“Sorry”, he said in a whisper. ‘You just looked perfect and your lips…well, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity’.
Lily shuffled uncomfortably in her seat for a moment, glancing around her at the other tables, her eyes darting back and forth for a moment to see if anyone had seen the display of affection. She pulled a loose strand of hair from her forehead sweeping it deftly behind her ear.
Composing herself, she finally flashed Ryan one of her best smiles. “Hopefully there will be more opportunity for that later’, she whispered back.
Ryan smiled to himself, he loved that she was a little sassy. But he also loved that he had caught her off-guard and was sure that she had blushed slightly.
The waiter promptly returned with their wine, and they took a silent sip, watching each other across the top of their glasses.
Finally Ryan spoke.
‘So, this is date number two, officially.” He said, his mouth curling up into a smile.
“And I still don’t know that much about you yet”
“OK” Lily countered, “ask me anything, whatever burning questions you have, now’s your chance.” She sat back with an amused look on her face and crossed her arms in anticipation.
“OK, fine, let’s do the boring stuff first”
“Where did you grow up?” he asked.
“That’s easy… Hong Kong”,
“OK, can you expand on that, did you go to school here, overseas…you know.”
“OK, I was born here and completed my primary & secondary education in Hong Kong, then my parents decided that I needed to get a more rounded life-education, and as I’d done well, I was shipped off to the States for my University career. I’m a bit of a tech nerd so managed to get a place at MIT.”
“Wow, impressive,” Ryan said, genuinely impressed. “So you are both beautiful AND smart.” He teased her, exaggerating the ‘and’.
“What captured your attention at M.I.T, what was your major, or whatever they call it in the States.”
“Well I decided to do Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and I loved it. I ended up doing quite well, so my family backed me and I set up my own Company in the US and earlier this year set up a small Hong Kong company, just to test the water. That’s why I’m back here, but I travel back and forth quite a bit.” Lily took a break to take a sip of her wine.
“Umm, this is nice,” she said referring to the wine and taking another sip.
“What does your company do?” Ryan continued with his stream of questions.
“This is where I may lose you”, she said with a rueful smile.
“Try me,” Ryan countered, “I can be a bit of a tech nerd myself sometimes.”
“I set up an IP Video Technology Company. We saw a need for something to replace CCTV cameras and had the know-how to develop digital versions, which incorporate features that analog cameras are unable compete with. Things like enabling the camera to pan and zoom, audio surveillance that can be used later for voice recognition, motion detectors, alarm integration…I could go on, but I think you’d fall into a deep sleep.”
“No, no, this is actually bizarre. You know what I do right? “ Ryan asked a little excited.
Lily shook her head, “well I know you work at the bank, but just assumed that you did the same as Rob”. She said shrugging her shoulders innocently.
“No, no, I’m a security consultant, I work for a company called RSG in the UK, and they transferred be out here six months ago to work for the Asia World Bank.”
“What’s the name of your company, I probably know it.” Ryan laughed at the coincidence of it all.
“You will know it, we won the contract for upgrading your CCTV camera’s, this is totally weird,” Lily exclaimed.
“IP Holdings?” Ryan interjected, and Lily nodded “Oh my god, that is weird. I work with some of your colleagues and I’ve been managing and advising on the new camera installation.”
“How come I’ve never had the opportunity to deal with you?” Ryan said, pulling his face into a frown with mock disappointment.
“Luckily, I don’t have to do the day to day. I help negotiate some of the contracts, but I generally let my right hand man handle all of the accounts, it frees me up to work on other projects.”
“Wow, OK. Let me think, what else can I ask you?” Ryan said playfully.
“I know,” he continued, “Tell me how you met Rob.”
Lily smiled a big smile at the question.
