Singapore Sling Shot - Andrew Grant [50]
“Good day, Dan. Long time, no see.” K gave me a handshake and a grin. “Sami said for you to please come up to his office when you woke up.”
“Sure,” I agreed. K held out a packet of wipes.
“Maybe you’d like to remove your makeup first.”
I glanced at my face in the driver’s mirror. I looked like a refugee from a black-and-white minstrel show. The chemically treated wipes lifted the greasepaint off easily enough. When I’d finished, K passed me a pair of sneakers, new ones. Sami had thought of everything.
I put the shoes on and got out of the car. Now my minder handed me a coat, a classic trenchcoat. I had to chuckle. If Simone were to see me in this, she would crack up. Her guess that I was some sort of spy would have been totally vindicated. I slipped into the coat while K closed the windows and locked the Mercedes. He led the way to the elevator. He obviously had instructions to get me out of public view as quickly as possible. In the lift he produced a key, put it in the panel and sent us skyward.
Simone was at her desk this time round. She gave me a smile.
“Mr Davidson, how nice to see you again. I like the coat!”
For a moment I stared blankly at her and then I remembered my assumed identity. I was obviously still punch-drunk.
“Just borrowed,” I replied, “and it’s good to see you, Mavis.”
Simone chuckled at that. “Perhaps I’ll see you later. Mr Somsak is expecting you.”
K was waiting at the door to the inner office. He opened it and I went through. Sami was sitting at the desk. The huge model of the island was gone. Sami stood and came to embrace me, clapping me on the back as he did so.
“Thank you again, my friend. It’s all there.” He indicated the tiny digital recorder sitting on the desk. “We have Lu pleading with Stanley to sell. He talks of his partners. He’s truly terrified of the Mendez brothers. When Stanley point-blank refuses to sell, the pleas turn to bribes and finally threats.”
Sami went back to his seat behind the desk while I took a guest chair.
“Do you want to hear it?”
I shook my head. I didn’t need to hear it. As long as it was what Sami needed to bring Thomas Lu down, that was fine by me. “What comes next? By the way, the office looks bare.” I nodded at the space where the model had been.
“It’s gone on public display to whet the appetite of the good people of Singapore. There is going to be a tremendous investment opportunity for everybody when the basic structure is completed.” Sami chuckled. “We want to encourage them to dig deep. As to what comes next, there is an investor’s meeting scheduled for Friday night. Everyone but Thomas Lu has responded that they will attend.”
“Are you holding it here?”
Sami shook his head. “The consortium has a registered office at the Quillian Tower. That’s the big one beside Marina Bay. Their meetings are always held there. I will be making a grand entrance.”
“So they don’t know you’re involved yet?”
“I doubt it. I’m the mysterious brother.”
“Lu must be shitting bricks!”
“I certainly hope so,” Sami replied grimly, “I most assuredly hope so.”
“What’s the news on last night’s events?”
“Gun battle at Fort Siloso is the headline. Suggestions are that rival gangs met at the fort and a shootout ensued over drugs. Three found dead, one seriously injured in the original skirmish and three shot dead and several others injured and arrested by police.” Sami gave me a grin. “Am I right in assuming the first three were yours.”
“And a guy with a busted head. It was a hectic night. The OK Corral had nothing on it.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Absolutely exhausted. I think I’ll go back to the hotel and sleep for a week.”
“Your clothes are in the bathroom along with your pack. There’s a shower in there if you want to use it.”
I did want to use all of the facilities in the late Stanley Loh’s bathroom. Showered and dressed, I collected my bits and pieces from the pack, then bundled the one-piece suit and put it back into the sack. I carried the rubber sack back into the office and dropped it onto a chair.
“I think you had better make that