Bond had to follow that Rolls. He made his way back through the Container Port to the fence, through the barbed-wire, as before, and jumped to the ground below. Sooner or later, the Rolls would leave the Port and drive down this road, but how could he follow it?
The answer came rolling down Kwai Chung Road in the form of a red and silver taxi cab. Bond flagged it down and got in the back seat. He told the driver in Cantonese to wait: they were going to follow another car in a moment. He handed the driver 50 Hong Kong dollars, so he was happy to do what he was asked.
Sure enough, the Rolls-Royce soon appeared and headed for Kowloon. Bond made sure the taxi kept a safe distance.
THIRTEEN
The Rolls-Royce drove south to Boundary Street and then east across the peninsula. The road soon merged with West Prince Edward Road and the Rolls turned off into the area known as Kowloon City, not far from Kai Tak Airport. It pulled into a narrow, dingy alley, and stopped. Bond told the taxi driver to let him out at the corner and managed to get out without being seen.
It was not a well-lit or inviting neighbourhood. In fact, if Bond’s memory served him correctly, he was near where the infamous “Walled City” used to be. This notorious pocket of vice and squalor was always an embarrassment. Long ago, before British rule, the enclave was a Chinese military outpost. After the British took over, a granite-walled fortress was constructed. The New Territories lease of 1898 left the area under Chinese jurisdiction due to an administrative error, and it remained unregulated by the Hong Kong government. By the mid- sixties, the Walled City was a cesspool of crime, the haven of drug smugglers, prostitutes, thieves, and murderers. Britain and China finally reached an agreement in 1987 to rid themselves of this sewer, and in 1993 the Walled City was demolished. A park was now being developed on the site. Nevertheless, Bond thought the absence of the Walled City didn’t make the neighbourhood much friendlier. The side streets south of the proposed park were just as sinister. It was just the place for Triads to operate, and it was precisely where James Bond now found himself.
Bond watched the men get out of the Rolls. They entered a shabby building, and then the Rolls drove away. He waited a minute, then stealthily crept towards the middle of the alley. Li Xu Nan and Scarf ace had entered what appeared to be an abandoned condemned building. The door was loose on its hinges and the windows were broken or in some cases, completely missing.
Bond decided to climb up another level and perhaps slip into one of the second-floor windows. It wasn’t difficult to get a foothold but once inside, he found himself in a dark room with a wooden floor. The slats in the floor were loose, allowing some light from the level below to seep through. If he wasn’t careful, the floor would creak. Bond got down on his stomach and snaked along the floor, distributing his weight so that the noise would be minimized. Through the slats, he could see several men milling around, preparing for some kind of meeting. They were dressed in black robes resembling those worn by Buddhist monks, with white sashes serving as belts. They also wore strange headbands made of red cloth, with the free ends hanging down over the front of the body. There were a number of large loops, or knots, in the bands around their head.
Bond searched his memory for what he knew about Triads and their sacred initiation ceremonies. If they were about to perform one, then he could very possibly be the only Westerner ever to witness one. He had to make sure he was completely silent, as they would surely kill him if they found him.
An altar was constructed at the west end of the room, illuminated entirely by candlelight. A large wooden tub painted red and filled with rice stood in front of the altar. Four Chinese characters adorned the outer circumference which Bond translated as “pine,” “cedar” (both of which signified “longevity” to the Chinese), “peach” and “plum” (both of which denoted “loyalty”).
He remembered that the tub was called the “Tau,” and contained various precious objects belonging to the society, including five sets of four triangular flags, or pennants, which represented the names of legendary “ancestors” of the five “Lodges” of Triad societies.
More important were the “Warrant Flags,” which were used by Triad officials during the ceremony. The name “Dragon Wing” was written in Chinese down the side of the Warrant Flag of the Society Leader, and the main character “Ling” (“warrant”) was in the centre. An upright, oblong-shaped flag bore the characters meaning “Order of the Commander of Three Armies,” another reference to the complex legendary history of the Triads. Most of the flags had two red pennants attached to the top bearing the characters meaning “Act According to the Will of Heaven: Overthrow Ch’ing, Restore Ming.”
The main altar had a number of peculiar items on and around it. Above the Tau and its contents, which stood in front of the altar, hung a sheet of red paper. It bore characters exhorting the society to flourish throughout the country. Among the other items present were brass lamps, a pot of wine and five wine bowls, an incense pot for holding joss sticks, dishes of fresh fruit and flowers, and a large mixing bowl. Finally, there was a sheet of yellow paper bearing the names of the Triad’s recruits hanging above the altar, and five small triangular flags. Characters meaning “wood,” “fire,” “metal,” “earth,” and “water” were written on the five flags.
Bond heard a drum beat a few times and the room became silent. Li Xu Nan, dressed in a red robe, entered the room and sat to the left of the altar. As he was Cho Kun, the Dragon Head, his was the only robe decorated with characters. On his left arm was a white circle containing the Chinese character meaning “Heaven.” On his right arm was the character meaning “Earth.” On his back were two characters, meaning “Sun” and “Moon” respectively, which when combined meant “Ming.” On the front of the robe was the octagonal symbol of the Pat Kwa, or “Eight Diagrams.” In the centre of the octagon was the Yin and Yang symbol of opposing yet complementary forces upon which the main tenets of Chinese philosophical thought were based. Magical powers were ascribed to this venerated emblem, and for this reason it was frequently employed by priests, necromancers, geomancers, and ordinary people as a good luck or protective charm.
The man Bond referred to as Scarface entered the room and sat to the right of the altar. He was wearing a white robe, and was the only man with a string of prayer beads around his neck. Bond didn’t know much about Triad ceremonies, but he did know that they were usually led by an official known as the Heung Chu, or “Incense Master,” who acted as a spiritual leader and sometimes second-in-command of the society. Scarface was obviously the Incense Master.
Two men in black robes stood at the extreme east end of the room, holding swords to block the entrance to the lodge. Another official in a black robe, the recruiting officer, moved from the altar down to the east end and began the ceremony. Bond noted that four Chinese teenagers stood outside the swords. They were not dressed in black robes, but rather in simple white shirts and trousers. These were the recruits.
The recruiting officer turned his right shoulder to the “guards” and called out in Cantonese, “Lower the net!” He made a sign with his left hand, denoting his rank within the organization. The two men in black robes then performed the secret handshake of the society out of view of the recruits. After performing this ritual, the recruiting officer was allowed through the swords.
The first official then addressed the recruits in Cantonese: “Why do you come here?”
The recruits replied in unison, “We come to enlist and obtain rations.”
“There are no rations for our army.”
“We bring our own.”
“The red rice of our army contains sand and stones. Can you eat it?”
“If our brothers can eat it, so can we.”
“When you see the beauty of our sworn sisters and sisters-in-law, will you have adulterous ideas?”
“No,” the recruits replied in unison. “We would not dare to.”
“If offered a reward by the Government, even as much as ten thousand taels of gold, to arrest your brothers, would you do so?”
“No. We would not dare to.”
“If you have spoken truly, you are loyal and righteous and may enter the city to swear allegiance and protect the country with your concerted efforts.”