‘I’ve known Rob for a long time now. We met in Boston whilst I was studying. He was on a weekend away from New York with some of his friends, and I was out with my University friends.” Then, laughing to herself Lily said, “Gosh it’s funny now. He tried to hit on one of my girlfriends and failed dismally, but I found him so entertaining that we just got chatting and became firm friends”. Lily’s face then turned dark. “We lost touch for quite a while, around the time when my parents died’. Lily trailed off, suddenly losing the moment. She smiled ruefully at Ryan. ‘Sorry, not a happy time in my life.”
Ryan reached across the table and touched Lily’s hand. She’d pulled her fingers into a tight fist, and now Ryan was gently smoothing them out one by one.
“It’s OK,” Ryan said. “I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories”.
“They were killed in Hong Kong while I was away studying. A car accident, my Grandmother told me. It was quick, so they didn’t suffer. I came back for the funeral, and spent about a month here. Then went back to finish my studies. That was my focus. That’s really when Rob and I lost touch.” Lily was silent for a moment, trying to shake the sad feelings that were welling up inside her. She hadn’t expected it. It still rolled over her like a wave, crashing against her and pulling her under until she almost couldn’t breathe.
Lily leaned forward and picked up her wine glass. She took a full slug of wine, and as she swallowed, she forced the lump in her throat down along with the liquid.
Feeling as though the worst was over, Lily tried to get the conversation back on track.
“Rob isn’t one for taking no for an answer, so he managed to track me down. Then shortly afterwards he transferred to Hong Kong. We lost touch again until I came back a few months ago, and then he introduced me to you…and….’, she trailed off seductively, slowly removing her hand from his and sliding it back onto her lap.
‘And?’ Ryan responded with amusement, relieved that the sadness appeared to be gone now.
“Well, let’s just say, the rest is history”, she finished.
The man that Ryan had earlier observed sat at the restaurant entrance watching the couple intently. He was feeling irritated and impatient. He had better things to do than sit here.
He had been monitoring Harper for three days now. Studying his routine, his friends and his habits.
He watched Harper and Lillian together at the table. Their body language was obvious. Harper had fallen more quickly than he had anticipated. Or maybe it was just how Western men were with Chinese girls. No respect, only thinking of one thing.
He looked at Lillian with contempt. She was the end result of good Chinese breeding mixed with a filthy American upbringing. He hated everything about her and what she represented. He still hoped that soon there would be an opportunity to remove her from the society. It had been so easy to get rid of her parents, he mused. It would be as easy to get rid of her, when the time came. Having Lillian in between him and Guan Yin made him uncomfortable. He was ready to take the lead as soon as Guan Yin could no longer continue, or until she was no longer around, not Lillian. She was not ready to take the lead. She would never be ready. When he looked at her, all he saw was a young, impulsive woman, not a leader. The only thing that she had was the same blood as Guan Yin, nothing else. A Master only by descent, that was all.
He had a vision. He would embrace the triad society and its entire heritage. He would be a good leader. He would make it his sole duty to re-instill the rules to everyone and they would respect h
im for it. Guan Yin was slipping. She was old and weak and let the members run themselves. They didn’t respect her anymore. They respected him. They listened to him and followed his orders. He would never allow it to happen.
Two hours later he had left without eating, leaving just his empty tea cup and scrunched up napkin on the table.
Lily and Ryan were still so engrossed in their conversation that it was only when the waiter presented them with the bill that they realized that they were the only diners left in the restaurant.
Without looking at the waiter or taking his eyes off Lily, Ryan pushed his hand into his back trouser pocket and pulled out his wallet to pay.
Chapter 9
Ghost Face sat in the corner of a dingy Dai Pai Dong café nestled down a narrow side street, calmly drinking Chinese tea and waiting for his guest to arrive. He was wearing the same black suit as the previous day. The only difference to his attire was his black tie. It was missing. He’d forgotten to put it on in his haste to get out of his apartment on time. It was unusual for him and he reprimanded himself for it.
