The Noah Reid Series: Books 1-3: The Noah Reid Action Thriller Series Boxset

by Wesley Robert Lowe

  “Hey, Bro, what’re you showering for? Let’s go shoot a few hoops,” says Sam.

  “Can’t. Leaving town in three hours.”

  “You just got back. I’m going to claim child abandonment. How about some video games then?”

  “Love to, but Master Wu is sick. He won’t fly so I’ve got to go on a boat with him. Check this out.” Noah shows Sam his iPhone, which has a mother of a luxury yacht on its screen.

  Sam’s jaw drops. “Wow! Now I’m coming with you,” states Sam firmly.

  “Figured you’d say that. I’ve already talked to your school and you can come as long as you do an essay on ‘Shaolin Paradise.’”

  “You’re the man!” Sam fist bumps Noah. Ever since he met Noah, he has been boning up on everything to do with the Shaolin, especially Hung Gar, Tiger and Crane style.

  Sam makes a quick demonstration of martial arts exercises complete with sound effects. “Ooh. Ah! Haiyah!” He finishes up in the Tiger position with claws poised for assault.

  “The Shaolin Paradise was built more than fifteen hundred years ago and is not just a Shaolin martial arts hangout. It’s a center of Buddhism. While today it’s more commercial, it doesn’t abandon its spiritual or sports roots. It’s located in one of the suburbs of Shanghai. In other words, Noah, it would be a perfect spot for the Foundation to set up a gym. I’ve wanted to visit the place ever since I saw pictures of it on the net.”

  Noah grins. “My only worry is that your teachers are going to miss you.”

  “Are you kidding? They’re going to be overjoyed to get this nasty brat out of their hair.”

  “That good, huh?”

  “That good. C’mon Noah, hurry up. We’ve got a boat to catch.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Twenty miles off the coast of Guangdong, an old cargo ship has begun its journey to North America. It looks like a thousand other vessels carrying goods from China for distribution at any of the big box retailers in the United States, except this one has cargo that is much more valuable than nineteen ninety-nine coffee makers or three-dollar T-shirts. It’s carrying humans, each one worth a hundred grand over the next ten years to the owner of this vessel.

  That makes Captain Cheryl Lin a most valuable part of the enterprise. She needs to make sure that the almost three hundred passengers crammed below deck stay alive... and hidden. To maximize profit, every member of the human cargo must be ready to work almost from the time they get off the ship, not the easiest thing to do when you’re transporting them at the cheapest possible price.

  It’s not that the owner couldn’t spend more on his willing captives’ lives to make them more comfortable. But if he did, the cargo might get the idea that the snakehead boss was soft or easy to take advantage of. And that might make for problems a year or two down the line if the grimy illegal immigrants decided to try and escape their “voluntary” bondage.

  No, better to keep them in fear for their own existence and the lives of their families left in China. Control is a lot easier when death is on the line and neophyte Captain Cheryl wants to make sure the cargo knows who’s in control. One of the traits that make her so valuable is a sharpened sense of everything around her. Right now, she focuses on a chopper sound off in the distance.

  Her first thought is that the helicopter belongs to some government authority that has managed to find out about their existence and destination. She’s not worried about being shut down because she knows that whoever is in the flying bird is only hoping to line their pockets with cash. It’s a pain in the ass because the cost always decreases the profit from the bottom line. And her boss’s bottom line affects her bottom line because she’s in for a percentage, not a salary.

  With vibrations from the chopper starting to shake her vessel, chagrin changes to unease changes to surprise when the aircraft is shown to be a craft that she knows well―an AgustaWestland helicopter. The bird expertly lands on deck. Surprise changes to amazement when King steps out.

  “Hello, Cheryl. I’ve got a new job for you.”

  “Of course.”

  ***

  One hour later, the helicopter drops a huge tarp over the 100-foot luxury super yacht, the Tao Princess. The super yacht is too big to be docked in the main part of Hong Kong’s Aberdeen Harbor, so like other large private boats; it is parked far from the minions, toward the open sea. From a distance, people spotting the helicopter shake their heads. The crazy things rich people do is the only thought running through their brains.

