Red Dragons

by K W Frost

  Stepping back slightly, Dellow accepted the polite applause that followed her speech. Would her speech make any difference? She didn’t know, but she knew that she had to try. She deeply believed that with a little cooperation, the world could be a better place.

  Looking around at the leaders standing before her, they were already splitting off into smaller groups. Typically, there was an Asian grouping with the leaders of Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines all talking together. Dellow already knew that they were trying to establish closer economic links.

  The Australian Prime Minister, Frayward, was talking to leaders from Nuie and Canada. Most surprisingly of all, two of the global superpowers purposefully sought each other out. Dellow watched on as the American president Chad Wheeler, leader of the world’s leading military power, slowly drifted away with the Chinese president, Lin Chu, the leader of the world’s most populated nation, President Chu was accompanied by an interpreter. Between these two men, almost acting as their go-between, was Prime Minister Sefu from the paradisiacal Cook Islands. The largest of these was the resort island of Rarotonga, with a total population of around 30,000.

  Dellow watched the formation of this group with interest, as it was only with both President Wheeler’s and President Chu’s approval, that this private gathering of national leaders even took place. She watched the smiles on their faces and heard snippets of ready, unrestrained dialogue between the two leaders, as well as the interest shown, when Prime Minister Sefu contributed to the discussion. Perhaps Dellow had achieved something after all.

  Across the room, Mitsu looked out from the kitchen at the two conversing leaders.

  He smiled menacingly.

  Soon, very soon, he would change the world.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Child was on his final descent over the upper observatory level. He moved down the smooth side of the tower before passing by the last of the transmission and relay dishes. He was now completely protected from the wind and was thankful for it, as the sudden chill had encouraged all the dinner guests to move back inside.

  According to the schedule, the guests were due to begin eating shortly.

  Time was running out for Child.

  His task was to isolate and neutralise four trained assassins before they could eliminate their intended target, or targets.

  Child had placed his trust in the thin abseiling rope, as he slowly controlled his descent with ease. He was only five metres above the outdoor observation deck when he stopped, carefully looked around and then whispered into his microphone,

  ‘Approaching observation deck. Appears deserted. Completing final descent now.’

  Back inside the police control room, Child’s voice brought a mixture of relief and anxiety to the group. They felt relief that he was almost down and had survived the dangerous descent, and then anxiety because he would soon be entering the most critical phase of the operation.

  Smoothly and with ease, Child lowered himself down the last few metres and landed gently on the outside observation deck. Glancing down to unclip a carabiner from his belt, Child failed to catch the sudden movement coming from the stairwell door.

  ‘Stop right there — raise your hands and place them behind your head,’ an unfamiliar voice commanded.

  The command echoed around the control room. The clear sound of a male voice boomed through the conference speaker and bounced off the walls.

  The seconds seemed like hours as a stunned silence fell around the table.

  Suddenly, there was a burst of expletives.

  The control room erupted with voices asking what had happened. Only Smaille and Thomson remained silent, both men staring at the speaker as if it was somehow to blame.

  ‘Shut up!’ yelled Thomson at the group. ‘Who is that? Does anyone recognise the voice? Maybe Child can talk to him…’

  ‘I think it was one of ours,’ Smaille answered softly.

  All eyes turned to Smaille, but it was Thomson who spoke first.

  ‘Who is he? What does he do?’

  ‘I’ll have to hear him speak again to be sure, but it sounded like Mike Hardgrave’s voice.’

  ‘And who’s this Hardgrave then?’ asked Thomson before turning to a young police officer sitting at a computer. ‘I need a print out of everything we have on Hardgrave, right now.’

  ‘That really won’t be necessary,’ said Smaille. ‘I know Mike Hardgrave.’

  ‘You do? Well, fill us in then,’ Thomson barked.

  ‘Mike Hardgrave is honest, hard working, dependable, and utterly committed to his job,’ Smaille explained. ‘He’s one of the best in the business.’

