Gold Sharks by Albert Able Page B

warehouse has been patched up.”
    Alex could the roof repairs and noted the bright yellow mobile crane parked close by. Otherwise the dock appeared to be deserted.
    â€œI’ve seen at least two different coasters working at that quay recently. I checked with the harbour log - they were not registered. Of course that’s not entirely unusual - many independent water traders come and go without any paperwork. Some are legal local traders; others I’m sure are not. It’s almost impossible to manage the thousands of movements inside a large harbour like this,” David waved his hand in a hopeless gesture.
    Alex accepted the binoculars Ling produced from his brief case.
    â€œHere, try these,” he said simply.
    Alex nodded his thanks and looked into the lenses. He was silent for a moment as he studied the fenced area. “There doesn’t seem to be anything obvious to me.”
    He passed the glasses to Ling, who also studied the site for a while.
    â€œI have to agree,” Ling said after a couple of minutes, “but perhaps we need to be a little closer?”
    â€œI’m going into the office now so I’ll have a quiet dig round for any new information on the area.” David volunteered. “I’ll call as soon as I have anything.”
    Later that day David called Ling.
    â€œIt certainly is a mystery. The records have undoubtedly been tampered with. I can’t find any current evidence of any current or historic contracts for those buildings or the quayside facilities. In fact, as far as the harbour authority records are concerned, that area simply doesn’t exist,” he concluded.
    â€œThanks for that David. Perhaps you will keep your ears and eyes open for anything else unusual?” Ling rang off and called Alex to relay the information.
    That evening they met near David’s apartment block. Ling carried a small holdall. He greeted Alex with a grin.
    â€œSee I’m a good Boy Scout, ready for anything.” He patted the bag.
    They walked the five hundred metres or so to the fenced area in silence. Stopping near the wire, they surveyed the buildings and quayside. There was no sign of life. Cautiously, they walked the perimeter. At one point they discovered that the wire finished against the decaying wall of an ancient building. Circling around the gable, they found that the wire started again on the other side.
    â€œStrange there isn’t any sign of life on this side of the fence either,” Alex commented in a whisper as they stopped by the edge of the quay to assess their findings. “Looks as though there’s only one entrance in the whole circuit and the warehouse is completely isolated from the perimeter, except of course where it joins the remains of the old building,” Alex concluded, looking back. “I suggest that we take another look.”
    They gingerly retraced their steps. There had once been a door but that had been replaced with a new piece of heavy shuttering ply, screwed firmly into place. The only window was broken and boarded up from the inside.
    Peering into the darkened alcove next to the door, they stumbled on the body of a man. Well at first they thought he was dead but when Ling touched the prostrate form with his foot and the face looked up at them with a start they were as stunned as he was.
    â€œWhat do you want?” the body squeaked meekly in Chinese.
    â€œWhat are you doing here?” Ling snapped back in the same dialect.
    The man tried to stand up but was clearly in pain. Without speaking, Alex stepped forward to help the man to his feet. Though hesitant at first, he accepted the help.
    â€œI was...I was hiding from you,” he replied defiantly, stretching his aching limbs.
    â€œWhy?” Ling asked, curious.
    The old man looked away.
    â€œI used to live opposite here,” he said sadly, pointing to a heap of rubble a few metres away. “But they knocked down all the buildings