Hong Kong

by Luke Richardson

  Just looking at Yee made Leo feel sick. The image of Isobel, destitute, desperate and nearly naked. How could Yee treat someone like that? How could he get enjoyment from that?

  Leo knew he couldn’t go into the bedroom, Allissa would be getting Isobel dressed. There was an unspoken rule about things like that.

  Trying to avoid looking at Yee, Leo’s eyes settled on a laptop on the coffee table. It would be locked, surely. Leo picked it up and opened it anyway.

  The screen of the laptop sprung to life with the documents Yee had been looking at when he’d last used it. No password. This guy was either very trusting or never let anyone close enough to him to try. Adeptly, Leo scrolled through the open documents on the screen. As he did, the frantic thumping on the glass increased. There was obviously something on the computer that the architect didn’t want Leo to see.

  Leo minimised two documents containing plans for an apartment building he didn’t recognise. There was what looked like a demolition order and a timeline, or schedule, for its redevelopment. One looked like it was a building near the docks. The demolition order was dated for tomorrow and there was a spreadsheet showing the dimensions and cubic capacities of something.

  Then, with a pang of sickening recognition, Leo stopped. The next page was titled ‘Nathan Mansions Re-development Schedule.’ He read on. It was a plan to turn a ‘low grade residential property in a prime Kowloon location into 100 high-quality apartments, retail space and a boutique hotel.’

  The late-night banging from the thick-necked eviction crew, the crying children, the homeless family. Nathan Mansions was their own home in Hong Kong.

  Behind the redevelopment schedule was an e-mail thread with a number of messages and replies. It was, fortunately, in English. It seemed the architect conducted most of his dealings in English.

  It was a conversation between Yee and two other people, probably the firm’s management team. It seemed to detail the methods they’d used to try to evict the tenants, starting with incentives, and ending in the men Leo and Allissa had seen.

  Leo was shocked at how openly Yee and his team discussed these peoples’ futures. It was as though they were just an inconvenience to their ambitions.

  Leo snuck a look at Yee. For the second time in a few minutes, the small man appalled him.

  A noise sounded from the computer on Leo’s lap. A new e-mail had been received. Leo clicked on the pop-up and an e-mail thread filled the screen. He began to read, his jaw dropping open as the sickening meaning began to permeate.

  Two days ago one member of the conversation had asked what they should do, having tried all the legal and some semi-illegal methods to remove the tenants. Another had replied, “Let’s give them the Canton Road Tower treatment?” The question had remained unanswered for almost twenty-four hours until Yee had replied that afternoon with, ‘It’s arranged. Friday.’ The reply, which had just arrived, was a show of approval from one of the members of the e-mail thread.

  But what was “The Canton Road Tower treatment?” Leo thought, pulling a browser window open to search.

  Chapter 71

  It’s been a long time since Isobel has felt the warmth of someone’s touch on her skin. Standing on the balcony alone, waiting for Jamie to pay the bill, she feels a flutter of excitement. London lies in the background. Taxis scuttle like bugs.

  Isobel is looking forward to spending the evening with him. Just to talk, that’s what they agreed.

  Two minutes later, Jamie’s back. Isobel shudders, feeling his hand on her back.

  The predator and the prey, ready for the final dance.

  They laugh as he leads her towards the lift. They kiss again as they wait.

  When the lift arrives, Jamie pushes her against the mirrored back wall and traces her neck with kisses.

  Out on the tenth floor they pass a clerk from the hotel. Jamie smiles at him. The accomplice.

  Fumbling with a key card, Jamie opens the door. They’re in.

  “I’ve had this brought up especially,” Jamie says, pointing towards the bottle of champagne on ice and a pair of glasses. “I just feel like this is a celebration, the night we finally got to meet. The start of something amazing.”

  Isobel glows. They kiss again.

  In a few minutes her dress will be on the floor.

  Jamie already knows it’ll be worth it.

