Peking & The Tulip Affair (13 page)

Nick looked into Jimmy's eyes. There was no fear there. Jimmy had guts. Nick grinned like a banshee. "I've always had a suppressed desire to cut off a man's head and use it as an ashtray."

Jimmy's lips moved. "Drop dead."

Nick slowly relented. He eased the pressure, but Hugo had already taken a bite and a thin stream of blood ran down onto Jimmy's shirt collar. "Maybe I'm going at this the wrong way, Jimmy. Are you obligated to Tulip? Is that why you're covering for him? What's the answer, Jimmy?"

"It's a matter of honor."

"Don't go noble on me, Jimmy. You're in a bad spot. I either kill you or turn you over to the cops. You don't owe Tulip a thing."

"Let me think about it."

"Sure. I'll give you a whole minute."

Jimmy was a practical man. He did have a kind of code. Most gangsters did. The American gangster, when shot by a rival mob, never squealed when questioned by the police if he was found alive. If he was dying, then he gave up the ghost with his lips sealed. That was his code.

Jimmy How had a lot to live for. He had money, women, and an enterprising business. He wasn't afraid of dying. He was sure he had proved that to Nick. If he died he would have nothing. If he went to prison he would lose everything. It didn't matter how long he stayed in prison. Once he was in a cell his confederates would take over and he would be out in the cold. And there was May Chin. Jimmy had liked her. What did he owe Tulip? Nick was right He didn't owe Tulip a damn thing.

Jimmy then explained to Nick that he would lose a great deal if it became known that he had betrayed Tulip.

Nick knew how the Oriental felt about losing face and prestige. "I realize that. No one will ever know."

"You'll have to kill him." Jimmy reached for a cigarette in an ivory box and lit it. "I felt honor-bound to help Tulip. You understand how it is, Nick."

"Sure, sure."

Tulip was on Cheung Chau Island. There was an old deserted house on the island built by a Russian general of the white army after the revolution. Jimmy had bought the house two years ago from a dealer in opium. The dealer had used the house to store opium produced in Turkey and Iran and smuggled out through Beirut. This opium was considered a finer grade than that produced from the Yunnan poppy. Tulip was now hidden in that same house.

"Why didn't Tulip get the hell out of Hong Kong?" Nick wanted to know.

Jimmy grinned crookedly. "He wants to sleep nights. He knew they would send you after him. Even a frightened rat stops running."

"Did you know he and a Chinese named Wong made a try for me with a machine gun?"

"I'd heard about it."

"Why did he turn traitor?"

Jimmy shrugged. "Maybe he wanted the finer things in life. That takes money, and the Chinese Reds pay well." Jimmy mashed out his cigarette. "I'm sending a man tonight to bring him supplies. You can tag along partway. While my man gives Tulip the supplies, you can go in the back way."

"You're too generous."

Jimmy bit his lower lip. "You'll have to kill him. That's the deal. I can't afford to have him talk. I'll be ruined."

"Just don't cross me," Nick warned. "If you do I'll come back and kill you on sight"

Jimmy winced. "You hurt my feelings, Nick."

"You're like me; you have no feelings."

Jimmy looked up at Nick. "You and Tulip were buddy-buddy. He told me so. Hard thing to knock off a friend."

"We'll see. Now where do I meet your man?"

"At the dock. His name is Yun Lee. You can't miss him. Hell be wearing a big straw hat and a stupid grin on his face."

There was time to kill and Nick didn't want to spend it alone. He deliberately went out to get himself a girl.

He found her in the Oriental, a cabaret in Kowloon.

Her name was Mimi Tong and she was very pretty. She smelled good too. Jasmine. Her eyes weren't slanted and she had that soft Eurasian look but she insisted she was all Chinese.

Nick didn't care one way or another. She had a supple body that fit neatly against his as they danced. He held her close and smelled her perfume and he almost forgot the past few days.

"You like me?" Her arm was cool against his neck.

"Very much,"

"Are you hungry?"

"What?" The question surprised him.

"I haven't had dinner" she explained.

"Okay. But you'll have to eat alone. I'll watch."

They went to the Rice Bowl on Kimberley Road and he watched her eat. "Are you new in Hong Kong?" she asked between bites.

"Not exactly."

"You don't talk much, do you?"

"I'm a man of action, and I hope to prove it to you."

She poured almond tea into her cup. "Do you like to gamble?"

"I have other things on my mind now besides gambling."

She giggled. "You watched me eat. Now you can watch me gamble."

Nick's face took on a stern look. He wanted to know if she was taking him for a ride.

She reached out and held his hand. "You won't be disappointed." There was promise in her eyes. A promise of a thousand delights. "I like you, Nick. I want to have some fun. I ate a good dinner; now I want to gamble. Then we'll get together for the most beautiful time ever. Mimi Tong always keeps her promises."

"You talked me into it. Where do we go from here?"

"Macao."

Nick shook his head. "I'll have to take a raincheck. There's no time. I have an appointment."

"I'll gamble for only an hour," she promised. "You won't miss your appointment."

"Okay, Mimi. Let's get the hell out of here."

The hydrofoil zipped across forty miles of water to Macao, the oldest foreign settlement in the Far East. Macao had always been under the flag of Portugal. They went to the Estoril, where Mimi played roulette, hi-lo, blackjack and fan-tan. She won two hundred and thirty dollars and insisted on giving Nick half of it. After all, she said, she had played with his money. It was only fair he should take half.

Mimi knew of a hotel nearby. Nick would have to pay more than the room would be worth because they had no luggage. But it would be worth it, she promised.

They walked past the Barrier Gate which separated Macao from Red China.

