by Chan Ho-Kei
Once N had the list of names, his job was mostly done. He’d wanted to find the identities of all these victims in order to personally contact them and break the psychological hold Sze Chung-Nam had over them. In addition to suffering from Stockholm syndrome, they didn’t have enough information to take a step back and see the big picture. Many assumed that because they were doing escort work, asking the police for help would result in them getting arrested; others were afraid of being shamed by their families if their activities came to light. N simply had to refute Sze’s lies. He told them that there is no law in Hong Kong prohibiting women from offering sexual services, but anyone coercing prostitutes could be convicted under the vice laws. Being underage, these girls would be seen only as victims. Although he couldn’t do anything about the ones who were afraid of being found out by their friends, families, or lovers, N was confident that he could persuade most of them to come forward and help obtain revenge against Sze Chung-Nam. N was very good at inducing vengeful feelings in other people.
Earlier this day, just as Sze Chung-Nam’s evil deeds were being exposed on the GT Net home page, his six victims simultaneously received anonymous emails telling them that Sze would soon be arrested. N didn’t tell them about one another’s existence, only that he knew they were being threatened, and that stepping forward was the only way to escape their present suffering and also give Sze a good kicking. People are self-interested creatures. If they knew he would be convicted whether or not they spoke up, these girls might well have chosen to stay silent. Leading them to believe that they had only themselves to save could make even the weak among them grow strong. N knew they would all be replying to him later that day, and urging them all to visit their local police stations would be his final move in this protracted game of chess.
As N led Nga-Yee from the parking lot, through the alleyway, back to his run-down tenement building, he heaved a sigh of relief. For the last month, he’d been completely occupied with the cases of Violet To and Sze Chung-Nam, not to mention all the trouble Nga-Yee kept giving him. He’d wondered why he was putting himself through this, but it wasn’t his style to give up halfway, so he’d never considered abandoning either case. He did wish he was Satoshi, the true genius of the pair, who would have had more advanced ways of breaking into Sze’s phone. He’d witnessed his friend’s prowess at college. Satoshi could break into any platform in the shortest amount of time. He was as dexterous as a brain surgeon—one who could rewire the brain. That’s why Satoshi wasn’t just Szeto Wai’s business partner, but also his mentor. His guidance was the reason N had become a hacker.
God knows where Satoshi is right now, or what he’s doing.
When N said these words in the guise of Szeto Wai, he hadn’t been lying. He guessed that Satoshi, like himself, had grown tired of the moneyed world and was lying low in a small apartment in a big city somewhere, leading a life of freedom.
“Just leave these clothes out,” said N to Nga-Yee when they got to the fifth floor. “The cleaning lady will deal with them.”
“You mean Heung?”
“Oh, you’ve met? Yes, she comes twice a week and cleans every apartment except the one on the sixth floor.”
Now Nga-Yee understood. She’d been puzzled about why N’s pigsty of a home showed no sign of ever being tidied, despite having a cleaner every Wednesday and Saturday—who surely couldn’t just have been dealing with his bathroom and kitchen.
N went back upstairs, and Nga-Yee changed into the clothes she’d been wearing earlier. She hesitated over whether to remove her makeup, then caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and decided it didn’t go with her dowdy clothes. She wiped it all off.
After fifteen minutes, N returned, even more sloppily dressed than Nga-Yee. He was back in his T-shirt and tracksuit, and his hair was damp—he’d probably just washed it and hadn’t bothered with the blow-dryer, so it was sure to end up in his habitual bird’s nest. They went to the sixth-floor apartment, where N got himself a can of iced coffee from the fridge and sat at his desk.
“All right, Miss Au. Let’s talk about that five hundred grand you owe me,” he said, leaning back.
Nga-Yee swallowed and lowered herself into the chair across from him, sitting very straight.
“Let me ask you—” N absently started tidying the heaps of junk on the desk. “Did you stop to think how you would pay back the money?”
