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Date Posted: 04:09:35 11/25/07 Sun
Author: taurus2124
Author Host/IP: CPE-124-188-4-238.nsw.bigpond.net.au / 124.188.4.238
Subject: Chapter 138
In reply to: taurus2124 's message, "The Rising Dragons ... continued ..." on 04:00:37 11/25/07 Sun

Chapter 138


Inspector Jiang Ng sat at his desk littered with cold coffee cups and used cigarettes. He’d been up all night trying to sort through this mess at The Triangle nightclub. He had not slept a wink at all and looked decidedly dishevelled because of it. It had been a very long evening for his officers at the OCTB as well, for their investigation had gone long into the night. Many detectives were still at headquarters refusing to go home until they had some concrete leads on this case.

Jiang had taken a call from Andy Koo which had come through in the early hours of the morning to attend a random shooting and firebomb at his nightclub. When he had placed the call for assistance last night, he’d said there had been a disturbance on the dance floor at the most exclusive nightclub in Hong Kong where he was holding private birthday celebrations. The Inspector had immediately rallied and sent over a fleet of detectives and back up squads and along with his police officers, but he’d also rushed over to the club when told there had been a murder.

When they had arrived, the scene outside the club was chaotic. There were many distressed guests from the birthday party in shock on the pavement at what had occurred inside the club and many more who were obviously traumatised by what they had seen. But they had never expected to find the massacre that they had on arrival.

The real carnage had been inside the nightclub ... it was the sight of a triad bloodbath. The main area of the nightclub and all the exits and entrance to the club were littered with the bodies of the slain. At first glance it had all the characteristics of a territorial dispute where members of rival triads had flexed their muscle to exert their power or to cause as much trouble as possible for Andy and the Rising Dragons. The inspector had ordered that the area be cordoned off to allow the police to conduct their investigations. Forensics photographers had photographed the deceased while other officers had tried to find any identification on the bodies.

It was a disaster ... the shootings and firebombing at Andy’s club last night would be a nightmare to sort through in the coming week and beyond. Not only was it a blow for Andy Koo, but it was a disaster for the triad as well. The press would ultimately focus their attention on the Rising Dragons and the reasons why such a catastrophe had occurred at a private party. He would also need to act swiftly to lay blame elsewhere. The evening was supposed to have been a private party celebration for Andy, so how did members of rival triad groups manage to get in the nightclub?

Jiang knew he would have to pull something extraordinary out of the box to turn this calamity around. Investigations would go on for some time and the nightclub would need to be closed for at least a week if not longer until the place had been thoroughly investigated for clues as to what really had happened. All security staff would need to be checked and verified, all invited guests screened and statements would need to be taken from every person in attendance. Furthermore, the dead would need to be identified. Jiang shook his head in disbelief at the work that would be involved in this investigation.

When he’d spoken to Andy earlier this morning, he’d said that the triad had sent in reinforcements ... yet there were still multiple causalities and the Rising Dragons had suffered their fair share too. How was that possible? They were well trained men who were proficient and skilful. How was it that they had died? Their work at the OCTB was often like this, but somehow this particular case seemed different. There didn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason for what had happened. From all appearances, from those they had identified as belonging to the Black Panthers triad, there really weren’t that many rival triad members there ... So how come the Rising Dragons suffered multiple casualties particularly in the stairwell area? How did so few people cause such mayhem?

The one thing Jiang hoped was that this was not an inside job, but he would need to do a forensic check on the bullets of the dead victims to see their origin first. Perhaps that would shed some light on investigations as to who was responsible and why? He knew he would have to work fast to diffuse the situation at The Triangle and not centre attention on Andy Koo. This was not his fault ... the blame lay elsewhere. Placing his hands to his head, Inspector Ng shut his eyes and leaned forward deep in thought. In light of their investigations this past week about the Black Panthers and Samuel Li there was only one thing he could do.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The news media had quickly appeared on the scene knowing that any story about Andy Koo was newsworthy. Inspector Ng thought that the best form of attack was to confront them up front, so he had called a press conference to clarify the situation and to allow journalists and reporters to ask questions.

Andy Koo’s name had appeared in the press on numerous occasions and most recently with the attempted kidnapping of Elizabeth Chong, of which he had been exonerated. Perhaps the fact that he was handsome, rich and somewhat untouchable made him a person of interest to the public. There had been multiple murders at his nightclub. This would place Andy in the spotlight again as well as provide a great deal of material for investigative journalists to sink their teeth into because of this explosive story. Hence juggling what the print and visual media reported would be a balancing act as well. That's why when he spoke to the press after the operation Jiang moved swiftly to diffuse some of the heat from Andy Koo and place it elsewhere.

