The Noah Reid Action Thriller Series: Books 1-3 (plus special bonuses)

by Wesley Robert Lowe

  “Figured you’d say that. I’ve already talked to your school and you can come as long as you do an essay on ‘Shaolin Paradise.’”

  “You’re the man! That I’m already an expert on.” Sam fist-bumped Noah. Ever since he met the young American lawyer, Sam had been boning up on everything to do with the Shaolin, especially Hung Gar, Tiger and Crane style. He gave a quick demonstration of martial arts exercises, complete with sound effects. “Ooh. Ah! Haiyah!” He finished up in the Tiger position with claws poised for assault.

  “The Shaolin Paradise is more than fifteen hundred years old and is a leading center of Shaolin martial arts,” Sam intoned. “Noah, it would be a perfect spot for the Foundation to set up a gym. I’ve wanted to visit the place ever since I saw pictures of it on the net. C’mon, Noah, hurry up. We’ve got a boat to catch.”

  Chapter 14

  King was livid. He had found out that Noah had been giving his money to charities throughout Asia and North America and now the brash young lawyer was going to bask in extravagance on King’s nickel on a craft to Shanghai.

  Nor was that the end of it. Lisa had reached the end, something he wished weren’t so. She was still a world class herpetologist and incredibly exciting in the sack but, forty-five minutes ago, she uttered the three abominable words that no number of Kama Sutra positions could cure.

  I love you.

  King couldn’t and wouldn’t deal with that. Of course, he had to wait until her usefulness was over, hopefully a day or two at most.

  But first he had to deal with the Tao Princess. He called his pilot and then scheduled a trained team to meet him at a private airfield. He and the pilot took off on King’s helicopter. Scant minutes later, twenty miles off the coast of Guangdong, he saw his destination: an old cargo ship. It looked like a thousand other vessels carrying goods from China for distribution at any of the big box retailers in the United States, except this ship’s cargo was much more valuable than $19.99 coffee makers or two-dollar tee shirts. It carried humans, each one worth a hundred grand to him over the next ten years.

  That made the old boat’s captain, Cheryl Lin, a most valuable part of King’s enterprise. She needed to make sure that the almost three hundred passengers crammed below deck stayed alive… and hidden. To maximize profit, every member of the human cargo had to be ready to work almost from the time they got off the ship, not the easiest thing to do when they were being transported at the cheapest possible price.

  It wasn’t that King couldn’t spend more on his willing captives’ lives to make them more comfortable. But, if he did, the transportees might get the idea that the snakehead boss was soft. That would make for problems down the line if the grimy illegal immigrants decided to try to escape their “voluntary” bondage.

  It was better to keep them in fear for their own existence and the lives of their families left in China. Control was a lot easier that way, and neophyte Captain Cheryl wanted to ensure her passengers knew that.

  One trait she had that impressed King was her sharpened sense of everything around her.

  That included the sound of the chopper off in the distance. She didn’t know that King had a helicopter and her first thought was that the helicopter belonged to a government authority that managed to discover their existence and destination. She wasn’t worried about being shut down because she knew that whoever was in the flying bird was only hoping to line their pockets with cash. It was a pain in the ass because the cost always decreased the profit from the bottom line. And King’s bottom line affected her bottom line because she was in for a percentage, not a salary.

  With vibrations shaking her vessel, chagrin changed to unease, which changed to surprise when the aircraft turned out to be an old military grade AgustaWestland helicopter. When the bird expertly landed on deck, surprise changed to amazement.

  King stepped onboard and announced, “Hello, Cheryl. I’ve got a new job for you.”

  One hour later, the helicopter dropped a huge tarp over the Tao Princess. The vessel was too big to be docked in the main part of Hong Kong’s Aberdeen Harbor so, like other large private boats, it was parked far from the minions toward the open sea. From a distance, people spotting the helicopter shook their heads. It was yet another example of the crazy things people who have too much money did.

  A very sleek twenty-five-foot light metal craft, the Ever Ready, carrying Cheryl and eight of her crew, approached the luxury yacht from the opposite direction. No one paid it any mind because boats like these were always ferrying supplies to the pampered so-called elite on the big boats. Arriving, the crew quietly lifted the tarp and entered underneath.

