The King of Shanghai (23 page)

“As a figurehead, a straw man?”

“Call it what you want. Lop will take over the day-to-day business. That will free you to spend some time thinking about how to make everyone even more money. Mind you, Sammy, Xu doesn’t want you making any decisions without consulting Lop.”

“I’ll be — what, a fucking servant?”

“Think of yourself as the chief executive officer and Lop as the chief operating officer.”

“And Xu?”

“He’s the new chairman of the Wanchai board. Though it will be better for everyone concerned if that’s kept between you and the people at this table. Xu doesn’t want his colleagues to get paranoid about his involvement, and we have your face to worry about.”

“Of course, my face — the little I have left.”

“Sammy, you need to adjust your sense of reality.”

“It was adjusted several hours ago . . . Okay, I’m CEO, Xu is chairman, and Lop is COO. Now, I don’t mean for this to sound negative,” Wing said, “but what actual experience does Lop have running a business like ours? Until six months ago I hadn’t even heard his name. Where does he come from?”

“Do you remember Fen Ying?” Suen asked.

“He worked for Xu’s father,” Wing said, almost startled by the interruption.

“Well, Lop is his son.”

“Shit. That apple didn’t fall far from the tree.”

“Xu’s father urged Lop to join the People’s Liberation Army and arranged for him to attend military academy for officer training. He reached the rank of captain in the special operations force. You have heard of that force?”

“Who hasn’t?”

“About two years ago Xu decided he needed Lop’s talents and asked him to join the family in Shanghai. He agreed immediately. He’s been training a select group of our men. Our aim was to strengthen our defences, but as you saw last night, we are also quite capable when on the attack.”

Wing’s head swung towards Lop. “For you, taking us on must have been like fighting children,” he said.

Lop shrugged. “We take nothing for granted. A gun doesn’t know if there’s a trained professional holding it or a fat old man.”

“Sammy, Lop has Xu’s complete trust and I am assured that he is very capable. Do you agree to the proposal?” Ava said.

“What choice do I have?”

“You can say no.”

“I’m not a fool.”

“Then we have an understanding?”

“That’s a polite way of putting it,” Wing said.

“You may not be aware of it, but that’s how Xu likes to conduct all his affairs. There’s no reason why things have to be acrimonious.”

“Speaking of which,” Wing said, turning to Lop, “how many of my men are dead? How many are you still holding and what is going to happen with them?”

Lop looked at Suen and then at Ava.

“Tell him,” Ava said.

“Eleven men are dead. We have seventeen still under our control,” Lop said.

“The eleven are dead because they resisted,” Suen added.

“What are you going to do with the seventeen?” Wing asked.

“Do you anticipate anything but full co-operation from them?” Ava said.

“No. All most of them care about is that money finds its way into their pockets every week. Where it comes from isn’t a huge concern.”

“Where are the men being held?” she asked Suen and Lop.

“We took them all to a restaurant on Hennessey Road,” Lop said.

“Perfect. When Sammy and I have concluded our business here, Suen can take him there to tell them about the new arrangements, and then you can release them.”

Wing slid back his chair, placed his hands on the table, and started to push himself to his feet.

“Wait a minute, we aren’t finished yet,” Ava said. “I want to talk to you about the chairmanship.”

Wing froze, his bum just inches from the seat. “Xu wants my vote?”

“He doesn’t have it?”

Wing tried to smile but his lips barely moved. “We’ll be sitting around a table together. There will be a show of hands. How can I not vote for my new silent partner?”

“What we really want to know is where you think the overall vote stands.”

“Xu doesn’t know?” Wing asked, sitting down again.

“He has a rough idea, but he also understands that people like to keep their options open.”

“Before last night, I think he was trailing Li.”

“Was?”

“He has my vote now, which means he and Li are probably tied — unless you’ve pissed off someone else over the last couple of days.”

“Not unless you have another friend like Li.”

“It isn’t smart to be detached from what’s going on in the south.”

“Well, Xu has a foothold here now and a reason to be more involved,” Ava said. “Tell me, if you thought Li was ahead in the vote, why did you try to kill Xu?”

“Shit, you already won. Why do you want to keep talking about yesterday?”

Ava ignored him. “Xu told me about the bombs in Shanghai, and now we’ve had knives and guns in Shenzhen.”

“The factory was bombed in Shanghai. Xu wasn’t the target.”

“Still, it seems that every time someone wants to damage his business or kill him, you’re involved.”

