Kiss & Die - Lee Weeks [17]
Another hand went up from a young Indian girl. ‘Are you mixed race, sir?’
‘Yes. My mother is English, my dad was Chinese.’
‘Is it easy to get into the police force when you’re mixed race?’
‘It isn’t easy to get into the police force whatever race you are. You need a good level of English. You need to be able to read and write Mandarin.’
There was a muttering all around the hall. Lilly spoke up again. You need to be able to read and write Mandarin to clean toilets now.’
The children laughed. The headmaster coughed loudly.
Mann waited until the laughter subsided before he spoke again. ‘Yeah, it sucks. It sucks that there isn’t a level playing field any more. It really sucks that a lot of what made Hong Kong great is being wasted. Talents that you all have to give are being handed over to the Triads because we are turning into a two-tier society. But…’ There was a general whispering. The headmaster looked nervous. ‘…but all I can tell you is that you have to be smarter than everyone else. You have to work harder than everyone else. You have to prove them wrong. You join a Triad organization and, in the short term, sure, you will get new trainers, you will get told how great you are. In the long term you will be pushed down alleyways, asked to repay favours, asked to fight, kill, you will be ordered to become part of a drug run, part of a human trafficking chain. You might be sold into prostitution yourself or sell other kids. And there will be no escape for you. You will be a number to be called whenever they choose. In the short term you may think it offers you hope. In the long term you will never be free to make it.’
‘Sir?’
‘Yes, Lilly?’
‘If your father is a Triad do you have to be one?’
‘No. Everyone has a choice.’
Lilly had a smug look on her face. She made sure she was heard. ‘And sir, is it true your father was a Triad?’
Mann felt the headmaster’s stare as his head swung round to look at Mann. Mann’s focus on the room slipped. His hands went cold. His pulse slowed. He looked to the back of the room. Right at the back the exit door was open to allow the breeze through. He could see the rectangle of blue. He refocused on Lilly.
‘Yes.’
‘What happened to him, sir?’
‘He was chopped to death because he disobeyed the society.’
‘Did he make a lot of money, sir?’
‘Yes, but…’
‘Did you inherit it, sir?’
Mann nodded. He was losing control. The hall burst out in chat. The headmaster stepped forward. ‘Thank you very much for coming, Inspector. We have taken up a lot of your time. We are very grateful—’
Mann stopped him mid-sentence. He took over the microphone and looked around the room, waited the two minutes it took to obtain absolute silence. ‘My father was executed when I was just a bit older than you. I was made to watch. That day has stayed with me forever. I didn’t know he was a Triad then. I do now. I have to deal with the legacy of my father’s Triad involvement. I have to deal with his mess. I used to be proud of my father when I was young. He was someone I looked up to. He didn’t have a lot of time for me, he was always working, but I loved him and respected him. Until I found out that he made his money by manufacturing and supplying heroin. My father was a drug baron. When I look back now my memories of him all seem like a lie. I question everything I ever had from him and ask myself did it come from drug money? Did someone have to die with a needle in their arm to buy me that?’
The room fell silent. All eyes were on Mann.
‘But, when you become an adult you are judged on who you are, not who your parents were or are. You stand alone. You have a choice. Yes, you may have it hard but that will make you harder. Yes, you may have it tough and that will make you tougher. And you need to be. Hong Kong can fulfil all of your dreams