The Mountain Master of Sha Tin, page 5
“Also perfect.”
“I’ll stay here until I hear from you.”
Ava left the hospital, turned left, and walked down the street. She had gone less than twenty metres when she saw Wen standing on the sidewalk next to the car. “Did Suen explain that I just want to sit in the car while I make a phone call?” she asked when she reached him.
“He did,” Wen said, opening the back door for her. “I’ll make sure you aren’t disturbed.”
Ava settled into the back seat and took her phone from her bag. She sat quietly for a few moments as she thought about the best way to approach Sammy Wing. In the past he’d bragged about his relationship with Uncle — although that hadn’t prevented him from accepting the contract to kill her — and he often brought up his name with her as a way of creating some kind of bond. It was completely artificial, but Ava went along with it because, while she didn’t believe Uncle would ever be close to a man like Wing, she knew they had been triad colleagues for decades. So, she decided, she would be the one to invoke Uncle’s name if the right opportunity presented itself.
Next there was the matter of Sammy’s attempts to kill her and Xu. Sammy had denied it at the time and tried to offload the blame on Li, who had been Mountain Master in Guangzhou before Lam killed him. Ava knew that Li had been involved, but she also knew it was in partnership with Sammy. Xu’s response to the attack on his life had been amazingly conciliatory, given the circumstances. Ava hoped that was something she could use in their favour.
Finally, Ava reminded herself that, despite his bluster and a tendency to exaggerate, Sammy was shrewd, and not a man to be taken for granted or condescended to — especially when he had a Mountain Master nephew supporting him with two hundred men on the street. Be respectful, she told herself as she dialled his number.
The phone rang three times and then sounded like it had been answered, except no one spoke. “Sammy, this is Ava Lee,” she said. She thought she could hear breathing on the other end. “Sammy, it’s Ava.”
“Why are you calling me?” he said finally.
“Sammy, I’m sure you know why.”
He didn’t answer right away, and she could hear voices in the background. Finally he said, “Why am I hearing from you, and why isn’t Xu taking calls from my nephew?”
“Xu knows you and I have a special rapport. I guess he figures we can work things out.”
“What special rapport? The last time I talked to you was in that restaurant at the Kowloon MTR station. As I remember, you told me that Xu and that fucker Lop were taking over Wanchai and you were going to leave me in place for appearance’s sake.”
“Sammy, at least you’re alive. How many men who tried what you did can make that claim?”
“I’m supposed to be grateful for being humiliated like that?”
“Not grateful, but don’t exaggerate how badly you were treated. I thought you were given a measure of respect — a respect that everyone involved, including Xu, thought you had earned.”
“It would have been more respectful to kill me.”
Ava drew a deep breath. “Sammy, it isn’t too late for that to be arranged.”
“Is that a threat?” he snapped. “The girl is making threats now?”
“The girl is trying to remind you of the reality of your situation. Have you forgotten about the forces that Xu can bring to bear if he chooses?”
“The reality is that Lop is out of the picture, which means Wanchai is leaderless, and we’re holding seven of Xu’s men and we’re prepared to kill them and whoever stands in our way.”
“Is killing those men really necessary?” she asked, avoiding further mention of Lop.
“Not if Xu pulls out of Wanchai.”
“He won’t do that,” Ava said.
“That is his only option.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“How the fuck would you know?” Wing said.
“I don’t, but I do know that you’re too clever to paint yourself into a corner with ultimatums like the one you just delivered.”
“Why do you think we did what we did? What is it you think we want?”
“You tell me,” said Ava.
“We want Wanchai back. We want those pricks from Shanghai gone.”
“That isn’t going to happen, especially if you harm Xu’s men.”
“We’ll see about that,” Wing said, his voice suddenly more menacing.
Have I pushed too hard? Ava thought. “What we need to do, Sammy, is talk — talk about what is actually possible,” she said. “Everyone has to save face.”
He didn’t respond. Again she thought she heard voices in the background and wondered if she was on speaker phone. Finally he said, “This is a waste of time. Tell Xu to call me or Carter. He’s the one we want to talk to.”
“He won’t do that as long as he feels you’re pointing a gun at his head, and threatening to kill his men is the same thing to him,” she said. “He won’t talk to you until those men are released and there’s an acceptable offer on the table. Right now he has neither, so as it stands, I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”
“And what authority do you have?” a different voice — Ava assumed it was Carter’s — asked in a condescending tone.
“What I have is Xu’s complete confidence. If you doubt that, ask your uncle. He knows I’ve spoken for Xu in the past and that whatever I’ve promised has been delivered.”
Once again she heard muffled voices, and then Sammy said, “We won’t do this over the phone. Where are you?”
“Shanghai.”
“Come to Hong Kong.”
“If I come, are you guaranteeing that we’ll talk?”
“I am.”
“And just talk? I’m not in the mood to be ambushed again.”
“We’ll talk, nothing more. You have my word.”
“I need your guarantee. I want you to swear it in Uncle’s memory.”
“I gave you my word.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“Then I swear in Uncle’s memory,” Sammy said harshly.