“Like you said, people keep their options open. We weren’t a hundred percent — maybe not even sixty percent — sure that the others would vote the way they said they would. We didn’t want to take the chance that Xu would win, or that if Xu lost he would take it out on the gangs that didn’t vote for him.”

Ava nodded, her face impassive. “So your best guess is that he and Li are tied now?”

“The gangs in Hong Kong, the New Territories, Macau, and Guangzhou support Li. Xu has Malaysia, Taiwan, and most of the mainland.”

“Who do you think might be persuaded to switch?”

Wing shrugged. “Off the top of my head, no one.”

“Really?”

“They all respect Li. They’ve known him for years. In their eyes, Xu is a new and maybe dangerous player, and they aren’t quite so committed to selling his goods.”

“They’re still peddling Li’s drugs, I assume.”

“For some of them that’s their main business.”

“A risky one.”

“Old habits die hard.”

“Especially a habit that’s backed by a reliable track record. None of them will budge?”

Wing grimaced and then shrugged.

“Would you talk to them on Xu’s behalf?” Ava asked.

“Is that a demand or a request?”

“A request.”

“I could, but I’m not sure what kind of credibility I’ll have with them. I mean, you can talk about ‘secret partner’ all you want, but the word will be out about what happened in Wanchai. Li, if no one else, will make sure of that.”

“Then what about Li?”

“You want Li to vote for him?”

“No, we were thinking maybe you could ask him to withdraw his candidacy.”

Wing shook his head in disbelief. “That’s crazy.”

“Maybe it was yesterday, but now I’m not so sure. I certainly think it’s something worth exploring.”

“Under what pretext?”

“He tried to kill us.”

“Who knows that?”

“He does, and he needs to understand that we do as well.”

“You know only because I told you.”

“We know that, and I’m sure he does too. He’s no fool. Do you think he believes you stayed quiet?”

“Believe what you want.”

Ava slowly leaned forward. “As you said, Li knows what happened to you last night. Maybe he’ll feel the need to make Xu a peace offering.”

“Guangzhou isn’t Wanchai, and Li has at least ten times more men than I do.”

“We can match him in numbers, and I know that our men are better trained than his,” Suen said.

“I don’t doubt anything you say; I just don’t know why you’re saying it. I don’t believe you’ll ever attack Li, and if I’m smart enough to figure that out, then so is he.”

“Humour me, Sammy. Call him and find out where his head is,” Ava said.

“I don’t have to call him to know that. He’ll be organizing support against Xu, and not just in Guangzhou. He’ll be calling all the societies that support him and enlisting their aid.”

Ava reached for the cup of tea that had been in front of her since she sat down. She sipped and then grimaced. “I hate cold tea,” she said.

Suen took the cup from her and threw the tea onto the floor. He poured a fresh cup. “This should be better, boss,” he said.

“Just leave it on the table,” she said, her eyes trained on Sammy Wing.

“This thing with Li — if I was you I’d leave it alone,” Wing said.

“Why?”

“He’s stubborn and extremely hard-headed. He’ll already have an idea, an opinion about what Xu did, why it was done, and what Xu is going to do next. Nothing I say will change him.”

“That attitude isn’t healthy for business.”

“He cares less about business than any of the other leaders. He’s an old man now. It’s all about power and prestige.”

“He has a huge market for Xu’s products. That must matter.”

“More to Xu and to some of Li’s people than to him.”

“Like who?”

“What?”

“His people. Which of them cares about the business?”

Wing shrugged, pressed his lips together, and slowly shook his giant head. Ava couldn’t tell if he didn’t have an answer or was just reluctant to give one.

“Give me a name,” she said.

“Well, Lam is the man who runs the day-to-day operations.”

“I’ve met him,” Suen said. “Tall, thin guy with long hair who likes wearing bright-coloured glasses.”

“Yeah,” Wing said.

“Does he have any influence with Li?” she asked.

“Some.”

“Then talk to him.”

“I know Xu wants me to do this, and I know it may be dumb to seem like I’m resisting, but I have to say there’s no one — not me, Lam, Gong Li, Mao Zedong, or God — who could persuade Li to withdraw his name for the chairmanship.”

Ava leaned back in her chair. Wing rubbed his eyes with his right hand, and Ava could see he was beginning to tire. The past twelve hours had taken their toll.

