The Noah Reid Action Thriller Series: Books 1-3 (plus special bonuses)

by Wesley Robert Lowe

  Every time he thought of how he had been played by Garret, Tommy, Master Wu, and now Noah, his blood pressure skyrocketed. He was especially angry that he couldn’t break Garret. The lawyer proved to be tougher than he thought. Or did the lawyer even know where Tommy had stashed Chin’s fortune? That seemed unbelievable but was about the only answer that made sense.

  It was driving him stir crazy that there was little contact with the outside world. No internet, no cable, not even a damned newspaper. There was no way he could access information that could help him find his fortune.

  That didn’t prevent him from trying to figure out the location of his stolen funds, replaying in his mind the scene of the fire at his command post in Macau. There was something about the connection between Noah and Master Wu that told him they were the key to solving his mystery. Otherwise, why would Master Wu make an unexpected appearance on the burning balcony to save Noah? Chin concluded that, if he was going to recover his assets, Noah and Master Wu were the keys to finding it.

  It galled Chin that he had no one to do what needed to be done—or at least not someone as capable as he himself would be if he were healthy. Not Wing, not the select cronies with him. Despite his cool relationships with his children, Chin felt he had no choice but to reach out to them.

  At least he had given them the basics.

  Before any of them were born, Chin had mapped out their paths—and his legacy. He would have five children. Chin believed in the power of symbols. Each would represent one of the five traditional animals of the Shaolin: Tiger, Crane, Leopard, Snake and Dragon.

  A person’s name was also paramount, giving a public and personal identity. Chin gave each child a name that represented power.

  Prez, short for President, was the oldest. Her animal was the dragon. In her thirties, she was the only one to finish college. The femme fatale spent her time lobbying and bribing politicians: gaining favor for gambling, evading environmental concerns, and changing by-laws for her business concerns.

  King, at twenty-eight, was the snake. He led a snakehead, a group that smuggled illegals onto the West Coast of North America. When transporting the human cargo, throwing a few kilos of heroin into a ship’s hold made him extra bucks, too.

  Queenie, the crane, at twenty-five was Chin’s younger daughter. A beguiling and bewitching Eurasian, she fancied herself as a player in New York’s cutthroat music scene.

  Prince, the youngest at twenty-three, was the leopard. A steroid-fueled muscleman bully, he dealt drugs at the lower level and pimped unwitting young girls.

  Duke, the tiger, was the only one absent. He had spent more time with Chin than any of his siblings, hoping to prove himself to his father. In going up against Noah in an epic one on one battle to the death, Duke was soundly defeated.

  None of Chin’s children had happy, normal family upbringings. Except for Duke, Chin rarely met any of them. Their mothers? Disposable chattel.

  But during the rare times he met with his children while they were growing up, he instilled fire, steel, and strength. This was much more valuable than taking them for popsicles or reading bedtime stories.

  And, before they hit age twenty, he gave them each one million dollars to get them started on their own criminal enterprises.

  So when Chin called a meeting in two days’ time, all re-arranged their schedules, especially when Chin told them the topic of discussion.

  “Your inheritance is at stake.”

  Forty-eight hours later, Prez, Queenie, Prince and King were met by Wing at the Bagdogra Airport in West Bengal. He escorted them onto a chopper and, forty-five minutes later, they arrived at their remote, hilly destination.

  Wing led them to the mouth of an ordinary appearing cave. Upon entrance, they were struck by a choking stench. Wing turned on a flashlight, revealing the source of the smell: a grisly assortment of carcasses, bones and bits of Bengal tiger skin.

  Anticipating their questions, Wing explained, “Your father has been here for a few months, recuperating from the battle of his life. He suffered fourth degree burns, broken ribs and severe blood loss. Not many could have survived his injuries. He is truly a remarkable man.”

  “Why didn’t he tell us sooner?” snorted Queenie. “I could have sent him a get-well card.”

  “I postponed a meeting with a Senate subcommittee to be here,” grumbled Prez. “And why this damned cave? The Mayo Clinic does wonders for burn patients.”