“And I want the same assurance from your nephew.”
“Why?”
“We’re not sure who’s making the decisions.”
“Where Wanchai is concerned, I am,” Sammy said.
“But my understanding is that Sha Tin is involved in this as well.”
“You have my fucking guarantee!” Carter shouted. “Now come to Hong Kong and let’s get this settled.”
“Fine. I will get myself onto an airplane but I won’t be able to get there until this evening. What will you do with Xu’s men in the meantime? Can you promise not to harm them until we’ve had a chance to meet?”
“Get here. If you’re early enough, we’ll meet tonight. If not, it will have to be tomorrow. Call me when you arrive and we’ll tell you where and when,” Sammy said.
“But you still haven’t told me about the men. Will they be unharmed?”
“We’ll see.”
“That isn’t reassuring.”
“It’s the best you’re going to get.”
“Okay, Sammy, I’m going to keep believing you’re as clever as I said you were,” Ava said.
“Call me when you arrive,” he said, and then the line went dead.
I think he’s going to negotiate, Ava thought, feeling pleased about the way she’d handled the conversation. She got out of the car and walked towards Wen, who had moved away from the car while she spoke to Wing. “I’m going back inside, but I don’t imagine I’ll be more than twenty minutes. You’ll need to drive me to Xu’s and then wait while I pack a bag. I’ll be going to the airport.”
Suen stood on the front steps of the hospital and watched her approach with a look of curiosity on his face. “Well?” he asked when she reached him.
“Let’s wait until we’re with Xu. I don’t want to repeat myself.”
“Okay,” Suen said, and then turned and led the way into the hospital.
The nurses seemed surprised to see them when they
re-entered the ward. Ava wondered if something had happened. “Is Xu all right?” she asked.
“The doctor was just with him. He said he needs more rest and increased his medication.”
“Can we talk to him?”
“I guess so, but don’t stay longer than necessary.”
Ava and Suen quickly put on gowns, slippers, and masks and headed to Xu’s room. The room was darker than it had been earlier, and the light emanating from the equipment by the bed was eerie. “Xu, it’s Ava and Suen,” she said. “Can you hear me?”
“I can. What happened? Did you reach Sammy?”
“I spoke to him and Carter. They’re willing to meet with us. I’ll be going to Hong Kong today.”
“Good. What about our men?”
“They wouldn’t make any commitment, but I don’t believe they’ll do anything rash. I think we’ve bought some time.”
“What do Sammy and Carter want?”
“Do you mean what do they really want?” Ava said.
“Yes.”
“I don’t know. Sammy told me they want the Shanghai men completely gone from Wanchai. I told him that isn’t going to happen. That’s as far as we got.”
“He was still willing to meet after you told him that?”
“He was.”
“Then we have to believe they’re willing to negotiate.”
“I think they are,” she said.
“Well, at least we have a starting point,” Xu said, almost in a whisper.
“What are you prepared to give up?” she asked.
“Money rather than control, but I suspect they’ll want both.”
“How should I respond?”
“Don’t argue with them,” he said, shaking his head. “The most important thing is to keep those seven men alive. So, no matter how outrageous the Wings’ demands, keep asking questions. You need to figure out their real bottom line.”
“Okay. I’ll be meeting with them tonight or tomorrow. If you are still in isolation, I’ll let Suen know when and where and I’ll stay in touch with him. He’ll keep you updated.”
“Don’t go to any meeting alone,” Xu said.
“Don’t worry, I learned my lesson with Sammy. I’ll have Sonny with me, and we’ll get Ko to support us.”
Xu reached for her hand. “Ava, I’m sorry you’ve been dragged into this.”
“Don’t be. I can’t seem to shake Sammy Wing. He keeps popping up in my life like some rancid piece of unfinished business. Maybe this time I’ll manage to put him behind me for good.”
( 6 )
Ava left the hospital and called Xu’s house from the car. When there was no answer, she tried Fai’s cell.
“Hi,” Fai said above the sound of traffic in the background. “We’re taking a walk in the Concession.”
“And I’m just leaving the hospital.”
“How is Xu?”
“He’s better this morning, more alert, and he isn’t as pale. The doctor just increased his medication, but that’s to help him get more sleep. I think he’s definitely improving.”
“What a relief. I’ll tell Auntie Grace.”
“You can also tell her that I’ll be home in about half an hour, but I’m staying just long enough to pack. I do have to go to Hong Kong.”
“I was expecting that. We’ll head back to the house in time to see you. Is there anything you want me to do for you before you leave?”
“No, but thanks. I’ll pack when I get home.”
“Where will you stay in Hong Kong?”
“I haven’t thought about it yet. I normally stay at the Mandarin Oriental, but I have stayed at Uncle’s old apartment in Kowloon. I’ll talk to Sonny before I decide.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“If things go well, I can’t imagine it will be more than a day or two.”
“And if they don’t?”
“You shouldn’t think like that.”
“I’m still going to worry.”
“I know,” Ava said. “Listen, I have some other calls to make. I’ll see you soon.”