“Maybe you’re right,” she said. “And maybe we’ve done all we can here.” She turned to Suen. “I would like you to go with Lop, Sammy, and Tan. Make sure everyone understands that the game stays the same but there are some new players in it. Sammy, I expect you to introduce Lop as your new right-hand man.”

“
Momentai
.”

“And you’ll also be rooming with him or one of his men until the vote is over.”

“What!”

“Did you expect anything else?”

He grimaced. “I guess not.”

“Nothing has to change, Sammy. Xu wants you to understand that he’s not putting his hand in your pocket. What you earn, you keep. He does want you to pay Lop what Jimmy Tan would have made, and the rest of the men left here should get the traditional cut. He thinks that’s fair.”

“And the supply line will obviously be kept open.”

“You can count on that.”

“I figured I could.”

“Well then, we’re done for now. It would be nice to have the transition completed and business humming along by the time the election is over.”

“I’ll look after it,” Lop said.

Ava looked at Sammy Wing. His face was impassive, his eyes focused on some spot above her head. His stillness struck her as odd. What was churning through his mind?

( 32 )

Ava pulled Suen aside as Lop escorted Sammy Wing out of the restaurant. “Please make sure Wing is never left alone until the election is over,” she said.

“Someone will be with him even if he’s crapping.”

“Good.”

“Will you call the boss to tell him how the meeting went?”

“I’ll try. I spoke to him this morning, but he’s weak and I don’t want to overtax him.”

“I’ll go over to the clinic later today, after things are completely settled in Wanchai,” Suen said. “My plan is to sleep there as long as the boss is there. Will you be coming too?”

“Not unless it’s really necessary. I have other business to look after, and besides, hospitals and clinics make me nervous.”

He looked down at her and smiled. “It’s nice to know that something does.”

They caught up with the others in the restaurant. Sonny moved behind Ava, trailing her several paces to the rear. Tan was at the entrance between two of Lop’s men. Andy and his wife stood nearby.

“You’re coming with us now,” Lop said to Tan. “You and Wing.”

Ava waited until the Shanghai group had dispersed before turning to Andy. He and Winnie bowed.

“Thanks, Andy,” Ava said, kissing him on the cheek. “I hope this is the last time I ever have to use your restaurant this way.”

“It’s the least I can do for you.”

“Andy, I have a favour to ask,” Sonny said. “I have to go and get the car. Could you stay with Ava until I come back?”

“Sure.”

“Do you want my gun?”

“I have one,” Andy said, patting his pocket.

“That isn’t necessary,” Ava said. “I’ll walk with you.”

“No, you can’t. Xu would kill me — or try to — if anything happened. It’s still too soon to take chances.”

As she watched Sonny’s back recede, Andy asked, “Everything okay?”

Ava shot him a glance. “Andy, I don’t think I should discuss this with you.”

A bus stopped in front of the station and unloaded. As the flood of people moved past them, Ava backed up against a wall. Andy stood in front of her, his hand in his pocket. When the bus moved off, Sonny’s Mercedes slid into its spot. Ava said a quick thanks to Andy and then walked to the car, where Sonny waited, holding the rear door open for her.

As the car pulled into traffic she said, “What did you think of the meeting?”

His eyes flickered in the rear-view mirror. They looked uncertain, as if she had sprung a trick question on him. “They’ll have to keep a lid on Wing, and I wouldn’t let Jimmy Tan leave Hong Kong until the election for chairman is over,” he said.

“You knew about the election before?”

“Who doesn’t?”

“I didn’t until a few days ago.”

“No reason for you to know.”

The traffic slowed and Ava replayed in her mind the meeting with Wing, searching for any mistakes she might have made.

“And boss, you shouldn’t ignore Li,” Sonny said. “Just because he didn’t rush to Wanchai doesn’t mean he isn’t coming. He knows Xu is hurt. He may take a gamble and try to finish him off. He may think there isn’t any other leadership in place.”

“I’m not ignoring him,” Ava said quietly.

Again his eyes flashed in the mirror. “Sorry if that was out of place.”

“Don’t be,” she said. “And since we’re speaking of Li, do you have any good contacts in Guangzhou?”

“What do you mean by ‘good’?” he said.

“People who are connected and discreet.”

“No, not really, but Uncle Fong does. He was in and out of there for years.”

“Doing what?”

“We had bits of business there. Fong was the man on the ground for Uncle.”

“So he knows Li?”

“Very well.”

“I wouldn’t want him to talk to Li.”