  Before the others could jump in, Wing raised his hands for silence. “Your father draws his strength from the tiger. This isolated location is close to the world’s largest supply of Bengal tigers which, as you can see and smell, he has been using for healing purposes.”

  “What’s this got to with our inheritance?” asked King practically. King, while the most successful financially of his siblings, was also deeply overstretched. He had hoped that he could come away from the meeting with at least two million dollars.

  “I will let your father answer that himself.”

  Wing pointed his flashlight down the cave and they began walking into the void. Thirty steps in, they could see the outline of a man lying on a bed. Arriving at his bedside, they saw that every part of his body was covered in dressings, except for his mouth and his unmistakable sharp clear eyes.

  The meeting with their father could begin.

  Chin rasped, “I found out three months ago that my most trusted lieutenants, Garret Southam and Tommy Sung, ripped me off for billions.”

  Billions? Prez, Prince, Queenie and King took a collective gasp and even sharper interest. This was their money.

  “I want you to get it back.”

  Tough guy Prince piped up, “Piece of cake. No worries there. Just tell me who and I’ll just pound it out of him.”

  Chin shook his head. “Muscle alone will not work. If it did, I would have the money now. Duke tried and got killed. I tried…”

  Prez impatiently interrupted, “So who has the funds now and how do we get them back?”

  “Noah Reid, a new lawyer that Garret hired. Noah’s girlfriend is Garret’s daughter Olivia, but the only person Noah listens to his sifu, Master Wu. Get to them and we will get the money back.”

  But before Chin could continue, he lapsed into unconsciousness.

  “Oh, no,” panicked Wing. “He must rest. He has already spent too much energy.”

  Wing quickly wheeled Chin’s bed down the cave.

  Suddenly, iron bars jolted down in front of Chin’s four offspring, barricading access to him.

  At the entrance, four tigers bounded toward the four young people. None had any kind of weapon.

  Chin was about to find out the mettle of his offspring… and they knew it.

  One tiger leapt at Queenie. She ducked and watched the tiger fly overhead. As it passed over, she grabbed its tail. Holding it tightly, Queenie started spinning slowly like an Olympic hammer thrower. Releasing the beast, she slammed it into the cave’s wall. The enraged animal leapt up and raced back toward Queenie.

  Seeing a tiger approaching him, Prince ran at it and jumped on the animal’s back. The tiger started biting at him. Prince desperately beat at the tiger’s face, trying to stop it, but this was not a battle he was going to win.

  As another tiger stole toward her, Prez cocked her head and stared the animal in the eyes. Curious as to why this strange creature showed no fear, the cat came right up to her. She calmly put her arms around the animal’s neck. Suddenly, she pulled tight, thinking to break its neck. However, the cat had different ideas and broke free of her hold. It leapt on top of her, swiping furiously. The sharp nails of the cat’s paws threatened to blind her.

  King went into a Shaolin snake stance. The tiger ignored the martial artist’s posture and leapt at him, knocking him down. King got back up and delivered a kick to the animal’s side, incensing the animal. Its jaws opened and were about to chomp on King’s arms.

  Chin wasn’t really unconscious, though. He wanted to see what his kids were made of
and he clenched his fists. They weren’t ready. They weren’t alert. Most of all, none of them was a “chip off the old block.” He was so upset with them, he wanted to let them die, but that wouldn’t help him. Death was imminent for all four unless he did something.

  Fighting the crushing pain, he stood quickly and rocketed four razor sharp martial arts stars with uncanny precision.

  One hit the tiger approaching Queenie in the jugular. Queenie leapt and held the animal’s head up. Blood gushed out of the severed vein in the tiger’s neck.

  Another star hit the left eye of the tiger menacing Prince. As the animal roared in pain, Prince seized the opportunity to leap on the distracted tiger and snap its neck.

  The tiger, threatening to make a meal out of Prez, felt the sharp missile embed in the middle of its forehead. It slumped and Prez brought an elbow down hard on its skull.

