“That’s a fine request, since he was your right hand man. Oh, and by the way, Lauren has kicked him out of Dragon’s Nest.”
“Yes, I know she did. John, you must understand, he wasn’t my choice. By my word of honor I’ve kept him by my side and for an oath I must keep him alive.”
“Well, for honor I am keeping my word to you, Uncle George. It hasn’t been easy. You took away my life. How about talking about me now? We’ve talked about everyone else. How about talking about me, or aren’t you interested in me?”
This time George fell silent with the difficulty he faced. He was uncertain in how much control Richard maintained over John. Trust. It was so important, but he didn’t feel he could give it so freely. “I am very much interested in you. It’s because you’re important to me that I sent you away. It was to protect you and I’m very proud of how you have grown as a man over these past few months.” Again, an awkward silence fell between them. His desires for John’s future conflicted with his need for James’ present. “I know you said you were going back; when you get there, please protect James. He needs your support as only one brother can give another. I’m proud of what you have shown. You’ve learned, but there is still more. James needs you.”
“Yes, I’ve learned from James and I’ve changed. Even you just said you noticed. Isn’t this enough? Let me back, Uncle George. I won’t disappoint you this time,” said John.
“John, I cannot keep you here in Hong Kong. It isn’t safe for you here. Richard is out for vengeance and it is my responsibility to keep you safe. Right now that means keeping you far away from Richard’s sphere of influence. You must learn not to trust him, just as James must learn not to trust Kai. There is more.” George raised his hand to keep John from speaking. “Richard has several sons. How many we’re not sure, but there are at least two whom we’re aware. He’ll use them to try to destroy you. He’ll use you to try to destroy me, just as he tried to use Mr. Lin to destroy your sister’s creditability.”
“Fine, so Richard’s out to get the Choi family. Isn’t that good reason to keep me here?”
“No. I have Tang to protect me here.”
“A lot of good he did for you. You got shot in your own home.”
“He will be punished in due time.” George looked down, knowing well the pain.
“Oh. So it's okay for Tang to make a mistake and a pretty big one at that, but he doesn’t get banished. Oh, I see how things are. I only get myself hurt, I only get myself in trouble, and I get banished to the states. Tang fails to protect you, Lauren and our home, causes Lauren to be dishonored in the newspapers and he gets to stay as your protector. That’s bullshit!”
“What language?! Is this what you’ve learned in the states?”
Just then, Lily re-entered the room. “What is this yelling? I thought I told you he couldn’t get excited. What are you doing yelling? Shush, shush, shush.”
“I’m sorry, Lily. Excuse me, Uncle George. I guess I had best be on my way.”
“No, not yet. Lily, please leave, this is private. I assure you, we are fine.”
“But, Mr. Choi?”
“Leave, Lily.”
Lily saw George’s eyes and left immediately.
“John, let us be clear. Tang is a man worthy of my trust. I don’t have to explain my choices to you, or any man. By virtue of who I am, people respect my judgments. Let me explain something. Perhaps Tang did fail. In time, he’ll be punished for his failure. It might not be obvious to you, but it will be to him and that is between us! Enough has been said. Please return to San Francisco, not because you have to, but because I need you to be there for me. I want you to be safe and out of harms way. Rose and James need you right now. Catherine and our family here are protected. I need you to protect our family there. Will you please return to San Francisco?”
“I’ll return, as a good nephew and soldier should.” John walked out of the room, failing to see his father hang his head low and shed a tear. Lily re-entered and tried her best to comfort his wounded pride. She checked his blood pressure. It was very high. She helped him get back into the bed so he could relax. Neither she nor John realized Tang had been nearby. When she came out of the room, she found him questioning the men, who reported what they overheard. She didn’t trust Tang, especially after reading the newspaper article about Lauren.
Chapter Forty-Three
Lem replaced the receiver and looked at Alfred Lew, the Shan Chu of the Gray Society. “They have taken the pawn as expected.”
