Lights Out

by Stopforth, W. J.

  He twisted his neck and cracked the bones on both sides, making him feel better. He did the same to his knuckles and released the pressure in his shoulders. He slowed his pace down to a stop and waited for a taxi. He didn’t have to wait long.

  He slid into the back of the car and gave his instructions to the driver. The sun was starting to set and he looked out the window and watched the lights of Hong Kong flicker and turn on. Now there will be a war, he mused and allowed a thin smile to spread across his pale lips.

  Chapter 30

  Ryan leaned against the pier railing for a moment, watching Victoria Harbour stretch out in front of him. There was a gentle breeze against his cheek and it ruffled his hair making the humidity seem less intense, but it was still hot. The sky was clear today and the sun had started its descent as the long afternoon began to turn into evening. He watched all of the water traffic squeeze and jostle for position down the narrow thoroughfare that separated Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Giant 3000-ton container ships, slowly glided by, silently flanked by old wooden junks, catamarans and ferries all in its wake. Occasionally there would be a Cruise ship or military war ship docked somewhere along the harbour side, but not today. There was nothing stationary on this busy route.

  Ryan was planning to take the Star Ferry across to the Island and to his meeting point with Lam. It was cheaper and arguably quicker than a taxi at this time of the late afternoon. Already much of Tsim Sha Tsui looked gridlocked in the direction of the cross harbour tunnel, plus Ryan’s finances were starting to grow thin, so he thought that a dollar fare of $5.30 was much more achievable than a taxi fare of $100.

  Ryan looked at his watch. It was 4.30pm. During his brief conversation with Sarah Lam and after some convincing he had eventually agreed to meet her on the Hong Kong side of Star Ferry terminal. He still had thirty minutes to spare.

  Despite Ryan’s current mindset, he always loved the Star Ferry journey and never tired of it. Once on board it gave him ten minutes of silence away from the hustle and bustle of the City where, under normal circumstances, he would read a newspaper or just enjoy the view.

  Ryan watched one of the Ferries, the Celestial Star slowly make its way across the harbour. Bobbing gently on the dark jade green water and swaying side to side when other high-speed vessels rushed past, it expertly worked its way between the traffic, like an old workhorse ploughing a field.

  The ferries had not changed in over 100 years. They still had the classic wooden hulled construction. The only difference being the addition upper deck that had been added eighty years ago to allow more passengers on board and the modern update from a steam engine to a more efficient diesel-electric engine.

  The lower deck was painted in the traditional dark green and the upper decks were always painted bright white surrounded with a necklace of white life buoys with the Star Ferry logo stenciled in black on each one.

  Ryan looked at the spectacular backdrop across the harbour, making the ferry look somewhat small and misplaced against the giant glass and metal high rises, however it had more right to be there than anything else surrounding it. The Star Ferries had earned their right of passage and their place in Hong Kong history.

  As the Celestial Star drew closer to the pier, Ryan decided to take the same ferry back on its return journey. He estimated that he still had around six or seven minutes to pay and board before it would depart again. Plenty of time, he thought. He walked past a newspaper stand and came upon a legless beggar in the centre of the path, head bowed down, with his arms outstretched, tapping an old red plastic cup on the dirty floor. The man was topless, with just rags wrapped around his waist. His legs finished in stumps where his thighs should be. His hair was jet black and matted and his skin dark and golden brown. His upper body and back showed sinewy muscles developed over years of pulling himself around. He had no wheelchair close by, and Ryan wondered what happened to him at the end of each day. For that moment it made Ryan’s situation seem less serious. He dug in his pocket and found a $10 coin. As he walked past the beggar he dropped the coin into the plastic cup and walked on, hearing the muffled and hoarse m’goi sai behind him.

  Ryan came to the entrance of the ferry terminal, and the old fashioned turnstiles where he dropped in enough coins until he had paid the full $5.30 amount. The metal turnstile clicked as the last coin went in, and he pushed his way through.

