Page 254 of Roberto

I forced myself to eat, even though I didn’t have much of an appetite.

I figured… just in case… I should keep my strength up.

One other thing:

I didn’t have any more alcohol. Despite my foul mood, I refused to get drunk.

Just in case the hopeful part of me was right…

And there was a reason Mei-ling hadn’t entirely ratted me out.

I fell asleep praying for a straw to save me from the hurricane.

My prayers were answered the next morning…

In the oddest of ways.

90

Iwoke the next morning after a night of restless sleep.

The alarm clock said 7:56.

Three hours until my private plane – the one I’d paid half a million dollars for in Bitcoin – was ready to take off.

I knew there was only a short window of time it would stick around. Maybe an extra three or four hours at most.

The company would try to call me – but since Lau had my cell phone, I wouldn’t answer, and they would eventually depart… stranding me in Hong Kong.

So if I wanted to be on that plane, I had seven hours to figure out how. Five hours to be safe.

I got out of bed and began pacing as I weighed my options.

I could use the C4 to blow up the two gangsters in the next room.

Arm the block of explosives, toss it through the door, and detonate it –

But I had no idea how big the blast range would be. I might kill myself in the process.

Even if I survived, I would probably be injured.

I certainly doubted I could get to the airport without being caught.

I was deep in thought when I heard Chinese being spoken loudly in the next room.

I frowned, threw a hotel robe on over my boxers, and walked out of my bedroom.

The two gangsters were standing at the front door, blocking my view of whoever was there.

The complainer was arguing with someone –

And a woman argued back.

I would have recognized that voice no matter what language she spoke.

Mei-ling.

Astonishment, hope, and hatred all wrestled inside me.

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