Alfred looked over at Eric sipping his cognac. “You’re a devious wanker, aren’t you? What do you get by destroying your own father?”
Eric looked at Alfred and saw a pretentious fool, who for as much as he prided himself in gaining an English passport and accent, the man still remained firmly tied to Hong Kong. He had learned that Alfred’s family, from generations back, had been and still were thieves. Alfred was the first and only one to reach beyond the rest and seek actual power. As for Eric, he wanted power that was true, but he knew he had to gain the power of influence and build his base over time. What he really wanted was revenge upon his father for destroying his mother’s life. He wanted to get his hands on his father’s money and if he could get Lem to pay something as well for the information, it would be a bonus. “My reasons are my own. Besides, why should you care as long as they match your own?”
“Agreed. If this works and the Choi’s are destroyed- -”
“They’re crippled now. We have to use that to move in on their businesses,” said Lem.
“And, so why care how the door was opened? I created further disorder and more will come over the next few weeks with the assistance of the police. You should be thanking me for making your path clearer.” Eric spoke directly to Lem, but knew Alfred would be the one to make the move. “If my information is correct, you already have taken back certain drug routes and have taken over one of Choi’s lesser corporations and have made a move on more than a few of his businesses. You know opportunity, as well as I, so no bullshit.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Tang conferred with George for scant ten or so minutes. He was in such a rush that he almost forgot to hand Lily her pay envelope, but didn’t. He checked with his men stationed just outside the door. They had heard the entire exchange between John and George. While they didn’t want to tell him everything, they did give him a synopsis. Truly, John would never say anything to his face, but the fact remained that it was his failure. He left the hospital as quietly as he entered. He called into his walkie-talkie which summoned the inconspicuous, old blue four-door sedan that pulled up. He got in and they sped away into the Central’s crowded streets. Normally, he would be with at least three of his men, but today he needed to take care of business personally, so it was only his driver. Xie-Li was about the same age with much the same background.
Xie-Li’s specialty was Tiger Claw and he wasn’t afraid to kill with his weapon of choice, the knife. He always felt if he was going to kill, he wanted the man to see who did it and know why he had to die. “Where to?”
“Sandy’s in Wan Chai.” Tang stared, mindlessly, at the street in front of them, scanning.
“Sandy’s sure is a nice way to start off the afternoon.” Xie-Li tried to break through Tang’s moody silence.
As soon as they pulled up in front of the building, Tang popped out. “We aren’t going for girls and you’re not going up. Wait here, I won’t be long.” Sandy’s was on the seventh floor and it took Tang only a few minutes to reach the place. Xie-Li had parked the car and was waiting when he was confronted by an officer. Tang returned just as the argument was getting heated. He was disgusted with the news and even angrier to find police surrounding his car. He tried to explain this was probably a misunderstanding, but an officer handed him a ticket. The ranking officer recognized Tang.
“Is there something else, officer?” Tang questioned the nervous man.
“Yes, Inspector Thourson said to give you this note. Goo
d day, sir.” He left, just as quickly as he had arrived, with Tang standing by the car door, holding the note and the ticket.
“Thank you.” Tang looked at the envelope, and broke the seal. The note said to ‘be at the Sha Tin Racecourses at four this afternoon.’ Getting into the car, he was more perplexed than before and at first didn’t say anything, but simply indicated for Xie-Li to drive. “Kowloon,” he finally said and nothing more was needed for the moment as it would take some time to go through traffic. Xie-Li recognized the quiet storm brewing and decided to restrain his curiosity. When Tang wanted him to know, he would be informed.
Tang tried to focus but his mind kept floating between the various angles. Richard for one and then perhaps one of the lesser tongs could be trying to move up, or it could be their chief rival, the Gray Society trying to make most out of the chaos. Up at Sandy’s, he received a report about a guy fresh from Amsterdam with an insatiable appetite, whose nickname was Big Eric. Unfortunately, she didn’t know his last name, just that he liked birds in general, women in particular, and was into some heavy, nasty, sexual fantasies. One night he had a particularly, nice time, took out two girls and had a very private party where he tried to impress them by telling them the next day’s news. The article of course was the one about Lauren. Tang knew all too well that any man could come from anywhere and go onward to anywhere, using forged documents easily obtainable in Hong Kong. The second piece of information Sandy gave him was the address of a less upscale brothel. As they cleared the Cross Harbor tunnel, he said, “Hung Hom.” Immediately, Xie-Li knew where Tang wanted to go and drove.
