“I see your point, Tang. I was unaware Mr. Chow had neglected in his duties. I assure you Mr. Shu will not.”
“Thank you, Ng. I knew once you knew, order would be restored.”
“Concerning our nephew James, we’ve been guiding him all these years,” said Ng.
“And you have done exceptionally well Ng.” Tang used his napkin to clean his hands.
“Thank you, Tang,” said Ng. “How does Mr. Choi expect us to handle the lack of confidence in his son? We have supported him, yet- -”
“Then perhaps it is time, for the son to stand on his own. James is a strong young man. If you have guided him well all these years, then he should have the ability. It’s no reflection on you if he has failed to learn properly.”
“And, what of Kai and his accusations Tang,” said Larry. “What do you suggest?”
“If his words are true, then you cannot fault the man for being concerned and bringing the matter to your attention.”
“This is true,” said Shu.
“I don’t think what Kai said is true. I believe James is just blinded by his feelings of friendship for Charlie. But if his men has lost faith in him, then he should not be allowed to lead and would perhaps do better as your sai low (little brother). I will look into this,” said Tang.
“What of Kai,” said Ng, “if as you said, James is just blinded.”
“He’s another matter. I’d imagine it would be easier to monitor his actions if he was reporting directly to this council.”
“Your council, as always, is greatly appreciated.” Ng rose from his chair and crossed the room to stand by Tang, who stood to face him.
Instinctively, the others knew the meeting was over. Tang had delivered his message and it was received far more calmly than he expected or could have hoped.
“I want you to assure Mr. Choi we will continue to guide his son and nephew.”
“I’m sure Mr. Choi will be happy to hear that you have personally, guaranteed their safety Ng.”
“Huh?” Ng was taken aback that Tang would twist his words. “Yes Tang, they will be safe, both of them.”
“By the way, Mr. Choi also said to tell you how much he appreciates the extra ten-percent you’ve agreed to send to help cover his medical costs.”
“Yes, Tang, it is understood.”
“You surprise me Ng, I expected you to negotiate,” said Tang in a low voice.
“No Tang, I believe your message was clear.” Ng glanced at the body, being removed by two of his men. “I trust this is all that is expected?”
“Ng, as I’ve said, Mr. Choi expects just three things; loyalty, his son’s continued good health and for you to manage his business in the states. I do believe we have your word and honor to count on. Do we not?”
“My loyalty to George is strong, Tang. There is no question and quite frankly, I am amazed you would question me,” said Ng.
“In difficult times all must be questioned Ng. Look at Chow. He minded his business and did what he was told yet, he was funneling money for Richard, to Kai using your accounts.”
“If you knew about Kai then why?”
“Good afternoon, gentlemen,” said Tang as he left the room. He could have said that by leaving Kai in place, they hoped he would help ferret out the others, but he didn’t have to explain himself to them. He shook their hands and left quickly. He needed to tell George he now had confirmation that it was the Gray’s behind the recent attacks. Their presence brings a certain amount of sense to some other vague rumors that had been floating about.
Chapter Sixty
Tang left the meeting anxious to call George with the news about the Gray’s but knew he had to find Rose and James first, to deliver personal messages. George knew his letter would be upsetting and had asked him to visit them, to reassure all was still fine. He had chosen to wear his navy Armani jacket, and pants with a crisp white shirt to give himself that extra bit of confidence he needed to have when facing Rose. He stood, taking in the Chinatown activity. It didn’t take long to sense things weren’t right. Looking down one way, he saw Kai and a bunch of gang kids, getting overly excited. Kai was up to something else, he thought, as he watched them jump into cars and speed away. Two others, obviously from the gang, based on their similar style of dress, walked pass him quickly. He wouldn’t have picked up anything except they were arguing about whether they would still find James at his apartment. Tang decided to follow the pair and felt his breast pocket to reassure his semi automatic was still there, as was the spare clips in his right trouser pocket, and the spare black steel blade.
As they neared Buchanan and Washington, he was surprised to see John standing on the corner, waving his hands and pacing nervously. He stayed back and watched the two walk up to John who was talking wildly, and a bit too loud. He was so loud that Tang was able to pick up a few words about Charlie and a trap. Another gang kid also came running up the hill right passed him and joined them. He decided to hang back in the doorway of a building on the opposite side of the street to see what they would do. “What the hell? John?” Tang saw John was still bleeding a little. He had been wounded but how and when he wondered.
Tony and Frank turned when Kiki approached. They introduced him to an overly anxious John, who was stressed out and explaining how he got slashed up by fighting with Charlie. John’s look of dread after he finished talking said it all. Tony caught the keys that were tossed to him and they all got into James’ car.
Tang hailed a cab, made the man make a U-turn and followed them.
“Where?” Tony asked.
“Lloyd Lake.” John opened up the secret compartments to reveal the guns, leaned over and released the latch revealing the other hidden compartments in the back. The guys knew instinctively, what the guns meant. Each took a weapon and loaded it as they rode silently.
“What happened?” Tony asked.
“I came back and found Charlie planting shit in the apartment. James couldn’t believe some of the guys would betray him. He got Charlie to set up a meeting with them. But I don’t think- - I think it’s a setup. I think Charlie is setting up a hit.”
