Forged in Honor (1995) (36 page)

"I'm leaving now," Josh said quickly and hung up, feeling as if he'd just been hit in the stomach with a sledgehammer.

Grant saw the anguish in his face. "What's wrong?"

Shaking, Josh looked up at the ceiling. He wanted to put his fist through a wall. "My friend Detective Kelly has been shot. Do you have a car here?"

"In the parking lot."

"I'm not sure my Jeep will start. Can you drop me off at University Hospital?"

Grant was already heading for the bedroom. "I'll be ready in two minutes."

Mary Kelly saw him and Grant come into the waiting area.

She ran past the detectives and officers clustered there, fell into his open arms, and buried her head in his chest. "God, I'm glad you're here."

Josh held the small woman close and walked her down the hallway a few steps. "How is he?" he asked, steeling himself for the worst.

She saw his worry and reached up to touch his face. "He's okay, but it was damn close. Nolan is ... Oh Jesus, Josh, I can't believe it." She lowered her head, crying. He hugged her to him again. Over her shoulder he saw Nolan's wife sitting in the waiting room being consoled by Kelly's fellow detectives.

Mary pulled away and quickly dabbed her eyes as if embarrassed. "Who's this? You said you'd wait till I threw his Irish butt out. Introduce me, will you?"

Josh gave Mary a smile, seeing she was trying hard to get it back together. He motioned to Grant, who was two steps behind him. "Mary, meet Glenn Grant, a ..."

Grant stepped up. "I'm his army friend. It's nice to meet you, Mary. Sorry we have to meet under these circumstances, but I'm glad your husband is out of danger."

Mary shook Grant's hand and eyed Josh. "Army friend?

That's a good one. Do you play racquetball, by any chance?

I don't know where else he would meet a lady."

Josh put his arm around Mary again. "You probably want to get out of here, but can I see him?"

"You have to. He's been asking about you. I'll just wait downstairs with Glenn and we'll have coffee. I should stay with Cindy, but-"

Josh shook his head. "She has plenty of people with her.

Go on. I'll be down in a little while and we'll take you home."

Josh walked into the room and immediately felt a wave of relief. Kelly was lying back on the hospital bed cradling a phone to his ear, red-faced as always. He nodded, pointed at the phone, and held up one finger, all the while talking in just above a gravelly whisper.

"... I don't care if they say Freddie ain't gonna talk. Bring him in and scare him. Tell 'im I know about his bad deal that went down on L Street.... Yeah, use it. Just get him in and squeeze him. Freddie knows if anybody knows. Do it." He held the receiver out to Josh. "Hang it up for me, will ya?

They got me wrapped so tight I can hardly move. What ya doin' here? You tryin' to make a move on Mary while I'm down?"

Josh could see the pain in his friend's eyes despite his playful words. They were two of a kind, he thought, Kelly and Mary, trying hard to cover their real feelings with humor.

It might have worked if it hadn't been for their eyes. Josh shrugged. "Naw, Mare said it was a bad time. I'm glad to see ya, buddy. Shiny night, huh?"

Kelly lowered his eyes. "Yeah. Ya heard about Nolan, right? Christ, I just gave his kid a ball glove for a birthday present. He just turned seven, and ..."

Josh looked into Kelly's eyes. "Mary said it was close."

Kelly tried to smile but failed, then motioned to his chest.

"The vest stopped the bullets. Can you believe it? Mary ain't never gonna let me live it down. She buys me the vest a month ago-insurance, she says-and damn if she ain't right.

It worked, Hawk. The impact of the slugs still broke one rib and bruised some others, but the damn thing worked. Ain't that some shit?"

Josh motioned to the bandage on Kelly's leg. "And this?"

"Flesh wound. It's nothing. I'll be able to carry your ass on the courts in no time. Doc says two, maybe three weeks, I'm back at work."

Josh's eyes narrowed. "You went in, didn't you? You led the fuckin' charge."

