Chin hissed, “Paid with my cash into your pocket. Several billion, which is now missing.”
Billion? Olivia and Abby gasped at the number. Tommy and Garret were not at all flummoxed.
A surly Garret studied Chin. “How does money that doesn’t exist go missing? I’m doing my job, Chin, and doing it very well.” He knew that Chin had no real idea of how much was gone.
Chin inhaled and advanced to the door. “Remember who is feeding you.” He whipped around, rocketing a razor-sharp martial arts throwing star directly at Garret’s heart.
With reflexes faster than a cobra’s, Garret snatched it out of the air and hurled the deadly projectile back at Chin in the same fluid motion. The blur moved at a speed no normal person could see. Chin nonchalantly swiped the air and closed his fist. He opened his hand, revealing the star in his palm.
“Do not play games with me. Otherwise...” Chin waved his hands indicating a magic motion, “poof.” He strode out.
Olivia and Abby were freaked, not only at Chin but at their fathers. While they had suspected there might be some unsavory parts to the work they did, this was the first time they had seen active proof.
“I’m not hungry anymore. I want to go home,” said Olivia.
“Me, too,” Abby agreed.
“No. No. You hardly ate at all,” said Tommy.
“Please, Uncle Tommy,” protested Olivia.
“Uncle Tommy? You mean I’m not your client any longer? Come on, come on. Wing, get us another room. Now! Now!”
“Of course, Mr. Sung.”
“Daddy, I want to go home!” blurted Abby.
Garret glanced at Tommy. Both knew they should get the girls out of there right away.
The marksmen saw Chin stroll out of the private dining room. He gave an almost imperceptible nod in their direction before disappearing into the noisy crowd.
That was their cue to move into position. Pau and Duke quickly moved the folding screen a few feet so they remained hidden from the restaurant and casino patrons. That they could do so was another example of the power of money. Normally, tables and machines were packed right to the wall in order to optimize revenue. However, Chin had ordered that there be at least a twelve-foot gap between the door and the closest table. At the Tiger Complex, whatever Chin wanted, Chin got.
Duke and Pau planted their feet firmly. They took aim, getting their arrows positioned exactly right. Not an extra muscle moved, not an extra breath was spent. They saw Wing leading Garret, Tommy, Abby and Olivia out of the private room.
“Now!” Duke shot first, a few milliseconds before Pau. They watched in what seemed like eternal slow motion, even though the arrows raced forward with incredible velocity. The arrows rotated in the air like a space station hovering miles above the Earth. The shiny arrowheads reflected ancient and contemporary images of China as they flew past the Chinese acrobats, singers and dancers.
Finally reaching its destination, Duke’s arrow pierced its target, slicing through flesh directly into the heart of a human body. Pau’s arrow bypassed all and embedded itself in the wall of the private dining room.
Job done, the marksmen left just as unobtrusively as they entered. No one saw anything, and no one heard anything.
With the shaft of the arrow protruding from his chest, Tommy was bleeding out, spirit rapidly ebbing away. There was no time for explanations, no chance for redemption, but there was one thing Tommy willed himself to do before he passed to the next world.
“Abby, Abby,” he gurgled through the foam filling his mouth. “Goodbye, darling. I love you. Forgive me.”
Abby and Olivia shrieked. Abby wanted to kneel next to her father, but Garret pulled her away and held her. “No, Abby. You must go. Immediately.” Garret gently but firmly drew the girls away.
Pandemonium broke out as the other patrons, drawn to the girls’ screams, saw Tommy’s bloody, convulsing body. Pain wracked his frame, his vision began to cloud and voices from another cosmos seemed to beckon. Through the fog, Tommy heard somebody shout, “Call an ambulance!”
Another said, “Medicine isn’t going to help him anymore. Just go direct to the priest. He’ll be more use.”
As Tommy convulsed in death throes, Garret took out a huge wad of bills, gave it to Wing, and spoke quietly, but firmly. “Distribute as necessary. Take the girls away.”
He turned to Olivia and Abby. “You were never here with me. Do not argue. Do not say anything to anyone.”
