Riding the Snake (1998) (10 page)

Aside from exchanging brief introductions, the two men didn't speak. They rolled along Beijing's busy streets listening to a mixture of sounds: the faint purr of the car's engine; the red flags flapping on the front fenders; Li Xitong's labored breathing.

The meeting was to take place in the beautiful restaurant on the twenty-fifth floor of the OTIC building located on Chang An (Boundless Peace) Avenue. Willy Wo Lap knew that CITIC stood for China International Trade and Industry Corp. CITIC had many connections with Poly Industries, which was the commercial arm of the People's Liberation Army, a lucrative business that sold arms to everybody. Poly Industries had almost single-handedly made the market on Russian ordnance after the break-up of the
Soviet Union. Willy had felt that sales of Russian nuclear weapons would be a lucrative market and had been trying for several months to purchase, through Poly Industries, some Russian suitcase bombs. It was rumored that one hundred of these highly portable nuclear weapons had gone missing from the Russian war lockers, and Willy was very close to arranging the purchase of ten of them. Poly Industries was already responsible for supplying the very Russian automatic weapons that Willy's Triad sold to Black teenagers in the streets of America for top dollar.

The elevator doors opened onto the top-floor restaurant, where Chen Boda was waiting. The diminutive head of the Chinese Communist Military Commission seemed ageless. It had been four years since Willy had lain on the rolling gurney in the Friendship Hospital and watched through the glass as the slight politician ordered the surgeon to plunge the scalpel into the young radical's chest, beginning the lifesaving kidney harvest that "protected" Willy from the storm.

The two men shook hands. Willy had been summoned here, and he knew, just like the last time he had been invited to Beijing, that something important was about to happen.

Several military attendants set up folding screens around a corner window table. The Chinese screens were thin, delicate silken artworks, decorated with dragons breathing gold-threaded fire. It would be easy to hear through them, but Willy knew that nobody else would be allowed into the restaurant this morning. Willy was given the view position that looked out onto the city of Beijing, which sparkled under a bright February sun. The preparations for New Year's were well under way. Flags and decorative banners flapped from spires below them. The American Embassy compound could be seen a few blocks away to the east.

They said very little as the first course of steaming mushrooms was served. The dish had been prepared in ginger sauce in the traditional Cantonese way.

The deal they had made in the Year of the Dog was perfect. Chen Boda had given Willy the gift of new kidneys and in return got the gift of Willy's smuggling routes. It was a very Chinese solution. One gift extracted poison from Willy's bloodstream. The other had inserted it into the American enemy. Better still, Willy had established even stronger Guan-Xi with American politicians. China had again received Most Favored Nation trade status, despite the protest of the U
. S
. Congress over Human Rights violations. Both men knew it was the money that Willy had poured into U
. S
. political campaigns which had helped to accomplish this. Investigations into campaign funding violations were still taking place in the American Congress, and China had been accused of trying to subvert the U
. S
. political process, but nobody had mentioned Wo Lap Ling. In fact, quite the opposite had happened. He was now on many U
. S
. corporate boards and had achieved great recognition as the Vice President of the American Red Cross in Asia. Now it was time to discuss a new arrangement.

The diminutive politician began a careful conversation that played on two levels because of the hovering waiters. "I hear the lichees in Guangdong are the sweetest in the world," Chen Boda began, referring to the sweet fruit that abounds in the province that contains Hong Kong. This fruit symbolized Hong Kong, which was now in China's hands.

"That is true," Willy said in Mandarin. "The summer crop was especially rich," referring to the hand-over of Hong Kong to mainland China that had happened last July.

"I understand that your own garden is flourishing, that many Americans now buy your fruit," Chen Boda said, referring to the Triad leader's Guan-Xi in America.

"Yes. When one has the right gardeners, things grow."

Chen Boda added, "But I have heard that to protect the garden, you had to pull out several weeds quickly and without mercy. I hope you got them all and that none will grow back."

"Yes. When weeding, it is very important to destroy the roots."

