It was now two a.m. and as dark as the night could get. Except for a couple of die-hard bars where there were still a few girls and a bowl of rice to be bought, most of the restaurants were shut. The island had taken on a blanket of stillness. Just the gentle sound of the sea, the whisper of the breeze in the vegetation, and the vibrating-bellied cicadas whose noisy call disturbed the night air. Added to that, there was always the odd whoop of laughter and click-clack of mahjong pieces.

Mann and Li crept silently along the narrow streets that ran as a grid across the centre of the island. In the daytime these roads were filled with street vendors and market stalls, but now the smell of freshly steamed seafood was rapidly being replaced by the stench of the day’s prawn shells left too long in the sun. Two bleary-eyed bar girls sat on stools at one of the bars, head in hands – they had not quite given up hope of making some money. There was a group of tourists asleep at their table, who would remain there until the sun came up.

They turned from the main market square and zigzagged down the middle section of the island. Joining the cats and rats and dodging the piles of dumped rubbish, they made their way through the tiny alleyways that ran between the buildings, parallel to the beach. Between them and the ocean was a two-storey accommodation block, a few guesthouses and a couple of bars. They turned a corner and came out a hundred feet away from the last line of chalets.

Crouching in the darkness they heard the low voices of several men talking, and they could see lights emitting from the front of the single-storey chalet at the end of the line of holiday cottages. The only window they could see was the barred one that overlooked the lane.

It was then that Mann saw her. He watched Georgina empty something through the bars of the window and lean her head there for a few moments. Then he saw the outline of a man emerge from between Chan’s chalet and the next. He was returning from toilet relief, zipping up his fly. As he stepped out into the lane, another man joined him. There followed some discussion about food. The second man was taking orders. He was going to one of the all-night bars to get them something to eat.

Mann looked at Li and gestured towards the man taking the food order. Li nodded and crept backwards until he disappeared out of sight, to cut back along the way they had come and head the man off.

Silently, Mann opened his jacket. From a leather pocket he extracted a four-pointed throwing star measuring six inches in diameter. Made from steel, each of its four blades was razor-sharp and reinforced with steel rivets to give added precision, balance and performance. It was also, quite simply, a thing of great beauty.

Just as the two men finished their discussion, and one turned to go, Mann crossed the lane, keeping close to the chalet walls and sheltering beneath the vegetation around each building. He made his way to within twenty feet of where the man was standing and watched him reach inside his pocket for his cigarettes. Mann waited till the man tapped a cigarette from the packet, put it to his mouth and held up his lighter. He waited until the man brought the lighter in front of his face. Then he stood, drew his hand level with his chest, and, holding the star at the apex of one of the rivets, he balanced it between finger and thumb. Then, with one sharp, hard flick of the wrist he sent it spinning through the air. A second later the man’s lighter went out, there was a faint rattling sound, then a pause and a thud as his headless body dropped to the sand.

112

Mann’s eyes flicked towards the door. He heard voices – raised but not rowdy – four, probably five. They hadn’t heard him or they would have been out by now. Mann crouched across the lane from Georgina’s window and listened. It seemed like the conversation had sunk back down to conspiracy level.

He picked up a small amount of sand and threw it between the bars of her window. He threw some more and some more, pausing between each throw to see if she had heard.

She appeared at the window slowly, as if summoned there by some ghost on the wind. It took her a few seconds to make out the figure standing across the lane. He looked at her and smiled. She gripped the bars, gasped, and almost said his name. Mann held his finger to his lips and ducked down at her window. Reaching up, he squeezed her hand.

‘You okay?’ he mouthed.

She nodded and smiled. But he could see that she was not. Her face was skeletal, and as pale as the full moon – so sick and sad. She had lost so much weight that only her long, curly hair and her smile reassured him that she was still in there somewhere. She held tightly on to his hand. She didn’t want to let go. She jumped as Li reappeared and crouched by Mann’s side.

‘It’s all right, Georgina, this is Shrimp – Detective Li. Did it go all right?’ he asked Li.

Li nodded.

‘I saw your guy, Stevie Ho. The guy I was tailing stopped to talk with him. I heard him say there was no sign of us.’

‘He is walking a dangerous road.’ Mann’s eyes searched the darkness. He knew Stevie was bluffing. He wasn’t sure why yet. ‘Let’s hope he’s chosen the right path.’ He turned back to Georgina. ‘A man was sent for food; he’s not coming back – we are. As soon as you hear me knock, slide anything you have across the door, as quietly as you can – then, as fast as you can, get back over here by the window and get down.’

Mann pulled out a small handgun from inside his jacket and handed it to Georgina through the bars. ‘If you have to – shoot.’

‘I don’t know how to…’

‘Just point the trigger and squeeze. It’s all ready for you. Okay?’

She nodded – small, sharp, brave nods – and Mann’s heart went out to her. ‘Remember now, be ready – put anything across that doorway you can, and then get down quick.’

Mann signalled to Li to follow him.

‘You ready for this, Shrimp? There are five men in there, and one of them is Chan. You’ve seen the photos. You know what he looks like – leave him alive. I’m going to be the guy who went for food. You’re going to be the nasty surprise that came free with the order, okay?’

‘Got it, boss. Ready to rock and roll…’

Mann took off his jacket and revealed five throwing spikes that were strapped into a harness on his arm. Each one was a six-inch, hardened steel, needle-sharp, red-feathered dart – perfectly weighted for throwing accurately and penetrating deeply. He pulled out all five.

Li stood to one side while Mann knocked at the chalet door. There was a sudden hush from inside the chalet, then a man put his hand to the lever and opened the door a fraction. ‘Hello?’

Mann kicked the door wide open. The four men darted in different directions. The man who had opened the door was already dead. He had a throwing spike embedded into his left eye, the red feathers sticking out from the socket, shivering. He remained standing for a few seconds, eerily still, as if he hadn’t realised he was dead, before dropping to the floor.

The two men who had been sitting on the sofa lunged in either direction as they tried to reach their weapons in time, but they couldn’t. One had a throwing spike embedded in his heart and the other had one in his temple.

Li was over the sofa in one leap, and a kick to the fourth man’s throat sent him unconscious, slumped against the wall.

Mann looked around. Chan had gone.

113

As Mann entered the bedroom he saw the shadowy figures of Georgina and Chan facing each other a few feet apart. They were side-on to the window, both standing absolutely rigid and still. The only things moving were Georgina’s hands; they were trembling as she clenched the gun and pointed it at Chan’s face.