Frank Schätzing - Limit

‘How would they? My car was incinerated in Quyu.’

‘But they’ll be able to identify it.’ Tu pursed his lips. ‘And besides, Siping Lu has security cameras. Which means they’ll have recordings of all of you meeting up, of Yoyo and Daxiong going into the building, of how that – that—’

‘Kenny.’

‘—Kenny guy herded the two of you in front of him—’

‘Not just us,’ said Jericho. ‘Think about it. You were just as easily visible, in your state of heavenly wrath. And who is it who works in your company to finance her studies?’

‘Yoyo, the girl who just can’t keep her mouth shut,’ snorted Yoyo.

‘Yes, my dear, you really do have a sparkling reputation,’ commented Tu, scratching his bald head. With his new glasses on, he looked almost civilised. ‘So what are we going to tell them? That Yoyo happened to overhear Kenny, completely by chance, while—’

‘Forget it,’ Yoyo interrupted him. ‘You want me to tell the police that I’m in possession of secret information? With my record? If that arsehole is from the government I might as well lock myself up and throw away the key. Or better still, just shoot myself!’

‘I don’t think the police are in on this,’ said Jericho.

‘Yes, but you don’t know what might happen if they get their hands on me.’

‘Hold on a second.’ Tu was shaking his head energetically. ‘Let’s be realistic. We’re assuming the Shanghai police force has the same powers of deduction as a quantum computer. They’re not going to put all the pieces together that quickly.’

‘Well, either way, we still need to notify them,’ said Jericho.

‘But perhaps not straight away.’

‘Yes, straight away . If someone trashes your apartment and you don’t report it, that looks odd. Not to mention that Yoyo, Daxiong and I turned up just beforehand, and that I have a flying machine just like Kenny’s.’

‘Okay fine, then how about this: someone holds up a motorcycle club in Quyu and causes a bloodbath. He has accomplices, all of them on flying machines. What they don’t realise is that Yoyo had a family friend visiting, Owen, and he ends up creating a hell of a problem for them, right? Both Yoyo and Owen get hold of one of the airbikes and are able to flee. Not long after, Yoyo receives a call from Hong-bing, telling her that someone’s trying to break into his apartment.’

‘No way!’ Yoyo shook her head. ‘You don’t call your daughter if someone’s trying to break into your place.’

‘Fine, then—’

‘I know. Kenny threatened to kill all the members of your family,’ Jericho suggested. ‘So you call your father. He doesn’t answer, so you go to see him, enlisting the help of Hongbing’s best friend, Tian.’

‘And we have no idea what the guys want?’ asked Yoyo sceptically. ‘You expect them to believe that?’

‘That’s the plan.’

‘God, what a cock and bull story.’

‘The most important thing is to keep you out of it,’ said Tu. ‘No dissident background, no Guardians.’ He gave Yoyo a reproachful look. ‘On that note, you could have told me you were all hanging out in a blast furnace. I only knew about the Andromeda.’

‘I’m sorry. You weren’t supposed to get dragged that far into it.’

‘How do you figure that out? I provided the infrastructure for you and your troop of pests. You can’t get much deeper involved than that.’ Tu sighed. ‘But fine. Point two on the agenda. What do we tell Hongbing?’

Yoyo hesitated. ‘The same story?’

‘ What? ’ barked Jericho.

‘Well, I just thought—’

‘You want to have your father believing this was all the act of some nut job?’ Suddenly he was furious with her. He pictured Hongbing, filled with all that sorrow. And now they wanted to pull the wool over his eyes yet again?

‘Owen.’ Yoyo raised her hand. ‘It’s great, everything you’ve done for us, but this really has nothing to do with you.’

‘Your father deserves an explanation!’

‘I’m not sure if he really wants one.’

‘Exactly. You’re not sure . My God, he was taken hostage, held at gunpoint, his daughter was threatened, his apartment destroyed. You have to tell him the truth! Anything else is pure cowardice.’

‘Stay out of it!’

‘Yoyo,’ said Tu softly but firmly, as if commanding a dog to come to heel.

‘What?’ she snapped. ‘What is it? It has nothing to do with him! You said yourself that it would be a mistake to burden my father with it.’

‘The circumstances have changed. Owen’s right.’

‘Oh yes, I forgot.’ Yoyo contorted her face mockingly. ‘He’s a family friend now.’

‘No. He’s just right – pure and simple.’

‘But why? What does Owen know about my father?’

‘Well, what do you know about him?’ asked Jericho, antagonised.

Yoyo glared at him. Clearly he’d hit a sore spot.

‘Hongbing is embittered, set in his ways, introverted,’ said Tu. ‘But I know him! I’m waiting for the day when he’ll break out of that bitter shell, and I don’t know whether I should long for it or dread it. He’s had to spend years of his life feeling utterly, terribly helpless. Up until now there was no reason to rub his nose in the fact that you’re China’s most-wanted dissident, but that just changed. After this morning he knows full bloody well that you have some explaining to do.’

Yoyo shook her head unhappily.

‘He’ll hate me.’

‘He’s more likely to hate me for having helped you, but I don’t genuinely believe that either. You can’t carry on lying to him, Yoyo. For him, the worst possible thing would be you not confiding in him. You’d be taking away his—’ Tu seemed to be struggling to find the words, ‘his purpose as a father.’

‘His purpose as a father?’ echoed Yoyo, as if she’d misheard.

‘Yes. Everybody needs to feel significant in some way or another. Hongbing tried to do something too, a long time ago, and he was punished for it. His purpose was taken away from him.’

‘And now he’s punishing me.’

‘Punishing you is the last thing he wants to do.’

Yoyo stared at him.

‘But he’s never spoken to me about his life, Tian! Never! He’s never confided in me! And you don’t think that’s a punishment? In what way have I been significant to him? Okay, he worries about me from morning to night, and I’m sure he’d rather lock me in out of sheer worry, but what’s the point? What does he want from me if he won’t even talk to me?’

‘He’s ashamed,’ said Tu softly.

‘Of what? I’m the one suffering. I have a – a zombie for a father!’

‘You can’t talk like that.’

‘Can’t I? What about him explaining something to me for a change?’

‘He’ll probably have to,’ nodded Tu.

‘Oh, great! When?’

‘It’s your turn first.’

‘Why me again ?’ exploded Yoyo. ‘Why not him?’

‘Because you’re the one in a position to reach out to him.’

‘Don’t come to me with your emotional guilt trip,’ she shouted. ‘My friends are dead, and my father was nearly killed too. I’m the one who’s had the most to deal with here.’

‘We’ve all had a lot to deal with,’ Jericho interrupted. He had heard enough. ‘So solve your problems, but solve them somewhere else. Tian, when do you think my computer will be here?’

‘In a few minutes,’ said Tian, grateful for the change of subject.

‘Good. I’ll get to work on the Swiss films again. Can I use your office?’

‘Of course.’ Tu hesitated, then shrugged his shoulders submissively. ‘So I’ll notify the police then. Agreed?’