Hong Kong by Stephen Coonts Read Free Book Online

intense."
    "That was Tiger. He never had much to say, but when he did, people listened."
    She had been a junior translator at the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong in those days. And now Tiger Cole was the consul general. Who would have guessed?
    'Tiger broke his back in the ejection," Jake continued, recalling days he hadn't thought about in years. "After we were rescued he spent a long time in the hospital, then they sent him to Pensacola for rehabilitation. He finally said to hell with it and pulled the plug. I think he went back to college in California, got a master's in something or other, then got involved in the computer industry."
    "I lost his address about ten years ago," Callie explained. "He sent us Christmas cards, then we moved or he moved or whatever."
    Jake Grafton chuckled. "Sometimes life deals you an ace. Last month Fortune magazine said he was in on the ground floor of three big high-tech start-ups."
    "And now he's the consul general," Callie said distractedly. "Why do you want me to translate this tape?"
    Jake summarized his morning conversation with Carmel-
    lini while Callie finished her salad. "The tape may contain something worth knowing. China Bob was a rainmaker, a wheeler-dealer who played every angle he could find. Something on that tape might shed some light on what is happening in this town."
    "You mean on what the Americans are doing to help make it happen?"
    "If they are."
    "This CIA officer, Carmellini? Do you trust him?"
    "I met him last year in Cuba," Jake explained. "He was working with a CIA officer who was subsequently killed. The dead officer told me Carmellini was a safecracker before the CIA recruited him."
    "That doesn't sound like anything I'd want on my resume," Callie shot back.
    "It may not take all kinds, but we sure as hell got all kinds."
    "Are we going to do this tonight?'
    "I don't know. Whenever Carmellini shows up with a tape player."
    "I certainly don't want to sit around this hotel room all evening waiting for him."
    "I didn't say we should."
    "Why don't you call Tiger Cole, invite him to go to dinner with us?"
    "You think he'd go?" Jake asked dubiously.
    "For heaven's sake, of course he'd go! Unless he has another commitment, then he'd probably want to set something up for tomorrow. Call him. Tell him you're in town and want to have dinner. I always thought you saved his life after you two were shot down."
    "That's true," Jake admitted. "But he's the consul general and pretty busy and—"
    "You're a two-star admiral in Uncle Sam's navy, Jake Grafton. You can buy a drink anywhere on this planet."
    Rip Buckingham was about ready to send the bank story to the makeup room when he received a telephone call from the governor's office.
    "This is Governor Sun's assistant, Mr. Buckingham. Your newspaper is running -story about tragedy in front of Bank of Orient? This morning?"
    "Yes."
    "Governor Sun Siu Ki has issued statement. Statement go in story."
    The aide's English was almost impossible to follow, so Rip replied in Cantonese. "Read it to me," he said, trying to keep the dejection out of his voice.
    "A crowd of justly outraged citizens gathered this morning at the Bank of the Orient to withdraw their money panicked when bank officials shamefully failed to open their doors," said the aide, reading slowly. "In the rioting that followed, several people were killed by the gallant soldiers of the People's Liberation Army while they were restoring order. The officials of the Bank of the Orient will be held responsible for this tragedy...."
    There were several paragraphs more, and as the governor's assistant dictated in Cantonese, Rip wrote it down in English, in his own private shorthand. He read it back to ensure he had it, then quickly typed out the statement on his computer. He put a note above the statement for the frontpage editor, directing him to put the governor's statement in a box in the center of the page. However, he didn't change a word of his story, which gave the facts,