The Red Pole of Macau (21 page)

Song led the way down the side road, the truck going no faster than twenty kilometres an hour. Inside the SUV there wasn’t a sound. When Song got to the end of the road, he stopped and Ava’s heart leapt. Then the truck started moving again, hard to the right. To her it sounded like a freight train.

She eased the nose of her SUV into the open courtyard area. Song had already turned the truck to the left and was slowly rolling downhill. Then he braked and started to climb back, the truck straightening beautifully. She moved farther into the courtyard. He leaned out of his cab and stuck out his hand, giving the thumbs-up.

“Here we go, boys,” she said as she turned into the yard, Sonny on her tail.

She looked down at the house. The sun hadn’t entirely peaked yet. The house was still in shadows, and Ava couldn’t see a single light on inside.

The truck revved and lurched forward. Ava swung in behind. She looked at her speedometer as they headed for the gate. Forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty . . .

When the Volvo hit the gate, steel pipes flew in all directions. Song swung the truck hard to the left, braking madly. Ava drove straight towards the front door, Sonny now alongside.

She could hear the alarm inside the house before she got out of the car. The gate had been wired.
Fifteen seconds
, she thought.

Carlo ran at the door, the ram on his hip. He hit at the locks. Nothing. He hit it again. Nothing. Sonny leapt forward and grabbed the ram, moved back about five metres, and charged. The door cracked. He kicked it, and then kicked it again, until it fell back into the house.

Ava was the first one through the door, her eyes locked on the second floor in the direction of Lok’s bedroom. She saw him run out in jockey shorts and a white undershirt. She aimed her gun at him and yelled, “Don’t move!” She glanced quickly to the left, looking for Wu. His bedroom door was open but he was nowhere to be seen. Sonny swung his gun from side to side, his eyes searching, a worried look on his face.

Carlo and Andy and their men had charged into the house right behind them, fanning out into the lounge area, the men staying low, their guns trained on the door to the wing. Shots rang out, and she heard two screams.

Ava kept her gun on Lok. “Don’t move!” she yelled again, trying to be heard above the alarm.

He looked down at her, and then his eyes flicked to the left.

Ava turned in that direction and saw Wu standing in the kitchen doorway with a gun in his hand. Without thinking, she jumped left and low towards a brown couch, her instincts screaming that he would have to bring his hand across his body to shoot at her. She felt the bullet rip through her right thigh.

She hit the floor hard, her elbows and knees taking a beating and her thigh searing with pain. She couldn’t see Wu but she knew he would come for her. She crawled around the couch, staying low, trying to catch a view of the kitchen. The doorway inched into sight, but Wu wasn’t there. Then she saw a bare foot. The first bullet caught him square on the ankle bone. He collapsed, exposing his shin. She shot him again.

Sonny ran past her and she heard his Cobray fire three times.

She looked up. Lok was gone, his bedroom door closed.

Sonny came to her and said, “He caught you in the leg. You’re bleeding like hell.”

“Go talk to Carlo, find out what’s going on over there.”

“Let me look at your leg.”

“Sonny, talk to Carlo first.”

He looked down at her.

“Go,” she said.

She grabbed hold of the edge of the couch and pulled herself up. She reached for her waistband and slid her pants down. Her legs looked ridiculously pale in contrast to the brown couch and the blood that was running down her leg. “Shit,” she said. She glanced over to where Wu had been standing. Only the top half of his body was visible behind another couch. It lay in an expanding pool of blood that was seeping from a hole in his chest and from at least two bullet wounds to his head.

Sonny and Carlo came back in a rush and then retreated when they saw her leg. Ava had never felt so naked in her life. “How are you doing over there?” she said to Carlo.

“It’s under control. We shot two of them. One’s dead, the other half-dead. The rest of them ran back into the wing.”

“How many of them?”

“We saw five in total, so I guess there are three left.”

“Get the ram. I need you and Sonny to get Lok out of his room and to turn off that damn alarm. Then tell Andy to talk the rest of Lok’s people out of the wing. If they won’t come out, he’ll have to go in and get them.”

“You’ve been shot,” Carlo said.

“So?”

He paused. “I’ll go talk to Andy.”

Sonny stood over her. “You’re bleeding badly.”

“I don’t think it hit bone. Have a look.”

He bent to one knee, held her leg, and twisted it. “I think you’re right. It looks like it just hit flesh.”

“Go to the kitchen and see what you can find to wrap it.”

He left and she waited.
It’s gone well so far
, she told herself.

Carlo came back and said, “Andy will try to talk them out.”

“Ten minutes, no more. If they aren’t out in ten minutes, he goes in.”

