by David Archer
She slept on that flight, but had no idea for how long. One of the flight crew woke her at some point and gave her a plastic bag that contained slices of dried meat, along with a bottle of water. She ate and tried to go back to sleep, but was still awake when the plane landed a few hours later.
She was blindfolded, this time, before they took her off the plane. The two men took hold of her arms as they walked her down a ramp and pushed her into a car. She could hear a number of sounds she associated with the military—the sound of many people marching together, as well as the distant sound of gunfire and helicopters and aircraft passing overhead.
Those sounds finally fell behind them, and it wasn’t long before she could tell they were in heavy traffic. The ride lasted almost an hour, and then she was unceremoniously dragged from the car and walked into a building, then down a flight of stairs. She was taken into a cool room and then the blindfold was removed.
That’s where she had been ever since. The room contained a cot, a table and a single chair, as well as a covered bucket that was obviously intended for use as a toilet. As soon as the men escorting her left the room, she took advantage of the last item.
Since then, she had only seen the man who brought her meals and took the bucket away for cleaning once a day. She admitted to herself that she had not been mistreated, but the fact that she was a prisoner was not lost on her. From what Lom had said, she knew that she would be interrogated at some point; her guess was that the interrogator had yet to arrive.
The worst part was the torment of her own thoughts. Lom had told her that Noah believed she was dead, and had left Thailand. A part of her couldn’t believe he would leave her behind, but if they had truly convinced him that she had died, his logical mind would decide there was no reason to stay.
The only problem with that was convincing herself that he would accept her death without seeing her body. That would be out of character for Noah; it just wouldn’t fit with the way his brain worked. And if that was the case, then she had no choice but to believe that he suspected what had happened and was already working on a plan to get her back.
Yes, that was the Noah she knew. Unfortunately, there was no way for her to know what that plan might be. Until he found her—and she was certain that he would—Sarah was on her own.
The most recent meal she had eaten was one she thought of as breakfast: boiled rice in sweetened milk. That had been a few hours earlier, and she was anticipating the arrival of lunch in another hour or so, but then she heard the key in the lock on the door and hastily sat up on the cot. A man she didn’t recognize opened the door and looked at her.
Sarah looked him over, as well. He was a few inches taller than her own five foot two, and she got the impression that he was not as young as he appeared. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, but something in his eyes made her add about ten years to her guess. His hair was black and neatly combed, and he was dressed casually in black slacks, a white shirt and a light brown jacket.
“Hello,” he said in English. “Have you been treated well?”
“Other than being locked up like a prisoner? I guess okay.”
The man smiled. “My name is Chung,” the man said. “It is my hope that you and I shall become friends. Would you care to take a walk with me?”
Sarah looked at him for a moment and considered whether cooperation might be advisable, and decided that it was. “Sure,” she said. “Where we going?”
“Only for a walk,” Chung said. “I thought perhaps you might enjoy being outside for a little while. The air is fresh and the sun is shining, a very pleasant day.”
Sarah stood and walked slowly toward the door. When Chung stepped back and motioned for her to come on out, she saw that he was alone. She knew, however, that there were other men in the building, so she didn’t want to give them a reason to beat the snot out of her just yet. Better to accept the friendliness while it lasted; it might give her a chance to learn the layout of the building. She would need that if she got any chance to escape.
She stepped out of the room and waited quietly while he shut the door, then fell into step beside him as he started along the hallway toward the stairs. The overhead lights were not bright, but she could see light streaming down from the floor above.
“I apologize for taking so long to get here,” Chung said. “I was actually supposed to arrive the night before last, but you have created something of an uproar. Your capture marks the first time my country has ever been able to confirm that your organization truly exists. For that reason, there are many in my government who wished to advise me on just how to deal with you.” He smiled at her. “You should be happy to know that I have little respect for most of them, and will not be taking their suggestions. You and I will get along much better that way.”
Sarah turned her head and glanced at him as they ascended the stairs. “Everyone I’ve met so far keeps asking me about this organization,” she said. “I tried to tell them all I don’t know—”
“Ms. Child,” Chung said, “I have heard the recording that was made when you informed your captor that he should fear this Camelot, the assassin you work with. You cannot lie to me, not if we are to be friends. And I truly do want that. If I am unable to gain your cooperation, those others I spoke of will send someone else to do what I choose not to. Torture is unpleasant, but in skilled hands it is extremely effective in obtaining information.”
Sarah stayed quiet as they emerged from the stairs, and continued to walk beside him as he led her through another hallway. They came to a door, and a guard standing beside it quickly opened it for them. Sarah looked through it and saw what looked like a quite lovely garden, full of flowers and trees. Chung extended a hand to invite her to step out first, then followed her when she did so.
“As you can see,” he said, “this is an enclosed courtyard. As this is an official government building, there are guards stationed all around it. Escape is out of the question, I’m afraid, so please do not consider trying.”