  ‘And his business is?’ asked Ritson.

  ‘He’s President Wheeler’s personal bodyguard.’

  ‘So, he’s armed then?’ pressed Ritson.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And he’d do anything to protect President Wheeler?’

  ‘Yes, he would.’

  ‘He’d stop a bullet for him?’

  ‘If necessary…’

  ‘So, if Hardgrave saw a strange man abseiling down a building and President Wheeler was inside that same building, then he’d try to stop him.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Permanently?’

  ‘If required, yes.’

  ‘So, what chance has Child got against this guy then?’ Ritson interjected.

  ‘None… absolutely none,’ Smaille said in a hushed voice. ‘Child has effectively been stopped on this mission.’

  ‘He’s as good as dead then,’ Ritson said bitterly.

  He hoped his friend would keep trying.

  ‘Yes,’ said Smaille with regret. ‘I’m sorry… unfortunately, I just see no other outcome.’

  Suddenly, the words that confirmed the worst, resounded through the speaker. Smaille’s dire prediction must now come true. Everyone listened in numb silence, unable to change the destiny of the drama being played out through the speaker.

  Behind them, the door banged open noisily and crashed back on its hinges. In ran Goody, panting heavily, and directly behind him came a burly officer.

  ‘I’m sorry sir but he said it was urgent,’ the officer explained, ‘and seeing as he knew you were here, I guessed he might be for real.’

  ‘Quick, we must contact Child,’ Goody blurted out, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps, ‘There’s another killer up there — one of chairman Ling’s ministers. We must warn Child.’

  Thomson and Smaille looked at each other, recognising the defeat on the other’s face. It was Smaille who spoke first.

  ‘I’m sorry, Goody, but Child is no longer a factor.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Unfortunately, he’s just been taken.’

  ‘But we haven’t got much time left…’

  ‘What do you mean?’ asked Smaille.

  Somehow Smaille knew that Goody wasn’t just talking about Child,

  ‘We finally broke the computer security and found out it’s far worse than we thought… far worse than we possibly imagined,’ Goody explained, looking down at his watch. ‘In a couple of minutes from now — at exactly eight pm to be precise — all communication will become impossible.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ demanded Thomson.

  ‘At eight pm tonight a pre-set scrambler program will activate a virus, making all communication across New Zealand impossible,’ Goody explained, ‘and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.’

  Ritson, who had continued to concentrate on the sounds coming from the speaker, interrupted the ensuing silence. ‘We must tell Simon — we can’t give up hope on him yet.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Ritson, but what’s been happening up on the tower?’ asked Thomson.

  ‘Nothing — I haven’t heard anything for the past couple of minutes,’ Ritson said. ‘Not with all the noise that’s been going on around here. We need to tell Simon what’s going on before it’s too late.’

  ‘I’m afraid that Child doesn’t stand a chance against Mike Hardgrave,’ Sma
ille said sympathetically to Ritson. ‘Mike will stop him… and stop him dead if necessary.’

  ‘Then it doesn’t matter if we tell him now then, does it,’ Ritson countered. ‘Quick, make the decision before it’s too late,’ he urged again.

  Ritson looked anxiously over at the second hand of the old analog clock sweeping further around.

  Smaille and Thomson shrugged.

  ‘I suppose there’s no harm in telling him now,’ Thomson agreed.

  Reaching over and flicking the voice microphone on, Ritson spoke clearly into it.

  ‘Simon, it’s Steve here — one of the Chinese officials is also an agent. I repeat one of the Chinese officials is also an agent. Please acknowledge.’

  Silence.

  For more than a minute everyone around the table stared at the speaker, willing it to respond.

  Then, as the second hand swept up to the twelve to indicate the time changing to 8pm, Ritson glared at Thomson across the table.

  ‘Your clock is slow,’ Ritson stated.

  Without waiting for a reply, Ritson turned to face the live projection of the Sky Tower, muttering desperately to himself.

