He smiled down at her and offered a huge hand which took hers and held it in not so much a handshake as a caress.
Then quite suddenly, he stopped smiling. Still looking at Wanda, and keeping his voice down he asked, ‘Tony, have you brought my money? You were to bring it tonight.’
‘No, sir.’ Wanda could hear the surge of terror behind the words from her father. Then he repeated, ‘No, sir. But I have brought something more precious than any money.’
‘Oh. Pray what?’
‘My daughter, sir. I have brought you my daughter, Wanda.’
‘Really? And what has Wanda to say about this?’
His voice was always calm, soothing, making her think of the purring of a cat. ‘I am a good Chinese girl, sir,’ she again heard herself say. ‘I obey my father in all things.’
‘And you come here of your own free will?’
‘I do. But I must tell you that others have claim on my time.’
‘What kind of claim?’ Reasonable, relaxed.
‘I am an officer in the United States Navy.’
‘That’s even more interesting. So, when do you return to your duties, which would, of course, take you from the orbit of your father’s commands and influence?’
‘I have a ten-day furlough, sir. After that, I am free for one day a week and one entire weekend in every four.’ She kept her eyes raised towards Lee’s proud features.
‘Well,’ he smiled down at her. ‘I think we can arrange matters so that your naval duties will not interfere with your status as a gift to me.’ He let go of her hand and stepped to one side, standing directly in front of her father. ‘You appear to have done very well in bringing me your daughter, Tony Man Song Hing. For the moment, I shall suspend judgment on the question of your financial debt. Be here again at midnight in exactly ten days and I shall give you my complete verdict then. After I have sampled what your daughter has to offer.’
There was not the slightest sign of a threat in his voice, just the gentle, reasonable words of a seemingly gentle and reasonable man.
Wanda had hardly realised that her father had left when she heard Lee speak again. ‘You two, make things ready. We leave now. This minute.’
She felt the hands of Big Leu clasp her upper arms and lead her to yet another door at the far end of the room. Then something was slipped over her head, softly pressing against her eyes and cutting off sight.
‘Would not try moving mask, missy,’ Leu whispered in her ear. ‘If your hand goes even near mask, I fear life will become total pain.’
He steered her down some stairs, and a minute later she felt the cool night air on her face. A hand covered the back of her head, forcing her down as Leu gave her instructions. She was being assisted into a car. There was the smell of well-polished leather and the seat seemed to enfold her.
A few seconds later, she knew that Lee had joined her in the car. He wore a musky cologne which she had detected in his office. She could not deny a tiny electric thrill as she felt his hand touch her thigh.
As the car began to move, he whispered apologies for the mask. ‘I have to take very careful precautions. I’m sure you, as a member of the United States Navy, will understand.’
She nodded, and he told her to try and rest. ‘It is quite a long drive and I wish you to be rested when we reach our destination.’
Once more she felt the thrill pass through her, as though she had absolutely no resistance or personal freedom.
Within two hours, the car slowed down and came to a stop. She heard the doors being opened and felt Leu’s hands on her arms again, helping her out and propelling her across gravel and into a building which smelled of flowers. She thought the scent was that of night stocks after rain, but under her feet she detected solid tile or, more likely, marble. Then this changed to thick soft carpet. She knew that she was being taken down long corridors and through other rooms. Then Leu’s hands steadied her. ‘Stay,’ he warned. ‘Touch nothing. Do not move the mask. Just wait.’
She felt unsteady after the long car ride and the confined darkness, then she felt Lee near her, his hands running over her waist, buttocks and breasts. Suddenly he plucked the mask from her face and she was aware of being in a dimly lit bedroom of vast proportions.
Gently, like a trainer with a frisky colt, he guided her backwards until she felt the side of a bed behind her upper thighs, then her back against great softness and Brokenclaw’s hands moving again, his lips on her lips, and suddenly, his body on her body. Slowly one large hand took the neck of her cheongsam and, in one movement, it was ripped from her body. Her last thought was that she had been right to wear nothing under the dress.
7
TALK OF A MERRY DANCE
M looked decidedly embarrassed, moving uneasily in his chair, fiddling with his napkin and grunting. ‘You know how much I abhor this kind of sexual entrapment,’ he said gruffly. ‘But, in this case, I suppose it was the only way.’
‘It was the only opportunity, sir.’ They had carried on eating. Wanda had remained very calm while telling the story, and Bond had become almost jealous of Brokenclaw. ‘The chance came, and I took it.’
‘Unsanctioned,’ cautioned M.
‘Admiral, it was our operation.’ Ed Rushia had dropped his homespun manner. ‘Now it’s definitely sanctioned, as you know, Wanda is in a unique position.’
Bond raised his eyebrows, and thought Rushia could have chosen his words more carefully.
‘Look, in a matter of three weeks we’ve made incredible headway.’
‘Yes.’ Bond broke his silence. ‘What kind of headway have we made? Infiltration isn’t any good unless it produces raw intelligence.’
M gave a small nod, ‘Oh, that’s one of the reasons you’re here, Bond. “Cuckoo”, which is Wanda’s crypto, has provided not only the raw intelligence but the means to bring us even closer to Brokenclaw and the personnel he’s undoubtedly holding. All five of them. And I might add . . .’ One of the telephones uttered a quiet purr which stopped M, who walked over and picked up the instrument. He spoke only in monosyllables but they could all tell by his tone and demeanour that something was wrong.
‘Well, looks as if you were right about Brokenclaw’s people in British Columbia.’ He looked at Bond. ‘They’ve found Professor Allardyce’s body in some woods just outside Victoria, and that would suggest that we must now move with some haste.’
‘I must move quickly anyway, sir.’ Wanda pushed her chair back from the table. ‘Big Leu’s supposed to be picking me up at midnight.’
‘I’m intrigued.’ Bond put out a hand to restrain her. ‘Intrigued that friend Brokenclaw, if he really is such a monster, let you return, while he keeps the other people from Lords and Lords Day prisoners.’
Wanda smiled at him. ‘I didn’t think I stood a chance of getting away, especially after that first night. I should tell you, Captain Bond, that his reputation regarding sexual appetite is quite wrong.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes, he’s more insatiable than any speculation could begin to intimate. But, at the moment, I appear to satisfy him, though none of us know how long that will go on. The few people close to him – the very few he trusts – have made it very clear that he soon tires of one woman.’ She spoke without any hint of coyness or self-consciousness, but with the quiet voice of a proficient agent giving facts to interrogators.
‘Then I take it he trusts you.’ Bond’s voice in no way suggested that he did not believe her.
‘Not completely. But we’re getting there. For the first five days I was not even allowed to leave the suite of rooms we both used. But after that he relaxed a little. I was allowed to use some of the other rooms, though never areas with windows. I also met his closest people. He has quite a set-up wherever it is. I come and go blindfolded, and we’ve got one or two ideas as to location, but it’s always cloak and dagger. I only had to keep my wits about me, and before I left on that first occasion, we came to an arrangement . . .’