  He’ll be gone by the time she wakes up.

  Chapter 72

  In the bedroom Isobel dressed quickly. It felt good to get some comfortable clothes back on. She already felt more able to face the world and couldn’t wait to get out of Yee’s apartment.

  Looking at herself in the mirror above the dressing table, the impact of the last hour was visible. Isobel wore it with patches on her face and the tired, vacant look in her eyes. It felt like she had visibly and physically aged in the time she’d been there. She needed to get out of here.

  Just as she was about to turn, Isobel saw something glint in her peripheral vision. A streak of light from the dressing table below. Shiny, gold, inviting. Attracted to it, she looked down. At the back, behind bottles of jars of colourful liquids and creams she saw a ring. An engagement ring – an expensive one. Multiple large diamonds forged onto a dainty gold band.

  Picking it up, Isobel saw how it sparkled beneath the light. It was beautiful. Not just one diamond, but many. Watching the colours and hues which sparkled and shimmered in the strong light of the room, Isobel had a thought. Sure, she could take the ring. That would annoy Yee. But the questions his wife would ask is she saw someone else wearing it, that would hurt him even more.

  “I’m going to go and see how Leo’s getting on,” Allissa said, standing from the bed. Isobel had almost forgotten she was there. “Come out when you’re ready and we’ll get out of here.”

  “Before you go,” Isobel said, speaking as the idea came into her mind. “Could you just help me with something?”

  Chapter 73

  A moment after pressing enter, Leo saw a hundred horrific images fill the screen.

  “Canton Road Tower fire,” he said as Allissa sat on the sofa next to him. “This is what Yee plans to do to where we’re living.” Leo felt a rising fear saying the words.

  ‘“Residents flee burning homes.’” Allissa read one of the articles out loud. ‘“Number of dead unknown as Canton Road Tower gutted by fire.’”

  The article filled the screen. On the top, a large image of a blackened tower block against a blue Hong Kong sky.

  ‘“Canton Road Tower, which caught fire last night, was said to be home to nearly one thousand people…’” Leo read aloud. “‘The actual number is unknown as many of the apartments held more than one family due to recent rising rents in the area.’”

  He paused to look with disgust at Yee who stared out towards the city.

  “Investigators are asking whether the fire alarm system was properly maintained as the fire spread unhindered throughout the building and the fire department was not automatically notified. Investigations are currently on-going.”

  Leo and Allissa looked at each other as the gravity of Yee’s plan sunk in.

  “When?” Allissa said.

  Leo flicked back to the e-mail thread.

  “Friday.”

  “Tomorrow.”

  They sat silent for a moment.

  The lives and homes of the people they’d seen that morning depended on them. They needed to do something, but what? How could this be stopped?

  As Isobel walked in from the bedroom, Leo closed the laptop and got to his feet. They would deal with this, but first they had to make sure Isobel was safe.

  Chapter 74

  Seeing the ethereal light of the Lucky Cat 24-hour restaurant in Kowloon, Leo realised that he had not eaten in a long time. Allissa and Isobel must be hungry too. If they weren’t, the smell of fried beef, oysters and onions which greeted them as they pushed open the door would soon bring it on.

  “Three beers please,” Leo said to the waitre
ss, raising his voice against the babble of many languages and the hiss of frying food.

  “We should leave Hong Kong as soon as possible,” Leo said as the waitress left the table. “We don’t know what might happen now.”

  “We’ll be alright,” Allissa replied. “We’ll move to a different hotel. Hong Kong is a big city.”

  But all Leo could picture was Isobel, helpless and frantic behind the glass an hour ago. There was no telling what Yee’s twisted mind was capable of.

  “You’re going to be alright,” Allissa said. Isobel pulled her arms tightly around her and shivered despite the heat of the restaurant.

  “If you hadn’t…” Isobel stuttered, visibly shaking. “If you hadn’t been there… I think he’d have…”

  “I know, I know,” Allissa soothed, putting a hand on Isobel’s shoulder as the waitress brought the beers.

