Remember

‘Not a scratch.’

They sat down under the trees on the side of Changan Avenue, wanting to collect themselves and cool off. In spite of the breeze, the air was warm, almost heavy, and both Nicky and Clee took their jackets off. Arch passed around a packet of cigarettes but everyone declined, except for Yoyo. Mai sat next to him, examining her foot, and said something to him in Chinese. He smiled, nodded, quickly turned to Nicky. ‘Mai say foot not broken. Bruised.’

Nicky nodded. ‘Good.’ She leaned forward to Yoyo with enormous urgency. ‘Did you find anything out? Where are those troops from? And what’s happening?’

Yoyo puffed on his cigarette for a second, and then he told her, ‘Troops from far away. From outside Beijing. They march many hours. They told go on manoeuvres. They told go stop troublemakers. They no understand. They afraid. They young boys. People lecture them. Tell them don’t hurt students. Soldiers don’t know this Beijing. Don’t know where this is. They no fight, Nicky. They too scared.’

‘Thank God for that, but what an anticlimax!’ Nicky exclaimed.

‘Where are the helicopters?’ Clee asked, looking up at the night sky, then at Yoyo.

‘No come now,’ Yoyo said, sounding as though he knew what he was talking about. ‘No tear gas.’

There was a small silence.

It was Nicky who broke it. The People’s Liberation Army came to Beijing to quell the student demonstrators, and were conquered by the citizens. Not a single shot was fired.’

And several hours later that was how she began her nightly newscast to the United States.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny.

The young soldiers, still bewildered and now very dispirited, finally retreated down Changan Avenue in the middle of the morning.

The Beijingers went home and stayed there, or continued on to their places of work. The students went to sleep in their tents and buses, and a certain air of calmness descended over Changan Avenue and Tiananmen Square. There was a semblance of order and normality.

Nicky was convinced the tranquillity was phony and that the situation had been contained for only a short while - a dozen or so hours at the most. The way she saw it, the Chinese government would take a hard line because they would perceive the army’s retreat as a humiliation. They would automatically blame the students, even though it had been the ordinary citizens who had stood up to the troops, and prevented them from entering the square. And they would act accordingly, with great force and violence.

After snatching a few hours’ sleep, once her broadcast was finished, she had been in and out of the square all day. Instinctively, she knew that the atmosphere of calmness was underscored by tension and fear, and she voiced this thought to Clee.

They sat having a snack in the Western Dining Room of the Beijing Hotel on Saturday afternoon. Leaning across the table, she added, ‘The crackdown’s still coming. I’m just off by a few hours, that’s all.’

‘I know,’ Clee said, and took a sip of his coffee. Putting the cup down, he went on in a low tone, ‘The government wants those kids out of the square in the worst way now. They’re losing face in the West, and they can’t stand that. I’ll tell you something else, Nick, when it does happen it’ll be fast.’

‘And bloody. And short. It won’t last very long, Clee.’

He nodded. ‘By Monday it’ll be all over bar the shouting, and the aftermath’s going to be pretty goddamn lousy. There’ll be arrests, trials, repression, and Christ knows what else.’

‘I’m concerned about Yoyo,’ Nicky confided, sudden worry flicking into her eyes. ‘He’s been in the thick of it, and he is one of the leaders. He’s going to be in grave danger. I wish we could get him out of Beijing.’

‘We can,’ Clee said. Bringing his head closer to hers across the table, he continued, ‘And incidentally, you just took the words right out of my mouth. I was about to tell you that I’ve been thinking about giving him money for an airline ticket. For Hong Kong. We’ll take him along with us when we leave. He can stay there for a few days and decide what he wants to do.’

‘I’ll split the price of the ticket with you.’

‘You don’t have to,’ he began, then seeing the determined look on her face, he finished, ‘Okay, you’ve got a deal.’

‘There’s another problem.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Mai. Yoyo won’t leave Beijing without her.’

‘So we’ll give him enough for two plane tickets. I couldn’t live with myself if we left those two kids behind, and I know for sure you couldn’t, Nicky. Arch and the guys’ll feel the same way, and it’s the least we can do. Yoyo’s been terrific, very helpful to all of us.’ He grinned. ‘So what the hell, Mai comes along as well. The more the merrier.’

Nicky smiled at him. ‘You’re a good guy, Clee Donovan.’

‘So are you, Nicky Wells.’ There was a little silence, and then Clee asked, ‘Where are you heading when we leave here?’

‘You mean after Hong Kong?’

‘Yeah.’

‘New York. Where are you going?’

‘Back to gay Paree. But I may be in New York at the end of this month. When I spoke to the office last night, or rather, in the early hours of this morning, Jean-Claude told me there’s an assignment in from Life Magazine for me. If I want it. And I’m thinking of taking it … I wouldn’t mind a few weeks back in the good old US of A.’

‘Oh God, finally I’m stuck!’ Nicky exclaimed, rolling her eyes to the ceiling.

‘What do you mean?’

‘If you come to New York at long last, I’m going to have to cook you that fancy dinner I’ve been promising you for the last year and a half.’

‘Hey, Nick, that’ll be great!’ he cried, his face lighting up. ‘I’m holding you to it, and I’ll bring the wine.’ He motioned to one of the waitresses, and as she came gliding over to the table he asked her for the check. Turning to Nicky, he said, ‘Let’s mosey on back to the square, see what’s going on. I get a bit nervous if I’m away for very long.’

‘I know what you mean,’ she said, pushing her chair away and standing up. ‘Ready when you are.’

FOUR

The killing began just after ten o’clock on Saturday night.

At that time Nicky and Clee were standing with Yoyo and Mai near the Martyrs’ Monument. Arch, Jimmy and Luke were mingling with the other broadcast journalists, mostly American and British, who were assembled nearby. All were comparing notes, trying to predict what would happen next, whilst knowing the worst was coming.

Nicky was speaking to Yoyo quietly, earnestly, trying to be as persuasive as possible. ‘Please take the money, Yoyo. I know how proud you are, but this is not the moment for pride. You must be practical. Listen to me … we insist you take the three thousand dollars, it will get you and Mai out of Beijing. Clee and the guys and I think you should leave tomorrow, no matter what the situation is here. And the money is from the five of us. We want to help you … after all, you’ve helped us. And we care about you.’

‘Too much money,’ Yoyo said. ‘Thank you. No.’ He kept shaking his head. ‘You, Clee, guys very nice. Kind. Very excellent people. But can’t take money.’

‘Come on, Yoyo, don’t be so stubborn,’ Nicky exclaimed. ‘Please accept it, if not for yourself, for Mai. Think of her - of protecting her.’

The young Chinese student shook his head again.

Wanting to make it easier for Yoyo, Clee now took charge, and with a degree of firmness. ‘I’ll tell you what we’ll do … I’ll go and buy the airline tickets for you and Mai. I’ll do it tomorrow -’

‘Too much money, Clee,’ Yoyo said, cutting him off. He paused and there was an unexpected change in his voice when he added slowly, ‘Okay, I think about it -’ Yoyo broke off, cocked his head, listening intently before he threw Nicky a worried glance. ‘Gunfire?’

‘No mistaking it,’ she cried and glanced at Clee. They exchanged knowing looks. He nodded, and instantly took off without saying a word.

Nicky sprinted forward, catching up with Clee, everything else forgotten in her dash toward the action. The story was uppermost in her mind.

Everyone in the vicinity of the monument heard the sound of shots being fired, and there was a sudden mad rush as the correspondents, photographers and television crews raced after Clee and Nicky. They ran across the square at breakneck speed, heading for Changan Avenue.