The Borrowed

by Chan Ho-Kei

‘Scarecrow Roger. Over,’ replied TT calmly. Knowing the criminals were drawing closer, Sonny couldn’t help holding his breath, eyes fixed anxiously on the corner, waiting for them to come round the bend.

  ‘Commander, they––’

  ‘Shut up, don’t give yourself away,’ snapped TT in a low voice.

  No sooner were the words spoken when the Shek brothers’ henchmen showed up, walking straight towards them. They were dressed in T-shirts and jeans, Mad Dog Biu in sunglasses and Jaguar in a grey cap. They looked like ordinary people. Sonny glanced at TT and saw his commander’s head bent over the display cabinet as he pretended to rearrange the beverages whilst keeping one eye on goings-on in the lobby. Imitating him, Sonny stirred the beef brisket stew in the countertop warming tray, whilst silently staring out of the corner of his eye at the two men.

  ‘Hi.’

  He jumped at the sudden sound.

  ‘Hi!’ Jaguar and Mad Dog hadn’t walked through the exit, but stood at the takeout entrance. Only a counter stood between them and Sonny. It was Jaguar who’d spoken.

  Sonny slowly raised his head, his eyes locking onto Jaguar’s. In that instant, his mind went into panic, unable to decide how to respond now that they’d been exposed. Should he take cover? Pull out his gun? Or first make sure to keep the civilians safe? He had no idea whether the henchmen’s loose shirts concealed weaponry, as his did. The Shek gang all used Type 54 Black Star pistols, whereas the Crime Unit were only issued with .38 revolvers. The police were at a disadvantage in terms of both ammo and firepower, and once shots were fired, Sonny could only be on the losing end. How should they do this? Sonny could take on Jaguar, leaving the vicious Mad Dog for his commander...

  ‘Hi! I’m talking to you!’ Jaguar leaned forward, looking at the display of food. ‘How much is the beef stew with rice?’

  A great weight rolled off Sonny. They hadn’t given themselves away. These fellows were just after some lunch.

  ‘Fif... Fifteen dollars,’ he answered.

  ‘Give me two boxes of that.’ Jaguar turned to Mad Dog. ‘You’re too fussy, always complaining no matter what I choose. So you pick something for yourself.’

  Biu took a step forward, examining the warming trays.

  ‘Is the fish in corn sauce fresh?’ Mad Dog’s voice was low, and as soon as he opened his mouth, Sonny could tell this wasn’t someone you’d want to mess with.

  ‘It’s not bad,’ he said, trying to tamp down the terror welling up inside him. As Mad Dog bent, he’d seen a bulge on his right side that was almost certainly a pistol.

  ‘Hmm... no, the gravy looks disgusting. Give me some of that green pepper spare ribs in black bean sauce with rice.’

  ‘Yes, okay.’

  Sonny got three boxes out, first laying down a bed of rice and then ladling the other dishes in. His hands were unsteady. Gravy and beef slices tumbled onto the countertop.

  ‘Hey, little brother, you’re just giving me a box of carrots. There’s only three pieces of meat in there,’ grumbled Jaguar.

  ‘Sor— Sorry.’ Sonny nodded and quickly added more beef, but in his nervousness scooped up even more carrots.

  ‘Hey––’ Jaguar’s voice broke off suddenly, and Sonny realized at the same moment that he’d made a big mistake – he’d turned while filling the box so the receiver in his right ear was fully visible. They were standing so close that Jaguar must have seen it.

  In that moment, Sonny’s mind emptied completely, leaving a perfect blank.

  Smack! Something hit the back of his head. For an instant, he thought Jaguar had shot him, but the attacker was TT.

  ‘Motherfucker! You bastard, listening to radio when you should be working, look at the mess you’ve made. Did I hire you to drive my customers away? Fuck you!’

  Sonny stood frozen, only realizing half a second later that he was being rescued.

  ‘Get your ass out of my way!’ TT snatched Sonny’s earpiece. Sonny noticed the commander’s own earpiece was safely tucked away.

  ‘Gentlemen, I apologize for this idiot kid. Let me get you some free drinks – I hope you’ll still consider coming here again. We have canned sodas and packets of iced lemon tea. What would you like?’ As he spoke, TT grabbed the ladle and neatly finished filling the three lunchboxes, smiling ingratiatingly at Jaguar and Mad Dog.

