Alice

Karen

I wake to the sound of the cab brakes screeching, I rub my eyes and notice that we've stopped. "Are we here?" I ask Richard, my work associate who landed with me.

"Yea, Karen I believe this is it."

I look out the cab window to a huge electronic sign saying 'Queen's street Hong Kong.' It's plastered on a blue behemoth of a building, bigger than anything I've seen in Miami.

A middle aged asian man with a wispy beard and tired eyes opens the door and Richard exits, I follow. He points down the street to another gigantic structure, I realize that's our hotel.

We head toward it. As we walk I notice that there are a lot of tourists here, I thought I'd only see local Asians everywhere but mops of blonde and red hair are all around as well.

The street smells Smokey, but not a bad smoke scent rather a more gentle kind inlaid with the smell of new items, like new plastic and freshly opened boxes. We pass a book stand, filled with all sorts of magazines, then a few clothing stores. I'm surprised at how beautiful the city is by day, I can't wait to meet it at night.

***

We check in to this gorgeous, lavish hotel called the Red Cherokee. Everything in the lobby is a brilliant mix of scarlet and gold and there are mirrors everywhere. The light is warm as well and I feel like if I just stay in the lobby of this hotel alone for the rest of the trip I'd be satisfied. We hop in to the elevator and head up to our rooms. Mine is a little way down from Richard. "Hey Karen, if you need anything you can just come call me okay?"

"Yea Rich, I know."

"The rest of the team will arrive probably in the next hour or two," I nod and wave then head inside. The bedroom is as breathtaking as the rest of the hotel and I can already see my stay here is going to be amazing.

I feel excited for the rest of my stay, it 's starting to feel more like a vacation than a business trip honestly and that is something I can work well with. I lay my stuff on the huge, silk sheeted bed, admiring the designs on the coverings as I do.

I sit, kick off my shoes and lay back, releasing a deep sigh. The familiar feeling of an empty stomach creeps up on me, so I roll over to the phone at the side of the bed to call up room service, but as I do, my cell phone goes off, it's Jack. I raise one of my eyebrows then pick up the phone. Why is jack calling so early?
"Hello, Jack?"
"Karen... hey..."

I can feel it right there that something is off.

"What is it Jack?"

"We need to talk karen... there's been an incident."