Chapter Twenty-Nine.

8.10pm; Saturday, 1st October, 1949.

The Sun was beginning to lower in the Western skies as Peter Kincaid eased the control column forward and watched as the Direction Indicator drum spun gently onto twenty-one point eight degrees as "Pembroke" settled into a gentle glide; descending across the outer scattering of islands. The larger Lamma Island was dead ahead, as Tim began easing the throttle levers back to bring her down to about one-hundred-and-twenty knots as they committed for their downwind leg and followed the Aberdeen channel towards Hong Kong Island. Keeping the two thousand feet Victoria Peak off to port, Kincaid lined up on Magazine Gap and descended over the north shore of Victoria City as the magnificent vista of Victoria Harbour opened before him... jade-green waters alive with sampans and junks. Banking to starboard over Kellett Island off East Point, he lined up on the landing area some two-hundred-yards to the right of the lone Kowloon Rock in the middle of Kowloon Bay, and put out two-thirds flaps, committing for final approach.

Kai Tak was located on the north side of Kowloon Bay. The area was surrounded by rugged mountains. Six miles to the north and northeast, a range of hills reached an altitude of two-thousand feet. To the east of the Kai Tak aerodrome runway, the hills were only three miles away. He glanced at Tim. Putting a land plane down there would definitely be a "Brown trousers" job! The alighting area in Kowloon Bay was clear of craft as Tim eased the throttles back and the airspeed dropped through one-hundred-and-ten... one-hundred... ninety... eighty-five knots. Holding the wings level, Kincaid lined up on the old granite quarry on Crocodile hill across the bay, and alighted with a slight jolt and the burgeoning hiss of water on the hull. He pulled back slightly to get her tail down as "Pembroke" skimmed across the placid surface of Kowloon bay. Tim closed the throttles as she came down off the step, as, with flaps full out; the drag of the water on her keel slowed her rapidly. At Kincaid's signal, Tim set the mixture control to "Normal" and opened the cowling gills.

At about ten-o'clock out to port, Kincaid spotted the first of the three BOAC mooring buoys, strung out in a line to the west of the sloping slipway adjacent to the control tower, with a passenger tender waiting beside it. Kicking full left rudder, he reached forward and opened up the two inner engines, turning the 'boat towards the shore.

With the 'boat safely moored, Tim shut down the two inner engines and began his post-flight check-list as the passenger tender bumped alongside to await the passengers. Cameron Bray and Sophie Thị Chung alighted first. They took seats in the stern of the tender. Lambert and Hollis were next, taking seats amidships from where they could keep an eye on the Oriental girl. As Charlotte reached the door of the flying boat she was assailed by the sultry, humidity, and a curious aroma in the air... salt-spray mixed in with an elusive fragrance of what smelled like incense. The Purser, Mr Sinclair noticed her reaction and smiled.

'That's the well-worn, and highly unlikely explanation as to how Hong Kong got its name. The Cantonese characters for Hong Kong, which they pronounce as "Heung Gong," mean "fragrant harbour" or "incense harbour." They say it originates from the time when the north shore of Kowloon Bay was lined with incense factories. Don't worry; you won't notice it after a day or so.'

Charlotte smiled and nodded as the tender crewman helped her aboard. Max followed, and sat beside her. Everything appeared to be very correct and civilised, but Charlotte noticed that the black, unfathomable gaze of Sophie Thị Chung was locked on her for the entire trip across the bay.

At the shore, they alighted on a long wooden jetty that led up to the Airport. The local BOAC Agent was waiting for them and said that after Customs formalities, they could wait in the little cafe at the control tower whilst their luggage was unloaded and ferried across to them.

Being a British Crown Colony; the CIA had contacts here. As Lambert and Hollis led the way across the concrete hardstanding towards the little terminal building, they were met by a tall, well-built man wearing a light linen suit, who engaged them in conversation. Identity cards were flashed, and Lambert turned and began walking back towards Charlotte and Max. Max stepped forward and, as he did so, Charlotte felt a hand on her arm. Turning; she looked straight into the dark eyes of Sophie Thị Chung.

