'It will take me some time to gather such information, sir. It's past nine o'clock in the evening and the repair stations are on reduced crews-'
'But they can tell you if there's an area problem, goddamn it!'
'Please, sir, I am not paid to be abused.'
'Sorry, I'm sorry I... Address? Yes, the address! What's the address of the number I gave you?'
'It is unpublished, sir.'
'But you have it!'
'Actually, I do not, sir. The laws of confidentiality are most strict in Hong Kong. My screen shows only the word "unpublished".'
'I repeat! This really is a matter of life and death!'
'Then let me reach a hospital... Oh, sir, please wait. You were correct, sir. My screen now shows that the last three digits of the number you gave me are electronically crossing over into one another, so the repair station is attempting to correct the problem.'
'What's the geographical location?'
The prefix is "five", therefore it is on the island of Hong Kong.'
'Narrower! Whereabouts on the island?
'Digits on telephone numbers have nothing to do with specific streets or locations. I'm afraid I cannot help you any further, sir. Unless you care to give me your address so that I might send an ambulance.'
'My address .. .? said Jason bewildered, exhausted, on the edge of panic. 'No,' he continued. 'I don't think I'll do that.'
Edward Newington McAllister bent over the desk as the woman replaced the phone. She was visibly shaken, her Oriental face pale from the strain of the call. The undersecretary of state hung up a separate phone on the other side of the desk, a pencil in his right hand, an address on a notepad beneath him. 'You were absolutely wonderful,' he said, patting the woman's arm. 'We have it. We've got him. You kept him on long enough - longer than he would have permitted in the old days - the trace is confirmed. At least the building, and that's enough. A hotel.'
'He speaks very fine Chinese. The dialect is rather northern, but he adjusts to Guangzhou. He also did not trust me.'
'It doesn't matter. We'll put people around the hotel. Every entrance and exit. It's on a street called Shek Lung.'
'Below the Mongkok, in the Yau Ma Ti, actually,' said the woman interpreter. 'There's probably only one entrance, through which the garbage is taken every morning, no doubt.'
'I have to reach Havilland at the hospital. He shouldn't have gone there!'
'He appeared to be most anxious,' offered the interpreter.
'Last statements,' said McAllister, dialling. 'Vital information from a dying man. It's permitted.'
'I don't understand any of you.' The woman got up from the desk as the undersecretary moved around and sat in the chair. 'I can follow instructions, but I don't understand you.'
'Good Lord, I forgot. You have to leave now. What I'm discussing is highly classified... We're extremely appreciative and I can assure you you have our gratitude and I'm quite certain a bonus, but I'm afraid I must ask you to leave.' 'Gladly, sir,' said the interpreter. 'And you may forget the gratitude, but please include the bonus. I learned that much in Economics Eight at the University of Arizona.' The woman left.
'Emergency, police facilities!' McAllister fairly shouted into the phone. The ambassador please. It's urgent! No, no names are required, thank you, and bring him to a telephone where we can talk privately.' The undersecretary massaged his left temple, digging deeper and deeper into his scalp until Havilland got on the line.
'Yes, Edward?
'He called. It worked. We know where he is! A hotel in the Yau Ma Ti.'
'Surround it, but don't make any moves! Conklin has got to understand. If he smells what he thinks is rotten bait, he'll pull back. And if we don't have the wife, we don't have our assassin. For God's sake, don't blow this, Edward! Everything must be tight - and very, very delicate! Beyond- salvage could well be the next order of business.'
Those aren't words I'm used to, Mr Ambassador.'
There was a pause on the line; when Havilland spoke his voice was cold. 'Oh, yes they are, Edward. You protest too much, Conklin was right about that. You could have said no at the beginning, at Sangre de Cristo in Colorado. You could have walked away but you didn't, you couldn't. In some ways you're like me - without my accidental advantages, of course. We think and out-think; we take sustenance from our manipulations. We swell with pride with every progressive move in the human