The Borrowed

by Chan Ho-Kei

  ‘Organized Crime is formally taking over the Shek Boon-tim case. We just got a request for report analysis.’ It was noon, and Alex Choi was just opening the official briefing. While officers gathered information on the front line, CIB had only a short time to put reports in order, sort out lines of inquiry, and work out the basic shape of the case. In this instance, every minute they delayed was another minute Shek Boon-tim had to run, increasing the diameter of the search area by a hundred metres.

  In the briefing room, Division D’s second team commander and an investigator from Organized Crime had joined Division B. They would be working together, with Division B not only analysing the reports but also coordinating the other departments, ensuring that information flowed smoothly between them. Kwan sat beside Choi. While he’d handed full responsibility over to the younger man, he still wanted to be present – he was, technically, still in charge.

  In truth, everyone in Division B very much wanted Kwan Chun-dok to give his opinion. Apart from his crime-solving skills, he also had the advantage of being the only officer in the department who’d been up against Shek Boon-tim before. The two men had never met, but Kwan could be said to know Shek’s personality inside out.

  ‘Shek Boon-tim, forty-two years old. Sentenced to twenty years on charges of armed robbery and kidnapping, eight years ago.’ Choi pressed the slide projector button as he spoke, bringing up an image of the man. ‘Between 1985 and 1989, he and his brother Shek Boon-sing were the two most wanted men in Hong Kong. Boon-sing carried out the heists, while Boon-tim was the brains. In 1988, businessman Lee Yu-lung was kidnapped, with Shek Boon-tim secretly contacting his family to demand a ransom of four hundred million Hong Kong dollars. This fellow doesn’t operate with guns or knives – his weapons are his brain and tongue.’

  This was the hardest sort of criminal to deal with, thought Kwan. The photo on the screen had been provided by Correctional Services, taken just a month ago. Shek’s features were as he remembered – the same rectangular face, thin lips, close-set eyebrows and black-rimmed glasses – but he was thinner than before, and there were wrinkles by the corners of his eyes and streaks of white in his short hair. Prison life seemed to have aged him.

  ‘This morning, around nine o’clock, Stanley Prison inmate Shek Boon-tim claimed to be experiencing abdominal pains. The prison’s head doctor gave him an injection of painkillers, and when the ache continued, Correctional Services arranged for a detailed examination at Queen Mary Hospital.’ Inspector Choi paused to sweep his eye across the assembled officers before continuing, ‘Because Shek Boon-tim’s prison conduct had been good so far, no special measures were taken, just two officers guarding the felon, and a single pair of handcuffs.’

  Everyone understood what Choi was letting go unsaid. The Shek brothers had been a cancerous growth in society and given the police years of trouble. No one in the entire force believed such human trash could ever change for the better. Correctional Services was clearly to blame here, having relaxed their vigilance just because of a little good behaviour.

  ‘The correctional officers and Shek arrived at Queen Mary at ten thirty-five. About twenty minutes later, Shek asked to use the restroom. As the ground-floor Emergency Room was full of victims from the West Point fire and the Central acid attack, along with other patients, Shek’s escorts took him to a bathroom upstairs. He then took advantage of a moment’s inattention to leap from the window, escaping to his colleague’s car, which rammed the hospital’s electronic gates and headed towards West Point along Pok Fu Lam Road.’ Choi indicated the direction on the projected map with a marker pen.

  ‘At a minute past eleven, Emergency Unit Car 2 had a visual on the target vehicle at the Hill Road junction.’ The tip of his marker pen moved over the map. ‘The suspects continued down Bonham Road, until they had a collision near King’s College. The officers in Car 2 exchanged fire with the suspects, while Car 6 approached from the west. Under fire from both sides, three suspects were hit and died at the scene.’

  Click. Three photographs flashed up on the screen.

  ‘Regrettably, Shek Boon-tim was not one of the three. He remains at large. Identities of the three deceased have been verified. The first is Chu Tat-wai, nicknamed Little Willy, formerly Shek Boon-tim’s subordinate. Ten years previously, he was sent down for assault and battery, and released five years ago. The other two are Big Circle Guys who recently entered the territory. We’d received intelligence suggesting that they were planning something, but there was insufficient information for us to have predicted this.’

