Tang heard the door open and a silver of light filtered in from the hall, Rami's footsteps were heavy as he approached the bed where Tang had been sleeping.
"Time to wake up," he growled.
Tang tested his arm. For a while it had throbbed too much for him to go to sleep. Now it was numb in places, and where there was any feeling at all, it was a burning sensation. He sat on the edge of the bed trying to clear his head. From where he sat, he could see Shu Li, still asleep on a straw mat on the floor across the room. He had dreamed of what he would do with her had he not been encumbered by the pain in his arm.
"Come on, boy, chop chop. Get the lead out of yo' ass. The truck is waitin'. Rami here's got work to do."
Tang stood up. He was weak. The bandage was soaked through with blood again, and his vision was blurry.
Rami nudged Shu Li with his shoe. "On your feet, sugar. You and your boyfriend are hittin' the street."
"What about the patrols?" Tang managed to ask.
"I been doin' my route for the last two hours. Ain't seen 'em. While you been sleepin', I been doin' my homework."
Rami led them down a narrow hall, through a door, and out onto the roof of the adjacent building. There were few lights. The Ghengdi district was sleeping; the streets were deserted except for a handful of peasants with pushcarts scurrying up from the Haikou docks with fish and produce.
Shu Li began to shiver. Rami couldn't tell whether she was afraid or cold. He suspected both. "Wherewhere are you taking us?" she finally asked.
"Your boyfriend here wants me to take you and him to the Haikou Tower," Rami said with a grin. He had big, white, wide-spaced teeth, and a smile that revealed fleshy gums. "'Course, I expect he ain't thinkin' about yo' safety. He's probably already figured out what he gonna do with you when he gets you in that room."
Tang jerked Shu Li by the arm and she stumbled. When she fell, Tang ordered her to get up.
"But what about the ticketsthe airportleaving Haikou?" Shu Li asked.
Rami laughed. "While you was sleepin', sugar, your boyfriend here swapped your papers for gettin' your sweet ass to the Haikou. That's as far as you go."
Rami led them down two flights of stairs, down another hall, and out into a narrow alley where a delivery truck waited.
"Get in the back and keep your head down. When you hear me slap twice on the side of the truck, you'll be as close to the Tower as I think I can get you. From there you're on your own."
"What about the checkpoints?" Tang said.
"I've already checked it out. None of the checkpoints on our route are Quan's men. They're all locals. They know me. I've been runnin' this route for the last four years. They'll wave us through."
Tang crawled in, but Rami held Shu Li back. "What are you doing with her?" Tang protested.
"Pigeon here rides up front with me. Call it a little something extra for all the grief you put me through." Rami slammed the cargo door and shoved Shu Li toward the cab of the truck.
Tang felt the truck lurch and begin to move. In the darkness, he groped his way through a tangle of boxes and cartons to brace himself at the front of the truck. As Rami eased out of the alley onto the side street and gained speed, Tang shivered. The pain in his arm was mounting; Gosling's sedative had worn completely off.
Tang felt the truck roll to another stop. But this one was different. Rami had not used his horn. He had slowed and obviously turned into another alley as he shifted down. The motor was still running, but Tang heard the cab door open and then slam shut again. He heard Shu Li's protest and then the signal, the distinct sound of Rami's huge hand pounding on the side panel of the truck. When the door opened Rami was glowering up at him.
"This is as far as we go. We got us a small change in plans, though. You ain't goin' back to the Tower; I got you as far as the Chanko district. I got friends in Chanko. Them friends and me, we made a little trade. In return for gettin' you on a freighter sailin' out of here for Singapore, they get the papers and I get sweet-ass. Your toy stays with me. I got use for her."
Tang was flustered. He blinked, trying to adjust to the light. Without the Barkai and with only one good arm, he was at Rami's mercy.
"As soon as I introduce you to my friends," Rami declared, "you're on your own."
Tang got out of the truck, and Rami pushed him ahead toward a truck and a man standing beside it.
Suddenly the doors of the truck swung open and three men armed with machine guns opened fire.
Shu Li screamed and turned away. When the shooting ceased, she looked back again. Tang Ro Ji's twisted body was lying in a pool of blood. A thin trickle of ugly crimson fluid was creeping toward the sewer hatch.
Rami tightened his grip on her arm as the man who had been standing beside the truck emerged from the alley's half-light.
He walked over to Tang Ro Ji and used his foot to roll the body over. Tang's eyes were still open, but there was no life in them. His mouth, likewise, was open, but there was no sound.
Quan turned toward Rami and lit a cigarette. When he exhaled, a thin veil of smoke momentarily obscured his face. By the time it cleared, Rami realized he was smiling.
"The people salute you, Comrade," Quan said. "You have rendered them a great service."
"Fuck the people," Rami growled. "A deal's a deal. This boy here was broke. You had the breadhe didn't. Rami always goes for the bread."
Quan stiffened. He stared back at the giant with the unpleasant smile, reached inside his tunic pocket, and handed him an envelope.
Rami snatched it out of his hand and backed away, still clutching Shu Li's arm. He opened the envelope and began to count.
"What about Mr. Tang's accomplice?" Quan asked. "Where are you taking her?"
"Does it matter?" Rami said.
"Perhaps an arrangement. We could return her to you after our interrogation."
"The way I figure it, by the time you got through with her, there wouldn't be a hell of a lot left for me. No, Colonel, you bought the boyfriend, you didn't buy her. She goes with me." Rami shoved his hand in his pocket and continued to back away. "Oh, and one more thing, Colonel, don't try to stop us. You're in Chanko nownot Danjia. These rotgut alleys are my territory. I've got friendsand believe me, Quan, they're all around you. If you or any of your men in that truck back there move before you hear my truck pull away, they'll cut your skinny ass to ribbons right where you stand."
Pushing Shu Li ahead of him, Rami backed into the shadows and disappeared.
Quan stood motionless until he heard Rami pull away. When Yew leaped from the bed of the truck, Quan held up his hand. "Wait, Lieutenant," he said. "We have what I want. Our friend Rami will only complicate matters."
The streets of Haikou were still dark, and Shu Li was frightened. Rami had been winding through the city's backstreets for what seemed like an eternity. In all of that time, he had not spoken. Finally, he pulled the delivery truck to a stop on a side street and looked at her.
"Where are we?" Shu Li asked. She was surprised at the strength in her voice.
Somehow Rami seemed different. Now there was no smile. In the shadows she could barely make out his features. He reached over and grabbed her wrist. There was great power in his massive hands, but when he spoke his voice seemed somehow less confident, less certain. "At this point, pigeon, you're what's known as excess baggage. This is where you get out."
Shu Li knew better than to hesitate. She reached for the door, but his grip tightened.
"Somewhere back in the States, I got a daughter. I ain't seen her in years, but I figure she must be about your age now. I owe her, but there ain't no way I can pay her. I don't even know where she is." He hesitated, as if he wanted to say more. Then he said, "Forget what you saw tonight. I don't know how you got involved in all thisand I don't want to know. All I want is twenty-four hours. Then you can sing like a fuckin' bird to anyone who wants to listen. By that time, I'll be long gone. That's the deal. You buyin' it?"