  The animal on top of King got its ear sliced off. A second star sliced off the other ear. With the tiger bleeding profusely on both sides of its head, King put the animal out of its misery by twisting and snapping its neck.

  All turned around at the sound of the iron bars rising. They saw their father standing by his bed.

  “What the hell kind of father does that?” snarled Queenie.

  “A father who wants to teach his children not to trust anyone, even those close to them,” reprimanded Chin in a firm whisper. “Your attitude tells me you think you’re better than your opponents. You are not. They are smart, tough and lethal. Never trust anyone. You were not on your guard. Don’t expect that I can always bail you out.”

  Children, especially adult children, hate to be chastised by a parent. Chin’s were no exception.

  “I don’t need a lecture from you or anybody,” fumed Queenie. She turned around and headed toward the exit.

  “Double and triple that for me. Later on this noise,” hissed Prince. He stomped out after Queenie.

  Right behind him was Prez who clenched her teeth, not saying a word.

  Only King was left. He and his father locked eyes.

  “They’ll be back,” stated Chin with conviction. “Money speaks louder than pride. But what about you? You stayed. Why?”

  King swallowed, eating a portion of humble pie. “I need dough. This is the easiest way to get some. How do I get to Master Wu and Noah?”

  “Finding them is easy. Getting answers and money is not. And no, I am not able to give you any cash now.”

  “In that case, you’re useless to me.” King quickly unzipped the zipper on his leather coat and pulled out two dwarf adders.

  He threw one at Wing. The reptile immediately sank its teeth into Wing’s neck. The man howled, grabbed the snake and tossed it across the room. Writhing with excruciating pain, he crumpled paralyzed to the ground.

  King placed the other snake at his father’s exposed toes. Standing up and throwing the stars had exacted a heavy toll from Chin and it was all he could do to sidestep the serpent’s snapping jaws.

  “Never trust anyone,” leered King as he turned around and walked to the cave’s entrance.

  Chapter 4

  On the five-hour flight back to Hong Kong, King schemed the whole way. His biggest question was how to handle Noah Reid. His father was the toughest man he knew and, if Noah had defeated him, Noah was not to be taken lightly. He took out his laptop, paid the bandit fees that airlines wanted to use the internet during a flight, and started chatting and researching.

  By the time he landed, he knew what he was going to do. After passing through customs, he was glad to see Lisa Mah waiting for him. She was always willing to be useful and, when King asked her to meet him at the airport, there was no doubt that she would be there.

  Lisa’s professional title was Dr. Lisa Mah, and she was one of the world’s snake venom experts as well as being a doctor of TCM. They met years ago when she was a student at Tsingtao Traditional Chinese Medicine College in Shandong. King was in the emergency room because he’d been bitten by a local viper. His hand was turning purple and his face was greenish. While King was definitely a hunk, what really fascinated her was that he was alive. In autumn, the venom of the snake was at its strongest and many would have died. In fact, King should have died. She was about to begin treatment to remove the toxins when King awoke and refused treatment, beginning a heated debate.

  The argument ended with King showing her firsthand the virility of a man who had drunk and eaten the blood, venom and flesh from over five thousand serpents. She also agreed to help King set up a personal breeding and research facility for the slithering reptiles.

  Lisa hated herself for being so beholden to him but she had no choice. If not her, King’s black book was just slightly shorter than his father’s with women falling over themselves, trying to curry his favor.

  “Ready to rock?” asked the smiling King.

  “Ever and always,” cooed Lisa.

  An hour later, King and Lisa were in the Central Area, the business, government, tourism and shopping heartland of Hong Kong. They eschewed the centuries-old Buddhist temple, ubiquitous Starbucks, and quaint antique dealers, heading straight to a luxury shopping mall. Twenty minutes later, they were a fashionable power couple ready to go to work.

  A quick cab ride took them to Hemingway Apartments, where it could easily cost $2,000,000 for a modest 700-square-foot apartment. The concierge at this upscale apartment building raised an eyebrow when they entered the lobby. Not at the guy. The world was full of young studs who spent half their lives in the gym. The woman, on the other hand, wow! In a world full of 4s, 5s and 6s, it was hard not to stare when you saw an 8, maybe 8.5.

