the same. He said Lok is really amused that your brother is actually trying to negotiate and seems willing to pay.”
Ava plucked a fish ball from the pot. “I have to get him out of there.”
Uncle grimaced. “I knew you would say that.”
“What choice do I have?”
“I spoke to Andy when he got back. He told me about the house.”
Ava gazed into the spicy pot just as a large, plump oyster bobbed to the surface. She offered it to Uncle. “Thank you,” he said as she put it on his plate.
“The house is difficult,” she said.
“Andy thought it was nearly impossible.”
“You can’t get over the walls unless you parachute in. They’re too high, and the way they’ve strung the electric wire makes it almost suicidal to try.”
“He was as impressed with the gate.”
“Well, again, we can’t go over it, but maybe we can go through it.”
“This is getting overcooked,” he said, dipping into the pots with a strainer and putting the food on a separate plate.
“It’s stainless steel and it’s what the manufacturer calls ‘anti-ram,’” Ava said. “But when I talked to them, they weren’t so sure that a truck — a big one, obviously, and loaded with something heavy — couldn’t force its way through.”
“Not so sure? That is not exactly an endorsement.”
“I have the gate’s specifications. I need time to look at them and to talk to someone who can calculate the probability.”
“Ava, I have to tell you that I hate to hear you talking like this. It is not like you to be so . . . uncertain.”
She drained her wine. “I’ll have another, please,” she said.
Uncle finished his beer and held his bottle in the air. Within a minute, a fresh glass of wine and another bottle of beer were on the table.
“Actually, I’m even more concerned about something other than the gate.”
“What is that?”
“The police.”
“How so?”
“The alarm system is hooked directly to the police station. Lok evidently has had them on his payroll for years. The alarm goes off, the police show up. And fast. And believe me, the alarm will go off. So even if we can ram our way through the gate, I figure we’ve only got about ten minutes to neutralize Lok and Wu and somewhere between five and eight other men, find Simon, and get the hell out of there.”
“Ava, that is not enough time.”
She put a sliver of beef onto the bean curd, rolled them together and dipped them in her sauce. “The food here is always so good. My appetite is starting to return.”
“I wish your common sense would.”
“Is there any way, you think, that I could take the police out of the equation?”
“Can you find a way to bypass the alarm system?”
“No. The moment we enter the house, or maybe even the property, the alarm is going to sound and the cops will know we’re there.”
He looked at the food left on the cart. “I think I want some shrimp. Will you share?”
“Sure.”
As he ordered, she could see he was distracted. She knew she was upsetting him, and she began to wonder again if his age was starting to erode his confidence. “You obviously have something in mind when it comes to the police,” he said.
“I could buy them off.”
“And just who would you talk to?” he said sharply.
She shrugged.
“Exactly — you do not know who his connection is. And let me tell you, it is more complex there than it used to be. They created the Macau Security Force in the late 1990s, combining different departments. There is still a Public Security Police Directorate, but you do not know who might make the decision. Even if you have a million Hong Kong dollars to spend, or two million, or three million, you need to find and speak to the right person. One miscommunication and Lok knows everything.
“Then let us suppose you find the right man and you make the offer. What is to stop him from going to Lok anyway? Actually, what is to stop him from cutting a deal with you, taking your money, or part of it, and then betraying you? You could walk into the house, find Lok waiting for you with his small army, and have the police waiting around the corner to finish you off.”
“I know it isn’t a perfect idea.”
“Not perfect? Ava, I have not heard you say anything so silly to me in years.”
The owner arrived with a plate of head-on shrimp. Uncle tipped all of them into the spicy