Red Phoenix (39 page)

I knew it anyway but it hurt to hear it out loud. ‘Oh
God.
’

We were all silent again for quite some time. ‘Anything else for us?’ John finally said.

The demon shook his head. He put the piece of paper back in his pocket, then took off his glasses and wiped them on the corner of his jacket. ‘That’s all I have for you. I’m not holding anything back. I hope I’ll be rewarded appropriately, my Lord.’

‘What do you want?’ I said. ‘Do you want to stay with us?’

‘I can take you up and do it now,’ John said. ‘Or later, if you prefer. Either way.’

‘Probably the sooner the better, my Lord,’ the demon said, still smiling. ‘Every minute is a minute spent with them seeking me. Can we do it now?’

‘Just be sure that you don’t have anything else for us first,’ John said. ‘If you like you can take some time, make sure you haven’t missed anything vital.’ He studied the demon intensely. ‘You are safe here.’

‘You know as much as I do, my Lord,’ the demon said. ‘Please. Now.’ He shrugged. ‘Nothing else I need to do, and I’m living in constant fear.’

‘I do not believe this,’ I said. ‘Why don’t you try for perfection instead? Come on. You have a chance.’

‘You are most gracious, my Lady,’ the demon said, ‘but I don’t have any chance whatsoever. I am too big. Once I walk out your door I am theirs, and it will be slow.’ He gestured towards John with his glasses. ‘With him it will be quick.’

‘Then why did you go through all of this to come to me?’ I said.

‘For it to be quick.’

S
imone was full of bounce as we left the cinema at Pacific Place; she’d enjoyed the movie tremendously. I quietly wondered if I’d ever see a film aimed at adults. I’d seen every children’s film released in the past year. John couldn’t go with me to the cinema because we’d be too close. We’d even given up on the charity functions.

Simone jiggled happily beside me as we walked through the shopping centre to the food court for some afternoon tea. We bought the food, and then stood and waited for a table to clear. The food court was always full, with standing room only; the only way to get a table was to wait for one.

Simone chatted merrily about the Christmas decorations as we waited. It was only the first week of December but the Christmas hysteria was in full swing, even though most residents of Hong Kong didn’t celebrate the holiday. Chinese New Year would be even worse for advertising and decoration, but the coloured lights strung on the outside of the buildings were always entertaining. I particularly enjoyed watching the decorations change from Christmas to New Year; on the sides of many buildings Santa would miraculously transform into the God of Fortune with a slight change
of costume. The previous year’s decoration changes had been particularly clever, with reindeer suddenly transforming into goats for the Year of the Goat. I wondered what they would do for the Year of the Monkey. I felt a pang as I remembered a cruise on the harbour to watch the fireworks. Only less than a year ago. Probably only two years left.

A table cleared and we sat, Simone still chatting about the decorations. I was roused out of my reverie by my mobile phone ringing. I managed to find it in my bag before it stopped, and flipped it open.

‘Emma.’

‘Hello, darling, it’s me.’ ‘Mum?’

‘Yes. Why aren’t you at the airport? Are you running late? We’re waiting for you.’

I hesitated, bewildered. ‘Airport?’

‘Yes, the plane arrived a good half an hour ago, dear. There’s a nice young man here. He said that you’d sent him to drive us to our hotel, but I said I’d wait for you. He’s right here with us, talking to your dad. Should we go with him?’

My blood ran cold. ‘Mum, are you at Hong Kong airport?’

‘Yes, dear, of course we are. Why?’ She laughed gently. ‘It sounds like you forgot we were coming. Come on, Emma, enough joking.’

‘Mum, stay right where you are,’ I said. ‘Don’t go anywhere. Don’t go with anyone. Move
away
from that young man
right now!’

‘What?’

‘Mum, I didn’t know you were coming. For God’s sake, move to where people can see you—’ She started to protest but I cut her off. ‘And don’t do
anything
until I get there!’ My father knew more about the situation than she did, but not much. ‘Let me talk to Dad.’

There was silence then I heard my father. ‘What’s the problem, Emma?’

‘Dad, don’t hang up. Get away from that young man. Just walk away and go out into the middle, into one of the waiting areas where there are a lot of people around.
Don’t go with anybody!
Do you understand?’

‘I’m walking,’ he said. ‘Come on, Barbie.’

‘Is he following you?’

‘Yes. No. He stopped. He’s gone in a different direction.’

I breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Listen, Dad, I didn’t know you were coming. Somebody brought you here to kidnap you.’

‘
What?
You said you weren’t involved in anything!’

‘Thank God you didn’t go with him,’ I said. ‘Stay on the phone and wait for a second. I’ll arrange something.’

‘Okay,’ he said weakly. ‘We’re with a lot of people now.’

‘Stay. Wait.’ I lowered my voice. ‘Simone, can you talk to Jade or Gold?’

Simone’s eyes turned inwards as she concentrated. ‘I can talk to both of them.’

‘Simone, listen to me, get them here
right now.
Tell them it’s
really urgent.’