  Trying hard not to ogle, the concierge offered a friendly greeting. “Good morning. How may I help you?”

  “We’re supposed to meet Noah Reid. Can you buzz him please?” purred Lisa.

  The concierge swallowed apologetically. “I’m sorry, but Mr. Reid is not available. He didn’t mention anything about visitors. Perhaps you can leave me your card or a message? I’ll make sure he gets it.”

  “Maybe you could let us into his apartment for a few minutes?” asked Lisa with just a hint of the coquettish smile that she knew drove men crazy.

  “I...I’m sorry. That’s against building policy,” stammered the concierge, wishing he could find some way to accommodate the siren in front of him.

  “Could you make just a teeny weeny exception?” pouted Lisa. “Here, let me show you something.” She opened her purse and took out an envelope and opened it just enough for the concierge to see the image of Benjamin Franklin, the face on the U.S. one-hundred dollar bill. There was likely six months’ wages in the half-inch bundle.

  She touched the concierge’s hand with the envelope. “I would really like it if you would. After all, a few minutes couldn’t hurt.”

  The concierge melted at the sight of the cash and handed her a card key. “Room 1749. Please don’t tell anyone.”

  “My lips are sealed.” She winked, then got on the elevator with King.

  When Lisa and King entered Noah’s room, they were overwhelmed by the smell.

  “The things I do for you,” complained Lisa.

  “It’s made up for by the things I do to you,” chuckled King. “Let’s hit the kitchen.”

  King’s eyes glazed when they hit the cooking area—it was almost as bad as his father’s cave. Moldy take-out noodles, rancid barbecued pork, mushy black bananas…

  The couple checked out the fridge, oven, and cupboards, methodically examined every square inch of the Spartan living room, then meticulously put everything back the way they found it.

  Next stop was the master bedroom. It looked like it was right out of Better Homes and Gardens. Too clean to have been used by anyone recently, quite possibly never. There was a desktop computer. King turned it on to discover there was no data, no porn, no apps, no created files.

  “Looks like it’s never been turned on,” offered Lisa.

  “Ya think?” snorted King sarcastically. “One mo
re room.”

  They stepped into the bedroom across the hall. It was a teenager’s room. Clothes were strewn everywhere and there was an X-Box, PlayStation, giant TV and pictures of scantily clad babes on the walls. Same treatment, same result. Nothing.

  “You didn’t really think you were going to find a billion dollars in there, did you?” asked Lisa as the elevator descended.

  “No, but I have to turn over rocks to find clues,” retorted King.

  As the elevator doors opened, King was arguing with Lisa. “I told you that Noah wasn’t in town. But no, you had to see for yourself.”

  The concierge was so centered on the squabbling couple, he didn’t notice that King wore a bulging skin-toned glove on his right hand.

  “If we didn’t check, we wouldn’t know for sure, would we?” replied Lisa. She turned to the concierge. “Right?” she asked.

  “Uh, yeah,” gulped the attendant.

  King shoved his hand at him. “Thanks for nothing. Hey, it wasn’t your fault we wasted our dough.”

  “It’s okay,” said the concierge. “I understand.”

  He was so distracted from witnessing the squabble that he didn’t notice a small asp coming out of a hidden part of the glove. This five-inch descendant of the snake used by Cleopatra to commit suicide bit down hard on his wrist.

  “Ouch!” he yelled, stunned.

  He tried to shake the reptile off but King grabbed his hand and steadied it long enough for more of the asp’s poison to infiltrate his bloodstream.

  As paralysis began setting in, Lisa rifled through the man’s jacket. Once she found and took the envelope full of cash, King released his grip and the attendant dropped to the floor, gasping and convulsing.

  King and Lisa quickly exited. King knew that, sometime soon, one of the condo owners would discover the dead concierge. This would spark a police investigation and fear from the other building tenants.