  ‘Simon, what the hell are you doing up there? Damn you…’

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  ‘Stop right there — raise your hands and place them behind your head,’ an unfamiliar voice commanded.

  Child heard the words and obeyed them.

  Reluctantly he straightened up, releasing the rope so that it swung against the tower, almost invisible in the night. Turning towards where the voice was coming from, Child slowly raised both hands to meet the back of his neck. He peered silently into the dark opening of the stairwell. As he hadn’t been shot on sight, Child considered that there was still a chance of talking his way out of being eliminated.

  ‘Who are you?’ Child asked calmly.

  ‘Don’t worry about who I am, it’s who you are that counts,’ replied Hardgrave.

  His finger whitened on the trigger of his hardened plastic 38 special. It was a gun specifically designed to pass through metal detectors and X-ray machines, and it didn’t fire bullets. It operated through compressed air and fired hardened plastic pellets that had tremendous stopping power over a short range.

  Earlier that evening, Mike Hardgrave had been impressed by the security surrounding this private event for world leaders, but he hadn’t been too pleased about having to give up his Magnum 45. President Wheeler had agreed to this security measure and so Hardgrave had to go along with it. Even President Wheeler didn’t know about his backup gun. However, Hardgrave had sensed something was off about the evening on arrival, and his instincts rarely let him down. He kept his concerns to himself throughout the evening and chose not to join in the festivities with his fellow associates. Everyone at the event seemed to think that the Sky Tower was completely secure, allowing themselves to relax and have a good time.

  Hardgrave had remained tense and alert, keeping a close watch on the other dinner guests and constantly scanning the room for signs of movement.

  Hardgrave had slipped away to check the three floors above, but he found nothing there. He had even poked his head into the kitchen areas, but he had only been met by friendly chefs as they tended to their culinary creations.

  While Prime Minister Dellow added the finishing remarks to her speech, Hardgrave moved away from the crowd to inspect the outdoor observation deck. He still felt something was awry. This was when he had spotted suspicious movement further up on the outside of the tower.

  Now, as he looked steadily at the intruder dressed in black from under his gun, Hardgrave congratulated his gut instincts on being right yet again.

  Child could barely make out the shadowy figure in the doorway, but the American accent gave him hope that he could persuade the gunman to help him. He had better come up with a convincing story, and fast.

  ‘I’m a New Zealand secret service agent,’ Child said tentatively.

  ‘Yeah, right,’ Hardgrave replied sarcastically. ‘Now get down on the ground, go face down and spread your arms and legs wide.’

  Child stood still, ignoring the command. He stared hard at the shadowy figure but could barely make out any distinguishing features. Slowly, slowly, Child flexed his leg muscles in an attempt to stay relaxed. If he had to move soon, then he didn’t want o create any cramps from being in the same place for too long.

  Child reckoned that as long as he didn’t move or show aggression, then the man holding the gun wasn’t likely to shoot him.

  ‘Look, I am a secret service agent’ Child explained calmly. ‘There are some dangerous killers at the event happening down below. We’ve been unable to contact anyone down there and let them know the gravity of the situation.’

  ‘Why didn’t you just come up from below then?’ countered Hardgrave, his hand remaining rock-steady on the gun.

  ‘We tried but the elevators have been held up somewhere below the restaurant level, and the door to the internal steps has been jammed shut,’ Child explained patiently.

  ‘Come on, there must’ve been some easier way to contact your security than dropping in from above?’ Hardgrave said disbelievingly.

  ‘There was no other way — this place has been completely isolated for the past two hours,’ Child continued. ‘Now, please let me stop the killers from attacking before this event turns into a global disaster.’

  Hardgrave thought hard for a minute. One of the things that had unsettled him most about this event, was the complete isolation and removal of cell phones for the evening. The man who had welcomed them, Wu Young, had been very particular about this.

  ‘Now, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do,’ Hardgrave commanded. ‘You’ll get down on the ground just as I’ve asked. I’ll cuff you to the railing while I fetch your security chief, Mr Young. He can check with his bosses and confirm that you are who you say you are.’

