The woman relaxed then took a step closer.
“Old Ming-Ho, yes I know him and who are you?”
Surprised by the woman’s forthright attitude, Alex was reminded of his own wife Rosie.
“My name is Alex,” he smiled and continued with his toast.
Without saying another word, the woman turned away, walked behind the counter and vanished into the kitchens.
Alex finished his breakfast and he was swallowing the last of his tea and wondering if his message had got through, when Ming walked into the café and went straight to where Alex was sitting.
“So soon my friend?” He shook hands and then pulled up another chair.
“Can we talk here?” Alex whispered. He couldn’t see the woman but the two men were still seated on the other side of the room.
“It’s safer here than anywhere else I assure you,” the old man smiled.
“OK then and thank you again for your help last night — this morning in fact!” He rubbed his unshaved chin, realising that he hadn’t had any sleep. “You will remember, I told you that it’s my job to prevent those arms and ammunition from being delivered. Well I think I know how to do it and need your help.” He looked at Ming-Ho for a reaction to the suggestion. The man’s face remained expressionless.
“I think you better tell me exactly who you work for and who the arms belong to. Then I can decide which side I want to be on,” he replied dispassionately.
Alex was surprised by his reaction; this was no longer the meek old pauper scratching for his lost belongings.
“It’s is enough that you know I work for the an organisation attached to the United Nations, OK? The more I tell you, the deeper you become embroiled in the problem. I don’t want you facing the sort of abuse Ling, the guy with me last night, has just endured.” He told the old man about David and the brutal murder of his wife. He went on to tell him where the arms were destined and their potential destructive capability in the hands of the terrorists.
When he finished, Ming looked up.
“These murderers sound a bit like the people we have to deal with ourselves. There are many criminals here also you know. Many hide behind their uniforms and use the state to their own advantage.” He looked at Alex for a moment longer. “Yes we will help you. Those munitions must not get to their destination!”
“Thank you,” Alex acknowledged, clearly relieved. As he looked up, the woman was standing at the counter and the two men were leaning forward in their chairs, obviously listening to their conversation. He looked back at the old man in alarm.
Ming laughed.
“You better start by meeting my family.” He pointed to the men.
“My nephews.”
They saluted and grinned back. Ming swung around and pointed to the woman.
“My daughter!”
She remained straight-faced with her arms folded.
“She’s the boss really!”
Alex was delighted.
“Well my friends let me tell you what I had in mind.”
They gathered around.
As a first priority, Alex needed to disable the cargo vessel enough to delay its departure. It was important however that they complete loading of the munitions first and then somehow they must delay the departure of the ship. This was necessary, Alex explained, because if he was going to get the cooperation of Big J and his team to sink the vessel at sea he would have to allow them enough time to complete the training contract.
Alex’s idea to delay the cargo vessel was quite ingenious. The plan was to tangle the vessel’s shaft and propeller in some sort of underwater obstruction as it pulled away from the quay. The trick was to ensure that any damage would be severe enough to warrant that the boat be dry-docked.
Ideally, he wanted Ming to locate some heavy fishing rope or chains, which would somehow have to be positioned in the water near the aft end of the ship, so that it jammed the stern gear as the vessel manoeuvred from the quay.
“If you can locate some old trawl chains and get them to the harbour, I will see that they are attached below the water.” Alex looked at his audience. “The other thing you need to know is that once she is at sea, I intend to sink the ship in deep water. That probably means killing all her crew!” He looked again at each member of his audience but detected no emotion. “The weak link at the moment is how we’re going to sink the vessel. I am trying to obtain some special limpet mines but it is not easy to get things like that into Hong Kong.” He raised his eyebrows. “The other way, if were not happy about killing all the crew, is of course to scuttle the ship but that means having to take her over first.” He looked again at the listeners but there was still no reaction. “When the ship is dry docked for repair, the crew will probably have to be accommodated ashore. This gives us the chance to check them out. See if they are genuine seamen or Syndicate men!”
“We could try and blow the ship up in the dry dock,” the daughter suddenly said.
“Yes I thought of that too but I don’t want to cross swords with anyone locally — politics you know!” Alex reasoned.
“In that case, you will have to assume that the crew are all Syndicate. It would be very difficult to run a ship with a divided crew, especially if they were always moving special cargos,” Ming-Ho observed. “We will find the old chain that you need and arrange for it to be delivered. How do we contact you?”
Alex gave him the special mobile number then asked, “Tell me my friend, how can I repay you and your family for your assistance?”
The old man looked at Alex.
“We have lived in this area for two generations. The new regime has effectively confiscated our land and our homes. We live in two rooms at the back of this café now. You ask how can you pay? Well if we are successful and we help to destroy your terrorist cargo, we would dearly love to be able to obtain permits to get away from this place and start a new life somewhere. Would that be possible?”
Alex looked at the proud family group. They’d had their property confiscated and their business closed but they had not allowed their spirit to be suppressed.
“I honestly don’t know but I can ask my people if there is a way we can help.” He knew that there should always be a place for such determined and courageous people; persuading others to recognise that was not going to be so easy but he was going to try.
Alex left the family and walked back to the tug. Now he needed to secure Big J’s allegiance.
Oscar Nippon had lost his wife and only child in a tragic accident almost thirty years ago. In that time he had participated in a couple of brief romantic interludes but had never found anyone “who made me want to rush to the jewellers”, as he used to joke with his friends and partners.
In spite of those tragic years when he delved into the horrors of opium, he looked fitter and younger than the sixty-fifth years he had recently celebrated. His business partners were forever introducing him to lone females at dinner parties and weekend outings but he had chosen immerse himself in the business to such an extent that it occupied almost every moment of his time. The last twelve months had been fully occupied with the delicate business of converting the gold they had spirited away from the Philippines into cash. First the crudely cast gold bars had to be cast into authentic standard ingots and Hallmarked before they could be sold. That had been the most difficult part.
You just can’t turn up at a gold smelting plant and ask for a price to assay and recast five tonnes of gold and platinum; unsurprisingly people would ask lots of difficult questions if you did. The task of diligently resolving all the different problems had been the perfect challenge for Oscar. Taking almost twelve months of careful planning, his professional negotiating skills ensured that the complex process was successful.