
going to lose the lunch he had so recently devoured, and doubted it would
taste any better when taking the reverse course.
Ah Fei had brought a couple of household kitchen cleavers with him, and gave
one to Yi Chung. It didn't look that much of a weapon, but could do horrendous
damage to anyone hit with it. Yi Chung held it too tightly, following Ah Fei
as they went up the grimy stairwell rather than taking the residents' lift.
Ah Fei peered out on to the fifth floor, then led Yi Chung along to a door. Yi
Chung's heart raced, though he wasn't sure whether it was the thrill of doing
something bad, or the terror of getting caught. He hyperventilated, twitching
the cleaver so he'd be ready to use it. He felt that would be good; that way,
Ah Fei would see he was one of the boys. As Ah Fei kicked the door open.Yi
Chung worked up a yell to scream at Wing to intimidate him.
Yi Chung's enthusiasm for the job evaporated the instant the door burst open.
The room was peaceful enough, but smelt like a mix of chem-ical lab and
abattoir. A chair and a couple of lamps and ornaments in the apartment had
been knocked over, but the fact that there was no blood didn't make Yi feel
any less queasy.
He'd seen places trashed before, and attended brutal fights and choppings, but
he had never smelt anything like that stench before. With the door open, it
was dissipating rapidly, but even after it was gone Yi Chung could still smell
it. It would haunt him for the rest of his life.
'What the hell?' Both men held their cleavers in shaking hands, moving
hesitantly through the flat. It was a familiar sort of place, the wallpaper
fashionable a decade ago. In the centre, a large patch of carpet was burnt,
and the low coffee table that straddled it had collapsed, its glass surface
blackened and bubbled. 'Wing?' Fei called hesitantly.
There was no answer. Nor was there anyone in the kitchen, bathroom or single
clothes-strewn bedroom.
'I don't like this,'Yi Chung told his friend.
Fei absently tapped the back of his cleaver against his other hand, not
looking any more sure of what to do next than Yi Chung felt. 'If he's not
here, we should wait&'
'I think he is here.'Yi Chung pointed to the burnt patch. Some pale, stick-
like fragments were mixed with the ash. A closer look showed a blackened
signet-ring on the edge of the scorched area. Only then did Yi Chung lose it
and run for the bathroom.
'Oh shit, man,' he could hear Fei say. 'Oh, I&'
Yi Chung was less coherent, but at least he could still stand. As he wiped his
mouth, he saw something glint under a towel rail. Against his better
judgement, he found his hand picking up the object. It was a slim metal box,
the size and shape of a large cigarette case, but the metal felt warm, and he
could see no joins or hinges. He didn't know anything about precious metals,
but knew enough about people to hope that if it had been hidden it might be
valuable. At least then he might get something towards the debt he owed Fei
and Lefty for initiating him into the gang.
In any case, the shock had got to his hands, which refused to open, and hung
on to the new acquisition like a security blanket.