Scaramanga's select group of henchmen trailed behind led by the few individuals named in Chapter 5 of the Captain Stuart/Scaramanga backstory: Chop-xin, Lin Ye Tan, Fang Chi, and Timothy. There were others of course but Captain Stuart didn't have time to memorize them. All he knew was that he was being safely escorted through the dank, sunless streets of Kowloon Walled City toward a rendezvous with some nice people that Scaramanga thought might have some work for him. Scaramanga suggested that they might be able to get something strong to drink. Captain Stuart imagined that this might be some "fizzy stuff" that his super cool father had once given him unbeknownst to Lady Turnips while Lord Turnips was watching the youngster during one of Mother's Summer trips to the Greyhawk baths.The entourage armed with bill hooks, halberds, nunchukus and assorted other swords and blades appeared incredibly formidable except anyone who giving the assorted arsenal closer inspection would immediately notice that these were stage weapons and largely made of light woods and having rubber blades. Scaramanga began to calculate in his mind the danger he might be in if things went south at the Lucky Dragon. He mused to himself that he was armed with his trusty golden gun (tm). He was painfully aware in his calculations that it would only provide him with only one incredibly accurate shot per minute. So, while he could likely find the precise location of greatest vulnerability and deliver a killing shot on a Wyvvern or Stone Giant, or one of the lesser Lovecraftian demi-gods, he'd be in trouble with a capital T if he encountered a mass foe, such as an army of ghouls, or a mass of martial artists, or heaven forfend . . . an army of ghoul martial artists. In most eventualities, he'd have to trust that his art-obsessed entourage would be able to bluff their way through. Although the eventuality of an army of ghouls would have greater consequences beyond his ability to calculate exactly at that moment. Just as he was doing these mental gymnastics his entourage arrived at the Lucky Dragon.
(They have a nice new sign)
As they entered the Lucky Dragon, the door slammed shut behind Scaramanga and Captain Stuart and around 10 of the members of the entourage who had managed to squeeze into the rather smallish establishment, which was not a casino at all but rather some sort of smorgasbord type cafeteria. The remaining indeterminate number of Scaramanga's entourage were forced to stare in the glass windows as they waited for some space to open up inside. Scaramanga and Captain Stuart apprised the board of fare. The food seemed to be competitively priced, although heavily weighted toward starchy rice, some gristley batter-coated chicken or perhaps pork and some rather dodgy looking beans and broccoli in a sort of brownish sauce. Captain Stuart asked the lady for some "fizzy stuff" to drink and he was handed a red can that was room temperature at best. Scaramanga, glanced at the can in Captain Stuart's hands and asked if he'd ever drank Coca Cola before.
Scaramanga decided to ask after Heung Wah-yim to see if he needed any "wet" work done. Bounding out from the kitchen came a rotund Asian man wearing a rather worn plaid short sleeve shirt, chinos and wearing a white apron stained with the previously noted brownish sauce. Scaramanga noticed (and devotees who read his advice column will note how important this is) that his old client's shoes were cracked and the laces were frayed: not the way to convey confidence and success at all.
"Hello, hello, Engrish Gentlemens, How can Heung Wah-yim help you today? Have you try Fried Duck with plum sauce?" Scaramanga noticed at once that his old client had fallen on rather hard times. "Heung Wah-yim you old scoundrel, how the devil are you?" Heung Wah-yim greeted Scaramanga with a scowl. "You should not come to Kowloon Scaramanga! General Tang's men are searching the street for you. He say you owe him a first edition copy of Balzac's Human Comedy
and you no pay off bet on Grand National rast year." He had no sooner stopped talking when the sound of a scuffle in the street could be heard and several bursts from the distinctive Type 50 submachine gun carried by the People's Liberation Army soldiers.(This is Balzac)
(The CHICOM soldiers looked like this, except NOT smiling)
Scaramanga knew at once that he needed to make a beeline from the Lucky Dragon because as already mentioned, his golden gun (tm) was no match for a platoon of CHICOM soldiers armed with burpguns. General Tang's men shot up the window of the Lucky Dragon and burst through in dramatic fashion. Some of them armed with rifles and bayonets lunged toward the members of Scaramanga's entourage and a fight ensued in which the close spaces of the tightly compacted restaurant provided very little space for the halberds and bill hooks but also negated the advantage of the bayonets and made firing weapons very dangerous. In these tight spaces it was enormously lucky that Captain Stuart was able to read his copy of the book on Ka-rate that he borrowed from the lending library last year. He delivered several precision knockout blows to CHICOM soldiers and fought his way through the melee to Scaramanga who was just slipping through a bathroom window into the night air. Scaramanga shouted to Captain Stuart "hurry, we have to get back to the Casino Lisbao as soon as possible. We have to find Johnny Sixguns before it's too late!!!"
Captain Stuart tucked the red can in his pocket and began running after Scaramanga as the sounds of melee faded behind them.
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