Both Jade and Gold rushed out of the rest room passage and charged over to me. I rose to speak softly to them.

‘My mother and father are at the airport. They seemed to think I’d be waiting for them.
Get over there right now.
I’ll tell them to look for you and wave when they see you. Stay with them until I can get there.’

They both nodded and raced back down the passageway.

I returned to the phone. ‘Are you there, Dad?’

‘What the hell’s going on, Emma?’

I breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Thank God. Listen, Dad, I have a couple of staff out there. You’ll probably see them in a minute. Two Chinese people. A girl in green, a young man in a tan suit. Tell me if you see them.’

There was silence.

No.

‘Can you hear me, Dad?’ ‘I see them,’ he said. I sighed with relief.

‘Wave to them,’ I said. ‘Simone, ask Jade if she can see my dad waving.’

‘She says she can see him,’ Simone said.

‘Dad,’ I said, ‘when they’re close to you, give the phone to the girl.’

Silence. Then Jade. ‘We have them,’ she said.

‘Simone,’ I said. ‘Listen carefully. Ask Jade if she is talking to me on the phone. I want to be sure that it’s really her.’

Simone concentrated. ‘It’s her, Emma, she’s on the phone to you.’

I sagged with relief. ‘Oh, thank God.’ I returned to the phone. ‘Give the phone back to my father, Jade. I’ll tell him to stay with you until I can pick them up.’

‘We can take them directly to the Peak,’ Jade said.

‘
No
!’ I shouted, and a few heads snapped around to me. I dropped my voice. ‘They don’t know about us! I’ll come and pick them up in the car. For God’s sake, Jade, listen. This was a setup. I didn’t know they were coming. I don’t know why they’re here. A young man offered to give them a lift to their hotel. Check it out for me. See if he’s still there, and
if he is what I think he is
.’ I took a deep breath to pull myself together. ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can, in about an hour. I’ll drop Simone back home first, to make sure that she’s one hundred per cent safe. Stay with my parents. Understood?’

‘My Lady,’ Jade said.

‘Damn, Jade, I said they
don’t know
!’ I said. ‘I’m just Emma, okay?’

‘Sorry,’ she whispered. ‘Force of habit.’

‘Wait for me,’ I said, and hung up. ‘I have to take you home right now, Simone. Something’s up.’

‘Why are your mum and dad at the airport, Emma?’ Simone said innocently. ‘Didn’t you know they were coming?’

‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘But I’d better go and find out.’

My mobile phone rang as I was close to the airport and I answered it on the hands-free.

‘It’s me, Emma,’ Jade said. ‘We’re waiting for you at the cafeteria next to departures. The Western one. You were right.’

‘I’m on my way.’

Jade and Gold were sharing a pot of tea with my parents in the cafeteria. Jade and Gold looked grim; my parents were bewildered. I sat down with them.

‘Mr Chen didn’t come?’ Gold said.

‘Stayed with Simone,’ I said. ‘Leo’s having the day off.’

Jade and Gold both nodded their understanding.

My father was furious. ‘You said you weren’t involved in anything!’

‘We don’t have time to discuss this right now,’ I said. ‘We have to move you back to the Peak where you’ll be safe. We can talk in the car.’ I turned to Jade and Gold. ‘Which of you is better to come with us, just in case?’

‘Me,’ Gold said. Jade nodded agreement.

‘Come on then. Jade, meet us back at the Peak.’ I stopped as I remembered. ‘In about an hour.’

Jade nodded. ‘My…’ She stopped and smiled. ‘Sure, Emma.’

‘I am going to dock your pay, Jade,’ I growled.

My mother and father both glanced sharply at me and I banged my forehead with my palm. ‘I’m going to dock my own pay as well.’

‘Come on, Emma,’ Gold said, ‘let’s get your parents safe.’

Gold sat next to me in the front of the car. My parents were in the back.

‘They’re not impostors?’ I whispered to Gold.

‘Ordinary humans,’ Gold said under his breath.

‘Why are you guys here?’ I said more loudly. ‘I honestly didn’t know you were coming.’

‘You sent us a letter,’ my mother said. ‘You invited us to your graduation. You sent us the tickets. What’s going on, Emma? How could you not know?’

My father exploded. ‘Damn it, Emma! You said you weren’t involved in anything! And here you are, not knowing we were coming and saying that we were brought here to be kidnapped.
What the hell is going on?’

‘This is very bad,’ Gold said softly.

‘I just thank the heavens that I made it to them first,’ I said. ‘If my mother hadn’t called me, I hate to think what would have happened. If they had gone with that guy, it could have been the end of it.’

My mother moaned. ‘Oh God, Emma.’

‘You stupid bitch
!’ my father roared. ‘What the hell have you gotten yourself into?’

I wished I could run my hands through my hair, but I was busy driving. ‘Let’s move you up to the Peak where you’re safe first,’ I said. ‘Then…’ I stopped. I decided. ‘Then I’ll tell you everything.’

‘No, my Lady,’ Gold whispered.

‘You’d damn well better,’ my father growled.

