by Ian Hamilton
The California Technical Trust Bank of San Francisco had the same good fortune. It established a subsidiary in Jiangsu called California Asian Trust. That company put a lot of cash into AKG and another firm, New Age Capital. New Age is owned by Ying Jie and Hu Chi. Ying Jie is the wife of Zhu Huan of AKG and the daughter of Ying Fa. Hu Chi is the husband of Tsai Bik, Tsai Lian’s daughter. California Asian Trust’s money — cycled through AKG and New Age — eventually bought an appliance company called Kitchen Giant. The purchase was made through a provincial government auction that some losing parties claim was rigged. For their 100 percent investment, Trust got a 49 percent stake in a business that experts tell us should have been sold for about half a billion — more than three times the amount that was paid.
Ava scrolled down and saw the chart representing the Tsai family holdings. She smiled. It looked even more polished and authoritative than it had in the version Curry had sent her. Tsai Lian was positioned at the top of the family and too many companies to quickly count, all of them interconnected like a spider’s web. They had even found photos of some of the major players.
Xu read quietly, his face expressionless, and Ava wondered what was going through his mind. Their war with the Tsai family had now moved from theory to fact. Bridges had been burned, completely and dangerously. It was too late to have second thoughts, but it wasn’t too late to have regrets.
“Lian looks quite arrogant in that shot,” Xu finally said.
“That’s appropriate,” Ava said. “What do you think about the story?”
“It’s even more powerful than I expected.”
“Dillman called and read me the headline from the Herald,” she said. “That story will be available online any minute now.”
“And how strong is it?”
“Equally, and it refers to Tsai Lian as ‘Chairman Tsai.’”
Xu shook his head as if that was information he didn’t want to hear.
“What do you think?” Ava asked, deciding to push. “What kind of reaction do you think these stories will generate?”
Xu sat back in his chair and turned to Ava. His face was firmly set, and if he had any doubts about the path they’d taken, Ava couldn’t detect them.
“Ask me in an hour,” he said.
“Why?”
“Because we need to get busy. I have to call Lop, and you should call May. We have to let everyone we contacted know that the stories are public and Tsai Lian has been named as the government official. How they react will tell us what the impact might be.”
“The only weakness I can see is that the Tribune story doesn’t link Lian directly to any of the deals.”
“Given everything else in it, I don’t think that will matter, but we’ll find out,” Xu said.
“I’ll phone May.”
“I’m going to make my calls outside.”
Ava punched in May’s cell number as Xu left the house. The call went to voicemail, so Ava tried her private office line. It rang once.
“Ava,” May said.
“May, the story about the Tsai family just appeared on the Wall Street Tribune’s website. The Economic Herald story will be available in a few minutes,” Ava said in a rush.
“How is the Tribune story?”
“Take a look for yourself and tell me what you think.”
“Give me a few minutes. Don’t hang up.”
“I’ll wait.”
Auntie Grace was still in the kitchen. Ava had been so caught up in what she was doing that she hadn’t noticed. “Could I have more coffee, please,” she said to her, holding out her mug. While Auntie Grace was making her coffee, Ava checked the Herald again. The story was up. The headline was gigantic, even larger than Dillman had indicated, and Ava wondered if this was another bit of the revenge that Tamara Klinger was taking on Calhoun.
“May, are you still on the line?” Ava asked.
“Yes, I’m reading the Tribune. Sorry to be so slow but my English is not as good as yours.”
“When you’re finished, go to the Herald website. You can read that story now too.”
While May was reading the articles, Auntie Grace quietly placed the cup of coffee in front of Ava. She gave her a pat on the shoulder and went back to the stove.
“It’s almost hard to believe.” May finally said.
“Which story?”
“Take your pick. Either of them would be a bombshell on its own. Together, God knows what damage they’ll cause. I can’t remember the last time I was so shocked.”
“I’ve been telling you what I’ve been finding and what I was doing.”
“Yes, but seeing it in large print in two such respected papers makes it appear even worse than I imagined,” May said. “And I can tell you that the Herald referring to Tsai as ‘Chairman Tsai’ will make some people very, very angry.”
“I thought the Tribune calling him the ‘Princeling of Nanjing’ and ‘head of the new Chinese royalty’ would be more infuriating.”
“Neither description does him any good.”
“May, Xu is calling the people he phoned earlier to let them know the stories have broken. He thinks you should be doing the same.”
“Of course.”
“What will they think?”
“I don’t want to guess.”
“Can you phone them now and get back to me?”
“Yes. I’ve been getting calls all day from them, wondering when the stories were going to break. I’m sure they’ll be happy to hear from me,” May said.
Ava put her phone down and sat back in the chair.
“Can I get you anything else?” Auntie Grace asked.
“No, I’m fine.”
“You look more relaxed than you did half an hour ago.”
