needle. A small buzz radiated from it.
“Well, at least there’s that,” responded Jack.
Ink started to tattoo Jack’s back. No words were spoken for a few minutes as Ink did his work and branded Jack. Ink looked up at Yu with his old eyes. Yu gave a sigh and left through the door they came in.
The Dragon and the Lumberjack Page 5
