“Now this is service,” Tristan said with admiration. “That’s the fastest response time I’ve ever seen.” He pointed to the desk. “Right here, mate, if you would.”

The waiter silently put down the tray, then backed out of the room with a bow.

Tristan had the wire cage off in the blink of an eye, then popped the cork. To his delight it caromed off the ceiling. He filled the glasses and carried them over to Marissa, handing her one.

Reluctantly Marissa took the glass he offered her.

Tristan raised his glass up to eye level. “To our Hong Kong sleuthing,” he said.

Marissa clinked his glass with hers. They both drank.

“Now that’s what I call bubbly,” Tristan said. Then, turning to the window, he pointed out. “You haven’t said anything about the view. What do you think?”

“It’s astonishingly beautiful,” Marissa said, eyeing the mountains of Hong Kong Island. White villas dotted the dark green foliage. Below, at the water’s edge and beginning to creep up the hills, were the modern high-rises, opulent testimony to Hong Kong’s power as a major economic center.

“It’s more beautiful than I thought it would be,” Tristan said.

Marissa agreed. She hadn’t imagined it would be so modern. But then Tristan’s comment sank in. Turning to him she asked, “Haven’t you been here before?”

“First time,” Tristan said, still enjoying the view.

“But the way you talked about it,” Marissa said, “I was sure you’d been here.”

“A lot of my friends have been here,” Tristan said. “But not me. I’ve heard a lot about the place and have always wanted to come. Just never had the chance.”

Looking back over at Hong Kong Island, Marissa felt a twinge of disappointment. She had counted on Tristan’s knowledge of Hong Kong to speed their inquiries.

“So anyway,” Marissa said, “back to my question. What’s our first step in contacting the Wing Sin Triad?”

“I don’t know,” Tristan said. “Let’s try to come up with some suggestions.”

“Wait a minute,” Marissa said, putting her glass down. “You’re telling me you don’t have any plan for contacting this Wing Sin Triad?”

“Not yet,” Tristan admitted. “But it’s a big organization. I don’t think we will have any trouble making contact.”

“Oh, give me a break!” Marissa said. “This is a fine time to let me know you’ve never been here before and that you don’t have any ideas about contacting these triad people. What are we going to do, go out on the street and start asking passersby?”

“We’ll do what we have to,” Tristan said.

Marissa stared at him in disbelief. She was beginning to wonder what kind of ally she’d come up with.