a ship we brought for you. It’s down on the docks.”
Sunny Hi nodded almost absentmindedly, his eyes still gazing on the tiny bowl of sugar. He was getting mistier by the second.
“Your present means a lot to me,” he said, in near perfect English. “Only true friends would think of giving this to me.”
He bowed again—and Nolan was more confused than ever.
Finally Sunny Hi said, “Would you like to see him? My son?”
They could only say yes.
The pirate indicated they should come over to the bed. He drew back a blanket and revealed not an infant, but a young boy. He was at least five years old, maybe older. But it was obvious he had health issues. His arms and legs were moving, but not in any coordinated fashion; they seemed disconnected from one another. His skin, too, looked unhealthy, pale and weak. He was wearing a soft plastic helmet to protect his skull.
More shocking, though, the boy’s left eye was glazed over and apparently blind, and he had a small scar running across his neck, the result of some childhood operation.
The boy looked up at them with a kind of confused, blank expression, as if he could see them, but just didn’t know what to do about it.
Then he started to cry—which made Nolan and Twitch very nervous.
But Sunny Hi immediately took a pinch of sugar from the bowl and put it to the child’s lips—and suddenly, the boy went from crying to smiling, and then to gurgling, more as an infant would.
“Sha tang,” Sunny Hi said, looking down at his son. “That’s his nickname—Sugar. Because it’s the only thing I can give him to make him know that I love him.”
Nolan’s knees got shaky. He looked over at Twitch, and wasn’t surprised to see him wiping his eyes. The last thing they expected was this.
Working the sugar with his tongue, the child turned away from his father, looked directly at Nolan—and started laughing. He held his hands out as if he wanted Nolan to pick him up.
Nolan froze—he wanted nothing to do with this.
But Sunny Hi was beaming. “He never wants anyone to hold him,” he said. “He doesn’t speak, and neither do you. His eye doesn’t work, and neither does yours. His neck, his skin. He must see you as a kindred spirit. So … please?”
Awkward didn’t come close to describing the next few minutes. Nolan picked the boy up and held him in his arms and the kid became extremely animated, laughing and touching Nolan’s bruised and swollen face.
Sunny Hi was astonished—and so was Twitch.
“I waited for him all my life,” the pirate boss said softly. “I built this house for him. Not everything works out as you’ve planned, though. But I’ve never seen him laugh like this. This birthday is a very special day for me—and him.”
Nolan eventually put the boy back down on the bed. Sunny Hi gave him one more fingertip of sugar, and the boy went right off to sleep, a smile on his face.
Sunny Hi then looked at Nolan and said, “You have given me a gift worth more than all the sugar in the world.
“Now, I must repay you.”
15
SUNNY HI LED them out of the nursery and into a large, well-appointed office one room over.
The office was something a Wall Street executive would love. Clean desk, a battery of computer terminals, more artwork.
Again, not very piratelike.
Sunny Hi checked his watch. It was exactly midnight—after the long, strange trip, Nolan and Twitch had made it here right on time.
Sunny Hi then made a cell phone call and had a quick, hushed conversation. This done, he went to a wardrobe in the corner of the office and took out a full-length black leather coat, a small, tight-fitting black beret, and a pair of enormous wraparound sunglasses. He put on the coat and the beret and adjusted the dark glasses just so. In those few seconds, he went from caring family man to some dark and dangerous character.
He noticed Nolan and Twitch’s reaction to his transformation.
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “My job is all about image. But no matter what I look like—you two will be my friends forever.”
He led them to a hidden door in the far corner of the office, next to the computer terminals. On the other side of the door was an elevator. Three enormous bodyguards were already on board, waiting.
Sunny Hi stepped on; Nolan and Twitch followed. One bodyguard pushed a button and the elevator started going down.