“Who in the syndicate is running the negotiations for the tiger-farming legislation?” Knight asked. “Wan Koi?”

“Why are you asking?”

Knight had reached out to him under the implied pretense of investigating the infected tiger cub that the triad had shipped to SafariWorld. Though Knight wasn’t explicit in the lie, he led Cobus to believe that this meeting was about gathering intel on the syndicate, with the ultimate aim of taking them out. “I thought we were past the point of needing to explain ourselves,” Knight replied.

“Wan’s older brother is some businessman named Henry Lee. He handles the legal side of the operation. Big brother is the brains. Little brother is the claws.”

“Can you get me a meeting with Lee?”

Cobus shook his head. “He’s in Hong Kong. He tries to keep his distance.”

“Tell him I have a proposal. He’ll be interested in what I have to say.”

Knight flicked his cigarette into the lake. “I’ll be at the Peninsula Hotel. He can reach me there.”

Knight spent the next few days under self-imposed incarceration, waiting by the phone in his room, afraid of missing the call should Lee choose to reach out. He hadn’t passed along his cell number to Cobus, because he didn’t want anything that could be subpoenaed down the road if Lee’s tiger farming came to the attention of US law enforcement before it became legal. The phone records for a hotel room in China, on the other hand, would be nearly impossible to obtain.

Knight passed the time in his little cell by cleaning out his in-box, ordering room service, browsing for clothes online, and reviewing his well-curated collection of pornography videos. He eventually found himself pacing, and to burn off the nervous energy, he had turned to air squats and push-ups during the day and emptying out the minibar at night. It was a long time to be alone with his thoughts, which were increasingly like house guests who had overstayed their welcome.

On the fourth morning, the phone rang.

“Be outside at the corner of Nathan and Salisbury Road in ten minutes. Leave your phone and briefcase in your room. Bring nothing. Make sure your pockets are empty.”