by James Dudley
“So now that you starred in the biggest film of the year and saved the greatest city in the world from getting blown up, what are you going to do?” Han asked.
“Maybe I’ll do some shopping,” Tommy said. “I promised my fiancée I’d buy her a cheongsam, and I haven’t done it yet.”
“Well anything you want to buy here, I’ll probably know a guy who can get it,” Han said.
“In all seriousness, do you know what you want to do next?” Tommy asked. “I mean career wise. If you’re serious about wanting to be in the movies, I’d be happy to show you around Hollywood. I happen to know a few people there.”
“I appreciate that,” said Han, “But for now, I’m planning to stay here in Hong Kong. This is all under the table, of course, but I’ve been offered a position as the new top smuggler for the CIA.”
Tommy smiled, relieved that after everything that had happened, his original mission for his country had been successful after all. Behind them, the glass doors swung open and Sir Alastair Thorncliffe walked outside, followed close behind by Richard Boothwyn and the Covington family.
“Listen up, everybody, we have a new telegraph just in from London, and I think you’ll all want to hear this,” Alastair announced. “The Prime Minister himself would like to thank Thomas Malloy and Han Tong for their services to the British Empire. A report has been sent to Buckingham Palace, and you can expect to receive a formal letter of recognition from the Queen.”
All the Britons present broke into applause, leaving Tommy feeling both flattered and a bit embarrassed. It was a lot to absorb for an Irish guy from South Philly. It was even more shocking for Han, for obvious reasons. They walked around the gathered circle, shaking all the necessary hands as they went.
“Well done, lad. It is an honor to host you in my residence,” Rupert Covington told him.
“Please feel free to stay here if you ever find yourself in Hong Kong again,” Eleanor Covington added.
Tommy appreciated the offer, noting that he very well may be coming back on a promotional tour once Hong Kong Harry hit the screens. Finally, he came face-to-face with Richard.
“Well Dick, I wish I could say it was great to see you again, but every time I see you, I seem to get shot at.”
“And yet here you are, unharmed. Perhaps I need your good luck with me more often,” Richard said. He raised his drink, “To the joss of the Irish.”
“I’ll drink to that,” said Tommy. He looked over at Millie, and then back to Richard. “Oh come on, you know we’ll all be together again at your wedding.”
As Tommy walked away to refill his drink, Millie spoke to Richard in a hushed tone, “It seems everybody is in on that plot except for us.”
“Yes,” said Richard, “About that…I mean, it’s just…we seem to work very well together…”
Millie paused for a few moments of contemplation before speaking, “You live in London, and I live here. That’s really all there is to say. For better or worse, we’re married to the service.”
“Right…yes…of course.”
She smiled and held up her drink. “Well then, to Queen, country, and Saint George?”
“Cheers,” said Richard. Another mission was in the books, and there would surely be many more to come.
Chapter 28
Sochi, USSR
A warm breeze blew over the beach from the Black Sea, providing the perfect touch to one of the few sunny places in an otherwise cold and unforgiving country. Outside of a beachfront dacha, the type of vacation home reserved for only the most influential of Party officials, General Kharlamov stood and waited. He was wearing his full dress uniform, with rows upon rows of medals and decorations above his chest pocket, and his stoic expression concealed his inner anxiety. He was moments away from the meeting that would determine his fate.
A young staff officer stepped outside and snapped a crisp salute. “They’re ready to see you now, General.”
Kharlamov returned the salute and followed the young officer inside. On the rear side of the dacha, there was a kitchen with a long wooden table, behind which sat the Director of the KGB, the Foreign Minister, and the Minister of Defense. They had arrived from Moscow separately and incognito, and they had questions that needed to be answered.
“General Kharlamov, I believe you know why we are here,” the KGB Director began. “For the past three years you have paid your dues in Siberia, until such time that that you could prove your trustworthiness. Then, you came to us with a rather outlandish mission proposal, which we nonetheless approved, out of respect for your professionalism. Now, you must inform us of the results of that mission.”
Kharlamov recounted the events since his crossing of the Chinese border, giving an account that he had rehearsed the nuances of many times.
“Thank you, General. Now, could you please explain to us how the interests of the Soviet Union were advanced by this mission?” the Foreign Minister asked.
Kharlamov had anticipated the question. “First, it is of the utmost importance that we prepare for a possible conflict with China. In that event, we have identified General Jiao-long Sheng as one of our most formidable opponents. He has now been removed from the equation, along with many of his best men. Moreover, we have secured our own position by identifying the officers in our ranks that were politically unreliable, luring them out into the open, and removing them from the equation as well.”