“Okay, boss.”

She could see that Carlo was looking everywhere but at her. “I’m wearing underwear, for God’s sake,” she said as Sonny came back with some dishcloths.

“It’s all I could find,” he said.

“Wrap the leg,” she said.

He had to knot two of them together to get them completely around the leg. “Now what?” he said.

“I want you and Carlo to flush out Lok. Break down the door and get that fucker out of there. When you do, have him turn off the alarm,” she said. “Then handcuff him and come and get me.”

She sat back down on the couch, her naked leg stretched in front of her. She turned to watch Sonny and Carlo climb the stairs and walk along the mezzanine to Lok’s room. They flanked the door, Sonny rapping it with his knuckles and yelling at him to come out. They waited and then Sonny yelled again. She saw him nod at Carlo, and they moved together with the ram held between them. Then the door opened and Lok stood there in jeans and a Burberry shirt. Sonny reached for him, grabbing him by the shirt collar, and took him back into the room.

It took a minute for the alarm to stop its deafening screech.

Sonny bounded down the stairs and came over to Ava. “He’s cuffed.”

“I don’t think I can walk. You’ll have to carry me up.”

“Put your pants back on,” he said.

She stood up and bent over to reach for them, and the pain shot down her leg. It felt as if every nerve ending were on fire. She grimaced as she slid her pants back up.

“Better,” Sonny said.

“Now carry me.”

He picked her up, cradling her against his chest. As he climbed the stairs she could see Andy standing at the entrance to the wing, yelling. “You have five minutes to surrender,” he said. “If you come out with your hands over your heads, you live. If we have to come in and get you, we’ll be firing.” He waited and then repeated the same message.
Don’t be stupid
, she thought.
Come out.

Sonny and Carlo had put Lok on his bed, his wrist attached to the bedpost. Ava looked around the room. There was a big-screen television tucked into a corner with a floral-patterned easy chair in front of it. To the side there was a desk, covered in paper. Next to the door was a card table with four wooden chairs around it. “I’ll sit in the easy chair,” she said.

Sonny put her down as gently as he could, but there was no escaping the pain. “Put him on one of those wooden chairs and then turn it to face me,” she said.

Carlo undid the cuffs attached to the bed, grabbed Lok by the nape of his neck, shoved him over to the chair, and locked the cuffs to it.

Lok stared at her. There was an initial hint of confusion in his eyes that quickly turned to rage. Ava felt sweat gathering inside the balaclava, and she decided to peel it off. Carlo and Sonny followed suit. “You bitch,” Lok said.

“Where is Simon To?” she asked.

“You did all this for that stupid fucker?” Lok snapped.

“Where is he? You know there’s no point in not telling me.”

He stayed silent, glaring at her. “The room next door,” he finally said.

“Is it locked?”

“No.”

“Carlo, go check,” she said.

They waited, Sonny standing alongside Lok, aching for any excuse to do him harm. Lok kept his attention on Ava, who was trying to find a position that would minimize the pain in her thigh.

Carlo hurled himself back into Lok’s bedroom. “He’s there. Taped hand and foot, and he’s pissed himself more than once. Otherwise he’s fine.”

“Did you cut the tape?”

“Not yet.”

“Geez, Carlo, do it now.”

“Yes, boss.”

After Carlo left, Ava said to Lok, “Wu is dead, and your other men are either dead or will be if they don’t come out of their wing.”

“Fuck you,” he said.

“And the police aren’t coming.”

His face showed no reaction but she saw a shadow move across his eyes as he began to calculate the truth of her words. Then the rage in them returned, and she knew he didn’t believe her. “The alarm has been disconnected at the police station,” she said. “They have no idea we’re here. So no one is going to come to your rescue.”

He shook his head from side to side.

“I’ll tell you what,” Ava said. “We’ll wait another ten or fifteen minutes, or however long you want. The thing is, I want you to co-operate with me, and I think you’re smart enough to do that if you know help isn’t on the way. I mean, if it’s just you, me, and Sonny, alone and intimate for the next hour or so, you know you’re going to do what I want anyway. But I don’t want to waste time, and I don’t particularly want to watch Sonny crush your balls and cut off your cock.”

“Ava?”

She turned and looked at the door. Carlo had his arms around Simon To, helping him walk. To was shaking, tears running down his cheeks. His face was drawn, pale, fear still dancing in his eyes. Even from a distance she could smell him. “Hey, Simon,” she said.

