by Ian Hamilton
“This is Richard Bowlby. Ms. Lee, I trust that you are calling to confirm our meeting,” he said when he came on the line.
“Actually, I’m not. I have to postpone.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
“I know, and I apologize, but something’s come up. Can we reschedule for tomorrow?”
“Let me look at what’s in the planner,” he said.
“I’m available from early morning to late evening.”
“My younger associates don’t like to hear that — they think I work them hard enough as it is. But let me see . . . How is eleven a.m. again?”
“That will work just fine.”
“Fantastic. In the interim we’ll keep working away at trying to turn your quite basic agreement into something quite incomprehensible.”
Ava laughed. It came from God knew where and caught her off guard. “I have the same tendency,” she said.
“Then we should get along just splendidly.”
“Tomorrow, then.”
Ava ended the call. It was finally time to call Sammy Wing.
He answered halfway through the first ring. “Ava Lee?”
“The same.”
“Did you hear from Carlo?”
“You have your meeting. It will be at noon in Kowloon at the Three Clouds noodle restaurant, in the MTR station. Wait at the front door. Someone will come and get you.”
“I want to bring some people with me.”
“No.”
“They need to know what —”
“No.”
“Then just Jimmy Tan.”
“Xu’s men have caught Tan.”
The line went quiet.
“So I’ll see you at noon,” Ava said.
“Is Jimmy alive?” Wing said, the control in his voice surprising her.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“The thing you need to understand is that Xu’s men won’t stop until the meeting is over.”
“Why not? He’s won already. You know that he’s won. Why go on?”
“You may not be agreeable to his conditions and we don’t want to give you a chance to regroup.”
“As if I could.”
“Or give Li a chance to arrive from Guangzhou.”
“Li has nothing to do with this.”
“Then why was his man Ko at the restaurant in Shenzhen?”
“He was a hired gun, nothing more than that.” He said it quickly, and Ava wondered if he’d been waiting for her to mention Li.
“It’s hard for me to believe that Ko isn’t still Li’s man. Either way, he tried to kill me twice and he wasn’t doing it on his own initiative. And don’t pretend you’re not tied to Li.”
“Don’t make things so complicated.”
“Fuck your concern about complications, Mr. Wing. You have your meeting. You know where and when. Show up or don’t — the choice is yours.”
“I’ll be there,” he said, the words sounding as if they were being forced out of his throat.
“See you at noon then,” she said, and ended the call.
She leaned back in the easy chair and felt her muscles collapse. She hadn’t realized how tense she had been. With Wing sidelined, she could go back to the Mandarin Oriental. She considered it for a moment and then decided to wait until the meeting was over.
She went into the bedroom and made Lourdes’s bed. She was actually glad Lourdes had changed things. This wasn’t a place where Uncle would have been comfortable; it wasn’t a place she could see him in. It was just an apartment in Kowloon now, not a shrine.
She went into the bathroom and took a shower, turning the stream to maximum power. When she was done, she wrapped herself in a thick towel and stared into the bathroom mirror as she dried her hair. The past forty-eight hours had been like a dream from which she had just woken, except that when she stepped outside, she would walk right back into it. Could she be faulted for anything that had happened? She thought not, at least not overtly, though her willingness to maintain contact with Xu had set off a chain reaction. Or had it? From what she had seen and heard, the collision between Xu and Wing had been almost inevitable. She had simply been an excuse, and if it hadn’t been her it would have been someone or something else.
She brushed her hair, pressing the bristles deep into her scalp. When it was completely dry and hung like a curtain of black silk, she pulled it back with her ivory chignon pin. After she had applied lipstick and mascara and dabbed perfume on her wrists and collarbones, she was ready to get dressed. She pulled on a pair of black slacks and then chose a white button-down shirt, fastening the sleeves with green jade cufflinks. Ava was superstitious. Over the years the chignon pin and the jade cufflinks had become good-luck charms. This was the first time on this trip that she had worn them at the same time.
It was almost eleven o’clock, and she began to feel nervous about the meeting that was about to take place. She picked up her phone and called the number Sonny had given her.
“The Lui Clinic,” a woman’s voice said.
“Doctor Lui, please. This is Ava Lee. I’m a friend of Sonny’s.”
“Just one moment.”
The moment became one, and then two, and then five. Ava was about to hang up when she heard, “This is Doctor Lui.”
“My name is Ava Lee. I’m a friend of Sonny’s and of Mr. Xu.”
“Sonny told me you want to talk to Mr. Xu.”
“I do, if that’s possible.”
“He’s heavily sedated.”
“Is he awake?”
“Off and on.”
“When he is awake, does he understand what’s being said to him?”
“Some of it. I’m not sure how much.”
“How long will he be like this?”
“At least another day, maybe more. And when he becomes less dependent on the pain medication, he still won’t be very mobile. He was lucky, you know. The knife wounds just missed his organs.”
“Thank goodness for that.”
“Yes. Now I assume you would like me to see if he is able to chat with you.”