“Can I do it in installments? I can give you four thousand a month, so in ten years and five months I should have five hundred thousand …” She’d done the math, and if she pared her expenses to the bone, she could just about manage this.
“What about interest?”
She froze, but understood that this was a reasonable point. “Um—how about four thousand five hundred a month?”
“That’s chicken feed.” N pursed his lips. “I’m not a bank. Why should I let you pay by installments?”
“Then … I guess you’d better cut out one of my organs or take out a life insurance policy and have me die in a fake accident.” Nga-Yee had been worrying about these possibilities for a couple of days now.
“Attractive suggestions, but I’m not a gangster. I don’t do anything like that.”
“You told me I wouldn’t make a good enough prostitute—”
“You actually don’t have to worry about it. Just give me the five hundred grand you have coming to you.”
She stared at him, uncomprehending.
N picked a sheet of paper off his desk and handed it to her; it was a photocopy of a newspaper article. When she realized what it was, her heart flipped over, and a long-buried sorrow rose to the surface. DOCK WORKER DROWNED IN FORKLIFT ACCIDENT.
The headline might as well have been a needle piercing straight into her eyes. This was about her father, Au Fai, and was dated eleven years ago.
“Your family lost its sole source of income as a result.”
“Yes.” Nga-Yee was shaking, thinking of how hard their life had been, but also that her mom and sister were alive then. “My mother once said that there was a problem with red tape, and the insurance company refused to pay. My dad’s boss was kind enough to pay us a bit of compensation—”
“Kind my ass.” N was scowling. “That bastard cheated your mother.”
Nga-Yee’s head snapped up, and she stared at him in surprise.
“Your dad worked for Yu Hoi Shipping. His boss, Tang Chun-Hoi, was just a small-business owner, but later he landed a big government contract, and his company shot through the roof. He got some entrepreneur award last year.” N handed Nga-Yee a tablet computer showing Yu Hoi’s home page. “His rise was entirely due to underhanded tactics. After your father’s accident, he conspired with the insurance adjuster to push the responsibility onto your father. This preserved the company’s reputation and also saved the insurer a hefty payout—they would have had to keep paying your father’s salary for the next sixty months otherwise.”
“Conspired?” Nga-Yee’s jaw dropped.
“Your mother probably thought the boss would have sought out the highest possible payout for his employee. Pah—those people are vampires. Slave owners. To them, workers are like spare parts—you throw them out when you have no further use for them.” N paused a moment, then went on more calmly. “Your family ought to have received seven hundred thousand dollars in compensation. Even after you’ve paid me what you owe, there’ll still be a fair bit left over.”
“Can I still get the payout?”
“Of course not. It’s been more than a decade, and all the evidence will have disappeared by now.” N smirked. “But I want you to help me take down this Mr. Tang.”
“What?”
“I’m giving you a chance for revenge, that’s what. Your family’s misfortune can be avenged with your own hands. Isn’t that a good thing? Tang Chun-Hoi exploited so many workers, leaving them and their families unable to live with dignity while he grew fat on the money that should have been theirs. I heard he plans to buy off government
officials so he can rise even higher. Isn’t it time he suffers a little?”
There was a picture of Mr. Tang on the Yu Hoi website. He looked coarse despite his expensive suit, and his smile didn’t seem genuine. The photograph reeked of money.
“What … what are you going to do?”
“I haven’t come up with a plan yet. He’s made quite a few families suffer, though, so by the law of an eye for an eye, maybe his family should have a hard time too.” N grinned. “Is this case of interest to you? In the end, Mr. Tang’s one action ended up stealing your entire family from you. It makes sense that he should have to pay for it, don’t you agree?”
N’s words were stirring up so much rage in Nga-Yee, she almost agreed right away—then stopped herself, because this was a familiar feeling.
