Hong Kong

O

Melissa searched the database for the van's license plate. It didn't exist. It was a fake plate.

She was a young cop playing James Bond and it could go bad.... She had already seen two faces. One very important one. The old man's. The beautiful woman. They were not innocent people...

Melissa was going out for her Monday morning shift. She bumped into the policewoman from Saturday night...

-- I don't know if you're a policewoman supposedly infiltrating crime or a criminal infiltrating the police," Melissa greeted.

-- Hey, girl. Learn to wipe your boogers first and then talk to me. I've been doing this for twelve years and you're not going to teach me my job.

-- They put me in a van, drove me up north and an old man in a Maybach came up to me and invited me to dinner.

-- In a Maybach?. Inviting you to dinner?. I tell him to set me up in an apartment and we live together.

-- He said that what happened at Kowlong's hospital can be solved in one place.

-- Well, what the hell do I have to do with that?

-- I think the guys you're watching have a lot to do with it...

-- Do you want to go around in civilian clothes for a while, not waste time vegetating in a downpour and drive a Nissan sports car?

Melissa remained silent. Finally she asked.

--Are you going to corrupt me?

The woman laughed. She started to walk away.

-- I knew it... Keep your scooter. And mind your own business.

Melissa stood still. Finally she ran through the cops after the other one.

-- I accept. I'm in. I want to get to the bottom of this.

-- Go to hell," the other one told her, getting into a Bmw grand coupe.

-- Go in a Bmw... Go in a Bmw..." Melissa whispered stupefied...

VII

The city is awash with illegal substances... There has been no unusual movement either at sea or at the airports. Many young people have died. We must stop this..." cried the press, TV, independent journalists.

The police were stunned. They asked for help from international agencies and mainland police.

It was a matter of triads... Someone had broken the status quo.

VIII

-- They are diamonds from Liberia, emeralds from Brazil, gold from Venezuela," said the section chief of one of the triad franchises.

Hang Hing accepted with satisfaction. The wagon train slowly passed through the gate.

-- You know what? How about if we put our processor here... We'd be undetectable..." the man proposed.

-- I need to eliminate a nuisance," said Hang Hing.

-- Nothing easier," said the man. They both laughed for a moment and slapped their hands together.

-- I'm going to need several things.

-- Done," said the man, walking behind the last cart through the gate.

Hang Hing watched as the portal remained stationary.