Tony thought John’s news coincided exactly, with what he had been suspecting for some time. He remained quiet as John panted with nervousness as he pulled a gun out. Tony always knew the car was equipped, but never thought it contained the number of weapons he saw. On one hand he thought, two guns per man was overkill, but on the other, he felt grateful for the extra ammunition. He didn’t like going in blind, but there was no choice. If they didn’t go now, their leader, their dai low dai, would be dead. He drove through the streets as fast as he could without arousing suspicion from the roving police cars. None of them realized Tang was following in the taxi.
*
Kai had arrived with Bruce and Tom, two of James’ staunchest supporters along with five others from various ranks of the gang. They hung out smoking cigarettes by some trees trying to look casual, but their body stance spoke apprehension. Some of them were still young and impressionable. They were barely fourteen or sixteen and easily swayed by Kai’s formidable words. The older ones were suspicious, having little cause to doubt James integrity. After all, James had fought by their side for most of their lives. While they continued scanning the area for danger, they indirectly focused on the Portals of the Past monument. It was there, by the monument to the survivors of the 1906 earthquake, that the deceit and lies of James’ past would be revealed, or so Kai told them. Kai thought, just as the earthquake rattled society, he would cause the earthquake that reorganizes his world, into his favor. Unlike the spontaneous earthquake of 1906, this one would be man made and totally controlled.
As if out of nowhere, James was suddenly seen standing with Charlie by the Portals and all eyes shifted firmly onto them. Kai watched the guys closely as he judged the effect his veracity had upon them. There was a mixture of anxiousness, disbelief and astonishment sweeping through them. Personally, Kai was joyful as he looked at his watch an
d realized only another five minutes before the Cranes showed. He could sense the uneasiness of the guys behind him. They mumbled amongst themselves about Charlie and James, not wanting to believe their eyes.
Around the same time, John, Tony and Frank jumped out of their car at Fulton and 25th Avenue. They left Kiki to tend to the car and ran through the park toward Lloyd Lake. Initially, John was following Tony, but as the Portals of the Past came into view, it was John who ran faster, passing Tony and Frank.
“It’s a trap! James it's a trap!” John shouted.
James turned and saw John running toward him, but he couldn’t make out what he was saying. Mike and the Red Cranes came out from behind some trees, but didn’t move closer as Mike held up his hand. He knew what was going down and wouldn’t risk endangering the lives of his men. He watched as John ran, closing the distance between himself and James. He heard John shouting at the top of his lungs that it was a trap. It was then that Kai chose to move out from behind bushes.
“See! See! Isn’t this exactly as I’ve told you! There! Look for yourselves. See! I told you the truth. Here’s my proof, James and Charlie. And, over there - -” But Kai couldn’t see the Cranes. They weren’t where they were supposed to be. They had held back in the trees making it difficult to see them clearly. Still Kai pointed toward them, even though he wasn’t sure. “There! There they are, the Red Cranes! Bruce, make sure you get that black bag. I’ll show you where our missing stuff went.” Kai spoke, forcefully.
Charlie heard Kai, saw Bruce, saw the Cranes and realized he had been lead into a trap. The realization that Kai used him to set up James and himself was devastating. He turned toward James and said, “I’m sorry I’ve let you down, too,” in a barely audible voice.
James stood dumbfounded in total disbelief. He would never have thought Charlie would do something like this to him. James watched in slow motion as Charlie drop the bag, pulled out his gun and leveled it directly at him. He lost all confidence in himself at that moment.
Charlie realized too late that he was the victim of Kai’s plotting. Tormented, he paused not sure of his next move. He didn’t really want to shoot James, but that was his order. He was supposed to meet Kai here, but the Cranes were here as well.
“See! I told you he was a traitor. Charlie’s gonna kill James,” said Kai. The guys behind him mumbled among themselves, debating whether or not they should interfere.
“It’s a trap! It’s a trap!” John shouted as he lowered his gun, while running across the lawn. He didn’t see the others on the far side of the lake, nor did he see the Red Cranes. Nor did he realize Tang was following at a safe distance. All he saw was Charlie with a gun pointed at his brother James. As he ran up toward the pair, he delicately squeezed the trigger on the Chinese Type 67 gun. Given the gun had a built in silencer, no one heard the shot being fired until it was too late. As Charlie fell backward, he squeezed the trigger on his own gun. A wild shot rang out, hitting James in the arm and bringing attention to the violent scene, while scaring the birds into taking sudden flight. John had shot Charlie squarely in the chest. James continued staring at Charlie in disbelief, even as he clutched his own wounded arm.
The Red Cranes weren’t too happy they lost the deal, but Mike didn’t care, because he knew he could diffuse the situation and it was just the way he wanted. Mike looked over and saw John looking at him. He felt he knew the thoughts flying through John’s mind, but was content John would be out of his sister’s life. Silently, he and his men left.
John approached. James turned and stared at him. “How could you do this, John?”