Carlo started to lead him across the room to her chair. “Let’s not do this now,” Ava said. “Carlo, take him to the bathroom and put him in the shower. Then go to Wu’s room and get some clothes for him; they’re about the same size. And then take him downstairs to the kitchen and get him a glass of water or something. Wu is on the ground near there, so Simon, if you’re squeamish about dead bodies, close your eyes when you go past. We’ll come down when we’re finished here.”

As Carlo and Simon turned to go, Andy burst past them into the room. “They came out, all three of them. We’ve gone through the wing and that’s all there are.”

“Are they handcuffed?”

“We’re doing it now.”

“Tape their ankles and mouths as well.”

“Okay, boss.”

“And, Andy, one more thing. There’s an elderly couple in the middle bedroom on this floor. They’re servants. Get them to come out. Don’t be rough with them, but I still want them handcuffed and left with the others downstairs. Then you come back here.”

“How are you feeling?” Sonny asked when he saw her wince.

“Not bad, considering.”

“What are we going to do with him?”

She said to Lok, “I’ve got Simon, and now I want Simon’s money returned.”

“Fuck off.”

Ava checked her watch. “Ten minutes already and no police. How long does it normally take them to get here?”

Lok glared at her.

She heard crying in the hallway. Sonny stuck his head outside the door. “Andy has the servants,” he said.

“So that leaves you,” Ava said to Lok, and then turned to Sonny. “I have a pair of handcuffs in my jacket. Take them out and attach this asshole’s ankle to the chair leg. Then go downstairs to the kitchen and see what you can find in the way of utensils. A large, sharp serrated knife would be good, a meat cleaver even better. And see if you can find a hammer.” She smiled at Lok. “Andy is handy with a cleaver, and I’ve heard stories about how proficient Sonny is with a hammer.”

Lok didn’t resist as Sonny chained him.

“When you come back, bring Andy with you,” she said.

Lok watched the big man leave and then spat in Ava’s direction.

“I want the money,” Ava said.

“I don’t have it.”

“Bull.”

“I spent it.”

“Not all of it, you didn’t.”

“I don’t have it.”

“I don’t know why you guys always insist on doing things the hard way. I mean, I’m not stealing it from you or anything. It’s our money, and all I’m asking you to do is return it. If you think about it that way, it might be easier, you know. You need to get into the right frame of mind.”

“Fuck off.”

“That’s fifteen minutes now, and still no police,” Ava said, showing him her watch.

The house was so quiet now, she could hear the shower running in the bathroom next door.

“There’s no computer in here. Do you have one somewhere else?”

He shook his head.

“How do you do banking, then?”

He ignored her, and Ava began to contemplate just how she was going to get her hands on the money. If there wasn’t a computer, an online transfer was out of the question, and so were electronic instructions from Lok to the bank. She shifted in her chair again, the pain centred in her upper thigh now radiating downwards. Even resting the back of her knee against the chair was uncomfortable.
How the hell am I going to get back to Hong Kong?
she thought, and then caught herself. She had to get the money first, and then get out of the house. She’d worry about Hong Kong later.

Sonny entered the room with Andy at his heels. He carried two utensils: a meat cleaver and a stainless steel mallet. He laid them out on the table. “How do you want to start?” he asked Ava.

Ava pulled herself up from the chair, balancing on her good leg. “Hold my arm. I want to hop over to that desk,” she told him.

The pain was excruciating, and if the distance had been more than three hops she would have succumbed to being carried again. She sat down, her leg extended, and began opening desk drawers. She found the banking information in the bottom one. There was a stack of thick files, one for each of Lok’s businesses. She pulled out the Ma Shing Realty Corporation file and extracted the bank statements. They were from the Macau branch of the same bank Michael and Simon used. As of two weeks ago there had been more than HK$100 million in it. She opened other company files, looking for another $50 million. She found thirty of it in the Kwan Lok Entertainment Company and just over ten each in the Beautiful Lady Spa and Deluxe Spa. “I didn’t know whorehouses and massage parlours were so profitable,” she said.

“Fuck off,” Lok said.

The chequebooks for the companies were under the files. She put them on the desk.

“Andy, Lok says there isn’t a computer in the house. Have a quick look around and confirm that, will you?”

She twisted in the chair. “He might have to write some cheques, so whatever you do, don’t hurt his writing hand,” she said to Sonny.

“When do you want me to start?”

“We’ll wait until Andy comes back.”

She saw Lok glance at Sonny, and for the first time there was recognition in his eyes that she was serious. “Twenty minutes, and no police. I told you, we arranged to have the alarm disconnected,” she said.

Carlo stuck his head in the door, Simon standing behind him. “We’re heading downstairs.”

“Simon,” Ava called.

