White Tiger (17 page)

“I dunno,” Vincent said. He swallowed a mouthful of beer. “But she was a right good little actress. Then she met some bloke. Must have had money. Suddenly two hundred and fifty dollars is chicken feed to her. She turned down the next job too, and it was a sequel. They always do well.”

“At least she wasn’t bitchy about it or anything,” Roger added. He delicately touched his nose and inspected his finger. “We told Arnold bloody Schwarzenegger he should ask someone at the Snake Bite if they knew where she was. She used to work there, as a dancer.”

Ryker knew the bar, a waterfront dive popular with tourists looking for a good time.

“Forget the dolly bird, what are you going to do about this?” Vincent said, using his beer bottle as a pointer to indicate the fallen camera and broken light. Almost as an afterthought he also indicated the pink-haired girl. “Can’t let the buggers get away with it. Why don’t you get on the blower and call in a SWAT team or something? Put a cap up their arses. Serve them bloody well right.”

“All right. But you can’t touch anything before forensics photographs the evidence. And the investigators will want to talk to all the witnesses.” Roger and Vincent both looked at the pink-haired girl, who rested her head on Suzy’s shoulder while Suzy stroked her hair. Friends again.

“Ah, well,” Roger said. “That could prove difficult. Our little Lotus Blossom here doesn’t speak a word of English.”

“I’ll be happy to translate,” Chee Wei said.

Suzy shook her head almost imperceptibly. The gesture was intended for Roger but Ryker picked it up and knew the matter wouldn’t be pursued with the police.

“Oh, I don’t think that’s necessary. The damage really isn’t too severe. And we’ll pay our lead actress danger money to make up for her discomfort. Won’t we, Vincent?” Vincent nodded eagerly. “So, detective sergeant, now that you have the name of the person those thugs were after, what will you do?” Roger asked, smoothly changing the subject.

“I think we need to find her before they do,” Ryker said. “For her own protection.” Suzy got the message. She said something to the other girl, then got up off the bed and went out into the hallway. “We’ll see ourselves out.”

“Our pleasure to have met you, I’m sure,” Roger said.

Ryker followed Suzy into the hallway. She was waiting for them by the front door. Chee Wei was only a step behind him. “Fucking gays,” he said, his whisper every bit as loud as his normal voice. “All that pussy and they don’t know what to do with it! She’s a minor. We can close them down.”

“People gotta eat,” Ryker told him.

“Would you say that if she was white?”

Ryker stopped so suddenly that Chee Wei almost ran into him.

“Okay, hold on,” Chee Wei said. “I’m gonna be picking shoe leather out of my teeth for weeks. I shouldn’t have said that. Dumb fuck thing to say. Forget it, will you?”

But Suzy was waiting to hear his reply, so Ryker gave her one. “The question is would I rather she sold her ass out on the street? The answer’s no. She’s better off here, doing tricks for a pair of queers more likely to mother her than do her harm.”

He stepped up to Suzy. Their eyes were almost level thanks to her boot heels. She was undeniably beautiful but her friend back there in the makeshift film studio had drawn his attention to Suzy’s age. Looks were deceiving; she could be young enough to be his daughter, which was the biggest turn off he could think of on such short notice.

“What else can you tell me?” he said.

“Her name is Zhu Xiaohui,” she said. “She has an apartment. It’s not far. She could be there. But if she knows someone is looking for her? Maybe she’ll stay with her sister.”

Ryker took out his notepad, flipped it open and offered it to her along with a pen.

CHAPTER 8

Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

There were advantages to owning a multinational corporation that dealt in advanced electronics, chief among which was the near guarantee of totally secure communications. Somewhere above the world a satellite owned wholly by Lin Industries looked down upon them and beamed encoded signals from continent to continent. New compression techniques meant that delay was almost non-existent and both parties could speak in real time without any irritating pauses. Sound quality was also enhanced, so that every nuance of tone and emotion came through clearly. They might as well be sitting in the same room, Chen Gui thought, as Lin Yubo’s voice lashed him from 6,000 miles away, and rightly so, considering what might easily have gone wrong and how much they could have lost in Japan, in terms of both wealth and face.

The tirade continued for nearly two minutes. Chen Gui feared his boss would faint because of lack of oxygen to the brain, but he went on without pause and apparently without the need to draw breath.

“
—
And that nephew of yours,” Lin Yubo said. “How much of this unnecessary confrontation with the Fujianese was his doing?”

Chen Gui resisted the temptation to blame it all on Chen Song. That might possibly lead to unfortunate and fatal repercussions. Chen Gui didn’t particularly like Chen Song’s mother, but she had a tongue that could cut through silk and a vindictive streak that was to be feared. She would never give him a moment’s peace if anything were to happen to her beloved son. Even though, if there was anyone on the Asian continent who deserved to suddenly disappear without trace, it was the incompetent wretch Chen Song whose foolishness had almost cost Chen Gui his reputation, his position, and his life.

“Many factors contributed to the situation, Lin Yubo,” Chen Gui said, pushing the temptation aside. “Some were beyond our control. Of course our people in Tokyo should have assessed what was happening, and reported this so we had more time to prepare an appropriate response. And the
yakuza
, aiyah. So much distrust there. They gave us no warning, even though they must have known something was amiss.” He waited for his boss to comment but the speakerphone was as silent as a tiger stalking its prey. Chen Gui wiped his forehead with his handkerchief and said, “Thankfully the matter has been resolved with only minimal loss. I was able to take steps to avoid the bumbling Fujianese peasants, and also inflict irreparable damage upon their Tokyo organization.”

