by Ian Hamilton
It was just past eleven thirty and the lobby was crowded. Three lines of people were checking out and two lines of people stood in front of empty desks that said CHECK IN. Ava didn’t like their chances of seeing their rooms anytime soon.
Her plan had been to show her photos of Kung to hotel staff to see if anyone recognized him. There was no doorman and the front desk staff were busy, but there was a young man leaning on the baggage counter. Ava walked over to him. He stood erect as she drew near. He was no more than five foot six and rail thin. Ava wondered how he managed to lug the suitcases, some of which must have weighed as much as him.
“Do you need help with your bags?” he asked, smiling.
“No, but my uncle may. I’ve been waiting for him for about ten minutes and haven’t seen him. Tell me, did you see him leave?” she asked, holding out one of the photos.
He shook his head.
“Have you seen him at all over the past few days? I was told he was staying here, but I haven’t actually heard from him.”
He took the photo from her and appeared to study it. “I don’t recognize him, but I’ll keep my eyes open now. This is a good vantage point because everyone has to walk by. Why don’t you give me your phone number and I’ll call you if I see him.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Ava said, taken aback by his obvious flirtation.
“This isn’t my real job, you know. I’m an engineering student at the university. I do this for pocket money.”
“Thanks all the same,” she said. “I’ll sit on the other side of the lobby and watch for him myself.”
Any ideas she had about sitting disappeared as soon as she got a good look at the couches and chairs. People were squeezed into every inch of them, and others hovered, waiting for an opening. Ava took up position against a wall that gave her a clear view of the hotel elevators and most of the lobby. To her left was a restaurant that had a long lineup of people, most of them with suitcases. She thought about eating but didn’t have the patience to stand in line. Besides, she didn’t want to risk missing Kung.
After leaning against the wall for half an hour, she was bored and tired, both states being aggravated by the fact that she wasn’t convinced Kung was even in the hotel.
She crossed the lobby again. The bellboy greeted her with a smile.
“I’ve changed my mind,” she said quickly. “I do want you to call me if you see my uncle. The only problem might be that my number is international.”
“I can use one of the hotel phones, but it will cost me money.”
“How much do you need?”
“Two hundred renminbi should be enough.”
Ava took a Hong Kong $500 note from her purse. “Here, this will cover it and pay you something for your trouble. And if you do think you see him and it turns out to be him, I’ll pay you another thousand.”
“You must really like this uncle of yours.”
“Never mind about that,” she said, handing him one of her business cards. “My mobile number is the one on the bottom.”
“I think you should leave me his photo as well. It’ll help me and I can maybe show it around a bit. I mean, I want to be sure that I pick out the right guy.”
“Yes,” she said, without any feeling of confidence.
Ava left the hotel to go back to the train station. The weather had been gloomy when she arrived, but now the sky was visible through patches of cloud and the sun flickered. As she walked, she became even more conscious of the surrounding construction activity, with its constant noise of cranes in motion and pounding piledrivers that she hadn’t heard from the taxi. She also hadn’t noticed how many people wore face masks. Halfway to the station, she understood why they did. Her nose began to itch; she blew into a tissue and saw that her mucus was tinged black. As the sun lit the area, she saw that the air was filled with sparkling floating dust particles.
When she got to the station, she went immediately to the washroom. She blew her nose again, brushed her hair, and washed her hands and face. Walking any distance in Shenzhen wasn’t something she planned to do again.
The posted schedule said that the trains ran every ten minutes to Mong Kok. Ava headed for the platform but was stopped just short as passengers were funnelled from the main terminal into a series of enclosures like cattle pens that opened onto the platform. When Ava complained to the woman standing next to her, the woman said, “You don’t take this train often, do you.”
“No.”
“Well, if they didn’t have these holding areas, everyone waiting for the train would be crowded as close to the platform edge as they could get. The people on the arriving train would find it almost impossible to get out. When the train gets in and all the passengers have disembarked, the doors here open and we can get on. It’s a very efficient system.”
Three minutes later Ava witnessed the system at work. After the train disgorged what looked like thousands of people, she watched as thousands more ran from the holding area towards it. She could hardly imagine the chaos if the two human waves ever collided.
She walked rather than ran to the train and was still able to find a seat. Five minutes later she forced herself to stand. Her jet lag had returned and she was struggling to keep her eyes open. Being on her feet helped, but she began to worry about what she would do when she got back to the hotel in Mong Kok. There was no way she could stay in her room without succumbing. As she contemplated her options, her phone rang. Her senses were so dulled that she didn’t recognize the ring at first.
“Wei,” she said.
“This is Pang from the Good Luck Hotel. You gave me your phone number.”
“Oh, yes.”
“I just saw your uncle.”
“What?”
“He walked past me as he was heading out.”
“Are you sure it was him?”
