The Princeling of Nanjing (31 page)

“What did Lop’s people have to say?”

“He says that they’re angry beyond belief. Tsai is the son of a general, of a legend of the revolution. He is bringing disgrace to his father and everything he fought for and that they are honour-bound to maintain. Calls are already being made to politicians.”

“Do they have that much influence?”

“We’ll see,” Xu said. “The people I called also have their own circles, and I’m sure that May Ling’s contacts have enough power to pull some strings. It adds up.”

“So what’s the end?”

“Well —” Xu began but was cut off when Ava’s cellphone rang.

Ava looked at him. “It’s May,” she said.

He nodded.

“Hey, I’m with Xu. We’re going over this Tsai thing,” Ava said.

“You mean Chairman Tsai, the twenty-billion-dollar man?”

“Is that what your contacts are calling him?”

“And worse. I don’t know if their rage is coming from jealousy or some genuine anger at the level of his corruption, but it is definitely rage.”

“So no one doubts the veracity of the stories?”

“These newspapers have terrific reputations, even here, and there’s far too much detail and too much data for the reports to be anything but true.”

“Xu is worried about the websites being blocked.”

“Changxing made the same comment to me, but then he saw that the
Herald
story is already up on some other sites. It will be tough to shut them all down.”

“That’s comforting,” Ava said. “Now tell me, what do your contacts want to happen to Tsai?”

“Some would like to see him shot, but that’s just raw emotion. They know he’s too prominent for that. They’d probably be happy with a jail term and the family losing its status and money.”

“I’ll tell Xu what you’re hearing.”

“And you’ll keep me posted from your side?”

“We will.”

May paused and then said, “Ava, please be careful. Wounded animals are the most dangerous.”

“I know, and don’t worry. I’m in a safe place and staying put until this thing is over.”

“What did May have to say?” Xu asked once Ava had put away her phone.

“Other websites are now running the stories.”

“That’s great.”

“And the people she’s talking to think the Tsai family has to be held accountable.”

“Every hour those websites remain active increases the chance they will stay that way. All we can do is wait and hope.”

Ava shook her head. “I thought the hard part was over.”

“It is, and we’ve done everything we can and we’ve done it as well as we can. Now the big boys will decide if it’s enough.”

“I’m not good at waiting.”

“Lop and I have asked our contacts to call us as soon as they know which way this is going to break. The moment we hear something, you will. That’s all we can do for now,” Xu said. “Look, I’m going with Lop to a meeting about ten minutes from here by car. Why don’t you join us? It will be a distraction.”

“Nothing is going to get my mind off those websites,” Ava said. “All I keep thinking is that Tsai has to be buried or he’s going to bury us.”

“Well, we’ll know soon enough,” Xu said calmly.

Ava searched for something to do that would occupy her mind. Finally, almost in desperation, she took out the files on the carbon-fibre containers and made an attempt to analyze the numbers, but every few minutes her fingers would be almost magnetically drawn to the keyboard of her computer and the
Tribune
and
Herald
websites. They remained live, and when she accessed a Chinese search engine and typed in “Tsai family financial scandal,” she saw at least ten other media sites that were promoting the story. She was scanning them when she heard a noise at the front door. Then she heard Auntie Grace’s footsteps and a few seconds later the sound of the door opening and the voices of the housekeeper and a man.

Ava rose from her chair and walked towards the door. Auntie Grace was in animated conversation with one of the men who was normally stationed at the gate.

“What’s going on?” Ava said.

“There are two Range Rovers filled with men at one end of our alley, and a third is parked near the exit at the other end. The fruit vendor called as soon as he saw them, but then his phone went dead,” Auntie Grace said. “Wen says they’re paramilitary.”

“What are they doing?”

“Just a second,” Auntie Grace said, and then she stepped outside and spoke so quietly to Wen that Ava couldn’t hear her. Whatever she said was enough to send him running back to the gate, where two more of Xu’s men stood just inside the courtyard.

Ava watched the three of them take turns looking down the alley. Wen ran back to Ava and Auntie Grace.

“They’ve split up into two teams, and it looks like they’re doing house-to-house searches,” he said.

“How many men?” Ava asked.

“Ten in total.”

“Are they armed?”

“Yes,” Wen said. “They all have batons and pistols, and at least two of them have submachine guns.”

“Call Xu,” Auntie Grace said.

