by Zhou HaoHui
‘Another café?’ Pei said suspiciously. Would Eumenides really be so brazen as to conduct this conversation from a public place?
‘There’s a 99 per cent chance it’s a Trojan horse,’ Zeng said hastily. ‘A Trojan horse is—’
‘I’m not that much of a Luddite, TSO Zeng,’ Pei interrupted.
‘Great.’ Zeng nodded. ‘So, to sum up, Eumenides is communicating with us through a series of computers under his control. All we have to do is uncover the links all the way to the other end of the chain.’
‘How long is that going to take?’
‘That’s the problem. There’s no way of telling how many links there are until I’ve found the last one. I’ll need to check each IP address one at a time – and I’ll have to go to each one in person.’
Pei resisted the urge to punch the nearest monitor. ‘I see. Go and find SPU Captain Liu and tell him where you need to go. Don’t waste a single second. I don’t care how many computers it takes, I want you to go through all of them until you find him.’
Zeng shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. ‘There’s one more thing.’
‘What is it?’ Pei snapped.
‘The program that Eumenides uploaded onto Huang’s computer is still running, but I haven’t figured out what it is.’
‘Didn’t you just say you were able to copy it?’
‘Yes, but I can’t run it. The control interface has already been deleted, so I can’t tell what it’s actually supposed to do. I’ve just started going through the program’s back end. A few modules are clearly performing some kind of external monitoring and giving feedback in real time.’
‘What exactly is he monitoring?’
‘I’m not sure. Could be audio, picture, temperature, light, vibration. There are too many possibilities. There’s also some kind of special hardware that’s doing the monitoring.’
‘You mean there’s something installed on that specific computer?’
‘That’s right. When I run that program on the server, it doesn’t produce any values. But when it’s running on Computer 33, it sends out a continual stream of feedback in the form of a wave graph. There has to be some kind of device hidden in that computer. Maybe inside the CPU. Let me check it one more time. I’ll find it eventually, I promise.’
Pei dismissed his suggestion with a wave of his hand. ‘That’s not a priority right now. Whatever it is, let him keep monitoring us. Let him think he’s in control.’
Zeng nodded.
‘Find SPU Captain Liu and head out immediately,’ Pei repeated.
‘Yes, sir.’ Despite his earlier disappointment, there was a spring in TSO Zeng’s step as he hurried off in search of the SPU captain.
Pei quickly headed back to the corner of the café. Huang was still deep in conversation with Eumenides. Ms Mu gave him a thumbs-up and he took a deep breath. If he listened closely, he could dimly make out the audio through Huang’s headphones.
*
‘Tell me about the January 30th case.’
The voice put Huang in mind of an ice-cold blade. It gave him the chills. ‘You’ve already stolen the case files,’ he replied. ‘You have records and photographs. What else could I possibly contribute?’
‘I want the details that weren’t in the report. The ones that were intentionally left out.’
Again, Huang pictured a knife. It was digging into his flesh, driven by a forceful hand. He needed to say something, but he knew he mustn’t offer up too much without being prompted by Eumenides first.
‘Okay,’ he said, allowing himself a sigh. ‘Ask me whatever you want. I’ll answer to the best of my ability.’
*
The city’s spidery web of telecommunications cables propelled Huang’s words from one computer to the next until finally they reached the end of the line.
The young man on the other end of the transmission clenched his fists. He had been plagued with doubts for too long. With the opportunity to find out the truth now in his grasp, a shadow of paralysing fear hung over him.
He swallowed. ‘Why was Yuan Zhibang involved in this case?’
‘Yuan was about to graduate from the police academy. He had been assigned to the criminal police as an officer in training. Captain Ding Ke, the officer in charge, was his adviser.’
‘Would a trainee officer be qualified to take part in such a dangerous case?’
‘Unlikely. But Captain Ding ordered Yuan and me to find the suspect’s family. He wanted us to bring them to the scene because he thought that having his family there would make the suspect see reason.’
