The First Excellence: Fa-Ling's Map (34 page)

Not to mention her other more tangible assets. He moved behind her, watching his hands in the mirror as they found her breasts. She tugged her long hair to one side and he kissed her neck, pressing his body against her backside.

“
Oh,” she said, feeling his length on her skin. That was the last thing she said for awhile.

Afterwards she lay next to him, thinking how different it was with a man like Yong-qi, how exciting to sense his confidence and his need. He kept one arm around her, not wanting to move, in case they would have to admit the afternoon was over.

“
What time do you leave for Beijing?” he asked.

“
We are supposed to have our luggage ready by 7:30 tomorrow morning.”

“
So this is it.” He didn’t mean to sound peevish. It was childish to complain over what they both knew to be inevitable.

“
We still have a few hours before the others get back.”

“
What if I come to Beijing? We can spend the week together. I’ve got vacation anyway. Would you like that?”

“
I’d love that,” she said, licking the full part of his bottom lip.

He hardened again almost immediately. Unfortunately, the phone rang. He groaned.

“
I’m sorry,” she said. “I have to answer it. I’m expecting a call from my sister.”

“
Don’t worry. I’ll wait.”

“
Hello,” she said.

“
Fa-ling, why are you in your room?” Daphne said. “I thought you’d be out with the group. I was planning to leave a message.”

Fa-ling looked at the clock. It was noon, midnight in Toronto.

“
What’s up?”

“
Are you busy?”

“
Just a little,” Fa-ling said, then immediately regretted it. “I can talk now.”

“
Forget it,” Daphne said, withdrawing at the first hint of rejection. “It can wait. When are you arriving in Beijing?”

“
We should get there in time for dinner tomorrow.”

“
Call me when you get settled. Don’t forget.”

“
Really, it’s ok, I can talk now.”

“
This is important. It can wait till you’re not so busy.”

Before Fa-ling could argue, Daphne had hung up the phone. Fa-ling knew better than to call her back and wake their parents. Daphne had deliberately waited until they were asleep so she could leave a message without being overheard.

Something was going on with her little sister, but Fa-ling could not guess what it might be.

“
Was it your sister?” Yong-qi said.

“
Yup.”

“
What did she want?”

“
Who knows? Family… sheesh!”

“
I know what you mean,” he agreed. He buried both hands in her hair and gently guided her to the place that needed her most.

At 3:00 they realised they had not had anything to eat or drink since breakfast.

“
Do you want to go downstairs?” Fa-ling said.

“
No. We can have dinner later with the group. For now I just want to stay here.”

“
There’s some food in the mini-bar. What would you like?”

“
They’ve got noodles.” Yong-qi pulled two cups of dried noodles from the shelf on the door. “How about a beer?”

“
OK.” Fa-ling let him get the provisions. She reached into the closet and pulled on Michael’s shirt, letting it fall open over her naked skin.

He poured hot water over the noodles and set them on the counter to soak. He reached into his jacket pocket for his cell phone, taking a moment to check his messages.

There was one from his partner. Cheng’s voice sounded concerned, but he didn’t give any hint of the reason for his call, just asked Wang to call him as soon as possible. Yong-qi had no idea what time he had called. He dialled Cheng’s home number, but no one answered. He reached Cheng on his cell phone.

“
Hang on,” Cheng said, “I’m just going around a corner. There, that’s better.”

“
What’s so urgent?” Yong-qi asked. He flinched at the thought of his partner driving his tin can of a car on Nanning’s busy streets. Cheng was a terrible driver.

“
Why, did I catch you at a bad time?” Cheng teased. “Is Miss Li there?”

“
I’m going to hang up now,” Yong-qi said.

“
Shit, can’t a guy have any fun? Get your ass to the airport. I’ve booked a flight to Shanghai. Our new friend needs our help.”

“
What time is the flight?”

“
An hour from now. I’m almost at the terminal. I’ll pick up your boarding pass.”

Yong-qi looked at Fa-ling, who was sitting on the dressing chair with the man’s shirt failing to cover her breasts, her hair in a tangle and one hand resting lovingly on her clarinet. Then he looked at the noodles on the counter and the beer in his hand, then back at Fa-ling.

“
I’ll be at the airport in half an hour,” he said.

Shopei had been uncomfortable with the plan to send an operator to the hospital. She had seen the three men outside of her family’s apartment, and their faces were fixed in her memory. She’d been too quick to allow another to risk danger in her place.

She debated whether to leave Master Long a note detailing her plans to go to the hospital, but decided against it, instead writing only “I will be back” and laying the page on his pillow before sneaking through the bedroom window.

**

Paula Kader loved everything about money. She loved holding it, acquiring it, counting it. More than anything, she was in love with the rush of adrenalin she experienced every time large amounts of cash moved in or out of her hands.

It was that passion, that thrill that drove her to become a trader in the first place. Later, when it was discovered she had been using her clients’ money to finance her own losing escapades, she was driven off the floor. She was lucky, she supposed, that no charges had been laid. Bay Street didn’t want it made public one of their finest had been stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from their clientele and throwing it away on various gambling ventures.

She knew Guy would never understand. Every once in awhile when she looked in the mirror and caught a glimpse of herself as he must see her, she would shudder.

Paula was a beautiful, intelligent shark. She lived for the rush of feeding her addiction. Without that rush she was dead. How could any man understand such a primitive motivation ― especially a man like Guy, who was so good, so honest? All he wanted was her love. She did love him, after a fashion.