“That would be wonderful.”
This time only a minute passed before she heard another voice. “This is Xu.” He spoke in a whisper, his name trailing off.
“It’s Ava. I don’t want to bother you, but I’m meeting with Wing in less than an hour.”
“Is it over?”
“The worst part.”
“You mean the easy part.”
“If you say so. Xu, are you up to telling me again what you want from Wing?”
The line was silent, and then she heard him say, “I’ll try.”
( 31 )
She carried her bags downstairs and stood inside the door, waiting for Sonny. When this was over, she would go back to the Mandarin. Tomorrow she would see Bowlby and then get ready to leave Hong Kong.
Sonny arrived right on time, double-parking in front of the building. When he saw Ava’s bags, he popped the trunk and ran to get them.
“How is traffic?” she asked as she slid into the back seat.
“Okay. We should be there in fifteen to twenty minutes,” he said as he got behind the wheel.
He looked at Ava in the rear-view mirror. She saw that his eyes were lined and his mouth was sagging. Even Sonny was finding it harder to handle all-nighters.
Ava waited until they had cleared the street and were headed towards the Kowloon MTR before she asked, “Tell me about this Lop character.”
“I’ve only met him twice, once in Shanghai and then in Borneo.”
“What was he like?”
“I didn’t speak to him, just saw him in action. Like I said to you earlier, he’s a bit crazy.”
“Did you ask Suen about him?”
“Yeah, b
ut not until last night. And I had to ask more than once before I could get anything out of him.”
“What did he have to say?”
“Lop has been with them for less than two years. He was an officer in the Chinese army, the head of some kind of elite squad. Suen wasn’t specific but he hinted that the squad was special operations. And that kind of figures, because he’s in charge of Xu’s guys on the ground and he’s trained them to operate like a well-oiled army unit.”
“So how did he find his way from there to Xu?”
“I have no idea, but however it happened, Xu evidently holds him in very high regard.”
“Is Suen jealous?”
“A bit, I think.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Not that I can see. Suen says Lop worships Xu, is completely loyal, and will follow orders to the letter.”
“Until the day he doesn’t.”
Sonny looked back at Ava, his eyes hooded. “Is that a prediction?”
“I don’t know the man well enough.”
“I think you’re just being cynical, and after all the crap you’ve had to put up with over the past few days, I don’t blame you. The truth is that Xu has a way of inspiring loyalty in his people. It reminds me in many ways of —”
“Don’t compare him to Uncle again,” Ava snapped.
Sonny half-turned, his face serious. “I was going to say you.”
Ava blinked. Then she closed her eyes and shook her head. “All I want is to get this mess behind me so I can go back to what I should be doing.”
Traffic wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been the day before in Mong Kok, and Sonny quickly found his way to the Kowloon MTR. “We’re early,” he said.
“So are they,” Ava said, motioning at Suen and four other men standing in front of the station.
“I’ll drop you off and then go park,” Sonny said as he pulled up at the curb.
Suen saw them and walked immediately to the car. Ava opened her door before he got there. He stood to one side as she climbed out. “I brought six men,” he said. “I thought I’d leave two out here, two inside by the restaurant’s front door, and two around the back.”
“That sounds fine,” Ava said, wondering if he really wanted her approval. “Where’s Lop?”
“He’s on his way with a few more men.”
“And Jimmy Tan?”
“Yes, Tan is with them.”
“Was he badly beaten?”
“No.”
“I wish he hadn’t been harmed at all, but I guess I should be congratulating you and Lop for a job well done.”
“It was hardly a fair fight. They weren’t much tougher than Wan’s men in Borneo. We expected more resistance, but these guys have been getting by here for years without any real opposition. They’ve gone soft.”
“Evidently,” Ava said.
As they entered the station, Ava saw Andy and Winnie standing at the front door of their restaurant. They both bowed. “The table is set for you, Ava,” Andy said.
“Thank you, Andy. Let me introduce you to Suen, one of our Shanghai visitors. He’s going to leave some men out here as a precaution.”
“It’s an honour to meet you,” Andy said.
“Not everyone in Hong Kong thinks that,” Suen replied.
“I guess they’ll learn,” said Andy.
“Sammy Wing should be here shortly,” Ava said. “He’s supposed to come alone.”
“You told me that earlier. I’ll keep my eyes open for anyone who looks suspicious.”
“Thanks.”
“Sonny is right behind us and Xu’s man Lop is coming a bit later. You’ll recognize him because he’ll have Jimmy Tan with him. You can show them to the kitchen,” Ava said.
“Will anyone want to eat?” Andy asked.
“No,” Ava said.
“But this is for the inconvenience we’re causing you,” Suen said, handing him a roll of Hong Kong dollars.
Andy hesitated for a second, then took it. “I’ll have tea and water brought to your table. Would you like anything else to drink?”
“That’s all that I need,” Ava said. “Let’s go to the kitchen. I don’t want to be hanging around when Wing gets here.”