The Oriental girl smiled... a cold, malicious smile. Her almond eyes glittered, and she spoke, softly and admonishingly.

'Foolish Caucasian girl meddling with things she cannot possibly understand. The Talisman that you stupid Westerners have named "The Red Horseman" possesses a power far beyond your feeble imagining.'

Charlotte stood her ground. She smiled, grimly.

'I do know what it is.'

Sophie Thị Chung stared at her, seemingly taken aback; but, in an instant, she recovered her equanimity.

'So you know something of the Talisman.'

She said, watchfully; but her black eyes betrayed nothing.

Charlotte snorted.

'Know something? I was the one who brought it out of Siberia. Yes, I know something of it, and what its malignant influence is capable of invoking. I was the first to decipher the inscription on the metal block in which it was contained. It was inscribed with the warning...

"Behold. Herein, is trammelled The Evil of all time.

Seek not its deliverance, for there is none.

Meddle not with this Abomination,

For it is The Destroyer of Worlds."

It's just a pity my countrymen chose to meddle with it.'

Sophie Thị Chung held Charlotte in her black, enigmatic gaze, and spoke softly.

'Listen well, foolish Caucasian girl. Do not meddle further in this thing. I know you for who you are. Journey on to the land of the Blue Hills, and forget your quest to secure "The Red Horseman." Your part in this thing is done. You discovered the Talisman in the land of The Bear, and brought it to the city of The Bear. Now, you imagine you are under the protection of The Eagle, but you will die in the claws of The Dragon... as will the girl-child that you will shortly conceive; if you do not heed my words. You are both, an imperilment to the Great Design that you have stumbled upon. You will not be cautioned again in this matter.'

Charlotte studied the Oriental girl quietly, giving no clue as to her thoughts, although, at the mention of a girl-child she had been clutched by the sort of shiver they say you feel when a grey goose flies over your grave. How could this creature possibly know of a future pregnancy? At last, she spoke.

'Who, or what are you, Sophie Thị Chung? For you are certainly not what you have led us to believe.

The Oriental girl's eye glittered, and her pretty face twisted into a malignant smile.

'If you persist with your interference you will bitterly regret your meddling in something that is not your concern.'

Then turning, she joined Cameron Bray and walked towards the little terminal building, leaving Charlotte standing there completely bewildered by the Oriental girl's dialogue. Max was returning. She quickly took a deep breath and gathered her composure. She smiled as he held out his hand for her to join him, but said nothing of the conversation.

Lambert introduced the tall man in the linen suit. His name was Peter Campbell, a member of The British Governor's Staff.

Campbell smiled and shook hands with Charlotte and Max. He motioned to two gleaming black Daimler limousines, each with a miniature British Governor's flag attached to a mast on top of the radiator grille.

'This way please, Captain Mckenna... Colonel Segal.'

Charlotte stared at him.

'No Customs?'

Campbell smiled.

'Not today. A present from His Majesty's Government.'

He opened the rear door of the limousine and helped her in. The interior was steeped in a wonderful smell of leather and luxury. Max climbed in and sat beside her. She looked at Campbell.

'But, what about our luggage?'

Campbell smiled.

'No need to worry about that. It'll be in your suite at the hotel before you arrive.'

He closed the door and stepped back as the Daimler whispered away towards the airport entrance gate.

He rejoined Lambert and Hollis.

'You'll be in the second car with the luggage, chaps.'

One of the Customs officials approached. He saluted, and said,

'Everything's in order, Sir. There are two Colt Model M·32s with a box of a hundred rounds unopened, as part of the flying boat's manifest, along with the two Beretta nine millimetre automatics belonging to these gentlemen. They're all listed on the manifest and I have inspected them. There's a locked gun cabinet in the control tower. The Duty officer has the key. Well put them in bond there until our guests leave the Colony.'

Campbell nodded.

'Good.'

The Customs official held out the manifest to Campbell.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

'Anything else, Sir?'

'No, thanks.'

Campbell took "Pembroke's" manifest and gave it a cursory glance. He looked at Lambert and Hollis.