“If it wasn’t, it was someone who looked exactly like the person in the photo you gave me.”
“So he’s a hotel guest?”
“I think so. I showed his photo to the guy who works the bell desk full-time and he said he had seen him coming and going for a few days.”
“That’s great,” Ava said.
“So what are you going to do now?”
“What do you mean?”
“You owe me more money.”
“Of course, of course I do. I’m on the train heading back to Kowloon. I need to get off and reverse my course. Are you going to be there?”
“Till six.”
“Okay, then we’ll hook up in about an hour,” Ava said, and felt a sudden surge of energy. “Tell me, did your colleague happen to know what name my uncle is using at the hotel?”
Pang became quiet and Ava realized that her question must have sounded ridiculous to him.
“I mean, you know he’s not really my uncle, don’t you,” she said.
“Yeah, I figured that.”
“So, do you have a name?”
“No, but I found out a couple of other things that you should know.”
“And those are?”
“He’s never alone. According to my friend, Chew, he has two tough-looking guys with him. And you’re not the only person asking questions about him.”
( 8 )
SHE EXITED THE train at Fo Tan, crossed the platform, and five minutes later was on her way back to Shenzhen. When she reached Lo Wu station, this time she noticed how easy it was to leave the train, and any last doubts about the use of the pens vanished.
“I’m only going to the Good Luck Hotel,” she told the cab driver when she got outside. “But I’ll pay you a hundred Hong Kong.”
He nodded. She climbed into the back seat, her mind full of thoughts about Johnny Kung. So I’ve found him, she thought. Now what do I do?
Pang waved at her as she walked through the front door of the
hotel. Beside him, an older, shorter, rounder man stared at her. She went over to them.
“This is Chew,” Pang said.
“Hi,” Ava said, trying to ignore Chew’s eyes, which were locked on to her chest. Ava did have larger breasts than was usual for a Chinese woman, and in China they seemed to generate keen interest.
“I showed him the photo and he recognized your guy,” Pang said.
“He’s been here for at least three days,” Chew said.
“Is he here now?”
“No.”
“You mentioned that there were other people asking questions. Who were they?”
“I have no idea, but they’re in the lobby now.”
“Where?”
“Don’t turn around right away, but when you can, look towards the sofas. There’s a little bald guy sitting by himself to the left; he’s got tattoos on both arms. Then look further left and you’ll see another guy by the door, with a ponytail and a wispy beard. He’s also got tattoos. They’re a team, I think.”
“Why do you suppose that?”
“They take turns sitting and standing.”
“Triad probably,” Pang said.
“What makes you think that?” Ava asked.
“The tattoos. They’re almost like a uniform.”
“The guys with the man you’re looking for have them too,” Chew said.
“Triad?”
“Could be — just different gangs.”
“You need to be careful,” Pang said.
“Thanks for the advice,” Ava said, and turned to Chew. “What kind of questions were those men asking?”
“They had a picture, like you, and they wanted to know if I’d seen the guy. That was a few days ago, so by now they’ve seen him for themselves. They’ve been in and around the hotel ever since, but I haven’t seen them approach your guy. That’s a bit strange, don’t you think?”
“I have no idea,” Ava said. She went into her bag and took out Hong Kong dollars. “Here’s your thousand, Pang, and I’ll give Mr. Chew here five hundred for his help. Does that work?”
“Sure,” Pang said.
When Chew said nothing, Ava pressed the bill into his hand. “Thanks again,” she said.
Ava crossed the lobby towards the man on the sofa. He was slumped to one side, his elbow sunk into the sofa’s arm, his chin resting on his palm. He looks bored, she thought. She stopped directly in front of him. He didn’t notice her at first, but when he glanced up, she saw a look of surprise on his face. He turned away. She didn’t move, her eyes firmly fixed on him. He was in his thirties, she guessed, but in his black jeans, white T-shirt, and white running shoes he looked like a teenager.
“I’m told you’re looking for Johnny Kung,” she said.
His head swivelled towards her and she saw that she had flustered him. His eyes flickered briefly in her direction and then looked to the right, where the man Chew had identified as his partner was watching them.
“Are you looking for Kung?” she said.
“What’s going on here?” the man’s partner said.
He was short, only a few inches taller than Ava, but he was lean and wiry and looked as if he could take care of himself in a fight.
“I was asking if you two are looking for Johnny Kung,” Ava said.
“What business is that of yours?” he said, moving closer, his eyes roaming over her body.
“Because I am as well.”
“Is that a joke?”
“No, I’m completely serious.”
“What is he, your father or something?”
“Of course not.”
“You look young enough.”
“My age is irrelevant,” Ava said, looking at each of them in turn. “I just want to say that if you are looking for Kung, then we shouldn’t get in each other’s way.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Ava Lee.”
“You use an English name?” the man on the sofa said.
“I’m Canadian.”
