Point Blank (Sisterhood Book 26) (16 page)

“So, wise one, is Kathryn pissed that Bert ignored her, or is she pissed at herself?” Harry asked, tongue-in-cheek.

“How should I know?”

“Well, wise one, you claim to know everything there is to know about women. So what is it?” Harry cackled.

“Stuff it, Harry.”

Cooper nudged Jack’s leg and let loose with a soft yip. Jack tickled him behind the ears, to the big dog’s delight. Just long enough for a thought to race across Jack’s brain.
Read the paper, it’s urgent.

Thinking the newspaper was in Chinese, Jack handed the
Macau Daily News
to Harry, who flipped it open. He blinked, then blinked again before he let loose with a string of curses that made Jack blush. He felt the paper being shoved in his hands. He looked down to see a picture of Harry Wong, above the fold, and in color. He’d been wrong. The
Macau Daily News
was a Chinese English-language newspaper.

“Uh-oh!” was all he could think to say.

Harry bounded ahead like a steamroller. He stopped short, right in front of Charles Martin and Fergus Duffy, who were about to step into the elevator. Fergus gave Harry a shove and hissed, “Not here. Wait till we get to the room and calm down. That’s an order.”

Jack thought the ride to the twelfth floor seemed to take forever. He was almost afraid to look at Harry, who looked like he was about to explode. What the hell was his picture doing on the front page of the local paper? He wished he’d gotten more than a glimpse. Who knew Harry was here? Was their cover blown? He looked down at Cooper, who looked like he was used to riding in elevators every day of his life. That had to mean things were . . . copacetic—at least for the moment. Still, he crossed his fingers for good luck. Cooper let loose with a soft yip, indicating he was aware of Jack’s concern.

The elevator pinged, and part of the group bailed out and headed down the hall. The others trailed behind, wondering what was going on. The elevator pinged again, and Avery Snowden and his crew raced to catch up.

Inside the luxurious suite, Harry snatched the paper from Charles’s hands and started to bellow at the top of his lungs, “Do you see this? They know! The bastards know we’re here! That I’m here! Me!”

Everyone started to clamor at once, asking what was in the paper and why Harry’s picture was on the front page.

“It says I am here in China to defend my martial-arts title as the number one martial-arts expert in the world now that Jun Yu is dead. The contest is one week from now!”

Jack suddenly felt light-headed. He cleared his throat. “Who . . . who are you defending your title against, Harry?”

“Who do you think,
Jack
?”

“Well, I don’t know, Harry, that’s why I asked.” But he did know, and the knowing was making him sick to his stomach.

“Wing Ping, that’s who.”

 

T
here was a moment of silence at Harry’s bitter words, followed by an instant clamor, with everyone talking and shouting at once. The only one not caught up in the moment was Cooper, who searched for his one-eared rabbit with only half a tail, then carried it to the door, where he flopped down and went to sleep.

If Annie had had her gun, she would have fired it to impose silence on the increasingly loud cacophony of voices. Instead, she whistled sharply and was rewarded with instant silence. The crowd stared at her, their faces a mix of anger, frustration, and fear. “Everyone take a deep breath here! What exactly does that paper say, Harry? Please do not tell me all of this”—she said, waving her arms about—“was for naught.”

“It’s an AP wire article. It says I am here in China to defend my title now that Jun Yu has gone on to meet his ancestors. That’s exactly how it is worded. I’m being challenged by Wing Ping. To turn this down would make me a coward in the eyes of the Chinese people and the sporting world. Because I now live in America, it isn’t sitting well with these people, meaning the Chinese, that an American holds the title even though I am Chinese by birth. They believe, or whoever wrote this article believes, that the title holder should live in China as Jun Yu did, and that’s why Wing Ping is challenging me. Does that make sense to all of you?”

“Let me see that paper!” Kathryn growled as she snatched the paper from Harry’s hands. The women clustered around her as they all tried to read the brief article.

Dishbang Deshi held up both hands. “Does it say specifically that you are already here or is it an invitation for you to come to China? Your disguise fooled me, Harry. I’m sure it fooled the others, too. And Wing Ping has not seen you since we were youngsters at the monastery. Of course, there are pictures of you as you look now all over the place and on the Net for anyone who wants to take the time to search you out. If they made me out, it was at the café, and we did walk back to the Peninsula. I rather thought we were clever and pulled it off. Dishbang Deshi, meaning me, was never seen again once he walked through the portals of the Peninsula. For all anyone knows, I’m still a guest at the hotel.”

“There is that little matter of thirteen missing men, thugs, scum, whatever you want to call them,” Annie said. “I think that’s what they are going with and blaming it all on Harry. Unless our rooms at the hotel were bugged.”

“If the rooms were bugged, Snowden would have found the bugs. That’s what he does. I’m thinking this is to draw you out, Harry. They
think
you’re here. They aren’t sure,” Jack said as he looked over at Cooper, who cracked one eyelid and let loose with a soft yip. “See, Cooper agrees.”