'Anything else that's not mentioned on here?'

Only four things were subject to any import licence or customs duty in the Colony; gold, liquor, tobacco and petrol. Apart from narcotics there was only one other contraband which was totally forbidden: all forms of firearms and ammunition.

Lambert and Hollis shook their heads.

Campbell nodded again.

'Good. Of course the firearms will be held in bond whilst you're in the Crown Colony.'

Charlotte and Max were whisked across Kowloon to their hotel... The Peninsula... a spectacular, "U"-shaped seven-storey stone edifice designed in the Colonial Rococo style, on Salisbury Road, overlooking Victoria Harbour. After being signed in at reception by their driver, they were invited into the lobby to be served a late, traditional English-style Afternoon Tea, reminiscent of Hong Kong's old colonial era customs... Earl Grey or personal choice of tea, a selection of cakes, English scones and finger sandwiches all served on silver platters whilst being serenaded by a string quartet and fussed over by bow-tied waiters.

Meanwhile, three miles to the North-east, a tall Eurasian walked quickly through the crowds on Argyle Street towards the notorious "Hak Nam"...the City of Darkness; otherwise known as Kowloon Walled City. As he strode purposefully towards the Ma Tau Chung area of North-east Kowloon, crossing side streets and alleys, "Shadow Serpent's" mind was working coldly... He had spent a great deal of time and effort back in Singapore; using bribery, and when that didn't work, classic Triad violence, which was the only thing that some of these "Mahai" understood. Slicing off a few index fingers and slitting a few tongues had soon brought answers as to where this "Fai chaai"... this useless, Sonofabitch seaman was holed up.

As he continued along Argyle Street towards Prince Edward Road, he didn't have any perception of the slim figure that was unobtrusively watching his progress whilst leaning against the corner of the ramshackle candy stall where an old, toothless woman was hawking sweet rice cakes.

In 1898 and, at the height of their imperial power, the British compelled the Chinese to sign away the Kowloon Peninsula for the next ninety-nine years. There was one exception. The British agreed to allow an old Qing dynasty fort to remain until they completed the setting up their Colonial Administration. With this done, the British suspected that the Viceroy of Canton was using troops to aid resistance to the new arrangements. On 16th May 1899, British forces attacked the Walled City, only to find the Viceroy's soldiers gone, leaving behind only a few residents. The British then proceeded to ignore the fort and its murky legal status. The fort buildings were taken over by squatters until, in 1933 the authorities announced plans to demolish most of the decaying Walled City's buildings, and move the squatters that lived there into new homes.

When the refugees first started pouring into Hong Kong in the '20s, this area was mostly parks and light residential housing. Then violent criminal gangs started invading the homes and taking them over, as refugee packs turned the city parks into squatter tent cities. As more people arrived, the area became more crowded and more desperate. The corporations were forced to build some sort of housing for the throngs of refugees, if only to keep them bottled up and away from Hong Kong residents. The result was the Walled City, a dark core of crumbling slums so tightly packed together that in some parts, daylight never penetrated to ground level

When the Japanese Imperial Army invaded in 1941, they tore down the mighty, dressed granite walls and used the spoil to extend Kai Tak aerodrome runways. The city was duly abandoned. After the Japanese defeat, the great mass of refugees fleeing south from China to avoid famine, civil war, and political persecution found sanctuary in the abandoned city and began to build.

The Walled City covered an area of six and a half acres of solid building surrounded by squatters shacks; rickety hovels built of any scraps... cardboard, planks, corrugated iron; fencing, canvas, sidings; three-ply walls, and even roofs for the relatively well-to-do inhabitants; all leaning against one another, and on top of one another; layer upon layer linked up through hundreds of paths, cracks, and alleyways where the sunlight hardly ever penetrated. Tenants preyed upon each other or sold themselves just to pay the meagre rent; whilst the Triads made examples of those who failed to keep up with the payments.

