Zero Minus Ten by Benson Raymond

Author:Benson, Raymond [Benson, Raymond]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Ian Fleming Publications Ltd
Published: 2012-09-30T22:00:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

TRIAD CEREMONY

10:00 P.M.

The Rolls-Royce drove south to Boundary Street and then east across the peninsula. The road soon merged with West Prince Edward Road and the Rolls turned off into the area known as Kowloon City, not far from Kai Tak Airport. It pulled into a narrow, dingy alley, and stopped. Bond told the taxi driver to let him out at the corner and managed to get out without being seen.

It was not a well-lit or inviting neighbourhood. In fact, if Bond’s memory served him correctly, he was near where the infamous “Walled City” used to be. This notorious pocket of vice and squalor was always an embarrassment. Long ago, before British rule, the enclave was a Chinese military outpost. After the British took over, a granite-walled fortress was constructed. The New Territories lease of 1898 left the area under Chinese jurisdiction due to an administrative error, and it remained unregulated by the Hong Kong government. By the mid-sixties, the Walled City was a cesspool of crime, the haven of drug smugglers, prostitutes, thieves, and murderers. Britain and China finally reached an agreement in 1987 to rid themselves of this sewer, and in 1993 the Walled City was demolished. A park was now being developed on the site. Nevertheless, Bond thought the absence of the Walled City didn’t make the neighbourhood much friendlier. The side streets south of the proposed park were just as sinister. It was just the place for Triads to operate, and it was precisely where James Bond now found himself.

Bond watched the men get out of the Rolls. They entered a shabby building, and then the Rolls drove away. He waited a minute, then stealthily crept towards the middle of the alley. Li Xu Nan and Scarf ace had entered what appeared to be an abandoned condemned building. The door was loose on its hinges and the windows were broken or in some cases, completely missing.

Bond decided to climb up another level and perhaps slip into one of the second-floor windows. It wasn’t difficult to get a foothold but once inside, he found himself in a dark room with a wooden floor. The slats in the floor were loose, allowing some light from the level below to seep through. If he wasn’t careful, the floor would creak. Bond got down on his stomach and snaked along the floor, distributing his weight so that the noise would be minimized. Through the slats, he could see several men milling around, preparing for some kind of meeting. They were dressed in black robes resembling those worn by Buddhist monks, with white sashes serving as belts. They also wore strange headbands made of red cloth, with the free ends hanging down over the front of the body. There were a number of large loops, or knots, in the bands around their head.

Bond searched his memory for what he knew about Triads and their sacred initiation ceremonies. If they were about to perform one, then he could very possibly be the only Westerner ever to witness one.

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