  Two of the three faces on the screen were the ones in the report Choi had given Kwan earlier that day. Just as Kwan had predicted, they hadn’t waited till the end of the month to strike.

  ‘The deceased had with them a Škorpion vz. 61 sub-machine gun, two Type 54 Black Star pistols and almost a hundred bullets. I believe this amount of firepower couldn’t have been intended solely for Shek Boon-tim’s escape. Going by the backgrounds of the two Big Circle men and Shek himself, it’s likely they were preparing for a major heist following the prison break. This accident has bought us some time to investigate their associates and plans, but the greater question is the whereabouts of our suspected mastermind, Shek Boon-tim.’

  Next, some photographs of the scene. The number of holes and bloodstains on the white body of the car showed how vicious the gunfight had been.

  ‘We found another set of car keys on Little Willy’s person, which we believe indicates the suspects had planned to change vehicles. On the back seat were a prison uniform with the numbers torn off, and a pair of broken black-rimmed glasses. Expect Shek Boon-tim to now be in civilian clothing, and wearing contact lenses.’

  Choi walked up to the map. ‘Our Emergency Unit colleagues were unable to confirm whether Shek made his escape before or during the exchange of fire. If he blended into the crowds during the fight, then his present location is very likely to be in Sai Ying Pun.’ He circled the location of the gunfight. ‘Our colleagues in the Western District are currently sweeping the area and collecting eyewitness testimonies. We have no further information at present.’ The marker pen moved down. ‘However, if Shek Boon-tim made his escape before the gunfight, then we have a bigger problem. Between the car leaving the hospital and its encounter with Car 2 on Hill Road, we have five or six minutes of blank space. According to his record, Shek is a cunning criminal. Most people would flee with their associates after a prison break, but he might have instead used them as bait, buying more time for himself. If this really was the case, he may well have left the Honda at Smithfield, and merged with the crowds at the western edge of West Point. Shek’s photograph has been circulated, and patrol officers will be on the lookout for him. In addition, the relevant images have been circulated to the media, in the hopes of obtaining more information from the public.’

  Kwan knew that hoping civilians would provide usable leads was like climbing a tree to catch a fish. Shek Boon-tim was no ordinary criminal, and if he really had slipped away before a shot was fired, he’d certainly have prepared some impenetrable disguise.

  ‘Our position was initially passive, but fortunately we have since received a report giving us a line of attack.’ Choi walked back to the screen, pointing at the two Big Circle men. ‘We’d heard that these two Mainlanders were concealing themselves in the industrial zone near Chai Wan loading docks. We now have reason to believe that their hideout was also Shek’s base. Shek couldn’t have expected that Little Willy and the others would be shot dead by police – and as the getaway car driver, Little Willy was an important figure in his escape plan. With him and the other two dead, Shek’s mind must be racing. After so many years in prison, he may no longer be familiar with the environment outside. It’s likely he’s lying low, waiting for the heat to die down. We’ve had our colleagues in Division D set up a twenty-four-hour stakeout in Chai Wan, paying particular attention to Fung Yip and Sun On Streets.’

  The Division D Tracking Team leader nodded.


  ‘Our colleagues in Organized Crime will continue to work on the three deceased, using the items found on them and evidence from the car to narrow the scope of the inquiry.’ Choi nodded at the representative from Organized Crime, then turned to his own team. ‘Ah Ho, you’ll be in charge of following up with O-Crime; Kwong and Elise, analyse the crime reports and collate the statements from our colleagues who were involved in the gunfight; Bob, get in touch with Division A, see if their informants have any inside info; the rest of you, check the surveillance cameras along Pok Fu Lam and Bonham. I want to know whether Shek Boon-tim left the car during those five minutes. Any questions?’

  Silence.

  ‘Okay, get to work. Dismissed.’

  The team scattered. The Division D Commander spoke a little further to Choi before leaving, documents in hand. The Organized Crime investigator also wanted to clear up some details before going, her face sour. This close to Handover, O-Crime had their hands full preventing Triad activity, and now Correctional Services’ slip-up had increased their workload.

