The Goddess of Yantai

by Ian Hamilton

  “The Syndicate would never allow anyone in China to import or distribute a film I’d made elsewhere, and they’d lean on markets like Hong Kong and Taiwan to boycott me.”

  “You would still have PÖ,” Ava said. “And I’m sure you could find other product endorsements.”

  “It would feel like charity. And besides, if I’m no longer in films, how long would my value as a spokesperson last?”

  “So, back to option one,” Ava said.

  Fai wrapped herself tighter around Ava. “I hate sounding so negative, and I’m not a quitter, but I’ve been thinking about this for ages, even before Mao’s Daughter. It’s time I was true to myself, and I know that if I am there’s no way out of this mess other than leaving the business. One person can’t take on a system like this. It isn’t only the Syndicate that you have to beat; it’s the powerful people behind it — the Party officials who control ideology and propaganda. They have a vision of how they want China and Chinese people to be represented to the rest of the world. Anyone who doesn’t play along is crushed. I could be the best-known Chinese actress in the world, but in their eyes I’m entirely disposable.”

  “No one is going to dispose of you,” Ava said.

  “That’s nice to hear, even if I have trouble believing it.”

  Ava kissed Fai casually. She was preoccupied, her mind turning as she thought about what kind of pressure she could bring to bear on Mo. She needed to talk to Xu, she realized, and she needed time.

  “Fai, I have meetings today with Suki Chan, one of our partners, and I can’t cancel them. There are some people I want to speak to about your situation and there’s some more thinking I want to do. Are you prepared to call Chen and tell him that you still haven’t made a decision, that you need at least another couple of days?”

  “He’ll have to contact Mo.”

  “I know. That’s the idea — I want to buy us some time. Tell Chen you’re leaning in the direction of going on the trip, if that makes it more palatable for him.”

  “What if he says no? What if Mo says no? What if he wants an answer right away?”

  “The trip is two weeks from now. Why would anyone be that unreasonable?”

  “Mo is a sadistic bully. It isn’t enough that the answer he wants is yes; it has to be on his terms, and that means he wants Chen and me on our bellies, begging him to be kind.”

  “If Mo still demands an immediate answer, then tell Chen it’s yes,” Ava said. “You are never going to Thailand with him, but I need a few days to get things organized. If it takes a lie to get us what we want, then so be it.”

  “Get what organized?”

  “I have to talk to some people. After I have, I’ll tell you what’s possible,” Ava said. “Do you have a problem lying to Chen?”

  “Not at all, and he wouldn’t think twice about lying to Mo.”

  “Is that also a characteristic of the business you’re in?”

  “Yes, it’s one of the more predictable ones.”

  ( 6 )

  Ava left her bags at Fai’s when she caught a taxi the next morning at eight to take her back to the Éclat. She’d slept for about two hours but was full of energy, fuelled by adrenalin. This had been her normal state when she worked with Uncle, and there had been many occasions since when circumstances caused it to kick in. The most recent had coincided with Fai’s first day of filming Mao’s Daughter, taking Ava to the outermost regions of the Philippines as she looked into an Islamic college as a favour for Chang Wang, an old friend of Uncle’s who lived in Manila. That investigation had ended more dramatically than anyone could have envisioned, and the repercussions were still being felt in the Philippines, and elsewhere.

  Fai had made coffee while Ava showered, brushed her teeth and hair, and put on black slacks and a light blue button-down shirt. For business meetings she usually wore lipstick and mascara, Annick Goutal perfume, and her Cartier Tank Française watch, but Suki was the plainest dresser imaginable and Ava felt she should match her simplicity. The one exception was the ivory chignon pin she used to hold her hair in place.

  “I don’t know how long my meetings will last,” Ava said as she drank her coffee in the kitchen. “Suki is normally quite aggressive, so I’m guessing she’ll already have collected most of the information we need and will have started to confirm it. I’m sort of her second set of eyes. With any luck we’ll soon know if there’s a deal to be done. And I don’t have to be there when the offer is made.”

