by Zhou HaoHui
‘So Han’s planning to meet up with his wife. When exactly?’
‘We think it’ll be within the next few hours. We’re awaiting your orders.’
‘Where’s Han’s wife right now?’
‘She and her son went into a KFC near the school an hour ago. They’re still there.’
Pei stood up. ‘Then that’s where we’ll go. Get hold of SPU Captain Liu and tell him to bring ten officers from the special police unit. Make sure they’re all new recruits. They mustn’t be people Han recognises.’
‘Yes, sir!’
4
SUBWAY CHASE
1:45 p.m.
KFC, Tianying Shopping Centre
Mrs Han and her son had been sitting at the same empty table in the KFC for more than an hour. The restaurant was packed. Customers kept bringing their trays over and hovering, waiting for them to get up and leave, but still they stayed put.
An anxious-looking man in his twenties now carried his meal over, but Mrs Han barely noticed. Having waited beside the table for several seconds, he turned around and promptly collided with another customer. A cup of drink tumbled off his tray. Crying out in surprise, he reached for the cup but succeeded only in knocking the lid off. Dark-brown cola splashed onto the table between Mrs Han and her child.
As the boy backed into the window, Mrs Han stood up and frantically checked her clothes for stains. Mumbling a hurried apology, the man set down his tray and waved at the nearest member of staff. ‘I spilt my drink. Could you come and clean this up?’
Mrs Han was visibly relieved to see that her clothes were dry. But her handbag was on the table and had got drenched in cola.
‘Let me take care of that.’ The man picked up her bag and wiped the bottom with a handful of napkins. ‘I’m really, really sorry.’
It took him only a moment to clean the handbag as the cola all but slid off the high-quality leather.
‘It’s okay,’ she said, taking it back and sitting down again.
The man retreated to a table behind her. He took several bites from his sandwich, then wiped his mouth with a napkin. Using the napkin as cover, he slipped his thumb underneath his collar and whispered into the device concealed there.
‘Bravo One, Bravo One, do you copy? Bravo Three reporting.’
Radio waves carried his voice to a jade-green van in the car park outside. Inside the van were Captain Pei and the other core members of the task force.
‘This is Bravo One,’ Pei replied into his radio.
‘The package has been delivered, over.’
‘Excellent. Continue your surveillance, over.’
Pei set down his radio and flipped a switch on a machine at his side. Muffled voices began to issue from the speaker:
‘Sit up straight. Did any of it get on your clothes?’
‘No. I’m okay. Why isn’t Daddy here yet?’
‘Don’t worry, Dongdong. Daddy’s busy right now. If you’re good, you’ll get to see him, all right?’
‘Okay.’
The voices belonged to Captain Han’s wife and their son. Their recorded conversation had now provided the task force with the first concrete evidence that Han was indeed planning to meet his family.
Apprehending a veteran of the police force would not be easy. But the pebble-sized listening device and GPS tracker that Bravo Three had attached to the bottom of Mrs Han’s handbag would help.
Hours passed. The KFC slowly emptied, but the mother and son showed no signs of leaving. Pei and the others listened intently to the speaker inside the van, but the only sounds they heard were the beeping of Dongdong’s game console.
Lunch was long since over. The SPU officers stationed inside and outside the restaurant were already on their sixth shift.
TSO Zeng yawned. ‘What are they still doing in there – pitching a tent for the night?’
A mobile ringtone chimed through the speakers. Zeng jolted and nearly fell onto the audio monitor.
‘Hello?’
Pei and the others leant in close, straining to make out the faint words coming through the speaker.
‘Okay, I understand.’ There was a rustling sound as Mrs Han placed her phone back inside her handbag. ‘It’s time to go, Dongdong,’ she said.
‘Yay! Is Daddy coming?’
‘Come with Mummy and you’ll find out.’
‘This is Bravo One,’ Pei said. ‘They’re on the move. Someone give us a visual update.’
‘Mrs Han and her son are heading for the door.’
‘Follow them. I want everyone to spread out and stay near the targets. Be sure to keep your distance. I repeat, keep your distance!’
‘Understood.’
The next report came moments later.
‘The targets are getting into a taxi. Please advise.’
Mrs Han’s voice issued from the speaker: ‘Take us to the Guangyuan Temple metro.’
‘They’re going to the Guangyuan Temple subway station!’ Pei yelled into his radio. ‘I repeat: Guangyuan Temple. Bravos Two, Three, Four and Five, follow the taxi. Everyone else, take up positions near the station.’
The radio squawked as each officer confirmed Pei’s orders. Lieutenant Yin, in the driver’s seat, didn’t wait for the captain’s command. The van lurched ahead like a horse bursting out of a stable.
Taking a deep breath, Pei peered through the van’s window. His heart pounded as he realised why Han had kept them waiting so long.
Cars were flooding onto the streets. Rush hour had begun.
*
5:56 p.m.
Guangyuan Temple subway station
Even though the trains were now running at four-minute intervals, Guangyuan Temple station was still drowning beneath a roiling sea of commuters. It was the peak of the rush hour. Mrs Han pushed her son through a seemingly endless crowd until finally they reached the platform.
