“Ten to one says you’re craving lots of chocolate right now.”

“Laura! For your information, I am not having my period.”

“Sorry. Actually it’s me who wouldn’t mind a chocolate bar right now.”

“Yeah? Come to think of it, that would be good. I deserve one. I’ve been working out lately, have I told you that?”

Laura smiled.

Jack sat at a corner table with Giang and negotiated the purchase.

“Tonight,” said Giang. “You come back here at nine o’clock.”

“Tonight? Here? Not likely!”

“Why? I show you the stuff and you can go get the money.”

Jack shook his head and said, “Someone already tried to rip me here. This is your turf and I’ve never done business with you before.”

“How do you want to do it?”

Jack chuckled and said, “Well, I live out in Surrey, but you probably don’t want to go out there either. Maybe some other ...”

“No, you want Surrey,” said Giang quickly. “That’s fine with me.”

Jack feigned surprise and said, “Okay, good. Except not tonight. I want it light out, so I can see. I’m willing to meet you in an alley somewhere. You come alone in a car and I’ll walk up and meet you. I don’t care if you have a piece. You can point it right at me. Once I see the dope, give me a minute to grab the cash from where I’ll have stashed it and then we’re done.”

“That’s okay with me,” replied Giang. “I was in Surrey a long time ago. Played pool someplace. I think the name of the place was Billiard Bill’s.”

“I’ve seen that place,” replied Jack. “It’s on the second floor of some building.”

Giang nodded.

“How about the alley behind it at noon?” suggested Jack.

Giang forced himself not to smile. He nodded and shook hands with Jack.

“One more thing,” said Jack. “Because I don’t really know you yet, I want it done in two trips.”

“Two trips?”

“Yeah, just to be on the safe side. I want to buy half a kilo from you and make sure everything is okay. If it is, in ten minutes or so, I return with the rest of the money for the other half.”

Giang smiled and said, “That’s okay. It is good to be careful.”

“He’s out,” crackled the radio as Jack left Lucky Lucy’s.

Laura grabbed the microphone and replied, “Copy that.”

“Just getting in his wheels,” the voice continued. “Gave me the thumbs up.”

“Good,” replied Laura. “See you back at I-HIT.”

An hour later, Jack met with all the investigators and gave a debriefing.

“It went well,” he said. “Giang wants to do it at noon tomorrow. He picked a place out in Surrey. It’s ...”

“The Orient Pleasure?” said Connie.

“Close,” replied Jack. “A block away in an alley behind a pool hall. He will come alone in his car and I’ll approach on foot. He is willing to let me examine the kilo before seeing the money. I think I’ll just take the money with me. He won’t be expecting me to have it. We’ll do the deal on the spot and it’s finished.”

“Would be nice to follow him and see what he does with the money,” said one of the narcs.

“No,” said Jack. “He is really paranoid. This isn’t just a dope deal. It’s a murder investigation. I don’t want to take any chances on blowing this. If Giang gets wise, I’ll never meet Dúc.”

“You’re the guy sticking your neck out,” said Randy. “It’s your call on that.”

“If it goes as planned,” said Jack, “You’ll see me stash the dope in the trunk of my car. Then we all meet back here.”

“How long before you make contact again?” asked the narc.

“Give him a week to cool down let him think I’m putting the stuff out. I don’t want to do anything that would make him suspicious.”

“That will work out,” said Connie. “You’re taking off to ’Nam on Monday. By the time you come back, it will be just right.”

“I want the Russians,” said Jack. “They’re the ones ultimately behind all this. With any luck, you’ll identify the pervert before we even come back. With evidence on the Russians, we’ll be able to take down the whole damned lot!” At twelve-thirty Sunday afternoon, Jack walked toward the red GTO as it pulled up and parked in the alley behind Billiard Bill’s. He approached the driver’s side and Giang wound down the window.

“Half an hour late,” commented Jack.

Giang shrugged, his right hand holding a pistol that rested on his lap. “Accident on the Port Mann Bridge. Down to one lane,” he said.

Giang reached under his seat with his other hand and passed Jack a white plastic bag. “Take a look,” he said. “Two baggies. Each half a key, just like you wanted.”

Jack peered in the plastic bag and saw two clear bags of sparkling white powder. “This better not be baking soda,” he said.

Giang grinned and said, “No, go ahead. Test it if you want.”

Jack shook his head and said, “It looks good.”

“Then go get the bread,” said Giang.

Jack smiled and opened his jacket to reveal a paper bag shoved in the inside pocket of his coat. “Got half of it right here,” he said, passing the bag to Giang.

Giang smiled as he looked inside at the money. “Thought you were going to stash it until you saw the coke?”

“If you were setting me up for a rip, you would think I didn’t have it on me. You’d also bullshit and say you wanted me to go get the money before showing me any coke.”

Giang nodded and said, “You know this business.”

“I like staying above ground,” replied Jack, as he removed one of the clear plastic bags and put it inside his jacket pocket. He gave the rest of the cocaine back to Giang and said, “Now, give me about ten minutes or so, and I’ll come back with the rest.”

A minute later, Jack put the half kilo of cocaine in the trunk of his car before giving the thumbs-up sign for the surveillance team to meet him back at the I-HIT office.

It was a quarter to one when Jack walked inside the Orient Pleasure and approached Dúc, who was behind the counter.

“Hey, you!” said Jack. “Where is Giang?”

“He’s not here. Who are you?” asked Dúc.

“You obviously work for him,” said Jack. “Tell him I’ve changed my mind. I want to purchase two girls for my parlour in Alberta now. Not just one.”

“What are you talking about?” demanded Dúc.

“I bought the one from him ... what’s her name? Jade? Now I want ... oh, never mind,” he said, glancing at his watch. “He told me to meet him in the alley behind Billiard Bill’s. I was just hoping to catch him before he left. I’ll tell him myself.”

Jack left the premises as Dúc hurried to the rooms at the rear.

“Where is Jade?” screamed Dúc, at the young woman in the room next to where Jade worked.

“She left an hour ago. She said Giang was going to buy her lunch.”

Jack stood in the alley and paid Giang for the second half of the cocaine. He was about to make some idle conversation, but the sound of voices and running feet coming down a stairwell told him it was time to leave.

chapter twenty-four

Jack walked into the I-HIT office and placed the two bags of cocaine on top of a desk.

“Mind if I sit here to write my notes?” he asked Connie.

“No, go ahead,” she replied, glancing at her watch. “What took you so long? Stop for gas on the way back? We were getting worried.”

“No, sorry,” replied Jack. “I just took the long way. Wanted to make sure I wasn’t being followed.”

“Everything go okay?” asked Laura.

Jack gestured to the kilo on the desk and said, “Smooth as silk. Giang trusts me now. I don’t think it will be a problem to get him to introduce me to Dúc.”

“Yeah,” replied Connie. “Then figure out how the hell you bring up the subject of Hang without making him suspicious.”

“I’ll think of something,” replied Jack. “Now, please give me an hour or two of peace while I make my notes.”