The Cathay Pacific flight to Kathmandu banked hard above Hong Kong. Below, the city spread out, clinging to the land as though fighting for space between the glinting water. The occasional cloud skipped past as the plane gained altitude.
It felt good to be leaving. A new city, a new chance. Isobel was determined to make this one work. She had the opportunity that Leo and Allissa had given her. The money to get to Kathmandu and the promise of accommodation at the guesthouse. She wasn’t sure how long she would stay. She would see how long she needed. At least a couple of weeks.
She also had her backup. The ring. Of course, while in Yee’s bedroom Isobel had been scared and shaken. But not shaken enough to ignore the ring on the dresser. It looked expensive and, knowing Yee, it would be.
The moment ran through Isobel’s mind again. She’d picked up the ring again after Allissa left the room. Its multiple diamonds glinted an ethereal blue in the bright overhead lights. Then, with thoughts of revenge fluttering through her chest, she’d slid it into the pocket of the black sports top.
Then realisation dropped on her like a stone.
The sports top she’d swapped with Leo.
Chapter 89
Leo didn’t remember hitting the water. He remembered the rush of the fall. The tension in his muscles as he pulled his arms and legs in tight.
Then the world went dark and silent.
A moment later he was gasping for breath. Trying to open his eyes in dark water. He was alive, conscious, which way was up? Where did he need to go?
He felt the panic rise as he tried to reach out to grab something. Something to pull him out of the water.
Kicking his legs frantically, he tried to make it back to the surface.
Then he remembered Allissa’s final words before she jumped.
“I’ll come and get you, don’t panic.”
Letting himself float for a moment he kicked up towards the hazy, sparkling light of the surface.
Then he was out. Gasping big breaths of beautiful air. Salt, diesel, dust. He could smell and taste them all. He was alive.
He was disorientated too. Water lapped around his ears as he strained to keep his nose and mouth above the waves.
Twice, a wave broke over his face and he swallowed a mouthful of rank, salty water.
Where was Allissa? How long could he keep this up? He couldn’t seem to kick hard enough to even see the side of the dock, let alone if Allissa was nearby.
His arms flailed uselessly by his sides as the weight of his wet clothes dragged him down.
What about the building? It still loomed above him. Surely the explosion was meant to have happened by now.
“Don’t panic,” Leo said to himself, trying to drown out the noise of the thumping water and the screaming anxiety.
“Don’t panic.”
Leo thought about how easy it was to say that when you’re safe.
“Don’t panic.”
But when you’re being dragged beneath the water in the shadow of a building which is due to explode at any second, it’s much harder.
Another wave broke over his face, soaking his eyes and filling his lungs.
“Don’t panic!” his mind was shouting now.
Then something was dragging him. Not dragging him down, but away from the building. He felt the solidity of an arm around his chest and the movement of someone behind him.
As Allissa pulled Leo through the dark water, she looked up at the building above them. It was at least ten stories, each of them empty. Each of them ready to be dust. Explosions started to flicker across the concrete. Allissa kicked harder, dragging Leo through the water as the flashes started on the ground floor and moved out to the edges. The outline of the building held for a moment, as though fighting the inevitable, floating on air.
Leo was kicking now too, helping them move away.
A rumble seemed to echo from the water. A distant thud and crack. Then the middle of the building started to fall. Floors buckled and twisted, columns bent and distorted and dust swelled from all sides.
Chapter 90
Yee felt an incomparable happiness as he saw the building sparkle and then tumble into rubble. He had always felt the destruction of a building – the flash of light, crack of explosives, the moment of stillness and then the inevitable drop in a billow of dust – as dramatic and glamorous. He’d seen it many times over his career and it never failed to impress him.
As the dust began to settle, Yee removed the hard hat, ran his fingers through the gel of his hair, and turned towards the waiting car.
Jiao got in the other side.
“I’d love to stay and help clean up,” Yee said with a smirk, as he watched a group of men walk towards a dormant line of diggers and bulldozers. “But we’ve got other fires to fight. Have you got everything you need?”
“Yes, everything’s in the back,” Jiao said, rubbing his thick hands over the trousers of his suit.
“Excellent, let’s go. Nathan Road Mansions,” Yee said to the driver who slid the car into gear and started in the direction of Kowloon.
Chapter 91
“Bloody lucky we got out,” Allissa said, pulling them up to a dirty metal ladder on the dockside.
Leo reached out and pulled himself up on the lowest rung.
“Totally.” Leo felt shaky with adrenaline as he watched the cloud of dust begin to settle across the water.
They had been too close. Close enough for the explosion to leave their ears ringing and to taste concrete dust in their mouths. Close enough for it to have ended up very badly indeed.
Watching the swirling dust, Leo remembered the pictures of a completely different kind of demolition on Yee’s laptop. A tower gutted by fire, charred from the street to the sky. But this tower was not an empty building. It was not one that had been stripped and left for dead. It was a home to the families they’d been staying beside. Over the last few days, Leo and Allissa had woken to the sound of their children playing, watched them sit down for dinner and smiled good mornings as they’d passed.