Both men smiled at this casual exchange, which referred to several influential Americans who had worked for Willy, but had been murdered recently because they had been contacted by the American FBI. Willy had judged them to be dangerous liabilities.

The mushrooms were soon devoured. Waiters cleared used plates and placed the ivory chopsticks on small ceramic props beside each diner's elbow.

Now other waiters in Red Army captain's uniforms brought the main course, enormous "dragon" shrimp, called Long Xia. Again, the two men ate in silence. The only sound was the clicking of ivory until the course was completely finished. Then came the Beijing Kao Ya, which was a delicious Peking roast duck. It arrived completely chopped up in a large dish. Chen Boda and Wo Lap Ling wrapped it in thin pancakes and added a sumptuous plum sauce. The skin of the duck, the "crackle," was the choicest part of the dish. They also had a side dish of chicken cooked inside a clay coating, which was known as "Buddha Jumping the Wall," because legend had it that the Lord Buddha interrupted his prayers when he smelled it and jumped over the garden wall for a taste.

Chen Boda nodded to one of the officers, indicating it was time for all of them to withdraw. The waiters closed the screens, leaving Willy and Chen Boda alone in the enclosure.

"It is time for you to play a larger role," the head of the Chinese Communist Military Commission said softly. "The Americans and the British do not trust us to rule Hong Kong with benevolence, and they are probably shrewd in this assessment. It is difficult to control some of the powerful tides of reform, and while we open our Motherland to the outside world, sometimes it is almost impossible to manage our destiny. Politics, like love, makes fools of everyone."

"But if you change the 4One Nation, Two Systems' agreement promised in the Sino-British accord, Western business will flee from Hong Kong. You will have inherited an empty house. It achieves nothing," Willy said, watching Chen Boda carefully.

"I see that you have finally become a student of the Master's wisdom," the politician said softly.

"Sometimes observers can see a chess game more clearly than the players," Willy replied. He knew they were close to the reason he'd been brought here.

"Crows are black the world round," Chen said, sighing slightly. "And only rats know the way of rats." Chen was referring to the nature of men, and Willy was surprised to hear such blatant skepticism from the politician whose career had flourished because he refused such narrowness of thought.

"You have great Guan-Xi with the Americans," Chen Boda continued. "The West trusts you. They seek your wisdom even while you smuggle guns, drugs, and immigrants into their country. You have done your part skillfully."

Willy lowered his head to accept this compliment.

"And you are right. ... It is imperative that we live up to the joint accord and have the free elections in Hong Kong in mid-1998, just as we promised Mrs. Thatcher when we signed the agreement. As you say, to fail to do this would be disastrous to Hong Kong's economy." Chen Boda hesitated, then smiled, "However, as you know, water can both sustain and sink a ship. The trick here is to give the impression of compliance. In this regard, I have finally persuaded the Central Committee that the free elections must take place, that this course is mandatory."

"But the Hong Kong Democratic Party is bound to prevail in an election. They will throw your Chief Executive and the Beijing
-
appointed legislature into the sea," Willy said.

"Not if it is you who runs for Chief Executive. You are the candidate to lead the Colony. You will be the first elected Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Autonomous Region. It will be a master stroke of world diplomacy. We will get all of your new friends in the U
. S
. government, the ones we helped to elect, to endorse you. Bill Clinton will support you as you have supported him. You must no longer run the Chin Lo Triad. We can't accept the risk that your criminal past will become known. You must turn the Triad over to your White Fan. After the election, you will run only the government of Hong Kong. It is the perfect deception, because you are from the New Territories with a dual passport.

Born in Kowloon, you have strong ties to the West, but you owe your life, hence your allegiance, to Mother China . . . and to me."

"I can still run the Triad. Nobody has discovered my association yet. Nobody will. I have taken great care to shield myself."

"There are rumors. . . . Already, several Hong Kong police have had to be weeded from your garden. There will be too much scrutiny. You must choose. One man cannot stand on two boats."

