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

by Wesley Robert Lowe

  Abby and Olivia look at Queenie with newfound respect. This sexy Sheba ain’t no dummy.

  “So what are we going to do tomorrow at the showcase?” asks Olivia, almost afraid to say anything now.

  “Stick with the plan. There’s nothing wrong with standards. The audience will eat it up and we can start building traction. Then, when the time is right, look out world. But if I’m going to do this, I want your word that you’re going to do it with me.”

  “Shouldn’t we have a contract?” asks Abby as she looks in Olivia’s direction.

  “That’s fine,” says Queenie. She too turns to Olivia. “It will probably take 6-8 weeks to get it done, right counselor?”

  “If we’re lucky. First draft can be done within three weeks. Then the negotiating starts and we will be going over point by point and ...”

  “No we won’t,” interrupts Queenie. “This is the deal. I get 20% of the gross and one hundred percent of the publishing. Those are the two key points. If you don’t like that, we can end the conversation here.”

  “That’s rather high,” says Olivia.

  Queenie shrugs. “It is what it is. That’s my price. You want to haggle for a handbag, go back to Hong Kong.”

  Jonny sees Olivia and Abby’s uncertainty and offers, “Listen, I haven’t been in the biz forever but one thing I know is if it don’t get done fast, it don’t get done. You want to wait for two months? I guarantee the deal will be stale. Queenie’ll find someone who isn’t a pain-in-the-ass lawyer to deal with instead who’s got just as much talent and promise—they’re busking for butts all over New York. Right?”

  Olivia and Abby grudgingly nod—talent is everywhere in the Big Apple.

  Jonny continues. “So why don’t you do this? Try Queenie out for a week. No contract. You don’t like her, you can walk. But I’m almost certain that after a week you’ll be clamoring to sign any piece of paper she puts in front of you. And remember this. She don’t make money unless you do.” He looks at Olivia the lawyer. “And you’re smart enough to know if it’s true.”

  “That sounds like a plan,” says Abby with Olivia nodding in agreement.

  All eyes turn to Queenie who reluctantly starts nodding her head. “I just got robbed by bandits with the tricks that I just taught them to use.”

  Everyone laughs but inwardly Queenie is laughing the loudest – her strategy worked. In order to get Olivia and Abby onboard, she knew that she couldn’t come across like a huckster that promises the world to get the gig. By telling them real problems, real issues, she’s built a bridge of trust.

  A key step in the plan.

  ***

  It’s been a long, exciting day for Abby and Olivia. Moved into a new apartment, landed a showcase at one of the best known jazz clubs in New York, got a tour and a chance to record in one of the most impressive recording studios in the world and possibly, just possibly ... they are on their way to a recording deal with a no-nonsense go-getter who loves what they do.

  Time to rest up for an even bigger day tomorrow.

  ***

  In another part of the city, rest is the last thing on Queenie’s mind. Firstly, she has to feed her flock of cranes. After all, they haven’t seen her for more than twenty-four hours and she’s feeling a little guilty.

  She cuddles and rubs the bodies and necks of each one of them. It takes a while because there are now over thirty of them but this is one of the joys in her life.

  Then she goes to another room where there are more cranes. These are diseased, bloodshot, with festering wounds. Not from neglect but because of willful purpose.

  Then she starts crying because she is terribly upset about what she has to do next.

  Killing Hassan broke one of her precious peckers. She is going to have to replace it tonight, which means one of her precious flock is going to have to be sacrificed.

  She takes one of the birds out on the balcony. She massages the bird’s body, ignoring the sores, relaxing it.

  She then takes the bird by the neck and snaps it. The bird tries to move but it’s pointless and in moments it is dead.

  Queenie reaches into her pocket and takes the remains of the pecker that killed Hassan and uses it to sever the head of the newly killed bird.