He took a couple of steps into the room. His face had already recovered some colour, and his eyes weren’t full of panic and confusion anymore. Wu’s clothes fit him badly; the jeans were so long he had rolled up the bottoms, and the blue San Miguel T-shirt was too tight. “You put a hundred and fifty million into this development, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought so. Okay, head downstairs and get a drink and make yourself something to eat.”

She began to think about Lok writing cheques. On the surface it wasn’t the best idea — one phone call and he could cancel them. Except if he was tied up, like everyone else in the house, he wouldn’t be in a position to make the call. How long could she count on that being the case? Maybe the whole day, maybe two days, maybe only an hour and a half? It was a complete gamble.

One thing she did know was the bank that everyone dealt with. That bank was on the hook for the 150 million, and if she could deposit the money today and instruct their branch manager to retire the loan, it would be very hard for Lok to undo that deed. One of the things Ava admired about Hong Kong banks was the way they looked after their own interests. If it came down to a choice between paying off a troubled loan and returning all the money to Lok, Ava had no trouble believing that the bank would stiff him.

Andy strolled into the room. “No computer anywhere.”

She leaned forward, the effort causing her to grimace. “I want you to write four cheques: one on the Ma Shing account for a hundred million, another from Kwan Lok for thirty million, and the other two for ten million each. Make all the cheques payable to the Millennium Food Group. And on the note line at the bottom I want you to write ‘repayment of monies advanced for Macau property investment.’”

He didn’t react immediately, and for Ava that was a positive sign. She could almost see his mind whirring as he thought about how fast he could cancel the cheques.

“I’m going to give you another minute and then I’m handing you over to Sonny,” she said.

He looked at Sonny and then at the hardware on the table. He had to know who Sonny was. And he had to know what Sonny was capable of.

“If I write those cheques, will that make us square?”

“Yeah, square, but I’m still going to leave you tied up like everyone else downstairs, and I need you to agree not to cancel those cheques.”

“I just want you and those idiots with the noodle shops out of my life.”

“Write the cheques, honour the cheques, and you’ll never hear from any of us again. Try to screw us over and we’ll be back. And next time Sonny won’t be just a threat — Sonny will be your reality.”

“Okay, I’ll write them,” he said.

“Undo the cuffs on his wrist and bring him here,” Ava said, pushing back from the desk to make room for Lok.

He shuffled over, dragging the chair with his ankle. He was close enough that she could smell a hint of baby powder, and when he lifted his arm to reach for a pen, she saw traces of it in his armpit.
How peculiar
, she thought.

“Make them out to the Millennium Food Group.”

“I know.”

She stood on her good leg, watching over his shoulder. He took his time, following her directions precisely. When he was done, she said, “Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it.”

Sonny stood to one side, his arms folded across his chest. “Andy, take Lok into the hallway for a minute. I need to talk to Ava,” he said.

Lok’s head jerked up. Sonny ignored him. “Take him out now. I’ll tell you when to come back.”

Andy took hold of the back of the chair and dragged it to the door while Lok struggled to keep up with it.

Sonny closed the door behind him. “We can’t leave Lok,” he said to Ava.

“I know.”

“We need to kill him.”

“I have been thinking about that.”

“And?”

“I don’t know what other choice we have.”

She was standing at the desk, her hand pressing down on it to support herself. She saw the determination in Sonny’s eyes. “I was thinking the same thing,” she said softly.

Sonny nodded. “I was hoping you’d see it that way. And this has nothing to do with those cheques. However this turned out today, he and Wu had to die. The other men downstairs don’t matter; they’ll forget about this as soon as they get out of here. But not those two. They’d come after us, and they have the money and the guts to succeed. I’m too old to have to worry about things like that.”

“I know.”

He walked over to the desk. “Do you want to sit?”

“No, I’m okay.”

He gave her a rare smile. “I’m relieved. I thought I was going to have to argue with you,” he said. “And I have to tell you that even if you’d disagreed with me, I was going to kill them anyway.”

Ava knew he was saying that for her benefit, trying to make her feel she really had no part in the decision. “How do we do it?” she asked.

“A bullet in the head is the quickest and surest way.”

“You’ll need to get my gun. I left it downstairs on the couch,” Ava said.

“No, no, I’ll do it,” Sonny said, reaching for her arm.

“There’s no way that’s going to happen,” she said, pulling back. “This is my job, my decision, and my responsibility. I know it has to be done, and I’ve decided I’m the one who’s going to do it. So, Sonny, please, go downstairs and get my gun.”

“Uncle always said you were tougher than any of us.”

“I don’t think of myself as being tough. I think of myself as being responsible.”