Huang paused.
‘But that’s not what happened.’
‘No. Something occurred after we got in touch with his family and we had no time. Yuan went straight to the apartment building.’
The young man’s breath felt tight in his chest. Shadows stirred in the deepest recesses of his memory. ‘What happened?’ he asked, holding on to his emotions as firmly as he could.
‘We located the suspect’s wife and child at the hospital. His wife was bedridden with a serious illness and wasn’t physically able to travel to where the suspect was. Since we were trying to reach the suspect on an emotional level through his family, our hopes now rested with his son. The boy was only six years old. We assumed that he’d be very shy around strangers, but for some reason he took quite a shine to Yuan.’
The young man knew this to be the truth: he had liked Yuan from the moment they’d met. But why? He searched his memory for the reason, but nothing stood out save for a warm and cheerful smile. Yuan Zhibang… Was that really the same man who eventually became his cold, unsmiling mentor?
‘Since Yuan got along so well with the boy, Captain Ding made the last-minute decision to have Yuan bring him to the apartment building in the hope of using him to get through to the suspect.’
One by one, the blanks in the young man’s memories were being filled in. ‘You bought a toy for the boy,’ he said. ‘And you gave him a pair of headphones and played him a tape of children’s music. Am I right?’
‘Yes,’ Huang said, almost hesitantly. ‘That was all Yuan’s idea. Despite only just having met one another, the boy trusted him completely. I still remember watching as Yuan strode towards that building with the kid in his arms. The boy was singing and he looked absolutely delighted. That was precisely the effect we were hoping to achieve. How could any father continue down such a self-destructive path while his loving son was watching?’
‘Tell me what happened after that,’ the young man said. A lump was forming in his throat and it almost hurt to speak. ‘Tell me what happened after Yuan arrived.’
‘I… I’m not exactly sure what happened.’
‘How can you not know?’ the man said angrily.
‘Before he went up the stairs, Yuan put on a wire in order to keep everyone apprised as to what was going on inside. There was only one earpiece tuned to that frequency and Captain Ding was wearing it. Only he and Yuan knew what was going on inside that apartment.’
‘Was there a recording?’
‘Yes, a recording should exist. I’ve never listened to it, though. Captain Ding didn’t allow it.’
‘What about the other officers?’
‘I was Captain Ding’s assistant. If he was going to let anyone listen to that recording, it would have been me.’
‘That’s not standard protocol,’ the young man said, suspicion creeping into his voice.
‘You’re right. It isn’t. To be honest with you, there was a lot about that case that didn’t follow standard procedure. Yuan going inside the apartment, for one. That’s why so many details weren’t included in the official file.’
‘So something went wrong inside the apartment? And the details would be on that recording, wouldn’t they?’
‘Probably.’
‘What do you think happened?’ the young man pressed.
‘I’ve already told you that I don’t know.’
‘I want to hear your b
est theory. You used to be a cop, after all. And you worked with Captain Ding Ke.’
Huang exhaled, muttered ‘All right,’ then paused again. Finally, he said, ‘I believe someone made a mistake.’
‘What kind of a mistake?’ Without realising it, the young man whispered his next question. ‘Was it Yuan?’
‘No. It was the marksman’s mistake.’
His breath hissed through his teeth. ‘The marksman? What did he do?’
‘I believe that Yuan had made headway with the suspect. But the marksman’s firearm went off before he could finish.’
Blood froze in his veins. ‘You mean that my father was… that he was killed by the marksman after he had stopped resisting?’ His voice dropped to a low snarl. ‘Why did that happen?’
‘So, you are him,’ Huang said evenly.
The young man ignored this. ‘Why did the marksman’s gun go off? I want an answer!’
‘I don’t know,’ Huang said. ‘I can’t even be sure that the marksman was the one who screwed up. It’s just a guess.’