As he stood on the steps of the OCTB building to face the media to release a statement, the camera flashlight bulbs were almost blinding. Microphones were thrust into his face as journalists jostled for the prime position to hear what he had to say and to ask questions. The reporters and journalists threw questions at him from left, right and centre.

“Inspector Ng! What happened at The Triangle?”

“Inspector Ng! What are the OCTB doing about the triad violence in Hong Kong?”

“Do the police have any leads?”

“Inspector Ng!”

“Inspector Ng!”

Holding up his hands to silence the frenzied questions Jiang managed to gain a modicum of silence, then when he was satisfied, he spoke. “Ladies and gentlemen ... I will answer your questions one at a time after I have made a statement.

“As you know police officers from the OCTB visited and searched the entertainment premises of The Triangle nightclub early this morning and found many deceased persons. Our investigations are progressing at the moment.”

“Inspector Ng ... Jennifer Yew from “China News” ... Is it true that the OCTB conducted raids on the headquarters of triad groups this morning?”

“Yes ... On the pretence of an early morning anti-triad operation raid, the OCTB simultaneously carried out raids on the headquarters of the Black Panthers and 14K headquarters early this morning. This resulted in several persons being arrested who are now in custody. The flash operation was conducted following the affray which had occurred at The Triangle because we believed that some triad members were involved in the incident.”

“Inspector, can you elucidate further?”

“The men were aged between 18 and 47 and a large quantity of firearms and weapons were also seized.”

“Martin Lam from “Inside China Today” ... Does this mean that we can expect more triad unrest because of the murders at The Triangle?”

“We certainly hope not ... but unfortunately it is a possibility. Triad activities still remain a major policing priority of the OCTB. This morning's operation only reinforced our determination to confront and tackle those involved in these illegal activities and murder.”

“Will there be a crack down to prevent an incident like this occurring again?”

“We’re determined to crack down on triad activities and will continue to carry out regular anti-triad operations to combat triad-related crime in Hong Kong. We will detain the arrested persons for further investigation.”

“Are these murders in any way connected with the car bombing in Victoria Park?”

“It’s possible.” Jiang however, didn’t want the journalists to pursue that line of questioning and abruptly cut off any more questions. “I’m sorry ladies and gentlemen but that will be all for the time being,” he stated.

Turning his back on the gathered journalists, Inspector Ng made his retreat back inside the OCTB building amid more frenetic questioning from the Chinese press reporters gathered outside the building.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

However, Inspector Ng walked away from the press conference with much on his mind.

This murder fracas could prove to be volatile. Ruffling the feathers of the triads was not going to go down well with Sun Yee Lok or the other leaders for that matter. He was also worried that his duplicity and membership with the Rising Dragons may very well be revealed because of the investigations. Consequently he would need to keep a tight reign on procedures and take control over the proceedings. The need to tread warily was imperative as exposure would be the death knoll for him. There was much information that his enemies would like to know about him and his associations.

Ami Yeung had gotten too close and she had paid the price but her death was inevitable and in his mind justified. Her threat to expose him had shown he could be ruthless and dangerous if the envelope was pushed too far. There was no way that he could let Intel about his associations be made public. Ami Yeung had served him well over the years but she had slipped up and he had given her the benefit of the doubt because of their association over the years. Their association dated back to when they were young. She had befriended him as a new recruit at the police academy and had graduated with him until she had left the force to go into private investigation. Over the years Ami had provided some excellent Intel on enemies from within, and when called upon she had used her skills to infiltrate into the Hong Kong police force over the years. However, when she said she’d wanted out ... he was left with little choice. Her death was an inevitable consequence ... she knew too much about him and he couldn’t risk her passing on information into the wrong hands. His position in the OCTB was well ingrained and it served the Rising Dragons well. Over the years he had managed to prosecute their enemies and help the triad avoid other advantageous legal things that had seen the rising Dragons prosper. Ami had been an excellent undercover agent for the OCTB. She had infiltrated the other triad gangs to get evidence and intelligence they needed for prosecution and he had used this Intel to the Rising Dragon’s advantage.

His musings pondered that transferring the blame to the Black Panthers for her death may very well have led to the bloodbath in Andy Koo’s club last night. It was well known that there was bad blood between the Rising Dragons and Samuel Li’s triad. Now the problem had just got bigger. It may not just go away and Jiang may not be able to make it go away. This time he might just have been backed into a corner.

The Inspector was in a quandary as he knew Nikita and Karen were in attendance last night as well. He would need to tread professionally with them and play along with the charade with Andy Koo that Nikita wasn’t a member of the OCTB, without giving it away that both were members of the Rising Dragons. He would need to be very careful and balance out the lies upon lies that would come out of his mouth.

This was a tricky situation but it was not insurmountable ... he’d done it before ... but this time he would need to take precautions to cover his own back.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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