Chapter Forty-Four: The Pretty Female Assistant

  "I saw that the scene of the incident had been marked out with ropes, and cars could only detour through the pedestrian path. I hope this explosion won't scare away those big shots who were planning to come here for a high-stakes gamble."

  "People think it's the work of gangsters, or that there was an explosion at the gasworks. All the charred trees will be sawed down tonight. If they deal with the problem in this way, nothing will be visible by tomorrow morning."

  Lyle shook out a Lucky Strike from the pack of cigarettes. "I'm glad to be doing this job with you."

  As he spoke, he gazed at the cocktail in Guo's hand. "So I'm especially glad you didn't go to Western Heaven. We were quite concerned about this matter and the organization attached great importance to it. In fact, Washington was deeply disappointed that we couldn't accomplish this task. You know those high-ranking officials, I think the ones in your bureau are the same."

  Guo Guoyong nodded. "They are always a little jealous of others who get the news first," he admitted.

  "Anyway, I'll follow your command and do my best to provide any help you need. There's Jin Qiang and his companions here, maybe there won't be much need for me to exert myself. But anyway, I'm at your beck and call."

  "I'm glad you're here to help me," said Kuo Kuo-yung humbly. "The enemy has already set their sights on me, and maybe you and Chin Chiang too. Who knows if they've laid a trap for us to fall into? Lefferts seems just as vicious as we thought. I don't think there's anything particularly important that needs your help right now, but if you could come to the Mine Spring Wang Club, I'd be delighted. I already have an assistant, Miss Linda. Once the gambling starts, I'll leave her in your care. Don't be shy around her, she's a beautiful girl."

  He smiled at Wright and said: "Keep an eye on those two bodyguards of Leffel's. I think they won't resort to violence, but who can tell?"

  "I might be able to help out a bit," Wright said. "I was in the Marines before I joined this outfit, which may make you feel a little better." He glanced at Kuo Kuo-yung.

  "Of course," said Guo Guoyong.

  Laight is a Texan. He talks about his work at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's joint intelligence agency, where it's hard to keep yourself safe in an organization with so many countries represented.

  Kuo Kuo-yu thought that Americans were easy to get along with, especially Texans, and Wright was a good example.

  Felix Leiter was about thirty-five, tall and lean, with a strong bony face and an untidy mop of flaxen hair. His eyes were a bright blue and his skin was burnt a deep brown by the tropical sun. He moved easily and quietly, like a big cat, and there was something in his movements that suggested he was always ready to pounce.

  He was clearly a resolute and ruthless fighter.

  When he bent down and sat at the table, he seemed to have a hawk-like temperament.

  His face, with its pointed chin, cheekbones and slightly crooked big mouth, gives people a hawk-like image.

  His gray eyes looked very sharp and deep, when his eyes met the smoke emitted by the Good Luck cigarette, they naturally narrowed, this habitual action added to his solemn maturity. This habit of narrowing his eyes formed wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, making people feel that his smile often appeared at the corners of his eyes rather than on his mouth.

  A strand of golden hair swept across his forehead, giving his face a boyish look that vanished on closer inspection. Though he seemed to be discussing his work in Europe with complete candor, Guo Guoyong soon noticed that he never mentioned his American partners in Europe or Washington.

  Kuo Kuo-yu conjectured that Lai Te had done it to protect the interests of his own organization, North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Everyone knows about this situation, so there's no harm in discussing it. Kuo Kuo-yu was very sympathetic with this idea.

  At this point, Wright had finished his second whiskey, and Kuo told him about the Muntzes' clandestine eavesdropping activities and his brief reconnaissance of the Riviera villa that morning along the coast.

  It was already 7:30, they decided to walk back to the restaurant together. Before leaving the casino, Guo Guoyong deposited the $200,000 on him at the chip exchange office, leaving only a few tens and twenties for petty cash.

  As they walked towards the Brilliant Restaurant, they saw a team of road workers already busy at the blast site. Several charred tree trunks had been uprooted. A water hose dragged from a city sprinkler truck was flushing the boulevard and sidewalk; the bomb crater had been filled in, with only a few passersby occasionally stopping to gaze.

  Guo Guoyong thought that the hermit's restaurant must have undergone plastic surgery, and the glass-damaged shops and street houses would also be decorated.

  In this warm blue dusk, the city has once again restored its quiet and clean appearance.

  "What do you think that gatekeeper is working for?" Wright asked as they walked up to the restaurant.