He felt tired today. He hadn’t slept much, and had spent many hours the night before pacing up and down his apartment until he couldn’t stand it any longer. The pent up excitement of what lay ahead was almost bursting out of his body. Images flashed and danced in front of his eyes as he remembered the previous encounter. He wondered if the chill that he suddenly felt running through the entirety of his body was from the cool air conditioning in his apartment or from the adrenaline that was starting to course through his veins.
Thumbing through the local newspaper he’d quickly found the Sex101 ad that he was searching for. There were hundreds of women offering their services, that he was almost spoilt for choice. Ghost Face hurried down the page, scanning the brief descriptions and paused over one particular ad. There was a tiny thumbnail image in grainy print of a young looking woman. Her name was Ling Ling. She had a tiny figure quoting 34B-23-34 and a height of 5’4”. She offered full services and described herself as a smooth skinned phoenix, ready to fly. Her working hours were listed as 12:00 noon until 02:00am. Ghost Face dialed the number and waited impatiently for it to be answered. Finally Ling Ling picked up the call and spoke in a soft seductive voice. “Ling Ling, how may I help you?”
It was one step closer for Ghost Face and he allowed a thin smile to escape across his mouth as he spoke. “I need to see you now.” He stated.
Well practiced in the art of closing a deal and used to all kinds of callers, Ling Ling immediately fell into her normal sales patter that she used on all first time clients. “The full service is $1’600 Hong Kong Dollars, which you pay in cash before we begin. I can offer other services later, like massage and reflexology if you like. Is the price OK with you?”
Ghost Face breathed deeply into the receiver trying to control the eagerness that was filling his body. “The price is fine, I’m sure you will be worth every cent.” He prolonged the ‘every’ making Ling Ling shiver on her end of the phone.
“Where do you live?” He almost whispered the last question.
Ling Ling read out the address to Ghost Face as he mentally stored it in his head. Without saying another word, he switched off his phone picked up his wallet, and walked out of his apartment.
Across the City in a run down area of Sham Shui Po district, Ling Ling started to prepare her room. She’d been doing this now for two years on and off and was used to strange and weird men calling her for appointments throughout her day. This call had been no different. She’d had a quiet day and was glad for the last minute appointment. It was late now, so she suspected that he would be her last one for the night.
Ling Ling walked through the basic one bedroom apartment plumping cushions and straightening curtains. She lit another incense stick in her bathroom, and topped up the water in the t-lite burner that she had placed in her kitchenette stove. She loved the smell of frangipanis’ and had been delighted when her sister had given her the tiny jar of oil. Now the smell was working it’s way through to the bedroom and Ling Ling breathed it in deeply. She lowered the lighting, switching off all the main lights and just keeping her side lamp on. She’d thrown a red silk scarf over the white plastic lampshade to give the room an exotic feel. She’d seen this in a magazine and thought that it improved the atmosphere. She gave the room one last glance, and satisfied with how it looked she went to the bathroom to prepare herself. Ling Ling’s working attire consisted of black lacy lingerie, normally a bra and tiny panties and she always wore a silk patterned kimono over the top when greeting her client. She had her hair twisted and secured with a single long pin, so that she could shake her thick long mane of hair out in a hurry if she needed to. She checked her face in the mirror and noted that still had enough mascara on. She expertly touched up her base and lips and added a tiny drop of the frangipani oil to her wrists and the nape of her neck. She was ready. The smell of the fragrance always reminded her of her sister. Only the day before she had dropped by to chat. She had sat Ling Ling down and warned her about the recent one-women brothel slayings, telling her that she was worried about her. She’d begged Ling Ling to re-think her career and had so many suggestions of what she could do, all of which Ling Ling dismissed. She was street smart. She knew how to handle herself, and had told her sister as much. She didn’t need to be taken care of. They hugged, and then her sister left, promising to drop by in a few days.