“We’ve had good news, or at least the beginning of something that could be good news.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“It isn’t over yet,” Ava said, sipping her coffee. She then got up to go to the bathroom.
She took her time standing over the sink, looking at herself as she washed her hands. She had no real idea, she realized, what would be the outcome of what she had started. The same was often true of jobs she’d undertaken with Uncle, but the difference this time — and it was a huge difference — was that on past jobs, her failure to collect money was just that, and she knew there would be another day and another job. Now, if the Tsai family survived, or possibly even continued to thrive, there might not be another day. She shuddered and thought of her mother, who, for as long as she could remember, had chided her for her constant risk-taking. It was her nature, and it was only recently that her mother had seemed to accept that. Maybe she shouldn’t have, Ava thought.
She was now closer to forty than to thirty, but she had the face and the body of a woman in her twenties. She had her mother’s and father’s genes to thank for that. Her mind was a different age entirely, and that had everything to do with the experiences and memories etched into it. She wondered how old she was inside. Certainly forty, and maybe even fifty. One of her mother’s pat descriptions of Ava was that she had an old head on a young body. It was a cliché, but like all clichés it had a kernel of truth. And what that old head was telling her right now was that whatever was going to happen was going to happen fast. She glanced down at her T-shirt and Adidas training pants. This isn’t what I should be wearing, she thought.
She went into the bedroom, brushed her hair, and fixed it with the ivory chignon pin. She put on makeup. She took a pink shirt and a black skirt from her bag, slipped them on, and then added the green jade cufflinks and her Cartier watch. She looked at her shoes and opted for the high heels she’d worn to the PÖ launch, which seemed like a lifetime ago. Now fully dressed, she lowered herself onto her knees by the side of the bed and prayed again to Saint Jude. She could not remember ever praying to him so oft
en over the course of a few days, but then she had never needed him more.
When she had finished, she sat on the bed. There was nothing for her to do except wait for Xu, Lop, and May to make their phone calls, and waiting alone was something she was accustomed to. She had her phone next to her, and her ears were attuned to the sound of the door opening and Xu’s shoes crossing the living room floor. When she heard the door, she slid from the bed. When she heard the sound of his steps, she left the bedroom.
He was taking a chair at the kitchen table when she entered the room.
“You look like you’re going to a meeting,” he said, glancing at her.
“I’m not, but that’s how I feel. Whenever I was on a job with Uncle, it seems as though I was dressed like this when we closed it successfully,” Ava said. “I can’t help being superstitious.”
“I never discount luck,” he said.
“What kind of reaction are you getting on the Tsai Lian stories?” she said as she took a seat.
“The most common one is shock, but not shock that he’s been using his position to line the family’s pockets — that’s to be expected. It’s more about the extent of the wealth and the way it’s been accumulated. No one cares about the consulting fees and commissions, but the Mega Metals and Jiangsu Insurance deals can’t be explained away. They’re clearly corrupt deals and couldn’t have happened without his active support.”
“Do they think they’re enough to bring him down?”
Xu shrugged. “Everyone I spoke to is convinced he’ll fight to survive.”
“What does he have to fight with?”
“They tell me that his father’s name and reputation still have currency. There are his years of service to the province. And of course he will call in favours from those who owe him, and he’ll threaten those he has something on.”
“Could that work?”
“All anyone is sure about is that he will try, but I’ve been told that one sure sign that he has support will be if the websites carrying the stories are blocked. That can’t happen without someone very senior in Beijing giving the order.”
“Is that possible?”
“Websites crash all the time. Firewalls mysteriously appear. Newspapers are seized or told to cancel distribution until further notice. If Beijing decides to back Tsai, then it’s possible the stories could be restricted to outlets outside China, although many of the people Lop and I spoke to probably have VPNs.”
“What is a VPN?”
“The government routinely blocks Facebook and YouTube and other Western sites, but VPNs — virtual private networks — are a way around the blocks. We call it fan qiang.”
“Climbing over the wall?”
“Yeah, and the term couldn’t be more appropriate.”
Ava looked at her computer and hit the Tribune and the Herald tabs. “The sites are still live,” she said.
“That’s good, but it’s very early. We’ll have to keep an eye on them.”
“And if they don’t get blocked?”
“I think it will indicate the stories and their claims are too big for Beijing to ignore, and then officials will have to decide if they’re going to stand by Lian or throw him overboard. If they choose to defend him, they’ll have to stick out their own necks and reputations. If they don’t support him, they will be almost compelled to go after him. Indifference isn’t an option.”
“What did Lop’s people have to say?”
“He says that they’re angry beyond belief. Tsai is the son of a general, of a legend of the revolution. He is bringing disgrace to his father and everything he fought for and that they are honour-bound to maintain. Calls are already being made to politicians.”
“Do they have that much influence?”