Kelly waved the accusation away but avoided Josh's stare.

Josh shifted his position so his friend would have to look at him. "I gave your twins their presents six months ago for their birthday. Am I gettin' through that thick Irish skull?

You're a D-two detective-let the others handle the hero shit."

"I don't need this right now."

"Well, you're gonna hear it. If not for Mary and the boys, then for me. I can't win on the courts without you."

Kelly lowered his head. "Okay. Christ, you'd think you were my mother the way ya talk." He slowly lifted his chin.

A single tear was trickling down his cheek. "They were loaded with heavy weapons, Hawk. Poor Nolan didn't have a fuckin' chance. They aren't like the others. They fight to the death and that puts us back where we started-with nothin'. The one Jamoke we busted won't talk. He hasn't said a word since they brought him in, and about an hour ago one of the best defense attorneys in town shows up to take his case. We got nothin' on the hits-shit, we don't even know where to start. The guys been roustin' a few walkers in Chinatown, but the fuckin' ACLU is already screamin'. Give me some ideas. You studied the Chink organizations, and none of my guys have ever been to Hong Kong like you."

Josh pulled up a chair beside the bed. "What are you doing to find the snake's head? You have to find the San, the lord, that's runnin' the action here in the city."

Kelly rolled his eyes. "We're workin' it, shit. We contacted Immigration two weeks ago and got a list of all the Chinks from Hong Kong who got green cards in the last year. The fuckin' printout is thirty pages long, so it's gonna take time.

We need something else to narrow the field of probables."

Josh took Kelly's notepad and pen from the nightstand.

"Bear with me, okay? You've probably already got a profile of what to look for, but here's what I think you're lookin' for.

He'd be a high roller, real big-time money. He'd seem legit, with interests in lots of different companies. He'd be working out of a regular office, so that means lots of calls and faxes to and from Hong Kong. His communications systems would all be hooked up to sophisticated scrambling equipment that would encode and decode communications. His security men would be the best there are, but they wouldn't be locals, they'd be Chinks. And the company would be running twenty-four hours a day because of the twelve-hour time difference. He'd want to keep up with news back home, so check out who's sellin' the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's major paper." Josh wrote down what he had just told Kelly, then looked up thoughtfully.

Kelly asked, "What are you thinking?"

Josh shrugged. "It's probably nothing, but Ky says he has Chinese customers who don't even ask the price of the turtles I sell him. Turtle meat is a delicacy to the Cantonese, but only the very rich can afford it in Hong Kong."

"Write it down. I'll try anything right now," Kelly said, motioning to the pad.

Josh added it to the profile, then tore off the page and handed it to his friend.

Kelly smiled for the first time. "Hand me the phone, and tell Alvarez to come in and see me."

Chinatown, Washington, D. C.

Dorba sat behind an intricately carved teak desk and regarded the two men seated before him. Qui, his chief of staff, was wearing a new suit, but the Western clothes couldn't conceal the street fighter he once was. Now in his early fifties, he still made others feel insecure in his presence. Qui had worked as an enforcer for Dorba from the beginning in the Cholon district and had become his most trusted friend and adviser. On the other hand, Michael Woo, seated by Qui, was a suave young man who had been assigned to Dorba's syndicate by the leaders of the Triad to obtain experience and to ensure that their interests were kept in mind. Woo was the son of an elder and had been sent to the United States for his university studies. He went on to graduate from Harvard Law School, became an American citizen, and married an American woman. One month earlier he had left one of Washington's most respected law firms to begin learning the business.

One day he would take his place as San in one of the Triad syndicates. He was now Dorba's American affairs and legal adviser.

Dorba shifted his eyes to Qui. "The loss of two of our employees is of concern to me."

Qui nodded somberly, but his eyes twinkled. "It's time for a warning."