  “When do you think you’ll be able to make those calls you talked about?” Fai said.

  “I can’t do it while I’m with Suki or in the meeting, but I’ll find the time.”

  “I’ll phone Chen at ten. He’s never up until then.”

  “Are you still comfortable with doing what we discussed?”

  “I’m going to see this through to the end,” Fai said. “When I woke this morning, my heart was the lightest I can remember. Maybe it’s because I’ve made a decision that I know is right, but I also feel as if my life is finally under my control and going in the proper direction. I was even thinking I could make another try at learning English. Who knows, it might stick this time.”

  “It would be nice if it did, but let’s not make it a necessity,” Ava said.

  Fai went with Ava to the end of the hutong to flag a cab. She certainly didn’t live there anonymously: virtually every vendor and passerby nodded, waved, or spoke to her. Fai held Ava’s hand as they walked. Two women holding hands in public was a common enough sight in Asia. It signified friendship and usually nothing more than that, but Ava’s North American sensibility was more open to other interpretations. In her mind, Fai’s hand in hers represented the first step in Fai’s coming out. The thought made her smile. They kissed before Ava got into the cab, and then Fai waited until the taxi drove out of sight.

  Ava took out her phone and called Shanghai. She got Xu’s voicemail. He was usually up by this time, sitting outside by his fish pond with his cigarettes and a cup of coffee. She left a message.

  They were in the middle of morning rush hour, and after half an hour of inching forward, Ava thought she might be late getting to the hotel. The volume of traffic surprised her. She associated gridlock of this kind with Manila, Jakarta, or Bangkok; she hadn’t factored in that Beijing could be as bad. She mentioned it to the driver.

  He shrugged. “The only time it isn’t like this is when the air quality is so poor that half the cars in the city are forced to stay off the roads. Depending on your licence plate number, some get to drive on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and the others on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.”

  “What about Sunday?”

  “Back to a free-for-all.”

  “How often does the air quality get that bad?”

  “It used to be once a month or so, depending on the weather. Rain usually clears the air. But now it’s more frequent, maybe three or four times a month, and sometimes even the rain can’t help.”

  Ava checked the time and saw that she was definitely going to be late. She phoned Suki. “I’m in a taxi trying to get to the hotel, but I won’t get there by nine,” she said.

  “I thought you were staying here,” Suki said.

  “I decided to visit a friend in Xicheng. I’m going to be staying there and not at the hotel.”

  “Well, there’s no problem with your being late. The people picking us up just called to say they’re stuck in traffic as well.”

  “I’ll see you when I get there,” Ava said. She ended the call just as Xu’s Shanghai number appeared on the screen.

  “Mei mei,” he said.

  “Sorry to call so early,” she said, pleased by his quick response and his use of the endearment “little sister.”

  “Is there a problem?”

  “Yes, there is,” she said, and then she saw the cab driver’s eyes looking at her in the
rear-view mirror. Suddenly she realized she shouldn’t be using Fai’s name in such a public situation. “But I don’t feel comfortable talking about it right this moment. When will be a good time for me to call back?”

  “I’ll be at the house until one o’clock.”

  “I’ll get to you before then, ge ge,” Ava said, addressing him as “big brother.”

  Ava had first met Xu at Uncle’s funeral. He was already the head of the Triad gang in Shanghai and was ambitious for more success. Unknown to Ava, Uncle had been mentoring Xu for years, and he was as close to Uncle as Ava had been. With Uncle’s passing they had transferred the loyalty, trust, respect, and perhaps even love they’d felt for him to one another. And since that first meeting they had helped each other in both large and small ways, without hesitation or question. They were almost like real brother and sister, Ava thought. All they lacked was common blood.

  In the distance Ava saw the pyramid shape of the building that housed the Éclat. “How much longer?” she asked the driver.