  For at least another two hours, she will be honing this crane’s beak and making it into a lethal weapon.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  As the plane approaches New York, Noah is still dead to the world but Wangdan is wide awake with his eyes glued to the window. He has heard and read so much about the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island in the center of New York’s harbor and he is finally getting a chance to see it. Even from the distance, it’s awe-inspiring to see Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom holding the torch high in the air. This icon of American freedom fills him with mixed emotions. His own country’s Goddess of Democracy was made out of paper maché and foam and lasted only a few weeks during the turbulent times of 1989 at Tiananmen Square. While the creators of the Goddess disavowed any similarity of spirit with the Statue of Liberty, the connections were unmistakable—both are symbols of democracy announced to the world.

  The changes in China in the past decades have been breathtakingly swift. In less than fifty years, China has been transformed from a foreboding, stark and stern nation to one of the most modernized and industrialized countries in the world. As much as many Chinese are loathe to admit it, much of the change is due to how much American democracy and capitalism managed to pass through the Bamboo Curtain. Walking down any busy street in China, the US influence is unmistakable—American fashions are in vogue, the iPhone is de rigueur, and unfortunately the influence of American-style crime is in evidence. For Wangdan, the Statue of Liberty represents all that is good and bad with the change, both for China as a country and for himself individually. For him, this trip is for more than sightseeing – it is a journey of discovery, not only of himself but of how China fits into the picture in the new world.

  Until a month ago, Wangdan had never even set foot on an airplane, but meeting Noah has changed that completely. While his schedule is not as insane as Noah’s, Wangdan travels somewhere in Asia by plane at least once a week.

  However, this is his first trip to America and he is definitely going to make the most of it. The biggest shock when he steps into the terminal at JFK is not how busy it is. After all, he has recently passed through Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong airports. No, what really surprises Wangdan is that for the first time in his life, he is a minority. He was expecting to be shocked but when it actually happens, the change is far greater than he imagined. There are no Chinese signs, less than a third of the people have Asian heritage, and almost everyone is speaking English. Chinese is not even the second most common language he hears. Never before has he seen so many white, black and brown persons.

  Welcome to America.

  Noah calls Olivia to tell her they have arrived safely. He secretly hoped she would be at the airport waiting, but such is life. Of course, she sounds delighted. She tells him they will meet directly at the Café du Music—she and Abby want to keep practicing until it’s time. Of course.

  It’s less than twenty miles to go from JFK to Manhattan but Wangdan convinces Noah to let the cabbie take the scenic route. So two hours later, they arrive at their 7th Avenue hotel, simply named “The Seventh.” That way they got a quick tour of Chinatown’s Canal Street, Little Italy right next to Chinatown on Mulberry, the business center of Wall Street, Madison Square Garden and the 911 Memorial. Wangdan promised himself that he would go to the Statue of Liberty when he wasn’t quite so rushed.

  Wangdan convinces Noah to go for a walk with him and he finds that again his emotions are mixed. Who wouldn’t be excited by the lights, sights and sounds of Times Square and the area surrounding it? Unlike Hong Kong and Shanghai where the new tends to obliterate any vestiges of the past, New York has a proud celebration of its heritage. It’s one thing to read about it or see New York in a movie. Nothing but being t
here in person can do it justice. Everything from having a deli sandwich chock full of hand-carved corned beef to paying tribute to the fallen at the 911 Tribute Center to riding to the top of the Empire State Building to see what Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks saw when they filmed what had oddly become Wangdan’s favorite movie, ‘Sleepless in Seattle.’ What’s disturbing though is the totally unexpected number of people living on the fringe, people needing help, the openness of drug dealing and prostitution. Yes, it happens in China too but not on the scale that exists in New York.

  Wangdan’s thoughts are interrupted by someone who gives him a whack on the back of his head. He turns around and sees a three hundred pound gorilla of a man sneering at him. “Hey Kung Fu, you wanna fight a real man?”

  Noah turns to Wangdan. “I told you to stop dressing like that.”

  Wangdan says to the huge man, “I don’t see any real men other than my friend Noah here.”

