by Ian Hamilton
“If that’s what you think, then I have no objections.”
Sonny had driven Uncle home. “I know you’re going to Tai Wai tonight,” Uncle told him before he got out of the car. “I’m putting my trust in you not to go overboard. Do whatever Wang directs. No more, and no less.”
“Yes, boss,” Sonny said. “Thank you for allowing me to go.”
When Uncle entered the apartment, he went directly to the fridge for a San Miguel. He carried it to his chair, lit a cigarette, and thought about how much lead time he should give Zhang Delun. Shit. There’s no point in delaying, he decided.
Zhang’s wife answered the phone, recognized his voice, and said quietly, “Just one minute, Uncle. I’ll get my husband.”
“I was wondering if you would call,” Zhang said. “There was a rather strange event today in Fanling. Two men from Tai Wai were involved in a violent fight in front of the Blind Emperor Restaurant. If I’m not mistaken, you live in an apartment above the restaurant.”
“I do. I heard about the event when I returned home after breakfast at Jia’s. What did the men have to say for themselves?”
“One died, so he’s not saying anything. The other won’t tell us what happened or how he happened to be in that part of town.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
“So this had nothing to do with you?”
“Absolutely not,” said Uncle, pleased that Zhang was confining himself to the machete attack and not commenting on the gunfire at Dong’s.
“Then why are you calling me?” Zhang asked.
“I want to give you notice that we’re undertaking an action tonight that will be to our mutual benefit.”
“Mutual benefit?”
“Yes. Wu’s gang from Tai Wai has been trying to peddle drugs in Fanling again. We keep putting a stop to it, but they’re persistent. We’ve come to the point where we have decided to deal with the problem at its source.”
“How do you intend to do that?”
“We’ve identified the warehouse they use as their main storage and distribution centre,” said Uncle. “In about six hours from now, a large group of my men will take control of the warehouse and destroy every drug they can get their hands on. When we’re finished, our plan is to advise the police, who can take over from there. In fact, you can take the credit for closing a major drug distribution centre.”
When Zhang didn’t respond immediately, Uncle knew his half-truths weren’t sitting well with the policeman. Would Zhang question them or let them slide? If he questioned them, how truthful should Uncle be?
“A few things occur to me, and I suspect they are connected,” Zhang said slowly. “One, if your sole intention is to put the drug distribution centre out of business, a phone call to me with the relevant information would have sufficed. Why put your men at risk when we can do the job for you? Next, I have trouble believing it’s a coincidence that the warehouse is in Tai Wai New Village and the two men found outside your apartment are from the same place. Do you want to tell me what’s really going on?”
Uncle took a deep drag on his cigarette. He knew the truth had to come out. “There weren’t two men in front of my apartment this morning; there were three. They were sent by Wu to kill me. One ran off when my bodyguard foiled the attack. You know what happened to the other two,” Uncle said.
“I’m glad they weren’t successful, but I am concerned that they tried. I don’t want the war in Kowloon and Macau to spill over into the New Territories,” Zhang said, not the least bit annoyed that Uncle had initially been less than forthcoming. “Won’t this venture of yours tonight aggravate the situation?”
“Zhang, I have to respond to this morning’s attack somehow or risk losing my credibility with the other Mountain Masters — and, even more importantly, with my men,” Uncle said. “There are those who think it should be an eye for an eye, that I should try to eliminate Wu. But I don’t want to escalate the violence, so closing his distribution centre is my best option. It will cripple him financially, my men will be satisfied, and the other Mountain Masters will be reluctant to support him. I’m quite sure things in the Territories will return to being calm after this.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Uncle hesitated and then thought, What the hell. “I’m working on a plan that has the potential to bring permanent peace. But I need time to conclude it. I’m meeting with Liu Leji in Shenzhen on Wednesday, and I have a meeting scheduled with nine other Mountain Masters this Friday.”
“Why is Leji involved?” Zhang asked.
Uncle smiled, pleased with himself for having inserted that name into the conversation. Zhang knew Leji from their university years and was well aware of the Liu family’s power, connections, and influence. “I don’t think he’d appreciate my saying anything until we’ve had our meeting,” he said.
“Does that stop you from telling me something about this plan?”
“I’m still formulating it. What I can tell you is that the main objective is to bring an end to gang wars not only in the Territories but also in the rest of Hong Kong.”
“That strikes me as an ambitious undertaking,” said Zhang.
“It is, and I’m not sure I’ll succeed. All I know is that I have to try.”
“Would it help if Wu was out of circulation until the end of the week?” Zhang asked.
The question caught Uncle off guard. He hesitated before saying, “Yes, very much.”
“Then tell your men to leave enough drugs in the warehouse for us to find, and not to remove Wu’s men. In fact, it would be perfect if they were gagged, bound, and ready for us to question,” Zhang said. “It won’t take much evidence to justify locking up Wu and some of his key men for a while. I’ll work with the OCTB on it.”
“Thank you, Zhang.”
“No thanks are necessary for a meaningful collaboration,” Zhang said. “I’ll tell our Tai Wai detachment to stay at the station until they hear from me. Now, when will you let me know where to dispatch them?”