Lin Yubo said, “What are you talking about?”

Chen Gui savored the moment. “Our limited resources in Tokyo had already been decimated by the time I arrived. While my nephew organized a retaliatory strike to distract and delay the Fujianese, I engaged the services of a professional. An outsider, who has no connection with us and cannot be traced.”

“You know my feelings concerning mercenaries.” Lin Yubo’s disapproving tone made Chen Gui imagine an executioner stepping up to a wooden chopping block, an ax gleaming in his hands.

“I have used this man before, Lin Yubo, and knew he could be trusted. Also, he was available immediately. He lives in Tokyo but is above suspicion. Neither the police nor the intelligence services have any interest in him, his cover is entirely legitimate. While the Fujianese foundered like fish out of water, he spirited us safely away from Japan. Nothing was left to chance. Then he initiated the second half of my plan, an assault against the Fujianese boss and his contingent. I have people in Tokyo now, retaking what was lost and reestablishing our trade links with
yakuza
. They are impressed by the way we handled ourselves. As you would expect of the Japanese they stood back and waited to see which side was stronger. Now they know. We have gained enormous face.”

“What if the Fujianese had also hired mercenaries? It would have been all-out war on the streets of Tokyo. The police would have closed the city down. No one would have profited from such madness.”

“I believe the
Bái Hu
would have triumphed regardless of the number of guns arrayed against him.”

“
Bái Hu
? White Tiger. That is his name? Absurd.”

“Merely a nickname, Lin Yubo. His methods are direct and swift. I engaged him to rid us of the tiresome leader of the Fujianese, who believed he could take over our trade with
yakuza
, and by nightfall the nuisance was no more. He never misses and he never fails.” Chen Gui basked in his own brilliance and wished Chen Song were here with him to hear Lin Yubo’s congratulations.

“One man did this? One man returned the Tokyo territory to you?”

“Yes, Lin Yubo. As I said, he is extremely competent, and resourceful. This is why I retained him in the first place.”

Chen Gui expected some sort of congratulation—was even thanks too much to hope for?—but Lin Yubo denied him even that small honor. “This White Tiger interests me. I may have need of his services. See that he is dispatched to San Francisco immediately. Make whatever financial arrangements are necessary. Inform me when he is on the plane.”

Chen Gui stared at the speakerphone. Several seconds passed before he realized that the
click
he’d heard was the sound of his boss hanging up.

He revised what had been said but could find no fault with his report, which gave him rightful credit in resolving what could have been a major setback. Did Lin Yubo not realize what they would have lost if the Fujianese had been allowed to triumph? More than just face. But now, with a startlingly rude show of abruptness, Lin Yubo had dismissed Chen Gui’s resourcefulness. Had he not ensured their position within Japan remained secure into the foreseeable future? And where was Lin Yubo while all this was happening? Concentrating on his business interests in San Francisco, in the United States. As if what went on in Asia was of secondary importance.

He made certain that the phone was switched off before he filled his lungs with air and bellowed, “
Chen Song
!”

The double doors opened almost instantly, proof that his nephew had been listening in, probably with his ear pressed against the lacquered wood. If not for the fact his private telephone was not linked to the internal extensions, Chen Gui was sure that Chen Song would have been hunched behind a pot plant in the hall, the telephone receiver cradled to his ear and his handkerchief over the mouthpiece, like some henchman flunkey in an old Charlie Chan film. Come to think of it, that was exactly what Chen Song was, a henchman flunkey. He would never amount to anything else. Any promise he might have shown before had been destroyed by his lamentable performance in Japan.

“Uncle. What did he say? Did you mention
—
?”

Chen Gui’s stern expression gave Chen Song pause.

“Lin Yubo’s rage was boundless. He demanded to know who was responsible. Fortunately for all of us I was able to placate him, by assuring him that our business with
yakuza
will continue uninterrupted. It helped that we gained face by wiping out the Fujianese.”

“We didn’t wipe them out. The foreigner did.”

Chen Gui didn’t like his nephew’s sour expression, which indicated ongoing disapproval of his decision. No matter. A henchman flunkey’s opinion was of no value. Chen Gui said, “Lin Yubo accepted my explanation that employing an outsider was, in this case, necessary. Now. What precautions have you taken to ensure my safety?”

Chen Song looked confused for a moment, as his father often did when she was asked a complex question. “Uncle, I have arranged for additional guards on the gates. More patrol the grounds. Just let the Fujianese try to reach you! They won’t get past my men. We’ll slaughter them like the dogs they are.” He patted his jacket underneath the left armpit, indicating the weapon he carried there. Chen Gui supposed it was necessary, although he admitted to himself that he didn’t much like the idea of Chen Song having a gun in his presence, especially when they were alone. Perhaps it was the way Chen Song had behaved when they were in the hotel in Dalian, awaiting the arrival of Lin Feng and Boss Tao. Chen Gui had picked up some unnerving vibrations from his nephew. Instead of becoming subdued when Chen Gui had berated him, Chen Song had become increasingly angry, though he’d attempted to hide this. And now, his reference to
his men
displeased Chen Gui even more. Who was boss here, Chen Gui or his nephew?

He said, “What if the Fujianese wise up and decide to hire the
Bái Hu
? Do you think your men could stop him from reaching me?” He enjoyed the effect these words had on his nephew.