Twenty minutes had gone by since Ghost Face had called the girl. Now he found himself in a run down area of Sham Shui Po, bordering the old fabric markets and wet markets. It was deserted with the just the occasional taxi or pedestrian passing by. The address that he had memorized was leading him to a small low-rise apartment block. He walked passed shuttered entrances scanning the numbers until he found the one that he wanted. 78. He looked around and slipped unnoticed into the building entrance and walked down a narrow hallway before finding the stairs. The narrow winding staircase was dimly lit, but he took the steps two at a time and quickly made his way up to the 5th floor. The landing was dark and poorly lit except for a single yellow light bulb above the doorway. To the right of the door was the number; 5B etched into a metal plate and an intricate scroll design of what Ghost Face could only assume was a phoenix. He straightened out his clothes smoothing down his jacket and trousers, and ran his fingers through his hair smoothing it back into place, then he stepped forwards into the yellow light and gently knocked on the door.
Ling Ling answered at the first knock and inspected her visitor through the gap in the door leaving the security chain across. Ghost Face forced one of his thin-lipped smiles showing his yellowing teeth. Ling Ling nodded politely and quickly closed the door to release the security chain then she opened it wide enough for him to enter. He stepped over the threshold in one stride and Ling Ling silently closed the door behind him, slipping the chain across as she did so, so that they wouldn’t have any surprise disturbances by her neighbours or the Police.
Ghost Face immediately slipped off his shoes at the door and turned to face her.
Ling Ling gave Ghost Face her well practiced respectful look and gently reminded him of the $1’600 dollars up front in her most apologetic voice. She didn’t like the business side of things and was always relieved when a client handed over the money so that she could concentrate on the job at hand.
Ghost Face looked around the shabby dimly lit room. It was a tiny apartment, maybe only 300 square feet he estimated. She had a double bed situated under the only window in the room with an oriental silk printed quilt draped over the top piled up with cushions. A dark wooden Chinese-style side table with a small lamp in the centre sat next to the bed, covered with a red silk cloth, which he thought looked cheap. Heavy old grey curtains hung precariously above the tiny window. He noticed that the bathroom was to the left and a small kitchenette to the right. Ghost Face focused his attention back to his prize. He looked at her more closely. She couldn’t be a day over eighteen. Her hair was long an
d piled up high onto her head in an attempt to make her look older. She had make-up on, probably freshly applied, knowing that he was coming. She wore a cheap silky kimono style dressing gown with wide sleeves, depicting oriental cranes and flowers covering her small frame. She had tried far too hard, but she was pretty. He couldn’t tell what her body was like yet, but it didn’t matter to him now, she would do perfectly.
Ghost Face didn’t speak. He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out the $1’600 dollars in bills and pushed them into her outstretched hand. He sensed her relax a little as she turned and quickly went over to her bedside table, opened up the front drawer and slid the money safely inside. She then turned back to Ghost Face and with a nervous smile, undid the waist tie holding her kimono together revealing her lacy underwear, hoping that her client would approve.
Ling Ling felt a little unnerved at his silence. He wasn’t a good-looking man, she thought. So pale and there was something about his demeanor that was unsettling to her. She hoped upon hope that he wouldn’t be too rough and that it would be over quickly. She’d had her fair share of assholes to deal with and didn’t feel like a fight tonight.
Taking her by surprise Ghost Face took a sudden step towards her and gently pushed her backwards toward the bed, she stumbled slightly, but obliged him and straightening herself up she took another step back herself. He leaned forward and tugged on the kimono’s wide sleeve causing it slip off her shoulders altogether and watched with satisfaction as it fell into a silky pile at her feet. He pulled the pin out of her hair and let it fall onto her shoulders and down her back. Ling Ling suddenly felt exposed and a little awkward, she hadn’t experienced this silence before. She pushed her sister’s warnings to the back of her mind, shaking them off as ridiculous, and tried to give him her best smile. She dropped her hands modestly to the side and waited for him to take the lead. It was clear to her that this client wanted to feel in control.
Lights Out Page 5