  ‘Coke is fine,’ said Jaguar. His attitude had softened, and he even smiled back at TT.

  ‘Forty-five dollars altogether, thanks.’ TT placed the food, drinks and disposable cutlery in a plastic bag and handed it over. Jaguar paid and walked back into the lobby with Mad Dog.

  Sonny was standing in a corner, like a child scolded by his teacher. An onlooker might have thought this was a worker sulking after getting told off by his boss, but he had actually noticed something else – Sharpie was just round the corner, pretending to be a passer-by looking in the window of a clothing store. Sonny guessed he’d probably heard the alert and rushed out of the washroom, only to find the two suspects already in the takeout, and was observing from nearby instead of entering and complicating matters further.

  Once Jaguar and Mad Dog were far enough away, Sonny let out a shaky breath and said to TT, ‘Thanks for that, sir. I’m still new to all this.’

  ‘Keep soaking in it, you’ll adapt.’ TT rapped on Sonny’s head gently.

  ‘My God, I was scared to death.’ Sharpie walked back inside. ‘Those two came in for food? Did they have to pick this place out of all the takeout joints?’

  ‘At least nothing went wrong,’ smiled TT. He popped his earpiece back in and said into the mic, ‘Scarecrow to Barn, Sparrow and Crow bought some bird food, heading back to the nest now. Over.’

  Sonny glanced at his watch. It was two minutes past one. The whole thing had only lasted a few minutes.

  ‘This is Water Tower, Sparrow and Crow have returned to the nest. Over,’ went the message to all officers, three minutes later.

  ‘I guess the curtain only rises on the show tomorrow,’ Sharpie half-joked, stretching.

  Sonny nodded in agreement, but then a minute later the radio crackled, ‘Water Tower to Barn! Urgent update! Three birds have left the nest! Sparrow, Crow and Vulture are all holding large suitcases. New developments. Over.’

  At this news, Sonny’s entire scalp went numb.

  ‘Water Tower to Barn! Unexpected development. The birds didn’t get in the elevator, they’re continuing north along the corridor. Looks like they’re retreating! Over.’

  ‘Barn to Water Tower, keep observing! Other units, get moving immediately, prepare to apprehend suspects! Guard the lobby and exits! Report on elevator situation.’

  Sonny’s mind was scrambled. He worried that he had given away his true identity earlier, and this was all his fault. Sharpie smacked him on the back. ‘Stop daydreaming, time to work.’

  Sonny shook his head to clear his mind, then quickly pulled off his ridiculous apron and, gun in hand, followed TT and Sharpie towards the elevator lobby.

  ‘Police operation! Don’t come out!’ Sharpie yelled at the staff and customers curiously poking their heads out of neighbouring stores. Hearing this command and seeing three armed men, they hastily complied and slammed the doors shut. The old guy who’d been snoozing all morning behind the management desk suddenly grew alert and hurriedly hid behind his counter.

  ‘Cowshed reporting, both elevators are stopped at ground level.’

  ‘This is Millhouse, one elevator coming down from level four, the other remaining on ground floor.’

  ‘Scarecrow calling Barn, one elevator stationary at ground floor, the other going up from fifth... no, it’s stopped,’ said TT into the microphone.

  ‘All units remain in position, stand by to assist. Over.’

  Sonny’s heart beat faster as he crouched with TT and Sharpie in a corner of the lobby. Each time civilians passed by or tried to enter, they had to be stopped. Some public-spirited individuals guessed that criminals were hiding out in the building, and took it upo
n themselves to remain on the street, keeping residents and shoppers out of the danger zone.

  Ding. The elevator that had been on fifth returned to the ground floor. As the doors opened, Sonny and the rest held up their guns in readiness. There was only one woman inside, who shrieked to see three armed men facing her. Sharpie quickly grabbed her and shoved her to safety behind them.

  ‘We can’t go on like this,’ said TT suddenly.

  ‘What?’ Sonny didn’t understand.

  ‘It’s been too long. Shek Boon-sing will get to the first floor, then jump out of a window and escape that way. It won’t do us any good to keep waiting here.’

  ‘But the order was to stay put.’

  ‘The sentry said they’re carrying big suitcases – which means they must have sub-machine guns or even AK-47s. Even when the uniforms get here, we’ll be outgunned. And those civilians over there are going to get hurt,’ TT said grimly.