  A very sleek 25 ft. light metal craft, the Ever Ready carrying Cheryl and eight of her crew, approaches the luxury yacht from the opposite direction. No one pays it any mind because boats like these are always ferrying supplies to the pampered so-called elite on the big boats. Arriving, the crew quietly lifts the tarp and enters underneath.

  Onboard, the crew of the Tao Princess is confused. The captain runs to his cabin and changes the marine radio to Channel 16 VHF, the international distress frequency. Before he can say a word though, a lightning hand chops the captain across the windpipe, stopping the words before they leave his throat.

  A swift kick to the groin causes the captain to buckle over.

  Raw strength with a double uppercut to his jaw shoots him toward the ceiling.

  Two rib-breaking hammer throws at his chest send him tumbling to the floor.

  In his final moments of life, he glares upward at his assailant. Unfortunately all he sees is a pair of boots coming down hard on his head. If he had been able to see anything, he would have seen the enchanting hazel eyes of former Olympian and beauty queen, Captain Cheryl Lin.

  ***

  On the rest of the ship, the other members of the Tao Princess’s crew are just as easily dispatched. While they are experts at kowtowing to the uber-wealthy, knowing how to disarm trained killers is not part of their job description.

  One of them foolishly reaches for a gun in his pocket. Before his hand can grip the magazine, a whirling, speeding martial arts throwing star severs his jugular.

  Another dummy pulls the axe out of the fire extinguisher box. A double flying leap at his neck paralyzes him instantly.

  Some of the Tao Princess’s staff hope that by giving up without a fight they might be spared. Not a chance. When they put up their hands in surrender, it just makes for easy kills. Sharp knives make accurately placed incisions to hearts and heads.

  No guns are used; no noise is made. The tarp muffles any sound made by the victims. Within seven minutes, all of the Tao’s crew are dead.

  Now, there is a furious rush for cleanup and disposal. Each body is doused with fish fertilizer, bound together limb by limb and then has a hundred-pound weight hooked to it. All are tossed overboard and sink out of sight. The crabs and other scavenger sea life will have a special feast tonight.

  The fire hose shoots out water to hose down all the pools of blood while rags and mops clean up the splatter on the ship’s walls.

  Everyone on the enemy team rushes inside one of the staterooms to use the Tao’s cutting-edge shower system. They change into new uniforms of waterproof tan cargo shorts and short-sleeved white micro-fiber golf shirts.

  The entire operation has taken less than half an hour.

  The AgustaWestland comes back and uses a huge hook to pull the tarp off the boat.

  From a mile away, the neighbors glance over to see the captain and crew busy preparing the boat again for departure. If they looked a little closer, they might have noticed that the captain is now a younger woman and not a middle-aged man.

  But they don’t. They do see a fancy metal powerboat leaving the Tao Princess and heading toward shore. No doubt to pick up some well-heeled passengers that will get the utmost pampering with their every whim catered to.

  Right.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Hey Harry, can I drive?” asks Sam of one of the muscular young men helping Noah transport Master Wu from the stretcher onto the Ever Ready, Captain Cheryl’s metal powerboat. Doctor Tang an
d Lisa assist them in placing Master Wu carefully into a nest of blankets in the bottom.

  “Do you have a marine license?” asks Harry, appearing very sharp in his tan shorts and white golf shirt.

  “I...”

  “No, he doesn’t,” says Noah firmly as he, Dr. Tang and Lisa board.

  “No worries. Just sit beside me then,” says Harry.

  “You’re awesome, man!” says the delighted teen. Sam scrambles to sit beside Seaman Harry, who carefully guides the Ever Ready away from the marina.

  Once out in a safer area of more open water, Harry motions for Sam to take over the controls. Like every other teenager in the world would do, the first thing Sam does it is gun it.

