“Lillian, welcome back”, the old lady sniffed sadly. “I’m so sorry that we have to see you again under such circumstances. Your Grandmother is upstairs in bed. She asked for you to go right up when you arrive. She’s desperate to see you. Now go.” She gave Lily a gentle shove in the right direction.
“Thank you, I’ll go up now.”
Lily ran up the staircase two steps at a time, reminding her of her childhood. She reached the landing and quickly went to her Grandmothers door. Turning the handle she pushed the door gently and peered into the room.
The room was dark, the curtains shut tight.
“Lillian, come in my dear. I’m not sleeping.” Lily’s Grandmother spoke quietly.
Lily duly walked over to the bed and perched herself on the edge depressing the mattress slightly. Her Grandmother had always impressed Lily. She had always been so energetic and young looking and wise and knowledgeable, but today she looked pale and old. Today she actually looked her age.
Lily leaned in to her Grandmother and wrapped her arms around her slim body tightly. She could feel every bone across her slight frame, and she suddenly seemed so fragile.
Lily pulled back gently and looked at her Grandmother.
“I don’t know what to do.” Lily said, almost in a whisper. “I don’t even know how I should feel.” Lily could feel a tear starting to escape and she quickly rubbed her sleeve across her tired pretty face.
Her Grandmother leaned forward and with her gnarled old hand, gently wiped the tears away until they were gone.
“My dear Lillian, I know how you feel right now and that will never really leave you. If we are lucky it will dull in time, but we will never forget, and you will find that at the most inappropriate time, thoughts and memories, both happy and sad, will creep up and surprise you.” Her Grandmother said soothingly as she stroked Lily’s hand.
“But, first we need to talk, and we have a lot to discuss. I think it’s time for the truth”.
Lily held onto her Grandmothers hands and nodded unknowingly.
Her Grandmother got herself comfortable in the bed, as Lily helped to plump pillows and straighten the bedding. She was instructed to switch on just one side lamp. It was already getting dark outside and there was no more natural light that could be let into the room, so she kept the curtains closed.
Lily pulled up a chair and sat facing her Grandmother, waiting for her to begin.
“You won’t really remember your Grandfather” She started, “you were so small when he died, but he was a great man. You remind me a little of him.” She brushed Lily’s cheek.
“It was your Grandfather that provided all of this”. She waved one of her arms sweeping the room to indicate the family home.
“He had his own business. It was a clothing factory, back when we could still have factories in Hong Kong. We made formalwear, cotton shirts for men and dresses for women. It was a good business. Then suddenly things started to change. China began opening up and people started to move their business over the border, customers started to work directly or through trading companies, and suddenly Hong Kong became an expensive place to manufacture. We watched as so many of our neighbours were forced to close down their factories, some of which had been in their family for over sixty years. They simply closed the factory doors and disappeared overnight. We were heading in the same direction, and started to worry about surviving the changes, when someone came to discuss a business proposition with your father.
During that time gangs in China were rife, businessmen were being bullied and businesses blackmailed, factories were being burnt down, people started paying for protection to certain gangs to stop being harassed, but it still continued. Nobody could be trusted. Some of the gangs became so big with so many members, that they no longer called themselves gangs. They formed societies. Some societies had so much money coming in illegally that they needed a way to move the money without coming under suspicion. With so many businesses closing down in Hong Kong, it seemed the perfect opportunity to use a failing company to move the money through undetected and then legitimately put it through a Hong Kong bank, when the time was right it would be transferred back to China.
Your Grandfather could see the writing on the wall with our factory, and like all good businessmen, thought through the pros and cons, and then he finally agreed.
That decision helped to keep the factory workers in employment, and kept his factory open. It worked well for many, many years and over time your Grandfather became a trusted member of the society, slowly working his way up the ladder and taking on more and more responsibilities. By the time your Mother was getting married to your Father, your Grandfather was working in so many sectors of industry for the society across both borders. Always using his old business to legitimize everything. He had Hotels and restaurants in Hong Kong and China paying protection money. A group of over one hundred security men and bodyguards worked for him. He was personally instrumental in co-coordinating the introduction of fake goods between borders, taking his cut and ensuring that both parties had police protection, or the kind that could turn a blind eye. He paid handsomely to those people that helped and supported him. Then as we reached the 1980’s things became more technical slowly moving out of his realm of expertise. He realized that he needed someone young and trustworthy to work with him. This is where your Mother and Father came in. Your Father worked in computers and was dynamic and always looking for a challenge. Most importantly, he was family. It was easy to convince him to join the society and he proved to be a great asset. Next came pirated software, videos, and then mobile phones. Suddenly the business exploded and we had money coming in from every angle, and your Grandfather was controlling all of it. He knew everyone and everything. We went to parties at the Hong Kong Governors residence; we dined with the Commissioner of Police and his wife and all the other high-ranking officials. People started asking him to invest in legitimate business projects, which he started to do.
It was going well, but then something shifted. Seeing the success of the society, a rival society began to stake a claim of some of our territories, and soon a war erupted.