  Sonny and Sharpie understood what TT was referring to. Once Shek Boon-sing had escaped a police siege by charging onto a bus and taking everyone hostage. After getting away, he shot the driver and four passengers dead. The survivors testified that he’d had no reason to open fire, he was just angry that the driver hadn’t gone fast enough, and the passengers had been crying and screaming too much for his taste.

  ‘But, Commander, we only have eighteen rounds of ammo between us,’ said Sonny timidly.

  ‘There’s three of them and three of us. We just have to hold them till SDU arrive.’ As he spoke, TT checked his cylinder, making sure all six bullets were still there.

  ‘I’d rather stay here, but Headman’s right, attacking is our best defence,’ said Sharpie. ‘Who asked us to be the Royal Hong Kong Police? We have no choice but to put ourselves forward.’

  Seeing that the other two were serious, Sonny took a deep breath and nodded.

  ‘Hey, Pops!’ TT called to the old man behind the counter. ‘Got an elevator key?’

  ‘Yes, here.’ The old guy fumbled for his keys and, with TT and Sharpie covering him, walked into the elevator, pulled open the control panel, and killed the machinery.

  ‘Now they’ll have to come down the stairs.’ TT gestured at the stairwell. ‘If they try to get out by the south or central exits, they’ll meet the other guys. We’ll attack them from this side, and they’ll be surrounded.’

  TT studied the area for a minute. ‘Pops, are there any business units above the eighth floor in this building?’

  ‘I don’t think... No, wait, there’s a little guesthouse on the ninth floor, Unit 30. Ocean Hotel.’

  ‘Dammit.’ TT turned back to his men to explain, ‘It’s daytime, so there won’t be many residents around they could use as hostages. But the hotel – the folks there might be in danger.’

  Sonny knew what he meant. If Shek Boon-sing grabbed some people to use as human shields, there’d be nothing the police could do but stand by and watch as they got away. And then the hostages probably wouldn’t have long to live. The Crime Unit had no formal combat training, but if they were going to act, it needed to be decisive.

  ‘Let’s take a gamble,’ spat TT. He pressed the button on his radio. ‘Scarecrow calling Barn, Team C now moving in via staircase. Over.’

  ‘Barn to Scarecrow, please remain where you are, remain where you are. Over.’

  ‘Ignore that.’ TT plucked out his earpiece. ‘We’re on our own now. Let’s go.’

  TT pushed open the door to the stairwell, Sharpie and Sonny covering him from behind.

  ‘We’ll head straight up.’ TT looked cautiously between the railings. ‘From what the lookout said, if they took this route, they’d still only be at the twelfth or thirteenth storey.’

  ‘What if they’ve doubled back on some other floor?’ asked Sonny.

  ‘If they’d got spooked and were trying to escape, they’d want to get to the first floor and jump out a window – not play hide and seek with us.’ TT was already striding up as he answered. ‘They didn’t take the elevator, which means they know something isn’t right. If it was just a meeting with Shek Boon-tim or an associate, they wouldn’t have left by the corridor. They’re all prepared, and they’re taking an unusual route. That means they know they’re in danger.’

  ‘Dammit, everything seemed normal when they were buying lunch. It couldn’t be something we did, could it?’ Sharpie cursed behind TT. ‘Or maybe old Fung and that lot did something wrong, and caught their attention. I hope nothing goes wrong, Lord preserve us so we all make it to Headman’s wedding day.’

  TT and Sonny didn’t reply, and Sharpie stopped grumbling too, focusing on sprinting up the stairs.

  At the eighth floor, TT suddenly stopped and indicated that the other two should be quiet. Sonny hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary, but thought his experienced commander must have surely noticed something.

  They proceeded on tiptoe, sticking close to the wall. There wasn’t much light here, just a small window every two floors.

  Between the eighth- and ninth-floor landings, Sharpie and Sonny saw it too. Through a glass panel in the door that led to the ninth-floor corridor, Sonny could see a man’s silhouette.

  Was it a suspect or a resident? They bent low and kept moving. There were two doors leading to the ninth floor, an outer and an inner one, five metres apart. Residents used the space in between for their trash cans. When they got to the first door, TT peeped through the glass to see the person was now by the inner door, which was propped open by something, perhaps a wedge of wood or an old newspaper. Although the Fire Department was always urging residents to leave these doors shut to keep smoke out in an emergency, residents inevitably preferred convenience.

