Read Online White Devil - A Beatrix Rose Thriller: Hong Kong Stories Volume 1 (Beatrix Rose's Hong Kong Stories) by Mark Dawson - Free Book Online

heard.”
    He laughed, a delicate sound that was incongruous from his mouth. “Your arrogance is well known, Chau.”
    “Not arrogance, Mr. Ying. Confidence.”
    He allowed that. “My organisation always has space for talented individuals. Your particular skill is, of course, of special interest. Business is brisk. We would see that you were kept busy. But what about Donnie?”
    “If that was no longer a problem?”
    “Then we could certainly discuss it.”
    “Your terms would be the same as before?”
    A small smile again. “I will be honest, Chau. Not as attractive as when we first spoke. You were in a stronger position to bargain then. Now, though, you have fewer options. Your difficulties are not to your advantage in a negotiation. I believe I am in the stronger position.”
    Chau gripped the rail and watched as a corporate junk slid by them in the direction of the island. “So?”
    “Half of the previous amount.”
    “Two-thirds.”
    Ying chuckled again. “No, Chau. Half is my offer. If it is unacceptable, you can go back to Donnie with my best wishes.”
    Chau knew that he was caught. He couldn’t go back, and Ying knew it. There was no point in driving a hard bargain when it had no prospect of success. “I agree.”
    “That is very good, Chau. I am pleased. And Donnie? What will he say?”
    “He will not be happy.”
    “No, I should think not.”
    “He will kill me if he finds me.”
    Ying shrugged. “Then this discussion is pointless, perhaps.”
    “No,” Chau said. “There is a solution to that.”
    Ying nodded, inviting him to go on.
    “We could remove him as a problem.”
    Ying’s eyebrow raised, just a little. Chau had his undivided attention now. “Are you serious, Chau? Donnie is Dai Lo .”
    “You asked if I am as good as people say. We can treat him as demonstration.”
    “You will kill him?”
    “And make him disappear. If no one knows what has happened to him, where is the harm?”
    “I do not think you have thought this through. You want me to approve his death?”
    “Not approve it. The only thing you have to do is tell me where to find him. Somewhere he feels safe. I’ll take care of the rest.”
    “That is a semantic difference, Chau.”
    “You are not friendly with him.”
    “No. But what you are proposing is drastic.”
    Ying looked out over the harbour. Chau could see that he was considering his suggestion. He knew, too, that his answer would determine the path that his life would take from this point on. There were no other cards to play if Ying turned him down. And, if he decided against him, he knew that there was a very good chance that he wouldn’t have very much longer to live. If Donnie Qi found out that Ying had been talking to him, in circumstances where their conversation could only portend bad things for him, he would take grave offence. Ying would not be comfortable with risking Donnie’s ire. The best way to demonstrate that Ying was not interested in causing difficulties between the two societies would be to deliver Chau to Donnie.
    Beatrix Rose was on the ferry somewhere, assuming that she had been true to her word, but, even so, she was just a woman. A peculiarly dangerous woman, perhaps, but a woman nonetheless. What would she be able to do against Ying’s goons?
    Chau’s attention was drawn down to the rail. Ying was drumming his fingers against the metal. He was reluctant to prompt him for an answer that he expected to be bad. He knew, for sure, that he had just a few moments of liberty left. He did not want to wish them away.
    Ying turned. “Let me think about it,” he said. “This is not a trivial thing.”
    “Of course.”
    “What will you do in Kowloon?”
    Chau exhaled. He found he had been holding his breath. “I do not know.”
    “I have a restaurant in Tsim Sha Shui. The Golden Lotus. Go there and tell them that Mr. Ying sent you. You will eat and drink well. Be on the last ferry back to the island. We will discuss it