Kiss and Die

Chapter 54

Mann stormed past CK’s shrieking PA. He grabbed Victoria by the arm as she sprang out of her chair and tried to get away. He pushed her across the room.

‘Is this what you’re all about? Is this what you want me to be a part of? You pleased with yourself? A young woman lies seriously wounded in the hospital. Do you want another death on your hands?’

Victoria backed away. ‘I did not order the attack on your officer.’ But her eyes were shining triumphant; they told him that she had known he would come. He was still a piece on her chess board.

‘You sick bitch…’

She backed up until she could go no further. ‘You want someone to blame, look in the mirror. I warned you.’ She flinched as he pushed her again and she knocked into an Andy Warhol original. It juddered against the wall.

‘She is worth a million of you – you power hungry, mercenary, twisted…’

He watched her eyes flick to something behind him. He turned to face the two same bodyguards from the Oceans bar. Mann reached inside his jacket and took out a set of six two-inch-diameter stars. He sent them out in an arc and they spun through the air and cut into the face and arms of the two square-set guards. One of them pulled his gun. Mann unleashed Delilah, her cord attached. She struck the bodyguard’s hand before he had time to aim. The gun fell to the floor, his forefinger still attached. He shrieked in pain and clutched his bleeding hand. Delilah recoiled back into Mann’s hand and he held it to Victoria’s throat.

‘It’s all right, leave us,’ she hissed.

The bodyguard reached down to pick up his gun and retrieve his finger.

‘Leave it.’ Mann glared at him. The bodyguards shuffled out. The PA hovered. ‘Get out,’ shouted Mann, ‘before I cut your fucking head off.’

‘Leave,’ Victoria rasped.

She turned to him when they were alone and he released his hold, took Delilah away from her throat. ‘You ought to learn some manners if we are going to work together.’

‘The only thing I am interested in doing is watching you die. Slowly. You disgust me.’

‘It is your fault the young policewoman got injured. If she dies, it will be blood on your hands. I merely passed on the information that she was an officer in the Hong Kong police. The Outcasts have their own rules.’

Mann relaxed his grip on her and threw her down into her chair. She landed awkwardly with a muffled scream; her tight dress rose up over her thighs.

She smiled up at him as she turned her chair to face him. ‘I told you I would play dirty. I warned you when we met. You did not listen. This is my time to get what I want. I didn’t suffer all those years of living with a bully like Chan for nothing and I will stop at nothing to get what I want. And there is so much more to come. The wheels are set in motion. But you can change everything. You can stand in the road and stop it from happening. Only you have the power. I want you to take it.’

She reached down to the hem of her dress and eased it slowly back down over her legs. ‘You have a bad temper, Inspector. You should learn to step back from your feelings. I could teach you.’ She brushed her hair back from her face. ‘I could share many things with you.’

‘You did all this to set me up? You knew all about Operation Schoolyard?’

‘Knew? Not exactly. Let me just say, I knew enough. This is Hong Kong. I have the power and the wealth to buy most things. I have friends in high places. Don’t think you have any secrets from me, Inspector.’

Mann shook his head, nothing made sense; all he knew was that he had let Tammy down.

Victoria smiled at him, malice in her eyes. She could see his pain, his doubt. ‘You think your world is safe. You think you can trust those nearest to you? Think again. You have a traitor for a friend. I knew just enough to use the information. It is not my fault she got injured, it is yours. I told you to listen to me. I told you I had the power to pick up your world and smash it down over your head and all those you care about. I can destroy you, Mann, never doubt it. But I don’t want to. I want us to be friends. How long do you think you’ll be allowed to stay on in the police force when you are clearly such a risk to your fellow officers?’

‘You low life. I find you repulsive. You are an evil bitch. If you were the last woman on earth I wouldn’t have you.’

Mann saw her face tighten, her mouth twitch. He saw her weakness. She didn’t like to be turned down. He grinned. ‘Be assured: I’ll be watching every step you take from now on. You want a war. You got it.’ Mann walked out, picking up the bodyguard’s finger as he went.