  “Wow, Noah! This thing is so cool,” calls Sam as he wallows in the ocean spray kicking into his face.

  “Slow down, Sam,” calls Noah.

  “Are you kidding?” calls Sam as he pushes the throttle. Master Wu lies prone on the boat’s floor where Noah, Dr. Tang and Lisa hold him tightly as the Ever Ready speeds toward the large luxury craft.

  Sam’s excitement is infectious. After all, what’s the point in having a lot of money if you can’t spend it? You can’t take it with you wherever you’re going, right? That was Noah’s rationale for renting the biggest big ass luxury boat he could find in Hong Kong with zero notice. If he were just a little bit honest with himself, he would also admit that after growing up dirt-poor, it was nice to pamper himself on occasion.

  The Tao Princess is going to charge $150,000 to schlep five people from Hong Kong to Shanghai in a day and a half traveling at a quick clip of about 30 knots per hour. The company that owns the boat has promised Noah, Sam, Dr. Tang, Lisa and the bedridden Master Wu the ride of their lives. There will be more than twice as many crew members as passengers. In addition to the captain, first mate and mechanic, there are two deckhands and six service personnel whose sole purpose is to ensure that its guests are pampered and happy.

  As the Ever Ready approaches the luxury vessel, Captain Cheryl and her uniformed crew stand onboard awaiting their arrival. Harry takes over from Sam to properly position the boat. Sam jumps aboard and starts running around as four of the mariners carry Master Wu onto the ship. Everyone is so pre-occupied with Master Wu’s safety; no one notices that Lisa has discreetly dropped a small piece of luggage belonging to Dr. Tang overboard.

  “Welcome aboard, Mr. Reid,” greets Cheryl with a salute.

  “No need for formalities. Just call me Noah.” He gives a critical eye. “I thought we were going to have a Captain Andrew McIntyre?”

  “He was originally booked but he got suddenly ill and I was called in just an hour ago. I’m fully experienced on this vessel but if you’d prefer to have someone else, we can have someone here in four hours.”

  “No, no. I’m sure you will be excellent. Besides, we want to get going.”

  “Of course. Please make this ship your home for the next two days. We’ve tried to anticipate your every need, but if there’s anything else, I will do my best to accommodate.”

  I bet you will. Everyone likes a guy who pays a whacking pile of cash up front. “As long as we all get to Shanghai safely,” says Noah.

  “Of course. Now excuse me, I have a ship to captain.” She turns and leaves for the bridge.

  Sam and Noah start exploring the three level $60 million dollar super yacht.

  Natural light bathes the open upper deck where a hospital quality bed is set up for Master Wu. There are crew’s quarters and a world-class galley for cooking on the lower deck. The main deck has the bridge and four guest staterooms that seem to flow seamlessly from space to space.

  “Gosh, Noah, what a waste,” says Sam.

  “I hear you. Why do you say that?”

  “I mean, here you are, spending a small fortune to get Master Wu and his posse there and you’ve got a boatful of people waiting to give you the best booze and food and, ahem, women that money can buy and you’re not going to use any of it. Except for you and me, everyone’s a vegetarian and doesn’t touch alcohol. I mean, how expensive is it to feed everyone rabbit food and water?”

  “You’ve got a point. And you’re not going to have a drink, either.”

  “C’mon, Noah. Don’t be a killjoy. Live a bit! And anyway, I think Blondie likes you.” He smirks lecherously, thinking of the dyed-blonde Captain Cheryl whose sexy curves can’t be hidden even under her black and white captain’s uniform.

  “I’m going to be a monk just like Master Wu. You wanna give me a haircut?”

  “Noah. Time to get real. Olivia’s ancient history and you’re single. Have some fun,” jokes Sam.

  I could strangle this kid. “I don’t even know what fun means anymore.”

  ***

  Cheryl pulls out her cell phone and sends off a three-word text. “On the way.”

  Those three seemingly innocuous words will set off a maelstrom.

