Some forty minutes later, Isaac Cameron pulled into the Parkville district of Melbourne and arrived at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
After parking in the lot, Isaac Cameron said to Charlie wade, “Young Master, Butler Stephen is in the intensive care unit of the emergency department. Shall we head in now, or send someone ahead to scout first?”
Charlie wade said, “Straight in.”
With that, he pushed open the door and stepped out.
Charlie wade figured that since Wu Fiona had never targeted the Wade family for elimination, Stephen Thompson, as the family’s butler, would not be on her radar either, so he need not worry about drawing the Poqing Society into this mess.
With the Poqing Society out of the equation, there was little left to fret over. The priority was to go in, see Stephen Thompson, heal his wounds without delay, and get to the bottom of why he had left without a word.
And so, the three entered the hospital together and made for the emergency department. Isaac Cameron inquired about the location of the intensive care unit and led Charlie wade and Don Albert up to the second floor.
At the nurses’ station on the second floor, an on-duty nurse called out to them in English, “Who are you looking for?”
Isaac Cameron replied at once, “We’re looking for the injured Chinese gentleman, about sixty-something years old, in intensive care.”
The nurse said, “He has been discharged.”
“Discharged?!”
Aside from Don Albert, who could not understand English, Charlie wade and Isaac Cameron were both dumbfounded.
Charlie wade stepped forward immediately and pressed her, “When was he discharged? Wasn’t his condition serious? Why let him go?”
The nurse said, “He left three hours ago. His injuries were indeed severe, but he was no longer in mortal danger. He insisted on discharging himself, and we could not force him to stay, so we processed the paperwork.”
Charlie wade frowned and quickly asked, “Do you know who collected him?”
“No one.” The nurse said, “He left on his own, using a crutch.”
Charlie wade was utterly astonished.
Even if Stephen Thompson was out of immediate danger, the photos Claire Wilson had shown him made it clear his injuries were far from minor; he would need at least a month of bed rest to recover properly. Yet here he was, less than twenty-four hours later, discharging himself. This hasty exit, was it to evade whom?
Those teenagers?
Or some old enemy?
Or perhaps, to evade him?
Charlie wade could not make sense of it for the moment. What he did not realise was that he had already fallen for Stephen Thompson’s ploy of luring the tiger away from the mountain.
Even less did he know that at this very moment, Stephen Thompson, limping along with the aid of several men in black, was boarding a small HondaJet at a modest civilian airstrip on the outskirts of Melbourne.
The aircraft was privately owned by a small-time mine operator from Western Australia, not particularly wealthy, so this sub-ten-million-dollar private jet was hardly ostentatious. In these parts, it was just an entry-level toy for the merely affluent.
Since it was a private airfield takeoff, and the filed flight plan ran from Melbourne to Port Hedland in Western Australia, with no international legs, the passengers faced no inspections or registrations. They simply drove onto the field, bypassed the terminal altogether, and boarded at the end of the runway.
The plane’s owner resided in Melbourne with his family during off-work periods and flew solo to Western Australia for business. His main trade involved shipping iron ore from his mines to Port Hedland for export to clients in China, so he made the round trip between Melbourne and there most weeks. Stephen Thompson hitching a ride on his jet made it nigh impossible for outsiders to trace.
The plane taxied and lifted off in the dawn light, streaking from Australia’s southeast towards the northwest, tracing a diagonal across the continent.
Once the aircraft touched down at the airfield near Port Hedland, Stephen Thompson would board an iron ore freighter and set sail from there for Japan.
Meanwhile, outside the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Charlie wade gazed at the sprawling city road network and frowned, “Butler Stephen’s mobility is impaired, so on his own, he couldn’t have gone far.”
Isaac Cameron asked, “Young Master, shall I mobilise the local staff to track him down?”
Charlie wade sighed, “I’m afraid Butler Stephen is deliberately avoiding me.”
At that, something occurred to Charlie wade, and he said to Isaac Cameron at once, “Come on, to the police station. We’ll ask the local constabulary for help. Butler Stephen only immigrated to Australia recently, so his legal documents and procedures must be all in order. The police might have more details on file.”
Isaac Cameron nodded, but asked with some concern, “Young Master, what identity shall we use to request their assistance? If the police insist on verifying our connection to Butler Stephen first, it will be hard to produce any proof.”
Charlie wade felt an inexplicable irritation and, brow furrowed, said, “We’ll try our luck first. If they make it too difficult, I have ways to make them talk!”
