"Mr. Wu I did not expect to see you again so soon," Angeline said while fidgeting his foot.
Thank God I wore low heels; my heels are killing me already. He thought.
"Sorry I had to take up your personal time. But I am afraid I have something to tell you first." Mr. Wu said in an accented tongue, which Angeline barely managed to make out.
"No really, it's alright. So go on."
"It's hard to find a local like you that speaks Chinese, and those who can speak Chinese aren't even half as fluent as you."
"Thank you." Angeline replied, clearly sounding pleased.
"So back to the topic, actually yesterday..."
He's holding back something. Angeline thought.
"I considered carefully and I may have to withdraw from the construction plan and terminate the entire project."
"Why?" Angeline slams his hand on the table, and seemed barley able to take in the surprise.
"Uh..." his eyes darted away, as if this was an interrogation. Sweat trickled down his cheek all the way to his chin. Mr. Wu was a professional business man, and seeing him crack under the pressure of his own words was perceived as odd from Angeline.
"Because the government was upset with my plans, and in the long run I think I am going to earn more criticism then profit. So after some careful thinking last night, I decided to end the project."
"But...wasn't living right by Stanley Park your will?"
"It was...but I am afraid that it is longer possible."
"Have you told the government that you are going to cancel your project?"
"I have not informed them yet, and that's why I am here, to consult you. Please I really don't know what to do..."
"Could you please tell me what exactly changed your mind?"
Mr. Wu didn't responded, after exchanging a silent a conversation; Angeline leaned forward and spoke in a hushed tone:
"Are you being threatened?"
"...yes." Mr. Wu finally said, like the last breath of a dying man.
"And when was this?"
"Yesterday evening..."
"Who is threatening you? And what was he threatening you with?"
"I am afraid I can't answer that...no I shouldn't drag you into this mess at all." Mr. Wu said as he began to get up.
"I am your head manager, and I have the responsibility to hear my client out."
"I admire your bravery, but this..." He paused in his tracks as he considered the right use of words, "May be unsuitable for a young lady like you."
"But you're my client!" Angeline spoke in a desperate voice. "And under the obligation of my contract, I am your head manager as long the contract it in its effective time."
"Then I am sorry to tell you, the contract is now defected. Now take this," he said as he took out a small leather brief case and sets it on the table.
"As a token to express my thanks for all what you done for me so far. And please stay away from my case, in fact leave it and never touch it again." He leaned forward and said with a voice so quiet only Angeline could hear:
"Inside the brief case is 100,000 US dollars. I know this is not enough to make up for the service you provided me, but please accept it for now." Mr. Wu bowed his head all of a sudden.
"No, I don't want the money. I just wanted to help..."
"I can understand your feelings, but lady you are still young and talented. I am sure there are many more opportunities out there waiting for you. You don't want to end up like me, if the government sniffing your tail all the time. So as my last and final request, please just let my case be."
"...I understand. Mr. Wu I daresay you are the most diligent business men I have ever met. And it's been a pleasure working with you."
"Same to you, Young lady." He offered his hand; Angeline took it and gave it a firm shake. Then he exited out onto the streets and wore a wet poodle smile so sad, it could make anyone feel bad upon looking at it. Angeline eyes followed him to the streets until he was out of sight. The store was quiet again.
"Pretend that never happened." Angeline took out a hundred dollar bill from his purse and slid it onto the counter. The shopkeeper eyed the money suspiciously for a moment, and then the money vanished from the counter in a blink of an eye.
"The usual please, and could you turn the television on?" he asked.
A moment later a stove cooked double shot vanilla espresso served in an antique cup came hovering on the table in a silver tray. He cast the coffee a slight glance before returning his attention to the mini TV positioned in far corner of the room.
"Another body has been discovered this morning at approximately 7:35am in Indian Park North Van. Police are still investigating the issue, and there is a high chance that this murder was linked to the previous ones and was done by the same serial killer, Reaper. Though more evidence and facts are surfacing, the police says it only a matter of time before they will bring this 'Reaper' to justice. Bella Parks reporting."
