Emerald

by Garner Scott Odell

  His car skidded off the edge of the pavement and kept going until the right front wheel was over the embankment. Then it slowly nosed over the cliff turning over as it plunged downward banging into a jutting rock ledge below before it crashed almost into the backdoor of a house far below and came to a stop upside down, the wheels still spinning.

  Hans jumped from his car, slipped, loosing a shoe and limped to the road’s edge hiding in bushes by the roadside marker, watching Tam’s car start to smoke. It was too far to climb down and get his emerald and while he watched, two people rushed out of the house to see what just crashed into their back yard. They bent down looking in the car at the passenger. One began pulling the driver out while the other ran back into the house. Hans smiled broadly, smoothed his dress and got back in his car and driving on toward Geneva.

  Har Yat walked away from the reservation counter at Hotel du Fontaigne into the lounge area and plopped down heavily in overstuffed chair. He had no luck convincing the clerk behind the counter that he was a cousin of Tam Stratton and wanted to wait for him in his room and surprise him. He said he had just flown into Geneva on his way to Rome on business and his cousin didn’t know he was here. The reservations clerk would not let him into Tam’s room, and told him he would have to wait in the lobby for Tam. Yat had no other option and eventually dozed off.

  Startled, he woke, looked at his watch, and couldn’t believe he’d slept for almost an hour. He rising, he walked back to the reservations counter and asked the clerk to ring Tam’s room. When there was no answer, he asked again if he could wait in Tam’s room, but the answer was still no. Har headed toward the hotel coffee shop to get something to eat while he waited. As he passed the newspaper rack by the coffee shop’s door he grabbed a afternoon newspaper, and followed the waitress to a table.

  Har, after reading the menu, ordered both, coffee and tea, a croissant and two fried eggs, sunny-side up. Unfolding the paper he began to scan the columns to see what was going on in this country. When his food arrived he mixed the coffee and tea with milk and began to eat. He had just finished his meal and was on the fourth page of local news when he looked up at the TV screen over the counter and saws a car turned upside down resting beside a house. The newscaster said that the accident had just occurred and then the picture image changed to several police standing beside the overturned car talking to an elderly couple. The man pointed up on the side of a hill and said that all he knew was hearing a huge crash outside his back porch and when he went out to see what had happened found this car in his back yard with an Asian man in it unconscious. He was able to pull the man out of the car while his wife called the police. That was all he knew. The newscaster said that the man in the crashed car had not yet been identified and had been rushed to University Hospital. The reporter said there would be more on this story in the five o’clock news. Nothing really of interest to Har, except for the man in the crash being Asian, so he went back to his newspaper and ordered a second coffee and tea.

  Har paid his check, went back to the reservation desk and asked if his cousin had come in yet. With another negative response he requested for a room of his own, registered, and took his suitcase up to his room on the third floor. Kicking off his shoes he sat in the easy chair to finish reading the Geneva paper. A little before five, he turned on the television and found the news. After a report about a U S Air Force named Scott O’Grady who had been shot down over Bosnia and Herzegovina while patrolling the NATO no-fly zone being rescued by U.S. Marines, and a story about A powerful earthquake, registering 6.2, that hit Aigio, Greece, resulting in several deaths and significant damage to many buildings. After a commercial, the newscast switched to news in Switzerland with Peter Jennings reporting on the Bilderberg Conference being held in Zurich. Another commercial and a lovely blond newscaster came on with the news of the Canton of Geneva. She reported that the man who had been injured in the automobile crash in Northern Geneva had been identified as a Mr. Tam Stanton from Hong Kong. Nothing any more was known about the man or why he was in Geneva. She went on to say that he was severely injured and had been transported to University Hospital where he was undergoing surgery.

  Har couldn’t believe it. What was Tam doing driving around Geneva with that emerald in his car? After mulling over the news account, he decided better tell this to White Paper Fan. Using the cell phone given him just before he left Hong Kong he punched in the number he memorized. He waited, nervously, and when he heard the high squeaky voice, he reported to Fan everything about the auction and what had happened to Tam.

