by David Archer
He parked on one of the residential streets a block away, and the three of them got out and started walking. They had to go around the block to get to the front entrance, but even though it was still early in the day for a Muay Thai gym, it was standing open when they arrived.
“We’re going in,” Noah said, “but don’t show your weapon unless it’s absolutely necessary. They’ll know we’re carrying them, but as long as we don’t draw, we should be able to keep this on a conversational level.”
“Boss,” Marco said, “some of the guys in there can beat a man to death with their toes.”
“Yeah,” Neil said. “What do we do if they decide to attack?”
“Well,” Noah said with a shrug, “in that case, I guess you can shoot somebody.” He stepped through the front door and a dozen pairs of eyes turned to look at him. One man, the same one who had taken them to see Mr. Pak the last time they were there, walked slowly toward Noah.
“Mr. Pak, he is not here,” he said. “He be back tomorrow.”
Noah put a smile on his face. “That’s okay,” he said. “I’m looking for Mr. Lom.”
The man cocked his head to one side and his eyes narrowed. “Mr. Lom? Why you want to see Mr. Lom?”
“Because I understand he helped take care of the funeral arrangements for my girlfriend last week,” Noah said, trying to sound sad. “I wanted to thank him, but I also have a few questions about how the funeral was conducted. I’m afraid I don’t know that much about your customs, here.”
The man looked into his eyes for a couple of seconds, then turned and motioned for them to follow.
He took them through a door in the back wall, the same one that led to the offices where they had met Pak before. This time, however, he turned to the right and knocked on another door. A voice from inside called out in the local language, and he opened the door and stepped inside, closing it quickly behind him.
A moment later he reappeared, and held the door open wide. Noah, Marco and Neil walked into the room and saw a thin, wiry man sitting at a desk that was facing the back wall. He had turned his chair toward them and looked calmly into Noah’s eyes.
“I am Lom,” he said. “How may I help you?”
Noah glanced at the man who had brought them in, and Lom smiled. He dismissed him with a wave of his hand, and the door closed behind the fellow as he left.
“He is gone,” Lom said. “We need not bother with pretenses. I know who you are, and I am quite certain that I know why you’re here.”
“Do you?” Noah asked. “And why do you think that might be?”
“You do not believe the girl is dead. You have come because you wish to ask where she was sent.”
“You’re half right,” Noah said. “I don’t believe she’s dead, but I didn’t come to ask anything. I know that you are the one who handles Pak’s dealings with China, and I’m pretty sure that’s where she’s gone. What I want to know is how to find her, and I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to get that information from you.”
Lom smiled. “And you believe you can wrest that knowledge from me? Perhaps from my dead body, since I see that you are all carrying firearms?”
Noah stared into his eyes and shrugged. “I don’t care if I have to skin you alive. I intend to find out what I want to know. We can do it any way you wish.”
Lom had been holding a pen, and he slowly turned and set it on the desk before he looked back at Noah. “Any way I wish?” he asked. “Then, may I suggest a simple wager?”
Noah’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of wager?”
“You are young, and have the build of a man who keeps himself fit. You have the muscle definition of one who has been trained in different fighting techniques. I, on the other hand, am well past my fiftieth year. Because of my age, I have great difficulty finding men who will spar honestly with me in the ring. I do not know if you have ever been competitive, but it becomes a form of addiction. I often find myself trying to think of ways to get back into the ring, where I once felt alive.”
“You want to fight?” Noah asked him. “And if I win, you’ll tell me what I want to know?”
“I shall tell you,” Lom said, “simply for stepping into the ring with me. The wager I propose is that you will not do so.”
“And what will the other men in the gym have to say about this?”
“The reward I offer in exchange for your compliance is only between you and me. They will know nothing of it, and I can assure you that they have honor. They will not interfere in the fight, nor in any way seek to trouble your men.”
“Do you plan to kill me in the ring? The information won’t do me any good if I’m dead.”
“I never seek to take a life in the ring,” Lom said. “That is not honorable. I cannot be certain that you will be completely unharmed, but I will make no effort to kill you.” He rose to his feet, and looked Noah in the eye.
Noah nodded once, and turned to open the door. Lom smiled and followed him out, with Neil and Marco bringing up the rear.
SIXTEEN
Sarah spent the rest of the day in her room, even refusing to come out for lunch or dinner. At lunch time, Chung pleaded with her to come and eat, but finally left her door without her. When dinner came, however, he knocked on the door and was holding a tray when she opened it.
“Still trying to be Mr. Nice Guy, huh?” she asked. “I’m afraid it’s not gonna do you any good.”
“Not entirely,” Chung said. “Regardless of whether I gain your cooperation, I am responsible for your well-being while you are in my custody. I cannot let it be said that I allowed you to go hungry.”
Sarah’s eyes flicked down to the tray in his hands. “How do I know it’s not drugged? If you’re not getting the results you want the easy way, how do I know you won’t resort to something a little more drastic?”
Chung actually looked pained. “Would you like me to taste the food for you? I will do so, if you wish. I do not use drugs, Sarah, for I find them as distasteful as torture.”