His eyes stayed glued to the screen, even after the report was over. Unable to absorb or piece together the mental jig-saw of the crime, He felt as if his mind was a wet sponge that has reached its limit. It wasn't until a car commercial popped up that he noticed his espresso had already gone lukewarm. He took a small sip and just held there, letting the taste sink in. Despite being neglected from the touch of his lips for long minutes, the coffee did not lose its premium taste, and there was still a sense of freshness hidden in its aroma. He set down the cup gently, and grabbed the petit silver spoon on the side and began to stir the coffee evenly. Life was at harmony that moment, no more clients, no more contracts, no more work...for a while at least. Life is like cup of coffee, enjoy it while you can.
***
It was a chilly night, but inside of the River Rock Casino there was an atmosphere of warmth and temptation. Combined with the haughty looks she has been getting every now and then. She sat silently on the couch with her legs crossed as she dwindled her foot up and down in an impatient rhythm.
After about half an hour of waiting, a man from the reception came up to her and asked "Excuse me ma'am, are you Ms. Watson?"
"What happens if I tell you I am?" she replied in a smooth voice.
"Then I must tell you, you look splendid this evening."
"Thank you." She replied as she stared at her own outfit for a moment; A single piece pink dress that was covered in an excessive amount of shiny plastic diamonds; A classy looking fox fur coat; sparkly blue shade, and tall red dress heels; tall black dress heels. Her long silky blonde hair was tied up and partially covered her face; her eyes were green like snakes, sharp and ready to strike at anything.
"Are my chips ready?" She turned and asked the receptor.
"Yes ma'am."
"Show me." she said, getting up from the couch. Then she followed the receptor all the way to the VIP lounge located on the 2nd floor.
"Madam I wish you have a wonderful evening. And may lady fortune be with you." the man bowed as he held the door open for me.
"Thank you, now take this and enjoy the rest of your evening too." she pressed a 100$ bill to his chest and walked straight into the lounge without turning back again.
"My girl Angeline!" shouted one of the men from the table.
"You must have me confused with someone else. I'm Lexis, Lexis Watson."
"Watson? What kind of name is that?" he raised both his hands like a scale and looked around the table with a questioning look "Who am I kidding? Come have a seat babe." the man patted the seat next to him.
"Dawg," she said, drifting calmly towards him. "You still owe me 3 million from last time." she said calmly taking the seat right next to him.
"Relax babe, give me one more week. There's a big one coming up this week. And I swear I will pay you back with the interest." Dawg lowered his shades and looked her in the eye.
"You said the same thing half a year ago."
"Give the Dawg a break will yea?" he chuckled then turned away, Dawg was obviously a nickname, his real name was unknown for security measures. Dawg was an African American in his mid 30's; he wore a dark killer business suit, but where the neck tie should have been was instead a large golden key chain that says: DAWG. He also had dark dress shoes made from crocodile skin, and gold rings wrapped around his every finger.
"So who's the 'big one' this time?" she said without looking at him.
"Some rich Asian guy." Dawg held out his cigarette and immediately one of his girls lilted it up for him.
"What's his name?"
"Shit, I don't know how to pronounce his name, but I heard he's one of the Dragons."
Dragons, that's what generally people call them. They are the top of the top Asian business men in the world, with their names constantly being decorated on the international headlines. They are entrupanuers, descendants of great families, giants of stock marketing...etc. They are like dragons from the ancient era, they were mystic and powerful. They have wealth beyond a normal person could ever dream of, and influence far beyond anyone's imagination.
"I suggest you let it go." She snapped.
"You serious babe? You think I will let go a chance like this?"
"Can we just start the game?" Lexis tapped her foot impatiently.
"Honey I was just waiting for you to say that." Dawg said, flashing a smile full of teeth at me. "Henry my man! You mind being the dealer?"