The police surveillance team had already fanned out and assumed their positions and several plainclothes SPU officers stood guard at both entrances to the platform. The only variable in this scenario was the steady stream of arriving and departing trains. It was quite possible that Han had already boarded one of those trains and was waiting for his wife to do the same. That would be very risky, however, for once the police had got on the train with Mrs Han, he could be caught like a rat in a trap.
Pei was taking no chances. In case Mrs Han and Dongdong slipped onto a train just before the doors shut, he’d ordered that one plainclothes officer should board every single train out of the station regardless. If the targets hadn’t got on, the officer would then disembark at the next stop and return to Guangyuan Temple. This would ensure an efficient cycle of officers boarding each departing train.
Wary of being spotted, neither Pei nor any of the other team members set foot on the platform. Lieutenant Yin parked their van near the station’s main entrance and they oversaw the operation remotely from there.
*
Mrs Han clutched her phone in one hand and her son in the other. Her stomach churned with anxious anticipation. After waiting for what felt like hours, a ringing sounded from her handbag.
The phone was at her ear in an instant. Her heart thumped as she listened to her husband’s voice.
‘Board the next train.’
‘The next train? Which direction?’
‘It doesn’t matter. Whichever comes first. Call me as soon as you see it pulling in.’
A low rumble came from the northbound tunnel. Mrs Han moved to the centre of the platform and walked her son over to the automatic doors. When the train’s headlights lit the tunnel, she picked up her phone and made the call.
‘A train’s coming into the station.’ Her throat tightened, turning her words into a husky whisper.
‘Once you’re on it, stay by the door. Don’t hang up.’
*
The voice coming through the phone’s speaker was too quiet for Pei to hear, but Mrs Han’s side of the conversation had given him all the information he needed.
‘Everyone, focus all your attention on the next incoming train!’
‘Yes, sir. It looks like the targets are about to board the train. Please advise.’
Pei bit his lip as he considered his options. ‘Bravo Two, Three, Four and Five, remain on the platform. Everyone else, follow your targets.’
Four plainclothes officers remained near the benches at the centre of the platform. Several other officers moved to wait behind the platform’s automatic doors and two of them queued up right behind Mrs Han and Dongdong.
The incoming train lurched to a halt. A signal beeped and the platform doors slid open. Mrs Han got onto the train. Most of the other passengers pressed further inside, but she and her son remained by the train door.
As the plainclothes officers boarded, the one nearest Mrs Han leant into her concealed microphone and began reporting what she was seeing. ‘No suspect in sight within the train. Mrs Han is holding her phone to her ear. She must still be in contact with him.’
Scowling, Pei amended his previous command. ‘Bravo Six and Seven, get off the train and regroup with the officers on the platform. Everyone else, stay on your targets.’
*
Mrs Han put her phone back in her bag. There was no hint of tension in her face as her gaze swept the carriage and the many passengers elbowing their way down the train.
A series of low beeps signalled the train’s imminent departure. Mrs Han gripped her son’s hand and the two sprinted out through the closing doors just in time.
The doors slammed shut.
Inside, two conspicuous passengers could only look at each other in shock.
*
‘The targets jumped off the train! The doors shut before we could follow. Please advise.’
Pei took a deep breath. He had expected something like this, which was why he’d ordered Bravo Six and Seven off the train. Still, he couldn’t help but shiver as he pondered Han’s plan.
The subway tunnels formed a massive and labyrinthine chessboard. Pei was more than up to the challenge, but the situation unnerved him. Just as he was using his officers as pawns for the task force’s own ends, Han was doing the same with his wife and son.
‘All officers on that train, get off at the next stop and come back,’ Pei said, focusing on the GPS monitor. The targets’ position blinked red amid a mass of longitude and latitude lines. ‘Everyone still on the platform, keep your eyes on the targets.’
Mrs Han called her husband after getting off the train. It was a short conversation, lasting ten seconds at most, and Pei could only pick up her side of the exchange.
‘Should I get off the train like before?’
That single sentence made his forehead clammy. Han was going to pull his trick a second time. He’d already diverted more than half of Pei’s team. How was Pei supposed to respond?
The southbound train was already pulling into the station. Mrs Han and her son boarded it and again remained standing right beside the doors.
‘The targets are on board. Please advise!’
Pei heard the tension in Bravo Three’s voice. Every officer was on tenterhooks.
The officers that had boarded the last train were already on their way back. With that in mind, Pei decided to risk putting as many people on this departing train as possible. ‘Bravo Two, stay put. Bravos Three through Seven, get on that train!’
This time Mrs Han did not jump off. The doors closed. There was a lurch and the train set off.
SPU Captain Liu leant into his microphone. ‘Bravos Three, Four, Five, Six and Seven, I want one of you to get off at each station in sequential order. Everyone remaining will stay with the targets.’
Pei was nervous. There were only five officers on that train. Liu’s plan would only be good for the next five stops. If Mrs Han and her son disembarked at the last stop, the team would have to rely on a single officer to apprehend Captain Han. He thumped the back of the driver’s seat in frustration. ‘Let’s go! Follow the route of the subway tracks!’ he yelled.