She stood there a moment longer, then reached out and took the tray from him. She carried it to the small table in her room and set it down, then pulled out the chair and sat down to eat. When she took the cover off the tray, she couldn’t hold back a grin. On the plate before her was a generous serving of lasagna, which she had accidentally confessed was her favorite food.
Chung stood in the doorway for a moment, then cleared his throat. “May I come in?”
Sarah shrugged noncommittally. Chung stepped into the room and pulled out a second chair. He sat down and watched her eat, but didn’t speak.
After a couple of minutes, it became annoying. “If you’re gonna sit there, at least have the decency to offer conversation. No questions, though, I’m done answering questions.”
Chung looked at her for a moment, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “It is lovely weather, isn’t it?”
A giggle escaped her. “Oh, you’re such a charmer,” she said. “Too bad we’re enemies. I could actually get to like you, if we met under other circumstances.”
Chung’s slight grin grew a bit. “Perhaps I should defect to the West,” he said. “The affections of a beautiful woman could be a powerful inducement.”
The fork stopped halfway to her mouth. “I said I could like you,” she said, glaring at him. “Don’t read more into it than is there.”
“Oh, of course,” Chung said. “There is the fiancé. I will confess that I wish I knew more about him, but I won’t ask. Having come to know you these past few days, I believe he must be an incredible man. Almost a Superman, perhaps.”
Sarah couldn’t catch herself in time; her eyes went wide and suddenly turned to search his own. The crinkle that came into them as she watched told her that he’d learned exactly what he wanted to know.
“On second thought,” she said, “I don’t need any company. You can go.”
Chung let out a remorseful sigh, but he stood immediately and turned to walk out the door. He
stopped in the doorway, looked at her for a moment and almost said something, but then he simply closed the door and walked away.
I gave it away, dammit, she thought bitterly. That son of a bitch knows damn well who my fiancé is. He may not know his name, but he’s absolutely certain the man I love is Camelot. Thank God I didn’t tell him more.
Disgusted, she dropped the fork onto the tray and turned away from the table. She sat down in the armchair and turned on the TV, but even the antics of British comics couldn’t take away the feeling that she had made a serious mistake.
She wasn’t disturbed the rest of the day, and finished off the lasagna an hour later, after it had gotten cold. Even cold lasagna was better than no lasagna, she thought, eating it while she watched old reruns of Monty Python.
Out of boredom, she turned back to the news. There was only one story of interest, about four Americans who had been illegally detained in North Korea, but who had managed to escape and even captured the man who had detained them. According to the story, they were able to overpower a couple of guards and take their weapons, then managed to walk almost 100 miles through hostile territory until they reached the border with South Korea. At that point, they managed to steal a boat and make it across, and then contact the US Embassy there.
A couple of years before, she might have believed it. She’d learned a few things since then, however; in particular, she learned that when certain agencies pull off rescues and daring missions, they never get credit. Instead, some partially credible story of personal heroism is released, and the news media even acts like they believe it.
There was nothing else exciting, and she couldn’t even find a movie she wanted to watch, so she finally turned it off and went to bed. It wasn’t very late, but Sarah was beginning to feel depressed. Whenever she got depressed, she sought solace in sleep.
Morning came, and Chung knocked on her door. “Sarah,” he called through it. “Won’t you come down to breakfast? There is something important I need to discuss with you, and it doesn’t even involve asking you any questions.”
She was already up and dressed, but had been lying on the bed. She rolled her eyes and let out a deep breath, then forced herself to get up and open the door.
“What’s for breakfast?” she asked as she stepped out. Chung extended his elbow, but she made a point of not taking it.
“We are having steamed buns,” he said, “stuffed with lamb. It is a local delicacy, and very good here in the Hong Kong region. I believe you will like it.”
Sarah said nothing more until they reached the dining room, then allowed him to pull her chair out for her. She sat while the servers put two of the steamed buns on a plate in front of her, and then did the same for Chung.
“Okay, I’m here,” Sarah said. “What’s so important?”
He sat across the table and looked at her sadly. “I have been given until the end of today to see results in questioning you,” he said. “If I cannot report that I’m making progress by this evening, I shall be removed. Another interrogator will come, one who is notorious for his excruciating methods. His name is Xiao, and his philosophy is that it is possible to cause terrible pain without truly damaging any part of the body.” He looked down at the plate in front of him. “Sarah, I do not wish to see him inflicting his skills upon you.”
“Well, you can tell yourself it’s not your fault. And really, it isn’t your fault. I’m the one who’s refusing to talk, right? You tried, I’ll give you that, but I’m not going to give up any information if I can avoid it. It’s just not going to happen.”
Won’t you? she heard a voice inside herself say. How can you be so certain? You’ve never been tortured, but think about what it might be like. Needles up under your fingernails? Beatings on the soles of your feet? How long can you hold out before you beg them to stop, before you’re willing to say or do anything to bring it to an end? And sooner or later, you’re going to cave in and you know it. Sooner or later, you’re going to tell them anything they want to know, because the pain will reach a point where you’re willing to do or say anything, just so you can beg them to let you die.