Sarah shrugged as they walked along, her sandals making flopping noises with every step. “I get the impression I’m in China,” she said. “Considering I know absolutely nothing about China, trying to escape probably wouldn’t get me anywhere, anyway.”
Chung beamed at her. “That is a wise decision. You are correct in your assumption; we are actually not far from the city of Hong Kong.”
“Figures,” Sarah said. “That’s one of the places I always wanted to visit. Somehow, I don’t think you’re going to let me go there for a holiday, though, are you?”
“If you are cooperative, I think I could arrange something. Of course, I would have to accompany you, and there would be others along to ensure that you did not try to get away.”
At least in Hong Kong, she thought, I might have a chance to make contact with an American, maybe a tourist or even the US Embassy. “What kind of cooperation are we talking about? It’s not like I have any important secrets or anything.”
“We have found that employees of American organizations often know far more than they believe they do,” Chung said. “I have a number of questions I would like to ask, and if you provide the answers we need, I can assure you that you can have a long and happy life here. If your cooperation is complete and genuine, you might even earn the freedom to live as a welcome guest in our country.”
“And if I don’t,” she said, stopping and turning to face him, “you turn me over to the Chinese inquisition, right?”
Chung made a grimace and shrugged. “Unfortunately, that would be likely. As I told you, there are those who believe that my approach has little chance of success. If it were up to them, you would already be suffering. I truly hope to avoid that, but it will, in the end, be up to you.”
Sarah crossed her arms and looked down at her feet. “So, give me an idea what kind of questions you want me to answer.”
He laughed softly. “Americans are always in such a hurry,” he said. “Can we not simply enjoy the beauty around us
for now? There will be more than enough time for questions after we move you to your new room this afternoon.”
“New room?” Sarah asked.
“I was actually intending to save it for a surprise, but that is not the first time my mouth has given me away. Yes, I have ordered a room prepared for you on the second floor. You will find it much more comfortable than the one you’re in now. There is even a television, or if you prefer to read, I can see that you are given books and magazines.”
Sarah allowed herself to give him a small smile. “TV would be good,” she said. “Anything is better than the boredom of just being locked in by myself.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Of course, that’s part of the psychological conditioning, isn’t it? Boredom is a form of torture in itself, right? Now you come along, and like a hero of some kind you’re going to rescue me from that boredom. That’s supposed to make me feel indebted to you, so that I’ll want to cooperate when you ask me to.” She leaned her head toward him with a small grin. “Sorry, I was just reminding myself of the class we took on psychological conditioning. The section on dehumanization was really interesting.”
Chung gently touched her on the shoulder. “All of that is true,” he said, “which is precisely why I have decided to bring that sort of thing to an end. Ms. Child, I am not one who believes that torture is necessary in this world. Your country and mine are not at war, though there are many who believe we should be, among both our peoples. Your associates perform a necessary service in the world, but we have learned that the great Sun Tzu was correct.”
“Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer? That Sun Tzu?”
“Indeed. Your E & E is an organization of our friend in the West, the United States of America. We simply wish to know whether our country has anything to be concerned about with them.”
“That’s a question I couldn’t answer,” Sarah said. “I don’t know anything about politics or policies or how everything is run. All I am is a driver, the girl who has to get my boss to where he’s going, and then get him out again. The closest I ever come to knowing what’s going on is when he tells me where to drop him and when to pick him up.”
“You see?” Chung said with another smile. “That was being cooperative. You have shared with me a truth about the work you do. In return, I shall let you decide what we have for dinner. The kitchen here can prepare almost any kind of meal. Tell me what you would like to have, and that shall be our dinner for tonight.”
Sarah deliberately let her face brighten. “Really? I mean, anything I want?”
“You will find that I am always going to be honest with you. Yes, really. Anything you wish.”
Sarah puckered her lips and narrowed her eyes, comically appearing to be deep in thought. “Hmmm, I gotta think this through. Anything I want…Okay, I’ve got it. How about we have spaghetti and meatballs, with Parmesan cheese? Can your kitchen do that?”
Chung laughed with delight. “Of course,” he said. He leaned toward her as if imparting a secret. “You know, there are those who still believe that spaghetti was originally based on Chinese noodles.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “There’s also people who believe the American moon landings were a big hoax.” She turned her expression serious. “Mr. Chung,” she said, “what makes me so important? What do you really expect to learn from me?”
Chung’s smile remained bright. “Sarah—may I call you Sarah?” She nodded permission. “Sarah, the truth is that we do not know what we expect to learn. However, my government has spent much of the last decade in trying to curtail American spying in our country, even to the point of eliminating our own countrymen who were suspected of selling secrets to the West. Now we have discovered confirmation of numerous bits of intelligence indicating that the Americans practice political and economic assassination. Your organization was created in the middle of your former president’s first term, and yet it has taken us all this time merely to confirm its existence. Do you find it surprising that we wish to learn everything we can about that organization?”