“This article says the tournament will take place on Song Mountain at the monastery,” Alexis said as she read over Kathryn’s shoulder. “The event of the decade is how it is being portrayed if I’m reading this correctly.”

“If I’m reading this the way Kathryn is, and I think I am, this news has been plastered all over the Internet. We are all savvy enough to know that if you want something to get out to the masses, social media is the way to go. I’m going to text Abner right now to ask him to look into this,” Isabelle said.

“Wait a moment, dear. Everyone, is this a good idea?” Myra asked. “Can these people monitor our calls and texts out of this country? And how do we know this room isn’t . . . um . . . bugged.”

Maggie spoke up. “Because when I checked us in at the last second, I requested a totally different floor. Just to be on the safe side. There would be no time to bug these rooms since we came up here as soon as we checked in. Mr. Snowden’s tactics rubbed off on me, I think.”

Everyone in the room nodded to show their approval of Maggie’s actions.

“To answer your question, Myra, so what if I call or text Abner? He’s my husband who stayed behind. I can send a text or speak in code that only Abner and I understand,” Isabelle said as she pressed in digit after digit, not caring about the time difference.

“This tournament will bring in millions of dollars. That’s US dollars. The smart money, the Chinese money, will be on Wing Ping. They’ll do everything they can to destroy your reputation, Harry. They’ll start with your changing your name from Wong Guotin to Harry Wong when you left for the States.

“Your Chinese name means ‘polite, firm, strong leader.’ They’ll say you gave up that fearsome name to become American, with the name Harry. I have no idea what the name Harry means, but when it hits print, it won’t be anything nice, I can guarantee that much,” Dishbang Deshi said.

“This is today’s newspaper,” Nikki said. “If I’m reading this right, the tournament is set for next week. They’re expecting thousands of people to attend. It will be the event of the decade. This article sounds like it’s been confirmed and is already a done deal. Like you already agreed to defend your title, Harry. How are you supposed to . . . agree or disagree?” Ted asked.

Dishbang Deshi held up his hand. “This is my opinion, and only my opinion, but I think Wing Ping is hoping that Harry is a no-show. Then he takes the title by default.” He turned to Harry and winced at the pain he was seeing on his old friend’s face. “If it’s any consolation, Harry, I don’t think Wing Ping is prepared for combat. He’s been with the triads too long. He’s gotten sloppy. He hasn’t had a good life, and there is his background, which still haunts him. He’s hoping you won’t show. Like you say, he was born to the art; but over time, that art has faded and disappeared. I’ll stake my life on it. You, on the other hand, work at your craft, your profession, on a daily basis. You can take him, Harry, I know you can.”

Harry shook his head. “Why would the monks allow this to happen? How can they give in to these . . . these people?”

“Harry, the monks are a peaceful people. They fight only for good. I’m sure the infiltration was insidious, and they didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late. And now they’re under siege. They have no options, surely you can see that,” Dishbang Deshi responded.

“My daughter . . .”

Cooper opened both eyes and yipped as he stared at Jack just long enough for Jack to say, “She’s safe, Harry. They want you to think otherwise. They’re using her as bait to get you to do what they want. And that means you show up, they scare you by saying you’ll make some kind of stupid statement like you bow to the superior force, meaning Wing Ping, and they will let you have your daughter back. And then you go home in disgrace, and Wing Ping wins whatever the hell you win at one of those tournaments. I’m right, Harry, I know I am. If Cooper thinks or . . .
knows
that Lily is safe, that’s good enough for me, and it sure as hell should be good enough for you, too.

“I think that means that the monks got her away in the nick of time. We just have to figure out where that place of safety is, and that’s where Cooper comes in.”

Harry looked over at Yoko, who nodded in agreement with what Jack had said. “You’re right, Jack. But . . . I do not plan on hanging around here for the next few days to gamble and to keep on pretending. I want us to leave for the monastery first thing in the morning. Better yet, right now. Maggie and Ted, as the so-called tour leaders, can come up with a reason why we’re leaving ahead of schedule. I do not think there will be a problem since the rooms were paid in advance, and the hotel can re-rent the rooms.”

“But I was supposed to meet with Bert to discuss. . .” Annie started to say.

“Well, that’s not going to happen, Annie. Send him a text or something giving him the go-ahead on your plans to open a casino here. That is why you were meeting, isn’t it?” Kathryn said, her voice so cold and angry the others shivered. “I’m with Harry here—we need to move and to move quickly. In the next few hours if that is possible. The other side, if we are being watched or under surveillance, will not be expecting this change of plans, especially not so quickly.”

Nikki held up her hand, her eyes on Jack. “Kathryn is right. We should leave now if we can. How difficult is it to change our tickets to Song Mountain?”

Maggie was busy typing before Nikki finished talking. She mumbled something that sounded like,
Do not unpack
.
Yet
.

