Page 22 of Roberto

“Probably longer,” Han added.

I looked at him in surprise.

“Mr. Gota and Mr. Xi are very busy men,” he said in a bored voice.

I turned back to Niccolo. “Sounds like I might be staying in Hong Kong for afewdays.”

“Hm,” Niccolo said noncommittally. “I’m flying out tomorrow morning, so if this isn’t resolved by then – ”

“It won’t be,” Han said.

Niccolo flashed him an annoyed look before he returned his gaze to me. “Then I’ll have to leave you here by yourself.”

“I’ll manage,” I replied. “Did you find what you wanted here?”

I phrased it that vaguely because of Han. If he hadn’t been sitting next to me, I would have been far more inquisitive.

“I did: an excellent filet mignon.” Niccolo smiled and lifted his mostly-empty wine glass. “I recommend the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo to go with it. I swear, they have better Italian wines on the menu here than most restaurants back in Florence.”

Han flagged down a waitress, who brought us two leatherbound menus.

“By the way,” I said to Niccolo, “we’ll be staying at the Continental Hotel in Hong Kong. Mr. Lau offered us the penthouse suite.”

“Sounds lovely,” Niccolo replied, “but I already booked a room here.”

I stared at him. “You’re not coming back to Hong Kong?”

“Not tonight.”

“Why not?”

“I have other business to attend to. I hate to be rude, gentlemen, but I must take my leave of you.” He stood up and smiled. “Would you cover my bill?”

“…uh… sure,” I said in bewilderment.

“Excellent. If I don’t see you before I leave, I’ll see you back home. Give me a call and keep me updated on your progress.”

“…alright…”

“Mr. Han – a pleasure,” Niccolo said. This time, he didn’t extend his hand to shake.“Arrivederci.”

Then he walked out of the restaurant and into the bustling crowds of the casino.

“Is he always like that?” Han asked as he watched Niccolo disappear.

“How do you mean?”

“Abrupt.”

“Sometimes,” I muttered, not knowing what else to say. Niccolo’s behavior completely mystified me.

14

I’ll say this for dinner: the food was excellent.

The company, on the other hand, was boring as hell.

Once Niccolo left, Han switched to the other side of the booth and said virtually nothing throughout the entire meal. I tried asking him a few questions about Lau and the Syndicate but quit when I got one-word answers in return.

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