"This was your plan all along," Willy said, realizing he had been skillfully maneuvered to this place by the canny politician.

"You proved to be exactly the man I was looking for."

"I don't aspire to politics," Willy said.

"You will learn to love it. We are much alike. You will see the way. ... I will not speak of this with you any longer. It has already been decided. You are already very wealthy. How much money can a man spend?" Chen Boda asked. "I offer the real elixir of life. I offer unrestrained power."

"Money is power," Willy said, still doubting the prospect of a life in politics.

"I will give you more power than you ever dreamed of."

"How do I know?"

"You have my word."

"We both know the satisfaction of longevity, but even the longest river eventually reaches the sea. What will happen when I no longer have your personal support? My White Fan, Henry Liu, is violent and strong. Once he has tasted the sweet nectar of control, he will spit out only seeds of vengeance if I cross him. I will have a dangerous time trying to reclaim my seat. I could lose a lifetime of work for a four-year term in the Chief Executive's office. I could end up with nothing more valuable than a title."

"Then there will be a paper between us. The terms will satisfy you--I promise. Sometimes a man must rise to important occasions or face the pain of a friend's disappointment." The threat against him was clear. Chen Boda had already made the decision. The two men locked gazes.

After a long moment, Willy Wo Lap nodded.

The next morning, Willy was picked up again by the limousine. This time "Five Oceans" was not in the car. Wo Lap Ling rode alone across Beijing to the impressive vermilion gate of the Zhong Nan Hai garden. The car passed between four Red Army soldiers perpetually on guard with fixed bayonets.

Willy was greeted on the grounds by Chen Boda. They walked across the beautiful flowered compound with its perfectly manicured lake. In the middle of the lake was an island that was dominated by a modest but elegant pavilion where Emperor Kuangxu had lived under guard after the failed "Hundred Days" coup of 1898 until his death in 1908. Kuangxu had attempted to bring democracy to China and had paid a heavy penalty. His advisers were beheaded or had fled the country. He had been kept like a caged bird in this pavilion for the rest of his life.

They walked across the wood bridge to the pavilion where the new President of China was sitting on a small bench, waiting. The President was dressed in a black suit with a starched white shirt and black tie. Wo Lap Ling knew that as China's economy grew, this man would one day become the most powerful man in the world, but to Wo Lap Ling, he looked strangely nondescript on the rosewood bench. He was tall, with a flat face, domed forehead, and heavy black-rimmed glasses. Chen Boda stood back and motioned for Willy to take a step forward. Above their heads were two beautiful scrolls hanging from the pavilion's rafter. These two scrolls were crafted by Emperor Kuangxu, as he lived out his life in captivity here. One said: "Obedient to Heaven, I gaze at the Blue Lake." A metaphor for hope and freedom to come with Buddha's blessing. The other banner said: "Ten thousand years are not enough to honor a good parent." This was a futile attempt to win the favor of the terrible old Dowager Empress, Ci Xi, who had quashed the coup and made the Emperor her prisoner.

The President of China stood, and as he stood, a strange thing happened. He seemed to grow larger in power and stature, as if he represented a new beginning. Wo Lap Ling instantly knew he had been foolish not to see it before. The realization of Willy's new status swept over him as he found himself standing before the President of what would soon become the most powerful country on earth. Despite his wealth and stature, until now Wo Lap Ling had just been an outlaw, nipping at the heels of the world, tearing off pieces of flesh, eating well but hiding from his true destiny. As China accepted her role as world leader, who knew how far Willy could eventually go? Politicians had always been his enemy. ... In Hong Kong, the British leaders had launched attacks against his Triad. But the British were gone and now there were new rules. Now he could be the attacker. He felt his tiger suddenly lurch under him, restless to stalk new prey. Willy looked at the powerful man before him, knowing this man could transform him instantly from a pirate to a prince. Not since he was a boy in the streets of Kowloon, being asked by the powerful White Fan to join the Triad, had Willy felt such awe in the presence of another human being. He stood, head bowed, and waited.