44
The first thing I did was hit the streets of Hong Kong. I didn’t even bother to shower or change my clothes.
I knew I couldn’t walk around in a $20,000 suit without attracting attention, so I used Google Maps to find the nearest clothing store.
I also didn’t want the hotel concierge to see me in my hungover state, which is why I used my phone.
The store was a mainstream corporate chain – a Chinese version of The Gap.
I browsed until I found what I needed:
A black hoodie with a zipper down the front…
Jeans…
Several t-shirts…
Tube socks…
And running shoes.
I also grabbed a pair of sunglasses from a counter display.
The girl at the register greeted me in Chinese.
“Do you speak English?” I asked.
She shook her head ‘no,’ so I stayed silent as she rang up my purchases.
It was probably for the best. She got one whiff of the alcohol on my breath, noticed my day-old scruff and bloodshot eyes, and avoided eye contact for the rest of the transaction.
I didn’t want there to beanypossibility that Dario or Niccolo might find out what I was doing by hearing from the credit card company’s fraud department, so I paid in cash.
After all,meof all people purchasing from a Chinese version of the Gap? Highly suspicious.
After I paid, I only had a few hundred Hong Kong Dollars left – about $38 US.
That was when I realized I needed a source of funds for my plan.
I returned to the hotel and dropped off my new clothes, then showered, shaved, and brushed my teeth.
I was still too nauseated from my drinking binge to eat, so I skipped breakfast.
I put on my second suit, which was freshly laundered and pressed.
Then I grabbed the check from the safe (the one for $227,000 the El Dorado casino gave me after I played poker with Han) and left the room.
I dropped off my rumpled suit with housekeeping to be dry-cleaned, then headed out again.
I searched Google Maps until I found a nearby bank our familydidn’tdo business with – one of those giant international conglomerates with a branch in every first-world country.
I walked into the lobby and asked for a manager who spoke English.
I got to speak with someone immediately – probably because of my Rolex and suit.
The manager was a thirty-something man with a chubby face and glasses. He took me into his small office and asked with a British accent, “So, Mr. Rosolini – how might I help you today?”
“I’d like to open an account with your bank,” I said as I slid the check across his desk.