  “I’ve never seen anyone like that before…” Isobel said.

  “You’re safe now,” Allissa reassured her. “We’re going to look after you, don’t worry.”

  “But I tried to kill you in the restaurant,” Isobel said. “How can you trust me?”

  “You were just doing what you were told, you didn’t have a choice.” Allissa looked closely towards Isobel, her head tilted forward.

  “Just promise you won’t do that again,” Leo smiled.

  “I can’t believe I did that. What sort of person have I become?” Isobel looked at Leo, her voice softening at his smile. “This isn’t me. This isn’t the sort of thing I do.”

  Isobel turned to look through the steamy glass at Kowloon’s nocturnal fairground. Leo followed her gaze. Stall holders at the night market across the street talked as they begun to pack their products away.

  The roads had quietened but were not empty. People passed flickering neon possibilities of all-night food, drink or sex. Billions of years of mankind but the basic needs had remained the same. Leo watched it all from behind his daze of tiredness.

  Across the road, he noticed four women straighten up, push out their chests and beam at a group of young men who walked past. The men didn’t stop. An older man walking behind them did. He stopped to talk to a girl whose tight green dress exposed an immature figure.

  “I just wanted a chance,” Isobel said without warning, putting the beer down. “It feels like everything has been against me. Then what happened with Jamie. I was drunk, I know that. But I didn’t think... Anyway, I just wanted a chance, and the thought of teaching him a lesson was good too.” She spoke as though not used to people listening. Allissa and Leo sat in silence.

  “It wasn’t meant to go this far,” Isobel said. “It was just supposed to teach him that he couldn’t be a dick and get away with it. But then it worked, and I thought why not give myself a chance? Let him stay there for a while. I would have owned up. I would have told them it was a mistake, but by then maybe they wouldn’t have minded. They would have seen what I was capable of and maybe given me a try anyway.”

  Leo watched her pause for a drink. He was sure the world didn’t work like that. You couldn’t just lie to get a job, then say sorry and be kept on. That would never happen.

  “I know it sounds crazy,” Isobel said, as though reading Leo’s thoughts. “But I feel like I’ve never had that opportunity, things have always been against me. Ever since…” Isobel suppressed a sob. She wasn’t going to cry. Not now. “I thought that if I could just try it, just do it, then maybe. I didn’t plan for it to go this far.”

  “What about people at home?” Allissa asked.

  “There isn’t anyone, really,” Isobel replied, her expression dropping. “I don’t know my dad and my mum had this new boyfriend who was a total control freak, so we never spoke. When they were first together, I’d go around, but the way he’d look at me just made my skin crawl so I stopped going. Total pervert.”

  Through the window, Leo noticed the older man finish his negotiation and follow the woman down the street. A bulky man leaning in the shadows moved alongside her and opened a door between two shops. Leo watched through the neon-smeared glass as the door was held open for the older man to follow.

  “Then yesterday when Yee found out,” Isobel said, staring at, rather than through the window, “he wouldn’t let me go. He had that man. They took me to an apartment for the night. I just couldn’t get away. I wanted to. He said if I did, he’d report me to the authorities here. That I was committing a very serious crime. I was scared, I didn’t know what to do.”

  Leo watched the bulky man close the door behind the woman and her customer, then step back into the shadows.

  “I couldn’t get away, I didn’t know what to do,” Isobel said again, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. “Then he said he had something he wanted me to do. I thought it would be… well… but he said that you were going to be in that restaurant. All I needed to do was lock the door and walk away. He said if I did that, he’d arrange for my flight home.”

  Isobel paused. Across the table at Leo and Allissa watched her.

  “It’s okay now,” Allissa said again. “You’re safe. We know you didn’t have a choice.”

  Isobel looked down at her hands on the table.

  “You’ve just had a really bad run of luck,” Allissa said, “and some real dicks have taken advantage of you.”