‘Tell Jade she doesn’t need to wait,’ I said.

Gold concentrated. ‘Done.’

‘Tell Lord Xuan to be ready.’

‘Lord Xuan?’ my mother said weakly.

‘Done,’ Gold said.

‘Tell him what happened, Gold.’

‘He already knows, my Lady.’

I had a horrible thought. ‘Gold, call Leo on his mobile. Check that he’s okay.’

Gold pulled out his mobile phone and dialled. ‘Leo, it’s Gold. I’m just checking—is everything all right with you? No problems? Nothing…’ He hesitated. ‘Nothing out of the ordinary?’

Gold stopped and listened as Leo spoke. Leo spoke for a long time. A very long time.

‘I think you should come in, my friend,’ Gold said gently. ‘Something’s up.’

My mother moaned again.

‘You’re safe with us, Mum, don’t worry,’ I said.

She made a soft sound behind me. I checked in the mirror. She was sobbing silently.

‘There are tissues on the back shelf behind you,’ I said quietly.

My dad nodded and handed them to my mother. ‘Gold, where’s Michael?’ I said.

Gold concentrated again. ‘Festival Walk with a friend.’

‘Just
one friend?
How many times have I told him about this? Tell him to call me, I want to talk to him.’

Gold hesitated. ‘No need, my Lady, he’s with Na Zha.’

I went ice-cold. ‘He is grounded for a month.’ I glanced away from the road to glare at Gold. ‘You knew he was with Na Zha?’

‘He is perfectly safe with the Third Prince, you know that, my Lady,’ Gold said mildly. ‘They are becoming very close friends. They have much in
common. They often go…’ he hesitated ‘…hunting together.’

‘You have no idea how much trouble you are in, Gold,’ I said. ‘The Third Prince is a bad influence and you know it.’

‘The Dark Lord said it’s okay,’ Gold said.

I snorted. ‘All three of you will get it very badly when we’re home.’

‘Dark Lord?’ my father said softly.

Gold didn’t reply.

‘Did you really get an MBA, Emma?’ my father said after a long moment of uncomfortable silence.

‘I did get the MBA, and the graduation is tomorrow night,’ I said. ‘They probably thought you’d check. They didn’t know…’ I hesitated. ‘They didn’t know that I haven’t told you what’s going on.’ I banged the steering wheel with my palm. ‘Damn!’ I glanced at my father in the mirror. ‘When did you get the tickets?’

‘About two weeks ago,’ he said. ‘We had to rush to apply for our passports so that we could come. But every time we called you, there was no answer. Your mother was surprised we managed to get your mobile at the airport.’

‘What a stroke of luck,’ Gold said. ‘I wonder why the man who met them didn’t try to stop her.’

‘He did try to stop her,’ my father said. ‘She went to the ladies room. She called you on the way back. He went berserk, trying to say she didn’t need to call, the phones were down, you were busy, but your mother was already talking to you.’

‘Oh God,’ I moaned. ‘That was so close.’

My mother made another quiet sound behind me.

‘Are they gangsters?’ my father said.

‘I wish,’ I said with feeling. ‘I’ll tell you all when we’re home. Mr Chen will talk to you too.’ I spoke to Gold without turning away from the road. ‘Check Leo.’

Gold dialled again. ‘He’s at Central Station.’

‘Tell him I’ll pick him up in Theatre Lane. I’ll make a stop there on the way up.’

Gold didn’t speak into the phone. He spoke directly to Leo. Leo’s voice shouted on the phone. ‘He says no, make sure your parents are safe first. He says he’ll be fine.’

‘Tell him that’s an order.’

‘Done. He’s waiting for you.’ Gold hung up.

At Theatre Lane, Gold jumped out of the car and Leo pulled himself in. I nodded to Gold and he nodded back as I drove away.

‘What happened, Emma? Who is this?’ Leo said.

‘These are my parents—my dad, Brendan Donahoe, and Barbara, my mum. Mum, Dad, this is Leo. He’s Simone’s other bodyguard.’

‘Pleased to meet you,’ Leo lisped politely. My parents stared at him as if he was from another planet. He turned to speak to me. ‘Gold said that they were brought to Hong Kong without you knowing.’

‘That’s right,’ I said. ‘It was a tremendous stroke of luck that my mum called me before the demon could stop her.’

There was complete silence.

‘
Demon
?’ my father yelled.

‘Oh
God
!’ my mother wailed.

Leo and I both stiffened. Neither of us said anything. Then, ‘Let’s get you safe,’ I said quietly.

My parents sat in silence in the dining room and glared at John with loathing.

‘Do you have any questions?’ John said gently.

‘Yeah. What’s the real story?’ my father growled.

‘You need proof?’ Gold said.

‘How did you come up here so quickly?’ my father asked Gold.

‘There’s some of your proof,’ I said. ‘Gold, find me a phone.’

The business day was just starting in London. I called Leonard.

‘Hi, Leonard, this is Emma. Could you do me a favour? My parents are here. Could you tell my father exactly who John Chen Wu is? The whole story?’