“There’s still time for you to achieve other things.”
“You think?”
“Sure. You can do anything you want.”
“I just want this to be over. I’m tired of running.”
“I’m not sure it will ever be over Seva. But after tomorrow, you can disappear and try to make a new life for yourself. That’s the most I can offer.”
“And that’s the most I can expect.” Vitsin sat down in the corner of the room and rested his head on a pile of carpet.
Harper blew out one of the candles. “Did Anya say where she was going?”
“She went up the hill to look at the big Buddha statue.”
Harper ducked through the door and went back outside. The statue dominated the landscape. The lights around its base illuminated it for miles around. He set off into the misty gloom. Insects buzzed around the plants and small animals scuffled in the undergrowth. When he reached the bottom of the steps, he could see Anya’s tiny figure ascending them in the darkness. He slowed down halfway up as his breathing got faster and the sweat started to soak his shirt. As he reached the top, he listened, but all he could hear was his own breathing. He climbed over the security gate and jumped down onto the other side. He circled the statue and found her sitting cross-legged next to one of the lights.
“Was the conversation too dull down there?” he said, sitting down next to her.
“I just wanted to let Seva be on his own for a while. I don’t think he is much for company.”
Harper wiped his forehead with his sleeve. “I’m sorry that you got caught up in all this Anya. That was never my intention.”
“I don’t blame you.”
“Well, I’m sorry anyway.”
“What’s your real name?”
“Matt Harper.”
Anya swiped her hand slowly through the mist in front of her face. “You should be careful you know. Lies flow from your lips like breath from your lungs. Women will find it hard to trust you.”
“It’s my job Anya. It’s not me.”
“That’s what everyone says when they start a job. But one day they wake up and they are the job. Is that what happened to you?”
“I don’t know, maybe.” Harper thought about it for a few moments and pushed it from his mind. “Where will you go?”
“I don’t know. I can’t go back to Russia. They’ll be waiting for me there.”
“If you need some money, I can help you out. It’s the least I can do.”
“That’s kind. But I have some savings overseas. I think I’ll be okay.”
Harper looked out into the darkness. Lights from a boat or a lighthouse twinkled in the distance. He concentrated on the stillness and tried to push any lingering violence from his mind.
Anya looked at him. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Where will you go?”
“I don’t know. It’s difficult to escape what I’m running away from.”
“You mean those gangsters and your spies?”
“I’m not afraid of them. There are worse things to be afraid of in this world.”
Anya put her hand on his. He flinched away, pulling his arm towards himself. She reached out and took his hand again, bringing it back and setting it down between them. “What happened to you Matt? There is a lot of pain in your eyes.”
“It’s not something you want to know.”
“Maybe not, but it seems it’s something you need to say.”
Harper’s face hardened. “Those gangsters. I infiltrated their organization in my last operation. That’s why they’re after me.”
Anya said nothing, not pushing him to speak.
“We were on a boat one night, delivering some weapons just off the coast near Portrush in Northern Ireland. The drop point changed at the last minute and I snuck away to make a call to my handler.” Harper clamped his hands together as the shakes coursed through his fingers. “There was this Ukrainian kid, only thirteen, he worked for one of the gang members and had come along on the boat. He caught me on the phone, heard everything, and went running to Gershov, accused me of being a copper. He was shouting it around to everyone. Really fucking things up for me. Gershov knew Ashansky wouldn’t buy it, I was about to marry his daughter after all, so he saw his chance to get to me another way.”
“How?”
“He knelt the kid down on the deck and accused him of talking shit. He said there was only one way to find out. That undercover coppers don’t shoot people. Then he put a gun in my hand.”
“What did you do?”
Kill him Mishka.
“I did what I had to do to stay alive.”
Anya kept her hand on his. Harper felt his eyes moisten and he turned to look away from her, wiping them with the back of his hand.
“I see that kid’s face every day of my life Anya. He wasn’t some hardened criminal. He was just a kid. It’s not really something I can run away from.”
Harper stood up. “I think the lack of oxygen up here is making me feel dizzy. I’m going to go down and get some rest. We need to get up early tomorrow.” He turned his back and started to walk back towards the top of the steps.
“You know Matt. I don’t think you’re a bad person.”
“No? Well, I can’t say I agree with you on that one.”
“You should come with me to the airport tomorrow morning. Forget about those people and start a new life somewhere.”
“And what about Seva?”
“Seva is not your responsibility.”
“I know. That’s why I have to make sure he’s okay.”
- Chapter 37 -
Velvet
The deepest depths of the Wan Chai district seemed the safest placed to be with the police combing the city looking out for their faces. You could hide in an area like this for months, even years, and sometimes a whole lifetime and plenty of men did. The girls gave up on Russell after he smiled politely and refused a second advance. They clustered around the bar, looking expectantly towards the door for more customers, but it was still too early in the day. An Asian man and a few American office workers were scattered around the bar watching the stripper slither around the pole in a fluorescent mini-skirt. Cohen stopped to buy a round of drinks for the girls as he walked back in from the street.
“Friendly?” said Russell.
“Very friendly,” replied Cohen.
“How much do you reckon?”
“I didn’t ask,” said Cohen, taking a sip of his coffee.
“You know it doesn’t seem as seedy out here. It’s all sort of, out in the open, if you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.”
“Did you speak to Morton?”
“Yeah, I managed to get him at home, but he was pretty jumpy. Gave me the number of a phone box and told me to call him back.”
A new girl came through the side door and made a beeline for their table. She hopped onto Russell’s lap and giggled, rubbing herself against him. He laughed nervously and managed to untangle her arms from around his neck, lightly ushering her off in the direction of another customer.
“Anyway,” continued Cohen. “Harper’s been in touch with him. He wants us to meet him, tonight, on the last ferry to Macau.”
“Did he say anything else?”
“No. That was it.”
The stripper came to the end of her act and stood naked for a few seconds on the stage, her arms outstretched and her palms facing upwards, accepting the sparse applause. She gathered her clothes and walked off through a curtain, immediately replaced by one of the girls from the bar.
“What did he say about the suspension,” asked Russell.
“It’s true. We’ve been relieved of duty.”
“Morton too?”