  “You are dead.” With that the gorilla charges at Wangdan. He may be an unsophisticated gorilla but he is a very strong unsophisticated gorilla. He picks Wangdan up like he’s a matchbox and throws him high into the air.

  Ground and pound versus poetry in motion.

  Wangdan does an aerial somersault and lands standing upright on a moving cab’s roof. As the vehicle passes by the gorilla, he jumps on him with palms up.

  Wangdan claps his hands against the big man’s ears but what would be eardrum splitting blows for an ordinary man merely bounce off the bruiser.

  “Shaddap,” says the gorilla as he simply grabs Wangdan’s arms from the sides of his head. Holding onto Wangdan’s right arm firmly so he cannot escape, the big man makes a roundhouse, landing a savage punch to the side of Wangdan’s head with his left hand.

  He releases Wangdan, who crumples to the sidewalk, and follows with a series of kicks with his right leg. While this looks terrible for Wangdan, the truth is the blows inflicted by his fellow Shaolin martial artists at the Heaven monastery were much more ferocious. Wangdan is playing possum.

  Wangdan looks at Noah—What should I do?

  Noah takes a finger and slides it like a cut across his throat—Finish this turkey off.

  Wangdan springs to his feet, shocking his heavyset opponent. With infuriated fists moving like lightning, Wangdan lands twisting hammer punches to the gorilla’s head, chest, and solar plexus.

  Enraged, the big man picks Wangdan up again but this time Wangdan bends and kicks his legs rapidly at the gorilla’s chest. Not releasing Wangdan, the gorilla reels backward until Wangdan does a double kick to his chest, pushing the gorilla off him. Wangdan hotdogs it by springing backwards and doing a double handspring.

  Wangdan cartwheels forward. Noah bends over and Wangdan’s hands land on Noah’s back. Noah leaps up, catapulting a twirling Wangdan right at the gorilla.

  Two palms slap the gorilla’s ears, followed by two rapid fists to the face.

  Again, these blows bounce off the gorilla like tennis balls against a brick wall. The gorilla grabs Wangdan and puts him in a bear hug.

  The gathering crowd chants, “Kill him. Kill him.” It incites the gorilla to squeeze even harder.

  Wangdan’s eyes begin to glaze and then he slumps down.

  When Gorilla lets his guard down for a split second, Wangdan bangs his head directly onto Gorilla’s nose, breaking it and causing a gusher of blood.

  A second head butt to the forehead stuns the gorilla for a moment. Wangdan breaks free and with a demonstration of power, the martial artist lifts Gorilla over his head and spins him like a helicopter. From this move, it’s obvious that Wangdan is watching more on TV than Seinfeld re-runs.

  Wangdan tosses him through the air and gorilla lands flat on his back.

  Gorilla tries to stand up but just can’t and he stumbles to the ground.

  Wangdan makes the Shaolin hand sign to the gasping gorilla as the bloodthirsty crowd yells, “Finish him off. Kill him.”

  Wangdan says simply, “Even a cockroach deserves to live.”

  The furious and humiliated gorilla gets up and roars at Wangdan, who simply turns with his arm straightened and balls his hand in a fist. Unable to stop his momentum, Gorilla’s head meets fist and he is knocked unconscious.

  Everyone flocks around Wangdan—cab drivers, teenage girls, twenty something guys, cougars, Wall Street types, gigolos – they all want to touch him. A quick look at the gorilla shows a Good Samaritan trying to revive him.

  Wangdan glances at Noah and nods. Without warning, the two jump away and run for a solid block, weaving in and around all the pedestrians, street musicians and hawkers.

  A quick glance over the shoulder reveals that they’ve lost their fan club.

  Noah turns to Wangdan as they amble down the street and asks, “So now do you believe me when I say you shouldn’t wear the Shaolin uniform in public here?”

  Wangdan raises his eyebrows. “I thought freedom of expression was important in America.”

  “That’s the theory, but theoretically Heaven should have been a sanctuary.”