Ava was accustomed to people worrying about her. Her mother, her father, Uncle, Xu, May Ling, and Amanda had all taken their turns, but Ava had never felt accountable for being the source of those worries. They all knew who she was and what she did. It was different with Fai. She was simply looking for love and wasn’t bound by blood or business. Ava’s history was of no importance to her; when it intruded negatively on their lives, it seemed to Ava that it threw off the balance they had achieved. I’ll get Sammy resolved, spend a few more days in Shanghai, and then go with Fai to Yantai, she thought.
She opened her phone and called a familiar Hong Kong number.
“Wei,” Sonny answered.
“It’s Ava. I’ll be flying into Hong Kong later today. I’ll text you the flight details when I have them.”
“I’m guessing that Sammy Wing is the reason.”
“Yes. We’ll be meeting with him. I won’t be surprised if his nephew comes as well.”
“When’s the meeting?”
“We haven’t fixed a time or place. There’s no point doing that until I know when I’m arriving.”
“You’ll want me at the meeting?”
“Oh yes, and Carlo and Andy, and maybe a few of Ko’s men. We’re not taking any chances this time.”
“I’ll make sure Carlo and Andy are available,” Sonny said.
“When you talk to Andy, you should also ask him if he’s heard any more scuttlebutt about the Wings, including anything about Xu’s seven men.”
“What’s going to happen to them?”
“I think they’re okay for now.”
“Does Ko know that?”
“I imagine Suen has called him, but if you want to make sure, call him yourself when we’re finished.”
“I will,” Sonny said. “Where will you be staying?”
“I don’t know. If Lourdes is still in the Philippines, I was thinking about Uncle’s apartment,” Ava said, referring to Lourdes Bentulan, the Filipina who had been Uncle’s housekeeper for close to thirty years and who had inherited the apartment when he died.
“She’s back in Hong Kong.”
“Then I’ll stay at the Mandarin Oriental in Central.”
“I actually think that’s a better choice from a security viewpoint.”
“Do you have any other commitments for the next couple of days?”
“When you’re in Hong Kong, you’re the only commitment I have. I was supposed to drive your brother and his partner to Shenzhen, but I’ll cancel.”
“Don’t tell Michael that I’m in Hong Kong, though. He’d tell my father and I’d be expected to meet him for dinner or lunch. This isn’t that kind of trip.”
“Will Amanda know?”
“Yes, I always let her and May Ling know where I am, but both of them are very good at keeping it to themselves.”
Sonny was familiar with the complications surrounding Ava’s family life, and he never questioned how she handled them. She was the second daughter of the second wife of Marcus Lee. Marcus had four sons — including Michael, the oldest — with his first wife, Elizabeth. He had never sectionorced Elizabeth and still lived with her in Hong Kong. His marriage to Jennie, and later to a third wife who now lived in Australia, was traditional rather than strictly legal. When Ava and her sister Marian were still of preschool age, a rift had developed between Marcus and Jennie and he had dispatched the family to Canada. He did not abandon them, though. He supported them financially, spoke to Jennie every day on the phone, visited with her for two weeks every year, and deeply cared about and monitored the lives of his daughters. Among Ava’s Chinese friends in Toronto, being the child of a second or third wife was common. In fact, it was so common that Jennie Lee claimed — with some justification — that without those children as students, many of the most expensive private schools in the city would be struggling.
Where Ava’s life differed from those of most of her friends, and even her sister’s, was that she had developed a relationship with her half-brothers from Marcus’s first marriage and had even come to know Elizabeth Lee. The impetus had been a business problem of Michael’s that needed the kind of help Ava was uniquely equipped to provide. At Marcus’s request she had flown to Hong Kong, met Michael and his partner, Simon To, and agreed to assist them. The assistance became messy and violent, but in the end she prevailed, saving their business and Simon To’s life.
Michael had been engaged at the time to a young woman named Amanda Yee. Ava took an immediate liking to her and only later discovered that she and Uncle had twice done jobs for her father, Jack Yee. By the time the Michael-and-Simon fiasco was resolved, Ava and Amanda were firm friends, so much so that Amanda asked Ava to be maid of honour at her wedding. Given Ava’s status as the daughter of a second wife, that had the potential to be incredibly awkward, until Elizabeth Lee graciously acknowledged Ava at the wedding and thanked her for everything she’d done for the family.
Amanda and Ava’s relationship became more entangled when Ava and her friend May Ling Wong decided to start an investment business together. Neither Ava nor May Ling — who lived in Wuhan and owned a business there that she ran with her husband — were able to commit to the new business full-time, so they brought Amanda onboard as a full-time partner. The company became Three Sisters Investments, and it now owned entirely or had a majority stake in businesses involved in fashion, furniture manufacturing, trading, and warehousing and distribution.
“I see Amanda quite often. She’s an impressive young woman,” Sonny said. “But I can’t remember the last time I saw Madam Wong.”
“May would hate you calling her that,” Ava said, laughing. “And I hope you don’t refer to me as Madam Lee behind my back.”