  Onboard, the crew of the Tao Princess was confused. The captain ran to his cabin and changed the marine radio to Channel 16 VHF, the international distress frequency. Before he could say a word, a lightning hand chop delivered a vicious chop across his windpipe, stopping the words before they left his throat.

  A swift kick to the groin caused him to buckle over. Raw strength with a double uppercut to his jaw shot him toward the ceiling. Two rib-breaking hammer throws at his chest sent him tumbling to the floor.

  In his final moments of life, he glared up at his assailant. Unfortunately, all he saw was a pair of boots coming down hard on his head. If he had been able to see anything else, he would have seen the enchanting hazel eyes of former Olympian and beauty queen Captain Cheryl Lin.

  On the rest of the ship, the other members of the Tao Princess’s crew were just as easily dispatched. While they were experts at kowtowing to the uber-wealthy, knowing how to disarm trained killers was not part of their job description.

  One of them foolishly reached for a gun in his pocket. Before his hand could close on the grip, a whirling, speeding martial arts throwing star severed his jugular.

  Another dummy pulled the axe out of the fire extinguisher box. A double flying leap at his neck paralyzed him instantly.

  Some of the Tao Princess’s staff hoped that by giving up without a fight they might be spared. Not a chance. When they put up their hands in surrender, it just made for easy kills. Sharp knives made accurately placed incisions to hearts and heads. No guns were used; no noise was made. The tarp muffled any sounds made by the victims. Within seven minutes, the Tao’s entire crew was dead.

  There was a furious rush for clean-up and disposal. Bodies were doused with fish fertilizer, then bound together. After attaching a two hundred-pound weight to the aggregation of dead crew members, Cheryl’s henchmen tossed the body bundle overboard. The crabs and other scavenger sea life would have a special feast that night.

  Several of the new crew used fire hoses to spray water to rid the deck of the pools of blood, while rags and mops cleaned up the splatter on the ship’s walls.

  With the Tao Princess restored to mint condition, the enemy team rushed to staterooms for personal clean up. They changed into new uniforms of waterproof tan cargo shorts and short-sleeved white micro-fiber golf shirts.

  The entire operation took less than half an hour. The AgustaWestland returned and dropped a huge hook to pull the tarp off the boat.

  From a mile away, the neighbors glanced over to see the captain and crew busy preparing the boat again for departure. No one noticed that the captain was now a younger woman and not a middle-aged man.

  While things were going to plan, King hated relying on others to do his work, even when they had repeatedly proven themselves. However, he felt he had no choice. If he showed his face to either Wu or Noah, he would be instantly recognized as the son of Chin. No amount of Hollywood makeup or latex fakery could ever hide that. He was safe for now because both Master Wu and Noah thought his father was dead, but it was only a matter of time before they found out. When they did, neither would ever release any information about the whereabouts of the funds.

  He was juggling cautiously and playing a delicate balancing act. Neither Lisa nor Cheryl knew each other nor that the other was involved in the enterprise. They definitely didn’t know he was sleepi
ng with them both.

  A further complication was that, even if either woman was successful in carrying out her individual task, success of the mission was not guaranteed.

  Lisa’s job was to bring Master Wu to the verge of death. She would then save him, which would ingratiate Noah to her. The hope was that she would gain his confidence and thus be able to find out where Master Wu had hidden the funds. The problem was that Lisa’s most recent new poison was unstable and unpredictable. It could just as easily kill Master Wu. Then Noah would clam up. Or Noah might notice that the treatment she gave Master Wu was not normal and grow suspicious. Or Noah might be thankful, but still not want to open up on anything about the missing funds.

  Cheryl’s job was simpler. There was shortly going to be an opportunity for her to save Master Wu and Noah from a “huge problem.” King hoped that would allow her to gain Noah’s favor and that she would become Noah’s confidante. Or she might not.

  He knew that, in either case, he would only have one surviving mistress and maybe none. Not a terribly big deal personally—sex is sex is sex. It was a natural physical act. Professional considerations were another matter. Both of them were tops in their fields and dedicated to him. It would not be easy to replace one or both of them, but the potential reward was very high. Anyone could do the math.