  ‘Commander, what do you think?’ The briefing room now contained only Alex Choi and Kwan Chun-dok.

  ‘My view is... for the moment I don’t have one.’ Kwan shrugged. ‘I do have one suggestion.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘Have lunch now. In half an hour, when the witness statements and security camera footage arrive, you won’t have a second to spare. You’ll probably be busy till nightfall.’

  Choi smiled grimly, but accepted the suggestion and went to the canteen for a boxed lunch. Kwan watched him go, his relaxed expression concealing a hundred emotions.

  Eight years ago, Shek Boon-sing had lost his life during a gunfight. A number of innocent people had also died – something Kwan would rather not remember. Today, Shek Boon-tim had escaped custody, and once again shots had been fired. It seemed Kwan’s eight years in the CIB were to be marked with a gunfight at either end. A cruel coincidence.

  Perhaps events had their own way of ordering themselves, perhaps beginnings and endings always had coincidences no ordinary person could penetrate. In the flood of time, human beings were no more than flecks of grit, borne along by the flow.

  Eight years ago, Kwan had been able to take matters into his own hands, arresting Shek Boon-tim after he slipped through the net. But today, he was out of time.

  ‘Some things can’t be forced,’ he muttered to himself. He’d decided this case was out of his jurisdiction, and Inspector Choi would be in charge.

  A thought flashed through his mind – if he accepted Keith Tso’s proposal, he could stay on in the role of a consultant, and continue his pursuit of Shek Boon-tim.

  No, that’s no basis for making a decision, he thought.

  By 1 p.m., the office had turned chaotic. Every desk was piled high with incident reports and witness statements. The noticeboards were covered in photographs of the crime scene and territorial maps covered in lines. Most of Division B were staring hard at their screens, viewing chunk after chunk of video footage. The search area stretched south of the hospital, taking in the Chi Fu Fa Yuen housing development and Wah Fu Estate. As Shek Boon-tim had quite possibly switched to a car travelling in the opposite direction, Choi’s orders were to sift through everything the traffic cameras along those roads had captured. But the team had no idea what they were looking for. They were like hunting dogs who had no idea what rabbits actually smelled like, scampering here and there after random scents, hoping to find a trace of something.

  After a report came in that ‘a suspicious individual was hiding in West Point’, a sense of panic descended on the incident room. A member of the public had called to say that around 12.30 p.m., they’d spotted a man behaving suspiciously near Building C of the Kwun Lung Lau public housing estate. Western District police quickly sent armed officers to carry out a search. The estate contained more than two thousand apartments, housing more than ten thousand residents. A thorough search would be near-impossible, and Shek Boon-tim was likely to be armed, so the police had to operate with great caution.

  ‘This might be a false report. I want you all to go on working full steam – keep searching for traces of that bastard,’ ordered Choi. It had been an hour since the search began, with virtually no progress. The white Honda had been spotted on camera at a gas station near the junction of Pokfield Road and Pok Fu Lam, but between the hospital and that point there was still no sign, no way of knowing whether Shek Boon-tim had left the car during those three minutes. And there were no reliable reports as to whether the vehicle had three or four people in it at the moment of the accident.

  Dammit, this won’t be over any time soon, thought Inspector Choi. He turned to ask the officer in charge of witness statements if anything had turned up, only to see Kwan Chun-dok standing before a noticeboard, coffee cup in his hand, studying photographs of the gunfight.

  ‘This fellow.’ He pointed at someone with a gunshot wound to the chest. ‘His hairstyle is different in this photograph.’

  Choi drew closer. It was one of the Big Circle men.

  ‘Sure, but it’s definitely the same person. Ignore the hair – his features, build, even the scar on his left cheek all match.’ Choi pointed them out on the mugshot. In the picture from a few days earlier, the criminal’s hair was parted to one side, but the more recent picture showed him with a crew cut.

  ‘True, even a pair of twins wouldn’t have matching scars.’ Kwan sipped his coffee.

  Choi looked at his commanding officer, uncertain what he was getting at. Before he could ask, Sonny Lok arrived with a document.