  The ferries were double decked. As a passenger you could choose to travel on the upper deck, or the lower deck, which for years had been considered less appealing and normally reserved for the common workforce or the poor. The lower deck was more closed in and less comfortable. The seats were crammed in to allow more space for passengers and it was also situated closer to the engine room, which made the journey across a noisy one. Ryan had opted for the upper deck, which gave him open sided views across the harbour, and a more comfortable and peaceful journey.

  Having travelled on the ferries many times, Ryan was always amazed that they still kept going. Constructed to last, these old wooden vessels had survived typhoons, when even the piers had collapsed and the Japanese occupation with only one ferry casualty, which had been bombed and sunk in the harbour by the American forces. Now there were twelve left in the World and they managed to cross the harbour without incident over 120 times a day, seven days a week.

  Ryan found a good seat next to the side railings on the left hand side. He sat on one of the old wooden benches with a back support and white painted seat, with a star punched out of the wood.

  Ryan watched as the mooring ropes were loosened and released and the gangplank was hoisted up and locked into positioned. He looked around. He noticed that the ferry was full of a mixture of commuters and tourists. The difference between them was obvious. Local commuters were either reading a newspaper or texting, and the tourists were all armed with cameras. As soon as the ferry began its journey, the tourists were up on their feet, leaning over the side barriers to get clear shots of the harbour. One lady leaned across Ryan completely to get the shot that she wanted, only apologising when the ferry swayed and she landed awkwardly in Ryan’s lap. He helped her to steady herself and offered to switch places so that she could photograph the view in relative comfort.

  Across the harbour, hidden by a staircase and the shadows stood Jimmy Luk. He had the meeting point in full view and was carefully scanning the crowds, watching every single person as they exited the Star Ferry terminal. He had been standing here for the last ten minutes. His eyes, every few moments, darting up to the main clock tower and monitoring his own wrist watch as the minutes ticked by. Jimmy had covered all eventualities. In case Harper had decided on taking a taxi, Jimmy also had a clear view of the drop off taxi rank, and of course if he came by foot, he had a clear view of the adjoining paths leading up to the tower. Checking his watch again, Jimmy knew that he only had a slim window of time before Lam would show. He needed just a few seconds to get to Harper before Lam arrived and this would all be over quickly. If Lam was early, or if Harper didn’t show, then he would have to make alternative plans for Harper, but getting him before he entered the safety of the Police Station was the priority. At this point he felt confident that Lam didn’t know of his involvement, however, he still wanted to get this over with and get Harper out of the picture and Ghost Face off his back.

  Jimmy smiled to himself. If he did manage to pull this off, he could even continue to work with Lam and she would never even suspect him. He was pleased about that. Killing Harper was one thing; he didn’t really want to kill Lam, unless he had absolutely no alternative.

  As Jimmy’s thoughts drifted to his future as Lam’s new partner, something caught his eye. Suddenly he was alert and scanned the crowd once more. His heart sank as he glimpsed Lam. She was pacing. She walked over toward the pier and lent on the railing looking across the harbour, confirming to him that Harper was indeed coming across the old fashioned way.

  Jimmy started to think, he somehow had to intervene before Harper exited the ferry
terminal and made it to the meeting point. He’d have to go into the terminal without Lam spotting him and be ready for Ryan the moment he stepped off the ferry.

  Ryan sat on the seat, next to the female tourist totally unaware of what lay ahead of him.

  He was grateful to be sitting in the open air for a change, and took advantage of it by closing his eyes and taking in deep breaths, but his mind kept pulling him back to slow motion replays of Rob’s head exploding in front of him. He knew then that this was something that he would never be able to block out entirely, but hoped that with time it would be pushed back to the far recesses of his memory. For now, it was at the forefront, and every time Ryan closed his eyes the images danced and flashed making it hard for Ryan to escape them.

