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Ted. All I saw was a smattering of hotel guests, and a tall group of eight or ten men, most likely an international basketball team. A few of them had real thick mustaches. They were either Turkish or Greek, judging by their olive skin tones. One of them was wearing a walking boot. Ankle sprains must really suck, never had one, so I tried my best to empathize. I gave him a feigned wince as he walked by. He nodded back.
    Looking concerned, Rebecca walked out of the gift shop, her laptop bag over her right shoulder. She came up to me, slightly stammering, “No one working at the counter saw Ted last night. In fact, probably no one saw Ted anywhere last night. What’s the point of running around looking for him?”
    As soon as Rebecca paused in her resignation, Alan ran back toward us, phone in hand. With his face slightly flushed he said, “We rescheduled for tomorrow night.”
    Rebecca taken aback at the sudden change in plans asked Alan, “Are you sure?”
    “ I talked to Rald and I spoke to Ji, they are okay with us meeting tomorrow.”
    “ Who’s Ji?” I asked.
    “ What? You didn’t read the envelope I left at your doorstep, did you?”
    “ Sorry, no I didn’t. I was going to read its contents on the way to our meeting. I’m a fast reader.”
    Alan looked at Rebecca. “You see? This is what I’m talking about. Sales guys are always so unprepared.”
    Rebecca gritted her teeth and grimaced. “Alan, take it easy, please.” She pulled Alan aside and became inaudibly animated in her words. A lot of hand gestures and not a single word loud enough for me to overhear.
    The lights outside , lining the sidewalk, began to turn on. Each one flickered faintly at first and then snapped into their luminous consistency. The fading sunlight was almost completely obscured by the skyline. This was my favorite time during a day. The transition from day to night. Everyone was still running on all cylinders from a hard day’s work, yet looking forward to a smooth, relaxing evening. The energy at this hour is by far the most addictive. I appreciate humanity more when the sun sets; their carefree natures are on high display. I couldn’t wait to see Holly tonight. In an indirect way, it seemed that my best friend had come through for me once again, giving me a whole night to entertain Holly. I know the guy was safe. He was big boy. He could take care of himself. He’d turn up. When? I didn’t have the slightest clue where he had been all night, but I knew that he would return.
    “ Jack, you okay?” asked Rebecca.
    Rebecca caught me daydreaming. I was staring off onto the Hong Kong skyline. Alan stood behind her, both his hands holding his laptop bag in front of his crotch area. He had a knotted look on his face.
    “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry, I have this tendency to wander off sometimes,” I said.
    “ Jack, listen,” Alan forcefully said, as he approached me. “Tonight, we look for Ted. We don’t go out on the town. You will not go to bed until we find him. If you find him call me or Rebecca immediately. We all need to have a little chat. This behavior is inexcusable and puts our company in a terrible position, do you understand?”
    Rebecca stood right next to Alan, and immediately mimicked his demeanor. “He’s right. We need Ted. Alan and I will look for him. You should , too. We’ll call the police stations around here and you check with hotel security. Let us know if you find him, please.”
    I gave both Alan and Rebecca a plastic smile. I put my hands in my pockets and fiddled with the loose change. I guess I was trying to run all the tension that seemed to begin at my shoulders, that these too had somehow gifted me, through the tiny pieces of metal, which danced at the end of my fingertips. “Sure, whatever you say. He’ll turn up. I’ll keep you posted,” I said. They both made an about face and started heading toward the hotel exit.
    “ Alan?” I asked loudly. He turned around and looked agitated. There