  The glass panel was too dusty for TT and Sharpie to see if this was one of their targets. Sonny hung back in case it was a red herring. If they were ambushed now, they’d be sitting ducks.

  TT gestured, indicating that Sonny should pull the door open for the other two to attack. ‘Three...’ he mouthed, counting down with his fingers, ‘two, one, GO!’

  Sonny yanked the thick wooden door open and TT and Sharpie charged through. The person by the door turned in shock. It was Jaguar.

  Recognizing the takeout server, then seeing the weapon in his hand, Jaguar understood the situation at once. Sonny had expected him to surrender, given he had two guns pointed at him, but before TT could even shout a warning, he’d grabbed the pistol from his waistband.

  Bang! Bang!

  On the cusp of life and death, TT hadn’t hesitated, but fired twice at his opponent. He was a sure shot, and both bullets went straight into Jaguar’s chest, lifting him slightly off the ground with their force, tumbling to the ground before he could so much as pull the trigger. Bright blood flowed from the two injuries.

  Just as Sharpie was about to exclaim in admiration, the real danger appeared, flashing through the door as Jaguar’s body hit the ground: Mad Dog Biu, holding an AK47 in both hands.

  Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—

  TT, Sharpie and Sonny instinctively flung themselves to the ground, but bullets were faster than their reaction speed. Sonny, at the back, managed to get himself to one side, but the only shelter for TT and Sharpie was a red plastic trash can. Sonny felt bullets passing over his head, the piercing sound as they ricocheted down the stairwell, the scent of gunpowder penetrating his nostrils.

  In seconds, Sonny’s instinct to hide was overridden by his police training – he had to assist his commander and Sharpie, even if it put him in danger.

  Still on the ground, Sonny reached out to aim at the gunman at the other end of the corridor, but before he could fire, the figure crumpled onto its knees, the assault rifle crashing to the ground. Even in the dim light, he could see a black hole right between Mad Dog’s eyebrows.

  Before Sonny could react, he felt something tugging at his left shoulder.

  ‘Pull back!’ It was TT’s voice.

  Like waking from a dream, Sonny saw what had happened – two bodies in the corridor, Jaguar
and Mad Dog Biu, TT crouching by him, and Sharpie still on the floor, breathing heavily.

  Sonny and TT dragged Sharpie back into the stairwell and the safety door clicked shut behind them. Almost at once, another round of rat-tat-tat shattered the glass panel. Shek Boon-sing had arrived.

  They had their guns out in readiness, but it would seem Shek wasn’t as rash as his henchman, and in less than five seconds, silence resumed.

  ‘Sharpie! Sharpie!’ TT hollered, trying to bring him back to consciousness. Sharpie had been hit three times – in the left shoulder, the calf and, most seriously, in the neck, which was gushing crimson blood.

  ‘Sharpie! Brother!’ Sonny quickly pressed hard against the wound. He knew that once the carotid artery was severed, victims could bleed to death in a matter of minutes.

  Sonny had never witnessed a colleague being wounded. As a uniformed officer, perhaps by good luck, he’d always managed to stop suspects in time to prevent serious injuries. There’d been cases involving death, of course – elderly people, or victims of car accidents – but he’d never experienced this sensation of being on the dividing line between life and death, his own actions able to pull a human existence this way or that, not knowing if he himself might be killed the next moment.

  ‘We should... we should radio for back-up...’ Pressing down on Sharpie’s neck with his left hand, he reached for his earpiece – tugged out during the firefight – but his bloodstained right hand trembled so much he couldn’t get it in. ‘Calling Command Centre... why’s there no sound...?’

  He grabbed hurriedly for the walkie-talkie in his back pocket, only to find the outer shell was smashed and the buttons were unresponsive.

  ‘Aah!’ A muted scream of surprise from the corridor.

  They turned cautiously towards the sound.

  ‘Sonny,’ said TT in a calm voice, ‘leave Sharpie. We’re going in.’

  ‘Commander?’ Sonny looked up wide-eyed, unable to believe the order he’d just heard.

  ‘Leave Sharpie. Cover me.’

  ‘Commander! If I let go, Sharpie will die!’ shouted Sonny. He was kneeling on the ground, his trousers already soaked in Sharpie’s blood.