  Touché. Even though Heaven was hidden deep in the Huangshan Mountains of China, evil in the form of Queenie’s step-brother King was still able to find it.

  “But Noah, this is America. Americans pride themselves on being the ‘land of the free.’ I could hardly stop from crying when I saw the Statue of Liberty. Americans worship freedom but I am not free to be who I am. I can’t dress the way I want, can’t be who I want to be.”

  “No one ever said this was the land of the perfect.”

  A young girl with a barely budding chest stumbles into Wangdan. Her eyes tell you she’s drunk, stoned or both. The needle marks in her arms tell you she needs a life change fast. “Hey Mr. Karate Man, Twenty bucks. Do with me whatever for ten minutes.”

  Wangdan reaches into his uniform and pulls out twenty dollars and gives it to her.

  “So what’s your pleasure? Remember. Ten minutes.”

  Wangdan lifts her up with one hand over his head and tilts her head so she has a clear view of where she is. “Go home to your family. This is not a place for you.” He lets her down.

  “I get enough preaching at home. I don’t need it from you.” Angrily, she pulls out a used needle from her pocket and tries to stab Wangdan with it.

  Wangdan doesn’t know what she’s trying to do but Noah does. He grabs her hand and takes the needle from it.

  She breaks away from Noah’s grip and staggers down the street. “Losers,” she screams. “That is so not happening.”

  Noah and Wangdan keep watching until she disappears into the crowd. Wangdan says softly, “Freedom requires responsibility ... Noah, I think New York needs us.”

  Noah nods his head in agreement.

  “Yeah they do, but before we save the world ...”

  “Yes Noah?”

  “I’m going to get you some normal clothes. Stop wearing pajamas on the street.”

  Noah pulls Wangdan into a men’s fashion store. “Can’t believe this. You have less fashion sense than I do.”

  An hour later, they emerge from the store carrying bags of new clothes and wearing sets of new threads. They are four thousand five hundred and seventeen dollars poorer but boy, do these two guys ever look sharp.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Jonny walks into Studio 3’s control room where Grammy Award-winning Producer Tim Ritchie intently listens to the playback of a new boy band whose CD he’s producing.

  Tim stops the playback and frowns at Jonny. “One of these days, I’m gonna stop producing this shit.”

  “Thirteen-year-old girls love this stuff.”

  “Thirteen-year-old girls are jailbait. And I been putting up with these arrogant teenage guys for ten years and every time it’s the same story. They believe the hype, they live the lifestyle, and they crash and burn. It’s not music, it’s a damn factory and I’m just the guy in charge of the assembly line.”

  “So what do you want to do?”

  Tim laughs. “I want to
produce movies. Got fifty million bucks you want to invest?”

  “You ever made one before?”

  “Nope, but if I had fifty mil, I could spend my way out of any mistakes I’d make.”

  Jonny asks enigmatically, “You know anything about acting?”

  “What the hell kind of question is that? I got these stupid teenage rock stars believing that I think they’re better than God. Of course I can act. Why?”

  “I got an idea.”

  ***

  Dressed in their new duds, Noah and Wangdan even impress Olivia and Abby when they meet in the lobby of Café du Music.

  There is an initial awkwardness though for Noah. How do you greet someone who’s dumped you and then a few weeks later asks you to fly to New York to see her and discuss some kind of business project that you couldn’t care less about?

  Olivia solves the problem by giving Noah a perfunctory kiss on the cheek. “Noah, you look fabulous.”

  She’s talking and acting like a phony socialite already. I knew I shouldn’t have come.

  “And who’s this handsome beast with you?” continues Olivia.

  It takes every ounce of self-control Noah has to keep from screaming, “Shut the f- up.” Noah motions to Wangdan. “Olivia, Abby, I’d like you to meet Wangdan. He is the new VP of Martial Arts training at the Foundation. He comes from the same Shaolin heritage as Master Wu and your fathers.”

  “You mean Hung Gar, right?”