“My orders were to phone Lop if anything happened,” Wen said.

“You do that,” Ava said. “I’ll call Xu.”

Wen took a phone from his pocket and walked towards the gate.

Ava ran into the house to retrieve her phone from the kitchen, Auntie Grace following. She found Xu’s number and hit it. The phone rang four times and cut out. She remembered that he’d turned down the volume on his phone. She tried again, with the same result. “Shit, I can’t reach him,” she said.

“Maybe Wen has had better luck with Lop,” Auntie Grace said.

They were almost back at the front door when Ava’s phone rang and she saw Xu’s number. “The military is in the alley,” she said in a rush.

“I know. Lop just told me.”

“I think they’re looking for me.”

“That’s most likely the case.”

“What do we do?”

“I want you to do nothing except stay inside the house.”

“I’m not much good at doing nothing.”

“Ava, you have Wen and his men, and there are more men on the way. Give them a chance to get in place.”

“Then what?”

“We need time. Lop has already instructed Wen what to do. Let him do it.”

“Xu, I’m not going to let them take me without a fight.”

“If it comes to that, you’ll have plenty of support on your side. But it isn’t going to come to that, and no one is going to take you anywhere,” he said. “Look, we’re no more than fifteen to twenty minutes away from the house. Be patient until we get there.”

Ava stepped into the courtyard and saw Wen at the gate, looking down the alley.

“How fast are those men moving?” she shouted.

“They’re already at the next set of houses. It won’t be more than ten minutes before they get here,” he yelled back.

“Did you hear that?” she said to Xu.

“I did, and we’re moving as fast as we can,” he said. “Lop has already left and I’m only a few minutes behind him.”

The word “hurry” crossed her mind. She ended the call and walked towards Wen. He turned as she drew close, and she saw that he was armed with a Cobray M11 semi-automatic. It was Sonny’s weapon of choice. She glanced at the other two men and saw they carried the same gun. She started to comment, but two of the men she’d seen earlier at one of the fruit carts appeared in the gateway. Right behind them came two more she didn’t know.

“The guns are in the garage, in the trunk of the BMW,” Wen said to them.

The four walked to the garage. Before they exited, two more men came into the courtyard. Wen repeated the information about the guns.

“We should go into the house,” Auntie Grace said.

“No, I’m going to stay out here,” Ava said. “I want to see and hear whatever is going to happen. If I sit inside, everything will be left to my imagination, and it can run wild.”

“It’s safer in the house.”

“If those men get into the courtyard they’ll be in the house ten seconds later,” Ava said. “It will be the same result, just marginally delayed.”

All six of the new arrivals were now armed with a variety of semi-automatic and automatic weapons and were grouped around Wen in the middle of the courtyard. “Close the gate,” he told two of his men.

They swung the wooden doors together and secured them with a long, thick crossbeam.

“You should go inside,” Wen said to Ava and Auntie Grace.

“I’m staying here,” Ava said.

“There’s no point arguing with her,” Auntie Grace said to him. “And I’m not leaving unless she does.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Ava said to Auntie Grace.

“I’m at an age where I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do, and that includes leaving you out here by yourself. So, I’m staying.”

Wen sighed and looked troubled. Ava was sure Lop had instructed him to make sure she and Auntie Grace were indoors.

“We’ll sit by the pond,” Ava said to him. “That way we’re out of the line of sight of the gate.”

“If any violence breaks out, if they throw tear gas over the wall . . .”

“We’ll go inside.”

“Okay, that will have to do,” Wen said reluctantly. He turned to the men. “Spread out. Get as much space between each other as you can while maintaining a clear view of the gate.”

Ava unfolded chairs for herself and Auntie Grace. As they sat, Ava glanced at the older woman. Her face was impassive, her hands were folded in her lap, and there wasn’t a hint of tension in her body.

“You act like you’ve been through this before,” Ava said.

“Hopefully, when this is over, I’ll be able to tell you that I’ve been through much worse.”

“Indeed,” Ava said.

She noticed that the entire courtyard had become silent; there wasn’t so much as a whisper. Wen stood in the middle with one of the men. The others had fanned out on either side of them. Every eye was focused on the gate. Ava’s attention was on what was occurring in the alley, and her head was turned in the direction from which the soldiers would come. She strained to hear the sound of vehicles, of boots striking cobblestones, of closing doors and gates. But it was so quiet she could hear her heart beating. She looked at her watch. It had to have been at least five minutes since she’d spoken to Xu. Was it possible Lop could get to the house before the soldiers? But what difference would it make if he did? Had the soldiers left? Why was Xu letting Lop travel back here by himself? Ava drew a deep breath. Her mind was in overdrive. She reached for Auntie Grace’s hand. The older woman placed Ava’s hand between hers. That was when Ava heard voices.

