Captain Richard Hunt, a British government agent, who was based in Jamaica, watched the two men emerging from the San Francisco police station. He had been on his way there himself, but the moment he recognized one of the tall figures, he changed direction and decided to follow them because he knew one of them well.
A wry smile edged the agent’s lips. The last time he had encountered the American, Brand had ended up in a hospital bed in Yucatan, recovering from a near fatal blow delivered by the Tong criminal, Kwo Han. The blow had not ended Brand’s life, but had robbed him of his memory, leaving him with no recollection of who he was, or why he was in Mexico. Later, Hunt had learned, Brand had vanished, ending up in Butte, Montana, involved in another violent affair that had resulted in his memory coming back but leaving him injured – which seemed to be a regular occurrence in his life. His involvement with that incident had also brought about his relationship with Virginia Maitland and as far as Hunt knew that was ongoing.
From the way Brand handled himself Hunt guessed he was back on form and if that was so he had the feeling Brand was here in San Francisco on assignment. Hunt may have been wrong but he could imagine Brand’s presence having to do with Hunt’s own reason for being in the city. If there had been time Hunt would have telegraphed Frank McCord and asked why Brand was here. He felt, rightly or wrongly, it was too much of a coincidence Brand showing up here in the City by the Bay.
~*~
They found a coffee house near the station and picked a table at the back. At this time of day the place was quiet.
Brand lit a thin cigar from his pocket and leaned back.
‘A surprise, but good to see you, Bodie.’
‘Yeah. Now do you really expect things to get rowdy like last time?’
‘Am I supposed to answer that?’
‘I guess not.’
‘I can tell you peace and goodwill to all don’t follow this chap around,’ someone said at Brand’s elbow.
Brand looked up, suspicion on his face. The moment he recognized Richard Hunt the expression vanished.
‘Just who in hell is going to show up next?’ he said, pushing to his feet and grasping Hunt’s extended hand. ‘Richard, you’re off your home ground again. Last time it was Mexico.’
‘You go where the orders send you.’ Hunt smiled. ‘You should know that better than anyone.’
‘Where’s Rumboy? He not with you?’
‘He’s keeping a watch back home in Jamaica.’
‘I don’t want to break you two apart,’ Bodie said, ‘but who the hell is Rumboy? And Jamaica?’
Hunt took a seat as Brand sat back down.
‘Earlier assignment,’ Brand said. ‘I was following a trail of ex-Confederate gold. Took me to Yucatan where I met Hunt.’
‘It was, to say the least, an interesting time,’ Hunt said.
‘Interesting?’ Brand was unable to prevent a grin forming. ‘British understatement. I teamed up with this feller and ended up with my skull cracked from a Tong hatchet.’
Bodie stared at him. ‘You say Tong?’
‘Damn right. Son of a bitch called Kwo Han. Hit me so hard I lost my memory for a while.’
Bodie held up his hands. ‘Whoa there. Let’s go back a mite. Tongs? Just like we have here?’
‘Kwo Han was running a Tong group from Yucatan. He’d taken a liking to the place,’ Hunt said. ‘I was on his tail because the Tong were even expanding into the Caribbean. Even Jamaica where I was based. We had contraband being sent there by the Chinese – especially drugs like opium. My job was to track Han and put a stop to him. When Jason and I met he was after Han because of the gold. Han was making a deal with a criminal organization based in the eastern USA. It would have worked if we hadn’t put a stop to Han’s plan. Unfortunately the opium trade has recently been started up again and it’s become serious. Jamaica is one of the recipients of the damn stuff. As I had previous experience with the Tong I was assigned to look into the business. Which brought me here to San Francisco and your Kwai Fu Tung character.’
For Hunt’s benefit Brand related the background to his and Bodie’s reasons for being in San Francisco.
‘So we’re more or less on the same trail here?’ Bodie said. ‘Milo Traeger. This Tung hombre. Jasmine Soong.’
‘And the opium,’ Brand said.
‘Hell, working all this out could give a feller a headache.’
‘So you believe the girl was taken in order to force her father to work with Tung?’ Hunt said.
‘Chin Yi Soong has ships that carry merchandise along the coast. West to East. Cargo from San Francisco to New York. Tung would be able to move a lot of opium that way. The Tung-Traeger deal would work out favorably for them.’
Brand could almost see the wheels turning in Bodie’s head.
‘Connections,’ the manhunter said.
‘They would have the means to get the opium to the east coast. Apart from selling to the Chinese community opium has caught on with the regular public. It’s become big business. It might not be strictly illegal but there’s a growing conflict between the Tongs, so Tung is making sure his supplies reach the east coast faster than any others. Competition is turning violent and people are getting hurt so there’s a need to put a stop to it.’
‘Shipping overland takes a long time,’ Hunt said. ‘Not that safe. Risky. By cargo ship Tung shortens the time. And he’ll be able to send large consignments. Even ship it across the Caribbean.’
Brand caught the eye of the waitress to refill their coffee cups and bring one for Hunt.
‘So they need a trusted company. One that makes regular trips between San Francisco and New York,’ he said. ‘They kidnap Chin Yi Soong’s daughter to force him to work with them. His people deliver the opium as regular cargo and Soong’s ships run it around the coast to New York. Soong has no choice. He has to make sure the delivery is secure. He isn’t going to do anything that might get the girl harmed.’
‘Smart deal. And Jasmine Soong is caught up in the middle as the means to force her father to cooperate.’
‘You have any leads?’
‘Been working on that.’ Bodie explained about Henry Lee. His meeting with Li Hung. ‘The old man said he’d do some checking. See if he could find out anything. Appears he’s well respected in the Chinese community. He has no love for the Tong.’
‘And your man Lee?’
‘Same. Scouting out the area. Less chance of standing out. We’re the wrong color and size. We start in poking around and the Chinese will walk away. Lee might be able to find out things I couldn’t.’