  “No. There was no mention of the emerald in the newspaper,” he replied to Fan’s question.

  “Har Yat, go immediately to that hospital and get him transferred to the Munich Municipal Hospital. I don’t care how you do it. Just do it. Yes, you can pose as a relative…a cousin? Yes, a cousin is fine, if you’ve already used that. Give them my number to confirm it. Just get Tam to Munich, and Dr. Yang will take care of the rest. You’ll get a bonus when Tam is in Munich. Then come back immediately. Goodbye.”

  With White Paper Fan’s influence, Har Yat now had influence. The next day, after the doctors conferred with Har about his cousin’s condition, they informed him that moving Tam would not be possible for another seventy-two hours, at the very minimum forty-eight hours. Only then could they tell if he would even survive. Har Yat said he’d be back later to talk with them and left the hospital.

  Har called Dr. Yang in Munich. That bonus would come in handy. He could get that new car he wanted. When Dr. Yang answered, Har told him who he was and asked that he call the hospital in Geneva to see if they could hurry up the process. Dr. Yang said he’d call and hung up.

  Dr. Yang told his receptionist that he would take a rest for half an hour in his office and did not want to be disturbed. Then he would take the next patient. After Dr. Chen Yang lay down on the couch in his office, his mind wandered back to those days when he won his freedom from the Triad. His freedom, however tenuous it seemed, was still freedom. Dealing with Tam was a part of the price he paid for that hard-earned freedom, and taking care of the man now also defined the constraints of his freedom.

  He could remember back almost ten years ago as if it were yesterday. Chen held the position of one of the five directors of the Triad. The pay and power proved not as fulfilling as he had supposed, even if he had obtained enough money for six lifetimes for six families. After serving four years, he wanted out, but he wanted to live too. Until now, all Triad members were in for life. No one left alive. He studied for quite some time how he could get out. Chen finally came up with a proposition that worked. He convinced his colleagues that he needed to be back in public practice. He knew each of the directors well enough and was trained so highly that he could convince them that this was the best way to go and even would strengthen their position and that of the Triad. Chen was tired of doing only gunshot wounds and patching up stab wounds. That was a waste of his skill and talent as a physician. In addition, he secretly knew that in a few years, he would not be able to do much more surgery, at least not the highly technical kind, because of the beginning slight tremor in his left hand, that so far, no one had noticed.

  He wanted to move back into internal medicine and enlarge his diagnostic skills, maybe even do some firsthand lab work for research because of his personal preferences, and the field was so wide open with the advent of new drugs. He wanted to continue his studies in Germany, so he made them the offer. He would be their contact physician for any Triad members in Europe or other continents if the patient could come to him, if they allowed him to set up his practice in Munich and live there. There were other physicians in China they could use and who wanted the opportunity to work with the Triad. He had to feed this idea to them in bits to get them to accept it. He convinced them this gave the whole organization better protection and increased their scope, and finally they had agreed…but he was still a Triad member. Almost a year had gone by since his last Triad patient, but he would keep
to his word and the bargain they had made. He got up from the couch and placed the call to Mercy Hospital and arranged to have Tam airlifted to Munich Municipal Hospital after forty-eight hours.

  Hans awoke early the next morning in anticipation of reading about the accident. He knew it would be called an accident and would be in the Geneva paper. He still marveled that he found out more about himself by reading the news. He quickly left the chalet and drove to the nearest grocery store to buy a paper and read the article sitting in his car. Neither the emerald nor the auction was mentioned in the report about the accident and that the injury victim, which he learned was a Mr. Tam Stratton, was being transported to Munich Continental Community Hospital by air ambulance as soon as he was medically able.

  Hans was elated with the news because he was ready to return to Munich anyway. He could just as easily kill the man in Munich too, after he got his emerald from him. He knew the man’s personal effects would go with him. He hoped the man named Tam Stratton did not die, just so he himself could kill him and so he could keep track of the emerald until he took it.

