Bond was determined to verify his suspicion that the man was a cheat. He recalled what he knew about Thackeray. The man had been a stage magician when he was younger. He might very well be adept at sleight-of-hand and parlour tricks. He was probably palming discarded tiles from the table as he reached over them to draw a tile from the wall. The big question was, why would he cheat? He was very wealthy. He didn’t need the money. Or did he? Could the obliteration of his Board of Directors have left his company in a bad state? Did the impending mainland takeover of Hong Kong have something to do with it? The alcohol, the cheating, and his belligerent manner all added up to something inherently reckless about him.
Bond drew a very good hand. His first discard was a lone East Wind tile. He had two Pongs and the possibility of one more. He was determined to find a way to beat Thackeray at his own game. To come out and accuse him of cheating would be unacceptable. Bond needed to gain Thackeray’s confidence, not alienate him! If Bond caused a scene here in the casino, he might blow his cover and permanently botch the mission. He would have to find a way to cheat, too. As play progressed, he examined every angle. He didn’t have the sleight-of-hand ability that Thackeray had, so that was out of the question. Perhaps at the next break he could enlist Woo’s help.
Thackeray went out with a lucrative five points: three points for four Pongs, one point for holding no Flowers, and one point for a Pong of East Winds, matching his seat. Bond scanned the discarded tiles, looking for the East Wind tile he had discarded at the beginning of the game and didn’t see it. Thackeray had to have palmed it somehow. Poor Woo threw the winning discard, so had to pay $3200. The others counted out chips worth $1600. Woo was no longer smiling.
The seat/Wind assignments did not change for the next hand. Now that the enormity of the dollar value for each hand was sinking in, a certain tension enveloped the entire room. Spectators were less animated and chatty. Whereas
Sinclair won the hand on a self-pick with two points. The other players had to pay him $800 each.
Woo became the dealer for the next hand, which ended dead. The hand was played again, and this time Thackeray won small with two points on Sinclair’s discard. Sinclair had to pay $800, the others $400 each.
Sinclair dealt the next hand. Woo got lucky and went out with three points on a self-pick. Everyone paid him $1600, which brought the smile back to his face.
Bond got the deal next and was determined to get through the rest of the South Round quickly so he could discuss his strategy with Woo. Thackeray won again, this time with three points on a selfpick. He was paid $1600 by each player.
They were halfway through the game. Bond had lost an enormous amount of money. He and Woo ordered doubles at the bar.
“What have we got into, James?” Woo said, shaking his head. “I did not expect to lose this badly.”
“I have a plan,” Bond said. “Let’s go outside and get some fresh air.”
The two men excused themselves.
Thackeray said, “Don’t be long.” He was sitting alone, sipping his vodka on the rocks. Despite his winnings, he wasn’t smiling. In fact, he looked downright miserable.
Outside, Bond said, “I don’t get it. Why is he so morose? He’s just won a few thousand dollars and he’s acting as if it’s his last day on earth.”
“Thackeray very private man,” Woo said. “He has no friends or family from what I can tell. I wonder if someone close to him was killed by bomb at restaurant?”
“Well, we’ve got to beat him. He’s definitely cheating. He was a stage magician when he was young, and obviously knows sleight-of-hand. He’s palming tiles he wants from the dead pile. I’m going to need your help.”
“Sure, James. What you want me to do?”
“Listen very carefully. You’re going to have to throw me some tiles that I need, and I’m going to give you some signals to indicate what they are. You have to watch me closely.”
“All right.”
“I’m going to scratch areas on the left side of my face to indicate that I need tiles with numbers 1 to 4. If I scratch the left side of my nose, I need a 1. If I scratch my cheekbone just under my eye, I need a 2. I’ll scratch my ear lobe for a 3. And I’ll scratch my neck for a 4. If I need a 5, I’ll scratch the bridge of my nose. The same areas apply to the right side of my face for the numbers 6 to 9. The right side of my nose is a 6, the cheekbone is a 7, the ear lobe is an 8, and the neck is a 9. Got it?”