  He opened his eyes and saw that the ferry was close to the pier. He looked at his watch. It was now 4.55pm. Five more minutes and he would be meeting with Lam, and this nightmare that he had endured would soon be over.

  Lam looked across the railing towards the incoming ferry and hoped that Ryan was onboard. The ferry was full with tourists pouring over the sides snapping away at the skyline behind her obscuring her view of the other passengers.

  She looked at her watch and then looked up at the clock tower.

  Five more minutes. Lam exhaled, as she realized that she had been holding her breath.

  She scanned the crowd around her again for signs of Jimmy sure that he would be here somewhere. She knew. The moment that Jimmy revealed to her that he had knowledge of how Robert Black had died. Only someone who had a contact within the society could have known that it was a bullet in the face that has killed him. She had never disclosed that information. His body had not yet been recovered so there was no other way that Jimmy could have known.

  Her gut instinct was telling her that she was right. It was all starting to make sense. He was the Triad Guru after all. He knew everything, but it wasn’t through years of study and experience. It was all inside information. He may have started out as a good cop, but somewhere along the way he had been bribed or pressured and had buckled. He was theirs. She knew that now and if Harper was someone that they needed to silence, they would use all of their tools and assets, including Jimmy to ensure that he couldn’t speak.

  Ryan stood in anticipation of the ferry docking against the pier. He didn’t feel like being jostled and shoved, so if he could step off first, then he should be able to avoid some of the commuters that had a lack of awareness, like the lady he had spent the journey sitting next to.

  He stood in front of the red gangplank next to the deck hand. The ferry heaved and rolled as the driver attempted to slow down all 164 tons. Slowly positioning the ferry next to the dock, the mooring ropes were thrown over the side and the ferry was pulled to a final halt with just a gentle rocking against it’s own wake as the gangplank was released. Ryan strode ahead onto the concrete slope that led up to the turnstile exit. Around him bustled 300 other passengers all with their own destinations in mind. But Ryan was only looking for one person, Sarah Lam, so when a tall Chinese man stood in front of him blocking his exit it took Ryan a moment to register that he was being blocked on purpose.

  Lam stretched her neck to get a glimpse of the people exiting the ferry, but pillars, staircases and now floods of people hampered her view. She decided to head back towards the clock tower to avoid missing Ryan. It frustrated her that he wasn’t answering his phone. She would just have to be patient. She paced for a few moments, pausing to re-adjust her shirt and tuck it back into her pants and subconsciously brushing her holster to remind herself that her gun was there. As the last trickle of people came through the turnstile, Sarah started to feel uneasy. In the distance she could see another ferry on it’s way, but the time had now ticked past 5pm, and for some reason she didn’t think that Ryan would be late unless something at happened. Lam’s mind was now in turmoil. She had no way of contacting Ryan and had to make a decision how long she should wait. Suddenly the decision was made for her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a blond haired man walk back onto the ferry on the lower deck. Sarah ran toward the railing and squinted at the gangplank to get a better look. All of the passengers had now boarded the ferry and the deck hands were starting to reel in the ropes. Sarah started to walk the length of the pier towards the terminal and turnstile, picking up her pace as she did so, all the time scanning the ferry. She squatted down to look through the railing to the lower deck. Most people were standing, making it hard for her to see through the crowd. Then two people moved, and she saw him. Ryan had his back to Lam facing away from the pier. Then to his left was the unmistakable silhouette of her colleague, Jimmy Luk. He was standing so close to Ryan that Lam guessed that he must be holding a gun at his side. She stood up and was suddenly in motion. She sprinted down the remaining length of the pier towards the turnstile. Already with her hand at her waist belt she ripped off her detective badge and waved it at the surprised turnstile attendant as she bolted over the top of it. By the time she reached the gate the entrance was closed. She stood up on tiptoe to see the ferry head back towards Kowloon side.