There was another reason Tang was with Xie-Li. He was the only one who actually saw the assailant’s face the night of the hit. He was working in the garage, cleaning the car when the assailant approached him from behind. They struggled briefly, during which time he got a short, brief look at the man. It wasn’t much but enough for him to formulate a very bare description. Mostly he remembered the unusual tattoo on the man’s left palm, which he discovered when the man’s palm struck him hard along the side of his head. He would never forget the pattern of a yin and yang circle inside the mouth of a dragon, whose body was curled like that of a snake. It was very unusual, in that if you looked at it fast, it could be mistaken for a flower. Since Xie-Li saw the man the closest, and since Tang needed to handle things personally, there was a need for both of them to talk to this girl who might be able to identify the hit man.
The Willow Club was located on the fifth floor and as soon as Tang entered, a woman named Lacy came out from behind the bar. She was the general manager and wearing a rather conservative dark blue dress given the business she managed.
“It’s been a long time Tang,” said Lacy.
“You still look good Lacy.” Tang knew her from his wild, youthful days. When he was made a dai-low for one of the Choi street gangs in Kowloon, the guys bought him an evening with an “older” woman, Lacy, who back then was about twenty, if that much. She taught him a few things that night, which he recalled with much pleasure.
“You don’t call as often Tang, but that was the past, wasn’t it? I saw her picture in the paper. She’s pretty.” Lacy had a wicked, knowing smile for Tang.
“Thanks. You left a message with Sandy, but you could have called me.”
“I didn’t have your new number and it's hard to reach up that high, Tang. Besides, would you have remembered me? I doubt it.”
“I remember you Lacy. I’ll always remember you. What have you got for me?”
“She was hurt very bad with this one. He did things to her that money doesn’t fix. You try to prepare them for their first time, but nothing can prepare them for that kind of a man.”
Tang didn’t understand what the girl really went through, but he got enough of a hint that she was in a delicate state. “What makes you think this is the guy we’re looking for?”
“He had fresh gunshot wounds on his right leg that evening, the same night of the attack. He made her clean the wounds that bastard and change his dressings once more before he left. Every time she cleaned them, it hurt him, so he hurt her back. He took his pain out on her. Her name is Candy and she’s in the back. Room twenty-three.”
“Thank you.” Tang and Xie-Li walked through the archway into the dimly lit corridor.
Given it was early in the afternoon, the place was nearly empty. Candy answered the gentle knock, but kept her eyes downcast as the two men entered. Her room was a modest, well-kept room with just a bed and its pale, ice pink bedspread. She had lost her desire for life and at age fifteen that was a terrible thing to lose. Timid, she was living in a part of the world that was built upon outspoken erotica which made her appealing to some. She had become desensitized to men following her experience and stood there waiting for a command, or request, with mistrust.
Tang saw this when he lifted her face to look into her eyes. Even if the man she described wasn’t the man whom they wanted, he would personally, punish the guy for what he did to the girl. Why and how she got here was of no concern to him. But her information was, and her small face touched his heart. She looked like any other village girl, plain and simple. What was different was that in one night, she had aged a lifetime. Her youthful beauty was still to be seen, but only on the surface. Her eyes were as cold as death.
Tang spoke as gently as he could muster and purposely, left the door ajar so she wouldn’t feel trapped or caged. “You’re Candy?” He asked, to which she nodded her head. “Lacy said you would tell us about the man. What can you tell us?”
Candy stood in numbing silence, unsure whether to trust the men. After all, the man who took her, threatened her. Lacy had explained that they would be coming by and that it was okay to speak, but she was still frightened and felt no one cared about her.