“We’ll see,” Xu said. “The people I called also have their own circles, and I’m sure that May Ling’s contacts have enough power to pull some strings. It adds up.”
“So what’s the end?”
“Well —” Xu began but was cut off when Ava’s cellphone rang.
Ava looked at him. “It’s May,” she said.
He nodded.
“Hey, I’m with Xu. We’re going over this Tsai thing,” Ava said.
“You mean Chairman Tsai, the twenty-billion-dollar man?”
“Is that what your contacts are calling him?”
“And worse. I don’t know if their rage is coming from jealousy or some genuine anger at the level of his corruption, but it is definitely rage.”
“So no one doubts the veracity of the stories?”
“These newspapers have terrific reputations, even here, and there’s far too much detail and too much data for the reports to be anything but true.”
“Xu is worried about the websites being blocked.”
“Changxing made the same comment to me, but then he saw that the Herald story is already up on some other sites. It will be tough to shut them all down.”
“That’s comforting,” Ava said. “Now tell me, what do your contacts want to happen to Tsai?”
“Some would like to see him shot, but that’s just raw emotion. They know he’s too prominent for that. They’d probably be happy with a jail term and the family losing its status and money.”
“I’ll tell Xu what you’re hearing.”
“And you’ll keep me posted from your side?”
“We will.”
May paused and then said, “Ava, please be careful. Wounded animals are the most dangerous.”
“I know, and don’t worry. I’m in a safe place and staying put until this thing is over.”
“What did May have to say?” Xu asked once Ava had put away her phone.
“Other websites are now running the stories.”
“That’s great.”
“And the people she’s talking to think the Tsai family has to be held accountable.”
“Every hour those websites remain active increases the chance they will stay that way. All we can do is wait and hope.”
Ava shook her head. “I thought the hard part was over.”
“It is, and we’ve done everything we can and we’ve done it as well as we can. Now the big boys will decide if it’s enough.”
“I’m not good at waiting.”
“Lop and I have asked our contacts to call us as soon as they know which way this is going to break. The moment we hear something, you will. That’s all we can do for now,” Xu said. “Look, I’m going with Lop to a meeting about ten minutes from here by car. Why don’t you join us? It will be a distraction.”
“Nothing is going to get my mind off those websites,” Ava said. “All I keep thinking is that Tsai has to be buried or he’s going to bury us.”
“Well, we’ll know soon enough,” Xu said calmly.
( 51 )
Ava searched for something to do that would occupy her mind. Finally, almost in desperation, she took out the files on the carbon-fibre containers and made an attempt to analyze the numbers, but every few minutes her fingers would be almost magnetically drawn to the keyboard of her computer and the Tribune and Herald websites. They remained live, and when she accessed a Chinese search engine and typed in “Tsai family financial scandal,” she saw at least ten other media sites that were promoting the story. She was scanning them when she heard a noise at the front door. Then she heard Auntie Grace’s footsteps and a few seconds later the sound of the door opening and the voices of the housekeeper and a man.
Ava rose from her chair and walked towards the door. Auntie Grace was in animated conversation with one of the men who was normally stationed at the gate.
“What’s going on?” Ava said.
“There are two Range Rovers filled with men at one end of our alley, and a third is parked near the exit at the other end. The fruit vendor called as soon as he saw them, but then his phone wen
t dead,” Auntie Grace said. “Wen says they’re paramilitary.”
“What are they doing?”
“Just a second,” Auntie Grace said, and then she stepped outside and spoke so quietly to Wen that Ava couldn’t hear her. Whatever she said was enough to send him running back to the gate, where two more of Xu’s men stood just inside the courtyard.
Ava watched the three of them take turns looking down the alley. Wen ran back to Ava and Auntie Grace.
“They’ve split up into two teams, and it looks like they’re doing house-to-house searches,” he said.
“How many men?” Ava asked.
“Ten in total.”
“Are they armed?”
“Yes,” Wen said. “They all have batons and pistols, and at least two of them have submachine guns.”
“Call Xu,” Auntie Grace said.
“My orders were to phone Lop if anything happened,” Wen said.
“You do that,” Ava said. “I’ll call Xu.”
Wen took a phone from his pocket and walked towards the gate.
Ava ran into the house to retrieve her phone from the kitchen, Auntie Grace following. She found Xu’s number and hit it. The phone rang four times and cut out. She remembered that he’d turned down the volume on his phone. She tried again, with the same result. “Shit, I can’t reach him,” she said.
“Maybe Wen has had better luck with Lop,” Auntie Grace said.
They were almost back at the front door when Ava’s phone rang and she saw Xu’s number. “The military is in the alley,” she said in a rush.
“I know. Lop just told me.”
“I think they’re looking for me.”
“That’s most likely the case.”
“What do we do?”
“I want you to do nothing except stay inside the house.”
“I’m not much good at doing nothing.”