Part 16 (2/2)

”I've tried.”

Jia-Li arched an eyebrow. ”Tried?”

”The last few months, bao bei . . .” Sunny searched for the words. ”They have not been the same.”

”It sounds as though he is just exhausted.”

”That might explain it, yes.” Sunny knew there was more to it. Whether it was because of her concealed involvement in the Resistance or her guilt about it, a wedge was growing between her and Franz. The previous night as they lay in bed together, Franz had become suspicious when she pressed for more details about General Nogomi's office. ”Sunny, why do you keep asking about Astor House?” He sat up in the bed. ”What could possibly interest you so much?”

Sunny's mind raced, searching for something plausible. ”I can't stop thinking about him, and the power he lords over us all-it's life and death.”

Franz looked hard at her. ”And what does the location of his desk or the number of soldiers guarding his office have to do with that?”

”Oh, Franz, none of it matters at all.” She wrapped her fingers over the sinewy muscles in his forearm. ”It's just . . .”

”Just what, Sunny?”

”I want to picture it in my head. That's all.” She inwardly cringed as she piled one lie upon the next. Sweat started to bead under her arms. She worried that her face would soon start perspiring, too.

His forehead furrowed. ”What possible purpose would it serve, Sunny?”

”To fantasize, I suppose.”

He eyed her in disbelief. ”I do not understand.”

She ma.s.saged the inside of his arm, loathing herself for this crude attempt at seducing information out of him. ”Remember how we celebrated the night the Allies recaptured Sicily? Or when the Solomon Islands fell? Don't you ever dream of what it would be like if the Allies were to liberate Shanghai?”

Franz shook his head softly. ”That will not happen any time soon.”

”Still, I love to imagine it. I picture General Nogomi standing behind his desk with his head bowed. A shameful surrender. Maybe even handing a ceremonial sword over to the liberators.”

The wrinkles in his forehead smoothed. ”It's dangerous to think that way, Sunny.”

”Why do you say that?”

”It could lead to foolish actions.”

”Or it might inspire us to persevere?”

Franz gently pulled his arm free of her hand. ”True, hope can sustain a person,” he said. ”But too much of it can create unrealistic expectations-and heartbreak.”

Sunny wanted to tell Franz that hope was not the issue. She had no idea when, or even if, Shanghai would be liberated. She was just so tired of feeling helpless. Every day she had less to offer at the hospital, which had been depleted of almost everything needed to offer meaningful care. She was desperate to somehow contribute to the alleviation of the suffering and misery that the j.a.panese occupation was bringing to all of her people: the Chinese, the Shanghailanders and the Jews. Besides, despite her mixed feelings, she still valued the sense of purpose that her first a.s.signment had brought her.

Now, as Sunny stood on the pavement across from her best friend, she had to resist the urge to tell Jia-Li about her connection to the Underground. But she had no right to burden her with such a dangerous secret. Besides, she sensed from Jia-Li's distracted manner and uncharacteristic restlessness that she was wrestling with her own troubles. Sunny hazarded a guess as to their source. ”Do you think Charlie will stay much longer?”

Jia-Li shrugged. ”He says he will leave by month's end, with or without our help.”

Sunny looked back out to the bustling harbour. Naval s.h.i.+ps and merchant crafts speckled the river. The Rising Sun flew everywhere. Near the dock, she sighted the Conte Biancamano, the Italian luxury liner that had carried the Adlers to Shanghai from Europe. The j.a.panese had seized the s.h.i.+p in the wake of the Italian surrender and were refitting it as a troop transport s.h.i.+p. ”Charlie's departure would be both selfish and foolish,” Sunny said.

”Selfish?” Jia-Li placed her hands on her hips. ”Charlie is being n.o.ble. He sees a cause bigger than himself. And he's willing to die for it.”

”And how will his death-which will almost certainly come before he has even escaped the city limits-help anyone?”

”You underestimate him.”

Sunny shook her head. ”I know what he has accomplished. But, bao bei, that was when he had two legs and lungs that still worked. In a few more months, he might be stronger. His breathing might improve. Perhaps then he can make it back to his men.”

”He doesn't think he can wait any longer.”

Sunny was distracted by an unfamiliar warbling sound overhead. She glanced up but could see nothing aside from pillowy clouds. She turned back to Jia-Li. ”Then you have to convince Charlie otherwise.”

”The man is a war hero. Why would he listen to a prost.i.tute?”

Sunny grimaced. ”What kind of nonsense is that, Ko Jia-Li?”

”It's true.”

Sunny softened her tone. ”Surely you have noticed the way he looks at you.”

Jia-Li reddened. ”Charlie looks at me no differently than he does Yang.”

The warbling sound grew louder. Sunny glanced upward again. ”Really? I'm not convinced Charlie is smitten with Yang.”

”Smitten? With me?” Jia-Li reached out and touched Sunny's shoulder. ”Do you think he is, xio he?”

Sunny had hardly ever seen her world-wise friend so fl.u.s.tered. ”And he's clearly not alone, bao bei,” Sunny said with a chuckle.

Jia-Li touched her throat in mock outrage. ”You think that I have a crush on-”

Her words were cut off by the sound of aircraft engines. A formation of planes suddenly broke through the clouds. They descended so rapidly toward the river that Sunny thought they must be in a nosedive. Their engines whirred with a pitch lower than that of the j.a.panese fighters, the Zeroes, which normally patrolled the skies.

The sidewalk vibrated as the planes flew low enough for Sunny to make out the markings painted across their noses: a pair of predatory eyes and an open mouth full of jagged teeth. Stars and stripes were tattooed along the sides of the fuselages.

”The Americans!” Jia-Li yelled over the roar.

The planes-Sunny counted eight of them-banked simultaneously over the river, flying parallel to the sh.o.r.eline before swooping down on the Conte Biancamano. Their wings spat fire, and water sprayed out of the river. The rat-tat-tat of the machine guns almost drowned out the sound of the engines.

Puffs of smoke rose from the turret of a nearby j.a.panese guns.h.i.+p as it returned fire. The planes banked again and circled tightly for a second strafing run over the s.h.i.+p. An air-raid siren wailed. Other sirens blared too as military vehicles roared down the Bund in both directions. Pedestrians scurried for shelter under buildings' overhangs. Sunny and Jia-Li stood frozen, both of them stunned by the sight of the aerial a.s.sault.

The American planes circled and made a third run past the Conte Biancamano. Flames began to lap at the s.h.i.+p's stern. The bitter stench of smoke and cordite filled the air.

More airplanes appeared on the horizon over Putong, on the eastern sh.o.r.e of the river. Even from a distance, Sunny recognized the shape of the Zeroes as they zoomed over to meet the Allied planes.

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