J.F. Kirwan - 88° North

Through ringing ears, she heard the motorbike’s engine, the driver braking, crunching through the gears. She crawled towards the white line, her final goal. She touched it. If she was killed here, bleeding, wounded, at least somebody might ask why a kill shot had been necessary. A seed of doubt before the investigation was closed. She imagined the headline. Russian assassin-bitch gets what she deserves .

Shoes skidded to a halt in the dirt. The men didn’t venture onto the road. Of course, three men chasing an unarmed, wounded woman would look suspicious. They’d either have to leave her, or kill the motorcyclist if he stopped. She heard the crackle of static followed by a low, urgent voice. One of the men was asking Blue Fan what to do.

The motorbike was slowing. She regretted it. An innocent passer-by was going to be killed.

The men stepped out into the road, fanning around her. She looked up into the glare of the headlamp, unable to see the rider, the motorbike’s engine humming calmly.

Three quick silenced shots. Tap-tap-tap. Three pairs of legs around her buckled as the men slumped to the ground. Neck shots, all of them, cutting the spine. A shot like that gave the soon-to-be-dead person a few seconds to get over the shock and make peace with their maker. Only one person she knew preferred this tricky target.

The Chef stuck the bike in first and drove closer, then leant over and scooped her up off the ground as if she weighed nothing. He swung her around behind him on the bike, and they sped off. She held on as best she could. Then she remembered the sniper. He’d not been able to get a fix on her or the Chef while they were under tree cover, but as soon as they took the corner, they’d have to slow down, and he’d take the shot. They approached the bend, and the Chef again braked down through the gears. She tried to shout Sniper! but she had no voice.

He braked further, and she guessed this was it. But the Chef didn’t take the turn. He ploughed straight into the forest. Despite being whipped by leaves and small branches, and nearly being knocked off several times, Nadia wished she could see Blue Fan’s face right now.

But she was losing blood, and the wound burned like hell. Each bump was like a screwdriver jabbing at her shoulder. She was growing cold, going into shock, unconsciousness not too far away. She buried her head into the Chef’s back, and listened to the rhythmic whine of the engine as he shifted through the gears. She slipped, caught herself, and he pulled up a ramp. The bike skidded to a halt, and she felt something like a belt tighten around her lower back, securing her to him.

They sped off again, into a tunnel, where the engine’s whine became a throaty drone reverberating off the tall arched walls, headlamps flashing past her, the Chef weaving in and out of traffic. She tried to stay awake. Even with the belt she could still fall off, or upset the bike and get them both killed. Suddenly they were out of the tunnel, and she saw banks of floodlights up above, which meant they were near Happy Valley stadium, not far from Wan Chai, Blue Fan’s territory. What was the Chef thinking?

Suddenly men and women in white coats were all around her. She was on a gurney. What had happened? She must have blacked out. Where was the Chef? Had she fallen off, caused an accident? She couldn’t remember, could barely feel anything. People in pale blue masks, smocks and hats were animated above her, the ceiling lights moving fast. They were running, shouting. A bespectacled face appeared, asked something urgently, she had no idea what. What would he need to know? Of course. Blood type. She told him, in English. He barked something to somebody she couldn’t see.

The gurney stopped. Rough hands grabbed her all at the same time, lifted her in a practised way, and her bare back met cold metal. Where were her clothes? What had happened? Was the Chef still alive?

And then she remembered the video. By now they’d have spliced it together, released it on the net. A clear scene of her smacking Hanbury in the face, then executing him. Jake would see it. Everyone would see it. She’d be on the most-wanted list everywhere. The first sniper bullet back at Hanbury’s apartment had been Russian. There was going to be hell to pay. The Brits and the Russians – those most obsessed with finding Salamander – would be at each other’s throats. A smokescreen, allowing Salamander to get on with whatever he was planning. The bastard was several steps ahead, as usual. But then she wondered. Why had he really taken Jake? She didn’t buy this ‘live by a code’ bullshit, not from him. He had something else in mind.

The bespectacled doctor held up a syringe, transparent liquid squirting out of its silver needle. No … no sedatives … need to stay awake … She tried to sit up, but firm hands held her fast to the metal, and a pricking in her upper arm told her it was too late. Her arm became desperately cold, as if her blood was being replaced by ice, then it spread to the rest of her body. It reached her head and her thoughts grew sluggish. In her mind’s eye she dropped into a pit of cloying, glutinous quicksand, Hanbury nearby. He was struggling, clawing at the air, almost submerged. She reached for him, screamed for him to take her hand, but he didn’t hear her, and then he was gone.

Chapter Six

Nadia swam with Jake in the crystal blue waters of Anspida. The water was warm and the sun beat down on her head, glistening off the tops of the wavelets, the white sand beach fringed by swaying palm trees just metres away.

‘Nadia,’ he said, his eyes deep ocean blue. She took a few strokes toward him. But he was drifting away.

‘Nadia,’ he said again, more insistently. She swam harder, faster, but she was dragged backwards. Someone else surfaced right in front of her. Blue Fan, who raised her arm and slapped Nadia hard across the cheek. ‘ Nadia! ’

Nadia jerked awake. Not Blue Fan. Jin Fe .

‘Finally. Get up. Dress. We need to leave. Now.’

Nadia tried to move, but her left shoulder felt like a stake was driven through it, nailing her to the bed. She took in her surroundings. A small room with a bed and a lopsided cupboard. A drip in her left arm, leading to a half-empty transparent plastic bag on a metal stand beside her.

‘Get up, lazy bones.’ Jin Fe said it with sincerity, perhaps thinking it was a way of chiding her, whereas it made Nadia smile.

‘Lazy bones?’ Nadia felt light-headed. Morphine?

Jin Fe’s brows locked together. ‘Get. Up. They are coming for you.’

Nadia tried to remember, and then everything flashed back to her. She tried to sit up, but couldn’t do it on her own. She hated relying on anyone, but …

‘Help me, Jin Fe.’

Jin Fe got her off the bed and onto unsteady feet.

‘Clothes?’ Nadia couldn’t walk around Hong Kong in a hospital gown.

Jin Fe grabbed a rumpled plastic bag, and began pulling out trashy dresses that would make Nadia look like a cheap prostitute. She picked the least tarty one and again had to enlist the girl’s help.

‘Thank you,’ Nadia said. Jin Fe didn’t seem to notice.

‘That man’s scary. He threatened me.’

The Chef. Good, he was alive. If she had any chance of finding Jake, she’d need him.

Nadia pointed to her feet. Jin Fe dipped into the bag and pulled out two bright red stiletto-heeled shoes.

You have got to be kidding …

Jin Fe produced a cheap blonde wig, and some large sunglasses. ‘Come on! No time, we need to leave now. They are coming!’

Nadia supposed it was a good cover, and tried on the wig. Her scalp began to itch. She donned the sunglasses and staggered into the brightly lit corridor. She hadn’t worn heels in years, and was weak from whatever patch-up work they’d done on her shoulder. She knew she must look like a drunken whore. A clock on the wall told her it was 8:15. Jin Fe was right, she had to get out of the hospital before her description was linked to the video, which was probably all over YouTube and the TV channels by now. At the end of the corridor, they waited for a lift. Nadia would have preferred the fire escape, but not in her condition, and not in those heels. As the lift doors opened, she flinched at seeing the four Hong Kong policemen inside. One of them looked her up and down, lingering, holding the doors open for her. He gave her a toothy smile.