“Of course not.”

“Does he know Lam?”

“Even better than Li.”

“Sonny, how mentally alert is Uncle Fong these days?”

“I don’t understand what you’re getting at,” he answered.

“I need someone to talk to Lam who I can absolutely trust. I trust Uncle Fong, but what I don’t know is how capable he is these days of handling something this delicate.”

“Why talk to Lam?”

“I want to convince him that Guangzhou should negotiate with us.”

“Li will make that decision. And from what Wing was saying, it doesn’t sound likely.”

“I know it’s Li’s call, and I can’t imagine him responding positively to a direct approach from us. But Wing said this Lam character is more pragmatic. If I can persuade him that it’s in everyone’s best interest, maybe he can sway Li. Do you know Lam?”

“I’ve met him.”

“And?”

“He’s solid. Not a man who gets overly emotional.”

“So, someone we can do business with?”

“Only to a point. Li makes all the final decisions.”

“I would never ask Lam to talk to Li about an agreement unless he had something firm in hand, something that would satisfy Li’s needs.”

“Ava, you’re losing me.”

“I want to talk to Lam, and Lam alone. I want him to know that Xu is prepared to cut a deal.”

“Ava, have you discussed this idea with Suen or Lop?”

“No, I haven’t, and given Xu’s wishes, I don’t think I have to. Do you?”

“No,” he said quickly. “I’m sorry for even asking the question.”

“I didn’t mean to snap,” Ava said. “It’s just that things can’t keep going like this. Wing and Li were stupid to attack Xu, but enough revenge has been taken on Wanchai. The bloodshed has to stop and business needs to get back to normal.”

“No one likes war — except maybe Lop,” Sonny said.

“So let’s bring an end to it.”

“But Ava, I have to tell you that what you want done sounds very complicated. For starters, you’ll have to explain things to Uncle Fong very clearly. He’ll be eager to please, but alert or not, I worry about his ability to relay your message to Lam. Truthfully, it might be better for me to tell Uncle Fong what you want.”

“Will Lam trust him? He must know that Uncle Fong and I are friends.”

“Yeah, he’ll know, but Uncle Fong has been Triad his whole life. He took the oaths and he honours the traditions. Lam also knows that Fong is retired and has no particular axe to grind.”

“So you’re saying that we can use Uncle Fong as our go-between and you’ll brief him?”

Sonny’s head bobbed, and she knew he was pleased with himself. How often had Uncle used him as a sounding board? It was a question she’d never considered.

“I think we will do it that way,” she said. “Uncle Fong should contact Lam and say that he’s been talking to me and that I requested he make an approach. We want to do a deal and we’re prepared to make concessions. The first step towards reaching an agreement is for Lam to contact me directly. Uncle Fong has to make it absolutely clear that it’s too early to involve either Li or Xu. Lam and I will need some time to feel out each other’s positions and find a middle ground that we think will be acceptable to the Mountain Masters. When he and I are satisfied, then we’ll bring the bosses into the picture.”

“Lam will have lots of questions.”

“And Uncle Fong won’t have any answers. Lam will have to talk to me.”

“He’ll be suspicious.”

“I want just one phone call from Lam to tell me he’s prepared to talk. Nothing more than that. We’ll take it from there.”

“He may run directly to Li.”

“Uncle Fong must stress that if the bosses are brought in too soon there will never be a deal — their egos will get in the way. Lam and I need to lay the groundwork.”

“So all you want is for Lam to agree to meet with you?”

“Yes, so make sure Uncle Fong has my cellphone number. He can also tell Lam I’m staying at the Mandarin Oriental.” Ava looked into the rear-view mirror and saw that Sonny was staring straight ahead, his brow furrowed, his lips moving. “How soon can you meet with Uncle Fong?” she asked.

“As soon as I get you back to Central, I’ll call him.”

“How will he contact Lam?”

“He’ll phone him, but only to arrange a meeting between the two of them. There’s no way something this sensitive can be discussed over the phone.”

“If Lam agrees to see him, how soon can we get him to Guangzhou?”

“I’ll drive him myself. It’s a two-hour trip unless the border is clogged.”

“You haven’t slept in more than twenty-four hours.”

“In the past I’ve gone seventy-two.”

“Sonny, if Lam agrees to meet Uncle Fong, schedule it for early tomorrow.”

“That might be best.”

“We don’t want Lam to think we’re too eager.”