Hiram finished dressing, putting on his black pearl collar studs. Tonight's meeting with the 'foreign gentleman" was critical to
his plans, and he must look right. He had decided not to wear any of his more unobtrusive weaponry, as, like as not, they would
be of little use against them an he would meet tonight. Indeed, coming armed with anything more than his wits would have been
seen as a grave insult.
Checking one last time in the mirror, he decided he was as ready as he could be. Hiram looked at his watch, then called for
Uriah to summon his coach, not the hansom, but rather the more formal and impressive four wheeled coach.
He donned his hat and cape, and waited for his coach to arrived.. Then, handed up and in, he was off..
The coach rattled along the cobbled streets of Upper London, turning and twisting through the now-empty streets, The lights of
the great buildings sparkled through the occasional break in the evening mist. No, tonight's meeting was not in Lower London, but
rather in one of the exotic clubs that Hiram owned, albeit owned through a complicated and hard to follow trail of business
fronts. The coach slowed and pulled up in front of a club, decorated in a garish Oriental style. "Chen Yu's Palace of Oriental
Delights" read the marquis. Inside were the usual London entertainments, fine food and drink, and a dance floor and stage, all
with an exotic Oriental feel. Few of its well-to-do clientele knew what went on below that finery, in the sub-levels below ground.
Hiram was escorted in by Chen Yu himself who took Hiram's hat and cape, and shown through a discreet passage to a private area.
There, outside a set of great mahogany doors, Hiram waited, and after a discreet knock, was ushered into a private study, of
muted elegance..
Sitting in a high backed leather chair behind a desk was the man he had waited so long to see...In the chair was a man,
tall,lean and feline, high-shouldered, with a brow like Shakespeare and a face like Satan, a close-shaven skull, and long,
magnetic eyes of the true cat-green. Invested in him was all the cruel cunning of an entire Eastern race, accumulated in one
giant intellect, with all the resources of science past and present, with all the resources, which, if you will, of a wealthy
government--which, however, already has denied all knowledge of his existence. There sat Fu-Manchu, the yellow peril incarnate in
one man.
Hiram bowed deeply. The green eyes bored into him. Fu Manchu spoke:
"I know what you desire from me, and you have something for which I would exchange it"
Hiram was surprised by that voice, clear, and soft, and with only a hint of an accent.
"Ah, I surprise you,do I then? My tutors in your tongue were from Oxford, you see. Please be seated."
Hiram felt a touch on his arm, and turned to find two great, bare-chested, turbaned guards. They brought forward a leather chair,
and a small side table, and placed them down, opposite their master. Fu Manchu gestured, and Hiram sat..
Hiram spoke:
"I am honored to be in your presence, great lord. It is my hope that we can do business profitable to both of us this night.
I have for you a small token of my thanks and appreciation"
Hiram withdrew from his jacket a small leather case, and laid it on the desk. "It is most rare, and I think you will find it well
suited to your particular tastes. It is the concentrated venom of the North Sea Striped Kraken, most deadly."
Fu manchu opened the case, and with drew a sealed vial containing an opaque green liquid that shimmered oddly in the light.
"An excellent gift, Colonel, I have not had the pleasure of owning this particular poison. I offer you a gift in return"
Fu Manchu gestured, and a servant laid a velvet case on the table beside the Colonel.
"Open it, Colonel, and behold"
Hiram opened the case, inside, cushioned in velvet was a dagger, worked in gold, and the finest Japanese layered steel. elegant
yet simple, with its hilt ornamented by a single gem, a star gem, its colour a match for Fu Manchu's eyes.
'I am most deeply thankful, great lord, you do me a singular honour" said Hiram.
'So, now to business, Colonel? My time in your country is short, for I am hounded even as we meet by your countryman Nayland
Smith. But I am a remiss host, a drink perhaps, before we talk?"
Hiram nodded, and immediately a servant laid a decanter of brandy and a glass on the sire table. On the desk beside Fu Manchu,
a servant placed a decanter containing a liquid whose colours seemed to shift with the light, and a small crystal glass.
Hiram waited as the servants poured.
"Ah, you wonder at my drink? It is a wondrous sight is it not? That Colonel is what in your Latin tongue would be "Elixir vitae".
It is the drink of life, and has allowed me to live these many centuries unaged. I alone know its makings, and those servants who
concoct it for me die after the making of each measure. But then, I prattle. A toast, then, "To Mutual Gain" "
Hiram raised his glass, and the two men drank.
"As you have said, then great lord, to business" said Hiram. 'I know you rule the east, as I rule Lower London. You wish to
expand that rule through what is now a European sphere of influence, the subcontinent of India, and through the Hindu Kush and
Khyber to the Mediterranean and Africa. I desire London, and Europe an eventuall the Americas. By our own means we lack resources, but it is in resources that we compliment each others endeavours"
"Indeed, you understand the thing admirably" smiled Fu Manchu, with a smile that was as humorless as death. "I know what you
need to attain your grip on London. You wish to introduce opium and the extract of the Black lotus into your society. I can
provide you with a supply route, as well as access to other items of high profit for you, in return for...."
"I know what you need, dread lord, that being access to London's steam technology and modern arms as well as a way to access
our banking system to handle the funds needed by your organization in Europe. I can provide these" said Hiram.
" Ah, then I see that our ambitions do indeed supplement each other. I think we have reached an..... understanding. I trust our
agents will work out the details satisfactorily"
Hiram rose, and offered his hand. Fu Manchu looked at him and smiled that same smile "I do not shake hands, Colonel, I abhor
the practice, and as my word is my word, I find there is no need of the gesture, we have a bargain"
Hiram bowed and turned to leave. As he did Fu Manchu spoke.
"A caution Colonel, do not think to cheat or betray me, I have a long reach, and there are many more ways to kill a man than you
would realize"
Hiram turned and bowed... "A saying in my country, dread lord.. "Honour among thieves"..
He strode out through the gaiety in the Club, and retrieved his hat and cape.
Later on, in his study, toying with the dagger he had been given and enjoying a whiskey , Hiram smiled to himself.. Yes, it had
been a good meeting indeed....