Shadow Serpent continued walking purposefully across the junction of Argyle Street and Prince Edward Road glancing up as a Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force Spitfire fighter roared low overhead, wheels down, on its landing run into Kai Tak aerodrome off to the right of the bridge ahead of him that crossed the infamous Kai Tak nullah. This putrid drainage channel was once a country stream known as the Long Jin River which ran from the Kowloon Hills to Victoria Harbour, by way of the old Nga Tsin Wai Village, but had been reconstructed as a concreted drainage canal by the Japanese army during Japanese rule to prevent the Kai Tak aerodrome extension from flooding. It had been originally built to allow rainwater from Diamond Hill and the adjoining high ground to flow back into the harbour; but was now a run-off for waste water and sewage from the Walled City and its surrounding slum camps.

He turned into South Wall Road that led due north towards the Walled City; crossing Nga Tsin Wai Road, and catching his first glimpse of the festering mess of slums, open drains and squalid dwellings that made up the stinking, overcrowded, rat-breeding cauldron of iniquity they called "Hak Nam"... the City of Darkness. Even with his cold-blooded temperament as enforcer of the feared Yu Leu Yong mob, he paused, and drew a deep breath before he crossed Carpenter Road and stood on the garbage-strewn, broken pavement flagstones, scanning this tangle of huts and sweatshops, shadowy opium dens, illegal mah-jong gambling joints; brothels, and Triad headquarters. The whole warren seemed, to him, to exude a palpable aura of corrupted Yin and perverse Yan from the countless acts of death and violence that were commonplace in this lawless labyrinth of "The Nine Dragons." It was glaringly obvious that his target must have been very desperate to hide out in a place like this.

According to his information, which had been extracted at the cost of his informant's right index finger; the seaman he was seeking had holed up in a rickety tenement building down a maze of passages running off an alley named Almshouse Back Street deep inside the community. The informant had told him that the quickest way in would be a narrow passage about two-thirds of the way along the south frontage, named Tai Chang Street. He paused. Perhaps it would be better to use one of the narrower, winding alleyways. He slipped into the first one he came to. The walls were dark and clammy, and the alley was scarcely four feet wide. He grinned. No-one would get the jump on him down here.

As he paused just inside the alley whilst his eyes grew accustomed to the greenish darkness with thin daylight leaking through the maze of pipes and wiring overhead, and the continuous dripping of leaking water pipes; he didn't see the slim figure that had been shadowing him, slink silently into another of the passages further back along the pavement.

The buildings had been built floor by floor with no blueprints, as and when they were needed... dwellings stacked on top of each other, built so close together that they were either touching the next building or separated by alleys and pathways no bigger than a narrow, garbage-strewn gap. They were so close that it looked as if you could make your way across the whole city just by jumping the roof tops without ever touching the ground level.

The smell of the place was overwhelming, with the fumes of opium, heroin, fish, and human excrement lingering in the stale, humid air. The occupants merely threw waste out the windows down into the alleyways. Things were so tightly packed that garbage blocked off parts of buildings and many occupied hovels literally never saw the light of day.

Shadow Serpent grimaced, and began to carefully pick his way amongst the piles of rotting rubbish, carefully stepping across the stream of oily, fetid water that wound along the slimy floor of the alley. Every few hundred feet, a naked light bulb dangled from the rats-nest of dripping pipes and wires strung overhead, casting a faint, yellowish light, and creating strange shadows that flickered against the mildew-stained walls thrown into murky relief by the rays of the grimy, low-wattage bulbs filched from a few of the more remotely located buildings of Kai Tak aerodrome. The alley was crooked, dark, and very narrow. Anyone could be lurking around the next corner. He paused, and slipped his hand under his coat, feeling for the stock of the sawn-down, double-barrelled, twelve-bore shotgun secreted in its special holster. It was loaded with bird shot, and was capable of cutting anyone in half at ten paces.

The alley stank. The smell of rot and decay permeated the very air. He tried to close his nose to the smell. Both walls were mildewed and water-stained black and green from the myriad of leaking pipes. By the wall lay a large dead rat. They said there were twice as many rats as people in this seething maze of corrugated iron, plywood, and cardboard hovels. Insolent and fat, the rats merely sat and watched as he passed; scarcely bothering to acknowledge his presence.