He addressed Wing. “The ladies were just entering the restaurant to join us, right?”
“Absolutely, Mr. Southam. We had not even made it to the Grand Room when the incident occurred.”
“But, Dad...”
“For once in your life, Olivia, do not argue with me. Let me handle all the questions. And, whatever you do, if anyone asks you anything, don’t contradict a word I say. You were never here. Now go.”
Olivia had never heard her dad speak that way, and it scared her. What scared her even more was that he was absolutely in control of the situation, as if he had done this a hundred times before or as if he knew what was going to happen and was fully prepared.
Wing led the two girls away. Abby turned back and saw her father observing at her wistfully. He gave a wave goodbye.
“No!” screamed Abby, trying to free herself from Wing’s grip.
Wing tightened his hold, restraining her. “No, Ms. Sung. You can’t go to him.” He forced her to accompany him.
Garret knelt down beside Tommy for a final time. Tommy knew he had only seconds left. “Step one accomplished, Garret. Now it’s up to you and Noah. Do you think he’s up to it?”
“If he isn’t, we’ll all join you soon. We might anyway, even if he is.”
With a last strength coming from an unknown place, Tommy’s hand faltered as he tried to touch Garret’s face. “We must not die in vain, Garret.” With that, his eyes bugged out, his expression stiffened and his body went limp.
Garret held the lapels of his friend’s jacket tightly and voiced hoarsely, “We won’t fail, Tommy. Mary and Jocelyn will be avenged.”
Chapter 22
The two marksmen raced through the door, then pounded down the stairs.
“I don’t know what happened! I never miss,” faltered Pau. He was freaked, knowing Chin’s reward for failure.
Duke was silent as they exited into the interior loading area of the complex. In the garage were a dozen trucks coming in and out and one waiting E-Class black Mercedes six-door stretch limo.
Pau tried to bolt in the opposite direction, but Duke snatched him back. “You’re going the wrong way, Pau.” Pau struggled, but a fist to his head sent him reeling. The stronger Duke yanked him to the Mercedes, where inside Chin sat beside Ron, the human punching bag.
Duke pushed Pau into the limo, and the two sat in the seats facing Ron and Chin. Duke sneered at Pau and said, “You can die fast, or you can die slow. It’s your choice.”
“No! It wasn’t my fault! I don’t know how it happened.” Pau shoved back against the seat, arms crossed protectively across his chest.
“Shaddap.” Duke walloped Pau in the solar plexus, and Pau buckled over.
“Drive,” commanded Chin, and the chauffeur began a smooth navigation out of the building.
As Pau made gurgling, belching noises, Ron looked as if his heart was hammering out of his chest, hoping against hope that he could avoid the inevitable. A bead of sweat formed at the base of his receding hairline.
Chin slapped the accountant on the knee. “Thank you for coming to the meeting.”
“No problem, Mr. Chin.”
“I want to show my appreciation for what you have done for us for so many years.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“But it is.”
Chin grabbed Ron by the throat and began to strangle the fraudulent accountant. He struggled, but the powerful Tiger Master delivered a crushing blow to his windpipe. As he tried to yell, Ron’s tongue popped out. Chin reached into his throa
t, breaking his jaw, and jerked the gooey, fleshy organ.
Chin, with firm yanks, pulled on Ron’s tongue several times, finally tearing it out with a powerful jerk. The driver pushed the window button, opening the window. Chin tossed the tongue into a passing dumpster, then released his hold on the accountant as the window went back up. Blood covered the seating area of the car. Ron slumped back in the seat, savage pain distorting his features. He would never speak again, but he would live.
“Next?”
Chin’s sense of humor apparently did not amuse Pau or diminish his fear. “I never miss,” he blubbered. “You know I never miss. Something must have happened. Please, Chin, please. I have been with you since I was thirteen.”
“Which is why you should know better.” Chin’s face darkened. “I know why you missed. You were not synchronized with Duke. You hesitated a fraction of a second after Duke gave the order, and that means Duke fired first, allowing the slightest gust of air—the kick from his crossbow—to blow on your shot. That diverted your arrow a millimeter at most. However, over the course of the two hundred feet the arrow traveled, that millimeter became several millimeters. Minuscule, yes, but it made all the difference. Life, like death, is measured in fractions.”