“No, I guess not,” Sarah said. “But I don’t really think you’re going to learn that much from me. I mean, I’m not gonna roll over and tell you anything I think I shouldn’t, but I’m sure those people you were talking about will get tired of waiting for you to charm it out of me. Sooner or later, you’ll be gone and I’ll face the Inquisition. I’m not stupid enough to think they won’t break me, but even then I don’t know anything important. It’ll all be a waste of time and effort.”
The Chinaman’s smile slowly faded away. “I do not care about wasting time,” he said. “I do not, however, wish to waste the beautiful woman before me.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “Oh, so now I get the charming side, right? The flirtatious hero, coming to rescue the damsel in distress. I know it might seem like I’m pretty dumb, but even I can see through that one. You’re not here because you want to be, any more than I am. You’re here because it’s your job to try to get answers out of me, so don’t bother paying me compliments and flirting with me. It won’t get you anywhere, and I really would rather not insult you.”
Chung smiled at her. “Sarah,” he said softly. “Do you not believe that a man can find a woman attractive, even if they have opposing political views? There have been many epics written about such ill-fated romances; perhaps you and I might be another one?”
Sarah grinned at him. “Nice to meet an optimist,” she said, “but forget it. Ain’t gonna happen, Chung, not in a million years!”
FIVE
Neil had been awake and dressed by the time Noah got home, so he came walking over as soon as the Corvette pulled in. Noah got out of the car and stood beside it waiting for him, and then the two of them went into the house.
“Have a seat at the table,” Noah said as they entered the kitchen. “I’ll make coffee.”
“No, let me,” Neil said. “You don’t do it the way Sarah does…” The boy’s face suddenly looked crestfallen. “Anyway, you make it too strong.” He picked up the pot from the coffee maker and filled it with water at the sink.
Noah stepped aside and took a seat at the table, watching Neil work. When he turned to pour the water into the machine, Noah saw the tear that was sliding down his cheek, and then decided that what he was seeing was grief, rather than any sign of guilt.
“Neil,” he said, “Sarah is alive.”
Coffee grounds spilled across the counter as Neil dropped the container and spun to face him. “What?” he demanded. “Did they find her? Is she okay? How do you…”
“I knew it before we left Thailand,” Noah said, “but there was no hope of trying to rescue her at that moment. The only possible source of information would have been Pak, and he was too well protected. There was no chance we were going to catch him alone in the near future, so I chose to let him believe that I accepted his story of her death.”
Neil’s eyes were wide as he stared at Noah. “But we’ve got to go,” he said loudly, “we got to go back and find her. Noah, we can’t go out on a new mission when she’s—”
“Neil, she was betrayed. Someone, either one of my team or Jenny’s, or possibly one of the E & E people in Thailand, revealed to someone that Sarah is one of ours. That’s the only logical reason for Pak to try to convince us she was dead. They know exactly what they’ve got, and I’m sure they plan to try to get any information they can out of her.”
“And that makes it even more important we go back,” Neil said. “God, Noah, you know Sarah, she’d never be able to handle being tortured for information.”
“Sarah’s a lot stronger than you think, Neil, but at the moment we have no intel at all. The most logical move at the moment is to figure out who sold her out, and who they talked to. I don’t think it was Pak, I think he was a middleman that was called in to handle getting her to whoever wanted her so badly. Allison’s got CIA working on the people in Thailand to see if one of them has made any improper contact lately, but they don’t think it’s like
ly. If it was one of them, she might have been betrayed even before she was taken to the prison, but it seems more likely she was sold out after she was taken by the Nay Thas, and it’s more than a possibility that it was one of the people who were with us at the time. That means it was either Marco, Jenny, or one of her team.”
Neil stared at him for a moment, then turned around and continued making the coffee before cleaning up the spill. It wasn’t until he was finished that he turned back to face Noah.
“When we figure it out,” he said, “I want to be the one to kill him.”
One of Noah’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “Him? You’re assuming it’s not Jenny?”
“Huh-uh,” Neil said. “Jenny’s an evil bitch, but not that way. You heard her, she gets her thrills out of killing people. Whoever did this probably did it for money, and Jenny wouldn’t care about that. She wouldn’t risk losing the only possible job that lets her indulge her desire to be a serial killer and covers her back while she does it.”
“Who do you think it was?” Noah asked bluntly.
Neil closed his eyes. “My very first thought would be Marco,” he said, “but I’m smart enough to know that’s because I resent him taking Moose’s place. It could be him, but I can’t point to any kind of evidence that makes me think so. I know it wasn’t you or me, and I’m sure it wasn’t Jenny, but I don’t know her guys well enough to even make a guess about them. I got along okay with all of them, but me and Jim probably hit it off best. We speak the same language, you know?”
Noah nodded his head. “I agree. I saw nothing that lets me point to one of them as a suspect. This is the reason Allison is sending us out together again, to give me the chance to try to figure out which one of them might have done it, if it was any of them.” He looked Neil in the eye. “Once we know that, I’m going to make certain he tells us everything he knows.”