Chapter Ten
Everyone left Le Freeport within five minutes, except Clarity, Elsie Chu, and Shalia Owell. The wife of Dao Bin began arguing with Shalia Owell about the call from Infocomm. Clarity put her hands in her pocket, and realized she had the decryptor on her. Somewhat uncomfortable, she realized that she didn't want Infocomm to find it on her.
"I have to go to the bathroom," she said. Clarity ran through several corridors, finding the valuable deposit area. She went into the bathroom and turned on the decryptor. The phone number of Wen Jhi was not appearing, only the one belonging to his daughter Xiaolu was showing up. The list of contacts belonging to the Jade Dragon Society had been erased, wirelessly. Clarity spoke to Xiaolu, prompting her for a suggestion, given the pursuit of Infocomm.
"Hide it, hide the decryptor in the deposit box, with the charts of Chang, turn it off," she said. Clarity followed the suggestion, and got out of the washroom, after turning off the decryptor, not really understanding why everything was being rushed by Xiaolu. She ran into the inspector in charge of valuables and began speaking with him.
"I'm with Elsie Chu, the wife of billionaire Dao Bin. I have to put something in her deposit box." The inspector nodded.
"Hold on a second."
A few minutes later, he came back, holding a master key. Clarity placed her decryptor in the box holding the charts given by Chang and sighed with relief. The inspector left the room and she gathered her thoughts a few seconds before opening the door carefully. She closed the door of the valuables vault and came face to face with Kishin, who was followed by a team from the Information Authority, lawyers specializing in the Telecommunications Act, and specialists involved with the Electronic Transactions Act, which covered such things as digital signatures and electronic records, and other matters like intellectual property rights.
"Miss Nice?"
"It's me."
"Do you own a license to operate wireless data in Singapore?"
"No, I wasn't aware that you needed any kind of permit to call on your cell phone."
Two guards wearing the badge of the Singapore Authority, Integrity, Service, and Excellence, came forward and prevented Clarity from walking towards the exit.
"I'm afraid we're going to have to keep you under arrest, Miss Nice."
"Under arrest? This is not possible, I haven't committed any crime."
The security guards surrounded Clarity and began to call the inspector of the facility.
"We have indications that you carry a wireless device which is interfering with communications, both corporate and private." Clarity knew Kishin was talking about the decryptor. She thanked herself for having placed the device made by the monks in the safe deposit box of Elsie Chu.
"Papers." Clarity took out the only piece of id on her, her brand new Singapore passport.
"Page two is particularly relevant," she said. She hoped the paragraph acknowledging her diplomatic status would work again.
"I'm going to examine this passport closer," said Kishin. "It's very recent, no regular citizen of Singapore gets this type of passport with such broad diplomatic status granted. How did you get it?" Clarity felt uncomfortable for the first time, thinking of jail.
"It was granted to me."
"By who?"
"Singapore customs." Kishin was not convinced. He turned to the employee of Malka-Avit.
"Where can we place her under arrest?" Asked the Infocomm official.
The inspector of diamonds and bullion at Malka-Avit wasn't very comfortable with Kishin's visit, or with his procedure. But discretion and the business came first. He didn't want any client to know of any problems with Infocomm, much less letting them think that Malka-Avit had issues with the all-powerful Info-communications authority of Singapore. And he certainly would not violate the privacy and confidentiality agreement of those putting valuables in the deposit boxes. That would lead to losing both customers and the legitimacy of their valuable storage business. He led the group to a private viewing Suite, an elegant showroom decorated with modern furniture and a white shelf, used to show, handle, and trade valuables from art collectors, dealers, art houses, auction societies, banks, and museums.
"She can be held here. This room is within our high-security storage zone. It's completely secure."
A team of dispatchers hired by Infocomm came to Le Freeport the following day. They were searching for the containers, who were not in any of the vaults of Malka-Avit. After being fed a simple breakfast of nasi goreng, rice with peas and some pork stripes, Clarity received the visit of Kishin.
"I want to see my lawyer," said Clarity, "and Elsie Chu". She ventured further.
"I'd like my passport back."
"Your passport may not be returned. Elsie Chu is not here, she left with Shalia Owell. Where are the containers? The Lanthanides belonging to Owells and Owell."
"I don't know what you're saying," said Clarity. She certainly wasn't taking the blame for what everyone else was covetting or hiding or stealing. Kishin took a call from one of his guards. He turned to Clarity.
"Your friend is here. Maybe she can tell you to be reasonable."
Shalia Owell came inside the room, holding her 88 Tauri smartphone. Her father and the whole board of Directors of Owens & Owell had received permission from the control tower of Changi and were about to depart for Bangkok, where the firm had some real estate properties, hotels including the Anantara Bangkok Riverside, a five star known for its eleven restaurants and palm-surrounded pool, and a resort, the Viangviman luxury area in the province of Krabi.
"I can get you a lawyer," she said. Clarity said nothing, but was ready to pull out all the strands of blond hair of the wealthy seat holder of the conglomerate.
"Get me a lawyer then. I know you got involved with this. I just know it."
"I need some information from you."
"Madame Wa asked you to see me." Shalia nodded, showing an enigmatic smirk.
"We want to know the location of the facility where the monks are building their version of the health phone." This was news to Clarity.