It was a buzz at first, the words indistinct. Then she heard nervous laughter and someone shouting, “No one’s here,” and gradually the sound of men walking and more voices added to the mix. They were close now, maybe two or three houses away. Auntie Grace squeezed her hand. She saw the man standing next to Wen whisper something to him. Wen nodded and stepped closer to the gate.

Ava checked her watch. Three minutes had passed, though it seemed like an hour. She heard what she thought was a door closing, and then footsteps and clear voices. She counted four voices and assumed there was a fifth if they were searching houses in two teams. The gate rattled as someone pushed against it.

“This fucking thing is locked,” a voice said.

“Here, let me,” another said, and pushed, with the same result.

Someone knocked, the noise loud and sharp as if the butt of a gun was being used.

“Who are you?” Wen shouted.

“Officers in the Special Unit, attached to the People’s Armed Police.”

“What do you want?”

“We want you to open the gate.”

Wen paused, and his lips moved as if he was counting. “Why?” he finally said.

“We’re conducting a neighbourhood search.”

“Why?”

“We believe that some people who’ve broken the law are hiding in the vicinity.”

“There’s no one here who broke any law.”

“Open the gate,” the man insisted.

“This is private property,” Wen said.

Ava heard more footsteps and new voices outside the gate. She guessed the remaining five officers had arrived.

“This is Sergeant Tang. I’m in charge here. We need you to open this gate, and open it now,” a more authoritative voice said.

“This is private property,” Wen repeated.

“We’ll break down the gate unless you open it voluntarily.”

“You’ll have to pay for the damage if you do.”

“Don’t be so thick,” Tang said.

Wen paused again, and then pointed his Cobray at the middle of the gate. “Don’t touch the gate,” he said.

“Get the ram,” Tang said.

Auntie Grace tightened her grip and a nail penetrated Ava’s flesh. “When they start to break down the gate, I think we should go inside,” Auntie said. “It’s better they find us there than out here, where we could get hit by a stray bullet.”

“Yes,” Ava said.

There was no sound from the other side of the gate. Wen and his men were in position, their guns locked on the gate. None of them moved a muscle.
They’re really going to shoot
, Ava thought.

“This is your last chance,” Tang suddenly shouted.

Wen shook his head wordlessly.

Seconds later, there was a
boom
as the ram crashed into the wood. Auntie Grace stood and tugged at Ava. “Come,” she said.

Ava struggled to her feet, her attention fixed on the gate. The ram hit it again, and she saw the first splinters. Two or three more blows would do the job. She was turning to walk with Auntie Grace into the house when she heard a familiar voice. She stopped. “That’s Lop,” she said.

Wen nodded but he didn’t lower his gun.

Ava stood and waited. All she could hear was voices. Auntie Grace’s grip on Ava’s hand began to relax, and Ava’s breathing slowed.

Minutes passed, and Ava was starting to feel her anxiety build again when Lop shouted, “Wen, open the gate.”

He hesitated and then motioned for the men on both sides to move forward. When they’d taken positions on both sides of the gate, he raised the crossbeam and pulled the gate open.

Lop stood in the middle of a group of ten men. Their weapons hung down by their sides. When Lop nodded at him, Wen lowered his gun and the other men followed suit.

“As Captain Bao said, Tang, there was no reason for any of this,” Lop said to the man standing next to him.

“No, sir,” Tang replied.

“Now, why don’t you clear the alley and let the people here go about their normal business.”

“Yes, sir,” Tang said, but hesitated.

“You don’t have to worry about the gate,” Lop said. “I’m sure the owner will bear the costs of any repairs.”

“Then we’ll be off,” Tang said.

Lop remained in position as the men moved away. When there was no further sign of them, Ava expected him to come into the courtyard, but he stayed where he was, looking down the alley. She was starting to walk towards him when he took several steps back and Xu’s Mercedes slid into view.

Ava froze and then retreated as the car turned into the courtyard. It came to a stop just inside. The back door opened and Xu stepped out. His face was grim.