The room was on the second floor, and a cool breeze came in. He looked out the window and saw the silver of the moon on the dark water. Behind him Mimi was getting undressed. When she was naked she called out to him.

Her body was slim and graceful and her breasts were young with impudent little nipples. She helped him undress, and then they were on the bed, making love.

Later, he learned that she liked to talk in bed. She told him of her younger sister who was always "chasing the dragon." Nick knew what that expression meant. Inhaling heroin fumes. It was the Hong Kong addict's favorite way of taking heroin.

"Can't you stop her?"

She shook her head. Mimi had no control over her younger sister. She could tell Nick a few things about her sister, but she didn't want to shock him.

"Then don't," he said. "I shock very easily."

She stretched, put her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her. "I like you very much, Nick." She kissed him very hard, bruising his lips.

Soon it was time for them to leave. They dressed and went down. The hydrofoil took them back to Hong Kong. Nick enjoyed the spray of water that kept hitting his face.

Muni seemed reluctant to part. "Must you keep that appointment?" she asked.

"I have no choice," Nick told her.

"When will I see you again?"

"I'm leaving Hong Kong," he said. "Probably tomorrow."

"So this must be goodbye."

"That doesn't mean we won't see each other again. I travel a hell of a lot."

They kissed, and they didn't care who stared.

Nick met Yun Lee at the dock. Yun Lee was a middle-aged man wearing a big straw hat, a long coolie coat, and pajamalike pants. He grinned stupidly and bowed. He had surprisingly intelligent eyes that seemed to ransack Nick's face as if to find out what type of man Nick was. He spoke a little English. There was a bundle under his arm.

It took an hour to get to Cheung Chau Island from Hong Kong by ferry. A British warship, trim and sleek, sailed across the bow of the ferry. Nick heard the water lapping at the sides of the ferry. The sky was lousy with stars. Nick wished it was all over.

The hour seemed like an eternity.

There were tourists on the ferry, on their way to visit the fishing village on the island. Nick envied them. The tourists. School teachers, businessmen and their wives, government employees — from all over the world to see Hong Kong, the exotic island, the enchanting island. On their vacation. They were interested only in having a good time.

And what the hell was wrong with that?

Nick knew he wouldn't change places with any one of the tourists on the ferry. He was doing what he wanted to do. Sure, he griped sometimes. Even the professional soldier sometimes griped. It was good for the soul. He lived in a dark world inhabited by dark people. Dark, evil people and that was inevitable. They made his world dark. And if it wasn't for the dark evil people he wouldn't be necessary. Maybe he should be grateful to them. They had helped create him. Nick Carter. N3. Killmaster. AXEman.

A breeze, shot with sea spray, cooled his face.

They were approaching the island. Another five minutes. Then the hunt would begin.

Five minutes… four minutes… three minutes.

The ferry docked, and Nick was alongside Yun Lee as the passengers disembarked. Though the streets were crowded, there wasn't the hustle and bustle one found in Hong Kong.

Yun Lee and Nick skirted the village and kept on going. Then Nick started to lag behind. Yun Lee looked back once, nodded his head at Nick and kept on going.

It was a deserted part of the island, and the village was far behind. It seemed that he and Yun Lee were alone in the world. There was no noise. Not even the sound of night birds or crickets. This part of the island was well lighted by moonlight. To Nick's left was the base of a low, sloping hill. He started for the hill, climbed it part way, and rounded it till he saw the house. He saw Yun Lee at the front door.

All he had to do was climb down, make for the back of the house, and confront Tulip. But he waited.

The front door opened and Yun Lee walked in.

It was cool and breezy and he felt a sixth sense telling him to wait… wait… wait…

The moon was low and full with a thousand stars for company.

How long did it take Yun Lee to deliver a bundle of supplies? It was almost five minutes. Was Tulip shooting the breeze with Yun Lee? Tulip spoke Chinese.

This was the time to go down and approach the house from the back. But something kept him rooted to the spot.

His hands felt clammy.

The door was opening. Yun Lee was leaving. The straw hat, the long coolie coat. Yun Lee seemed taller.

Nick drew the Luger from its holster. He started down the sloping hill He was near the base of it and Yun Lee was a few yards away, his back to Nick.

"Wait a minute," Nick called out.

Yun Lee spun around. But it wasn't Yun Lee. The moonlight was on his face. It was Tulip. And there was the gun. It jumped and barked.

Nick fired twice, and Tulip spun around, dropping his gun, his hands on his belly.

Nick ran toward the crumpling man. He saw Tulip hit the ground. Nick kicked at the gun Tulip had dropped. It sailed away and landed somewhere with a thud.

Nick knelt and saw Tulip's hands over his belly. The blood was oozing between his fingers.

Tulip grinned up at Nick, and then his face twisted in pain. His breathing came in tortured gasps. "I… knew you were going to… find me. Had to be you, Nick."

"Jimmy How crossed me."

"No. I knew… something was up. Yun Lee. His eyes. He looked at me… as if I was… already dead."

"Why did you turn double?"

Tulip's face was pasty-white in the moonlight. His voice was weak. "Money. Only live once, Nick. Might… as well live… good."

"Did you have to loll May?"

"She was… just a tramp. Did her a… favor."

"She loved you, Tulip."

"Sure. She… was weak. I wasn't… weak. I proved it Didn't I… Nick? I… proved it Had to prove it…"

"Tulip." Nick shook the man's shoulder. "Tulip. Can you hear me?" He saw the open glazed eyes. Tulip was dead. Dead on an island under the moonlight. Nick stood up and holstered the Luger.

"Sorry, Tulip," he said. "But I only played the cards you dealt me."