Kiss and Die

Chapter 117

Mann ran at the dummy and let fly his shuriken. Six gleaming stars spun through the air, and missed.

‘Fuck. I’m going to have to practise. It’s not so easy when you’ve only got four and a half fingers and you can’t feel three of them.’

Mia, Daniel Lu and Shrimp were standing on the rooftop with him at sunrise. They scattered Ng’s ashes to the morning breeze. Tom Sheng’s body was buried in a family plot. Mia hadn’t been allowed to attend the funeral; she was just the mistress.

‘What are we going to do with the monkey?’ asked Mia. ‘It’s not meant to live on ice cream and takeaways. Ng liked things to be what they were meant to be.’

The mention of Ng’s name sat heavily in the air.

‘You two are going to have to take some time off. Shrimp, we have to count ourselves lucky you’re still here.’ Mia smiled at Shrimp.

He nodded his head but he didn’t smile or answer. Mann looked at him and he understood that this would change Shrimp forever. The pink flush of dawn was on his pale face. He would carry with him scars on his heart that would cut deeper than any knife could.

‘We can’t get to Victoria Chan now,’ said Mia.

‘She’ll be back. She’ll be wanting to take over as the Dragon Head of the Wo Shing Shing,’ Mann answered. He went to stand by the edge. He looked out at the morning blossom-coloured sky.

‘What about your father’s affairs? What about the Mansions?’ asked Daniel.

‘I am giving it to the people who deserve it. I am turning it over to the people who live there. They can own a part of it. They can also be responsible for it. They will have their own community police inside it, made up of all the nationalities. They can meet regularly, sort out differences. The refurb can go ahead but just floor by floor. Michelle will have a restaurant. PJ can have a secure tenancy with the Delhi Grill. I am giving everything else away. It might take me a while but I intend to do it somehow. It will never bring me happiness. Then I am taking Shrimp away somewhere to heal his soul and mine.’

Mann could hear the black-eared eagle kite calling. It flew near the edge now. It watched them as it always did.

When they’d all left him, Mann stayed on the roof. He took out his phone.

‘Alfie? Tell Jake I’m coming. Tell him his brother wants to see him. Tell him I miss him.’

He stood on the parapet. Mann looked back at the horizon. He looked down on the eagle, the blush of the first rays of sun touching its back. He looked out on the Hong Kong he loved. He picked up the last handful of Ng’s ashes and let them seep through his fist like powder. They flew off in a swirl.

‘Goodbye, my friend. See you on the other side. The way is not in the sky. The way is in your heart.’