  Things were beginning to come together now. He packed and left for Munich immediately.

  CHAPTER 19

  Geneva

  Har Yat walked away from the reservation counter at Hotel du Fontaigne into the lounge area and plopped down heavily in overstuffed chair. He had no luck convincing the clerk behind the counter that he was a cousin of Tam Stratton and wanted to wait for him in his room and surprise him. He said he had just flown into Geneva on his way to Rome on business and his cousin didn’t know he was here. The reservations clerk would not let him into Tam’s room, and told him he would have to wait in the lobby for Tam. Yat was frustrated but really didn’t have another option, so relaxed and eventually dozed off.

  Startled by a car horn outside the hotel, he woke, looked at his watch, and couldn’t believe he’d slept for almost an hour. He rising, he walked back to the reservations counter and asked the clerk to ring Tam’s room. When there was no answer, he asked again if he could wait in Tam’s room, but the answer was still no. Har headed toward the hotel coffee shop to get something to eat while he waited. As he passed the newspaper rack by the coffee shop’s door he grabbed a newspaper, and followed the waitress to a table.

  Har, after reading the menu, ordered both, coffee and tea, a croissant and two fried eggs, sunny-side up. Unfolding the paper he began to scan the columns to see what was going on in this country. When his food arrived he mixed the coffee and tea with milk and began to eat. He had just finished his meal and was on the fourth page of the paper when he looked up at the TV screen on the wall and saw a smoking car, turned upside down resting beside a house. The newscaster said that the accident had just occurred and then the picture changed to several police standing beside the overturned car talking to an elderly couple. The man pointed up on the side of a hill and said that all he knew was hearing a huge crash outside his back porch and when he went out to see what had happened found this car in his back yard with an Asian man in it unconscious. He was able to pull the man out of the car while his wife called the police. That was all he knew. The newscaster said that the man in the crashed car had not yet been identified and had been rushed to University Hospital. The reporter said there would be more on this story in the five o’clock news. Nothing really of interest to Har, except for the man in the crash being Asian, so he went back to his newspaper and ordered a second coffee and tea.

  Har paid his check, went back to the reservation desk and asked if his cousin had come in yet. With another negative response he requested for a room of his own, registered, and took his suitcase up to his room on the third floor. Kicking off his shoes he sat in the easy chair to finish reading the Geneva paper. A little before five, he turned on the television and found the news. After a report about a U S Air Force named Scott O’Grady who had been shot down over Bosnia and Herzegovina while patrolling the NATO no-fly zone being rescued by U.S. Marines, and a story about A powerful earthquake, registering 6.2, that hit Aigio, Greece, resulting in several deaths and significant damage to many buildings. After a commercial, the newscast switched to news in Switzerland with Peter Jennings reporting on the Bilderberg Conference being held in Zurich. Another commercial and a lovely blond newscaster came on with the news of the Canton of Geneva. She reported that the man who had been injured in the automobile crash in Northern Geneva had been identified as a Mr. Tam Stanton from Hong Kong. Nothing any more was known about the man or why he was in Geneva. She went on to say that he was severely injured and had been transported to University Hospital where he was undergoing surgery.

  Har couldn’t believe it. What was Tam doing driving around Geneva with that emerald in his car? After mulling over the news account, he decided better tell this to White Paper Fan. Using the cell phone given him just before he left Hong Kong he punched in the number he memorized. He waited, nervously, and when he heard the high squeaky voice, he reported to Fan everything about the auction and what had happened to Tam.

  “No. There was no mention of the emerald in the newspaper,” he replied to Fan’s question.

