‘Maybe now they will want out.’

Tammy didn’t answer at first. ‘I don’t think so, Boss. They are tough kids, scary tough. They don’t care about anything but money, MP3 players, watches. If anything, I think this death will bond them, strengthen their loyalty. These are just kids but kids see the cruelty of the world differently than we do. They frighten me. I think they will increase their members by this. It becomes more real, more exciting. They have no concept of death, of dying or being killed. They have no concept of the rest of their lives either. They feel no hope.’

‘Who’s doing most of the recruiting?’

‘Older girls. Sometimes from outside school. They wait for the kids when they come out. The one who is recruiting me is called Lilly Mendoza. She is in my year. She’s mixed race. Her mother is a singer in the hotels. They live in the Mansions.’

‘I know her mother – Michelle. I’ve known her since before Lilly was born. Try and find out more about who’s further up the ladder. We know they’re a breakaway branch of the Wo Shing Shing, we need to know a lot more. We need to know what their specific aims are, who their high-ranking officers are. Keep pushing, Tammy. The faster we find out what’s going on, the faster we can get you out.’

‘Yes, Boss.’ Tammy paused. ‘Boss…how much longer do you think I will have to stay undercover? I miss the real world. I miss seeing my boyfriend, seeing my parents.’

‘I hope it won’t be for much longer, Tammy. This was only meant as a short operation. I know it’s a hard one. You’re doing a good job. Not many officers would have had a hope in hell of infiltrating this group. You’ll be guaranteed a place in the Bureau after this. It will be great to work with you when you get out of this operation.’

‘If I get a place in the OCTB it will be worth it, sir.’ Tammy stood and picked up her bag. ‘I gotta go, Boss. Got my school uniform to change into. See you later.’

‘And Boss, I have a name for you for the new society: the Outcasts.’

Chapter 9

It was early evening when Ruby slipped in with the crowds and walked out onto Nathan Road. It was heaving. A new dump of rain had brought a sparkle to the air. The bamboo scaffolding was still dripping from the summer downpour. Ruby stepped out of the way of the drips and wove in and out of the crowds. She had heels on; she didn’t want to get her feet wet. She headed towards the harbour. She took a right and walked up the steep narrow road to the first of her destinations: the Walkabout, the Australian theme pub. Sometimes it was full of youngsters: young and rowdy with no wedding rings on their fingers. But at this time of the evening it offered a good deal for lonely businessmen who didn’t want to eat alone. They could watch the sport and eat a steak. The perfect place for her to start hunting.

Ruby walked in. She kept her head down as she walked to the far end of the bar and ordered a Coke from the young blond surfer type, his head a mass of springy curls. She took her drink and went to sit at a table in the corner. A cricket match was on. She made eye contact with a few of the older men. They were distracted by the match. Ruby drank her Coke and left. She didn’t have time to waste. Ruby was always in a hurry.

She walked back up the road and took a detour to check out The Western, a saloon-themed pub. Ruby peered through the window; Annie the patron was swinging her gun-toting hips down the empty bar. She moved on. She knew what she was looking for. Hong Kong had lonely businessmen arriving by the hundreds every few minutes. Ruby could afford to be fussy. Plenty of fish in the sea.

Ruby continued on Nathan Road to a four-star hotel right in the heart of Tsim Tsat Tsui. Vacation Villas was in a great location, right next to the metro in the heart of the business hub, Kowloon side, and it was always busy. Businessmen stayed from all over the world. It had seventeen floors, a business centre on top, a rooftop pool and a good gym. But the main reason the businessmen liked it was because it had a twenty-four-hour cocktail bar.

Ruby came into the hotel by the Nathan Road entrance, past the few shops there and walked straight to the lifts. It was just one floor to the cocktail bar. The bar itself was not one of the stark new types, it was dark enough so that you could be lost in the shadows, just part of the wood panelling and the heavy brocade curtains. It was a bar to be anonymous in. It was noisy, busy enough so there was never silence, with singers to stare at to occupy a frazzled mind. It suited lonely businessmen and cops.

Ruby looked around the bar. Here there were lots of opportunities for her. It was early but the place was already full of lonely businessmen sitting by themselves. Ruby didn’t risk going to the bar. The light was sharp at the bar, clear. It left her open to being recognized. She chose one of the tables at the edge of the bar. They were raised, two tall stools, perfect for showing off Ruby’s legs in her short skirt.

Her eyes focused on a sweet-looking man. She liked his blond curls. He had wire-rimmed glasses, an open-necked shirt. His broad forearms rested on the bar as he turned his phone over in his hands. He looked restless. Ruby turned in her seat so she could be sure he’d get a good look at her legs.

She stared hard. It took him a few minutes. Others looked at her but she ignored them. Her focus was on him. The thought of it sent a thrill through her stomach. It sent a pulse to her sex. It had a heartbeat of its own. It tightened in anticipation and felt warm and wet and plump with desire.

Fifteen minutes in she had done enough. He stood and walked over.

‘May I?’ He gestured to the stool next to her.

‘Please do.’

‘The name’s Steven.’

‘Hello Mr Steven.’

He laughed. ‘Steven’s my first name. Littlewood’s my family name. Friends call me Steve.’

Ruby lowered her eyes and smiled up through batting lashes. She glanced over his body. He was tall but not strong looking. She guessed he wasn’t a gym user. That was good. She guessed he weighed about one hundred-eighty pounds.

‘Hello Steve. We can be friends. My name is Ruby.’ Ruby turned to face him and looked up into his eyes, cocked her head to one side and said, ‘You have beautiful eyes – blue like the sea.’

He grinned stupidly as he leant forward and peered at her through his glasses. ‘They like what they see.’ He was slurring, embarrassed like a schoolboy at a village dance. He coughed to clear his throat and his head.

Ruby giggled as she smiled and slipped off the stool. ‘You hungry? I take you for something to eat and then we have fun. I have all night.’

He shrugged and nodded. He was starving. He hated eating on his own. ‘Yeah, sure.’

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out to see who had messaged him. It was his wife. He switched it off.

‘You ready?’ She smiled beguilingly at him.

‘Oh yes.’ He grinned inanely back at her.

‘Do you like Indian food?’ she asked as she led him through the lounge, down in the lift and out into Nathan Road.

‘Love it.’

‘I know the best Indian restaurant in Hong Kong. Very cheap too.’

He closed his eyes and put his hand on his heart. ‘I’d die for a good Indian right now.’

Ruby giggled. She put her hand over her mouth to try and hide it. He saw her and laughed with her.

She led him through the side entrance of the Mansions. She hurried him past the Indian supermarkets, porn sellers, Visa shops. She took his hand and led him up the stairs.

‘Christ, where are we going?’ He stopped and looked around him as they walked along a landing on the third floor that faced into the middle of the five tower blocks. ‘It looks like a prison.’ The opposite landing was so near you could almost have reached over and touched it.

‘This is the centre of the Mansions. This is the most famous place for Indian food. You will see.’