The three senior officials exchanged glances, seemingly impressed with the thoroughness with which he had planned out and executed his operation.
“If you’ll forgive me for saying so, it all seems a bit too convenient,” the Defense Minister said. “It looks like you set it up so you could have played either side, depending on who was winning. What if Sheng had been more successful? Would you and he be running Hong Kong now?”
“Sheng’s success was never a real possibility,” Kharlamov responded. “Sir Alastair Thorncliffe sniffed it out from the beginning, and it is an insult to his abilities to even entertain the possibility that he would not succeed in stopping it. But even so, I helped his people out along the way, just to be sure.”
The KGB Director scribbled down some notes and showed them to the other two officials, who nodded in agreement. “Well, General Kharlamov, it appears your mission was successful, and we thank you for your services to the Soviet Union. You have also hit on another important point; that Sir Alastair Thorncliffe is perhaps the most cunning and powerful enemy of our nation. Do you have a plan for dealing with him?”
“Of course I do,” said General Kharlamov. “But of course, you are going to have to restore me to my previous position if you want to see that plan carried out.”
The room fell silent. The old chess master could not have played his game any better.
Chapter 29
Los Angeles, California
Tommy looked out at the city from the back of his limousine, watching the sunset over the Hollywood Hills and their iconic lettered sign. L.A. would never be Philadelphia, as he often enjoyed reminding anybody who hadn’t yet gotten tired of listening to him, but he had to admit that his adopted home had its charms. While he believed it would never match his hometown in terms of history, culture, or food, there was still nothing like being in the City of Angels for a premiere night. On this particular night, the stars had come out for the exclusive world premiere of Hong Kong Harry.
Resting comfortably in the back seat, he reached inside the coat pocket of his tuxedo, confirming that the Saint Thomas medal and the Chuck Klein card were both there. Natalie sat next him, wearing a light blue cheongsam that he had eventually gotten around to purchasing for her before finally leaving Hong Kong. He wasn’t quite sure how their reunion was going to go after his stay in the colony was unexpectedly extended, but the knowing look she gave him when she picked him up at LAX said it all. As a former KGB officer, hiding secrets from her was an exercise in futility. She knew without having to ask that Tommy had once again gotten mixed up in the sort of intelligence gam
es that had led to their first meeting in Paris, and she was content not to pry about the details.
“Now, could please give me an honest opinion?” she asked as they rounded the final turn. “On the scale of all the films you’ve made, where does this one rank?”
Tommy thought it over, fighting through the obvious difficulty of evaluating one’s own works objectively. “Well in terms of the overall production value, it’s my biggest by far. In terms of screenplay, I’d probably rank it third, and you know what the top two are. Directing-wise it’s probably Louis’ best, and the soundtrack is definitely the best.”
“But what about your personal performance?”
“In terms of my performance, taking account everything that went into it…it was the best I’ve done since Paris.”
As the limo rolled to a stop in front of the theater, they exchanged a knowing smile before stepping out the door and onto the waiting red carpet. They were immediately met with a barrage of flashing bulbs as photographers crowded around them. Tommy’s eyes were still flashing green as he walked down the carpet, waving to and shaking hands with the eager fans who lined the police barricades on either side. At the end of the walk, he joined Louis, Tony, Donna, and Lars for a group photo. Above them, the marquee proclaimed “Tommy Malloy in Hong Kong Harry” in very bright colors.
“So you made it here on time after all,” Louis said with a sense of relief.
“We started taking bets, we thought you may have gotten shanghaied by foreign spies again,” said Tony.
“And now he owes me money,” added Donna.
After the photo call, the cast and crew began to mingle. Natalie walked over to talk to Lars, reminiscing about old days in Mother Russia. Louis quietly slipped into the theater, remarking that he getting too old for all this, which left the three leading stars outside to talk to the press. Before long, Tommy found himself cornered by a reporter from Variety.
“Mr. Malloy, what can we expect to see from this film?” the reporter asked.
“A little bit of everything,” Tommy responded. “Humor, excitement, epic sea battles, romance, exquisite scenery, and to give you a fair warning, you get to see me sing and dance.”
“What was it like filming in Hong Kong?”
“It was an incredible experience. Hong Kong is an amazing city with great people and so much character. Getting to film there was one of the highlights of my career.”
“This movie was a very large-scale production. Did you run into any unexpected difficulties during the filming?”
Tommy smiled to himself at that question. “No, not at all, everything went exactly as planned.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James Dudley is a massive fan of spy fiction and stand-up comedy who finally figured out a way to combine them. He attended Villanova University and served in the U.S. Navy. He is a native of Delaware and a Philadelphia sports fanatic.