  ‘Headman, Organized Crime just sent over the statements from Shek’s Correctional Services escorts,’ said Sonny. Choi was known as ‘Headman’ to his subordinates, a common nickname for team leaders.

  ‘Okay... but didn’t I put Ah Ho in charge of following up with O-Crime?’

  ‘Ah Ho’s swamped. I’m helping him out.’

  Choi grimaced. ‘Sonny, you have bars on your shoulders now. You don’t have to run errands for Ah Ho.’

  Sonny Lok had been promoted to sergeant the month before, and now had three chevrons on his sleeves. He outranked Ah Ho, but being ten years younger and only six months into his CIB stint, not to mention never spending time with his colleagues outside work hours, he was susceptible to the older man pulling seniority on him.

  ‘What I’d like to know is, how could these two guards have been so careless as to let Shek run off like that?’ Kwan suddenly blurted out.

  ‘Commander, is that important?’ Choi turned back to him. ‘Now isn’t the time to assign blame.’

  ‘I’m just curious, that’s all,’ said Kwan, flipping through the document Sonny had brought.

  ‘Commander...’ Lok paused, as if wondering whether it was appropriate to speak directly to Kwan, going over Choi’s head. ‘Apart from the written statement, O-Crime’s also got the interview on video. I’ve got it on my desk, if you’d like to see it.’

  ‘Even better.’ Kwan shut the folder.

  Noting Kwan’s response, Choi asked cautiously, ‘Commander, do you really reckon there’s a clue in the way Shek escaped? We already have a rough idea of the circumstances, and surely the manhunt is more important.’

  ‘There might be a clue, there might not be.’ Kwan shrugged. ‘But when you’re dealing with a mastermind as crafty as Shek Boon-tim, you can’t afford to pass over a single detail.’

  Choi followed Kwan’s gaze to the picture of Shek on the noticeboard.

  ‘Of course,’ Kwan added, ‘you have full responsibility for this case. If you think it’s a waste of time, I have nothing to say.’

  Sonny arrived back with the video tape.

  Alex Choi looked quickly around the office, all his subordinates glued to their screens and documents. ‘Okay, Commander, you have a point. But no one else has the time – let’s take a look ourselves.’

  Kwan’s lip curved up slightly, and he swivelled to indicate they should all g
o into his office – Sonny too. Choi had a sneaking suspicion that Kwan just wanted a look at the two guards. He’d been instrumental in capturing Shek in the first place, and probably now wanted to see which two idiots had ruined this achievement on the eve of his retirement.

  3

  –Please state your name, age, rank and department.

  Ng Fong, forty-two, Assistant Officer Class 1, Correctional Services Department, Escort and Support Group.

  –Describe the events of this morning, Friday 6 June 1997.

  Around ten o’clock this morning, I received an order to escort a male convict to Queen Mary Hospital for an examination. This was prisoner number 241138, Shek Boon-tim, an inmate of Stanley Prison. Assistant Officer Class 2 Sze Wing-hong and I were in charge of guarding him. The ambulance set off at 10.05 a.m. We arrived at Queen Mary at 10.35.

  –Was it just the two of you in charge of this convict?

  Yes.

  –Shek Boon-tim’s record shows he’s a dangerous felon. Why not request police back-up?

  241138’s conduct in prison has been exemplary. In all these years, he’s had no infractions, and has taken part enthusiastically in rehabilitative programmes and activities, earning many commendations. The duty supervisor saw no need to go beyond normal restraints.

  –What happened at Queen Mary Hospital?

  241138 was sent to the Emergency Room, where a triage nurse determined he was a low-urgency case, and he was sent to wait. Sze and I sat beside him. During this time, he kept complaining of stomach pain. Around 10.50, he said he needed a crap. Sze and I decided to take him upstairs to the bathroom.

  –Why not the one on the ground floor, by the waiting room?

  There were a lot of patients in ER that morning, and civilians were going in and out constantly. We didn’t want to get in anyone’s way. We had to prevent him interacting with anyone else, and clear the bathroom before he entered, making sure there were no other people, nor anything that could be used as a weapon.