Vice Cop Ch. 10

"That's what we're here for ma'am," Vince said.

They walked down the corridor which was sort of long. On either side of the walls, which seemed old and a bit soiled, were chairs and benches. At the end of the corridor they came across a kind of "fork" room. The room had potted plants and Chinese lanterns here and there. The saunas were sprawled everywhere and lots of steam seemed to becoming from them. One room held a large pool. No one seemed to be taking a swim at the late hour.

"So what do we do now?" Vince said, "we gonna actually bust the doors open and check these rooms out? There are nude men in there you know."

"Hey, it's part of the job," said Hudson.

They burst into one of the rooms.

Inside, hot steam surrounded the two men inside. It was so thick, like heavy mist, and the men were barely visible. But they were clearly Asian men and they were surprised to see Hudson and his partner Vince. Although they remained seated, they looked as if something terrible had happened. They began to murmur in Chinese.

"Don't be alarmed, this is the police," said Hudson, "we're conducting an investigation into this establishment. We want to ask you gentlemen a few questions. Do either of you speak English?"

"I speak English," said one of the men, "what you want to know?"

He got up and wrapped a towel around his lower body, covering his shame. He looked at Hudson with fixed eyes. He was an overweight man and sweat was pouring down his body. The other man, who was thinner, was seated and looking at the scene with an indifferent sort of expression in his face.

"Do you frequent this bathhouse a lot?"

"I do."

"Do you know if anything illegal happens here, as in prostitution or drugs?"

"I know nothing. I think that the lady who works here may know a little about that."

"The lady who waits at the front entrance?"

"Yes."

"Looks like she lied to us, Hudson," Vince said to him, "she may know everything."

"Thank you, gentlemen and forgive the intrusion," Hudson said to them..........

When Hudson and Vince returned to the entrance of the bathhouse, the Chinese lady was not there. She was nowhere to be seen and it seemed as if she had gone.

"Damn," Vince said, "she escaped. What now?"

"We come here again another day," said Hudson, "come on, McClintock. We're going to meet up with the other cops, and see what they dug up."...

* * * *

The lady who worked as hostess and waited at the door of the bathhouse was in actuality one of the few women who profited off the Golden Empire Mafia but who was not part of it per se. She was paid to provide the Emperor with certain girls she would herself pick up. The Emperor Zheng himself frequented the bathhouse, but very infrequently, and this is where the girls entertained him. Seeing Hudson and Vince coming in to investigate prompted her to tell the Emperor.

"And you say they are cops?" he said to her, as if to make absolutely sure.

"They are Vice cops from the city," she said, "it looks like they will be returning to continue the investigation."

"They want to find a link between the bathhouse and me," the Emperor said, "the American male cop is clever. But I am the Divine Emperor. And they will not bring me down. Ling, tell me when you see the cops again and keep lying to them. If they ask you questions, tell them you know nothing. I will find a way to get rid of these cops, or even find a way to get even with them."

TWELVE

Looking for the secret Chinese triad proved difficult, and the crime organization Golden Empire remained out of reach, secretive and even mysterious. Some believed it was all an urban myth, rumors without truth and the product of the imagination of Chinatown people themselves. The fact that girls went missing often was not new. The same thing had been happening since the 70's. It was believed they were sold into sexual slavery and prostitution but because there was no indication it was happening within the city, it was believed they were taken abroad or to other parts of the US. But Vice had not given up and neither had Hudson Banach, determined to get to the bottom of it. It was especially significant for him now that he had married a Chinese woman himself.

There were times Hudson thought that sweet and innocent Cherry could be the next victim, the next Asian girl to be abducted and to go missing for years. He worried about her when he was away and had taken to doing the grocery shopping himself so that she wouldn't go out of the house. Cherry did her best to remain happy but she felt, often times, like a prisoner in her own home.

She would watch television a lot but she found the shows very uninteresting, including the daytime soap operas. She did not understand much English but she felt that the shows were dull. She understood Hudson's concern, especially after he told her about the missing girls in China and the secret Chinese crime organization Golden Empire. Chery was terrified.