When the man at the Housing Authority made her furious, she’d decided to go after kidkit727 come hell or high water. She felt the same way now—hot blood rushing into her brain.
Just as N said when he was persuading her to seek revenge against Violet, she understood the reason for her anger and felt justified in seeking revenge. After what she’d been through in the last few days, though, she was starting to realize something else. There was no reason for her to reject N’s offer—it would solve her financial problems and win a measure of justice for her dead parents. Yet something deep inside told her that saying yes to N would mean losing more than she’d gain.
Nga-Yee thought of her mother—how she’d preferred a life of backbreaking work to relying on government handouts.
“No, I don’t want this case,” she mumbled.
“Are you sure, Miss Au?” said N, looking surprised. “If you’re worried about the danger, I promise I’m not going to put an amateur like you in charge of anything important.”
“No, that’s not why.” Now that she understood what was in her heart, Nga-Yee was able to look N firmly in the eye. “I don’t want to continue this cycle of revenge. I don’t forgive Mr. Tang, but I know if I say yes to this, I’ll be led farther and farther along this path. I don’t want to lose myself. I need to be true to who I am. I don’t care what you do to that bastard, but I’m not going to be part of it.”
N looked at her long and hard through narrowed eyes.
“As far as you’re concerned, Miss Au, this is the easiest job you could ask for.” N’s voice was ice-cold, reminding Nga-Yee of his tone when he was threatening the gangsters. “A delicate flower like you couldn’t cope with anything tougher.”
Seeing how stern he looked, Nga-Yee almost caved, but then she felt her mother’s presence. That day at the Cityview hotel, she’d allowed hatred to overwhelm her, choosing the path of revenge without considering what price she would have to pay. Now she would take responsibility for her decision.
“You’re wrong. Just give me a chance, and you’ll see that I can cope.”
Once again, N hadn’t expected this answer. He’d dealt with all sorts of nasty characters, but this client was rapidly becoming his most difficult. True, Nga-Yee wouldn’t have been much use on the Tang Chun-Hoi case, but he could be just as stubborn as she was, and he wasn’t going to take this on without the victim’s agreement. If he took on this sort of petty criminal on his own, he’d just be a busybody. N glared at Nga-Yee, his fingers drumming rhythmically on the desk, wondering if he should continue trying to persuade her or just give up.
“If you’re not going to work with me,” he said eventually, “I guess that leaves whoring yourself out.”
“I guess,” said Nga-Yee haplessly, taking a deep breath.
“Are you trying to punish yourself? You think you neglected your sister, so—”
“No. I’m doing this for myself. I don’t want to become a person I’d despise. Anyway, you’ve told me not to use Siu-Man as an excuse for my actions.”
N scratched his head. It wasn’t often that someone was able to throw his words back at him.
“Fine. I can see you’ve made up your mind.” He leaned back.
Nga-Yee sighed, bracing herself for what was to come.
N reached into his drawer and picked up a small object, which he tossed at Nga-Yee. She wasn’t prepared for this and barely managed to catch it. When she looked at her hand, it was a key.
“From next week, you’ll sweep this place every morning. Also, clean the bathroom twice a week and empty the trash. You don’t get Sundays or public holidays off.”
“Huh?” She stared at him in confusion.
“Those were simple instructions. Do you really need me to repeat them? From next week—”
“No, I meant … you want me to be your cleaner?”
“You think I’m sending you to walk the streets? You’re as flat as an ironing board.” He shot her a look. “Heung is always mixing up actual rubbish and the stuff I need—that’s why I don’t let her clean in here. I’ll give you a try. If I’m not happy with your work, I’ll consider hiring you out to a nightclub. You can clean their toilets.”
She didn’t mind his insults—but this was an unexpected development.
“And don’t bother saying anything about labor law or the minimum wage. I don’t believe in that stuff,” N went on. “I’ll pay you two thousand a month, about half of what a regular cleaner would get, so it will take you about twenty years to pay off the five hundred grand. And if I decide I need you to help me out on a case, you’ll have to do that too.”
