White Gold

by Caitlin O'Connell

  I was certain that NNS was not a terrorist organization. But I couldn’t decide whether Dr. Xing actually believed that the NNS was a terrorist organization, or whether they had become an inconvenience that he needed to shut down because it was getting in the way of their illegal trade in endangered species. When I was invited to meet with Dr. Xing, Marcus warned me that not all members of the standing committee were aboveboard, but I had no information about where this one stood in terms of corruption.

  “If the opportunity were to arise”—Dr. Xing narrowed his eyes—“I’d like you to consider my request.”

  I noted a slight tone of threat to his voice. “I will certainly do so.”

  “Good.” He nodded. “Because it might be a little uncomfortable for your organization if the standing committee were to check into your activities and movements relative to the business visa you have been issued.”

  I tightened my throat to make sure my voice didn’t waver. “I’m not sure what you are getting at.”

  “I looked into your travel records. I see that you chartered a Cessna 182 out of Guangxi. You do realize that any information you may have collected from that flight was not legally obtained?”

  I couldn’t think of anything useful to say.

  “I am trying to ascertain if the tugboat with the HIN that you obtained during your flight was targeted and purposely sabotaged.” Dr. Xing took a sip of his tea and looked at me coolly. “It would have been an extraordinary stroke of luck to pick that particular tugboat with no information about its contents.” He raised his brow. “Perhaps you knew something about that particular boat prior to the unfortunate accident?”

  I didn’t even want to think about how he would have found out about my flight or the evidence that I obtained. Sam certainly didn’t know about it. And I knew that Craig wasn’t in question anymore. Who could have told him? “In my line of work, obtaining such information would seem like good police work and would minimize the ecoterrorism ‘mistakes’ that you are concerned about.”

  “You must be very careful, Ms. Sohon. You do not have the authority to conduct the kinds of meetings that you have been having on mainland China. We are watching you very closely now that your activities have been brought to our attention. We wouldn’t want another embarrassing international incident, would we?”

  “Of course not, sir,” I said with as much humility as I could conjure in my state of confusion. “I will review my assignments with my superiors within the Wildlife Investigation Agency and make sure that we have the proper approval for all of my future activities.”

  “I am very glad to hear this.”

  His servant approached Dr. Xing and signaled the time on his wristwatch.

  Dr. Xing stood up. “Now, if you’ll please excuse me, I have another appointment.”

  Sam and I both got up and shook his hand.

  “It was a pleasure meeting you, Dr. Xing,” I said as I looked him in the eye and gave him a firm handshake.

  “I am very pleased we had the chance to have this little discussion,” he said conspiringly. “I’m glad to see that we understand each other.”

  Given his ominous tone, I didn’t want to seem like I was in agreement about us understanding each other, so I just nodded and added, “It would be very good for our organization to stay in contact with you. That way, we can make sure that we are coordinating our efforts to shut down the illegal trade in wildlife.”

  “Most certainly.” Again he used such an ominous tone that he was not at all convincing. It seemed that his only goal in meeting with me was to threaten me. Was this what Nigel had in mind? All I could think about now was Ling-Ru’s safety.

  Releasing the Captor

  After saying goodbye to Dr. Xing, Sam and I walked back to Nigel’s limo in silence. As soon as Sam and I sat back down in the limo, Nigel looked at Sam expectantly. “And? Did she behave?” Nigel asked while still sipping his expensive wine.

  He nodded. “It’s not what you had thought.”

  “Oh?” Nigel said expectantly.

  “He’s not looking for a deal.”

  “What does he want, then?” Nigel searched Sam’s expression. I realized that Nigel couldn’t have been eavesdropping on the conversation or he would already have known.

  “Didn’t you hear for yourself?”

  Nigel shook his head. “There was a strange interference. Must have been a scrambler from inside his apartment.”

  Sam remained blank. “He wanted the U.S. to help him fight ecoterrorism.”

  “Ecoterrorism?” Nigel looked highly irritated.