Back at the precinct, Hudson felt like time was running out. He knew, as well as the head honchos like Chief Barry Hiller, Isaiah Dante and the big wigs of administration at the NYPD, that if they didn't get any leads and any real clues as to what was going on in Chinatown, they would label the case as unresolved and would remain that way for a long time while in the meantime more missing girls would turn up.

"Maybe you're going about it the wrong way, Hudson," said Vince, as he sipped his coffee with Hudson, " you have to look into this from another angle. Let's just go after the drugs. It's not been too hard for us here at Vice to locate drug dealers and their hideouts. One thing will lead to another."

"Yeah but Vice has already looked into the drug trafficking that Golden Empire's conducted," said Hudson, "we still don't know where their lead guy is hiding. I think there's a connection between him and the missing girls. If he thinks he's an old Chinese Emperor then surely the girls are taken to him as gifts or as sex slaves. You gotta think that way in order to figure this thing out."

"Makes sense. But where are the girls? "

"We need to get back to that bath house and talk to that woman."

"You are really into this stuff aren't you?"

"I'm going to Chinatown a lot more now. My wife and I are going to celebrate New Years there tomorrow. I'm just worried is all. Someone can take advantage of her, she's like a child. A sweet child."

"Hudson, I know that it's not my business, but --"

Hudson looked at him as if trying to read his face. Vince thought of his words carefully.

"It seems like you got married in a rush. What made you want to get married so soon? You hardly knew the girl and you ordered her from a catalog for Christ's sakes."

"Don't talk about her. She's my wife. You keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you. Besides, my personal life is none of your business, Vince. Now come on. We've got work to do. We're going to find out if that Asian woman is working at that bathhouse tonight.".....

Back at the Forbidden Palace, the Empress had decided she needed a new slave girl. She took up the matter with her husband. He had just finished smoking a hookah and talking business with his Mafiosi associates. As always, he was dazzled by his wife's beauty. She had on a long flowing red robe dotted with little golden flowers. Her hair was coiffured beautifully. She had on white powder on her face.

"My Lord," she said to him, "the time has come again for us to take a new slave."

"It is time," he said to her, taking her hand and offering her a seat.

They were not in the Throne Room. They were seated in a small chamber surrounded in Japanese style screens and they sat on the rug. This was a little corner of the Palace where they enjoyed receiving guests and socializing while smoking. He offered her to smoke with his hookah but she declined. She had never been a smoker. She kept her body clean from the inside and out.

"My Lord," she continued, " I have given this matter much thought. I am told by one of your friends that there is a man, an agent from a mail-order bride company, a man who goes by the name of Nat Coldwell."

"I have heard his name mentioned."

He deals in bringing Asian women to this country as wives for Americans. Surely this man can, if properly convinced through the right offer, bring us a slave girl for our court."

"What a wonderful idea, my wife. I will take to this Nat Coldwell myself. One of my partners who comes to the Palace knows the location of his office. I will talk to him and convince him to get us a girl and I'll pay him for it. Before long, the court shall have a new beauty to serve us."

The Empress smiled.

* * * *

Nat Coldwell was sitting in his office filing papers when there was a knock at his door. He cleared his throat.

"Come in."

The man who entered his office was an Asian in a business suit. He greeted him with a quick smile.

"Mr. Coldwell," he said, "I'm here to talk to you about a very different sort of business."

Coldwell did not seem surprised but raised an eyebrow.

"Have a seat."

"I'd like to talk to you about a proposal," he said sitting down.

"What kind of proposal? Are you interested in ordering from our catalog?"

"No."

Coldwell stared at him.

The man showed him a briefcase containing a large amount of money which made Coldwell's jaw drop.

"The Emperor of the Golden Empire wants a slave girl," he said him, "and he knows you deal in bringing girls to this country as wives. I know this is not something you'd normally do but as you can see, you will be handsomely rewarded."

"Which of the girls interest the Emperor?"

He looked at the catalog which was in plain sight. He found a photo of Cherry and a smile crossed his lips.

"What a beautiful creature, so coy and so submissive looking," he said, "she would suit the Emperor well."

"That one? But, but she...she has already been bought. She is married. Her husband is --"

"The Emperor will be most pleased with that one, I assure you. The offer still stands. If you bring that girl to the Emperor that is."

