The boat too has veered and the waves are now slapping against its starboard hull. The women can’t help but cry in fear. It feels as though the boat will be engulfed by the waves any moment.
Voices have risen. The three men are arguing. Nancy can’t understand but she can hear her father shouting. It’s not simply an argument. It’s much more than that … outrage … horror. She has never heard his voice sound as it does today.
The other man has started to beg. Nancy never thought a grown up could do that.
The fisherman yanks the tarpaulin from over their heads. He is dripping wet from the rain. He looks at the two girls and their mothers, but before he can say anything a crash of thunder makes everyone jump.
Nancy’s father has fired a gunshot in the air. She doesn’t know where the gun has come from, but her father is aiming it at the fisherman’s chest.
He returns to the wheel, cursing … they will all drown.
Each wave is a challenge. Everyone is soaked to the bone and Nancy starts shivering.
Her mother replaces the canvas over them as best she can.
The boat’s rocking eases off but her mother’s body tenses. There are some lights far away on the horizon.
The two fathers have seen these too. No one wants to believe it yet.
The fisherman sniggers as the passengers’ hopes are dashed … There is a good reason why their destination is called Big Waves Bay.
The next wave that slams into the boat throws the two men off balance. The fisherman seizes his chance. He tries to grab the gun from her father. They struggle for only an instant and the gun discharge resounds around the small ship. The old man falls on his side. Her father’s friend leaps forward. The fisherman mustn’t die.
Nancy’s father grabs the wheel. The land is so close and yet so far. The old man whispers a few words.
Her father holds the boat as steady as he can. The waves swell underneath it and their direction has changed again. The boat dips and rises. It is a straight run to the shore if they can maintain the cap.
Nancy’s friend has stopped being sick, but she looks very pale.
The boat is almost there. Nancy’s father is still holding the wheel. He cuts the engine. As he does, a wave no one has seen coming slams into the skiff, rolling it over like a dice and its occupants with it.
Nancy was gazing through the window of the aircraft. She could see neither the stars nor the dark sea below. She only saw one image.
The waves that pushed them to the shore.
The body of a child, lifeless on the sands of Big Wave Bay.
Chapter Forty
Pole rises from the seat he has chosen in the arrivals hall of Hong Kong airport. He paces up and down a few times. Nancy’s flight has landed. He has only had a couple of hours’ rest in his hotel room, but he feels alert.
Harris has been surprisingly forthcoming. Someone doesn’t want Nancy in Hong Kong and now that she is returning from Chengdu, she has become a greater problem.
It may no longer be intimidation. Pole stretches his long limbs and rolls his shoulders. The effects of the bike accident still affect his body and a few bruises have started to appear.
The opaque glass doors of the arrivals gate start to open. People are walking through, friends and family are coming forward to greet them. A couple of limo drivers in dark suits with name boards, are waiting too.
Pole surveys them carefully. They are the most obvious candidates, although perhaps a little too obvious. He has spotted another man of medium height, in a heavy leather jacket. He looks American. Pole doesn’t know why.
The glimpse of a silhouette moving towards the doors makes Pole stop.
Nancy emerges, an older gentleman at her side. She says a few words to him and they shake hands. She waits for an instant, a single bag at her side, deciding what to do next. Pole recognises her expression. She wants to be left alone.
Not this time though. A smile creeps onto his lips. He takes a few steps towards her and waits.
She feels someone looking at her and looks in their direction. She drops her bag, not yet quite sure she’s right. But she is and Nancy starts walking towards Pole with a smile that matches his.
The sharp glow of steel propels Pole forward. Pole’s sudden movement makes Nancy turn around. She swings her rucksack in front of her but it affords pitiful protection as the gunman runs towards them … The sight of a weapon makes a couple of people scream and the mass scramble shields Nancy for a few seconds. Pole has almost reached her.
The rugby tackle comes from nowhere. The assailant topples to the ground. He rolls on his side and a left kick propels his gun away. He jumps to his feet and he and the American are now facing each other.
Pole has swung round in front of Nancy and now that she is behind him, he joins the fray. He picks up the gun as the two other men circle each other slowly. Pole drops the gun onto a seat behind him. A knife comes out. Pole takes off his leather jacket and rolls it in one quick movement around his left forearm. He won’t use a firearm come what may and hopes the rolled leather affords some protection against the sharpness of a blade.
The American is in a defensive position, hands raised. He starts moving in on the assailant as Pole is moves closer too.
The blade cuts the air a few times. Both Pole and the American manage to avoid it. The man tries again but his opponents are skilled in combat and he realises he