  “Ten minutes.”

  It took twenty, and a frustrated Ava finally walked into the hotel lobby to find Suki sitting by herself. She waved at Ava and stood to greet her.

  Suki was dressed in black slacks and a gray Mao jacket. She wore no makeup and her silver hair was cut in a bob. Ava guessed she was close to sixty, but her face was unlined, and she had the energy of a much younger woman. “They’re still twenty minutes away,” she said to Ava.

  “Good. That gives me time to make a phone call. If you don’t mind, I’ll do it from my room. I didn’t check out last night, but I’ll do it this morning.”

  “Go ahead. I’ll wait here.”

  Ava hurried to the elevator. She found Xu’s number while she was riding to her floor, and pressed it as soon as she exited.

  “That didn’t take long,” Xu said after two rings.

  “My meeting has been delayed.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Beijing. I came to assist Suki with due diligence on a logistics business she has her sights on,” she said. “It just so happened that I also managed to go to the premiere of Pang Fai’s new film, Mao’s Daughter.”

  “How was the film?”

  “Fantastic. It’s actually the reason I’m calling”

  “You don’t have to recommend it to me. I love Pang’s work.”

  “Well, we need your help if you want to keep enjoying it.”

  “What’s happened?” Xu said, suddenly serious.

  Ava carefully related her conversation with Fai, leaving out any references to Lau Lau and their sexual adventures. Xu listened attentively and didn’t ask any questions until Ava finished. Then he said, “Are you sure this China Movie Syndicate has that much power?”

  “I’m taking Fai’s word for it, but she should know, and you should be able to confirm it quickly enough.”

  “And these guys — Mo and Fong — are using it like their own private bordello?”

  “Yes, but I’m sure sex isn’t the only thing they’re getting out of it. If we dig deep enough we’ll probably find dirty money as well.”

  “What do you want to do about it?”

  “I want Fai left alone for now and the foreseeable future, and I want that film released and heavily distributed and promoted.”

  “How much do you know about Mo and Fong?”

  “Nothing. I was hoping you could help.”

  “And how will you proceed if you find something you can use against them? Beijing isn’t an easy place to get to anyone, let alone a senior functionary and member of the Party.”

  “I haven’t thought about that yet.”

  Xu was silent for a moment. Ava could hear him inhaling. “Lop is my man with the best Beijing contacts and the most knowledge of how things operate there,” he said finally.

  Ava knew Lop. He had been a captain in the People’s Liberation Army, assigned to Special Forces, but his primary loyalty lay with the Shanghai Triad gang that Xu headed. Lop’s father had been a member of the gang, and Xu’s father had arranged for Lop to get into the officers’ academy. Lop had stayed with the PLA until Xu needed him. As soon as the call came, Lop had answered it, going on to organize Xu’s defences in Shanghai and orchestrate offensive attacks elsewhere. One of those attacks had taken place in Wanchai, a district in Hong Kong. It had been successful and Lop was now de facto head of the gang there — a gang that was ultimately controlled by Xu. “I’d be very happy to work with Lop on this,” Ava said.

  “I’ll call him right away.”

  “He has to move quickly, though. We need to resolve this issue within the next week.”

  “That’s a longer time frame than you usually give me,” Xu said with a chuckle.

  Ava ignored the gibe. “How will communications work?” she asked.

  “I’ll talk to him and then get out of the way unless either of you need me to get involved,” he said. “Are you comfortable with that?”

  “As long as he is.”

  “You’ll have no problem with him. He’s one of your many admirers.”

  “What if I need him to come to Beijing?”

  “I’m sure that can be arranged.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Ava, you never have to say that to me.”

  “I want you to know that I’m not taking you for granted. I treasure our friendship and I don’t want to abuse it.”

  “I sense that Pang Fai is very important to you,” Xu said carefully.

  “She is.”

  “I mean on a personal level.”

  “I know.”

  “Is she the one?”