  Isobel looked at Allissa, her pale face blotchy in the harsh light of the restaurant. Leo felt for her; it seemed she’d been let down at every turn. Turned away and wronged.

  “I want you to go and stay with some friends of mine,” Allissa said.

  Chapter 75

  “You can stay there as long as you want, until you’re ready to go back to the UK,” Allissa said across the table which was now piled high with bowls of steaming noodles. The intense smell made Allissa realise how long it had been since she’d had a proper meal. They all ate feverishly.

  While they had been waiting for the food, Allissa told Isobel the brief story of the guesthouse in Kathmandu. How she owned it, how she’d bought it with money her father had given her, and how it was now run by a charity for women displaced by human traffickers.

  “I know that it might take a while,” Allissa said between mouthfuls, “but stay as long as you need – you won’t be bored there. The girls there are lovely, they’ll give you lots to do. Lots to take your mind off things until you’re ready to go home.”

  Isobel looked across the table at her in silence.

  “Are you… are you sure?” Isobel said, finally. “But, Kathmandu, that’s like in…”

  “Nepal,” Leo said. “It’s only a few hours from here.”

  “We’ll sort your flight out as well.” Allissa was aware of the look Leo might be giving her but didn’t turn to see it. “We’ve been paid well to be here,” she said, more to Leo than Isobel, “we need to help you.”

  Isobel didn’t say a word, she just nodded towards Allissa and Leo sitting opposite her and forced a smile.

  “I’d like to go as soon as possible. I’ve had it with this place.”

  Leo pulled out his phone.

  “The bus to the airport runs all night from just out there,” he said, pointing down the road, “and there’s a flight to Kathmandu in five hours.”

  Dulled by the window, the circus of nocturnal Kowloon didn’t stop. Cars continued to stream past, despite the now late hour. Across the street, an old man appeared from a dark doorway between two shops, sauntering towards West Kowloon before disappearing into a side street.

  Two minutes later, the girl he’d followed through the door appeared. Fresh-faced and ready. In her endless cycle the night was still young. There was money to be made.

  Half an hour later, Isobel, Allissa and Leo stood at the stop for the airport connection bus. High flecks of colour had started to swirl in the clear sky. Dawn was coming and it was going to be a spectacular one.

  “Take this,” Leo said, passing Isobel a handful of notes he’d just pulled from an ATM on the way. “That’ll be enough for your flight.
”

  “I’ll get one of the girls to meet you at the airport,” Allissa said. “Be prepared though, Kathmandu is a crazy place – but I think you’ll like it.”

  Isobel looked towards them both. She was trying not to cry. She had been holding back the tears for as long as she could remember.

  Watching her, Allissa knew what that felt like. The tears must be searing by now.

  “Thank you,” Isobel said.

  “You would do the same if you’d been through what we have,” Allissa said. She knew the journey Isobel was on. She knew the memories would have already begun their constant cycle through her mind and that they would continue for a long while yet.

  Isobel, with her arms still folded tightly around her, shivered.

  “You’re cold,” Leo said, pulling off the hoodie he was wearing. “Take this, it’ll be cold on the plane.”

  Isobel took the hoodie and smiled as the tears began.

  Chapter 76

  “You’ve got two guests staying here, a man and a woman,” a voice said across the cramped reception desk of the hotel in Nathan Mansions. The night receptionist looked up from the screen on which a colourful animated video played.

  “We have a lot of guests,” he said, looking back towards the screen. “Do you want a room?”

  “I want to know about these guests,” the man said aggressively, sliding a grainy black and white photo across the desk.

  The receptionist’s eyes widened as a hundred Hong Kong dollar note joined the photo.

  “Don’t consider my generosity to be a weakness,” the man said, sliding another note alongside the first. “If you don’t want the money, there are other ways I can get this information from you.”

  Behind the man, a figure stepped through the door. He was large and wore a dark suit. His powerful hands were balled into fists.