Casanova (32 page)

I opened the office door and went in.

‘Penny, Jemima,’ I called out their names. I didn’t get a reply. I searched the room. Both of them had gone.

29

TUESDAY, 02:00—03:30

‘Gone, how can they have gone?’

‘I don’t know. They didn’t come through the garage and they didn’t go out through the skylight.’

‘They’ve vanished.’

‘They can’t have vanished. There must be another way out.’

‘We need the lights back on, or a torch.’

‘We don’t have time. Did you see if the second taxi was still there when you checked outside?’

‘Yes, it was there, parked across the street.’

‘Was the duckling still in it?’

‘Yes. He looked asleep.’

‘There must be a hidden door, for security, used in emergencies. Let’s get away in the second taxi. We’ll ask the duckling and I’ll call Jemima. They can’t have gone far.’

We collected what we needed and left the garage closing the doors behind us. The three shinobi were all still down and I hoped it would be the last I saw of them. Jemima would not have thanked me if I’d left three dead bodies behind. It was the right decision. While thinking that, I found his number in Xing’s K106 and called it. Xing and I jumped into the back of the taxi, which woke the duckling. Xing immediately began explaining to him in Cantonese. Then Jemima answered his phone.

‘Where are you?’ I asked.

‘About a half a mile from the garage,’ he replied. He sounded out of breath.

‘Is Penny with you?’

‘Yes. She wants to go home.’

I knew how she felt.

‘Wait where you are. I have your location on the K106. We’ll come and get you. We’re on our way now. We’re in the second taxi. Tell Penny everything is okay. We’ll be with you in a few minutes. Tell her we’ll get her home very soon. Okay?’

‘Yes, okay,’ he said. ‘We heard the gunfire. I was scared. Both of us were scared. I…’

‘It’s okay,’ I said. ‘Just stay where you are. It won’t take more than a couple of minutes to get to you.’

I interrupted Xing. ‘Jemima and Penny are here,’ I said, showing her the K106 screen. Tell the duckling to get us there quickly.’ Xing took the K106, studied the screen and then spoke to the duckling. He nodded energetically while pulling away and accelerating hard.

Xing sat back and turned to me. I took back the K106.

‘The office has a hidden door, just like you said. They use it to come and go in secret.’

I nodded. ‘Why didn’t you answer me?’

‘…when?’

‘…back in the garage when the lights went out.’

‘I didn’t want you to know where I was.’

‘…why not?’

‘My plan was to let them pass me and then shoot them from behind. I didn’t want you to do something different because you knew I was under the taxi.’

‘They could have killed me,’ I said.

Xing shook her head. ‘No, I had you covered the whole time.’

I wasn’t sure what to make of that. I studied her face. She had fixed her eyes on mine. They were dark and questioning. I could see she was expecting me to say something, perhaps to criticize her. I remained silent.

‘It wasn’t the duckling,’ she said.

‘…what?’

‘…that gave away our location to Missouri.’

‘How do you know?’ I asked.

‘I’ve just questioned him about it. I would know if he was lying to me. He didn’t do it. Anyway, he was asleep.’

‘Who was it then?’

Xing shrugged. ‘I don’t know,’ she said.

‘Penny wants to go home,’ I said.

‘How long does a money transfer take from Hong Kong to London?’ she asked.

‘I’m not sure,’ I said. ‘I think it can be immediate but a billion pounds may need some kind of bank official authorisation.’

‘Perhaps Missouri already knew about the garage and took a chance,’ she said.

‘…perhaps,’ I said.

The duckling spoke over his shoulder in Cantonese.

‘We’re almost there,’ Xing translated.

I looked out. On the corner, I saw a rectangular stone street sign: Rua De Cinco De Something, and then the duckling turned. We drove over a zebra crossing and onto a narrow one-way street. It was little more than a city lane, which wound uphill between old tall buildings that supported high mounted street lamps. It was much darker and quieter.

‘There they are,’ Xing said. The duckling had also seen them. They stood on the pavement in the lamplight like stars on a stage. He slowed the taxi and then stopped beside them on the narrow lane.

‘Get in,’ I told them.

Jemima sat in the front and Penny got in the back next to Xing.

Jemima kept saying sorry. ‘I didn’t know what to do, I panicked,’ he explained.

It was then that I heard the car. The powerful engine was screaming in high gear. I looked up. The headlights were set to full beam. It raced straight towards us driving the wrong way down the one-way street. For a moment, I didn’t think it was going to stop in time. The tyres squealed as they slipped under hard braking. Then, as it snaked to a halt only inches from us, I saw the make and model and I recognised the car. It was Missouri’s Mercedes. Instantly, Xing recognised it too. Her urgency was obvious. It filled the taxi. Penny caught it. She stared at the Mercedes.

‘Papai,’ she screamed.

Missouri was sitting in the front passenger seat. For a single breath, it seemed everything stopped. Then we all exhaled and everything happened at supersonic speed.

