After Sloan disappeared, Franco walked to the side of the waiting area and called Rorke.
“He’s in passport control. I just said ‘goodbye’ to him. He’ll be coming to security soon.”
“We’ve got him.”
“Sorry about him getting loose on me.”
“You did all you could last night. We’ll make sure he leaves the country without further mishap. Count it as a success. I hope he takes your counsel when he gets home.”
“Me, too.”
“It was good working with you, Franco.”
“Yeah, you too, Sam,” he said without conviction.
After a pause, she said, “Leave town.”
“I’m going.”
“Okay, have a good life,” she said, and the phone was switched off.
Franco thought about what he should do. His assignment was completed. He had time on his hands and his only obligation was to eventually pick up his things on Stewart. He didn’t want to dwell on the last 48 hours.
He thought he had an idea of what he might do. Franco walked down to the arrivals area and saw what he was looking for. It was a travel agent’s office. He entered and made a few inquiries. He sat with the travel agent and made the arrangements. The timing was perfect. The cruise ship would sail at 5:00 pm that evening out of Kowloon and he could hop off the ship in Singapore in seven days and, from there, return to New Zealand. He booked the most expensive cabin available, airfare from Singapore to Stewart, and looked ahead to the coming week, wishing he could forget the last one.
CHAPTER 29
While every night was a good night on Lan Kwai Fong, Saturday night was special. The restaurants and bars were always full on Saturdays. It was an area where everyone was generally in a good mood, at least at the beginning of the evening before the ugly drunks came out.
Chao greatly anticipated seeing his new friend, “Carl,” at the same bar where they had met before for drinks. Chao was excited both for the diversions the night portended as well as for the business possibilities that it might spawn. He was looking forward to drinks, an elegant dinner, and a long night of interesting entertainment at his club. The club was especially fantastic on Saturdays since they booked extra talent from all over Asia.
Chao arrived a few minutes early and ordered his first drink before Hal arrived. Hal was still not there after fifteen minutes and Chao was well into his next round. As he downed the drink and thought about leaving, he saw Hal enter the bar with a woman.
Hal waved, but Chao focused most of his attention on the woman. She was breathtakingly gorgeous and was conspicuous in displaying it. Her long dark hair was punctuated with blonde streaks. She wore spiked heels that rose to a short, tight dress, topped with a pronounced cleavage. She had blue eyes and blue fingernails and a birth spot on her cheek. Her large hoop earrings finished her look.
When Hal brought her to the bar to meet their host, she flashed Chao a dazzling, perfect smile outlined with bright red lipstick over full lips.
“Please forgive me for being late,” said Hal. “My cousin Alissa called. She just arrived from out of town and asked if she could come to dinner with us. I hope it’s all right.”
With difficulty, Chao briefly took his eyes off the woman, glancing at Hal.
“Of course,” he said. “I am Chao. It is my pleasure to meet you.”
“It is wonderful to meet you as well,” said Alissa. “’Carl’ says that you’re going to make each other a lot of money in the coming years.”
“I hope he’s right,” said Chao. “Shall we go to a table?”
“Yes, please,” said Alissa. “I’ve traveled all day in these shoes and I’d love to get off my feet.”
Hal walked to a circular booth and let Alissa slide in first. Chao and Hal flanked her in the booth. Alissa put her purse on the shelf above the booth corner as she slid in.
Hal looked to Chao and explained, “Our mothers were sisters. Alissa popped into town on business.”
Chao looked at her, “What’s your business?”
Alissa shrugged her shoulders and said, “Fashion design. Not quite as lucrative as my cousin’s computer business. Hey, we can’t all be geniuses.”
“Where are you traveling from?” he asked.
“Singapore,” said Alissa.
“I love Singapore,” said Chao, “when I’m feeling well behaved.”
“What about when you’re feeling frisky?” asked Alissa.
“It depends on which vice I’m cultivating at the time,” said Chao.
“Do you specialize in more than one?” she teased.
“Truthfully, I’m a slave to many. That’s a story for another day. How about a drink?”
“Good idea. Let’s all have Singapore Slings,” she said quickly, before Hal could respond. “It won’t be like the Raffles Hotel, but it will make me think of home and having ‘Carl’ come visit me.”
“No thanks,” said Hal. “I hate those sweet drinks.”
“Please, ‘Carl,’ just one. Chao, you’ll be a nice guy and have one with me, won’t you?”
“Sure I will,” said Chao, with a grin. “Come on, ‘Carl,’ be nice to your cousin.”
The waitress came to the table and Alissa quickly ordered three Singapore Slings and placed her hand over Hal’s face before he could speak. She giggled as he wiped her hand away from his smiling mouth.
“She bosses me around, just like when we were kids. It is wrong, because I am her senior.”
“By only two days,” she said quickly.
“You should still respect your elders, Alissa.”
“I do. I ordered a drink for you out of great respect.” She laughed again. She turned to Chao.
“What do you do besides try to make deals with my cousin?”
“I work for many cousins,” said Chao. “I broker relationships between western companies and mainland industries. My brother and I have been doing this for many years.”
