Red Phoenix

warning and all the kids will be sent home from school. Anybody able to carry me and my car back home so I can miss the traffic?’
    He grinned. ‘Not that I know of. You’ll have to put up with the traffic.’
    ‘Damn.’
    It was only a short distance to the prestigious apartment blocks of the Mid-levels, but the vertical nature of Hong Kong meant that it was too steep to walk. The government had built a continuous series of escalators that went up the hill, allowing office workers to travel up and down without needing to take the bus. The escalator travelled down until ten in the morning,then changed direction and went up for the rest of the day. Very convenient.
    ‘Where’s Ms MacLaren’s store?’ Gold said.
    ‘Halfway up Hollywood Road. Between one of those tiny shops selling trash and an antiques store that sells the real thing. She specialises in furniture bought on the Mainland and restored in Shenzhen.’
    We stopped halfway up the hill outside the restaurant. Hollywood Road was a steep narrow street lined on both sides with stores selling antiques and furniture. Since the construction of the escalator, a number of Western-style restaurants had also sprung up along the corridor, catering to the expat crowd riding the escalator home.
    I steeled myself, then opened the restaurant door.
    ‘You’ll be fine, ma’am. She’ll understand,’ Gold said softly behind me.
    Rhonda smiled and waved to us from a small table near the windows. Good, I could talk freely over there, nobody would hear us. I winced inside. I didn’t want to tell her this.
    I was ready to shake her hand as I approached, but when I was close enough she embraced me instead. I was thrilled. I had a great deal of respect for Rhonda and really liked her, and was delighted she thought of me as a friend. It made it even more unpleasant, though, thinking of what we were about to discuss.
    Gold shook Rhonda’s hand and we sat.
    ‘Rhonda, have you met Gold?’ I said, trying to remember if she had.
    She shook her head and smiled kindly. ‘No, I haven’t. Hello, Gold, unusual name.’
    ‘He’s one of them ,’ I said pointedly, and she nodded without losing the smile.
    ‘I should be offended, my Lady,’ Gold said, his boyish face full of good humour.
    ‘Why? I was about to say that you’re a lawyer ,’ I said, and Rhonda laughed quietly. ‘He’s a Shen as well, by the way.’
    Gold’s grin widened. ‘Two strikes against me already, ma’am, and I haven’t even said a word to Ms MacLaren.’ He turned to Rhonda. ‘I’m very pleased to meet you. I handle the Dark Lord’s legal matters here.’
    Rhonda blanched. ‘Is Michael in trouble? He’s not in trouble with the police?’
    I waved my hands in front of me. ‘No, no, nothing like that.’ She relaxed. ‘But we do have some things we need to discuss. No problem with the police,’ I reassured her quickly when I saw her face. ‘But let’s order something to eat first, I’m starving.’
    The waiter presented us with menus. I ordered some mineral water and Rhonda asked for a basket of bread.
    It was an upmarket Western restaurant with an interesting fusion of East and West, and from the descriptions on the menu possibly well done, which was unusual. There was even a varied vegetarian selection for me.
    ‘Are you vegetarian, Gold?’ I said, wondering what stones ate.
    ‘Human form, I can eat what I like,’ Gold said. ‘I love ice-cream. Strawberry. But I feel weird…’ He hesitated. ‘Eating the flesh of animals. Not really keen on the idea at all.’
    ‘I am so glad I don’t have to put up with that any more,’ Rhonda said as she eyed the menu. She put it down. ‘There’s obviously something up for you to bring your lawyer, Emma. How about you just tell me?’
    ‘If we’re ready to order I think we should do that first,’ I said, pretending to study the menu. ‘I’m ready. Gold?’
    Gold called the waiter over and we ordered. The vegetarian ho fan with fungi sounded good. Goldordered a vegetarian pizza-type thing and Rhonda had a chicken Caesar salad.
    When the waiter had taken the menus and moved away, I buttered some bread and sighed. ‘This is hard, Rhonda.’
    Gold dropped his head without saying anything. Rhonda shifted impatiently.
    ‘We’ve been under attack quite a lot recently, and last week someone was killed,’ I said.
    Rhonda’s eyes went wide but she didn’t say anything.
    ‘Michael obviously had some friends in very unpleasant places.