‘Yes. I need to be fully briefed. When is it suitable to meet you where you are?’
There was no immediate answer. She’s wondering how she can arrange her contacts, I suppose, Ah Fat thought. ‘Can you come the day after tomorrow?’
‘Yes. Time?’
‘Nine thirty in the evening.’
It was Ah Fat’s turn not to answer immediately. Play her up. Make her a tiny bit anxious. ‘Yes.’
‘Anything more before I ring off?’
‘How did you get copies of Red Tidings and how do you like the watermark?’
Both listeners heard her sudden intake of breath. As if without thinking she asked ‘how did you know I was getting any copies? I thought that line was secret.’ A whimpering sound came over the line and a mumbled ‘I only told him when he made love to me.’
In as stern a voice as he could muster, Ah Fat gruffly answered, ‘didn’t I tell you last time I know more than you think I know?’ and rang off without an answer.
It was time to bring C C Too up to date. He reached into the inside pocket of his light-weight jacket, brought out the copy of Red Tidings that Ah Hong had given him and handed it over, saying, ‘what is so interesting about this is that it has a government watermark on the pages, not an MCP one. That means it was one of those I either took or sent across to MCP HQ, not the ones I sent down into Malaya.’ Mr Too nodded assent. ‘What it also means is that the Politburo is sending copies of the newspaper down by a courier in its own set-up, something new to me. I don’t know if that is serious or not. We both heard Chan Man Yee snivelling at the end as though “favours given” were not reciprocated in some way or other …’
Mr Too broke in with ‘that means when you go and meet her, get her to tell you his name, either accidently or as an act of revenge.’
This time it was Ah Fat who nodded before saying ‘I have some more of the MCP watermarked copies for you but they are locked up in my cupboard at home.’
‘I’d like them. What I have in mind is, once the rumoured amnesty with its ceasefire and leaflets dropped with the surrender passes is under way, I can get my staff to produce more copies either to drop from the air or for my ‘Q’ Teams to place around known CT camps.’
Before they broke up Ah Fat gave C C Too Ah Hong’s phone number. ‘This is the number of the phone in the bar from where Chan Nan Yee’s place can be seen. I’ll be there from about 8 p.m. onwards. That is ninety minutes before our meeting. What I would like is for your phone monitors to listen in from dusk onwards. I can only see what happens outside and won’t be able to recognise anyone who leaves her place before I get there. My target might have a visitor who, one way or the other, might make a difference to how I broach any conversation with her. If you do have anything to tell me of, ring the bar number and ask for me. I’ll then get the call transferred to the office.’
‘Yes, of course I’ll see to that. It might pay dividends. We’ll listen in to you, also.’ He grinned then, seriously, ‘just suppose anything untoward were to happen to you, we might have to arrange a rescue.’
Ah Fat’s wife came into their room at that moment, in high spirits, having had a great chat. ‘You men say we women gossip. Yes, we do and we learnt how to from you,’ and told him it was time to go home. On the way she giggled and said ‘did you know that the woman he calls Wong is not his wife but only a girl friend?’
‘No I didn’t but, on balance, does it matter?’
No. PS 150, Restaurant-cum-bar, 150 Jalan Petaling, Kuala Lumpur: At half past eight the phone rang at the bar and Jason was called over. ‘News,’ was the curt message.
‘I’ll have this transferred. Wait a moment,’ and Ah Fat asked Ah Hong to put the call through to his office. ‘No listening in, please,’ Ah Fat said, ‘you know the rules.’
In the office, Ah Fat lifted the phone and said, ‘Listening. Send.’
‘Apparently an hour ago a man came into Chan Man Yee’s room and was told to go away, saying “I don’t want to see you anymore.”
‘“Why not?” was answered by “you brought me a newspaper and I was so happy I wanted to show my appreciation in the only way I can, especially when I’m lonely. You started playing then, all of a sudden, you broke off and left me. I am so furious I don’t want anything to do with you ever again.”
‘We heard quite a hard slap, palm of the hand on a cheek probably, then sobbing but not loud enough to shut out the sound of a door being slammed. We have heard the same voice before, in connection with his giving her some sort of newspaper.’
‘Thank you for that useful news. Gives me something to work on,’ and Ah Fat rang off. She may want me to carry on but as a Politburo man, to say nothing of my not wanting her, that won’t do. What can I give her instead? He racked his brains. Got it! Back in the bar he asked Ah Hong if there was a lingerie shop open nearby. Yes, and he was told where.
He quickly found it and, trying to keep a straight face, asked the young woman assistant if there were any red silk knickers suitable for a woman of ‘a certain age’. The assistant gulped, put her hand over her mouth and brought out a selection. ‘I’ll take three of the large size,’ Ah Fat said, looking at his watch, ’can you make me another pair with yellow, red, blue and white stripes here and now?’