Too late, she understood love would never be enough, not for her, and not for him. The family he dreamed of was a façade. She suspected even he knew it by now. Paula was not fit to raise a child. Her latest fiasco had proven that.

It took awhile, almost a year after she was drummed off the floor, for the urge to become unmanageable once more. For months she believed she had beaten it. When Guy’s parents bailed them out, paying the bulk of her debts so they would not lose their home or worse, she was sure she had learned her lesson. At the very least, she had lost all access to those massive amounts of money she so loved to handle.

Even Guy had no idea of the extent of her losses. Their boss, who was a long time friend of Guy’s, had covered it up, moving money from dead accounts to take the edge off her crime. Guy had taken an additional mortgage on the house and used all of his personal savings in an attempt to regain his good name, and his parents had closed out more than fifty percent of their retirement account to pay the balance.

Paula was devastated at the amount of damage she had caused. She knew she had all but broken Guy’s spirit when he was forced to leave the floor until the long memories of his colleagues could be dulled.

With every passing month, her sickness grew stronger. She tried to keep busy with legitimate ventures, building a small on-line consulting firm that she ran while Guy was at work. Slowly it began to generate a respectable flow of cash into her pocket.

One small taste of that irresistible poison was all it took. As soon as money became available to Paula, the old passion was reignited and in no time it consumed her every waking moment.

The mainstream investment world was closed to her. Her name was mud throughout the Canadian market. She thought about connecting to the US trades, but the big boys of Wall Street intimidated her. It was an exhilarating thought, but she just couldn’t bring herself to try.

On the other hand, there was a new player rearing its head on the money scene. With the growth of on-line day-trading, anyone could build a portfolio, dropping a few dollars here and a few more there.

She made some money, and then she lost some. The losses were, in many ways, more satisfying than the gains. However, none of the transactions were sweeping enough to satisfy her need, not after the huge amounts she had handled in days gone by.

She began to dabble in on-line gambling, visiting the Casino sites at first only out of curiosity, or at least that’s what she told herself. The first time she lost a substantial sum she thought her heart would stop, so powerful was the rush of ecstasy.

Soon Paula was dropping dough all over the place, and in no time the savings she had put aside from her business were depleted. Addiction being what it was, she still could not stop. She went on to arrange a secret mortgage on the house she shared with her husband, using a third-rate lender whom she found over the Internet. His interest rates were high enough to guarantee a profit, even if some of his ‘clients’ let him down.

Desperate to keep playing, Paula took a second loan, and a third. By the time Guy was aware of her descent into the abyss, she had already spiralled well beyond his capacity to bring her back.

A week before they flew to China, Paula finally met her mortgage broker face to face. She was an addict, but not a fool. The sight of the loan shark brought her crashing back to reality. His size alone would put the fear of God into most people, never mind the hook of his once-broken nose, and those great square paddles of hands…

By the time their meeting was over, Paula had devised a last desperate plan to repay him in full. After all, the mob doesn’t let its debtors off the hook.

Now her scheme was failing before her eyes. An entire week in Nanning had come and gone, with no results. In the morning the adoption group was leaving for Beijing.

Paula passed an envelope to Miao. Even now, in the depths of her desperation, large sums of money still had the power to move her. She closed her eyes, feeling the flood of adrenaline as the woman counted the stack of Yuan. It was almost as if a needle had entered Paula’s arm, releasing a shot of morphine.

Miao put the money back into the envelope and handed it to Gege. He would buy two tickets for Beijing and make hotel reservations for both of them.

Paula stepped back through the plastic curtain into the main store. Gege followed. She turned briefly, pointing at the page of instructions she had given him. Soon she would have enough money to clear her debts and make a fresh start with Guy.

Paula exited the store. She did not see Fa-ling and Yong-qi, who at that moment were turning the corner onto the main street.

Fa-ling had to admit the city of Beijing was a pleasant surprise. She had not come to China to see the capital, but she was glad it was on the agenda. Because the Canadian Embassy was in Beijing, the parents needed to spend time there signing formal documents to complete the adoption process.

Beijing was growing at a remarkable pace. New streets were being strung throughout the centre, replacing old boulevards and alleyways. The new streets did not improve traffic flow much, since it was still at the mercy of the terrible driving habits and the poorly enforced and largely misunderstood rules of the road. However, they did offer an aesthetic improvement to the overall look of the city.

Everywhere there were cranes and dirty green trucks and buses full of work crews. The air was filled with a combination of coal pollutants and dust from the myriad of construction projects that were underway. Obviously, the government was on a mission to have all current projects completed and cleaned up before the world brought its camera crews to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics.

The first day was spent in the city proper, so the couples could complete their paperwork. Fa-ling took the time to rest, read and play her clarinet. Yong-qi had promised to join her in the capitol as soon as he was finished in Shanghai. She was curious about his reasons for making the detour, but did not push the point.

Before heading down to the five-star hotel’s restaurant for dinner, Fa-ling remembered her promise to call Daphne. It was 6:30 am in Toronto — early, but given how difficult it was to manage the time difference, she knew her family would not mind.

Her mother picked up on the first ring.

“
Are you in Beijing?” she said.

“
Yes. We got here this afternoon. The group is signing papers, so I’m taking a break.”

“
When do you go to the Great Wall?”

“
I think that’s on ‘day three’. Tomorrow we’re booked to tour the Summer Palace.”

“
You’ll love that. Be sure to check out the Stone Boat.”