“I won’t do it again. I promise I won’t,” begged Pau.
“No, you won’t.” Chin nodded at Duke to finish the man off.
“Why, Chin, why? I have been faithful and... and you gave the accountant a second chance. Why not me? Please, give me a second chance.”
“Ron got a second chance because one thing Garret said was right.” Chin ignored Pau’s pleading. “My corporate and financial structure is a maze that cannot be untangled. Not only are there traceable assets, but there are also undocumented funds. It would take years to train someone else, and I don’t feel like spending the time bringing another person up to speed. You? There are ten thousand like you in every city. Every block has a tough guy that can easily be replaced by another tough guy.”
Chin glanced to Duke. “What are your thoughts, Son?”
“Excuses are for losers. The problem with losers is that they never know when to stop.”
“Which means?” prompted Chin, as if he were teaching ethics to a student.
“Which means a loser will never change his habits. So, if he doesn’t change, we have to change the situation for him.”
With that, Duke swiftly delivered a hammer punch to Pau’s midsection. Pau buckled over.
“I’ll change! I’ll change!” cackled Pau.
Duke grabbed Pau’s neck and put it on his lap. Despite Pau’s fight for existence, Duke easily held the wannabe down. He raised his right arm, bending it so his fist was beside his ear, then brought his elbow down on top of Pau’s head. The stomach-churning sound of his skull being smashed permeated the car. There was no blood, but there was a small cave indented into Pau’s head.
“Please,” gurgled Pau, now on the journey to his next life.
Chin ignored Pau’s pleas and looked at Duke. “This is a lesson. This is not a random killing or execution for the sake of pleasure. You have to ask, ‘Why did he hesitate?’ and the most likely answer is: doubt. Even though Pau carried through with the shot, doubt caused him to miss the target. Doubt will cause him to miss again if we allow him to.”
“You couldn’t have seen that. You were too far away!” cried Pau feebly.
“I see everything,” said Chin. “Even though you were wearing a mask, I saw your eyes. They flickered and rose a bit as the group left the room.”
“That doesn’t mean anything!”
“No, Pau. It meant a brief moment of indecision. I can’t have anyone working with me who does not follow orders completely.” He turned to his son. “Understand, Duke?”
“Yup.” Duke pulled his arm back and threw two hundred and fifty pounds of force into Pau’s breadbasket.
“You’re so friggin’ useless.” Duke raised his arm again and plowed his fist into Pau’s head. As the fist made contact, he applied a corkscrew twist, crushing Pau’s nose into his cranium. Pau lost consciousness, and his body froze. With the massive bleeding, the young gangster would soon be of another world.
Chin looked at the freaked-out Ron. “You heard what Duke said about doubt. I taught him that. You’re a goner, too. I just wanted to enjoy myself for a few moments watching your pain.”
The now-mute Ron feebly waved his arms in protest.
“Slime. At least Pau was loyal to me.” With that said, Chin applied the same nose-to-cranium corkscrew twist blow that Duke used on Pau, and Ron joined Pau on the highway to Hell.
Chin nodded approvingly at Duke. “You’ve got promise. You’re learning well.”
Duke warmed. Praise from his father was rare.
Chapter 23
Noah watched a chauffeur open the door to a $140,000 Lexus LS600. Lexus slid into the back seat and waved at Sam, Noah and Chad as they walked toward their shared vintage MG sports car. “See you next time.”
Noah gave him the thumbs up and shouted, “You got it!” as the luxury vehicle took off.
Noah whistled. “So that’s how the kid got his name. That’s one expensive ride.”
“A car’s a car. No big deal.”
Noah turned to see who made the comment. It was Sam. “It’s a big deal to me. I couldn’t even afford bus fare when I was a kid.”
“Yeah, well, you got it made, Noah,” said Sam, thrusting his hands into his overly dirty jeans.
Noah saw that the rips in Sam’s pants were real, not the artificial ones that manufacturers put in to look cool. “I wish. Where you off to now, Sam?”