  Sam stared at him, expressionless.

  The fact that Sam hadn’t mentioned the NNS made me wonder whose interests he was acting in. Why would he have a reason to protect the NNS?

  “I see,” Nigel said flatly.

  “Are we finished here?” Sam barked.

  Nigel signaled to a bodyguard who opened the door and got out. He went to the trunk and opened it. I watched through the rearview mirror as he grabbed a body, bound and gagged, out of the trunk and threw it onto the seat across from me.

  “Ling-Ru!” I leapt to her side and was immediately hit on the temple with the butt of a pistol and fell back into my seat.

  Nigel nodded at his bodyguard again, who untied the blindfold, allowing Ling-Ru and me to lock eyes.

  “Let her go!” I demanded as I held the side of my head.

  She shook her head with wild eyes, urging me not to play into Nigel’s hand.

  “She has nothing to do with this. I’m the threat, not her.”

  “You know how good the triads are with a knife,” Nigel said with great calm.

  “You can do what you want with me, but let her go,” I yelled. “She is innocent.”

  “Innocence is a tricky word.” He nodded to one of his bodyguards, who opened a switchblade against Ling-Ru’s neck. “But, I must say, your loyalty is touching.”

  Ling-Ru’s eyes pleaded with me again to stop pushing back.

  “And you know how easy it is for me to find anyone I please.”

  I thought back to my charred room at the Chungking Mansions and to Jin Jin and Li’s father and then the two men who Ling-Ru shot, as well as the Chinese fighter pilot, and I wondered how much of a role Nigel played in these events.

  “Murdering a quadriplegic is hardly a challenge.”

  “Yuan took care of that problem for me. But he had stolen a great deal from me. This is still unresolved.”

  “I understand that he won that money fair and square.”

  “His winning streak was highly irregular. Shame, I was counting on Jin Jin for a good confession.”

  “You staged his death, didn’t you?”

  He took another sip of his wine and smacked his lips.

  “Why did you kill him?”

  “Mr. Sung gave Jin Jin something that was rightfully mine.”

  “The nightingale.”

  “A very important nightingale. One of its kind. I had to make it clear we were serious.”

  “And that was Jin Jin’s wife at the market who wouldn’t give you the bird?”

  “So you were spying on me that night.” Nigel cast his eye in the direction of Ling-Ru. “Nice to get confirmation that my people are actually doing their job.”

  “What do you mean?” I looked at Ling-Ru in shock.

  “Such faith in old friends would be endearing if it weren’t so naive.”

  Suddenly, it all hit me. I thought back to all of the different scenarios Ling-Ru and I had been in and all the close calls, including the most recent where I let myself get sucked in to her lie about having premonitions. I looked at her in disgust. “Auntie Zong?” I spat. “You’re a terrible liar.”

  Nigel objected. “If you think about it, she’s rather a good liar, since you never suspected a thing. Starting with the fake rescue on Bird Street—I don’t know how you thought Ling-Ru could take on those two triad members on her own. That sure made an impression.”

  I
was about to object when I thought back to Ling-Ru’s drunken performance the other night where she dispatched with two men using a firearm before escorting me safely out of the building. I hadn’t actually seen her do any kung fu.

  “But I’ve grown tired of the pattern. Every time I plan for your removal, you have the uncanny ability to skirt death.” Nigel gripped Ling-Ru’s hair. “And I’m beginning to understand why.”

  Ling-Ru struggled against her restraints, her eyes pleading me for forgiveness.

  I studied my former roommate in shock. Why would she have agreed to place me in danger all of those times and then come to my rescue?

  Nigel laughed. “The world is a much smaller place than you imagined, Catherine. And much more rotten than your idealistic lens allows you to see.” He took out an antique-looking ivory-handled brush and started brushing Ling-Ru’s hair with it.

  I immediately recognized it as the brush that Craig had told me about—the one that Patrick was competing with Nigel to obtain. “What have you done with Craig?”

