entrance of the Star Ferry Pier, he hesitated. Should I take a taxi or should I walk? Glancing at his watch, he saw that he had plenty of time to leisurely walk the few blocks to the rendezvous spot on Wing Kut Street, so he stepped into the street, still busy with traffic at this hour. The sidewalk traffic had thinned out considerably, and Tam could stride out quite rapidly without bumping into every sixth pedestrian.
As he walked long, he began to worry about his meeting in a few minutes with White Paper Fan, the Dragon Head of the Triad. After the last fiasco when he had been drunk and failed to take the information to White Paper Fan in time for their planning session, he had pretty much dropped out of sight. Oh, he knew that he could never disappear from the Triad entirely, unless they wanted him to, but he thought perhaps they’d leave him alone for a while. No such luck.
He walked along Connaught Road Central for four blocks, past the tall marble and glass banking buildings, trying to walk a straight line so the hurrying pedestrians would have to dodge him. This gave him a sense of purpose and power. Traffic on the streets was still busy. He turned right and up Wing Wo Street, left on Des Voeux Road Central, past more huge buildings spewing late-working, suit dressed men onto the street. He wondered what it would be like to work in one of these massive buildings. Crossing the intersection he walked past the Fu Hing Building and entered an unlit, nondescript brown door, tucked between two small jewelry shops that he knew were fences for stolen gems. Tam took in a deep breath of cooked fish and rice and climbed the wooden stairs. Walking to the end door on the right, he knocked softly three times, then paused and knocked once again. A buzz sounded. He turned the knob and entered a dimly lit room.
Squinting a little to adjust his eyes to the dim lighting, he saw the obese figure in a gaudy red and gold robe, sitting on a huge, padded, blue, Chinese chair.
“Come in, Come in, my favorite drunken 49-boy,” the high-pitched voice of White Paper Fan said. “Come closer and let me smell your breath. If you have been into the bottle since I talked to you earlier today, we can dispense with your possible assignment and just move on to your disposition. Now come over to me and breathe on me.”
Tam was always amazed that such a small, squeaky voice could come from such an obese human being. As he walked over to the huge man, he could smell the nauseating odor of the cheap perfume mixed with an unwashed body. Tam wanted to gag, but steeled himself, walked to the man, leaned over, and breathed heavily onto the mass of flesh that was a face.
“Well, well, you have developed the skill of reviving from one of your drunken stupors quickly, haven’t you? Now let us see if you can revive your career with the Triad. This won’t be as easy as getting sober, but it’s your last chance. We have received information that there will be an auction in Geneva, Switzerland of a very special emerald that someone connected to our little operation would like to have in his personal collection. Your job will be to fly to Geneva, get the emerald, and take it to our client in Germany. The details of your assignment, airline tickets, a little expense money, your contacts in Geneva and Munich, are in that packet on the table by the door. The financial arrangement for you to bid have already been put in place with the auction house, so we won’t have to worry about you running off with our money. Now go and get out of my sight before I change my mind. I would wish you luck, but deep down I hope you will fail us, so I can hurt you the way your mother hurt me by screwing that British bastard years ago.”
Within five hours of leaving the smell of White Paper Fan, Tam took a taxi to the Kai Tak Airport, checked in, and attached himself to a vacant seat in the Lufthansa boarding area. He watched the people around him for a while, wondering what
As he walked long, he began to worry about his meeting in a few minutes with White Paper Fan, the Dragon Head of the Triad. After the last fiasco when he had been drunk and failed to take the information to White Paper Fan in time for their planning session, he had pretty much dropped out of sight. Oh, he knew that he could never disappear from the Triad entirely, unless they wanted him to, but he thought perhaps they’d leave him alone for a while. No such luck.
He walked along Connaught Road Central for four blocks, past the tall marble and glass banking buildings, trying to walk a straight line so the hurrying pedestrians would have to dodge him. This gave him a sense of purpose and power. Traffic on the streets was still busy. He turned right and up Wing Wo Street, left on Des Voeux Road Central, past more huge buildings spewing late-working, suit dressed men onto the street. He wondered what it would be like to work in one of these massive buildings. Crossing the intersection he walked past the Fu Hing Building and entered an unlit, nondescript brown door, tucked between two small jewelry shops that he knew were fences for stolen gems. Tam took in a deep breath of cooked fish and rice and climbed the wooden stairs. Walking to the end door on the right, he knocked softly three times, then paused and knocked once again. A buzz sounded. He turned the knob and entered a dimly lit room.
Squinting a little to adjust his eyes to the dim lighting, he saw the obese figure in a gaudy red and gold robe, sitting on a huge, padded, blue, Chinese chair.
“Come in, Come in, my favorite drunken 49-boy,” the high-pitched voice of White Paper Fan said. “Come closer and let me smell your breath. If you have been into the bottle since I talked to you earlier today, we can dispense with your possible assignment and just move on to your disposition. Now come over to me and breathe on me.”
Tam was always amazed that such a small, squeaky voice could come from such an obese human being. As he walked over to the huge man, he could smell the nauseating odor of the cheap perfume mixed with an unwashed body. Tam wanted to gag, but steeled himself, walked to the man, leaned over, and breathed heavily onto the mass of flesh that was a face.
“Well, well, you have developed the skill of reviving from one of your drunken stupors quickly, haven’t you? Now let us see if you can revive your career with the Triad. This won’t be as easy as getting sober, but it’s your last chance. We have received information that there will be an auction in Geneva, Switzerland of a very special emerald that someone connected to our little operation would like to have in his personal collection. Your job will be to fly to Geneva, get the emerald, and take it to our client in Germany. The details of your assignment, airline tickets, a little expense money, your contacts in Geneva and Munich, are in that packet on the table by the door. The financial arrangement for you to bid have already been put in place with the auction house, so we won’t have to worry about you running off with our money. Now go and get out of my sight before I change my mind. I would wish you luck, but deep down I hope you will fail us, so I can hurt you the way your mother hurt me by screwing that British bastard years ago.”
Within five hours of leaving the smell of White Paper Fan, Tam took a taxi to the Kai Tak Airport, checked in, and attached himself to a vacant seat in the Lufthansa boarding area. He watched the people around him for a while, wondering what
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