Pulling himself up the oil-soaked ladder, Leo knew they didn’t have much time. Yee was planning the fire today, but when specifically, he didn’t know.
“I don’t think he’d do them both at the same time,” Leo said as they ran towards a road. Traffic teamed past on the other side of a rusted wire fence.
“Yeah, he’d want to be there. He’d want to watch.”
Reaching the fence, Leo pulled up the loose, broken wire. Allissa crawled under and then held it up for him.
Allissa held up her hand towards the speeding traffic. Almost at once a yellow taxi pulled up.
“Nathan Mansions, Nathan Road,” Allissa said getting in first. The driver unhappily noted their wet clothes as the water from the dock started to soak into the seats.
“Quickly,” Allissa said, pointing towards the road ahead. “It’s urgent.”
Chapter 92
Arriving outside Nathan Mansions, Yee instructed his driver to pull up onto the curb on the opposite side of the road. He wanted to watch this. He wanted a front row seat as the residents scurried for their lives carrying whatever pathetic possessions they could manage.
He knew that after the destruction, after the building was useless and no one cared about it, the city would beg him to regenerate it. They would beg him to turn it into one of the buildings they were so proud of.
Getting out the car and pulling a large bag from the back, Jiao crossed the road.
Watching him go, Yee sat back. It was impressive, he thought, how much destruction could fit into one small case. If you knew what to do with it.
* * *
“What they’re going to do,” Leo said, “is disable the alarms and then start the fire in one of the flats.”
“Yeah, but that wouldn’t make it catch to all the others. How are they going to make it widespread?” Allissa thought out loud in the back of the taxi speeding towards Nathan Road. The driver’s irritation at the wet seats had evaporated at the soggy
hundred-dollar-bill now drying on the passenger seat.
“Gas,” Allissa said, thinking about the explosion in the restaurant.
“Yes. He’ll disable the alarm, fill the place with gas, and then…”
The taxi swung onto Nathan Road. They were three blocks away.
“We’ll need to be quick,” Allissa said. “I bet the alarm system will be on the ground floor, as well as a gas isolation valve. We need to get our passports and stuff from the room too. If Yee finds out we’re out of that building, he’ll finish the job properly.”
“You run up to the room,” Leo said. “Tell everyone you meet there’s a fire. Try and spread a bit of early panic and get people out fast. Grab the things we need. I’ll search the ground floor for the alarm control and the gas main switch.”
“Fine,” Allissa replied. “This is it, driver.” They were approaching the front of the building. “Just here.”
“If you see anyone with a phone who speaks English, get them to call the fire service,” Leo said.
Allissa looked at him, as if he’d gotten something wrong.
“What, how can we explain if they don’t?”
“Driver,” Allissa said. “There’s a fire in this building, I need to use your phone.” As the taxi driver turned, Allissa pointed at his phone attached to the dashboard.
The driver thought for a moment, looked at the hundred-dollar-bill on the passenger, then passed the phone to Allissa.
Her eyes met Leo’s for a second before she dialled the international emergency number and reported a fire at Nathan Road Mansions, Nathan Road, Hong Kong.
Chapter 93
It really is disgusting, Yee thought, looking at the building that was about to be taken over by flames. How could something this horrible be designed? How could it be allowed in this city? His city?
Yee felt repulsed by the cracked, grimy windows, the random assortment of discoloured air-conditioners and the green stains across the concrete. How could people live like this?
As his eyes dropped across the building, he saw people coming and going from the main entrance.
This could be so much more, he thought to himself, a prickle of irritation rising as he watched the flow of people. When these people are no longer in the way, it will be so much more.
Then he saw something which made him sit upright in the car seat. It couldn’t be. How could it be? Was he seeing things? How could Allissa and Leo be here when they were supposed to be under a thousand tons of concrete?
Chapter 94
Jiao had to work quickly. His first task was to disable the alarm system. The controls were hidden behind a panel next to the elevators. If you didn’t know what to look for, you would miss it entirely. Two people queuing for the lifts watched as Jiao tried to pull the door open. It was locked. Strange. It had been open last time Jiao had visited to check things over.
Reaching down to his bag on the floor, he pulled a screwdriver from one of the side pockets. Jamming it between the door and the wall, he started to pry it open. The metal started to bend.
“Hey, what are you doing?” a voice speaking Cantonese came from behind him. “Are you authorized to be touching that?”
Jiao turned to see one of the building’s security guards looking at him. The man was obviously taking a break from telling people not to drop litter. His blue shirt was pressed neatly and he carried a cap beneath his arm.
Jiao didn’t answer, just waited for the smaller man to approach. As he did, Jiao could see the perspiration on his forehead.
“Well? Can I see your authorization?” the smaller man said.
Jiao said nothing, a grin parting his lips.
Reaching out as though to shake the man’s hand, Jiao grabbed him by the wrist. Tightening his grip, Jiao watched the man’s eyes draw wide with pain and his face redden. Squeezing to the point just before he’d expect to hear bones crack, Jiao nodded at the man. The man nodded back frantically, pleadingly.