  The bigger issue was that, for success to happen, King was going to need a little luck or bad judgment on Noah’s part. To a control freak like King, having to rely on something other than himself was anathema. However, given the circumstances, he felt these were the best options.

  The next phase was something that the normally always active King hated to do: he had to wait. It was too risky to act until the Tao Princess passed Taiwan and that might take up to a day, depending on ocean currents and the weather.

  Thank the gods for his snakes. At least their behavior was predictable and reliable.

  Chapter 15

  From the wharf, the awaiting passengers saw a sleek metal skiff, the Ever Ready, docking with two uniformed crewmen. Two hours ago, they were rough seamen aboard Cheryl’s tramp steamer but now they looked the perfect attendants to pamper well-heeled passengers.

  “Well, Mr. Reid,” greeted Harry, the taller man. “I’m Harry and on behalf of the entire crew of the Tao Princess, we are here to ensure that your trip to Shanghai will be an unforgettably delightful experience.”

  Before Noah could respond, Sam jumped in. “Hey, Harry, can I drive?”

  “Do you have a marine license?” asked Harry with mock severity.

  “I…” fumbled Sam.

  “No, he doesn’t,” answered Noah.

  “It’s okay. Neither do I,” said Harry.

  “You’re awesome, man!” yelped the delighted teen. He scrambled onboard while Harry, the other seaman and Noah lifted Master Wu’s stretcher onboard.

  Noah saw Sam taking control of guiding the boat. The teenager’s eyes lit up as Harry showed him the vessel’s operation.

  Sam’s excitement was infectious. “This is what the Chad Huang Foundation is all about, Noah. Sunshine, fancy boat… This is the life.”

  Noah inhaled the crisp ocean air. He could feel the knots in his back and neck unwinding. The stresses of the last few months, losing Chad and now Olivia had taken its toll. He nodded, “I could get used to this.”

  “What do you think, Noah?” crowed Sam, donning a captain’s cap.

  “I think we are going to have a great trip to Shanghai,” grinned Noah as he gave Sam the thumbs up.

  Resisting the urge to slam the water, it took Sam twenty minutes to reach the Tao Princess. Looking at the crew, Noah saw an attractive woman with a captain’s uniform but wondered where the promised Captain Andrew McIntyre was.

  The Ever Ready sidled up to its mother ship. Four of the mariners carried Master Wu onto the ship. Everyone was so pre-occupied with Master Wu’s safety that no one noticed that Lisa discreetly dropped a small piece of luggage belonging to Dr. Tang overboard.

  “Welcome aboard, Mr. Reid,” greeted Cheryl with a salute. “I’m Captain Cheryl Lin and I’ll be responsible for your trip to Shanghai.”

  “Oh,” Noah grimaced. He had been told McIntyre was “the best” and hated not being informed of the change.

  Noting Noah’s face, Cheryl continued, “I’m sorry that your original skipper got suddenly ill. I got called to replace him just an hour ago. If you’d prefer to have someone more experienced, we can have someone here by tomorrow morning.”

  Dr. Tang jumped in. “That’s too long, Noah. I don’t want to keep moving Master Wu.”

  “Yeah, Noah. We’re good to go. Besides, you said it’s only going to be a day and a half. It’s going to be good,” pleaded Sam.

  Noah wanted to pull the plug but looked to Master Wu for his opinion.

  “We should go now, Noah. It will be okay,” croaked the sifu.

  Noah ignored his prickling hairs and turned to Cheryl. “Thanks very much for filling in. When can we leave, and are there any other changes we should know about?”

  Cheryl shook her head. “There will be no more changes and we can leave right away. Please make this ship your home for the next two days. We’ve tried to anticipate your every need but, if there’s anything else, I will do my best to accommodate, Mr. Reid.”

  “As long as we all get to Shanghai safely, we’ll be happy campers,” said Noah. “And please call me Noah.”

  “Of course. Now excuse me. We’ll leave in just a few moments.” She turned and left for the bridge.

