The Fury of Beijing by Ian Hamilton

Author:Ian Hamilton [Hamilton, Ian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: House of Anansi Press Inc
Published: 2023-11-15T19:13:11+00:00

( 24 )

While she waited for Xu to get back to her, Ava returned to the agreement Hines had drafted. She read slowly, trying to parse every phrase. When she finished, the only thought she had was that she couldn’t imagine anyone having done any better. If the Chinese government honoured it, Fai and Silvana were completely secure; and if they didn’t, well, the film would be theirs, and Top of the Road—and Christensen and his partners—would be financially crippled. What were the odds that the Chinese would renege, she wondered? Short- to medium-term, and that spanned at least five years in her mind. She couldn’t imagine the current leadership doing anything that would revive Tiananmen. If there was a leadership change, attitudes could shift—to Fai’s benefit or against it. But that was nothing they could control. The priority was securing Fai and Silvana’s safety right now, and Ava believed the agreement made that possible.

She had made a few notes on a fresh page in her notebook as she read, and now she flipped back to earlier entries. When she did, the name David Mo appeared in the middle of a page. Under it were the home address and cellphone number Derek had provided. She stared at it, and then cursed under her breath for not having realized David Mo could be her answer—but how to use him?

Ava opened her laptop, accessed Google Earth, and entered the address. Seconds later she was looking at a bungalow in Brentwood—a middle-class community close to ucla—that had a neatly trimmed lawn and a Lexus suv parked in the driveway. She had no doubt about who had bought the car. She was equally sure the neighbourhood wasn’t rife with cctv.

The door to the suite opened and Fai walked in.

“Come and look at this,” Ava said.

Fai came to stand behind her and wrapped her arms around Ava’s shoulders. “What am I looking at?” she asked.

“David Mo’s home—and what is the one thing that Mo Ming values almost as much as his life?”

“David.”

“Yes, David.”

“Are you going to use him to get to Mo?”

“It’s the only thing I can think of.”

“You wouldn’t let him get hurt though, would you?”

“There’s no reason to hurt him.”

“Good …” Fai said, then paused.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes, but Sils really wore on me. She started to grill me as soon as we got to her room. She’s desperate to know if you’re going to do something to Mo while he’s here. I told her you are very superstitious, and you never discuss the specifics of a plan with me or anyone else for fear of jinxing yourself.”

“That’s true enough,” Ava said, and then wanting to change the subject she placed her right hand on the draft agreement. “I read this carefully. I think it is as good as we’re going to get. If the Chinese accept it, you and Sils should be safe.”

“Well, if nothing else it will give her some peace of mind.”

Ava’s cell rang, and she saw a number with a 310 area code.

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