  Child was momentarily perplexed.

  ‘Our security chief Mr Young?’ Child asked.

  ‘Yes, Mr Child,’ spoke a second voice from the darkened stairwell.

  A slim, athletic man in a business suit walked out of the darkness behind Hardgrave. He moved towards the edge of the outdoor observation platform. Pulling his gun from his shoulder holster, he aimed it steadily at Child’s midriff.

  ‘If you are who you’re claiming to be, then you should know who is chief of security on this operation,’ Young said coldly.

  Without waiting for a reply from Child, Young directed his next comments towards Hardgrave.

  ‘Thank you, Mr Hardgrave, for locating this intruder,’ Young said. ‘We’ve been aware of Mr Child’s activities for some time now. His presence here is somewhat surprising for us, but as you can see, he’s a resourceful character.’

  Child remained motionless, poised and ready to strike, but unable to work out the best option for survival.

  Hardgrave stepped out onto the platform. He was of medium height, but stocky in build. The gun held in his right hand remained rock-steady.

  ‘Well, what are we going to do with you now, Mr Child?’ said Hardgrave.

  Young smiled confidently as he answered, speaking directly to Child.

  ‘The temptation to just shoot you and toss you over the side is strong, Mr Child, as you’ve been rather a nuisance to us. However, I’m afraid my superiors would frown on such impulsive actions. So, you will do as Mr Hardgrave has asked. Get on the ground and spread them, as the Americans like to say.’

  Looking up at Hargreaves, Child saw grim determination on his face. Child turned, ignoring Young, and spoke to Hardgrave with urgency, his voice harsh and loud.

  ‘Mr Hardgrave, you must believe me — this man is one of the assassins!’

  ’Silence, Mr Child, no one is going to believe you,’ Young snarled, taking a sharp step forward. ‘Down on the ground, now!’

  Suddenly, the small speaker in Child’s headset crackled and jumbled voices could be heard.

  ‘Simon… one of the Chin
ese officials…’

  Child stood still as if in a trance, confusion crossing his face. Both Hargreaves and Young saw his change of expression and stopped still too. A deadly silence settled over the trio.

  Then, as if awakening from the trance, Child turned to Hardgrave with fresh determination.

  ‘Smaille sent me.’

  ‘What?’ Hardgrave said sharply.

  ‘Shut up, Child!’ Young snarled again as he swung his gun upwards, preparing to strike Child.

  Child reacted.

  Both arms swung down, a small arrow grasped in each hand. Child lunged closer to Young and before he could react, he rammed one arrow directly into Young’s chest. Continuing his momentum, Child slipped behind Young, his left arm looping around Young’s body and holding it in place. Child concealed himself from a momentarily distracted Hardgrave. Young stiffened as the arrow’s toxins took immediate effect. Young would have slumped to the ground if it hadn’t been for Child’s physical support.

  In the same movement, Child continued the momentum into his right arm and threw the other arrow directly at Hardgrave.

  Hardgrave never saw the flash of the arrow and was mildly surprised to see it sticking out of his left shoulder before he too collapsed onto the ground.

  Child dropped Young’s limp body beside Hardgrave.

  Child then spoke into his microphone.

  ‘Steve, what were you saying? I didn’t get the full message…’

  Silence.

  ‘I repeat, did not get last message please repeat.’

  Silence again.

  Child tapped at his microphone and suspecting just a gear failure, decided to continue with his mission.

  He began by checking Young and making sure that he was effectively unconscious. He quickly taped Young’s hands behind his back, and bound his feet together. Two more strips over the mouth would effectively silence Young if he woke up.

  Checking Hardgrave next, Child found that he was also fully unconscious. Bending down to retrieve his dart from Hardgrave’s shoulder, Child noticed that it had penetrated the skin even through the thick material of his formal suit jacket. Moving Hardgrave into a more comfortable position, Child dragged him around the corner and out of immediate sight.