“You don’t look that old,” said Alissa.
“I try to keep my stress levels down,” said Chao. “It helps you stay young.”
“That’s very useful to know,” she said, and changed the subject. “How often do you come to Singapore?”
“Usually about three times a year,” he said. “How often do you come to Hong Kong?”
“About once a month,” she said.
“What kind of clothes do you design?” Chao asked.
“Lately, it’s mostly for babies and kids. Asian moms want to keep up with the west with all the cute clothes. We’ve been behind in that market for a long time.”
“Who do you work for?” he continued.
“I freelance. I have designs being made by several manufacturers in China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam. I’d like to find work in South Korea and Japan. It’s harder for me to break in there; they’re already too western, but I keep trying.”
“Always keep trying,” affirmed Chao.
She turned toward the bar, “Look, ‘Carl,’ here come our drinks. You can say you did one nice deed for the day by humoring me with this.”
The waitress placed the drinks on the table and left.
“I’ll give you my business card,” Alissa said. “Would you hand me my purse?” She pointed to the corner shelf above the booth behind Chao and he turned to reach the purse. When he did, her right hand hovered over his drink. Hal watched closely. There was barely a splash as she discharged a small vial of liquid into Chao’s drink.
Chao turned back to her with the small purse in his hand. “Thank you,” she said, taking it and fishing out a business card. “This is me. You should look me up the next time you come to Singapore. It’s a wonderful place. I’ll show you a good time.” She hoisted her glass and giggled, “To Singapore Slings and to sweet drinks everywhere.”
They all drank and
eventually drained their glasses. Alissa gestured to the waitress to bring them another round. When the drinks arrived, ‘Carl’ complained, although he started to drink it anyway. Chao did likewise, supporting Alissa’s choice. Alissa responded to Chao’s support. She seemed very interested in Chao’s business and continued to ask him questions. Chao spoke about it for several minutes until his train of thought began to wander and he was challenged with trying to be coherent.
Alissa turned to Hal and whispered in his ear, “It’s time.”
“Okay.”
With that Hal spoke. “Hey, I have to make a call,” he said. “I’ll be back later. I’ll take care of the bill tonight.”
“Okay,” said Chao, as Hal slid from the booth, walked to the bar, and put cash on the counter.
Alissa smiled at Chao and put her hand on his thigh beneath the table.
“Did you like the Sling?”
“Oh, yeah,” said Chao. “I like your hand, too.”
She moved her hand up to his crotch and slowly rubbed him there.
“Oh yeah, I really love the Sling.”
Alissa continued to massage her new friend.
“Are you feeling good?” she asked.
“Amazing,” he said. “It was a good drink.”
“You bet,” she said. “Do you want to feel even better? We can go somewhere.” She applied more pressure with her hand beneath the table.
“Can I make you feel good too?”
“I hope so,” she laughed.
He laughed too, and said, “Oh, yes, let’s go.” He added, “I like being with you. We should go to my place and put on some music.”
“Okay, let’s have a party,” she said. “’Carl’ already paid the bill.”
“That was nice of him. Should we wait?”
“No. His business calls always take too long.”
She maneuvered Chao to the street. The large dose of Ecstasy still had not taken full effect but it would in a few minutes, and she hurried to maneuver him to the street before he started vomiting or stumbling.
On the busy sidewalk, she took his hand and pulled him to the side of an alley in the crowded low-rise area. A white van with a hotel logo and “Airport Shuttle” written on the side was idling in the alley. The van pulled forward closer to the sidewalk when they approached.
The passenger side window dropped and Hal looked out, asking, “Do you need a ride?”
“Look,” said Alissa, ‘It’s ‘Carl.’ Let’s hop in.”
Chao was distracted by the many people on the street, and followed her lead. She guided him into the van. He sat in the club seat behind the driver as the van pulled out into the traffic. Chao’s headrest was like an exaggerated race car driver’s, with padded side panels to cradle his head.
No one spoke in the van except Alissa. She was not in a seat, but instead knelt on the floor in front of Chao.
“Let’s keep the party going,” she said and lowered his pants zipper and started to play.
“Oh yeah,” said Chao.
Her hands released his leather belt buckle and then the hook on his pants. She loosened them and started to pull them down. He helped.
“Are you feeling good?” she asked.
“Better and better,” he said, as Alissa kept up her activity below. “Wow, the lights are incredible tonight.” As an afterthought, he added, “Do we have any music here?”
After several blocks, they pulled off on a side street and the van slowed. Chao was more interested in Alissa’s activities than the activity behind him. Another passenger, hidden from Chao in the back seat, passed a wide, heavily padded, nylon belt over his head. It gently rested on his waist. The belt was suddenly pulled tight and Chao’s arms were immobilized.
The van turned off the street, down an alley, and through a large open bay door into a mechanic’s garage. The garage door shut behind the van as soon as it entered. The van parked and Chao looked around.
“What’s happening? Where are we?” asked Chao, confused, yet not particularly alarmed.
“It’s all part of the party,” said Alissa. “Let’s do a little coke.”
