teeth grinding. Amanda shot a glance at Ava that said, How could they be so dumb?
“We heard what we wanted to hear, and we were going to Morton’s. What could happen at Morton’s?” he said.
“So you get to Macau . . .”
“Yes, and they’re waiting for us outside the station. We start to walk towards the taxi stand when Wu — who has a big cast on his arm — and another guy come up to us. The guy has a coat on, a gun sticking out of it. Wu tells us to follow him,” Michael said. “We should have run at that point, I guess, or screamed, or done something, but neither of us has ever had a gun in our face. We were so shocked, so scared that we just went along. They took us to a white van that was parked near the station. There was a driver I didn’t recognize. They opened the rear door and made us get in. The guy with the gun jumped in after us. Wu took the gun and held it while the guy tied our hands behind our backs and blindfolded us. Then I think Wu went to sit in the passenger seat while the other guy sat in the back with us.”
“Did anyone say anything to you?”
“Not a word.”
“How long did you drive?”
“Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes, maybe more. I’m not sure; I was completely disoriented.”
“So, no idea of direction.”
“No.”
“Did you stop at a border crossing?”
“No.”
“Do you remember anything at all about the trip, anything out of the ordinary?”
“When we got to where we were going, the van stopped and I heard the driver yell at someone to open the gate. That’s it.”
“And then they took you inside a building?”
“Yes, we climbed five or six steps. I heard a door open and then I heard Lok ask Wu if anyone at the station had paid any undue attention to us.”
“So Lok was there.”
“Oh yes, he was there,” Michael said, his voice cracking.
“Have some coffee,” Ava said.
She finished her own. Amanda pointed to her cup, asking if she wanted another. “Sure,” Ava said.
Michael barely touched his. She saw that his hand was beginning to shake. “Do you mind if we take a break?” he said.
Ava shook her head. “No, we need to get this out of the way. Drink some coffee.” She waited for him to take a couple of careful sips. “Now you’re in a building with Lok and Wu and they start to beat on you, right?”
“They put me on my knees and left me there for maybe ten minutes. I couldn’t see anything, I couldn’t hear anything. Then out of nowhere someone punched me on the ear. I fell over, then they picked me up and left me again.”
“Where was Simon?”
“I don’t know. They separated us when we went inside.”
“Did you ever see him?”
“No.”
“Okay, no Simon, just you on your knees getting punched. Did they say anything?”
“Not while that was going on.”
“How many times did they hit you?”
“Maybe ten times, I don’t know,” Michael said.
“I’m sorry to have to ask these questions,” Ava said, patting the back of the hand that wasn’t burned. “I’m almost done.”
“Maybe ten times — three or four times on my ear, less on my nose, my mouth, my chin.”
“And nothing was ever said?”
“No. I sensed that someone was always near me though. I tried to stand once and they hit me immediately. After that I just stayed on my knees. That was the worst thing — not knowing when I was going to get hit, not knowing what else they might do to me.”
“How did they end it?”
“Someone just grabbed me by the arm and hauled me to my feet. They walked me into what I think was another room and made me sit on a wooden chair. I could hear mumbling, whispering, but I couldn’t make out the words. That’s when someone grabbed my hand and put the cigarette out on it. I screamed, and I pissed a bit in my pants, and there was a lot of laughter.”
Ava saw tears well in his eyes and she felt them in hers too. Amanda sniffled and then began to cry.
“Is that when they finally spoke to you?”
“How did you
“We heard what we wanted to hear, and we were going to Morton’s. What could happen at Morton’s?” he said.
“So you get to Macau . . .”
“Yes, and they’re waiting for us outside the station. We start to walk towards the taxi stand when Wu — who has a big cast on his arm — and another guy come up to us. The guy has a coat on, a gun sticking out of it. Wu tells us to follow him,” Michael said. “We should have run at that point, I guess, or screamed, or done something, but neither of us has ever had a gun in our face. We were so shocked, so scared that we just went along. They took us to a white van that was parked near the station. There was a driver I didn’t recognize. They opened the rear door and made us get in. The guy with the gun jumped in after us. Wu took the gun and held it while the guy tied our hands behind our backs and blindfolded us. Then I think Wu went to sit in the passenger seat while the other guy sat in the back with us.”
“Did anyone say anything to you?”
“Not a word.”
“How long did you drive?”
“Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes, maybe more. I’m not sure; I was completely disoriented.”
“So, no idea of direction.”
“No.”
“Did you stop at a border crossing?”
“No.”
“Do you remember anything at all about the trip, anything out of the ordinary?”
“When we got to where we were going, the van stopped and I heard the driver yell at someone to open the gate. That’s it.”
“And then they took you inside a building?”
“Yes, we climbed five or six steps. I heard a door open and then I heard Lok ask Wu if anyone at the station had paid any undue attention to us.”
“So Lok was there.”
“Oh yes, he was there,” Michael said, his voice cracking.
“Have some coffee,” Ava said.
She finished her own. Amanda pointed to her cup, asking if she wanted another. “Sure,” Ava said.
Michael barely touched his. She saw that his hand was beginning to shake. “Do you mind if we take a break?” he said.
Ava shook her head. “No, we need to get this out of the way. Drink some coffee.” She waited for him to take a couple of careful sips. “Now you’re in a building with Lok and Wu and they start to beat on you, right?”
“They put me on my knees and left me there for maybe ten minutes. I couldn’t see anything, I couldn’t hear anything. Then out of nowhere someone punched me on the ear. I fell over, then they picked me up and left me again.”
“Where was Simon?”
“I don’t know. They separated us when we went inside.”
“Did you ever see him?”
“No.”
“Okay, no Simon, just you on your knees getting punched. Did they say anything?”
“Not while that was going on.”
“How many times did they hit you?”
“Maybe ten times, I don’t know,” Michael said.
“I’m sorry to have to ask these questions,” Ava said, patting the back of the hand that wasn’t burned. “I’m almost done.”
“Maybe ten times — three or four times on my ear, less on my nose, my mouth, my chin.”
“And nothing was ever said?”
“No. I sensed that someone was always near me though. I tried to stand once and they hit me immediately. After that I just stayed on my knees. That was the worst thing — not knowing when I was going to get hit, not knowing what else they might do to me.”
“How did they end it?”
“Someone just grabbed me by the arm and hauled me to my feet. They walked me into what I think was another room and made me sit on a wooden chair. I could hear mumbling, whispering, but I couldn’t make out the words. That’s when someone grabbed my hand and put the cigarette out on it. I screamed, and I pissed a bit in my pants, and there was a lot of laughter.”
Ava saw tears well in his eyes and she felt them in hers too. Amanda sniffled and then began to cry.
“Is that when they finally spoke to you?”
“How did you
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