The adjoining alley was unlit except for the bare bulbs of the dingy stalls and stores. The dark shadows crept across everything, smothering its furthest reaches as he moved cautiously forward deeper into this bizarre world of dark and brooding half-light, infused with the sweet-rank smell of opium and cooking oil hanging in the air. He moved cautiously, trying to avoid the broken glass and rusting debris which, if stepped on, would betray his position to anyone lying in wait around one of the many dark corners or intersecting alleyways. There was always someone waiting somewhere. The Triads didn't take kindly to strangers invading their territory. They were the law in the Walled City. It was Chinese Triad territory outside the power of the Hong Kong police.

As he turned into another passageway, he saw a dark shadow in front of him. His grip tightened on the shotgun. He stopped, and turned his head to look over his shoulder... just in case. There was nothing but dim, flickering shadows, and the sound of the incessant dripping of water. As he looked forward again, a gust of wind blew in his face. He instinctively ducked his head, and when he raised his eyes again, the shadow was now in front of him, but it wasn't a shadow, it was a man.

The man spoke. His voice was soft but intimidating, with an edge of authority.

'Who are you?'

Shadow Serpent pulled out the shotgun and casually aimed it at the man.

'Gwan lei lun see ah'... 'None of your fucking business.'

He said ominously in perfect gutter Cantonese.

The man merely smiled.

'Ah, but it is my business. Permit me to introduce myself. I am "426"... "Red rod" of the 14K Brotherhood. They call me "Sunset Cloud" Tung. Put away that foolish toy. Our Brotherhoods settle their differences in sensible, civilised Chinese fashion, with knives and axes, fighting irons and anonymous calls to the police. You are known for what you are, here. You are one of the ghost devils of the Blue Hills. You answer to Lee Jeong Kwon master of the Yu Leu Yong Brotherhood. We do not seek to interfere; merely to know the reason for your presence here.'

Shadow Serpent lowered the shotgun. So this man was a Red Rod... a Gang leader. His standing demanded respect, especially as he had come without any visible back-up to this confrontation.

All officials of Triads were known by numbers as well as symbolic titles. The numbers were always divisible by the mystical number three. A leader...the "Loh-pan" was a "489," which also added up to twenty-one, which added up to three, and twenty-one was also a multiple of three, representing creation, times seven, signifying rebirth. A second rank was a "White Fan," a "438," a "Red Rod" was a "426." The lowest official was a "49";and four times nine was thirty-six, the number of the secret blood oaths.

Shadow Serpent studied the man. The Chinese's expression was unreadable. Was this a gambit to try and get him to lower his guard? He decided to make his intentions crystal clear.

'You are aware, Honourable Red Rod, that any attempt by your esteemed Brotherhood to interfere in my business here, will have severe, and far-reaching consequences?'

"Sunset Cloud" Tung nodded. He knew full well that the merest possibility of a war between the Hong Kong 14K Triad and the Korean Yu Leu Yong mob was something that would not be tolerated by his "Loh-pan." He spoke again. His tone was still pleasant,

'By what name are you known?'

'I am Shadow Serpent.'

Sunset Cloud Tung stiffened imperceptibly. He had heard this name before. This man was a merciless killer. He was out of Shanghai, and in the employ of the most feared mob in Seoul. What the hell was he doing in Kowloon City?

Shadow Serpent answered his unspoken question with his next words.

'I am hunting a worthless piece of shit Korean merchant seaman who has misappropriated an important piece of my employer's property. My information indicates that he has taken refuge in this community in a building off Almshouse Back Street.'

Sunset Cloud Tung nodded.

'I shall make enquiries. Meanwhile; why not have something to eat? At the end of this passage you will find old Chan Chi Kham's shop. He makes the finest Dim Sum in the city. Go there, enjoy the food, and wait. I shall have the information you require within the hour.'

Shadow Serpent nodded. Sunset Cloud Tung turned, and moved silently away along the passage to be lost in the shadowy murk that was gathering swiftly as the evening sun began to settle behind Lion Rock.