Red Phoenix

still some things I need to buy.’
    ‘If you can’t do it, just say so. I’ll go out later and collect anything you want,’ Leo said.
    Charlie’s voice softened. ‘Thanks, Leo. I think just a cold electrolyte drink when we get there, and I should be okay.’
    ‘Pocari Sweat,’ Simone said.
    ‘What, Simone?’
    ‘Pocari Sweat,’ Simone repeated patiently.
    ‘Japanese electrolyte drink,’ I said, and waited for it.
    ‘They have a drink called sweat ?’
    ‘Actually it’s not too bad,’ I said.
    ‘I have to try some,’ Charlie said with enthusiasm.
    We entered Shanghai Street. Temple Street was next, but the road was blocked for the market. We parked in a large car park at the entrance to Temple Street.
    Fortune tellers lined the narrow road to the car park. They worked from small folding tables with folding stools, their spaces on the pavement carefully marked by the government. Large banners hung above the tables describing their skills, some in both English and Chinese. Some read heads and faces. Others read palms. Some used tortoise shells and the Yi Ching; John would have been horrified. A large number of people wandered from stall to stall and sat to have their fortunes told. Charlie watched, fascinated.
    Leo carefully eased the car up the ramp into the car park and took a ticket from the gate. A few suspicious-looking young men loitered at the entrance and eyed uscuriously, but a large black Mercedes was one of the most common types of car in Hong Kong.
    ‘Any of them demons, Simone?’ Leo said.
    ‘Nope,’ Simone said.
    The car park started at the third floor after a very long ramp. We went left and up again.
    ‘Look, Charlie,’ I said. ‘This is an unusual building. The expressway goes right through the middle, at about the fourth floor.’
    Charlie watched out the window as we went past the expressway. The road went in one side of the building and out the other. Leo drove up a ramp inside the car park to pass the road.
    It was a long way up before we found a parking space; obviously a busy night in Temple Street. Leo gingerly edged the car backwards into the space. The space was so narrow he had to fold in the side mirrors to avoid the pillars.
    ‘Why does the road go through the building, Emma?’ Simone said.
    ‘The building was already here when they built the expressway,’ I said. ‘It would have cost a lot of money to knock it down, so they just put the road right through.’
    ‘What’s it like to drive through the building?’ Charlie said.
    ‘Like a little tunnel. You don’t even realise you’ve been through the building until you’re out the other side.’ I opened the door to help Simone out. ‘Let’s go and see how much Hello Kitty stuff Simone can buy in one night.’
    Charlie was obviously not impressed when we entered the lift; it was filthy and smelled of urine. The buttons were black with dirt. At the ground floor the lift stopped with a lurching jerk, and Simone squeaked and grabbed my hand.
    ‘Don’t worry, sweetheart,’ I said. ‘This lift always does that.’
    ‘You come here often?’ Charlie said.
    ‘Not really. I used to come here to buy toys for my relatives in Australia, but I saw them at the beginning of this year, so they’ll be happy for a while.’
    The smell of urine was even stronger when we left the lift; the building had public toilets on the ground floor outside the car park entrance. We hurried past.
    A middle-aged Chinese couple sang Chinese opera under a makeshift marquee across the road. A trio of musicians on Chinese instruments accompanied them. A small crowd of passers-by had gathered to watch them.
    ‘Sounds like someone’s torturing a cat,’ I whispered to Leo.
    Leo bent to speak into my ear. ‘I like it. But then again, I hate cats.’
    During the day, Temple Street was a normal Kowloon thoroughfare, lined with shops on both sides. In the evening, stalls were set up, leaving a narrow passageway down the middle. The large number of people moving between the stalls caused a crush.
    Leo walked in front of us and cut a swathe through the crowd. Michael brought up the rear, very serious and professional.
    ‘Mind your bag, Charlie,’ I said quietly. ‘There’s a lot of pickpockets here, targeting the wealthy tourists. This is something of a gang centre.’
    Charlie nodded. ‘Don’t worry, Emma, I’ve been on the Tube in London.’
    Charlie passed the stalls selling T-shirts printed on the spot, and didn’t bother with