Reign of Coins by Aiden James Page B

dialect. Now, if he has a good understanding of ancient Persian, or Yiddish and classical Sanskrit, then perhaps he will easily follow the trail of horseshit spewing from your mouth.”
    “Ali!”
    “I’m just teasing, Pops. Really, you need to smile more often. Remember we’re merely visiting with one of Hong Kong’s most reclusive natives. It’s not a frigging wake!”
    My boy was beginning to give me a complex. Not to brag, but I carry a reputation as being one of the immortal world’s best at the art of social skills and ingratiating one’s self with strangers. I’ve never lacked for charm—even Alistair acknowledged that fact yesterday. However, it seems when my charisma is not in active employment, I’m as comely as a fang-bearing serpent. And, I don’t mean the silver-tongued variety. Too late for charm school, my only immediate recourse is to rely on my kid’s take as to whether I’m winning friends or making enemies.
    “This must be it, huh?”
    We pulled up to a small entrance just beyond the Emergency Room.
    “As far as I can tell, it is,” he said, and pointed to Cheung Sulyn and two stoutly built men standing near the doorway. “It looks like they’re ready for us.”
    Indeed. No sooner than we exited the limousine, the men left Sulyn’s side to greet us. Well, it was more like urging us to get our asses moving. We didn’t stop until we had stepped into the elevator taking us upstairs to Cheung Yung-ching’s private room.
    “I’m glad you were able to do this today, after what happened last night,” said Sulyn. “Alistair told me that you had met with the American who was killed in the accident, and he was a long time acquaintance of yours, William. I am sorry for your loss.”
    I hoped this was all Alistair revealed. He’s been charmed by a beautiful woman before, as recent as last year when we first met Amy Golden Eagle. He gave out sensitive information about me to her within a day of their introduction, long before they fell in love.
    “Thank you, Sulyn, for your concern,” I said, shifting my gaze to the elevator door. We had just arrived on the fifth floor. “Sam will be missed.”
    Well, it’s true. Even though we got on each other’s nerves, the CIA would seem a lot louder without Agent Daniels’ abrasiveness to keep everyone around him in check. Of course, I no longer worked there, so I won’t be missing him as much as those who shared a cup of coffee with him first thing in the morning.
    She nodded respectfully to us as the elevator doors opened, and we stepped out into a long hallway. It occurred to me that she hadn’t introduced her muscular companions, which made things a little awkward as she locked her arm inside Alistair’s and the pair led the way to Cheung Yung-ching’s room. Her escorts seemed as reluctant as me to strike up a conversation. At least the view I was afforded made up for the lack of discourse. As opposed to the two men guarding Sulyn, who were dressed in black from head to toe, she was dressed in a smart business skirt ensemble that was still colorful enough to please the male eye.
    My playing days are long over, and my present admirations would never venture beyond casual. I simply like this woman’s taste and the way she carries herself. In fact, those who enjoyed my earlier physical descriptions of this lovely lady will have to let those suffice. Other than having her hair pulled back away from her lovely neck and wearing lipstick a shade darker than what she donned yesterday. She would make a marvelous catch for the vast majority of young men with a pulse, and perhaps my son in a few months when he is thirty-ish, if not for the fact he’s already attached to someone else.
    Her grandfather’s room was obvious. A pair of casually dressed guards guarded the entrance, and both were packing serious heat. The abode for a man who had much to fear—even in old age.
    The guards stepped aside and all five of us entered the room. In actuality, it