The younger man took several slow, controlled breaths. ‘What led you into making that guess?’
‘Based on what I saw, it seems more likely than anything else. Like I said, we were outside waiting for Captain Ding Ke’s orders. After Yuan went in, the captain listened to the situation in the apartment. I saw his expression relax. The situation must have been improving. And then he gave us the signal to get ready to storm the room, which was crucial. That would have meant that—’
‘I know what it means,’ the young man muttered. ‘Unless you want to risk serious consequences, you don’t rush in until the situation has cooled down.’
‘We assumed that the crisis had passed. But just as we were about to move in, we heard a gunshot.’
‘Did Captain Ding order it?’
‘He looked just as surprised as the rest of us when the shot rang out. We ran into the apartment as soon as we heard it.’
‘What did you see?’ His lower lip trembled. He knew what Huang would likely describe, but he still needed to hear it.
‘The suspect had a bullet in his forehead. He was on the ground, motionless. The hostage, however, was safe and sound. Yuan held the boy close, cradling the child’s head against his chest. He didn’t let him see the bloody scene at all.’
Fragments of memory flashed through the young man’s head.
The man holding him tight, hugging his head against his chest. A sense of warmth. Comfort. He was focused on the lullaby in his ears, but in the distance he heard a cracking sound, like a paper bag being popped. In the time capsule of his memories, that moment felt peaceful and beautiful. But when he superimposed his newfound knowledge, it was suffocating.
He curled his hands into fists. Suddenly, a small window appeared in the corner of his monitor, momentarily distracting him from his pain.
Warning: this system is under an attack originating from 211.132.81.252.
They were fast, he had to admit that. The young man glanced at the clock in the bottom right corner of his screen. It seemed it was time to go.
*
‘Captain, I’m at the Blue Star internet café,’ TSO Zeng said into his phone. ‘I’ve already tracked down the next link in the chain, inside an office in the south part of town. This guy is making us run circles around the whole damn city.’
Pei looked calmly at his watch. It was 2:23 p.m. ‘How long will it take you to reach the office?’
‘Probably about twenty minutes if I floor it. You have to stall him, Captain.’
‘Understood. Get there as soon as you can.’ Pei hung up and hurried back to Huang’s computer.
‘Tell me the marksman’s name.’
Pei held his breath when he heard that question come rustling through Huang’s headset. This was it – time for Huang to turn the tables on Eumenides.
*
Huang had given sincere answers to each of Eumenides’ other questions, keeping Ms Mu’s advice in mind. ‘The best place to hide a lie is between two truths.’
He had already told the truth. Now it was time to lie.
‘I don’t know his name,’ he said after a few seconds of deliberate hesitation.
‘Right,’ Eumenides said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
‘He signed the records with an alias—’
‘Don’t play dumb,’ Eumenides cut in. ‘Do you expect me to believe that he used an alias during the operation?’
Huang had no intention of giving a longer explanation. ‘I honestly have no idea what the marksman’s name was.’
After a long pause, Eumenides spoke again. His voice was icy. ‘You’re saying that we can end our conversation now. Is that correct?’
‘No!’ Huang said, this time with genuine panic. ‘You haven’t told me where my son is.’
‘Tell me the marksman’s name.’
‘I don’t know it.’
‘I’ve already asked you twice. I won’t ask you a third time,’ Eumenides said menacingly. ‘You have five seconds to remember.’
Huang recoiled at the shift in tone. He exhaled. ‘If I tell you his name, what will happen to my son?’
‘Your son is quite hungry right now,’ Eumenides said. ‘If you hurry, you just might be quick enough to have dinner with him.’
‘All right. I’ll tell you. I do know the marksman’s name.’
‘Then say it.’
‘His name is Chen. Chen Hao.’
‘Where is he now?’ Eumenides asked evenly.
‘He’s still working for the police. He’s been promoted and he’s now captain of a force in the eastern district.’