Letting the hand go, it fell limp to the man’s side. Jiao watched the smaller man’s eyes become watery before he turned and scurried away.
He may be back with others, but Jiao would be gone by then. Picking up the screwdriver, Jiao changed tactic. He didn’t have much time. Instead of just trying to pop the lock, he worked on bending the metal hinges out of place. In seconds, the twisted metal panel fell to the floor, exposing the fire alarm system.
The system was old and probably didn’t work anyway. Various modules were connected with wires and the whole thing was covered with a layer of filth. Jiao knew what to do. First, he ran a finger across the isolation switches, cancelling any signals which may be received by the sensors. Then he pulled out the cable connecting it to the telephone network. Even if it sounded, the fire service wouldn’t be called. The fire alarm system would be good for nothing now.
Then Jiao turned towards the stairs. The first flat he needed to visit was on the second floor.
* * *
In the car, Yee fumed. It was them. Definitely. But how could they have survived? They were supposed to be in the building. He had put the chain on the doors himself. There was no other way out. What were they doing here?
The back of his neck prickled with perspiration.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. This could ruin everything.
With a growl, Yee pulled out his phone. They would have to get things started now. It might make it more difficult, but they couldn’t wait. That pair could ruin everything. Yee hated it when other people got involved in his stuff.
Yee dialled Jiao. The plan could not be allowed to fail.
Holding the phone to his ear, Yee felt the seat next to him vibrate. Next to him, Jiao’s phone slid across the leather.
The idiot. How could he have…?
With another growl of frustration, Yee realized there was only one thing for it. Nothing could get in the way of the plan, not this time.
“Stay here,” Yee shouted at the driver before opening the door and stepping into the muggy afternoon.
* * *
On the second floor, Jiao unlocked the padlock and removed the chain which sealed the door. The apartment had been empty for two months. The air was stale and dust lay thick across the counter in the small kitchen. Jiao remembered evicting the people from the apartment. They were an old couple who had begged to stay. They said it had been their home for thirty years. Pathetic.
Jiao got to work straight away. He slid the small cooker away from the wall and pulled the gas hose from its connection. It started to hiss. It was a smaller feed than in the restaurant but would only take a few minutes to fill the small space. Twenty minutes, Jiao thought, removing one of the detonation devices from the bag and setting the timer. They’d worked so well during the trial in the restaurant yesterday, he couldn’t wait to see them in action today.
Chapter 95
Nothing was different on the ground floor as Leo and Allissa ran up the steps. Stall holders shouted at meandering people for sales and residents milled about. The effect was boisterous, noisy but reassuring.
Allissa ran for the stairs. She couldn’t wait for the elevator. She needed to get their stuff, passports, money, and get out.
Leo’s first job was to find the control panel for the alarm system. If he could sound the alarm, people would at least have some warning. It wouldn’t save their homes, but it might save some lives.
Feeling his pulse thump in his ears, pleading with his growing anxiety to stay under control, Leo checked the entrance area. He couldn’t see a suitable place for the control system. The area was covered with adverts for the stalls within the mall and the names of the hotels above. It was unlikely they would have been put on top of the alarm system.
Running into the mall, Leo scanned every bare section of wall. The control would need to be easy to access. First, he walked around the outer edge of the building. In one corner a security guard sat behind a small desk, cradling his arm. Leo thought for a moment about telling him but doubted he would u
nderstand.
When he’d done a whole circuit of the outer wall with no luck, Leo headed for the elevators and stairs in the centre.
Rounding the corner, almost knocking into a pair of tourists walking towards the street, Leo looked around. The area was busy with people coming and going from the elevator doors which slid open and closed constantly. Most of the space on the surrounding walls was empty.
Then he noticed it. On the wall, beside one of the dirty sliding doors, a panel had been left open. The twisted metal of the door seemed to be on the floor below.
That must be it.
Leo peered at the electrical system inside. There was a mesh of wires and modules from which numerous lights and buttons flashed. Leo looked closely from one control to the next. With the Chinese characters, knowing what the buttons did was impossible. Some were in the on position, others in the off, but their function to Leo was a mystery.
At the bottom of the console there was a large red button.
What’s the worst that could happen? Leo thought, biting his lip in concentration.
Chapter 96
Yee heard the alarm sound as he ran around the balcony of the fifth floor. He hadn’t seen Jiao yet, which was good. He must be on the higher floors.
Jiao was going to set detonation devices in ten apartments, most of them on the lower floors. All of them homes from which they had evicted people.
Heading for the stairs, Yee saw a pair of women sauntering around the balcony. The ringing alarm was having no effect on their speed.
This is why people get killed, he thought, because they don’t pay attention. Sure, he wanted to destroy their homes, but he didn’t want to kill them. If they didn’t get out soon, that’s what would happen.
Supressing a strange feeling of guilt, Yee headed for the next staircase. Nothing was going to stop this plan.
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