  Kuo Kuo-yung was also unclear, so he honestly told Light that he didn't know. He remembered Chin Chiang saying: "Unless you have bought him yourself, you must assume that he has been bought by the other side. All doormen can be bought, but it's not their fault. People of this class are trained to think that all travelers are swindlers, with the exception of Indian princes. So they secretly monitor every traveler."

  As expected, as soon as they entered the restaurant door, the doorman hastily came up to ask if Guo Guoyong had recovered from that unfortunate event at noon.

  Kuo Kuo-yung recalled Jin Qiang's words and replied with a plan, saying that he was still dizzy. The doorman heard Bond's words and politely wished him a speedy recovery before turning around and leaving.

  Kwok Kuo-yung hopes that Lai Fu will receive this wrong information and thinks he will be exhausted on the gambling table tonight.

  Lai Te's room was on the fourth floor, they agreed to meet at around 10:30 or 11 o'clock in the casino, which is usually when high-stakes betting begins, and then they parted ways at the elevator entrance.

  Kuo Kuo-yung walked into his own room and checked again, without finding any signs of being disturbed. Then, he took off his clothes, took a long hot bath, followed by a cold shower, and lay comfortably in bed.

  There was still an hour available for rest and reflection, during which he would carefully review every detail of the planned gambling scheme.

  He thought of the various victories or defeats that would appear after the opening, and he had to arrange the supporting roles of Jin Qiang, Lai Te and the girl well, and also estimate the possible reactions of the enemy.

  He closed his eyes and imagined a series of carefully constructed scenes, as if watching the changing patterns in a kaleidoscope.

  At 8:40 in the evening, he studied in detail all possible events that might occur during his decisive battle with Lefebvre.

  He stood up, dressed and tried to calm himself down from complicated thoughts.

  He adjusted the narrow black satin tie while scrutinizing himself in the mirror. His dark eyes appeared calm in the glass, with a hint of sarcastic inquiry.

  A stubborn strand of short black hair slowly fell down and formed a thick fringe on his right eyebrow.

  There was a narrow vertical scar on his right cheek, making him look a bit like a fierce pirate. Jin Qiang had told Guo Guoyong about Linda's evaluation of him, but Guo Guoyong was quite self-aware and thought to himself that he didn't have the looks to be considered handsome, however he was still very happy that Linda had this impression of him.

  He thought as he put the fifty Mulan cigarettes with three gold rings into a flat cigarette case, stuffed the case into his back pocket, and took out his black gas lighter to see if it needed refueling.

  Then he stuffed a bundle of one-hundred-dollar bills into his pocket.

  He opened a drawer, pulled out a lightweight chamois leather gun holster and slung it over his left shoulder, about 10 cm away from his armpit.

  Then, he pulled out a large-caliber, custom-made automatic pistol from another drawer. He removed the magazine and ejected the bullets from the chamber, made several drawing motions, then fired, hearing only a crisp click of the trigger.

  He racked the slide again, put on the safety and holstered the gun.

  He looked around carefully to see if there was any oversight.

  Finally, he put on a single-breasted dinner jacket over his silk shirt, carefully examined himself in the mirror to make sure that no one could see the flat pistol under his arm, and then adjusted his long tie and walked out of the room, locking the door behind him.

  As he walked down the stairs and turned towards the bar, he heard the elevator door open behind him, followed by a light footsteps.

  "Good evening."

  It was that girl who stood there waiting for him to come towards her.

  He had a clear memory of her beauty and was once again captivated by it.

  She was wearing a black velvet outfit, the style wasn't complicated, but it showed a kind of luxurious luster, this kind of clothing must have been designed by a first-class women's wear designer from the original number one city under the sky.

  She had a rare diamond necklace around her neck and a diamond clip.

  She was carrying a pure black oval-shaped handbag, her jet-black hair was combed very neatly, and the ends were all curled inward. She looked extremely beautiful, and Guo Guoyong couldn't help but feel a surge of affection for her.

  "You look very lovely, your wireless business must be booming!"

  She stretched out an arm for him to take. "Shall we go straight in to dinner?" she asked. "I want to make a public entrance, create some buzz. And there's one drawback to this black velvet dress - it gets caught on chairs. If you hear me shriek, I've probably gotten stuck."

  Guo Guoyong burst out laughing. "Alright then, let's go in directly. Before we order food, let's have a shot of vodka first."

  She glanced at him unhappily.

  "He immediately corrected himself: 'Or a cocktail if you prefer. The food here is the best in this city.'"