Forbidden City by Alex Archer

Author:Alex Archer [Archer, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Science Fiction - Adventure, Fiction, Science Fiction, Adventure, General, Women archaeologists, Fiction - Science Fiction, Relics, Science Fiction And Fantasy, Europe, Excavations (Archaeology), Eastern and Oriental Express (Express train), Science Fiction - General, China, California, Good and evil
ISBN: 9780373621231
Publisher: Toronto : Worldwide, c2007.
Published: 2010-05-11T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

"Hey, lady."

Stepping out of the car Tse Chu-yu arranged for her, Kelly looked over at the three adolescent boys sitting in the alley where she'd parked. They looked scruffy and ill-kept, but that was the neighborhood.

She was near the junction of Julu Lu and Changshu Lu, both streets that offered a tour of the wilder side of Shanghai. Girly bars lined the streets, their neon signs bright and harsh against the dark night. It was a place her father had never allowed her to go, but she had occasionally gone with girlfriends wanting to meet the gangster boys.

"That's not a safe place to park your car." The oldest of the three sat on an empty crate and smoked a cigarette. His gaze looked dead and cold, far older than his years. "This alley is private property."

"Is it?" Kelly acted like she hadn't known. But she knew exactly what was going on. A lot of the neighborhood boys rented out "protection" to civilian vehicles.

"If I could find the property owner, maybe we could come to some arrangement," Kelly suggested.

The boy's brow wrinkled. "What do you mean?"

"I could rent this space for a couple hours."

Features brightening, the boy nodded. "Sure. You could do that. You could pay us to watch your car while you're gone."

"How much?" Kelly haggled over the price for only a moment. The money didn't matter, but if she didn't haggle the boys might think she was trying to protect something valuable inside the car. They agreed on the price in short order and she paid it. "Where can I find the Revolver Club?" she asked.

The tallest of the boys counted the money, made the split, and nodded to the right. "Take a right. Five doors down. You can't miss it. It has a picture of a big gun."

****

The Revolver Club did feature a large pistol as part of its neon plumage. The image was engraved in electric blue and glowing black tubes. Bullet tips showed in the cylinders.

This part of Shanghai had held a Western flavor as long as Kelly could remember, but she thought it had changed during the time she'd been gone. The English, French, and Americans had maintained an influence in the city since the early 1800s, and the youth – and the criminal element – had always reached out to emulate them.

A doorman stood guard at the club's entrance in the foyer. He grinned at Kelly, revealing betel-nut stained teeth.

She'd dressed like a party girl, bright red wig that was clearly artificial, cream-colored Capris and a revealing top. She didn't carry a pistol. If she needed one, she figured there would be plenty inside.

After she paid the entrance fee, she walked inside. The club was longer than it was wide. A dance platform supported two exotic dancers who looked enough alike to have been twins or at least sisters. They were dressed like high school cheerleaders, complete with pompoms, then disrobed in record time to the grinding beat of industrial metal music.

A long bar filled the back of the club.

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