“Its okay, Candy,” said Lacy from the doorway. “It’s okay. These men will punish the man who did this to you. Tell them about the man, tell them what you know.” It took much coaching, but eventually Candy went through the entire evening, step-by-step, so she wouldn’t forget a detail. She told of a mole on his left side, a birthmark and that he mentioned he had come from the Wall City. She also said the dressing on the wound that she removed smelled of fish.
“Good,” said Tang, reassuringly. “What else? What did he talk about?”
“He said his uncle was a good doctor but Wall City doctor fix his leg better. His uncle fixed his leg, but not well.” Her small voice was raspy and she couldn’t stop trembling.
“Good.” Tang said. “You’re doing fine.”
Candy saw tenderness in Tang’s eyes. “He hit me when I touched his leg.”
“Did you notice anything else,” Tang was tired with how long it was taking.
“Yes. He had tattoos.”
“Tattoos?” Tang repeated. “Where and what were they?”
“Eagle on inside right arm. A black eagle.” Candy silenced herself and cringed when she saw anger flash across Tang’s face as he realized the tattoo on the inside right arm was shared by two possible, yet very specific, gangs.
“Oh, I grabbed this.” Candy reached into an old cigar box and handed Tang a slip of paper. It was a triad banknote. It wasn’t worth much, maybe five thousand Hong Kong dollars.
“How did you get this?”
“It fell from his pocket. I was hurt so much and it looked pretty, so I kept it.”
“You’re sure it was his?”
“No one else was here that night. He was my first and last. It had to be his.”
“He left you a big tip.” Tang showed the paper to Lacy. The girl didn’t understand what the paper stood for, but when Lacy saw it, she knew. True, five-thousand Hong Kong dollars was only about a thousand American, but it could still pay many debts.
“Is that it,” asked Lacy.
“Yes.”
Tang was getting ready to leave. He moved to the door and was asking Xie-Li for some of his money as he hadn’t much on him. Xie-Li gave what he had, some seve
n-thousand.
“Take this and go back home.” Tang gave the girl the money and pocketed the banknote.
“Tang,” Lacy moved to the doorway to speak to him. She didn’t expect it from Tang but even if Tang didn’t recommend it with his intimidating stare, she would have released Candy anyway. If Tang was in the mood to be generous, perhaps, he would pay all the girls’ debts.
“Purple flower,” said Candy, softly, yet with enough intensity to cause Tang to stop.
“What flower?” Tang looked at her and saw her eyes soften when she looked at him.
“Purple hand. He had a purple flower in his hand. It was pretty.”
“Where?”
“Here,” she said as she pointed to her left palm. She looked at Tang, who smiled in appreciation. At that moment, she knew she did right.
“Very good,” said Tang.
“What is it, Tang?” Lacy questioned.
“Remember to send her home, Lacy. And Lacy, she keeps all the money I gave her. I’ll settle her debts with you later.” Tang left with Xie-Li, not waiting to hear her reply of, yes but he did hear Candy say ‘thank you’ in Cantonese.
Outside, they walked pass the car and headed for a local place to have some late lunch. Xie-Li followed as Tang walked into the restaurant and sat down. Tang didn’t particularly care for the food they served but ordered something, nevertheless. He ate sparingly, as they waited for the local gang to drop by to collect the weekly tea money. He needed to get a message to a guy they called Spider. He was just another spider in a web of spiders, but his close ties to Tang stemmed from the fact that Spider owed Tang his life. Sure enough, shortly past three o’clock the gang walked through the door and as luck would have it, Spider lead the way. Tang recognized him, just as surely he recognized Tang. The guy wasn’t short, but he wasn’t tall either, standing somewhere around five-foot-eight, of medium weight and build, dressed in gray. He had very dark beige skin for an Asian. He was flanked by two others of the same dimensions and through the glass pane, Tang saw yet two more.
The Dragon Within His Shadow Page 27
