Li Jin stood in the glass elevator as a crowd of chattering Hong Kong shoppers gregated around him. It was a death trap pure and simple. He was vulnerable in the basement of the shoppier. If the man on the escalator was waiting for him on the floor above or on his way down, he was in big trouble. He peered at the row of buttons on the elevator and his suspis were firmed. Every siton had been pressed. The only way out was to somehow disappear into the crowds but if the man was standing at the entrance of the elevator on the floor above there was no way to do that.
Then his attention was drawn to the elevator buttons. A sigo the buttons annouhat the basement housed the food court and an underground parking lot. The elevator doors were closing. He pushed violently through the crowds and stuck his hand through the closing elevator doors. It was a risky move but it was his only ce. Dui bu qi, dui bu qi, he apologized in Mandarin as the door opened and he emerged from the claustrophobifines of the packed elevator. His eyes quickly sed the crowds and the elevatliding downwards. He took a gamble and ran to the left, away from the escalators.
Li Jin followed the dire signs as he ran bumping into shoppers who cursed at him in tohe gods were really with him today, there were arrows pointing towards the parking lot. He kept running as he followed the signs on the floor, his backpack swaying from side to side but somehow propelling him forward. He emerged from the pristine and well-lit interior of the mall into a huge space of featureless crete walls and the smell of exhaust smoke. A winding tuo the left suggested a. A powerful Mercedes wound its way down into the parking lot firming his suspis. The exit. He headed past the Mercedes a running upwards, the winding road and the ine causing waves of pain to creep up his legs. Li Jin was not used to strenuous physical activity.
Who was that ese guy? What did he want? Had he over-reacted to a shopper just casually glang at him? Was it just a curious fellow mainlander? Not likely. Li Jin always trusted his instincts and they had served him well in the past. Besides, it was always better to be safe than to be sorry. There was a car ing up on his side of the tunnel. He switched to the other side. There was no island in the middle. Then the headlights of yet another car and the whine of an engine suggested another car was ing dowunnel. He was trapped. Li Jin moved aside just in time missing both cars by fras of an inch. One of the drivers screeched to a halt and blasted his horn in anger.
Li Jin emerged into a busy Tsimshatsui backstreet. He guessed that it ran parallel to Nathan Road. There were several back alleys strewn with black rubbish bags leading off from the street. Li Jin ran down one of them and was relieved to find that the alley he had chosen ended in a large square full of mostly young people. There were huge video ss everywhere with to-pop and advertising blaring out of powerful speakers. Li Jin disappeared into the crowds, his heart beating violently.
***
His scary ordeal at the Miramar Shoppier had put Li Jin』s nerves oerhooks. This was not going to be easy but he was determio pull it off. Additional precautions o be taken.
He emptied his bowl of spicy Dan Dan Noodles, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked at his cheap imitation Citizen watch. It was 5.30PM. Soon he would be rich beyond his wildest dreams. He moved off towards a da