He took a deep breath.

"I will be doing something I would never find myself doing. I have sold women as brides to members of the Mafia before but -"

"What is the problem here?"

"This woman is already married. She was given to a police officer with the NYPD. His name is Hudson Banach, he works Vice. This was a recent marriage, too."

"The Divine Emperor wants this girl and his will is law. Be warned, if you don't do as he asks, he will find a way to harm you."

"Where would I meet with the Emperor?"

"You may find him at the August Moon bathhouse in Chinatown. He goes there often and brings some of his prostitutes to work there. Take the girl to him there and you will be paid. He will be there on the New Year celebration."

"It's a done deal. Tell the Emperor the girl is as good as his."

THIRTEEN

It was Chinese New Years.

Chinatown was alive with a magic that Hudson had not seen since his own childhood days when he would wander into Chinatown, fascinated by the culture, and stood starry-eyed as dragon floats sailed down the street. Chinese lanterns, by the millions, were lit and everywhere Hudson and Cherry walked they were cast in blue, jade- green, yellow, red, orange and purple lights. Though it was night, folks were up and about as if it was high noon.

Cherry had insisted on attending the celebration and she longed to see the parade. Hudson would not refuse her anything and they went, although something inside Hudson's gut told him danger lay ahead.

The Parade was in full swing by the time they got there. They had previously eaten dinner at Madame Chang's. Cherry was like a little girl in a woman's body, joyfully drinking up the sights and sounds, intoxicated by the culture she was so familiar with. The red and green luck dragons, controlled by performes from the inside of the large caterpillar-like costume, rolled down the street. Confetti was falling from the sky and Chinese folk music played. Folks were dining al fresco and people applauded and smiled.

Hudson's eyes moved about the crowds, sensing something was not right. This carnival-like atmosphere was perfect for a criminal to do his thing. He was disappointed that his recent investigation into Chinatown's seedy underbelly hadn't produced any results. As far as he knew, crime was going unpunished and this crime of abducting young girls, obviously to be made into sexual slaves, was a threat and a danger to his own Chinese bride.

As the exotic music became livelier, Cherry began to move her feet, almost as if they had a will of their own, and danced by herself, swaying her head from side to side and gliding here and there. This amused Hudson and he took her hand and danced with her for a bit. Confetti fell around them and their dancing drew the attention of spectators standing and watching the parade.

It also drew the attention of Nat Coldwell and the Emperor. They were hiding among the crowds, and Nat pointed to Cherry. The Emperor smiled and they whispered to each other. Cautiously, Nat approached Hudson and Cherry. He tapped Hudson on the shoulder.

"Mr. Banach, I presume," he said to him.

"Coldwell, funny running into you here," Hudson said, "you celebrating New Years too?"

The two began to converse and Hudson was now distracted. Cherry stood next to him but she turned to see the parade as it drew to a close. The Emperor moved quickly. With a light and swift tread, he came up to Cherry and seized her, covering her mouth to keep her from screaming. This happened under Hudson's nose. Nat was able to look over Hudson's shoulder and smiled. But Hudson, still sensing something suspicious, turned behind him.

"Cherry!" he shouted.

He turned to Nat who was about to run off but Hudson's seized him in a fierce grip, taking him by the neck and lifting him up off his feet. He knew he had just been tricked. He threw Nat onto the floor.

Struck by the sudden wildness, his head hit the street and he was unable to move. Hudson ran after the Emperor who was carrying Cherry away. Hudson zigzagged through the crowds, running wildly after them. Before long, they were in a dark alley and Hudson's strong eyesight could see in the dark. He couldn't make out who the Emperor was or his appearance but he was able to see that he ran swiftly and that out of the darkness emerged ninjas who helped him to escape. The ninjas grabbed Cherry and they disappeared down a sewer.

Fueled by anger, he ran and found the spot where they had descended into the sewer but they had locked the sewer lid from the bottom and Hudson was unable to get in................

The following morning, Hudson was back at the precinct in Manhattan. Furious, he told the Chief everything. The Chief was horrified and he had been conversing with Lieutenant Dante and another detective, talking, of all things, about further investigation into the Golden Empire Mafia.