You may not remember this as you were still so young, but about ten years ago in Tsim Sha Tsui, there were gangs on the streets fighting. Using their hands and fists, throwing acid. It lasted for five days and the police just turned a blind eye.
We won. Even though they had tried to destroy everything that he had worked forty years to build. Your Grandfather was never aggressive, not once, he never had to be, he had thugs and other people to do that for him, but he was tough and respected, and that’s what they needed to break. Your Grandfather was killed crossing the road from the Grand Hyatt Hotel. We had just had supper with your Mother and Father. Out of nowhere a car ran him down and he died there and then. I was holding his hand.”
Lily’s Grandmother paused for a moment, remembering the scene as vividly as if it had been the same day.
She gave a sad smile to Lily and continued.
“The next day, everyone called a meeting. There was panic within our society and no one had considered a replacement. People from China flooded across the border to pay their respects at the funeral, over a 1000 people came. It was then that the society approached me. They knew me well by then. They knew that I had the ear of all the right people in Hong Kong, and knew that I understood the mechanics of what we were trying to do. I too had gained their respect over time. I looked at your Mother that day at the funeral. She looked a little like you do today, a little lost and a little angry. That’s when I decided to protect my family in the only way I knew how, and I accepted.”
Lily was stunned. All these years she had no idea what her family did. She had vague recollections of people coming in and out of the house, and remembered reading about the street riots in the papers, but this was like suddenly finding out that your parent was a secret agent or you were adopted. It hit her like a train.
“I had no idea” was all Lily could manage.<
br />
Her Grandmother continued. “Your parents did a good job with you, and we all wanted was for you to have the best start in life, to have a normal life. We had discussed bringing you in so many times as you grew older, but always dismissed it. Perhaps now it is time.” Her Grandmother paused again, and looked troubled, her brow pulled into a deep frown.
“Your parents death was not an accident Lillian. The rival society still hungers for our business and it appears they have now chosen to take matters a step further. They have crossed a line. Despite everything that has happened, we can never allow them to take control of our society, too much has been lost already.”
Lily’s mouth had gone dry and she could feel the hot anger rising up in her. She wanted nothing better than to be shown the people or person that had arranged for her parents death and for them to be pointed out to her. Her mind began to drift as she began imagining what she would say to them before she killed them.
Her Grandmother interrupted her thoughts as though she had read her mind.
“Lily, you cannot be vengeful or impulsive, you will need a clear mind from now on, not one clouded by hate.”
“NO”, Lily shouted, her voice suddenly bursting with emotion. I want to know who did this. I need to know who did this to our family.” Lily said breathlessly as she fought the angry tears. She sat silently for a moment before continuing.
“It is time for me now.” Lily said, her voice almost a whisper. “I want you to teach me everything.” Lily said looking at her Grandmother. In that moment everything seemed clear to Lily, her future was set and she wouldn’t falter.
Lily’s Grandmother rested a hand on her shoulder and eased Lily’s hunched up shoulders down until she could visibly her visibly relax.
“Lillian, you must remember this; the one who pursues revenge, should dig two graves.
There will be an opportunity for you at the right time. This situation is not something that we can react to impulsively. This is what they want. We will cope with the next few weeks first and with dignity, we owe your parents and my daughter that much”. She said her voice cracking slightly at the mention of her daughter.
“I will teach you, and you will learn. First attain the skill, then the creativity comes later.”
Lily had so many unanswered questions, but knew that it would have to wait. This was her Grandmothers way of telling her that she would have to go back and study.
She stayed up late that night, jet lagged and tired in her bed unwilling to sleep. She vowed to herself that when she finally found the identity of who killed her parents, she would personally avenge their death and in doing so, she knew that she would not feel any remorse.
Bringing herself out of her reverie, Lily looked at the clock on the dashboard of her car and decided that it was time to go up. She hadn’t seen Rob since he’d be taken by Ghost Face, and suspected that he would be in a bad way. She had been furious with Ghost when she had first seen the Polaroid. Rob was supposed to have been taken until the robbery was over, hidden away quietly, and then simply released unharmed. Ghost Face had other plans. He saw everyone as disposable and was starting to leave quite a trail of bodies in his wake. She’d spoken to her Grandmother and raised her concerns over his recent behavior, but he’d worked for the family for so many years now, everything that he did seemed to be brushed under the carpet and accepted in silence. Their silence to him was affirmation that his actions and decisions were acceptable, with the belief that whatever he did was in the best interests of the society. Lily disagreed fervently, and this was starting to worry her.
Ryan was a different matter. Lily had hoped that he would have been picked up by the Police and be safely out of the picture. He should have been tied up in interviews and investigations, taking the heat off the rest of them. Instead he had managed to go on the run. Something that none of them had anticipated. Lily knew full well, that given an opportunity Ghost Face would ensure that Ryan disappeared for good. She would not be able to protect him for long, she knew that, but for now, she needed to ensure that Rob was OK, and that Ryan saw that his friend was alive. The rest she’d work out later.
