‘Another whore,’ he shouted to the others. ‘She was hiding from us.’

Run Run kept her eyes to the floor as he dragged her to join the other women. Saw was standing apart, shouting orders. He did not look at her. He shouted to the women to pick up their packs and start walking. Run Run did as she was told. The huge pack dug into her shoulders. She kept her eyes down and waited with the others. When they were all laden, Handsome came alongside Run Run and tilted her face up to look at his.

‘You will be my whore.’ Handsome had decided the time had come to challenge Saw. He would take a woman and have sons with her. He would leave something on this earth beside his bones.

Run Run stared at him. He stank of rancid sweat and putrid death and his breath was rank on her face. Run Run could not resist the temptation to answer.

‘You are no man; you are nothing but a dog.’ She looked at his eyes, yellowed and raging, staring straight into them. ‘And I would rather die now than lie with you.’

For a few seconds Handsome just stared at her, as if she spoke a foreign language. But Weasel had heard Run Run’s words. He whooped and howled like a wolf as he pointed his finger at Handsome, who was still smarting from the loss of Silke. He had hoped that she would be given to him. He had thought he had earned her. But Saw did not give her to him, instead he had used her first, let all of them have her and then left her for dead. He had fought by Saw’s side for all his adult life—he deserved more than he got from him, he deserved respect. The time was coming to challenge Saw. Handsome knew Saw was starting to make mistakes and maybe fate would smile on Handsome as it sliced a smile into Saw’s throat. But, for now, he would not take being laughed at by Weasel.

Handsome’s face twisted with rage and he pulled Run Run by the elbow out of the line. She staggered under the heavy weight of the pack as she was pushed forward through the women until she stood before Saw. Still, she did not look at him; she kept her head down. He did not pay her heed; he was watching the path ahead, agitated. It was time to go.

‘What is it, Kanda?’ he asked.

‘She insults me,’ replied Handsome.

Saw turned to him and laughed.

For a few seconds Handsome looked flustered, as if he thought he had been wrong to push Saw now and it would be he who would die. The men around them waited to see whether Saw would humiliate Handsome again. But Saw looked at him and grinned.

‘Then…’ Saw wrenched the pack from Run Run’s back and threw it down. ‘…Find another whore to carry this. People we have plenty of, food we are short of…’ Saw turned back to look at her and Run Run kept her head down as she stared along the treacherous path ahead.

‘She insults my lieutenant…She will clear the mines for us.’

83

Alak flew through the forest, running without stopping until the dawn filtered through the giant leaves and tree tops. He wheeled his machete back and forth and cut through the undergrowth with unrelenting force and speed. He squeezed through gaps, he jumped over fallen trees and he swam rivers. He hardly felt his lungs burning. His legs felt no tiredness. His feet had wings. His heart held a terrible dread.

He followed Run Run’s footsteps without realising it as he skirted around the edges of the paddy field at the edge of the village, its waters now turned milky red from the blood of the floating dead. He approached the village from the rear. He saw the young foreigners, just three of them; they blinked back at him from their pale lost faces. The young Chinese watched him; his eyes followed Alak’s movements. Alak nodded to him, he nodded back and a smile of relief came across the young man’s face.

Alak moved silently up amongst the crying children and behind the female porters until he came behind Toad. Alak took his knife and silently, quicker than a breath, he wiped the blade across Toad’s throat, Shwit. Toad dropped.

The women turned, startled. One of Saw’s men barely had time to raise his eyes before Alak’s cudgel came down and shattered his skull. Alak stabbed another between the ribs, twisting the knife deep into his heart as he fell. The women screamed as they tried to get out of the way. Now the rest of Saw’s men came rushing at Alak. Every muscle in his body hardened and pumped with adrenalin and blood and survival. All the skills of killing he had learnt in his life worked for him now as his blows came double-handed and he cut through muscle and bone and skull.

Saw turned at the sound of the women’s alarm and looked back along his ranks and saw Alak running towards him. Alak looked past him and, as much as Alak’s body was a machine, his heart was vulnerable and his eyes did not see the knife in Saw’s hand, they looked for Run Run. Saw lunged forward and plunged his knife into Alak’s side. Alak saw her, her beautiful face transfixed with terror, standing alone, like a solitary reed on a deserted riverbank, she watched him crumple from the blade that punctured his side and halted him in his tracks. Handsome came from behind and stabbed Alak between his shoulder blades. Alak kept his eyes fixed on Run Run. She stared back in terror, swaying, too fragile to withstand the typhoon coming her way. Saw struck him on the side of the head with a blow that knocked Alak sideways and onto his knees. He shook his head to clear it and stood. He lurched forward as Saw thrust his blade again into his stomach, twisted it and pulled. Alak doubled over in pain and lifted his head and saw Run Run watching her hope, her life and her only love dying before her. They saw only one another as he sank to his knees and Saw turned and followed his gaze to see who Alak was sharing his last vision of the earth with. He saw it was Run Run and with a massive roar, he pulled Alak’s head back by his hair and he sawed away at his throat until Alak’s head hung down from Saw’s hand. Saw looked at Run Run. Her eyes were huge with horror. Saw beckoned her to come to him. She looked at Saw and then she looked down at the path, at something barely hidden in the grass at the side of the road. With his bloody hand he reached for her again and called her to him. Love was in his eyes, love and betrayal and desperation. She held his gaze for a few seconds before she turned and stepped onto the mine.

84

Gee tried the radio; it was dead. He paced about. Sunset was fast approaching. He had waited all day as Alak said he must. He had done all he could now…Now he had to think of himself. Mann had been in a coma for hours. There was no more thrashing; he lay silent and his breathing was so shallow that Gee had to watch his chest to see that it moved at all. If he stayed any longer then he would be dead too. Gee gave Mann one last drink. He packed up his bag, looked around the campsite for the last time and left. Mann was alone when the final hour came.

85

‘Deming was the most ambitious of us all.’ Split-lip picked the flesh out from the lobster claw. ‘I knew him from when he was young.’

Ng had already finished his lobster and was eating his rice.

‘He was no triad then,’ continued Split-lip. ‘But he became seduced by it over the years until he was caught like the rest of us—in the grip of greed, power. It’s what Hong Kong is all about, after all.’

Ng signalled to the waiter to refresh their teapot.