“Sounds weird, but okay. You’re in charge.”
Alissa was now at his side with what looked like a nasal aspirator from a child’s medicine closet.
“When I tell you, sniff in,” she said.
“Okay, cool,” he said.
“Now,” she said, and he took a deep breath through his nose. The white powder in the aspirator was discharged.
“Wow,” he said, after a few more breaths to clear his nose.
“You want another?” she asked.
“Sure,” said Chao slowly, slurring his words. She gave him more of the powder.
Chao closed his eyes, feeling the effects of the cocaine hits.
“Okay,” said Alissa quietly, to the man in the back seat. “Give me the ‘epi.’”
The man in the back handed her two syringes. Each had a capped small gauge needle.
Alissa took the syringes. Chao’s pants were down below his knees and his knees were spread. She lifted his man sack and injected the adrenaline shot into the upper inner thigh on each side.
“You feeling okay, Chao?”
“Yeah, feeling okay. What was that pinch down there?”
“Birth control.”
“Oh, okay.”
They waited, watching him. Chao struggled to say, ”Hey, my heart’s beating out of my chest. That must have been good stuff.”
“First class,” she said. “We’re going to do nitrous now.”
“This might be a little too much, don’t you think? I’m really tripping now. Wow.”
“No, not too much for you, baby.” She looked to the man in the back seat and said to Hal, “Open the door and windows, please.”
The man in the back seat handed her a plastic facemask with a tube coming from it.
“Chao, I want you to take a few deep hits of this. You’ll feel amazing. I’ll play with your boy downstairs and make you feel good.”
Chao was in and out of consciousness now. He said nothing.
The man in the back seat placed the gas over Chao’s face. Chao initially took it quite easily, then started to struggle as his breathing became more labored. The man behind Chao easily kept the mask in place, with the padded side panels of the headrest limiting Chao’s movement. Chao’s struggling intensified briefly. After a few moments, it lessened, and then suddenly stopped entirely.
Alissa felt his neck for a pulse, “Okay, turn off the nitrogen. The fun’s over here. I guess his little heart gave out.”
“Too much to drink, a cocaine overdose, asphyxia, and an adrenaline rush might do that,” said Hal.
“Yeah, too bad,” said Alissa, as she left the van. “He was really enjoying that Ecstasy. He probably should have quit with that.”
The man in the backseat loosened the padded belt and came around to lift and buckle Chao’s pants.
With Chao still in the seat, Alissa turned to Hal. “Where’s my ‘go’ bag?”
Hal left for a moment, and returned with a fabric travel bag from the garage office.
Alissa removed the wig, revealing her own short black hair, and took off her large earrings. Then she popped out the blue contacts and peeled the stick-on birthmark from her cheek. She extracted a small case from the fabric bag and walked to the bathroom, returning a few minutes later without a trace of makeup on her face.
“Is this my burn bag?” she asked Hal, looking at the large paper bag in front of her.
“Yes.”
She picked up her other discarded items and removed all her clothes, except her panties, and put them in the bag.
She stood in front of Hal rubbing her breasts.
“If I never see another push-up bra, it will be too soon,” she said.
She reached in her bag and retrieved a plain white bra, a casual blouse, and a pair of slacks from her bag. After re-dressing, she put on a pair of casual slip-on shoes. The effect was a modestly dressed, upper middle class young woman, probably a mother.
She pulled a garage rag off the countertop and sat on a stool. Reaching into her “go” bag, she found a bottle of nail polish remover. She opened the bottle and wet the rag with it. The other men peeled off the decal from the side of the van and replaced it with a decal for a plumber’s business.
“I have to ask,” said Hal, as he stood beside her, “Can’t we do better than Singapore Slings in the future? I hate that drink.”
“Sorry, Hal, but nothing does a better job at taste masking than gin, Cointreau and pineapple juice.”
“Yuck,” he said.
She sat removing her nail polish, and didn’t argue further.
“He seemed like a nice guy,” she said, gesturing over her shoulder with her head. Chao, slumped in his captain’s chair, was now very pale and lifeless.
“He was all right,” said Hal. “We think he stole a lot of DoD secrets, although we can’t be sure. Pauling was just waiting for him to step out of line one more time.”
“I guess he did,” she said in a nonchalant way, to no one in particular.
Hal let her clean another finger or two when he said, “I still think you enjoy playing with the guy’s junk when you do your little routine.”
She cleaned another finger as she answered, “Hal, of course, I do, but I haven’t heard of a medical examiner yet who’s found the puncture marks there. They don’t like to look. Are you aware that when they do a post, they’ll go over a woman’s genitalia with a fine-tooth comb, sometimes literally? They leave the boy’s equipment undisturbed. It’s terrible sexism. It has to be addressed.”
Hal had no response to that, and instead asked, “Where did you buy the drugs?”
“I picked them up this morning in Kowloon.”
“Any problems?”
“No. It was my usual supplier.”
“Good,” said Hal. “What time is your flight?”
“12:30 to Narita.”
“Are you going back to the States?”
The Rice Thieves Page 22