“Our men intend to go into the warehouse around two a.m. It shouldn’t take more than half an hour to do what needs to be done. Can I phone you that late to confirm it went as planned?”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Uncle put down the phone with a sense of relief. It didn’t matter how many times he and Zhang worked together, Uncle never took the policeman’s co-operation for granted. This request had been particularly sizeable, and then Zhang had taken it past anything Uncle had expected, by mentioning the possibility of jailing Wu. Was it because he had mentioned Liu Leji? Perhaps Zhang, like everyone else, was concerned about what the handover to the Chinese government might mean for him. He knew Uncle and Liu were in business together, because he had introduced them. Maybe he thought that cementing his relationship with Uncle would help him with Liu. Well, whatever the motivation, the outcome was welcome, Uncle thought as he called Wang.
“Is everything ready?” he asked when his Red Pole answered.
“I have twenty of our best men armed with our latest acquisitions. I’ve sent four of them ahead to scout the warehouse. If there’s any change in activity or the number of Wu’s men, they’ll let me know and we’ll adjust accordingly. But as it stands, we’re ready to leave here about one-twenty.”
“I spoke to my police contact,” Uncle said. “It couldn’t have gone better.”
“The Tai Wai cops will stand off?”
“Better than that. We’ve been asked to leave some drugs on the premises and tie up Wu’s men for the cops to find and question. The plan is to arrest Wu and some of his key guys. They might never get convicted of drug dealing, but if the police can hold them for a week, that will give me time to work out a deal with the other Mountain Masters without having to look over my shoulder.”
“That’s great,” Wang said. “Please ask your contact to make sure Wu’s
Red Pole is one of the guys they grab. If he and Wu are both out of circulation, not much can happen.”
“I’ll do that,” said Uncle. “Now, good luck, and here’s hoping I don’t hear from you again till two-thirty.”
Uncle hung up and leaned back in his chair, sipped his beer, and lit a Marlboro. It had been a long and tiring day, but at the end of it he was in a stronger position than he’d been when it began. In fact, when he considered that the day had started with three men coming at him with machetes, he could never have imagined it ending any better.
The evening was going to drag. He turned on the television and found a channel rerunning the day’s races from Sha Tin. As he watched, his conversation with Zhao at the track came to mind. The Kowloon Mountain Master was a serious man, and it must have taken a lot of careful thought before he decided to approach Uncle. Having him join the coalition would be a coup, but it also might alarm his Kowloon neighbours. How would they react? Uncle shook his head. The possibilities were almost endless.
“Gui-San, there are so many ideas bouncing around in my head,” he said aloud. “Sometimes I feel that I’ve taken on too much and I’m not up to it. All I want to do is look after my own gang, but I can’t do that responsibly without taking into consideration all the outside factions that impact us — and there are so many of them. There are days when I wish I could stick my head in the sand and let the world dance around me. But I’m not built that way. I just can’t do it. I have this compulsion to keep moving forward, because I fear that the moment I stop, I’ll get run over.
“No one is forcing me to seek this gang alliance. It’s all my own doing. I don’t know where the idea came from; it was just there in my mind and I couldn’t get rid of it. Now I have my whole executive working with me to make it happen and I have commitments from other Mountain Masters. The thing is, I don’t know if they’re doing it because they think it’s the right thing or because they’ve simply decided they have to support me.”
He closed his eyes. “This is going to be an important week in my life, Gui-San. I can’t tell you logically why I feel that way, but I have this overwhelming sense that there’s something big out there, something to be done that will make all my other accomplishments look pale by comparison. The thing is, I sense that it will go far beyond me, far beyond the gang, and will last long after I’m dead. Am I crazy to think like that?
“Gui-San, please say another prayer for me. I think I’m getting in too deep, but I don’t know how to prevent it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Uncle thought he heard a phone ringing, but he knew he was asleep and figured it was in the dream. He thought if he ignored it, it would go away. But it didn’t, and as he opened his eyes he realized he was in his chair. He reached for the phone and pressed it hard against his ear. “Wei,” he said.
“I almost gave up and called Yu,” Wang said, his voice full of tension. “I thought something had happened to you.”
“I’m fine. I was just sleeping,” Uncle said. “What happened?”
“We have control of the warehouse. There were six of Wu’s men here. We caught them by surprise but they put up a bit of a fight, until they realized how badly they were outnumbered. Two of our men were wounded, but not seriously. One of theirs is dead. When he went down, the rest of them dropped their guns. We have them tied up hand and foot, and they’re scattered around the room where they put the dope into small bags for the street business,” Wang said. “I can’t believe how much cocaine there is here. We poured a lot of it into a toilet, but we left enough for the cops to be able to brag about making a major drug bust.”
“Did you tell the Tai Wai guys who you are?”
“We didn’t have to. One of them recognized me.”
“Are you ready to leave?”
“We are. Tell the cops that Wu’s men are in the first room on the right as they come through the main entrance. We locked the door from the outside and left the key on the floor in front of it.”