He backed away from her. “I’ll go downstairs and get it. Andy needs to handcuff both of Lok’s wrists. You don’t want him flailing about.”

Sonny left, and a moment later Andy was back in the room, pulling Lok with him. “Handcuff his wrists, both of them,” Ava said, and then turned to Lok. “We’ll leave you here for someone to find you. Hopefully it will take a day or two.”

He looked uncertain, and Ava wondered if he suspected what the real plan was. He had to, she decided. It was exactly what he would have done if their positions had been reversed. He struggled a bit as Andy cuffed him.

“Thanks, Andy. Now you can go downstairs and start getting our group ready to leave. We should be out of here in a few minutes.”

As soon as Andy walked out, Lok said to Ava, “Even if I get freed in the next few hours I’m not going to cancel those cheques, you know.”

“I believe you.”

“I mean it.”

They looked at one another, each trying to decide who was telling the bigger lie.

Sonny walked into the room, his Cobray in one hand, Ava’s Kahr in the other. He went to her and handed over the gun. “You’ll have to support me,” she said.

He slipped his arm around her waist and she put a hand on his shoulder. It was two hops to Lok, the pain getting worse now that the shock had begun to wear off.

Lok looked up at them, his eyes filled with fear. “We made a deal,” he said, his voice cracking.

“Sorry, it has to be this way,” Ava said, raising the gun and placing it against his temple.

“We made —”

She squeezed the trigger and then staggered back, shocked by the noise and by the explosion of blood. She fell against Sonny, her head against his chest. “Let’s get out of here,” he said, bending down to pick her up in his arms.

When they appeared at the top of the stairs, she saw Carlo and Andy and the other men below looking up at her. They had all heard the shot; they all knew what had happened. Simon stood in the kitchen entrance, his mouth wide open.

Sonny carried Ava down to the ground floor. The three men and the servants were sitting against the wall on the far left side, their hands cuffed behind them, ankles and mouths taped. Carlo had pulled the dead body behind a couch in the den. The guy who was wounded lay on the same couch. It looked like he had a bullet in his leg and another in his side. Carlo had cuffed him and taped his mouth but left his ankles free.

On the other side of the room was what was left of Wu. Ava saw that the body had stopped bleeding.

Ava was about to tell the men to gather their things when her phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket and saw May’s name on the call display. “We’re leaving the house now. We’ll see you in a couple of minutes,” Ava said.

“A police car’s just turned onto the road that leads to the house,” May said.

Ava felt sick, her stomach burning. “How many cars?”

“One.”

Ava looked at her watch. They had been in the house for almost half an hour, so this couldn’t be in response to the alarm. And they would have sent more than one car if they knew what was going down. This had to be a patrol vehicle doing a regular check, she reasoned. Not that it lessened the problem if they decided to come into the house. And why wouldn’t they, with the gate smashed in and the front door demolished?

“You have to reach General Feng, May. You have to get in touch with him and tell him to arrange to get that car the hell away from here.”

“Right away.”

“And then call me back.”

“How did things go?”

“May, call the General,” Ava shouted.

Sonny looked at her.

“A police car is coming,” she said.

“Shit.”

“Yeah, exactly. I’m sorry, Sonny, this wasn’t supposed to happen.”

He shrugged.

Andy was at the front door looking out onto the courtyard. “There’s a police car with two cops in it outside the gate, Ava.”

“I know,” she said.

“What are we going to do?”

“What are they doing?”

“Looking and talking. I don’t think they know what to make of it.”

“Have you seen them reach for their radio yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“Put me on the couch, please,” she said to Sonny. When she was settled, she said, “We need to buy some time.”

“What do you want to do?” Sonny asked.

“I think you should go outside and talk to them, Sonny. Tell them Mr. Lok had an incident during the night, but it’s over now and things are back to normal. Thank them for dropping by.”

“Will they believe that?”

“What else do you suggest?”

She could feel the tension in the room, every man’s imagination starting to run wild. She felt her own panic, and struggled to contain it. She had to stay calm, she told herself; at the very least she had to look calm. “Go, do the best you can,” she said.

He dropped his gun on the couch next to her and headed for the front door. Andy moved aside and then slid back to follow Sonny’s progress. “Tell me what’s going on,” Ava shouted to him.

“Sonny’s waving at them and he’s walking across the courtyard slowly. God, he’s got balls,” Andy said. “He’s reached the cops and is pointing back at the house. They’re listening . . . One of the cops is talking now and Sonny is doing the listening . . . They’re shaking hands, and Sonny is heading back.”

“Have the police left?”

“No, they’re still outside, and it looks like they’re arguing. One of them is pointing inside the vehicle.”