  Ava paused. Xu knew about her sexuality, but she’d never discussed it with him in any detail. “She might be.”

  “That’s all the more reason for me to light a fire under Lop — although normally that isn’t necessary.”

  “I don’t think there’s any reason to share details with him about my personal life,” Ava said softly.

  “I’d never do that,” Xu said. “All he’ll know is that keeping Pang Fai’s public profile prominent is important to our business.”

  “And that’s true enough.”

  “I’ll call him now.”

  “I’m about to go into some meetings and I don’t want to be rude, so my phone will be off for a while. But you can leave me a message and let me know how to proceed.”

  “If you don’t hear from me, you’ll hear from Lop.”

  Ava put down the phone, feeling more pleased than she’d let on to Xu. First, he had sensed the true nature of her tie to Fai, and she knew that, if anything, it would make him more determined to help. Second, with Lop assigned to be her point man, she couldn’t have a more ferocious advocate.

  She had seen Lop in action three times. He was smart, tough, disciplined, and entirely fearless. If you got into a fight with him, he was the kind of opponent you’d have to kill. Unlike Xu’s enforcer Suen, who was a mountain of a man, Lop was of medium height, with a slight, wiry build. He didn’t appear threatening until you got close enough to see the tension that rippled through his body, and his eyes, which were in a perpetual state of alertness. Ava had once described him as manic. Xu responded by telling her that Lop might appear manic on the surface, but at his core he was cold and controlled. The combination was frightening if you were his enemy, comforting if you were an ally.

  Ava looked at the time and realized she should be heading downstairs. A day of going over financial statements didn’t hold much appeal, but at least it would be distracting.

  When Ava exited the elevator, Suki was standing near the hotel entrance with a man and a woman. She started towards them, remembered that she hadn’t checked out, and made a left-hand turn towards the front desk. She handed in her room card and cancelled the remainder of the reservation. When she approached Suki, she
could sense the other two people eyeing her. They were both short, round, and plainly dressed — he in a baggy black suit and she in a dark green wool dress that came below the knees.

  “Ava, this is Mr. and Mrs. Sun,” Suki said.

  “Pleased to meet you,” Ava said to them, noting Suki’s formality.

  They nodded at her.

  “I have known them for many years,” Suki said. “My husband and Mr. Sun used to go on gambling junkets to Las Vegas together, leaving Mrs. Sun and me to run the businesses.”

  “And the businesses never suffered when they were gone,” Mrs. Sun said.

  Another Suki, Ava thought. Except this one’s husband didn’t die. “I’ve heard only wonderful things about the business you built.”

  “It’s time to sell,” Mrs. Sun said. “We have two children who have no interest in it, and we don’t have Suki’s ambition. But I told my husband that I don’t want to pass our life’s work to a stranger, to someone who might not appreciate how much effort went into it.”

  “So we thought of Suki,” he said.

  “All things being equal, we prefer to sell to her,” Mrs. Sun said.

  “By ‘equal,’ you mean that we pay the price you want,” Ava said.

  “It’s fair,” Mrs. Sun said.

  “I will let Suki be the judge of that,” Ava said. “But in addition to being Suki’s partner in other businesses, I’m an accountant. I’m here to look at your books, your financial statements, and your tax returns. If there are no discrepancies, then Suki can come up with an evaluation based on the standard indices you use in your field.”

  “We know what we want. We know what we think it’s worth,” Mrs. Sun said.

  “Do you doubt Suki’s experience or objectivity?” asked Ava.

  “No,” Mr. Sun replied.

  His wife stepped forward and offered Ava her hand. “Our SUV is outside. It’s an hour’s drive to our office in this traffic. We’ve told our accountants to organize all the information we think you need, and they’re available to answer any questions you might have. We should get going.”

  As they walked from the hotel, Ava said quietly to Suki, “Mrs. Sun reminds me a bit of you — less the husband, of course.”