  “Har Yat, go immediately to that hospital and get him transferred to the Munich Municipal Hospital. I don’t care how you do it. Just do it. Yes, you can pose as a relative…a cousin? Yes, a cousin is fine, if you’ve already used that. Give them my number to confirm it.” Fan was screaming, “Just get Tam to Munich, and Dr. Yang will take care of the rest. You’ll get your bonus when Tam is in Munich and not sooner. Then come back immediately when you’ve gotten him there. Goodbye.”

  With White Paper Fan’s sharp instructions ringing in his ears, Har now had business to attend to. Later that day, outside the intensive care unit the doctors conferred with Har about his cousin’s condition. They informed him that moving Tam would not be possible for another seventy-two hours, or at the very minimum forty-eight hours, depending on his condition. Only then could they tell if he would even survive such a transfer. Har said he understood, but wanted it done as soon as it was possible. He left the consultation and went down to the main waiting room to call Dr. Yang.

  When Yang answered, Har told him who he was and asked that he call the hospital in Geneva to see if they could hurry up the process. Dr. Yang said he’d already heard from White Paper Fan and he would contact University Hospital right away.

  Dr. Yang told his receptionist that he would take a rest for half an hour in his office and did not want to be disturbed. Then he would take the next patient. Chen Yang lay down on the couch in his office, his mind wandered back to those days when he won his so-called freedom from the Triad, at least in Hong Kong. His freedom, however tenuous it seemed, was still better than living and working under the Triad’s thumb in Hong Kong. Dealing with Tam was a small part of the price he paid for that hard-earned freedom, and taking care of the man now also defined the constraints of his freedom.

  He could remember back almost ten years ago as if it were yesterday. Chen held the position of one of the five directors of the Triad. The pay and power proved not as fulfilling as he had supposed, even though he obtained enough money for a lifetime. After serving four years, he wanted out, but he wanted to live too. Until now, all Triad members were in for life. No one left alive. He studied for quite some time how he could get out. Chen finally came up with a proposition that worked. He convinced the others that he needed to be back in public practice. He knew each of the directors well enough and was trained so highly that he could convince them that this was the best way to go and even would strengthen their position and that of the Triad. Chen was tired of doing only gunshot wounds and patching up stab wounds. That was a waste of his skill and talent as a physician. In addition, he secretly knew that in a few years, he would not be able to do much more surgery, at least not the highly technical kind, because of the beginning slight tremor in his left hand that so far, no one had noticed.

  He wanted to move back into internal medicine and enlarge his diagnostic skills, m
aybe even do some firsthand lab work for research because of his personal preferences, and the field was so wide open with the advent of new drugs. He wanted to continue his studies in Germany, so he made them the offer. He would be their contact physician for any Triad members in Europe or other continents if the patient could come to him, if they allowed him to set up his practice in Munich and live there. There were other physicians in China they could use and who wanted the opportunity to work with the Triad. He had to feed this idea to them in bits to get them to accept it. He convinced them this gave the whole organization better protection and increased their scope, and finally they had agreed…but he was still a Triad member. Almost a year had gone by since his last Triad patient, but he would keep to his word and the bargain they had made. He got up from the couch and placed the call to Mercy Hospital and arranged to have Tam airlifted to his Munich Municipal Hospital after forty-eight hours.

  Back in his chalet, Hans awoke early the next morning still furious at losing his emerald, turned on the TV hoping see details about the accident, especially where the emerald might be. But the accident wasn’t even mentioned and that made him suspicious. He telephoned the Hospital posing as Dr. Julius Wong, Tam’s personal Physician calling from Hong Kong and convinced the resident in ICU to share Mr. Stratton’s condition and prognosis. Han’s learned that Tam was out of surgery and seemed to be doing as well as expected. Then the resident mentioned that there seemed to be some urgency to transfer the patient to a hospital in Munich, Germany, and was that all right with Dr. Wong? Thinking quickly, Han’s thought that probably meant Dr. Yang’s already involved and answered, “Yes that would be a very good thing as Dr. Yang has dealt with a number of Mr. Stratton’s medical situations in the past. He thanked the resident for his professional help and quickly hung up.