  While Dr. Tang and Lisa got Master Wu settled in a hospital quality bed on the sunlight-bathed upper deck, Noah accompanied Sam in exploring the three-level sixty million dollar super yacht.

  While the extravagance meant little to Noah, Sam delighted in the ship’s opulence. But after a few moments, he whined, “What a waste. Here we are, spending a fortune to get Master Wu to Shanghai, we’ve got a boatful of people waiting to give us the best booze, food and women that money can buy, and we’re not going to use any of it. Except for you and me, everyone’s a vegetarian and doesn’t touch alcohol. I mean, how expensive is it to feed everyone rabbit food and water?”

  “Don’t worry. Be happy. Que sera, sera!” said Noah, quoting from a couple of moldy oldies tunes.

  “C’mon, Noah. Don’t be a killjoy. Live a bit! And, anyway, Blondie likes you.” Sam smirked lecherously, thinking of the dyed-blonde Captain Cheryl whose sexy curves couldn’t be hidden, even under her black-and-white captain’s uniform.

  “I’m going to be a monk just like Master Wu. You wanna give me a haircut?”

  “Noah, time to get real. Olivia’s ancient history and you’re single. Have some fun,” chastised Sam.

  “Fun isn’t in my vocabulary anymore.”

  Cheryl’s parents and Chin had a relationship that pre-dated the births of either Cheryl or King. Thirty years ago, Chin smuggled them to America on a ship much like the one Cheryl now captained. Her parents had made Chin over fifty thousand dollars by the time he released them from years of indenture. Unlike most of the illegals that Chin brought over, he arranged for something that flabbergasted all that knew him—he arranged for them to get green cards and, for Cheryl, American citizenship. Of course, he had an ulterior motive. At a young age, Chin spotted Cheryl’s exceptional grace and flexibility and was certain someday she would be useful. He paid for her private gymnastics coaching, a field where she blossomed.

  By the time the teenaged Cheryl made it to the American Olympic team, she was one of Chin’s regular mistresses. She wasn’t a medalist but did make it to the top ten. She retired from competition to perform with Cirque du Soleil in Macau before a tumble from fifty feet in the air broke her back. Rehab took the better part of a year. While her mobility and flexibility returned, she was in constant pain. When none of the regular painkillers worked, Chin suggested she try the snake medications that King was working on.

  Within half an hour of meeting him, King became the second person i
n the family to experience her acrobatic ability. Neither King nor she was sure whether or not Chin planned her ‘succession’ from father to son, but she was ambitious, dangerous, and gorgeous, a combination that made her attractive to King for more than an hour’s entertainment. King was starting to establish himself as a snakehead, and she wanted in on the business. At that time, he didn’t have his own ship, but rented excess cargo space from other shipping companies that were willing to turn a blind eye in exchange for easy profits.

  To build street cred, Cheryl worked as a deckhand and “immigrant handler” for King and any other snakehead willing to give her a chance.

  Commanding the respect of some of the toughest scum in the world wasn’t an easy task, but Cheryl proved herself and grew along with King. No longer content to rent out cargo space, King bought his own tramp freighter and brought Cheryl on to run it. It was a cheap ship but more than ample to carry its prime merchandise.

  That was what made King’s demand for her to go to the Tao Princess so strange. Cheryl knew King was stretching himself financially, so for him to take her away from the profitable cargo of desperate illegals to play nurse to a sick sifu and his sidekicks seemed bizarre.

  She soon got her answer when she arrived on the bridge and sent King a terse text message. On the way. I’m alone.

  Seconds later, King replied. Noah and Master Wu have taken control of a large part of my inheritance. Find it. Attack the soul and the body will die.

  Pulling away from Hong Kong, Noah saw a few Chinese junks full of gawkers as the Tao Princess traversed toward the open sea. He rubbed his hand through his hair as memories flooded back. When he was a boy, Noah loved to go down to Aberdeen to watch these flat-bottomed vessels with their horizontal sails. As a young Caucasian boy who spoke Chinese, Noah was a special curiosity to the families on the ships, and he always got invited for a free meal somewhere. The fare was delicious, usually freshly caught fish less than an hour old with rice and vegetables grown right on the ship.