*

Pleasure boats of Harbour were a special show.

Big liners, sparkling with bright colors were made for the delight and luxury. The upper dock was the private entrance. The captain met imposing guests for whom there were private staterooms by crazy prices even for rich people. Although, Mr. Brenner could wear soiled, stained with grease trousers he has never indulged in top luxury. The captain with English appearance was smiling in every possible ways and even tried to take Gerhard’s suitcase by himself but the last aggressively refused.

- Hello, sir, we hope you will like our ship, the lieutenant will accompany you. Brenner gave this lieutenant a crumbled fifty dollars note, lied on the double bed and went out upstairs. There was a mini golf on the upper deck , a waterfall, an observation deck the floor of which was also an aquarium with multicolored fish. Gerhard screw up his eyes looking at incredible view of the gulf, twisted a false steering wheel and got his hand into his suitcase for the camera.

An amazing landscape made him just shooting, shooting and shooting. A professional who gave the cinema a half of his life, felt like an enthusiastic boy here. Brenner asked his neighbour to shoot him against the shore background.

He didn’t know that his accidental neighbour was a famous Ari Pick. Gerhard couldn’t recognize him anyway. Hasia-Butcher had many images he was able to use perfectly with immediate changes of mimic, timbre, walk and a face expression.

*

Hong Kong is a system of two hundred sixty small isles which became the part of British Colonial Imperia by the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. The former colony is comparable with Manhattan with many skyscrapers. Luxurious cottages are along the peninsula slopes and usual clerks live in fifty stores houses, decorated with gold lions. The price of such apartment is so high that it’s indecently to call it aloud.

Mr. Brenner understood a lot of simple words in Mandarin language but his attempts to understand something in Cantonese, the local dialect with the peculiarity of comprehension of seven intonations, were unsuccessful.

At last Gerhard with the triumphal look observed that fantastic gulf, found a free table in the far corner, took out his notebook from his suitcase and delved deeply into his work.

The numbers Mr. Brenner summed up were hundred millions dollars: columns, diagrams, graphics, histograms with many pictures, photos. He could work and he loved it. His new folder was collected just a year ago and it promised fabulous sums. That’s why the best agents as Ari Pick from Mossad or Durmus Ekidge from the BND followed him. A couple of CIA agents, aggressive segun, a Japanese military intelligence agent from the Eastern department Shina-Ka and of course a group of Chinese men from different ways as the KJV “The Office of the Political Security” or an exotic secret service “The Manage to destroy the traitors” who became winning the half of world spy games for the last seven years.

Of course, the rivals annoyed Gerhard a lot. But Brenner had understood long ago that he had to find the ally or allies otherwise his facilities would be exhausted soon. That’s why he fixed the meeting to his close rival in the restaurant next to the Business Center with the image of seagull not far from the dock. At that time, his thoughts were interrupted by the boat’s parting hooting. A multicolored crowd from the lower decks started to the dock and Gerhard hurried to the Convention Centre, smiled the captain insincerely.

He went up to the top of the Business Center with the view on harbor where he booked the table in the Heuriger, in the Vienna’s “Congress restaurant”.

*

The Englishman came to a minute. He smiled widely, looked over carelessly the bright near-empty luxurious hall. Unlike Mr. Brenner who, softly speaking, looked like a man from the rubbish heap, Kevin Edwards with typical English appearance was a gentleman. He was tall, was wearing rich sparkling brown shoes, white perfect trousers, a double-breasted brown jacket which was sew by the special order, a dazzlingly white shirt with a bright tie and watches by Basel which cost two hundred pounds sterling. A graduating student of the London imperial college in the royal region between Kensington and Westminster defended at histology specialty and got the bachelor's degree. Means allowed him to find time for sport. Three times that year he disappeared for a week, making a paraglider, in winter he was snowboarding and in spring he was surfing at Sri Lanka. A good sportsman Edward was a bachelor, at his thirty-four he liked life and women. Edward’s parents wanted him to enter the department of law but he began to be obstinate and appeared some palliative variant. He didn’t find himself anywhere during the first two years of studying at university only just in a rugby team. Such good luminaries of the royal college as professor Mark Peppis, a Nobel laureate professor Ian Fleming and a professor Vasso Episkopou hardly remembered that typical middling person.

Probably, he would finish his articles at internal muscles and would become a good applied doctor. At five o’clock sharply, he would start drink in the company of his friends in pubs such as “The Little Driver”, “The Alexandra” or “Duke of Wellington”. Sometimes the chance is incredible.

Mr. Brenner stood up from the table. Gentlemen shook each other’s hands.

- This talk wouldn’t take place if you don’t work by yourself.

- There are two teams and a Chinese man with me. Who went to Moscow?

- These are my people.

- Are you sure? They had German faces. Gerhard got excited. He drank sadly a full glass of wine Heuriger, which is a rarity abroad the Austria.

There was a long pause. Kevin slowly drank a couple of ounces of Scotland whisky.

- We are ready to stop stepping on each other. It’s just a question of price.

Gerhard always worrying started speaking slowly.

- We have the only source. But it’s cheaper in our region and we can get the Chinese man out of the way.

- That’s your problem, - Kevin suddenly stammered then having lowered his gaze said aloofly, slowly and calmly, - but we speak about different sums and another price.

If there isn’t grey thick coat on Brenner’s cheeks he would have become crimson. He has been drinking the second wine glass for a long time. His eyes revolving like mad behind thick glasses. But when the third glass was drank with some mumbling, Kevin quickly gave Gerhard a napkin with the written number, nodded as an esquire or a sea officer and took his leave.

For eternity, Mr. Brenner has been drinking the second bottle of his favourite Heuriger and eating up the salad of the sea delicacy of the Yellow sea. He was keeping the napkin in his hand and paying for the supper without unclasping his hand. Just at the exit he stared at the scribbled number. With pale face, Gerhard bit off the piece of the napkin with the number, chewed it and ate.

*

- Wow! – cried Colonel. A mountain black night was tearing rare white columns of the crazy road it was creaking by its potholes and by the brakes squeal. In usual life, Dux, tight by dozens fetters was seized by excitement of the chase, taste of danger and speed. A couple of headlight sparkled in the rear mirror. Colonel made a steep turn with a slope and the road went up twisting as a snake. He understood that new jeeps to the old military UAZ of the reconnaissance party were following him. But that night he seemed to be lucky. The warrant officer has been explaining for a long time that all foreign jeeps are unadapted and our UAZ not only adapted but also strengthen. However, ten minutes later two jeeps started overtaking him. One can see cars contours in raising fog.

- Stop, - Dux swore.

At the first turn he made a favourite somersault with the turn. The first car started turning left when the oncoming Colonel’s vehicle zipped along it at a high speed. The old jeep’s fate was at stake for a couple of seconds. It instinctively started turning right trying to avoid a head-on collision but the tangent stroke cut his left back trimming. The driver tried to turn left but it was Dux’s trap. If the driver had been more experienced and skillfully the jeep would have turned a couple of times and would have stayed on the road. But the driver kept the jeep and it rushed to the left turn where by the measurement accuracy collapsed into the abyss.