When they walked into the kitchen, she looked automatically at the spot where the table had been set for her and Uncle, and then for her and Carlo. The area was empty.
“I moved our vegetable crates to another area and set you up in the back,” Andy said.
They trailed him to a spot near the back door, where a table for six was tucked into a corner. Ava sat with her back to the wall. Suen went to the door and checked to see if it was locked. When he returned, he sat next to her.
The kitchen door swung open and Sonny walked in. Behind him was Sammy Wing. From the door the table was difficult to spot, and Ava saw Sonny straining to find them.
“Suen, go and get them, please,” Ava said. She took several deep breaths and tried to compose herself. It was, she told herself, just another negotiation.
She watched as Suen ran his hands over Wing’s body, searching for a weapon. Suen then stood back and the three large men walked through the kitchen towards them. The chefs kept working, seemingly oblivious of everything but their woks.
Sammy was between Suen and Sonny, dwarfed in height but not in girth. He looked calmer than he had sounded on the phone, a man resigned to his fate. When they neared the table, Ava stood and extended her hand.
“Sammy, it’s good to see you,” she said.
“Is that a joke?” the fat man said.
“No. We’re past jokes.”
Wing slid his hand over Ava’s, not gripping it.
“Sit, please,” she said.
Wing sat down directly across from her and then turned to see if anyone was behind him. He started to speak, but Ava cut him off.
“Sammy, I’m sorry things have come to this,” she said. “None of this had to happen — it was all completely unnecessary. You and Xu should have been able to resolve your differences in a more amicable way. You should have gone to Shenzhen yesterday instead of sending your men.”
“It was stupid of me,” Wing said.
“I also have to tell you that I resent the fact that you used me as bait.”
“The men were instructed not to harm you.”
“So they said, but that didn’t stop them ultimately from trying to.”
“What can I say? I misjudged the situation.”
“You will understand if I regard that as an understatement.”
“Yeah, I can see that. Look, I took a chance because I thought I had to, and I lost. So here we are.”
“Tell me, Sammy, what the hell was running through your head? What logic led you to try to kill us?”
“I told you when I met with you before,” he said.
“I know what you said, but I still don’t understand. What real threat is Xu to you?”
“I don’t want to go over that shit again. Whatever reasons I had don’t matter anymore, do they.”
“No, they don’t, and now we find ourselves in this uncomfortable situation. Sammy, what would you do if you were in Xu’s place?”
Wing shook his head and then looked at Suen and Sonny in turn, as if they had influence. “I’m not playing that game,” he said. “You’re calling the shots. Whatever I have to say doesn’t mean a damn.”
Ava nodded and leaned back in her chair. “Did you talk to Li last night?”
“No.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I didn’t talk to him.”
“Not even when your men were first attacked and you knew it was going badly?”
“What does it matter if I did or didn’t? He isn’t here and he isn’t coming.”
“Did you reach out to any
one else for help?”
“There was no point.”
“How many of those men who attacked us yesterday were Li’s?”
Wing shook his head so vigorously that his jowls flapped. “They were all my men. I paid Ko separately.”
Ava’s right arm flew through the air, her open palm crashing onto the table with such force that it shook. Wing flinched, and Ava saw the first real sign of fear cross his face. “Don’t tell me that,” she said. “You can offer up any kind of bullshit justification for what happened, but don’t lie to me about Li. I know he sent Ko. Now, how many others?”
Wing looked at Ava and then shrugged. “One more.”
“So it was a partnership between you and Li.”
“Call it what you want.”
“And now your partner won’t come to your aid. You need to be smarter when it comes to choosing sides.”
“I’m at least thirty years older than you, twenty years older than Xu, and I’ve been in this business my whole life. One of the first things I learned — and never doubted — is that the only side you can count on is your own. Li knows that too. That’s why his men didn’t leave Guangzhou last night.”
“Ko and the other one shouldn’t have left the day before.”
“That’s for you and him to sort out. “
“Yes, I guess it will eventually come down to that. In the meantime, what is to be done with you?”
Wing’s chins dropped. There were beads of sweat on his forehead and upper lip, and Ava noticed that his polo shirt was getting wet across the chest and at the armpits. It could have been the heat in the kitchen that was causing it, but she could see the tension in his face and in his wandering eyes.
Suen leaned over to her. “Lop is here,” he said.
Ava looked towards the door and saw Andy, Jimmy Tan, and a man dressed in khaki pants and a pale blue golf shirt. The man she assumed was Lop wasn’t much taller or more muscular than Andy, who pointed them towards the table. As Lop came closer, she could see that he was clean-shaven and his hair was parted on the right. He had no scars, no tattoos, no memorable facial features. It wasn’t until he was almost at the table that his eyes caught her attention. He was blinking rapidly, like a man caught suddenly in a blinding light.
Lop held Tan by the elbow, and from the pained look on Tan’s face, the grip was strong. Tan’s hair was dishevelled and his shirt hung over his pants, but it was the dark bruising around his eyes and the traces of blood under his nose and around his mouth that held Ava’s attention.
