chapter 169

word count:  1437

the florescent bulbs hummed back to life,, as steve shingle flipped the switch and stepped out onto the tarp, to make sure his hit had done the job.. he kicked at manny's body,, and even tho there was no signs of life,, he put another one at close range right between his eyes.. just to be sure.. then very calmly,, as if he did this kind of thing every day,, he kicked the tarp over mannys robust figure and hit the intercom.. 

“can i get a cleaner down here?”

almost instantaneously he heard two sets of heavy footsteps making their way down the steps that led to the basement garage. as the door opened and nick, ‘salami’ solumbrino, and lenny  ‘the puck’ moskowitz, entered the garage to do the cleanup (one of the most shameful tasks that had fallen to them after that total cluster fuck with the schoolboys and their cooking oil),, steve gave them the nod,, closed the door behind him,, and ascended the stairs.. 

he entered what they commonly referred to as the ‘mud room’ where he was carefully given the once over,, patted down, disarmed and sent on his way to the sitting room where he was to await the call from the big guy inviting into his inner sanctum.. 

the door buzzed,, and steve was on his feet.. the door buzzed again,, only this time a little longer,, to allow him time to turn the handle and slide in behind the 10 foot high solid mahogany door.. 

the big guy was settled in behind his sprawling mahogany desk, chewing on one of his best cuban cigars.. “cigar?’ he offered.. 

“no thanks boss,, i do however really appreciate the offer.”

“come closer..” mr big instructed him,, motioning for him to take one of the bomber jacket leather, studded, wing chairs directly across from his perch behind the enormous desk.. 

“i appreciate your willingness to take care of that little matter for me before we had this little talk..” mr. big said as he took his time lighting his cigar and blowing carefully configured smoke rings into the air.. “it’s a damn shame when a guy finds himself surrounded by a bunch of numb nuts,, and has to call in a favor from a friend to get a job done, and done right..”

“always happy to help a friend.” steve said emotionlessly as he took a seat facing the big guy and awaited his permission to discuss the business at hand.. 

“word on the street, stevo, is that you have made a new friend.. possibly an important friend.. one that could be of much use to us in the future.. that is if things are handled properly..”  the big guy exhaled a smooth cloud of smoke,, that had steve had had a weaker constitution would have had him gasping for air.. 

“tell me a little something about this new friend of yours…”

***

mr. yoo walked the crowded streets of chinatown alone, head held high.. he was a well-respected member of the chinese community.. he owned a prosperous jewelry store and was looked up to as a man of great honor.. he bowed graciously to little known passerby’s that bowed to him with reverence.. he shook hands with shop keepers and street people alike.. 

finally he came to the door of small family owned chinese restaurant,, known only to the chinese locals.. it served traditional chinese dishes prepared as if they had come from one’s own mothers kitchen,, not the popular americanized chinese so many had reverted to in effort to attract the many wealthy american tourists.. 

no one in china town would ever have suspected that such a revered member of their own society would have had any ties with the international underworld.. no one that is,, accept mr. tsung the proprietor of the small dark eatery that served only the finest traditional chinese specialties..  as mr. yoo entered the establishment he was met with much praise,, everyone bowing,, or vying to shake his hand.. 

after having exchanged pleasantries, he took his usual table quite near the noisy kitchen so that conversations were less likely to be over heard.. one of the waiters ran quickly to the basement office of mr. tsung,, at advise him of mr. yoo’s unexpected presence.. 

as the wait staff fawned over him,, bringing him a fresh pot of tea and a sampling of the days special dish,, mr. yoo simply smiled and graciously acknowledged each courtesy..  he was growing quickly impatient,, but maintained a pleasantly contented appearance.. 

soon mr. tsung appeared from the recesses of the kitchen,, approached mr. yoo,, bowed respectfully and sat down across the table from him, that is, when mr. yoo directed him to do so..  mr. tsungs presence was a signal to the wait staff that they were not to be bothered.. that included seating no one in the general vicinity of their table together.. 

once secure in the fact that they were going to be left alone,, mr. yoo wasted no time getting directly to the heart of the matter.. 

“我碰見了深不可測的價值的一些東西。我在找一個好地被取得資格的買主方面將要求你的協助

(i have come across something of unfathomable value. i will require your assistance in finding a well-qualified buyer.)

我會被尊敬協助你。如何願我有服務     

 ( i would be honored to assist you. how may i be of service? )

  將對你是必要的聯絡 triad，最特別地在團結的王國做生意的那些。我相信我們從他們將取得我們的最大的價值

(it will be necessary for you to contact the triad,(the chinese underground) most specifically those that do business in the united kingdom. i believe we will get our greatest value from them.)

   

將是我的榮譽要這樣做

(it would be my honor to do so.)

with at mr. tsung raised his hand, thus signaling those in his employ that it was time to bring the specially prepared food to the table..  in a moment a virtual feast was laid out before them.. the two men laughed and cajoled each other which was the chinese custom among honored friends..  today was indeed a day for rejoicing,, and mr. yoo was only too happy to have his respected friend and only confidant, with which to share it.. 

mr. yoo’s daughter tiffany was american born,, and although she had never given her father any reason to question her adherence to the traditional chinese family values,, she had a bit of a secret life,, which up until now she had been thoroughly successful in hiding from her family,, most importantly her father.. 

as was her duty when her father left to an undisclosed location,, (and she knew he would be gone well beyond closing) when the time came to close up the shop she expertly locked the doors and secured the iron bared door over the entrance.. she then proceeded to stow away all the precious gems, in the safe,, lock all the cases,, and see to it that the safe was double checked to make sure it was securely locked.. 

the hour was late,, and tiffany knew,, that as was her custom, her mother would be long asleep at this hour. she was equally as certain that her father would be late in returning to the family home,, as whenever he set off on a lone mission,, he tended to celebrate well into the night.. 

as soon as she had secured the iron security door in the well illuminated alleyway exit from the jewelry shop she got in her car. securely locked the door,, started the engine and placed a call to a gentleman friend of hers.. a gentleman friend her family would never have approved of.. a gentleman friend that should her father ever catch wind of her association with him,, would most certainly result in her gentleman friends permanent disappearance.. 

but young tiffany yoo had a taste for danger,, and the fact that she knew this illicit liaison could very possibly end in death,, made it all that much more intriguing.. 

“shingle.” steve barked into his cell..

“shingle make me tingle…” was tiffany’s whimsical schoolgirl response. as well as her signal to him,, that she had a couple of hours for which she would not have to account..

“baby…”  steve moaned into the phone,, his man parts already on high alert..