“Were any civilians there?”
“A night watchman, who we locked in the office. The regular work shift doesn’t start until six.”
“Good. It sounds like it couldn’t have gone more smoothly.”
“Our men were all business, although a few of them would have liked to mix it up a bit more.”
“What are you going to do with the dead guy?” Uncle asked.
“We’re taking him with us. I figure it will make the cops’ job easier if there isn’t a body lying around for them to worry about. We’ll dump him somewhere between here and Fanling.”
“That’s good thinking,” Uncle said. “What address do I give the police for the warehouse?”
“Fifty-eight Crocus Street.”
“I’ll give you a couple of minutes to get out of there and then I’ll call my contact,” Uncle said. “Tell the men I’m grateful for their efforts tonight.”
Uncle sighed with relief as he put down the phone. The Fanling Triad was fortunate to have a Red Pole as experienced and capable as Wang, but things could still have gone wrong. One man dead out of twenty-six was as good an outcome as he could have hoped for. He rose from the chair and made an instant coffee, then lit a cigarette and picked up the phone.
Zhang answered before the second ring. “Uncle, you’re right on time.”
“The warehouse is at fifty-eight Crocus Street,” Uncle said. “The first room on the right after the main entrance is where your men should go. The door is locked but the key is on the floor in front of it. That’s the room where Wu’s people pack drugs to sell on the street. You’ll find five of Wu’s men tied up there — and a lot of cocaine.”
“Were there any injuries? Do we need to involve the medical people?”
“No.”
“Couldn’t be any better.”
“When do you think you’ll be able to pick up Wu?”
“The commanding officer in Tai Wai will be heading to Wu’s home as soon as he confirms the presence of drugs and Wu’s men at the warehouse. I spoke to him earlier this evening, so he understands the need for speed. I’ve already cleared it with the OCTB. I have an excellent working relationship with one of the most senior officers there. He’s results-driven and doesn’t ask too many questions.”
“I have one more request. Could you pick up Wu’s Red Pole as well? That will greatly reduce any chance of retaliation.”
“I’m sure we can arrange that. You’ve done a good night’s work, Uncle,” Zhang said. “I’ll take it from here.”
“Will you call to let me know about Wu?”
“You will hear from me.”
Uncle hung up and immediately began phoning the other five members of the executive committee. He repeated everything Wang had told him, plus Zhang’s promise to keep Wu on ice for as long as possible. The news was received with an enthusiasm that ranged from Hui’s calm acceptance to Fong’s excitement, but one thing in common was that no one was surprised that Wang had been successful.
“I just hope the police can indeed keep Wu out of circulation. If they can’t, I don’t expect Tai Wai to take this sitting down,” Tian said, reflecting another common sentiment. “What do you want us to do now?”
“Nothing until we know the police have followed through. I should get confirmation in a few hours. When that happens, I want all of you to start making phone calls to your friends in other gangs,” said Uncle. “I expect the newspapers will be full of stories about the drug bust this morning. I want the other triads to know that it was us who brought down the operation, and that we used the police to pick up the pieces. That should deliver two messages: first, that we’re perfectly capable and more than willing to defend ourselves, and second, that our connections to the police department still run strong.”
Uncle gave identical instructions to each of the committee members. Then, knowing he wouldn’t be able to sleep, he went to t
he bathroom to get ready for the day. When he had finished, he made a second coffee and reoccupied his chair.
His plan was to start phoning other Mountain Masters as soon as he heard from Zhang. Given the speed of the triad grapevine, he expected that the third one he called would already have heard the news, but he still wanted to tell each of them personally and answer any questions. There was one person he wanted to make sure heard about it first-hand. It was maybe premature to make the call, but Uncle had faith in Zhang.
He found Zhao’s number and dialled. “Wei,” a woman’s sleepy voice answered.
“I apologize for calling so late. My name is Uncle. I am an associate of Zhao’s. Is he there?”
“This is unexpected,” Zhao said a moment later.
“My apologies to you and your wife for calling so late.”
“She’s my girlfriend, not my wife, but that doesn’t matter — she’ll still appreciate it,” Zhao said. “I’m more interested in knowing why you’re calling. I suspect it’s not something trivial.”
“We attacked Tai Wai tonight. Specifically, we closed down their major drug storage and distribution centre. We destroyed a lot of drugs but left enough for the police to find,” said Uncle. “The cops are there now. They’ll arrest five of Wu’s men who were working in the warehouse, and I suspect that Wu and his Red Pole will be taken into custody within the next few hours. The police will take credit for the drug bust, which should eliminate any media talk about another gang war.”
Zhao paused and then said, “That’s certainly not trivial. How violent was it?”
“Not very. We had them outnumbered,” Uncle said. “Our objective was to destroy the business, not the men.”
“Who else knows about this?”
“You’re the first person outside my gang that I’ve contacted.”
“And you’re certain that Wu and the Red Pole will be taken into custody?”
“Yes, unless someone warns them,” said Uncle. “The police intend to hold them for as long as possible. I’m hoping it’s until the weekend.”