Xing lifted her hand. In it, she held her Glock. My own hand went to hers.

‘He hasn’t transferred the money yet,’ I said.

Penny was attempting to push past Xing and get to the door. She wanted to go to her father. I couldn’t allow that. I didn’t have feelings about what I did. I acted in a way I instinctively knew was most likely to achieve my objective. The army is very good at imbedding
successful-mission-completion
DNA into every Special Forces soldier.

I grabbed Penny by the hair. It was thick and long, easily allowing my fingers to secure a firm grip. I pulled her back and up. Her head twisted and her body squirmed. She screamed and fought against me but only for a second. I was much too strong for her, and like a captured gazelle, she succumbed to the inevitable. I forced her between the seats, head first, face lifted. The duckling and Jemima turned and moved, Jemima uncomfortably so. With her face almost pressing against the windscreen, I leaned over further and using my free hand pressed the Glock hard into the side of her head. If Penny’s face wasn’t already displaying pain and fear, it certainly was now. I stared coldly at the Mercedes windscreen and allowed my menacing eyes to settle on Missouri’s face. Holding the uncomfortable position, I allowed two or three distressing seconds to pass. I could almost taste Missouri’s anger and frustration. He was helpless. I spoke loudly over my shoulder to Xing.

‘Call him, call him now,’ I said.

Xing didn’t reply but I knew she understood.

Then I spoke to Jemima. ‘Tell the duckling to get us out of here. Reverse back onto the main road. Don’t worry, they won’t follow.’

Jemima told the duckling who nodded his approval. He found a gear and then the taxi shot backwards, whining loudly in reverse. The Mercedes remained stationary. I watched it closely until we were out of sight. Only then, did I remove the Glock and loosen my grip. I released her slowly. She was crying. I felt her body soften and I helped her back.

Xing’s eyes were on us. She had turned on the rear interior light. She held the K106 to her ear and then she began speaking in Portuguese. Penny pulled away from me and pressed herself against Xing. She buried her face into Xing’s body. Xing allowed it but she didn’t stop talking. I listened to the phone call. Her voice was flat and without emotion. I didn’t understand every word but the meaning was clear. After reading out the bank numbers Xing paused. Missouri must have said something. Xing listened and then she spoke again briefly, before ending the call. I didn’t catch what she said. We were back on the main road and the duckling was driving east in traffic. Car horns were sounding. Xing pocketed the K106 and then looked at me.

‘I’ve given him one hour,’ she said. Her demeanour was chilling and certain. She didn’t look at Penny who was quietly sobbing. The girl still clung to her.

‘One hour?’ I questioned.

‘One hour,’ she confirmed. I knew what she meant.

‘What’s the time?’ I asked.

Jemima told me.

‘What did he say?’ I asked Xing.

‘He offered me a good deal,’ she said. I questioned her with my eyes and waited. ‘...two hundred and forty million Hong Kong dollars.’

‘How much is that?’ I asked.

‘...a lot,’ she said.

‘More than...’

‘Yes, much more.’

I didn’t like it. Things were going badly.

‘How did Missouri know where his daughter was?’ I asked. ‘He was rushing to get her. He knew exactly where to find her. He knew she had split from us, from you and me, which gave him the confidence to go himself.’

Jemima answered. ‘He must be tracking us,’ he said.

Jemima was right.

‘Or someone is passing him the information,’ I said.

‘Well, it isn’t me,’ Jemima said.

‘...and isn’t the ducklings,’ Xing said.

‘...then who is it?’ I asked.

‘If we knew how he’s tracking us...’ Xing said, and then paused.

She was right. The realisation hit me. It jabbed at me with tight, hard punches, constant and relentless. Billy Bradshaw’s words replayed in my head:
Just be careful that you’re not washing someone else’s dirty face. I’ve seen it happen. If I were you, I’d question everything. A set-up is always possible. Espionage is a grubby business. Tenerife was your first lesson and you survived. I wouldn’t like Macau to be your second. This time the dice may not roll your way. Your boss is ruthless just remember that.

It was London. London was tracking us and passing the information to Missouri. London, it had to be.

‘Stop the taxi,’ I said. ‘Jemima, tell the duckling to pull over.’

We passed a bus and moved over to the inside lane. The duckling stopped abruptly, which forced the bus to go round us. The driver sounded his horn in frustration.

‘Give me all your phones,’ I said. ‘All the K106s and your own phones, the duckling’s too.’

‘What’s wrong?’ Jemima asked.

‘It’s the phones,’ I said.

‘The phones, but that means...’

‘Yes, it’s London.’

‘London,’ Xing said, ‘but why? They want the money back. They want us to succeed. Why would they help Missouri?’

It was a good question.

‘I don’t know,’ I said, ‘but it’s the only way Missouri could have known our locations: the hotels, the pathway by the water, the garage and now a random backstreet. The K106s give London our positions and London gives those positions to Missouri.’