“Sarah, please reconsider,” Chung said. “You can give me little things, things that are not important, but they will tell those above me that I am making progress.”
“Stop it,” Sarah said. “Do you think I haven’t figured you out? Every little thing I tell you, you find out three other things from it. I’m not giving you anything. Now, shall we eat breakfast together, or shall I just go back to my room?”
Chung stared at her for another moment, then began eating. When breakfast was finished, he walked her back to her room and stood there as she closed the door in his face.
* * * * *
Neil hurried around the smaller man and rushed to Noah.
“Noah? Are you nuts?”
“I don’t think so,” Noah said. He stopped beside the ring and carefully handed his gun to Marco, then stripped off his shirt and took off his shoes. He sat down on the edge of the ring to remove his socks, leaving him in only his slacks.
Lom stepped out of the loose pants and shirt he was wearing to reveal that he was wearing boxing trunks underneath, and spoke rapidly in Thai. The two men who were sparring in the ring stared at him for a moment, then looked at Noah. They both wore expressions of humor as they climbed out of the ring and began taking off their sparring gear.
Two men hurried toward them, and Noah held out his hands to be wrapped and gloved while Lom did the same. The process took a couple of minutes, and then the pair stepped away. Lom climbed into the ring, and Noah did likewise.
“A single round is three minutes,” Lom said, “and the match consists of five rounds. Between rounds, we must rest for two minutes before we continue. Do you understand?”
“I do,” Noah said. “And you’ve lost the wager. Where is she?”
Lom smiled, as the two who had wrapped them climbed into the ring and offered them each a mouthpiece. “Shall we sweeten the wager? I will tell you now that she is near Hong Kong, but—should you manage to stay on your feet for all five rounds, or even beat me—I will reward you with the precise location.”
Noah looked him in the eye for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Just tell me one thing,” he said. “Isn’t this going to cause you trouble with Pak?”
“Mr. Pak is a businessman. As such, he has many who work for him to handle those things which he finds distasteful or mundane. I am one such, and there are others. Because he has placed certain matters under my care and left me to my own devices, he would not be able to continue those matters should anything happen to me.”
“But won’t the Chinese be displeased with you? For giving me this information?”
“No. They will be displeased with Mr. Pak. They have never met me, and so they believe that they have been conducting their business with him all along.”
Noah nodded. “You are a shrewd man, Mr. Lom,” Noah said. “With one move, you’re giving me a reason not to kill you and setting your employer up to be eliminated. I’m guessing you’ll be able to take over his operation?”
Lom smiled at him, and put the mouthpiece between his teeth. Noah did likewise, and they each went to a corner.
A bell was struck with a small hammer, and the two moved toward each other. Lom danced lightly on his feet, while Noah stood firmly on his and stared into the man’s eyes.
The first strike came without warning, a vicious kick by Lom, aimed at Noah’s head. The grin on the older man’s face betrayed his confidence, but Noah merely leaned back, thrusting his knees forward to maintain his balance. The foot passed an inch in front of his face, and Lom had to dance a little more to keep from losing his own balance.
The other men in the gym began cheering for Lom, and some of them were making derisive noises at Noah, but he ignored them. Lom occupied all of his attention, and he knew that, even if Lom wouldn’t kill, he could easily injure Noah severely.
At that moment, Noah closed in. Two s
harp jabs to Lom’s ribs threw the man even further off kilter, but he recovered almost instantly. Noah hopped backward, as Lom spun around to face him once more.
Another kick was aimed at Noah’s groin, but he blocked it with his knee and then followed instantly with a kick of his own. Noah was fast, but Lom was faster; the foot that should have caught the man in the belly only flew by, and Lom landed a solid punch into Noah’s thigh.
The cramp that began at that moment was one of the worst Noah had ever known, but he forced himself to ignore it and bounced back out of reach before Lom could strike again. He began bouncing on the balls of his feet, trying to stay in motion so that he would make a harder target.
Suddenly, Lom leapt forward and upward, his right foot spiking high into the air as he rose, then suddenly slashing down like an ax. It made contact with Noah’s left shoulder, and the impact was enough to send a shock to his entire body. He spun away as quickly as he could, and narrowly missed another kick that was aimed at his head.
With great determination, Noah shook off the shock and thrust himself forward. Before Lom could react, he had closed the distance between them and spun, tucking his fists against his chest and extending his elbows straight out. One of them caught Lom on the chin, and the wiry little man went down.
He was only there for a second, and then flipped back onto his feet. The smile on his face was distorted by the mouthpiece, but Noah could see the excitement in his eyes, as well. They began to circle one another again, and Lom was just about to make another move when the bell rang, and the cheering and shouting began to die down a bit.
Instantly he stepped back and raised his hands, then turned and went to his corner. Noah did likewise, and found Marco there with a towel, wiping the sweat off his face.
“That was a pretty neat trick,” Marco said, “with the elbows, there. Where did you learn that?”
Noah split the mouthpiece out into his gloved hand. “Right then and there,” he said, breathing heavily. “I just thought about what I had that could do the most possible damage, and used it.” Neil popped up on the side of the ring with a bottle of water, and held it for Noah to take a big drink.