Lieutenant Yin stamped on the accelerator and the van rumbled down the road.
Pei spoke into the radio again. ‘I want you all to pay close attention. The targets are leaving Guangyuan Temple station on a southbound train. All officers who have lost sight of the targets are to board a train heading in that direction asap.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Boarding a train now, sir.’
‘Affirm—’
‘Ca— Got a bad sig—’
There were no other responses.
‘Damn it!’ TSO Zeng muttered. ‘There’s no radio signal in the tunnel.’
At that instant, the red dot vanished from Pei’s monitor.
‘Damn you, Han.’
Pei repeated his order into the radio several times. Two minutes passed before the red dot reappeared. The train carrying Mrs Han and her son had reached the next station.
Bravo Three disembarked to stand guard on the platform, as per Liu’s orders. Mrs Han and her son, however, did not alight. Now only four officers remained on board.
When the doors opened at the next stop, Mrs Han sprinted out with her son. She called her husband, as instructed.
As soon as the SPU officers updated him, Pei ordered Bravo Four to disembark. Bravos Five, Six and Seven were to remain on board in case Mrs Han doubled back.
His radio crackled as three other officers reported in from the train directly behind, having just left the previous stop.
Again, Mrs Han waited for the train to start beeping, then leapt back aboard with her son. The doors slid shut.
Bravo Four was left stranded on the platform. It would be at least two minutes before the other officers arrived. The surveillance team on the targets’ train had been whittled down to three.
Above ground, the situation wasn’t much better. Rush hour had clogged all of the city’s main arteries. Even though Lieutenant Yin had switched on the sirens, they were still moving at a crawl. In the time it had taken Mrs Han’s train to pass through two stops, they had barely advanced thirty metres.
The train was already nearing the third station. Bravo Five’s voice came through the radio.
‘The targets are getting off the train. Please advise!’
‘Bravo Five, get off and follow them. Bravo Six and Seven, stay on the train.’ Pei was not about to deviate from the original plan. He needed people on that train. There was every chance that the targets would repeat their trick.
The red dot on his GPS map remained static.
‘The train’s pulled out, but the targets are still here on the platform. Please advise,’ Bravo Five radioed in.
Pei allowed himself a moment to breathe. Reinforcements would step onto the platform in moments.
The red dot was moving.
‘Stay with them! Are the targets leaving the station?’
‘No. They’re heading for the interchange with Line C.’
‘They’re changing lines?’ Pei asked dejectedly.
‘Guangyuan Temple… Zhenghan Street… Shita Temple…’ Lieutenant Yin rattled off stops from memory. ‘They’re at Yangkou Road now. Line C runs east–west from there.’
The downtown area was served by three subway lines. Line A ran in a continuous loop, Line B ran north–south and Line C ran east–west. Mrs Han and Dongdong had entered the metro at Guangyuan Temple, at the northwest corner of Line A. From there they went southwest. Taking Line C east would buy them more time if they were taking a quick route to Line B. Driving there, however, would be hell.
*
Bravo Five followed Mrs Han and her son down the stairs as an eastbound train pulled into the platform. She boarded the train with them but was fully aware that her targets might jump back onto the platform at the last second. Bravo Five was the only member of the surveillance team to have made it this far and she was determined not to slip up now.
Mrs Han hung up her phone and casually glanced around the carriage. Her gaze came to rest on Bravo Five and she smil
ed.
Bravo Five glanced away, her cheeks burning with humiliation. How could she have been spotted?
Pei’s voice came through her earpiece. ‘Bravo Five. Bravo Five, this is Bravo One. Please respond.’
She coughed into her hand and turned away from Mrs Han. Leaning into her concealed microphone, she whispered, ‘Bravo Five here.’
‘What is the status of the targets?’
She whirled around to see Mrs Han and her son standing on the platform. ‘They’re off the train,’ Bravo Five said, her voice betraying her disappointment. ‘I don’t know how, but she spotted me. I’ll have to double-back at the next stop.’
*
Pei clenched his teeth until his whole skull hurt. The red dot began moving west, only to vanish seconds later. ‘They’re on a train!’ he yelled.
Seconds later a new message came through over the radio. The rest of the surveillance team had reached Yangkou Road station. Pei ordered them to board the next eastbound train and continue the pursuit.
The van was still crawling along. Pei tapped the back of Lieutenant Yin’s seat.
‘We’re wasting time. Use the hard shoulder or go down a cycle lane if you have to. I don’t care if you break the law or go against the traffic flow, you need to speed things up!’
‘That’s not going to make any difference if we’re still going from stop to stop. Just tell me the final destination and I’ll get you there,’ Lieutenant Yin shot back.
Where was Han leading them?
Pei looked down at a map of Chengdu and mentally traced Mrs Han’s path through the city. There was no logic to it. Unless… ‘Where’s the next interchange station?’ he asked.
‘Central Gate,’ Yin said instantly. ‘It’s the busiest in the city. All the lines run through it.’
‘If I were Han, that’s exactly where I’d go to meet my wife and son. Get us to Central Gate!’ Pei said.