The game was Texas hold 'em; 10 players; official rules; no pot limit. Henry grumbled a complaint, but everyone pretended they didn't hear it. After Henry shuffled the deck several times, then laid cards face down on the table. And allowed each one of us to pick two cards (Dawg was the first to pick and by going clockwise, Henry was the last to pick); Henry was seated left to Dawg, which will make Dawg the small binding and me the big binding.
"I feel like lady fortune is on my side today. Ten grand!" Dawg nudges her with his elbow briefly, then slams down ten 1000$ chips into the center of the table.
As the big binding she had to at least bet twice the amount, but to show confidence she raised the bet to 50,000$.
"Fifty grand." Lexis said, her voice crisp and clear.
The worries lines of the player after me was visible as day and Henry looked he was ready to gulp down an entire chicken. No one dared to increase the bet, by the end of the betting round the total house pot was half a million and still going.
"My man Henry, It's your turn." Dawg flashed a grin across the entire table.
Henry muttered a curse out loudly, and folded his card. By the end of the flop, Dawg and Lexis are the only ones who were making the calls.
Then they game proceeded onto The Turn.
"50,000. There." Dawg said, piling another 50 grand into the pot.
"A hundred grand." she said, raising the bet.
"Ho!" Dawg let out a breath as he reclined back in his chair. "Lady Fortune is on a payroll eh?" Dawg added a hundred grand to the pot.
"Another hundred grand please." Dawg added to the pot.
"Two hundred grand." she raised.
"HOOOO!" Dawg let out a howl as began to rub his hand, as if he expected fairy dust to come out of it.
"You sound like you've been in bed with lady fortune last night!" Dawg flashed her a grin. Now it was the next turn, The River. The five community cards were 2 jacks, 2 ace and one 3. The air felt solid, as everyone in the room held their breaths and embraced for the Showdown.
Dawg was the first to flip over.
"Full house baby!" 3 aces and a pair of 3's, but Dawg just completely lost it; he threw his hands up then stood up and celebrated like no tomorrow. The rest of people in room just sat and watched, while Lexis remained the most impassive of all. When it was her turn to flip, a sly smile appeared on her lips as she flipped over her cards.
"I am sorry. Four of a kind." 4 aces and single 2. Eerie silence, Dawg stopped dancing at once, then plummeted to the ground like a puddle of water.
"WHY! Why did you do this to me lady fortune! FML!" Dawg cried out, and began to throw a tantrum against the ground like a 3 year old. It wasn't a pretty scene, embarrassing even for the viewers. But they all knew, The Game must go on, it must.
***
Angeline won a total of 3 million that night, but he choose to only take his one million, and puts the other 2 million on Dawg's account as a 'you owe me'. Angeline brought home the money in cash that very night. Dawg offered to take him home in his truck, and the money was disguised inside a hollowed out piano. With the help of couple's of Dawg's men, they managed to maneuver the piano into Angeline's Condo with great difficulty. Once the piano was inside Dawg and his men began to take their leave. Once making sure they were all gone, Angeline fell back onto couch and found himself dying for sleep.
To clear up the confusion of where he got the 1 million dollars in the first place, here's a brief summary: There first instruction in the e-mail was: lay off everyone on the Mr. Wu apartment construction case, that includes lawyers, real estates, even his Feng Shui master, and me as his head manager. The 2nd instruction was: Bring 1 million dollars to the casino and leave it there for a middle man to convert into chips. Once reinsured, the middle man will bring the chips to the designated table, with all the chips entitled under my name. And the moment Angeline took out the money from the casino, including the winning, was no longer 'dirty money', it became 'clean money'. And once he has covert all my winnings into cash, the money becomes untraceable, therefore making it completely legal. And during the whole process if one of the requirements was not met, or the deal was somehow violated, he would threaten to reveal his scandals to the public, and get away as far as possible.
They have many names, swindlers, scammers, conmen, 'bad people'...etc. But they like to call themselves predators; we hunt, we feast, and we die. The world is our hunting grounds and nature treats prey and predator alike. Either must do whatever it takes to survive and that has been the law of nature, since before mankind. It has never been broken and it never will be.