  Lam looked around at her surroundings. She had ten minutes to get to the other side before she would lose them both for good in the congested streets of Kowloon unless she could get the ferry stopped. She ran quickly back up towards the turnstile and looked at the wide-eyed attendant who was blinking back at her with shock. It wasn’t an every day occurrence to have a female Police Detective clear the turnstile in one athletic jump.

  Lam spoke quickly as she asked the wide-eyed Chinese man to contact the ferry in question to see whether it could be stopped. It took the man a few seconds to register what was being asked. He nodded and fumbled through the papers on his desk until he located the correct emergency number. He picked up his phone and dialed through to what Lam assumed was his superior. He chatted on the phone for a few seconds causing Lam to grow more impatient. Eventually, patience getting the better of her, she grabbed the receiver from the attendant and spoke with as much authority as she could muster.

  “This is Detective Inspector Lam, I need to have the Celestial Star stopped immediately. There is an armed man on board holding a man hostage.” Sarah paused waiting for the gravity of what she had just told the man on the end of the receiver to sink in. It had the desired effect.

  “Detective, I’m the Star Ferry Senior Manager, Mr Lo, we have a protocol for this kind of thing. As the ferry is already past half way, it’s better to dock at the other side and we can have some police waiting as soon as it stops”. Mr Lo said.

  Lam thought for a moment.

  “Is there any way that I can get across in time to meet it?” She asked, thinking that a speedboat might work.

  “Yes, I’ll arrange for you to be picked up in a couple of minutes. In the meantime I’ll contact the police and ask them to wait in Tsim Sha Tsui. Our driver will be told not to dock until everyone is in place.” He said.

  “Thank you, and please hurry”. Lam wondered whether she should call the Chief, but decided against it. If she had the back up of Kowloon police officers then she should be well covered.

  Lam paced up and down inside the waiting area as new commuters started to filter in.

  Business as usual, Sarah thought.

  Ryan stood motionless, his mind trying to reconcile that last ten minutes. He was so close to meeting Lam when he was stopped dead by a tall Chinese man. They both stared at one another, and then suddenly Ryan had a strong feeling that this was intentional. Ryan tried to step to the side and was immediately blocked again. He looked at the man in front of him.

  “Can I help you?” Ryan asked, not wanting to hear the answer.

  “Turn around slowly and don’t say anything and I won’t kill you.” Jimmy said to Ryan. Ryan hesitated, then feeling the hard cold muzzle of a gun digging in his side reluctantly did as he was asked and turned around ready to get back on the ferry.

  Who was this guy? He thought as he tried to suppress the panic now risin
g in his chest.

  They walked forwards with the rest of the commuters queuing up for the return journey. Ryan felt the gun being pressed into his side at every step.

  Once on board, Ryan was maneuvered toward the centre of the ferry on the lower deck. It was much louder down stairs. The engine room was right next to them, and Ryan could feel his head start to throb as he breathed in the mixture of air and diesel. He stole a glance at the man next to him and studied his profile for a few seconds. He was clean-shaven and wore expensive clothes. Not quite what he would have expected for a Triad.

  Reading his mind, Jimmy Luk turned to face Ryan. He sounded almost sympathetic when he spoke.

  “We can’t let you talk”. He said simply, almost confirming Ryan’s fate there and then.

  “So what will happen now?” Ryan asked, fearing the worst.

  “For now you need to just be quiet and do what I ask. You have caused us enough problems.”

  Jimmy turned his face away from Ryan and continued to dig his gun into his side. At this point, Jimmy only had a vague idea of what he would do when they reached the other side. He had been told to take care of everything, and now he needed to find a quiet location where he could do just that. He thought about quiet areas, close to the ferry terminal, but there were so many tourists today, that he may expose himself unknowingly. The sound of the ferry horn quickly pulled Jimmy back to the present as he felt the ferry roll slightly. Continuing to press against Harper he bent down slightly to get a better view of the cause of the horn.