“Nowhere.”
“Now that’s not a real answer. You going home? Or maybe you want to hang with Chad and me? See a movie?”
Sam pulled out a bag of crack. “You want some? Ten bucks.”
“You’re crazy, man.” Chad tried to snatch the bag from Sam, but Sam yanked it back.
“You’re gonna get locked up if you get caught,” Chad snapped angrily.
“What you want me to do?” Sam snapped back defiantly. “Somebody’s got to put groceries on the table.”
“Well, you ain’t gonna put shit on the table if you’re in jail,” retorted Chad.
“Whoa, whoa, man,” interrupted Noah, the voice of calm. “What’s the deal, Sam? You gotta know this is going to get you into a heap of trouble.”
Pent-up rage from a kid who had been forced to grow up faster than he ever should have burst out. “My sister’s three. My mom’s got MS, and my dad just got busted for a B & E. He can’t make an honest dollar, so he’s gotta make a dishonest one. Stupid loser. Can’t even do that right so guess who’s left holding the bag.”
Not blinking an eye, Noah whipped out his wallet. “Tell you what. I’ll buy that hit and anything else you got on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“That this is the last time ever that you do anything like this. Deal?”
Sam reluctantly took nine other hits of crack from his pocket. “Deal. But I got a condition, too.”
“You in the negotiating business now, Sam?” asked Noah, liking Sam’s spunk. “What do I have to do?”
“You got to find me another way to make some money.”
“You drive a hard bargain.”
“I got no choice, Noah.”
Ain’t it the truth. Noah forked over a hundred bucks. “Sounds about right. I’ll see what I can do.”
Sam jetted away, waving the cash in the air.
Chad gave his buddy a look of WTF. “Now why did you lie to him? You can’t get him a job anywhere. You know he’s gonna be at it again.”
“Yeah, but if he stays away from dealing for a week, that’s a week more of freedom he’s got. And a week for us to try to figure out something else for him to do.”
“How much cash you got?” Chad asked.
Noah was confused “Not much. Why?”
“Because if you want us to solve Sam’s problems i
n a week, we gotta win a lottery, and we gotta buy a ticket to win.”
They reached the MG and Noah tried to start it. It didn’t work.
“No big deal.” Chad got a wrench out, popped the hood, banged on the alternator and yelled, “Try it again!”
Noah turned the key, and the engine rumbled to life. “Let me drive,” he said.
“Sure. You paid for half of it.”
Noah gently drove the car out of the parking lot. The leather seats were cut up, the windows had a few chips, and neither the odometer nor the speedometer worked, but hey, they were two guys in their twenties and they were riding in one of the most coveted sports cars ever built.
“You got to stop being an easy touch, Noah.”
“As my parents used to say, ‘It’s not the healthy who need a doctor.’”
“Yeah,” Chad said, “but, if the doctor gets killed, who’s gonna take care of the patients?”
Noah sneaked a peak at Chad. “Certainly not a corporate lawyer, especially one that works at Pittman Saunders.”
“That bad, huh?”
Noah yawned to emphasize the point. “I got assigned to the most boring job in the world. Got to check out the real estate contracts for Golden Asia. It’s the cure for insomnia.”
“Doesn’t sound like you’ll last long. You gonna hand in your notice tomorrow?”
“Well, uh, the place does have some fringe benefits.”
Chad turned to see Noah grinning like a bird of prey feasting on a field mouse.
“You dirty dog, you. Damn, you work fast, Noah.”
“As my illustrious and super-boring boss says, ‘Real estate bills. Speed thrills.’ So at least temporarily I’m doing both.”
Chapter 24
Garret’s brain churned as he formulated a plan. Something had to be done about the crowd forming outside the perimeter of the cordoned-off area surrounding Tommy’s body. They were all pointing, talking, crying and shaking their heads and, in a few minutes more, pictures would be all over social media. There would be a lot more but Garret sent a text to the Tiger Palace’s security squad, telling them to put control into overdrive.
The Noah Reid Action Thriller Series: Books 1-3 (plus special bonuses) Page 14