Ted knew it was going to happen, so he stood up and said, “I’ll go down to the desk to explain our situation and arrange for transportation to the airport.”

There was no argument from anyone in the group. The wheels were in motion, and they all knew that when that happened, you needed to be ready at the drop of a hat.

Jack looked over at Cooper, who had his half-tailed rabbit with only one ear between his teeth. He was as ready to go as anyone else in the group. “Attaboy, Coop!”

Cooper let loose with a series of sharp yips, which meant, Let’s get this show on the road; as you can easily see, I am ready.

Ninety minutes later, the entire group was assembled and in line at the Macau International Airport for the next flight to their destination. There was no sign of Avery Snowden and his people. While anxious, none of them were worried about his absence. Avery Snowden knew their destination and would arrive either before or shortly after they did. Spook tradecraft.

As it turned out, the seven-hour plane ride proved to be uneventful. As Dennis put it, the only thing of interest was the noodle soup they were served twice, along with a strange-tasting tea that he said he hoped he would never have the misfortune to drink ever again.

On their arrival, they were once again all pleased and relieved to see Avery Snowden and his people, who promptly led them through customs and immigration without a problem.

Avery explained that he and his people were the last to board and the first ones off the plane, and that’s why he knew what steps they were to take before heading for Song Mountain. “It would appear that all travel going up to the mountain is being carefully monitored, but the surveillance for the return is very lax.”

“Problems?” Charles asked quietly.

“Not sure,” was Snowden’s curt response. “As you can see, there are police everywhere. It’s almost like they’re looking for someone in particular. As in Harry or Dishbang Deshi. I could be wrong, but I don’t think so. We all just need to act like stupid American tourists. That’s how the Chinese think of us. Just talk and laugh and act silly. They expect it. Whatever you do, don’t make eye contact with anyone.

“We’re headed for something similar to a bus depot. They call it a car barn or something like that. We board and continue to act excited. Be careful where you point your cameras. Meaning, take pictures of each other, and if you’re lucky, you might snag something in the background. I can’t stress enough for you all to be extremely careful.”

Isabelle whispered to Alexis, who then whispered to Nikki, who passed the message along until everyone knew that Abner said that all the social media were going crazy with the news of Harry Wong defending his title. Tumblr, Facebook, and especially Twitter were awash in messages, tweets, and the like. Tickets for the event were said to be going for as much as five thousand dollars each. The airlines could not fill all the travel requests for those wanting to fly to China to attend the event. He went on to say in his text that groups were hiring private jets, and even the private sector was running short of planes for hire.

“You feeling the love, Harry?” Jack quipped.

“Yeah, I am, Jack.” Harry actually laughed, leaving Jack stunned at his response. Harry must be up to something.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack watched two red-capped police officers approach. They honed in on Cooper and his one-eared half-tailed rabbit. The men laughed and pointed at the dog and his security toy. Quicker than lightning, Yoko, sporting new glasses that made her look extremely childish, rushed to Cooper and dropped to her knees to hug him. She crooned and mumbled something to the dog that made his tail wag furiously. The two police officers laughed again and moved on past the little group.

“Good job, Cooper,” Yoko whispered in the dog’s ear. “These people do not understand how Americans feel about their pets, that they’re part of a family. Like I said, good job, Cooper.” Cooper’s tail continued to swish back and forth as Yoko made her way back to stand in line with Harry.

“That was close, honey. Good thinking,” Harry whispered. “In some ways, Chinese police are like you girls. They kick ass and take names later.”

“Why, Harry, that’s one of the nicest things you’ve ever said to me. Tell me more,” Yoko cooed.

Harry flushed. “Aren’t you supposed to be my daughter or something? Stop that right now. You know how ticklish I am. You need to move up to Annie and Myra. Those guys are on their return hike. Be careful.”

“Always, Harry. You too.”

A small clutch of Chinese women boarded the train behind the Crescent China Tours group, six in all. They carried no bags or luggage. All wore colorful fanny packs and appeared to be in their early to midtwenties, but as Jack said, it was hard to guess anyone’s age.

Jack watched out of the corner of his eye as Avery Snowden and his people separated and somehow managed to insinuate themselves among the six young women. It was a move the women did not appear to like. Sharp words ensued. Sharp and loud enough for the tour group to take notice, which they did instantly. Which was Snowden’s intention.

On the alert now, the group took their seats, which were not preassigned with the ticket purchase. They did their best to cluster together so there were no strangers sitting near or next to them, something else that angered the six women with the colorful fanny packs.

Snowden and his people played the part of obnoxious Americans, while the tour group followed his instructions about laughing and giggling and telling jokes. Cooper moved closer to Jack, who looked down at the dog to see his mood. He reached for the one-eared rabbit with half a tail and stuffed it in his pocket when Cooper growled deep in his throat. Only Jack heard the sound with all the laughter going on. He lowered his hand to rub Cooper’s head to let him know he had to be alert.