"I'm telling you, Chief, this Chinese mob is responsible for kidnapping innocent girls and taking them to a subterranean lair where this Mob holds court. I saw it with my own eyes when an important-looking man,possibly the mob boss, carried my wife away with a group of ninjas. They went down a sewer but I was unable to get down there because they locked it."

"I'm sorry to hear about what happened to Cherry," the Chief said, "and yes, all the pieces seem to fit alright."

"There's more," Hudson said, "the man who arranged for me to marry Cherry, the agent I paid money to, is a real piece of scum. He is responsible for having Cherry abducted. I suspect the Chinese Mob paid him for this. I knocked him out but I was unable to find him afterward. So if we find this guy, he would be able to tell us more information."

"Don't you know where his offices are located?" Lieutenant Dante said, somewhat surprised.

"I never met with him at his office, but I'm sure your detective here can work on finding him."

"Don't worry, Banach, we'll get this guy. He's going to pay for this," the Chief continued, "meanwhile, I'm going to do my best to help you get Cherry back. I know this is very personal but now it's also a case about finally locating the Golden Empire we've been searching for and arresting its leader."

"How are we going to do this, Chief?"

"I'll send you and some of our best cops working Vice to go down into the sewers of Chinatown. This is a very dangerous mission so we have to take all the necessary precautions. You will all be armed and you'll be able to communicate with us here when you need to."

"I'm ready, Chief," Hudson said, "the sooner we do this the better."....................

The Empress had dressed Cherry in a jade-green, flowers-specked kimono and personally painted her face in white, coloring her lips a blood-red. They were in the room that had been reserved especially for her. Cherry was pale and stiff, trying to be brave but broken and feeling defeated on the inside. Various servant girls helped to embellish her costume by putting flowers in her hair which they had arranged into a long ponytail which fell down her back like a snake hung on her back. She had been scented in fragrant perfume. None of these pretty touches made her feel comfortable or safe. She knew she was among dangerous people. She also knew that her fate was to work as a sex slave, whose only job was to sexually please whoever they gave her to.

And the Empress was staring at her lasciviously....

* * * *

The descending darkness made Chinatown look somber and still. No one seemed to be up and about, though it was still early in the evening. Many had already finished celebrating the New Year, at least publically, and had continued their celebration by honoring their ancestors privately at home. Hudson and a team of cops had entered Chinatown furtively, trying not to attract attention. Tonight might be the night the Golden Empire would fall, and whatever hold they still had over the town, it would all end tonight.

And Hudson knew it was going to be one long, hellish night.

The cops at his side were cops he knew from Vice -Mott, Flanders, Stevens, Owens, Burke and Nielsen. Vince McClintock, who had begun to enjoy a fine partnership with Hudson, was also at his side. Hudson was a bit edgy, but he tried hard to keep cool and to stay strong and focused. He knew that this was the most personal assignment he had ever taken on. Cherry's life was at stake. Perhaps she had been kidnapped for a special, particular reason. It was this Mob's way of trying to intimidate cops or defying them. Hudson knew that they could easily kill her for this reason, because she was linked to a cop.

Earlier that day, Nat Coldwell had been arrested. Besides having accepted money from the Mafia to allow the kidnap of Cherry, his record proved that he had taken other bribes and had himself been involved in some illegal activities, also connected to Mafia. He knew various Mafia members and he had arranged for them to buy women from his catalog. Because he never reported these Mafiosi, he was acting out as a kind of accomplice, even if it was in the guise of a professional who worked with them as an mail-order-bride agent. None of the women had ever wanted to marry members of the Mafia. Coldwell was taken to a correctional facility and would stand trial, with an obvious jail sentence at the end.

Hudson and McClintock, side to side, moved through the streets, trying to find the best way into the sewers. They decided to split up. Hudson told McClintock to lead the rest of the cops down the sewers but to leave him alone. He'd go on another route in the sewers, which were sure to be long and labyrinthical, and he'd go after the Mob by himself. McClintock did not like Hudson's idea but rather than arguing, which he'd lose anyways, he chose to comply. It was all very personal and Hudson wanted to be alone and do this alone...........