“How? Some thanks I get. I just saved your life!” John was breathing hard from running. “Look. There’s no time to argue. Someone may have heard the shot and- -” But he stopped as a woman walking her dog stumbled onto the scene. She saw the gun in his hand, the body of Charlie on the ground and started screaming.
John quickly turned and tugged at James, who didn’t need any encouragement to start running. They just took off. James ran after John, who led him to Frank, Tony and the car. They made their escape just as others responding to the screaming converged upon the scene. Some man finally calmed her down as a small crowd gathered around. In the mass confusion, Kai sent Bruce into their midst to see if he could grab the bag that fell a few feet from Charlie’s body. As everyone was focused on Charlie’s lifeless form, no one noticed Bruce.
Kai, grinning, watched from the safety of distance as Bruce picked up the bag and sauntered back toward the trees and the guys. He felt proud he had accomplished his task, made it look like he recovered the shipment for the gang and looked forward to talking to his father. He felt his measure of face and power within San Francisco growing. He knew that even if James talked his way out of today’s disaster, his career was destroyed. He also knew the men had lost confidence in the man. If they haven’t, he would make sure they would by the end of the day. He walked back to the cars with the guys. Some were bearing the silence of disbelief, while others were bearing an ‘I told you so,’ attitude. They simply got in the cars and headed back to Chinatown. They knew intuitively that a meeting at the apartment was in order.
James was shoved into the back seat by Tony. He sat staring with an empty, hard, look. James eventually turned his gaze towards the back of John’s head. His eyes were filled with a mixture of hatred and gratitude for his best friend Charlie’s death. It was a painful conflict of emotions. On one hand, he was grateful John saved his life, but on the other, he was distressed at the loss and death of not only a friend, but his faith and trust as well.
John was numb from this, his second killing. The sense of power he felt the first time was not present. Instead he felt anguish. He knew things about Charlie and his death was one he took more personally. John turned around to look at James, who had dropped his protective guard. He saw James with clear eyes and an even clearer mind. The terror James felt was evident on his face. As one brother looked at the other, unforgiving apprehension filled the car.
Tang remained standing on the edge of the park observing, a sad witness to the distressful killing. The event outlines were clear to his well-trained eye. He knew, as his experience and informants have told him, the deal was set up by Kai to be a failure for James. The brothers were on the run, the gang in turmoil, the tong, carelessly oblivious and somehow, the Japanese Cranes were even in the mess. George was going to be furious with this fiasco. One thing was certain, his trip just got extended. He didn’t have to ask George. He knew he would be the one left to sort out the sordid mess.
Chapter Sixty-One
Alfred Lew wasn’t happy as he replaced the receiver and looked out of his office window, and across the harbor towards Hong Kong Island. Lem’s failure would have to be dealt with and he would have to meet with George Choi. This is what happens when you approve battle plans devised by others. Now he would have to negotiate a peace. At least George was civilized, he thought, but the price he was sure, would be outrageous. Still, George had provided a way out. The more he thought about it, the wider his grin grew, for he also saw opportunity.
Chapter Sixty-Two
It was nearing nine in the evening Thursday, when George decided it was time to deal with Richard. He knew Richard would be annoyed getting summoned at this hour, especially since he just made bail and only returned to the servant apartment, barely half an hour ago. Yet given recent events, George felt his convenience should take precedent. A man was sent to fetch Richard and it wasn’t too long before Richard’s arrival was announced.
“Good evening, Richard.” George looked up from his desk and saw Richard looked a bit haggard after being in jail for a few days.
“Good evening, George. I suppose you expect me to say thank you for bailing me out of jail.” Richard didn’t like the two men standing behind him or that George looked rather smug.
George didn’t bother to offer the man a chair. “I’ll be brief Richard. You’re dismissed.”
“Dismissed?”
“Yes, Richard, I don’t believe I can make it any plainer than that. You are dismissed. Your position at Choi Enterprises has been phased out, stock options null and voided.”
“Might I know why I’m to be dismissed George after serving you faithfully- -”
“Because Richard, you allowed your sons to bring danger to my family. You hired rival organizations to attack our own. Because Richard, through Lin you have pilfered the corporate funds. Because of your stupidity, you’ve made my family and our society vulnerable to attack. I should say any one of those reasons would be enough.”
“Why stop there, George? If you think I’m a traitor, why not kill me?”
“You know as well as I that because of Rose, I cannot kill you, although I want to very much. Unless you personally try to kill me, I cannot kill you. After all, we are the same blood.”
“Yes, George. We do share, oh who was it? Was it our great or great-great-grandfather? Still though, why? Because there is some boy who may claim to be my son? Really, George. You and Catherine’s father both managed to deny me the pleasure of having a family. I have no family. I have no sons,” stated Richard vehemently. “That too was condition of the oath we swore. I was never to have sons who could bare my name. Or have you forgotten?”
“As you said, you couldn’t have a son bare your name, but I believe Kai took the name of your mistress. You don’t deceive me. And I, if not you, still honor the word I gave and will not touch you. As it stands now, Kai organized the attack in San Francisco. I know you dealt with Lem and the Gray society here. Still, in honor of our oath, I have a choice to present to you.”
The Dragon Within His Shadow Page 35