Anthony Horowitz - Necropolis

“That was quite a trick,” Richard muttered through clenched teeth.

Jamie said nothing. He rested a hand briefly on Matt’s shoulder. He was glad that it hadn’t been him.

They followed Shan-tung back down the corridor and into a study that also overlooked the garden. It was an austere room with a large desk, a few shelves of books and little else. His whole manner had changed. He was still in command, a man who was used to being obeyed instantly, but he was being a little quieter about it. Had he really expected Matt to climb the sword ladder? He seemed shaken by what he had seen.

He took out a map and laid it on his desk. Matt glanced at his watch, wondering how long this would take. It was already ten o’clock.

“The Old Ones may control the city,” Shan-tung said. “But if they have underestimated the size and extent of the Triads, then they have made a fatal mistake. I have a thousand foot-soldiers that I can place at your service. If called to do so, they will not hesitate to lay down their lives for you. That is our way. The man who commands them is called Lohan. His rank is 438 which we also call Incense Master. He will meet you when you arrive in Hong Kong.”

“How do we know we can trust him?” Richard growled.

“Very simply, Mr Cole. He is my eldest son. You will recognize him because his face is scarred.” Shan-tung drew a line with his finger, starting on his left cheek and crossing his mouth. “A man was sent to kill me with a jian, a Chinese sword. Lohan got in his way. If it were not for him, I would be dead. This is where you will meet…”

His finger stabbed down on the map, at a point close to the waterside.

“I have a legitimate business delivering fireworks to Kowloon. There is a warehouse next to the Salisbury Road and it is there you will be taken. Scarlett was also there before she was captured. You don’t need to worry. The location is still secure.

“We are trying to discover where Scarlett is being held prisoner but so far we’ve had no luck. It is possible that she is here…” He pointed again, this time to a street on the other side of the water. “This is The Nail. It is in Queen Street and it is the headquarters of the Nightrise Corporation. If the girl is there, Lohan will lead an assault on the building. You will be with him.

“The Tai Shan Temple with the door that you were seeking is also in Queen Street.” He pointed to a crossroads close to a patch of green with what might be a lake in the middle. “You would be wise not to go there as it is almost certainly being watched. But once you have the girl, the rules will change. It is less than a quarter of a mile away, close to Hong Kong Park. Lohan will help you enter the compound. He will kill anyone who gets in your way. You will enter the temple and the door will take you wherever you want to go.”

“But what if Scarlett isn’t at The Nail?” Richard asked.

“Then you will have to search for her. Perhaps her father will be able to help you.” The finger slid across the page. “Paul Adams has returned to Wisdom Court, the apartment block where he lives. It is here, on Harcourt Road. Be warned. He was with her when she was captured and may have had a hand in what took place. We can’t trust him. Even so, he may know where she is.”

“And you think he’ll tell?”

“We will make him tell us.” Han Shan-tung muttered the words casually but there was something about the way he spoke that made the skin crawl.

He seemed to have finished. Matt was exhausted. He was looking forward to getting to bed. But then Han Shan-tung went over to the desk and took a mobile phone out of one of the drawers. He handed it to Richard. “You can use this to contact me at any time of the day or night,” he explained. “The speed dial is already set. Just press one and it will connect you directly.”

“So when are we leaving?” Jamie asked.

Shan-tung turned and looked at him. There was no expression on his face. “The boat is already waiting for you,” he said. “You must enter Hong Kong under cover of darkness. You leave tonight.”

The boat was tied up at Porto Exterior, the outer port of Macau. Han Shan-tung had said a brief goodbye in the hallway of his home and now Matt, Jamie and Richard were being driven across the city through half-empty streets. It was raining again and the pavements, black and glistening, had been deserted by the crowds, many of them sheltering in the casinos, throwing their money after dice and cards in the artificial glare of the chandeliers.

They were all tired. Jamie was half asleep, his head resting on the window, his long hair falling across his face. Richard was sitting next to him. Matt could tell that he was angry – with Shan-tung for arranging the ordeal of the sword ladder and with himself for allowing it. Matt was in the front, beside the driver. The speed of events had taken him by surprise. He had only just arrived in Macau and already he was leaving. He thought about what might lie ahead of him in Hong Kong and wondered if he was doing the right thing. It was obvious now that the whole place was a trap, set up by the Old Ones. And yet, he was walking straight into it.

But they wouldn’t be expecting him… not like this. That was what he told himself. And there was no other way. He couldn’t leave Scarlett on her own any longer. It had already been too long. It was his responsibility to find her and bring her out. He was a Gatekeeper. It was time to take control.

The ferry terminal was ahead but they didn’t drive into it. Instead, the driver took them down a narrow road that led to the water’s edge and stopped. They got out, bracing themselves against the cold night air.

For a moment, Matt and Richard found themselves standing next to each other. “Do you really think we should trust these people?” the journalist muttered, putting into words what he had been thinking all along. “They’re Triads. Do you know what that means? Drugs and guns. Gambling. Prostitution. They’ll chop up anyone who gets in their way – including you and me. Between them and the Old Ones, I wouldn’t have said there was a lot to choose.”

A few hours ago, Matt might have agreed. But he remembered how Han Shan-tung had looked at the statue of Scarlett, or Lin Mo as he preferred to call her. “I think they’re on our side,” he said.

“Maybe.” Richard reached out for Matt’s injured hand and turned it over. There was a dark stain seeping through the bandage. “But he still shouldn’t have done that to you.”

“I did it to myself,” Matt said. “I wasn’t concentrating.”

Jamie came over to them. “I think he wants us to go with him,” he said, glancing at the driver. He yawned. “I just hope this boat has got a decent bed.”

There wasn’t much to the port: a stretch of white concrete, a couple of gantries and arc lamps spreading a hard, electric glow that only made everything look more unwelcoming. Once again the rain had eased off but a thin drizzle hung in the air. The driver led them over to a boat, moored along the quayside. This was going to take them across.

It was an old, hard-working cargo boat with just two decks. The lower of them had a cargo hold that was open to the elements and looking into it, Matt saw that it was filled with wooden crates, each one marked with a name that had been stencilled in black letters: KUNG HING TAO The cabin was on the upper deck. It was shaped like a greenhouse and not much bigger, with windows all the way round. There were two radio masts jutting into the air, a radar dish and a funnel that was already belching black smoke. The boat was completely ringed with car tyres to stop it colliding with the quay and this, along with the flaking paint and patches of rust, made it look as if it had been rescued from a junkyard. Matt just hoped the sea would be calm.