Classic Novel
Chapter 41
Ipaced back and forth in the living room, rehearsing my speech while I waited for her to come home.
When Mei-ling finally walked in the door, she beamed and made a beeline for me.
After we kissed, she pulled back and smiled. “Miss me?”
“Of course. Everything okay at De Sade?”
“Yes, everything’s fine.” She frowned the tiniest bit as she peered into my eyes. “Are you alright? You seem a little on edge.”
“I have something I need to ask you.”
“Uh-oh,” she joked. “This sounds serious.”
“Actually, it is serious. Do you mind if we sit?”
“Um… alright…” she said with a wary frown.
She put her purse on a table against the wall.
When we sat on the sofa, I angled my body to face her.
“I need to ask you something. You’re under no obligation to tell me, and if you don’t want to discuss it, I’ll understand – but I need to buy something, and you’re the only person I know in Hong Kong who might be able to help me get it.”
“What do you need?”
“The first thing I need is a gun.”
She stared at me in shock. “What?! Why?!”
“I have reason to believe I might not be safe here, and I need to make sure I can protect myself.”
“Why aren’t you safe?!”
“The man I’m doing business with has my family’s money tied up in an investment. I need it back, and I’ve asked for it repeatedly, but he keeps stalling me. I’m worried it’s because he’s working with an enemy of mine.”
She frowned. “Who are you doing business with?”
“You know Mr. Han? The man who was with me both nights I came to De Sade?”
“…I know him,” she said grimly.
“It’s his boss – a man named Lau.”
Mei-ling got a sick look on her face. “And you think Lau is working with an enemy of yours?”
“Yes.”
“Who? Somebody else in finance?”
I smiled grimly. “Not exactly.”
“Why would you need a gun?”
“Because I’m afraid my enemy might try to kill me.”
Her eyes went wide. “Who?!”
“My uncle.”
She looked astounded. “Your UNCLE wants to KILL you?!”
“I’ll explain, I promise – but first I need to know if you have contacts on the black market.”
Her face became a neutral mask. “You mean the kind of place where you could buy a gun?”
“Exactly.”
“Why would you think I know anybody like that?”
I tried to be as diplomatic as possible.
“I figure that De Sade operates in a grey area of what’s legal in Hong Kong… and as a result, you might know other people who do business in the same grey areas.”
“Buying a gun on the black market isn’t a grey area – it’s illegal.”
“Yes, I realize that – ”
“You could get 14 years in prison if the police found it on you.”
“I understand that, too. I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t think I was in serious danger.”
“I want to know why your uncle is trying to kill you.”
I sighed. “I never told you exactly what business my family is in.”
She stared at me in silence, waiting for me to continue.
“Have you heard of the Cosa Nostra?” I asked.
“The Italian mafia?”
“Yes. My family is part of the Cosa Nostra. We control the city of Florence and part of the area around it.”
I had expected Mei-ling might be afraid or that she might physically recoil from me.
However, I was not prepared for what happened next.
She leaped up from the sofa and stumbled backwards, her face full of horror. “GET OUT!”
I stood up in surprise. “Mei-ling – ”
“GET THE FUCK OUT!” she screamed hysterically.
“Mei-ling, we’re businessmen – we’re not murderers, or – ”
“I DON’T GIVE A FUCK WHAT YOU ARE! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY APARTMENT RIGHT NOW!”
“But – ”
“NOW, GODDAMMIT, OR I’M CALLING THE COPS!”
She was terrified, like she’d just found out I was a serial killer.
“Mei-ling, please – ”
She turned and ran for the table where she’d put her purse.
Thinking she was going for her cell phone, I stepped forward. “Wait – ”Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.
But she pulled out a pistol instead.
It was a Smith & Wesson .22 revolver. A small caliber gun, but more than enough to ruin my day.
I stopped short and stared at her in shock.
“Get the fuck out of my apartment, Roberto,” she hissed, her voice somewhere between terror and rage.
My shock gave way to slowly rising anger.
“Why would I ever think you had any contacts on the black market?” I said sarcastically.
“Get OUT.”
“You know,” I said, throwing her own words back in her face, “you could get 14 years in prison if the police found that on you.”
“GET OUT!” she screamed –
And cocked the hammer on the gun.
“Alright, I’m going,” I snapped. “At least let me get my things.”
“Hurry.”
I walked into the bedroom to get my jacket, tie, and wallet.
When I came back to the main room, she still had the gun pointed at me.
“Mei-ling, we need to talk,” I said calmly.
“We’re never talking again. Now GET THE FUCK OUT.”
I shook my head in bewilderment and anger, then walked out the front door.
The second it closed, I heard the deadbolt slam into place.