“Twenty years?” Nga-Yee was alarmed.
“Not happy?”
“No, that’s fine.” Nga-Yee was good at housework, and it wouldn’t be too hard to clean a single apartment. “You said every morning—you want me to come here before work?”
“Correct.”
“Can I come some evenings instead? If I have the morning shift, public transport can be—”
“No bargaining,” he snapped. “I’m a night owl, I work late. Don’t want you getting in my way.”
“Understood.” There was no point pushing any further. She looked around the apartment again, working out how much time she’d have to spend cleaning it every day, and how much earlier she’d have to leave home as a result. Remembering how much effort it was the last time she tidied up here, she couldn’t help frowning. This might end up being even before the first MTR train. How was she supposed to get everything done before heading for the library?
“Fine. Have it your way.” N reached into the drawer and tossed her another key.
“What’s this?”
“The fourth-floor apartment. Third and fourth are empty anyway, you might as well live in one of them. That way you don’t need to worry about being late for work.” N pursed his lips, as if he found her intolerable. “If you’re coming all the way from Yuen Long or Tin Shui Wai, that’s an hour and a half. You might be so tired you’d throw away something important, and that’s just more trouble for me.”
“Yuen Long? But I—Oh!”
Now she remembered, this was the day she was supposed to hear from the Housing Authority about the apartment she’d be allocated in Tin Yuet Estate, Tin Shui Wai.
“But the rent—”
“Oh please. Apartments around here go for more than ten grand a month. If I charged you that, you’d never finish paying me back till your next life. If you can’t do something, don’t bring it up.”
Nga-Yee had no idea if this brusqueness was a front, or if he actually cared about nothing but having her clean his apartment more effectively. In any case, she was due to leave her Wun Wah House apartment soon and would have to start a new life. Looking at the keys in her hand, she thought about it for a while before nodding. She would accept this payment plan.
“Fine, that’s settled, then. All right, you can go now, I have things to do.” With that, N turned away and switched on his computer.
“Hang on, I have another question—”
“Now what?”
“Will Sze Chung-Nam confess to the police that he assaulted Siu-Man?”
“He’s not an idiot, so obviously
he’s not going to.”
“So Shiu Tak-Ping is still carrying the can for him.”
“Correct.”
“We’re the only ones who know the truth. Don’t you think we owe it to him to say something?”
“I know you think you’re being kind, Miss Au, but actually this is idiotic.” N looked at her disdainfully. “If Shiu Tak-Ping had stuck to his guns, I’d consider helping him. But he made the choice he thought would work out best for him and took the plea deal. People like that don’t deserve help.”
N took a swig of coffee. “If Shiu Tak-Ping hadn’t taken the deal, he might have been found not guilty, and Violet wouldn’t have been able to use that fake post to stir up all that trouble. Do you really want to help him?”
Nga-Yee hadn’t thought of that.
“Um … but if that happened, we’d never have found out that Siu-Man wrongly accused him.”
“Just give up,” sneered N. “Even if Sze Chung-Nam confessed right now and proved that your sister didn’t accuse the wrong guy on purpose, people on the internet are still going to say nasty things about how she sent an innocent man to jail.”
“No—hang on. Siu-Man didn’t even testify. And she wasn’t the one who pointed the finger—”
“You think people care about that online? If anything bad happens, they look for someone to blame right away.”
“Are people on the internet really so unreasonable?” Nga-Yee frowned. She didn’t understand.
“Not just people on the internet—people, period.” N shook his head. “The internet is a tool. It can’t make people or things good or evil, just like a knife can’t commit murder. It’s the person holding the knife—or maybe the evil thought animating the person with the knife. You talk about people on the internet as a way of avoiding reality. People are never willing to admit to the selfishness and desire hidden with our human nature. They always find something to use as a scapegoat.”