“Yeah, but he's in jail,” said Frank.
“Take John.” James didn't expect less than an affirmative response.
“Yeah, sure. Anything special for this one?” Frank asked.
“No, just make sure he understands our rules.”
“Sure thing,” said Frank.
“Great. Then, that's that.” James watched as the guys started leaving the room but was grateful for Frank, who chatted him up about his adventures in Hong Kong. He wanted to relax with their company as they walked into the other room. While he was confident he had taken care of everything, he had a nagging suspicion he had forgotten something vital.
James stood in the corner of the room and watched Kai pay each man. He thought about Charlie and did not want to believe it was his best friend who betrayed them. They had both been chosen and initiated into the gang at the same time. They even went to get their first tattoo together. True, he moved up quicker and higher than the rest, but he felt he tried to do right by bringing him up when he took over. All things considered, friendship would have to be put aside in the face of survival. The more he thought, the more questions he had, the more confused he felt. He could not conceive of any reason why Charlie would turn on him. More confusing were the reports that Charlie had phoned in, which conflicted with the ones just heard.
“Frank? Frank, Barry.” James called across the room and they walked over.
John noticed his brother was sending him a signal to join the group, excused himself from the mah-jongg table and walked over to James.
James was pleased John knew some of the hand signals and made a mental note to ask him how he learned them later. Frank and Kai recognized his talent as well.
“Frank, this is our cousin John from Hong Kong.”
“John.” Frank shook hands as his mind raced. He tried to contemplate what role he would let John play. He knew James' father was very well connected, but he didn't know how well. He wondered if he could get that kind of information and access through John.
“Hello.” John looked at them, but didn’t get any good feelings of trust from either man.
“John. Frank and Barry are dai lows. Listen to Barry, since he'll be showing you the ropes and our rules for how things are done around here. Guys, I've got some family matters to take care of for now and need John this afternoon.”
“Sure, James. John, how about Saturday around eleven? Barry will take you on the rounds and give you a feel for things,” said Frank.
“Yeah,” John wondered what to make of Frank. The man made him feel uneasy.
“Frank, what did you guys do with my car?” James asked.
“Ahhh, ohhhh, uhhhh. It got towed for illegal parking,” said Frank.
“Don't give me no fucking shit. Where's the car?”
“No shit, honest,” Frank replied with a perfectly straight face. “The car got towed.”
“How the fuck did that happen?”
“Uh, I, umm- - I forgot to move it.” Barry started playing along with Frank, but couldn't keep the straight face and started laughing. “It's parked on Jackson toward the middle of the block.” Barry handed James his car keys and continued laughing along with Frank and John.
“Both of you are crazy, you know that? Say, Frank, is it clean?”
“Yeah, inside and out with everything right where you left it.” Frank looked at James indicating “everything,” indeed, was in the car. “Hey, I'll walk back with you.”
“Good,” said James. “Later guys.” The guys returned a mumbled round of byes. James, John and Frank left, went down the stairs and on to the street.
Frank tried to evaluate John as they walked down the block. He felt he could see some strength in the way John carried himself. After giving them the bags, he stood a moment watching James and John walk off. Beyond the significant level of trust between those two, there were too many physical traits that were similar. If John cut his hair, he would look almost identical to James.
John's eyes darted in all directions, trying to absorb the area's dynamics. He noticed the street they were on had mostly the backs of buildings, which faced Grant. He picked up the scent of freshly cooked seafood wafting from a partially opened window and wondered if they would get to eat soon. James, meanwhile, scanned the street, being ever vigilant as a leader was for trouble. Although this was his turf, he never felt totally safe, not even within the borders of Chinatown. His eyes looked around constantly checking that the guys, who were supposed to be watching the streets, were in their places.
On Jackson, they strolled up to the black '74 mustang and tossed their bags into the back seat. His home wasn't far from Chinatown, just up the hill in Pacific Heights. They could have easily walked, but he didn't feel like lugging his luggage up a hill. He reached under his seat and pulled out the Beretta model 92SB pistol, held the gun at lap level and released the magazine, making sure it contained the full fifteen rounds it was capable of holding.
“Reach under your seat.” James replaced the magazine and then the gun, under his seat.
John did as he was told, curious to discover what was waiting for him to play with. In pulling out the gun, he also examined it low in his lap. “Chinese Type 67. Not as good as your Beretta, but it'll do any job nicely. I haven't seen one of these for a long time. Is it as quiet as they say it is?”
“Yeah. It's like having a built in silencer.” James started up the car.
“What does it hold? Seven?”
“No, nine. Extra bullets are in another hidden compartment, which I'll show you later. Let's get one thing straight. The guns don't get used unless I say so. Understood?”
“Yeah. So why do you keep them in the car?”
“Just in case.”
“What about Frank and Barry? They must know the guns are under the seats. Anyone else know about them?”
James glanced over at John. “Only Charlie. He used to be my right hand man, but since you've taken his place, you've got to know. There are two other guns within reach of whoever’s sitting in the back seat. Another older Beretta and a Glock. The Glock's Frank's favorite. Kai and Frank would usually sit in the back seat, but that might be changing soon. Reach behind our seats. See if the guns are there.”