Michael Woo dipped his chin. "San Chu, I have great respect for your wisdom, but these two lower workers were expendable. As your legal adviser I strongly recommend that we allow this to-"

Dorba's cold glare stopped him in midsentence. "You must learn that trust and loyalty are the foundations of the Circle.

Our other lower employees must know they will be protected. Send the authorities a warning letter. Tell them the takeover of the city's white powder distribution was only business, and if they interfere in our affairs again, they will face the consequences."

Woo bowed his head again. "With all respect, San Chu, the police will laugh at such a warning. I worked for the district attorney's office here and I know the leaders of the police department. They won't heed such a warning."

Dorba leaned forward in his chair and said firmly, "They have never dealt with an organization that could carry out the threat. They will learn. I know the warning won't be heeded=this time. From now on they will know they are not dealing with children. If they continue interfering in our affairs after our warning, we will strike with enough force to bring them to their knees."

Dorba took a piece of paper from the top drawer and handed it across the desk to his young legal adviser. "These are the men that I have already instructed Qui to make arrangements for."

Woo's eyes widened as he read down the list. "With all respect, San Chu, this is ... is a war you are declaring. An attack on just one of these men will enrage the authorities and the people. The police and federal agencies won't rest until they find and destroy us."

Dorba exchanged a smile with Qui before shifting his eyes back to the young lawyer. "You will learn that we do not exist. Our organization is impossible to penetrate. The anger of the police and that of the people will be turned to a group who will be easy to hate. Qui and I have used the tactic before, as have many of our Triad friends in Hong Kong."

"But why send a warning if another is to be blamed for the attacks?" Woo asked in desperation.

Dorba leaned back in his chair. "Be patient and you will see. Leave me now and come back in an hour. I will help you draft the letter of warning."

Still shaken by what he had read, the young lawyer got up, bowed, and left.

Qui grinned. "These new ones have no stomach for our old ways."

Dorba lowered his head. "My son is like this Triad spy they have burdened me with. He thinks he is an American instead of a businessman. They will learn like we did. Tell me, old friend. Are we ready to begin distribution of the white powder?"

"It begins today, San Chu."

Dorba nodded once and took off his glasses to wipe the lenses with his silk handkerchief. "We might have a problem.

One of the Burmese who brought in our white powder killed three other Burmese last night in Seattle, and another is missing. My son called and told me this killer is a man my son went to school with and I had met as well." Dorba picked up a fax message from his desk and handed it to Qui. "This Stephen Kang may come to Washington and seek refuge with an American friend who lives here, according to our Burmese friends. The name of the American and his address are in the message."

"Eliminate the American?" Qui asked, glancing at the paper.

"No, not yet. If he is killed we will not find Kang. Put surveillance on him. If Kang gets to him, then kill the American and find out from Kang who Kang has spoken to. We need this matter cleaned up as quickly as possible. The Burmese are holding Kang's wife, so I don't believe he will go to the authorities. Even if he did, he knows only that my son was involved, but he knows nothing of me and our business."

Qui stood and lowered his head. "I will see to it immediately."

Dorba smiled. "As you always do, old friend."

Grant pulled up to the curb at Josh's office. "You won't have time for hunting, will you?"

Josh shrugged. "I'll have time to check a couple of traps after I get my Jeep running. I'm going upriver later for a workout. It's been a while."

"I guess that means sculling?' she asked, already knowing the answer.

Josh nodded absently and turned to look at her. "I'm sorry about crashing at your place last night. You should have thrown me out."

Grant winked. "It'll give you and Stef something to talk about."

"Don't remind me. Really, I owe ya for your help this morning. Anytime you wanna go huntin', let me know. I enjoy your company."

"My God, I think that's a compliment. Thanks. I'll stop by tonight while you're making rounds. I'd like to see you in action."

Josh got of the car and waved. "Tonight, then. And thanks again for this morning."

Josh watched as she pulled away, feeling guilty. While he'd been talking to her he'd kept seeing her in her nightgown. Maybe he wasn't as far gone as he'd thought.