Lily stepped in to the lift and pressed the button for the top floor. She climbed the last set of stairs leading to a white door and knocked. A camera moved just above her head to the left, identifying who was outside the door.
A buzzer sounded and the door unlatched itself and stood slightly ajar.
Lily pulled on the heavy white door and as she stepped inside was greeted by one of the Society members, a man that she recognized, but didn’t know.
“I’m here to see Robert Black.” She said to the young Chinese man. He recognized Lily immediately and led her down a narrow corridor to a metal door. The young man nodded towards a thin viewing slit and stepped away.
Lily silently slid across the metal shutter and peered inside the room. Rob was no longer bound. He sat on the same chair that she recognized from the Polaroid picture. He was sitting next to a basic metal bed with a thin mattress and blanket. He had his trousers back on, but wore the same blood splattered shirt, but now the blood was brown and dry. He had tried to clean his face, but still had matted blood in his hair. He looked exhausted and damaged. Lily scanned the rest of the room. In the corner was a basic white toilet and sink attached to the wall. Everything was in open view so that Rob was visible at all times, like a prison cell, but much worse, Lily thought. She looked down just inside the door and noticed that there was an untouched tray of food.
She looked sideways at the young Chinese man. He shrugged. “He won’t eat”. He said.
Hearing the sound of a voice Rob looked up toward the door. He could see that someone was looking at him through the narrow slit, but couldn’t see who was behind the door. He stood up.
“Hey”, he yelled suddenly angry, making Lily step back slightly.
“Hey, c’mon, how long are you going to keep me here?” he asked, his voice sounding tired and desperate.
“Talk to me.” He demanded.
Lily quickly closed the slat and walked back up the corridor with the Chinese man.
“When did he last eat?” she asked him.
“He hasn’t touched the last two meals. He wants to talk to someone, but I’m not allowed to talk to him. I just slide in the food three times a day.
“Any other visitors?” she asked.
“No, just Ghost Face, he comes once a day, and then one of the other guys replaces me for the nightshift. That’s it.” He shrugged.
Lily’s mind was in conflict. Was she foolish bringing Ryan here to see Rob? What would he do when he see’s his friend in this condition? Will he be convinced that Rob is OK and then simply go to the police? She thought about that. Of course he would go to the police, and then they’ll come directly to the warehouse. Before Lily could change her mind she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She slid the phone out and looked at the caller id. It was Ryan. He was here.
She answered the phone. “Just wait outside the door”.
Ryan stood outside the white door. He felt a mix of impatience and nerves and didn’t know what to expect or how he would react.
The door buzzed open and Ryan stepped inside, surprised and how bright and airy the entrance was. He looked around to gauge his bearings. To him it looked like it had been newly renovated. In sections, thick clear plastic sheeting still hung from the walls covering unfinished areas. The floors were concrete but looked freshly screeted. The walls, clean and white were lit up with bright industrial metal lights dotted around the high ceiling. There was a narrow corridor running off to the right, and small windows looking out towards the Chai Wan harbour. Just as he was about to walk down corridor, Lily emerged flanked by the young Chinese man that had greeted her upon arrival.
“Ryan”. Lily said. Not sure how she should receive him.
“Lily.” Ryan responded curtly.
“You can see Rob, but you can’t talk to him. You need to be clear on that point. This is just to s
how you that he’s alive and well, and that’s all.” Lily said and motioned for Ryan to follow her.
They walked in silence down the narrow corridor until they reached the metal door. Lily turned to Ryan and pressed a finger to her lips to indicate that he needed to be quiet. Ryan nodded once.
Behind them the young Chinese man stood motionless.
Lily slid across the metal shutter and motioned for Ryan to look through the slit. He had to bend slightly to get his eyes at the correct height. He peered in and waited whilst his eyes adjusted. He took in the sparse room and then focused on the broken man sitting before him. The noise of the shutter had made Rob look up with interest. He wasn’t used to being looked at so frequently and now he was alert. Perhaps something would happen today, he thought hopefully.
“Who’s there?” Rob demanded.
“Who are you?” He spoke again, this time standing up. He walked slowly towards the door, squinting his eyes to try and see the eyes behind the slit. Wanting to know who was looking at him so intensely.
Lily looked at Ryan and silently mouthed ‘No’ to him, shaking her head.
Ryan looked back through the slit in the door and seeing his friend walk toward him couldn’t remain silent any longer. Before Lily had a chance to respond or pull him away, Ryan was speaking through the gap.
“Rob, it’s Ryan. It’s OK mate, I’m going to get you out of here, just hang on.” Ryan could feel Lily pulling on his shirt, but he wouldn’t move from the door.
Rob ran quickly to the door now and pressed his hands against it, trying to look through the small slit.
“Ryan, get me out of here, Ryan, don’t you leave me here, you have to get me out.” Rob shouted, his voice was ragged with tiredness, he sounded desperate. With the little energy he had, he banged his fist against the door.
Lily was pulling at Ryan as hard as she could. The young Chinese man was already running ahead of them down the corridor.
Lights Out Page 15
