The Dragon Head of Hong Kong by Ian Hamilton Read Free Book Online

that?”
    “There’s no reason to get into all that,” Carlo interrupted. “We work for him. That’s all you need to know.”
    “And you’re right that we’ve been hired to get money from Kung,” Andy said.
    “How much are you trying to collect?” Ava asked.
    The two men stared at her.
    “I’m after a million dollars,” Ava said.
    “Hong Kong?” Andy asked.
    “U.S.,” she said.
    “Shit, that’s twice what we’re chasing him for,” Andy said to Carlo.
    “And like I said, I’m not working for anyone but myself and my client.”
    Carlo smiled at Ava. It was a complicated smile, she thought, part condescending, part protective, and certainly flirtatious.
    “Okay, I believe you. But tell me how, exactly, you think you’re going to get Kung to give back a million dollars,” he said.
    “Why don’t you tell me about your plan first?” Ava asked.
    “Listen, I’m really trying to be polite with you, and that’s mainly because I think you’re in way over your head and probably need someone to look after you, but we’re on a job and we don’t have time for this,” Carlo said.
    “On a job? All you’re doing is sitting in the lobby, and from what I’ve heard, you’ve been here for days.”
    Andy rose from the couch, and she saw he was about the same height as his partner and even skinnier. “Ava, could you excuse Carlo and me for a minute? There’s something I want to talk to him about in private.”
    “Sure, I’ll stand over by the door,” she said.
    As she moved towards the hotel entrance, the two men slid ten metres in the other direction. She watched as they spoke. Andy was quite animated, his hands moving up and down like an orchestra conductor’s. Carlo occasionally nodded, and once he turned and looked in Ava’s direction. Finally she saw Carlo shrug, and then both men walked towards her.
    “We have an idea we’d like to talk to you about,” Andy said.
    “I’m listening.”
    “You wanna sit?” he said, motioning towards the couch.
    “No thanks,” Ava said, not wanting to be physically so close to either of them.
    “Okay, here’s the thing. Kung is staying in the hotel, but he’s not alone.”
    “He has two goons with him.”
    “How’d you know that?”
    “The bellboys told me.”
    “Yeah, he has two thugs with him, and they’re the problem. He doesn’t go anywhere without them.”
    “And they’re probably armed,” Carlo said. “It’s too risky to make a play for him when they’re around.”
    “We need to isolate him, to get him on his own,” Andy said.
    “And if you can do that?”
    “We’ll grab him. We’ve got an apartment about five blocks from here. We’ll keep him there until he agrees to pay.”
    “Grab him?”
    “The only way he’ll ever pay is if he feels he has to. We’ll hold him until he realizes he has no choice.”
    “How long will that take?”
    “We have methods that tend to shorten the time frame.”
    “I bet you do,” Ava said. “And that isn’t meant to be critical.”
    “So what do you think?” Carlo said. “Do you want to work with us on this?”
    “And how would I do that?”
    The two men exchanged glances. “We’ve heard that Kung is a cunt-hound,” Carlo said.
    “What he means is that he has a reputation as a ladies’ man,” Andy said.
    “Thanks for explaining that,” Ava said.
    “This is his fourth night at the hotel and so far it’s just been him and the goons. He’s got to be getting horny,” Andy said. “We thought maybe you could help him get over that.”
    “I beg your pardon?”
    “I don’t mean sleep with him.”
    “I hope not.”
    “We just need you to get his attention so he invites you out for dinner or a drink.”
    “Without the goons?”
    “You’re quick — good. Yeah, without them. You’d have to insist that they not go,” Andy said.
    “You know, if you unbuttoned that shirt a bit, you could be a really hot-looking woman,” Carlo said. “Hot enough that he’d tell those guys to