“My English name is Andy, and he’s Carlo. Now what the hell do you want with Kung?” he said.
“She has to be his girlfriend,” Carlo said, switching from Mandarin to Cantonese.
“He owes money to one of my clients. I’m here to try to collect it,” Ava said in Cantonese.
“Now you really are joking,” Carlo said.
“I’m quite serious, and unless I’m mistaken I think you’re trying to collect money from him as well. When I went to his office today, they mentioned that other people were after him. I assume it’s you two.”
“What outfit do you work for?” Andy said.
“What do you mean?”
“If you’re in the business, you’ve got to be working for someone.”
“I’m working alone. What outfit are you with?”
“Chow Tung’s.”
Ava’s face registered no reaction.
“You’ve never heard of him?” Andy said.
“No.”
“God, you are a rookie. There aren’t many people in Hong Kong who haven’t heard of him.”
“Why is that?”
“There’s no reason to get into all that,” Carlo interrupted. “We work for him. That’s all you need to know.”
“And you’re right that we’ve been hired to get money from Kung,” Andy said.
“How much are you trying to collect?” Ava asked.
The two men stared at her.
“I’m after a million dollars,” Ava said.
“Hong Kong?” Andy asked.
“U.S.,” she said.
“Shit, that’s twice what we’re chasing him for,” Andy said to Carlo.
“And like I said, I’m not working for anyone but myself and my client.”
Carlo smiled at Ava. It was a complicated smile, she thought, part condescending, part protective, and certainly flirtatious.
“Okay, I believe you. But tell me how, exactly, you think you’re going to get Kung to give back a million dollars,” he said.
“Why don’t you tell me about your plan first?” Ava asked.
“Listen, I’m really trying to be polite with you, and that’s mainly because I think you’re in way over your head and probably need someone to look after you, but we’re on a job and we don’t have time for this,” Carlo said.
“On a job? All you’re doing is sitting in the lobby, and from what I’ve heard, you’ve been here for days.”
Andy rose from the couch, and she saw he was about the same height as his partner and even skinnier. “Ava, could you excuse Carlo and me for a minute? There’s something I want to talk to him about in private.”
“Sure, I’ll stand over by the door,” she said.
As she moved towards the hotel entrance, the two men slid ten metres in the other direction. She watched as they spoke. Andy was quite animated, his hands moving up and down like an orchestra conductor’s. Carlo occasionally nodded, and once he turned and looked in Ava’s direction. Finally she saw Carlo shrug, and then both men walked towards her.
“We have an idea we’d like to talk to you about,” Andy said.
“I’m listening.”
“You wanna sit?” he said, motioning towards the couch.
“No thanks,” Ava said, not wanting to be physically so close to either of them.
“Okay, here’s the thing. Kung is staying in the hotel, but he’s not alone.”
“He has two goons with him.”
“How’d you know that?”
“The bellboys told me.”
“Yeah, he has two thugs with him, and they’re the problem. He doesn’t go anywhere without them.”
“And they’re probably armed,” Carlo said. “It’s too risky to make a play for him when they’re around.�
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“We need to isolate him, to get him on his own,” Andy said.
“And if you can do that?”
“We’ll grab him. We’ve got an apartment about five blocks from here. We’ll keep him there until he agrees to pay.”
“Grab him?”
“The only way he’ll ever pay is if he feels he has to. We’ll hold him until he realizes he has no choice.”
“How long will that take?”
“We have methods that tend to shorten the time frame.”
“I bet you do,” Ava said. “And that isn’t meant to be critical.”
“So what do you think?” Carlo said. “Do you want to work with us on this?”
“And how would I do that?”
The two men exchanged glances. “We’ve heard that Kung is a cunt-hound,” Carlo said.
“What he means is that he has a reputation as a ladies’ man,” Andy said.
“Thanks for explaining that,” Ava said.
“This is his fourth night at the hotel and so far it’s just been him and the goons. He’s got to be getting horny,” Andy said. “We thought maybe you could help him get over that.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I don’t mean sleep with him.”
“I hope not.”
“We just need you to get his attention so he invites you out for dinner or a drink.”
“Without the goons?”
“You’re quick — good. Yeah, without them. You’d have to insist that they not go,” Andy said.
“You know, if you unbuttoned that shirt a bit, you could be a really hot-looking woman,” Carlo said. “Hot enough that he’d tell those guys to take a hike if he thought he had a chance to get into your pants.”
“I guess I should take that as a compliment,” Ava said drily.
“You see where we’re heading with this?” Andy asked.
“It’s obvious enough, but tell me, what happens if he wants his guys to go along?”
“Then no dinner or drinks for you and we go back to our Plan A.”
“Waiting in the lobby?”
“More or less.”
“Okay, so what happens if there are no thugs?”
“Like I said, we grab him and take him to our apartment.”