“Charlie wasn't at the place, was he? Didn't that guy say he was arrested?” John checked under the seats, taking out the gun under James’ seat and then twisting to feel under his seat. He felt the car move into traffic and head up the hill.
“Yeah, Charlie might be a problem and your first assignment. Since you're new, it’ll be easy for you to ask questions while trying to get close to the guys. We've got a traitor in the gang. I need you to find out what you can. Think you can do that?”
“Consider it done. Is there anyone you want me to concentrate on?”
“Yeah, Frank and Barry. That's why I've asked them to show you the ropes, but be open to other rumors.”
“I'll check it out.”
John fell silent for the rest of the short trip. He felt honored that his brother gave him something important to do and although he'd never admit it to anyone, he was finding it hard not to like him. Even on the boat, when he wanted to lash out and hate the guy, he couldn't. The man just always showed up on his side, in his corner.
James parked on the block with the white stone apartment buildings. John saw the view of the harbor at one end of the street, and Chinatown at the base of the hill, at the other end.
“The apartments were a gift from Dad to my Mom on her thirtieth birthday. The one we'll be sharing is on the sixth floor.” James neglected to mention his father gave his mother the entire apartment building and not just the apartments.
“Not bad.”
“Before we go in, let me point out a few things. Down the hill to the west, that way, is the Presidio, if you go down Washington, this way, to the east,” he said in pointing out the different directions, “you'll walk straight into the heart of Chinatown. The only way you should never go is down the hill, to the Sou
th.”
“Why?”
“Because that's Japan-town and I'm sure by the end of the week, their gang will know you’re part of my gang, and the two don't mix.”
“North, East and West are safe. South is trouble.” John replied.
John was impressed by the splendor of the mansions in the area and although he didn’t like the tour, he had to admit he enjoyed talking with James. What he couldn't figure was how his brother, coming from a place like this, could become involved with the gang. Yeah James had explained to him that, unlike other cities, the San Francisco Chinatown was different. Here the Chinese prospered and melted into the surrounding communities much easier than on the East Coast, most notably Boston. When he was around eleven, his father came to the states for one of his three-month visits. James loved being with his Dad and followed him everywhere, even into the Tong elder’s office in Chinatown, where he was the subject of many discussions. They decided the best way for him to be like his father, would be for him to enter the business. He was invited to join the gang that worked for the tong (association), which was the San Francisco offshoot of the Society his father headed back in Hong Kong. Given his father's position, it was easy to get the local gang leader to take James under his belt, and teach him how the game was played and how to fight.
John learned from his brother, things about his father's organization that he felt his father or Richard, at least, should have taught him. It was interesting to learn the structure of the empire his father governed. Triad was a vague general term used by outsiders to refer to the overall organized crime that originated in Hong Kong. James wanted John to understand in an indirect way where they were in the organization. He knew they were near the bottom, but wasn't sure if John understood, so he explained that the Society or in Mandarin, Wo, was the main group.
John had listened in the car as James translated and explained the dual meaning of the word Wo. Depending upon how the character was written it could mean our army, our side, or we, whereas, the second meaning was thieves’ den. John shocked James when he explained that he knew the Societies had branches in cities around the world, that were called Tong, which roughly translated as sub-association or a part of the whole and to control the city the tongs have soldiers, namely, the youth gangs. The gangs were also called Wo but here is where the meaning of our army came into play. He explained to James that he had always thought the gangs were nothing more than a bunch of misfits.
James didn't like that and countered by explaining the kids were usually survivor types. They were the type of kids who had to learn how to fight to survive and while most had come from poor backgrounds, a few were from the middle class. Some joined on their own, while others were forced, threatened with death if they didn’t accept the honor of the invitation. Basically, it was just James and maybe one or two other guys from the upper spectrum of society. But they all worked, played or died hard if necessary, because the gang in essence, became their replacement family. Their safety was always that no one knew anyone further than a level above them. James wasn't too concerned that John knew the entire structure given who their father was.
They entered James' corner apartment to find three stacks of mail neatly arranged on the side table. John saw one stack appeared to have been bills that had been opened and paid. Another stack was junk mail and the third looked like a bunch of letters and stuff.
James wasn't too crazy about sharing his place with anyone given he liked his privacy. He had to remind himself that he must trust his brother. Trust others and trust that others can do things is one of the most important rules for a leader to remember his father said. Help the individual build up his sense of self-worth, and he would be loyal. When that happens even the most insecure can do things they never thought they could do and this was something he had to teach John. His father’s orders were clear. Teach John to believe in himself, to learn how to work as a team, and trust in others.
John checked out his small bedroom and was happy he had his own bathroom. The room looked comfortable enough with its small bed, chest of drawers and chair set by the window with a decent view. He unpacked quickly and laid out the cloths he would change into on the bed, along with the small gift Richard had convinced him was the appropriate thing to bring to his stepmother. He really didn't want to bring anything, but once Richard got on his case, it was hard not to do what Richard expected. It wasn't much of anything, just a finely hand-made ceramic teapot. After his shower, he got ready to meet the woman and felt perplexed, unsure of what his feelings should be regarding Rose. Actually, he felt frighten when he did stop to think.