  “I hadn’t expected you to make the connection right away,” Nigel said, raising his brow, clearly impressed. “Craig is a little more forthcoming than I had expected.”

  I tried to stand up and hit my head on the interior of the limousine. “Where is he?”

  He calmly brushed Ling-Ru’s hair as she struggled to escape. His bodyguards held her in place, and Sam looked the other way. “You always seem to make that mistake.”

  “What mistake?” I spat.

  “Letting your emotions run ahead of the evidence.”

  “Don’t give me your bullshit. Where is Craig?”

  “He’s probably having tea with his tailor in Hong Kong, I suppose.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that I haven’t gone near him, but I wouldn’t hesitate.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the blue crumpled piece of paper.

  “Such a shame you didn’t get the chance to read to the end of the letter. I thought maybe I should read it for you.” He looked up and held the paper toward me. “Shall I?”

  I grimaced. I was sickened to see this evil man holding my letter from Jon. “Now that you have a hold over everyone I care about, what now?”

  “What’s the rush?” Nigel enjoyed watching me squirm. “I was just getting to the bit about Jon’s proposal.”

  I tried to grab the letter and he pulled it out of reach.

  “Just when one least expects it, nature has a remarkable way of advancing the plot.” Nigel smiled. “I suppose you’d prefer a more personal recounting of how your lover tried to propose.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “So you didn’t know?” He exhaled with great pleasure. “The man does tend to jump the gun, not unlike yourself.”

  He tossed the letter toward me and motioned for his bodyguard to open the door. He waved me and Sam out of the limo. “Drop your investigation and your friends will be safe,” he growled.

  I grabbed the letter. “And Ling-Ru?”

  Nigel instructed his bodyguard to toss Ling-Ru out.

  “Here you go.” He looked at Sam. “Unharmed as promised.”

  Nigel turned to me. “The world must seem so uncomplicated to the innocent mind—Africa is full of elephants; wildlife has a safe haven everywhere; and China actually has citizens who are true to their word. It probably hasn’t quite sunk in, has it? When threatened with the loss of a loved one, people do as they’re told. It’s that simple.”

  Nigel slammed the door and his expensive motorcade drove off, leaving the three of us in the street.

  Sam immediately pulled a small bugging device from under his shirt collar and crushed it on the sidewalk. He went to Ling-Ru and untied her.

  “Sam.” Ling-Ru threw her arms around him.

  I took a step back, shocked.

  “Thank God you’re okay.” Sam pulled her up to her feet and they kissed passionately, leaving me with my jaw agape.

  Forbidden Love

  I stood staring at Ling-Ru and Sam as if they were complete strangers. How could I have missed that they were lovers? And why did they want to keep their relationship hidden from me? I felt so betrayed.

  I watched how Ling-Ru’s and Sam’s hands clasped together and felt a sudden unexpected pang of jealousy as she reached for him with such familiarity—like they had been in love forever. It struck me that that’s exactly the kind of connection I was missing. I had had it with Sean before he died. I thought I had had it with Jon, but so much had happened in the short time I had been away from Namibia. And the miscarriage confused everything.

  I was upset with myself for feeling jealous. This was not my place. And I was not myself. “Ling-Ru, what’s going on?” My world had been completely turned on its head.

  “They were going to kill one of us if we didn’t comply,” Ling-Ru explained.

  “So you shared my every move with Nigel?”

  “Please try to understand.”

  “This is why I always seemed to arrive at the wrong time, isn’t it? Nigel knew about my flight with Jimmy, didn’t he? Marcus had thought Craig was the source of the leak.” I threw up my hands. “God, how could I have been so stupid?”

  “Catherine.”

  “How long has this been going on?”

  “Nigel found me at the hospital in Beijing. After Craig left, Nigel approached me and threatened to kill Sam if I didn’t do as he asked.”

  “And what about me? You thought it was okay to put me in all that danger?”

  “I agreed to do it because I thought I could protect you.”

  Sam interrupted, “She saved your life on a number of occasions.”

