One of my colleagues called me over and I managed to get a look. Downstairs, the two new arrivals were standing over the supervisor. He was cowering on the floor with blood all over his face and shirt. The entire factory, over a hundred people, just kept working, blind with fear. Then the new guys left him lying there and paid us a visit upstairs.”
“So, what then?” Lam asked, as his attention was once again distracted. Was he being paranoid, or was there something really obvious going on here that he was missing? The sense that they were close to success, close to something big, was overwhelming. His professional mind and ego were telling him to stay put and let the operation continue to run, but his gut, his body’s self-preservation mechanism, was telling him otherwise. He began scouring faces in the crowd. “Sorry, please go on.”
“OK, now you’ve got me worried. Let’s get this done ASAP in case we have to vamoose. The beating seemed to be nothing more than a demonstration. Letting everyone know who’s boss ahead of someone even bigger arriving. Sure enough, yesterday a man arrived with a full entourage of lackeys and bodyguards.” Mei-Zhen pulled out her cell phone and sent an image to his. It arrived on Lam’s cell with a ping. “I managed to snap this late yesterday. It’s only a partial, I know, but … it’s him, right?”
“Wu Ming!”
“There’s no mistaking him. I can’t remember how many hours I spent looking at pictures of him before I came out here to Hong Kong. Everyone in the place was terrified when he walked in. They all knew who he was, that’s for sure.”
“It’s him,” Lam whispered, barely able to believe it. “He’s much heavier than when I last saw him but there’s no mistaking those black eyes of his. You ran a hell of a risk taking this photo.”
“I had to. Anyway, you have it now. You told me once that you’d seen him up close,” she said. “Care to expand?”
“It’s definitely him,” said Lam. A flood of memories hit him. “It was 1988,” he began, eyes still fixed on the screen. “Back then, Wu Ming was just an emerging player in the Hong Kong crime scene, a gangland enforcer who controlled certain corners of Kowloon through violence and cruelty. At the time, I was a newly promoted sergeant, recently appointed to Organized Crime. I was part of a joint operation with Narcotics to bust a drug ring operating within the Walled City. You ever heard of it?”
“Of course,” she replied. “But I thought you guys never ventured into that place?”
“Some of us did,” Lam said, remembering. “One day I chased Wu and another man, Lai, into the Walled City. It was all dead ends and alleyways, and so dark … there was water everywhere. I chased him and chased him until we ended up in a stand-off that turned into a gunfight. They shot at me and I shot back. I killed Lai and got three bullets in my guts from Wu. He disappeared and I was left for dead. A local man dragged me clear and left me out in the open on the edge of the city, where I could be found by my squad.”
“I had no idea,” she said. “No wonder this is personal for you.”
“You know, I’ve spent twenty-five years pursuing Wu Ming and I’ve never managed to track him down until now. Thanks to you.”
“Well, don’t pop the champagne just yet. I have more.”
“What? Tell me.”
“Something big’s about to go down there. It’s not just about Mr Wu being in town. I know there’s something else.”
Lam remained absolutely quiet, waiting for her to begin.
“The beatings continued last night and there’d been more this morning before I arrived. Extra muscle arrived last night, too, after Wu Ming and his crew. They looked European. Russian, maybe. Real bad guys. All gym junkies in suits that were way too small for them, and all with buzz haircuts and gang tattoos on their hands and necks.”
“How many?”
“Half-a-dozen or so. They marched in like stormtroopers and
“So, what then?” Lam asked, as his attention was once again distracted. Was he being paranoid, or was there something really obvious going on here that he was missing? The sense that they were close to success, close to something big, was overwhelming. His professional mind and ego were telling him to stay put and let the operation continue to run, but his gut, his body’s self-preservation mechanism, was telling him otherwise. He began scouring faces in the crowd. “Sorry, please go on.”
“OK, now you’ve got me worried. Let’s get this done ASAP in case we have to vamoose. The beating seemed to be nothing more than a demonstration. Letting everyone know who’s boss ahead of someone even bigger arriving. Sure enough, yesterday a man arrived with a full entourage of lackeys and bodyguards.” Mei-Zhen pulled out her cell phone and sent an image to his. It arrived on Lam’s cell with a ping. “I managed to snap this late yesterday. It’s only a partial, I know, but … it’s him, right?”
“Wu Ming!”
“There’s no mistaking him. I can’t remember how many hours I spent looking at pictures of him before I came out here to Hong Kong. Everyone in the place was terrified when he walked in. They all knew who he was, that’s for sure.”
“It’s him,” Lam whispered, barely able to believe it. “He’s much heavier than when I last saw him but there’s no mistaking those black eyes of his. You ran a hell of a risk taking this photo.”
“I had to. Anyway, you have it now. You told me once that you’d seen him up close,” she said. “Care to expand?”
“It’s definitely him,” said Lam. A flood of memories hit him. “It was 1988,” he began, eyes still fixed on the screen. “Back then, Wu Ming was just an emerging player in the Hong Kong crime scene, a gangland enforcer who controlled certain corners of Kowloon through violence and cruelty. At the time, I was a newly promoted sergeant, recently appointed to Organized Crime. I was part of a joint operation with Narcotics to bust a drug ring operating within the Walled City. You ever heard of it?”
“Of course,” she replied. “But I thought you guys never ventured into that place?”
“Some of us did,” Lam said, remembering. “One day I chased Wu and another man, Lai, into the Walled City. It was all dead ends and alleyways, and so dark … there was water everywhere. I chased him and chased him until we ended up in a stand-off that turned into a gunfight. They shot at me and I shot back. I killed Lai and got three bullets in my guts from Wu. He disappeared and I was left for dead. A local man dragged me clear and left me out in the open on the edge of the city, where I could be found by my squad.”
“I had no idea,” she said. “No wonder this is personal for you.”
“You know, I’ve spent twenty-five years pursuing Wu Ming and I’ve never managed to track him down until now. Thanks to you.”
“Well, don’t pop the champagne just yet. I have more.”
“What? Tell me.”
“Something big’s about to go down there. It’s not just about Mr Wu being in town. I know there’s something else.”
Lam remained absolutely quiet, waiting for her to begin.
“The beatings continued last night and there’d been more this morning before I arrived. Extra muscle arrived last night, too, after Wu Ming and his crew. They looked European. Russian, maybe. Real bad guys. All gym junkies in suits that were way too small for them, and all with buzz haircuts and gang tattoos on their hands and necks.”
“How many?”
“Half-a-dozen or so. They marched in like stormtroopers and
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