James was talking with his mother on the phone when John returned to the living room. “Yeah, Mom. Yeah. Yeah. We'll be right down. Okay,” he said. “We'll see you downstairs in a few minutes. Bye.” James hung up the phone, turned, and saw John standing next to the black leather couch. John was studying the painting above of the legendary eight great horses of King Mu. The horses in the painting were seen thundering across the open span of land and in the upper right hand corner, beyond the mountains, was a poem about horses in Cantonese. John recognized it as the one Richard often read to him when he was younger.
“I hope you're hungry, Mom said she cooked us a small dinner, which means there is probably enough food for a hundred people waiting for us,” said James.
“Sounds good to me. Nice set up.” John had walked over to the aquarium James had set up in the corner of the living room which contained jiu jin yu, nine goldfishes. Nine as the square of the number three was a very strong male number.
“I see you like the fish. Richard gave that to me when I got the place and said that each gold fish represented a stage in the life of a man. Let's see if I can remember them. . . . There was initiation ceremony of a male child, marriage, audience, embassies, burial, sacrifice, hospitality, ceremonial drinking, and military tradition. He said it was also to remind me of my heritage that as a people, we believe both the heaven and earth had nine regions, and China, nine mountains or some other thing.”
“Jin yu, gold in abundance, signifies good luck and good fortune. According to Feng Shui experts, the aquarium also increases the level of positive ch'i, the life energy.”
“Yeah, they do. Listen we better get downstairs,” said James.
“Yeah, sure.” John picked up his package from the side table.
“Before I forget, here's a set of keys for you. The big one is for the door downstairs. The house rules are simple, as long as you live here, you'll be expected to pay your share of the rent and utilities just as we discussed on the ship. Right?”
“Right, no problem,” said John.
“Remember to keep things cool with the girls. Mom keeps an eye on everything and if she sees you with a girl, she'll be making you bring them home for dinner. Understand?”
“Yes.” John didn’t think he would ever want an American, well, maybe once.
“One last thing, no smoking in the apartment.”
“Next you'll be telling me I can't gamble or drink either.”
“What and take away all your vices? Nah, just no smoking, it drives Mom crazy. If she sees you smoking, she'll be on your back night and day trying to make you quit.”
“Okay. So, uh. What's your Mom like?”
“Don't worry, you'll like her. We better get moving. Call the elevator, while I lock the door.”
The descent was quick and soon they found themselves walking down the long corridor to the door at the farthest end of the third floor. The apartment was a modest three bedroom with mostly modern furniture, but a greater presence of antique artifacts. There was a curio cabinet with an array of chops on one-shelf and fine examples of small jade statues on the lower. What caught John's eye was the carved ivory ball with an intriguing pattern of flowers and butterflies on the outside. In total, there was some fifteen balls nested one within each other, each with a more intricate carving.
“Hi, Mom,” said James with a very warm, big smile as he grabb
ed his Mother in a bear hug. “Mom this is John, Dad's elder sister's son. John, this is my Mom, Rose.”
“Welcome to our home John, my husband has told me many wonderful things about you.” To be truthful, she wasn't too thrilled about having her husband’s first wife's son staying as that brought back many bitter memories of her dispute with the woman.
“Thank you, Aunt Rose. This is just a small gift to say thank you for opening up your home to me.” John repeated the words Richard had made him memorize.
“Thank you.” Rose looked at John and smiled, while taking the small package wrapped in red paper.
“These are for you too, Mom. Some are from Dad and he also sent you this.” James handed her a letter. “Dad said spring isn’t good for traveling, but thought perhaps, you would like to visit Kunming for the Mid Autumn festival in September.” James knew that information was what his mother desired knowing the most and couldn't bear to see her sit through dinner, waiting for her guests to leave, before she could find out the answer. He could see the approval brought her some happiness. Given it was early January, she would have to wait nearly nine full months, but that was something she could handle as George was due for a visit next month.
“Thank you, James. That's wonderful news. I'll have to read this later, for now, why don't you take John into the dining room. Some of your cousins are here and waiting to see both of you.” No sooner had she spoken, than one of the younger ones emerged.
“Auntie, Auntie, you spoiled my surprise. I wanted to surprise you, Jamey.” Mei-Mei was the daughter of Rose's sister, and at six-and-a-half, she was a sweet, precocious girl, who ran over to James and wrapped her arms about his legs.
“Hello Mei-Mei!” James pried her off his legs, and swept her up into his arms.
“Where's my present?” Mei-Mei asked in her cute squeaky voice.
“Your present? You want a present?”
“Yeah! Where’s my present?”
“It's upstairs. Will you help me bring all the presents down after dinner?”
“Wellllll. Okay.” She was disappointed she wasn't going to get one now but happy that there was one for later. “Who are you?” Mei-Mei asked, while pointing accusingly, at John.
The Dragon Within His Shadow Page 10