The assistant looked at him in wonder, then admiration. ‘The tailor is still here but he’ll charge you.’
‘Please ask him. If he can make a pair, the same size as these in half an hour, I’ll give him two hundred ringgit extra.’
She went into the back to ask the tailor, thinking that the customer was either over-sexed, a masochist or merely had a strange sense of humour.
Half an hour later, with his four pairs of knickers, Ah Fat went to the front door of Chan Man Yee’s place and rang her bell. She came and let him in, reluctantly it seemed to him. He glanced at her face and, yes, there was a mark of her having been hit. ‘I’ll take you upstairs and make you some tea. I don’t have anything stronger,’ she said, in a low tone of voice.
Once settled with a glass of tea each, Ah Fat asked her for news. She told him what she knew then started weeping. He let her give way to her obvious sorrows then asked her if he could help.
She sniffed and snivelled but said nothing.
Sternly, ‘What would the Politburo say to this, comrade?’
That brought her to her senses. ‘I … I don’t know. You won’t tell them, will you?’
Time to be kind. ‘I am a family man and I know when a woman has been hurt. I won’t ask how you have been hurt so to make amends I have brought you a present.’ She was too overwrought to wonder how he had managed to foretell her gloom. The multi-coloured knickers were separate so the package he gave her only contained the three red pairs.
She opened her present and, with a gasp of pleasure when she saw what was in it, took out the knickers, held them up to the light and fondled them appreciatively. ‘How kind, how kind,’ was all she could say.
When they had finished their tea, she asked him how she could repay him. He made as though to think of the answer. ‘Tell you what. Of course I won’t mention anything to the Politburo but please tell me the name of the man who made your cheek red.’
‘How, how did you know that?’ she queried anxiously, rubbing her cheek with her hand.
‘I’ve seen it before. There’s not much in this evil world that is new.’
She sat still, turning over something in her mind. ‘All right, between us his name is Xi Zhan Yang and he is a Politburo courier, a senior one who knows what goes on, has to as courier, doesn’t he?’ Without waiting for an answer, she went on, ‘We had a row last time. He led me on …’ A sob. ‘He led me on and then, when I was ready for him, oh comrade, after such a long time alone, he left me. It made me so angry it almost made me change my mind about all I’ve been doing.’
My cue! ‘Chan Man Yee, if that really is the case, here is another pair of knickers.’ He took them out of his pocket and showed them to her. ‘Oooh,’ she squeaked, ‘why those colours?’
‘They are the colours of the flag of Malaya. In a few months the colonial power will have gone. Maybe I will have gone to China’ – maybe not – ‘as the MCP is finished and if you want to revert to a life that most people want, wear these coloured knickers,’ and he handed them over.
‘And you?’
‘Don’t worry. I won’t look to see which pair you are wearing!’
She burst into laughter. ‘Can you come back in two or three days when I’ve had a good think about this?’
When C C Too heard the tape, he almost collapsed with laughter. Another idea struck him … It’s not often that I put our prize stallion onto a job but this is one I will. He can charm the legs off a clothes horse.
The next night Chan Man Yee’s bell rang and, suspiciously and reluctantly, she opened the door. There was a Chinese man whose face was vaguely familiar but whom she could not properly place. In fact he had stood next to one of the policemen who had searched her bag and found the sheets of paper. ‘What do you want?’ she asked tentatively.
‘I am a friend of the man who so upset you, Xi Zhan Yang. He boasted that …’ She interrupted him. ‘I don’t want to hear his name. Go away.’
‘Not so fast, please. He asked me to apologise to you so, if you could let me come in and talk to you privately, rather than on your doorstep, it could do you no harm.’
Unenthusiastically she allowed him to come in and upstairs they went. Once seated, he took a bottle of brandy out of his pocket and put it on the small table between them. ‘You have been worrying. I know, from what Xi Zhan Yang told me, that you never drink. Regard this as medicine. Just a little drop will do you good and cheer you, and me, up,’ and he smiled at her tenderly.
She hesitated. He leant forward and saying, ‘he told me he had hit you in the face’, gently stroked her cheek. Instead of jerking away, on a sudden impulse she took hold of his hand as she felt her ‘down below’ starting to throb. He sensed that he was winning her over. ‘I can offer you three things,’ he said softly. ‘The first is …’ and he stood up and going to the kitchen found two glasses, washed them out and brought them back. Saying nothing he poured a small amount of brandy into both of them and handed her a glass. She took it and he made sure their fingers brushed.