“Okay. What about suits?”
“Immediately after I give you one of my scratching signals, I’ll take a drink. If I take one sip, I need Circles. If I take two sips, I need Sticks. If I take three sips, I need Characters.”
Woo repeated all of this to make sure he had it.
“For the special tiles, I’ll rub my eyes as if I have a headache if I need a Red Dragon. If I cough twice, I need a Green Dragon. If I sigh heavily, I need a White Dragon. If I need Winds, I’ll light a cigarette. I’ll place the cigarette on the ashtray with the butt pointing to the player corresponding to the Wind I need. For instance, if I need an East Wind tile, I’ll point the butt towards the player who is currently the East seat. Got it?”
“That is brilliant, James! We will win good, uh huh?”
“Well, we’ll see. It still depends on the luck of the draw and if you even have the tiles I need, but this might give us an advantage. I may be winning on your discards, so you’ll have to pay out a little more to me. I’ll make sure you get it back.”
“No problem, James.”
“Come on, let’s get back in there.”
The West Round began with Thackeray as the East seat and dealer for the third time. Bond got a good hand. He had a Pong of the 3 of Circles, a Pair of the 2 of Sticks, a Pair of East Wind tiles, and a Pair of South Wind tiles. During play, Bond nonchalantly scratched his left cheekbone, then took two sips from his martini. Amazingly, Woo had the 2 of Sticks, and he threw it. Bond said “Pong” and took it. He luckily drew another East Wind tile later, and managed to form another Pong on his own. He just needed a Pair to complete his hand. He had a single White Dragon and an 8 of Characters. Bond let out a sigh, but apparently Woo didn’t have a White Dragon tile. Bond went for the other one and scratched his right ear lobe, then took three sips from his drink. Woo discarded an 8 of Characters. Bond went out with three points for his all-Pong hand. Woo had to pay $1600, the others $800.
Thackeray won the second hand with another Full House. He had three points for a Semi-Pure hand, one point from a self-picked winning tile, and one point for holding a Flower tile matching his seat. Everyone had to pay him $3200!
Woo looked quite pale after that one. Sinclair took up the deal, but the result was a dead hand. It was dealt again, and this time Woo got lucky with another small win. He went out with two points. It was a chicken hand, but he self-picked the winning tile and had a Flower matching his seat. Everyone paid him $800.
Bond became the dealer for the last hand in the West Round. His hand was so bad that his signal system was useless. Thackeray managed to win with three points. He self-picked from the wall (one point), had four Chows (one point), and no Flowers (one point). Everyone paid him $1600.
During the break before the last Round of the game, Woo whispered to Bond, “Is your plan going to work?”
Bond replied, “It has to this time. It’s the damnedest game—even cheating depends on luck! In a situation that involves gambling, I never trust luck. I try to get by without it. But this is one time we need all the luck we can get. Just stick to what we agreed. I’m going for broke this time.”
The North Round began with Thackeray as East and dealer. Bond drew a 4 Red Flower, which matched his seat. That was one point straight away! The rest of his hand was very promising. He had a complete Pong of Green Dragons, a Red Dragon, and a White Dragon. If he could get two more of either of the Red or White Dragons and one of the other, he could go out with what was called a “Semi-Big Dragon” hand (two Dragon Pongs and a pair of the other Dragon), worth three points. If he could make the third Dragon a complete Pong, the hand would be worth six points. He also needed to complete another Pong or Kong out of some Circles or Sticks he held.
Play progressed uneventfully until Bond drew a Red Dragon from the wall. Now all he needed was a third Red Dragon and at least one White Dragon.
At the first opportunity, Bond rubbed his eyes. Woo acknowledged the signal with a slight nod of his head. A moment later, Bond sighed heavily. Thackeray looked up at Bond and said, “What’s the matter, Mr. Bond? Are we boring you?”