‘Chen Hao. Captain of the eastern district’s criminal police…’
Huang heard the clacking of keys through his headphones. Seconds later an image appeared on his screen. It was a personnel file with a photo of a man wearing a buzz cut and an intense stare.
‘Is this him?’
‘Yes,’ Huang answered, suppressing his surprise. ‘How come you have his file?’
‘The Chengdu police intranet isn’t nearly as secure as you might think.’ Eumenides made a scuffing noise that sounded vaguely like laughter. Then his tone became more serious. ‘He’s thirty-eight years old now.’
Huang glanced at Chen Hao’s date of birth. Some quick mental arithmetic confirmed Eumenides’ statement. ‘Yes, that’s right,’ he said, unsure where Eumenides was going with this.
‘Eighteen years ago, he would have been twenty-one,’ Eumenides said. ‘That’s younger than Yuan. And you expect me to believe that he was an SPU marksman?’
‘Actually,’ Huang said, desperately searching for something to say, ‘he might have lied about his age when he joined the force.’
‘Enough!’ Eumenides barked. ‘I have the names of all SPU officers active in Chengdu eighteen years ago. None of them are called Chen Hao. The police selected this man as bait, nothing more. And am I correct in guessing that this Chen Hao has already been secretly co-opted into the task force?’
Huang felt sweat beading on his brow. He shot a panicky glance over at Captain Pei and Ms Mu, who were both right next to him.
A snort of contempt came through his headphones. Huang nearly blushed as he remembered that Eumenides was still watching him. ‘If you still want to see your son, Huang,’ the man said in a voice bristling with rage, ‘you’ll stop playing these childish games with me. My patience is running out. I’ll give you another chance, but only one.’
Huang inwardly shook his head. The urge to resist Eumenides had all but evaporated. ‘No,’ he murmured a moment later. ‘I can’t betray another police officer for the sake of my son.’
‘I understand your plight,’ Eumenides said, a little gentler now. ‘Let’s try this a different way. I won’t force you to tell me his name. Your self-respect wouldn’t permit you to do that anyway. Let’s find a happy medium.’
Huang gazed into the camera with anxious expectation.
Eumenides went on. ‘I�
�m going to show you the photographs of every SPU officer that was active eighteen years ago, one at a time. I’ll ask you only one question. All you’ll have to do is tell me “yes” or “no”.’
Huang remained silent.
*
TSO Zeng, SPU Captain Liu and the handful of SPU officers accompanying them were now inside the offices of a marketing company. After producing his credentials, Zeng sat down at the computer terminal in question and began tracing the next link in the chain.
*
Mad World internet café
A large image appeared on the monitor of Computer 33.
‘Is this him?’ Eumenides asked.
His voice sounded far away, as if it was being carried to Huang’s ears from across a distant valley. The photograph showed a muscled, swarthy man. The answer was on Huang’s lips as soon as he saw the image, but something prevented him from speaking.
‘If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as a silent “yes”,’ Eumenides said.
The hair on the back of Huang’s neck stood up. ‘No. That isn’t him.’
‘Great. The more you cooperate, the sooner you’ll see your son.’ A different image popped up on the screen and Eumenides repeated his question. ‘Is this him?’
‘No.’ A second later, he was looking at a new photograph.
‘Is this him?’
‘No.’
After almost a hundred faces had flashed across his screen, Huang’s vision was swimming.
‘Is this him?’ Eumenides asked, his intonation unchanging with each question. A picture of a large, square-jawed man appeared on Huang’s monitor.
Huang blinked. His pulse thumped in his temples.
‘Is this him?’ Eumenides repeated, slower this time.
Huang licked his dry lips. He glanced over at Ms Mu.
‘She can’t help you, Huang. Give me an answer. Yes or no?’
Huang drew a deep breath. Through his teeth he hissed, ‘I want to see my son.’
‘And you will. As long as you answer my questions.’