"How do you know they're making a health phone?"
"They got part of the rare earth metals shipment, those are used to make smartphones. I checked with Herbaline. The Enlightened Dragon Society members are specialists of emotion, and health in general. Professor Chang knows they operate here in Singapore, they're assembling all they need to build a health phone in a plant. That location is in your decryptor." Another new piece of information. Clarity felt less and less supported by those who had provided her Singapore passport.
"I don't have the decryptor with me."
"No lawyer then. I'm trying to ship you back to the U.S." Clarity thought things could not possibly get worse than they were.
"What do you mean, ship me back?"
"I got a full report on you from our intelligence agency. Strategic Insights found out that you have matters pending at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas with a surveillance center there. And that you have been accused of the theft of Federal Bonds. If Kishin agrees, I'll put you on a cargo plane to Las Vegas with accusation charges and a full file from Infocomm, relating you to the theft of these valuable containers and to Herbaline, which is under investigation in the U.S."
"You wouldn't do that."
"Oh, yes, I would." One of the guards guarding the cell of Clarity came into the room to tell Shalia Owell her visit was finished.
"Ciao baby. I'll make a monument for you as a new valuable item of Singapore. Then, I'll ship you to the U.S. as a gift from Singapore to the city of Las Vegas." Shalia Owell closed the door and Clarity sighed with relief. At least, the decryptor was safe. Kishin came back into the room, after one of the guards gave her a cold roast beef sandwich and some water.
"We can make a deal with you," he said. Clarity raised her eyebrows. She wanted to leave Le Freeport, before one of the dispatchers put her in a wine storage box, ready for shipment to Las Vegas.
"Infocomm is ready to let
you go freely, if you provide us with information on the health phone project, or the members of the Enlightened Dragon Society. The Ministry of Health and the cabinet of the President has given instructions to clarify this matter."
"What have you found on Dao Bin?"
"We can't figure out his corporate structure, or the way he moves money, we keep getting wireless interference. There was a large wire transfer coming from China that came into a bank here in Singapore. Dao Bin has a network of more than three hundred suppliers used to assemble his smartphone, the King Talker. We think one of them is being used to channel the money for the health phone."
"The money is going back to China," said Clarity, "that's where the project is taking place. And it's esoteric in nature, not only industrial or commercial."
"Then tell us where it's going to take place." A security guard knocked on the door and came into the room.
"Mrs. Elsie Chu is here. She says she's here to pick up Miss Nice."
"Keep us informed," said Kishin, "we've filed you as potential persona non grata in Singapore. When that request, which I've made personally, goes through, you'll be thrown out of Singapore, without your passport." He handed her her passport and left the room, letting Elsie Chu inside.
"Come with me. I told Infocomm you were with me. They accepted to let you go because I'm the wife of Dao Bin."
Clarity did not mention where she'd hidden the decryptor, and thanked the doyenne for requesting her freedom. They left the Malka-Avit building and walked to the parking area. Elsie Chu opened the passenger door of her Audi to Clarity.
"We got you out, fortunately." She took a call from Olivia Chai, who began speaking with a voice not completely calm.
"I'm narrowing down where the monks are operating. The decryptor file is pointing to a list of industrial parks in Singapore. I'm checking my contacts to see if they noticed anything out of the ordinary in the locations or if there is a plant which may be used to assemble something like a smartphone. Everything is ready for the party, by the way. The gardners are cutting the grass and adding a touch of tropical flora to the terrace."
Clarity wondered whether Elsie Chu had traced the decryptor wireless signal using her ring. She dismissed the thought, thinking that the wife of the billionaire was the only actual person who showed support for her. She didn't dare ask her about the valuables in the deposit box. The Audi A8 stopped at a Mcdonald's drive thru on Ang Mo Kio Road. The doyenne ended the call and showed Clarity a piece of paper.
"I've given one to your friend Shalia."
Clarity examined the note, which looked like a dollar bill. It was a Hell Bank note, a one million dollar note used to honor ancestors in Asia, depicting the Jade Emperor and his signature, Yu Wong, countersigned by Yan Luo, the king of hell. The Hell bank was interpreted as the bank of the afterlife, a neutral place where all deceased persons went.
The reverse of the note was an invitation issued by Telval Studios. You are invited to a Fantasy Adult party, to be held at Eleven thirty in the evening, at Somerset Heritage Property, Mount Pleasant Road, Singapore. In a lavish decor inside a Black and White bungalow, you can indulge in an evening and night of pleasure provided by the most beautiful escort girls of Telval Studios, brought from Copenhagen, Dubai, and Ibiza, Doha, Hong Kong, and Sydney. These women are both ideal companions who make you comfortable immediately, and courtesans who understand the temptations you seek. They can also provide them so that you can be pampered. Minimum Pink Diamond Entry donation of 500.000 U.S. dollars per person. Attendance limited.
"This is where we're going," said Elsie Chu.
"The entry price is steep," observed Clarity.
"Owens & Owell is providing fifty million dollars only for the health phone, that's what their insurance company agreed to pay for the official theft of the rare earth metals. We have to raise ten additional million dollars. Only members of Singapore high society can provide them at such short notice. This party is the excuse."
Sun on the Rocks - The Vanity Ring Page 11