  I thought for a moment. “What about the tugboat? What really happened?”

  “Weiping sabotaged the boat before it entered the gulf, knowing it would break down before reaching the Pearl River. Jin Jin was waiting for it. When the crew abandoned the boat, Jin Jin had it towed to his dock. When the triad came to retrieve the boat, Jin Jin opened the grizzly bear and tiger cages, hoping to scare the triad away and buy him some time.”

  “Clearly that didn’t end well.”

  “Li doesn’t know exactly what happened, but there was a fight between the grizzly and the tiger, both mortally wounded. The triad killed Jin Jin and tried to make it seem like the tiger had killed him, and they put the tiger back in the boat to stop anyone from trying to break in while they went off to get another tugboat to tow it away.”

  “That’s when we arrived?”

  “Yes.”

  “And the diamonds?”

  “Li’s father had given Jin Jin his nightingale and his diamonds to stash in a safe place. Nigel was coming to collect the nightingale after they killed Jin Jin.”

  “That’s why I saw him trying to claim that nightingale on Bird Street?”

  Ling-Ru nodded.

  “But what’s the connection between the bird and the diamonds?”

  “Jin Jin had given the bird to his wife to keep at their stall. He must have given her the diamonds, too. And two things were happening that night. The KWD had invaded SHU territory, hence the fight that broke out. At the same time, as you know, the SHU thought that Li’s father was gaming the system and that his winnings rightfully belonged to them. And to cause trouble with Nigel, the SHU told him that his payout for his distributor’s ivory sales was being kept at Jin Jin’s stall, along with the nightingale. When Nigel came to collect it, Jin Jin’s family invoked their relationship with relatives within the KWD to protect them and the bird.”

  “Does this mean that Nigel has had a falling-out with the SHU?”

  “Apparently, they think he’s been too soft on you and think he’s lost perspective.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “That you should have been dead by now.”

  “And the Myanmar border? The plane crash?” My mind raced through a list of questions. “And wait, you fed me that banana flower. Why?”

 
“I had to distract you. I had to get you to the bathroom so you wouldn’t see me take out Nigel’s hit men. But, as you saw, that plan didn’t work.”

  “Nigel said you were no good at kung fu. What was that all about?”

  “I needed Nigel to think that.”

  “Why did you get so drunk?”

  “I had to. Nigel wouldn’t have believed that I got into a brawl and killed his hit men if I hadn’t been drunk.”

  “And those men at the restaurant that you called colleagues?”

  “I needed an alibi to witness that I did, in fact, have a lot to drink.”

  “And the parachute?”

  “I knew what they were planning. I couldn’t let that happen to you.”

  “Why were you protecting me?”

  “You have to ask?”

  “Yes, I have to ask.”

  “Because you’re my best friend.”

  “Best friends don’t betray each other.”

  “Catherine, I had to do this. It was the only way to save your life.”

  I stared at the tightly clasped hands of two lovers and threw up my hands. “Why did you tell me you had a Communist boyfriend?”

  “It’s true. I did. But that was long ago, and he betrayed me. And when he found out about Sam and me, he made sure to make life hell for us through Nigel.”

  “I don’t understand. Why didn’t you just run?”

  “Run where?”

  “Well, back to the States, for example?”

  “There was nothing for me there. I was on a student visa in the U.S. I couldn’t just start a new life there. Not that I’d want to without Sam.”

  “Why not with Sam, too? Surely with his skills he could set up a martial arts school in San Francisco.”

  “Again, it’s not that simple for us to get visas. And we are both marked. It wouldn’t be easy for us to disappear. They would find us.”

  “So, what now? We part ways and I lose my best friend?”

  “Catherine, I know how angry you must feel, and how betrayed, but you must believe that I was trying to keep you alive. And there is one thing left we can do.” Ling-Ru spoke quickly. “We can help you catch them at the Myanmar border. We know Nigel is making a transfer next week. Jet is willing to help us.”