  Like Dr. Lisa Mah, Captain Cheryl Lin is another of those attractive, powerful women that men tend to be scared of. Almost thirty years ago, she and her parents were smuggled to America on a boat much like the snakehead boat she now captains. Her parents had made Chin over fifty thousand dollars by the time he released them from indenture. And good to his word, Chin helped them get green cards. This was her introduction to Chin’s family. She was fascinated by the hold that Chin had―not only on her parents but also the thousands of others that he ferried over. She didn’t know it, but when she was a child, Chin had spotted her exceptional grace and flexibility. He’d helped get her into gymnastics, a field where she had blossomed.

  After making it to the top ten in the Olympics, she had performed with Cirque du Soleil in Macau for five years before a tumble from fifty feet in the air broke her back. She then realized that she could no longer be a gymnast, so she needed to redefine herself. In constant pain for almost a year of recuperation, she searched for stronger and stronger painkillers. When none of that worked, she started checking the efficacy of alternative therapies. By now, Chin was her “patron.” He suggested to her the healing powers of snake venom and she hoped against hope that it might work on her so she could resume her career in acrobatics.

  It didn’t, but in the process, she was introduced to King. Neither King nor she was ever sure whether or not Chin planned this succession from father to son but being ambitious, dangerous and gorgeous was a combination that made her attractive to King. King was starting to establish himself as a snakehead and she wanted in on the business. At that time, King didn’t have his own ship but rented excess cargo space from other shipping companies that were willing to turn a blind eye in exchange for easy profits.

  To build street cred, Cheryl worked as a deckhand and “immigrant handler” for King and any other snakehead that would give her a chance. With King, her natural athleticism proved useful on two additional fronts: 1) She was an amazing sexual partner 2) She became a martial arts sparring partner that few could match.

  Commanding the respect of some of the toughest scum in the world isn’t an easy task but Cheryl has proved herself and has grown along with King. No longer content to rent out cargo space, King has bought his own tramp freighter and brought Cheryl on to run it. It’s a cheap ship but more than ample to carry its prime merchandise.

  That’s what makes King’s demand so strange. She knows that financially King is stretching himself, so for him to get her away from the profitable cargo of desperate illegals to playing nurse to a sick Sifu and his sidekicks seems bizarre. However, she has long stopped asking questions. If King wants something, there is definitely a good reason.

  “Find out what makes Noah and Master Wu tick. If you can, find out where the money is.” Normally, King would have just said to beat them into admission. This request shows that these two are a bit different. Attack the soul and the body will die were his words of advice on how to proceed.

  ***

  Pulling away from Hong Kong, the yacht passes a few Chinese junks as it traverses toward the ope
n sea. It brings back memories to Noah. When he was a little boy, he used to love to come down to Aberdeen and watch these sailing vessels with their flat bottoms and sails with horizontal sections with line attached to their trailing edges. He was amazed to see people living here as if they were small apartments on land. As a young Caucasian boy who spoke Chinese, Noah was a special curiosity and he always got invited for a free meal somewhere. The fare was delicious, usually freshly caught fish less than an hour old with rice and vegetables grown right on the ship.

  For Master Wu, seeing these ancient Chinese sailing vessels evokes the memory of coming to Hong Kong from the mainland and on a ship similar to one of these. He can still smell the feces of the live chickens, the salt breeze of the ocean and see the green pots of vegetables and live fish flopping on the deck that would be lunch or dinner in ten minutes or less.

  He shakes his head with a touch of melancholy for yesteryear. Today, while there are still several thousand people living on them, a good number of the junks have been converted to tourist ships where one can have a cocktail and massage while absorbing the Hong Kong cityscape.

  Normally, Noah detests that kind of commercialization but then the only constant in life is change. Traveling by luxury boat is just the salve needed for the senses-numbing lifestyle Noah has been leading for the past few months.

  Standing tall on the main deck by himself, it just hits him. He is dog-tired. Completely out of gas. And he’s just lost the only girl he ever loved and is worried that he’s about to lose his mentor.