by David Archer
Jenny raised her hand again. “I got one. I’m just wondering how you learned to speak English so clearly?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Soo Mi said with a smile. “I grew up in Bakersfield. My grandparents moved away from here during the Korean War, and settled in California. When I was recruited by the CIA, it was specifically to come back to my family’s homeland and run this place for them.” She made a happy little face. “But you no worry, I do good Korean accent, too. Even speak language, learn from grandparents.”
Jenny squealed with delight and clapped her hands. “Oh, that was so cute,” she said.
Neil looked at Noah and rolled his eyes. “Boss,” he said softly, so only Noah could hear, “please tell me we’re not gonna be stuck with this woman for good.”
“Noting to worry about on that score,” Noah said just as softly. “Allison says she’s almost as good as we are at getting the mission done, so she wants to get her back out on her own as soon as possible. If it hadn’t been for the screw-up in Bangkok, we’d probably never have worked with her at all.”
“Then that’s two reasons I’ve got for wanting to kill whoever did this to Sarah!”
EIGHT
The spaghetti had been absolutely fantastic. Who would have ever believed that Chinese cooks could turn out such wonderful Italian food? The Parmesan cheese had been some of the best she had ever tasted, the sauce had been awesome, and the garlic bread—there just weren’t words.
Chung had been her only dinner companion, which she had expected. He was indeed one of the most charming men she had ever met, but she didn’t let herself forget that it was only a role he was sent to play. His job was to try to woo her to the point that she would be willing to tell him what he wanted to know, but she was determined not to let that happen. While some people considered China to be one of the U.S.’s allies, Sarah wasn’t the political sort and didn’t really care. What mattered to her was that anything she said might end up harming Noah or Neil. As for Marco, she was privately convinced he had to have been the one to sell her out. If she could finagle her way into a chance to relieve him of his manhood, she was fairly sure she’d be more than willing to do it. She might even be willing to seduce him, at least as far as getting his pants down. After that, it’d be all up to the knife.
The new room she’d been assigned was also pretty wonderful. A big, fluffy bed, a TV with satellite service, so she could actually find channels she could understand, chairs that she could be comfortable in, its own bathroom—one of the nicest jail cells she could ever imagine, but there was no doubt that’s what it was. Two soldiers stood guard outside her door, and there were four of them on the ground outside her windows. If she tried to leave, Chung had warned her, they had orders to take her alive. Unfortunately, that didn’t mean unhurt. The guards were experts at aiming for the legs, he’d explained.
Still, she’d had the best night’s sleep she’d gotten since the whole mission began. She had looked in the closet and dresser and found clothing that was close enough to her size, including a very comfortable nightgown. She had run herself a bath and soaked in it until it got cold, then crawled in under the big comforter on the bed and was shortly dreaming.
The dream wasn’t disturbing, but she found herself lying next to Noah. She had wrapped her arms around him the way she always did, and felt his hand clasp hers, pulling her arm tighter. That was something she always loved when he did it, but it was only when he was sleeping. She enjoyed the feeling for the fleeting moment it lasted before the dream faded out.
Sarah had awakened refreshed and taken care of morning necessities before slipping on a dress and a new pair of sandals. It was only a few minutes later that Chung knocked on her door, and he smiled appreciatively when he saw her.
“My goodness,” he said, “but you do look lovely this morning. Compared to you, I look like I fell out of bed and landed in a pile of my dirty laundry.”
Sarah gave him a sarcastic grin. “Very funny,” he said. “You look like you’re dressed for a business meeting or something. Why the suit and tie? Going somewhere today?”
Chung’s eyes went wide, and he looked down at himself before turning back to her. “Is this not the way a man should dress if he expects to be in the company of a lovely young lady? Or have all of my American etiquette books become outdated?”
“Okay, now I know you’re pulling my leg,” Sarah said. “Nobody would use an etiquette book today, they’d just look things up on the Internet. And if you did that, you’d find out that the only time a guy gets dressed up for a girl is if he’s taking her out on some kind of fancy date, like to a restaurant or something. Not just to hang out and interrogate her.”
Chung couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “Why is it that you see through me so easily? Is that something you were trained in? Psychology, perhaps?”
Sarah just shook her head. “Okay, so what are we doing today? What devious plan have you come up with to try to get information out of me that I have no intention of revealing, even if I know it?”
“Well, I thought we might begin with breakfast, if that’s all right with you.” He stepped aside and extended his elbow. “Would you care to accompany me to the dining room?”
Sarah rolled her eyes, but tucked a hand inside his elbow and let him lead her to the dining room once again. A pair of Chinese girls, different ones from those who had served them the night before, placed bowls of rice and cream before them both, and Sarah found it delicious.
They chatted about simple things while they ate, such as what kinds of movies Sarah liked to watch, and her choices in music and reading. The conversation was pleasant. Sarah knew that it would become more serious at some point, and that no matter how charming he might be, Chung was still an interrogator. Sooner or later, if she failed to give him what he wanted, he would be forced to resort to less pleasant tactics.
When breakfast was over, Chung invited her to walk in the courtyard again. They strolled around for a few minutes, and then sat on a lovely wooden bench. There, in a Chinese garden, Sarah found herself wishing that Noah was with her.
“Will you tell me your thoughts?” Chung asked.
Sarah looked at him with a sad smile. “I was just thinking of my fiancé,” she said. “He probably thinks I’m dead.”
Chung’s face looked sad. “I am very sorry about that,” he said. “Unfortunately, that is beyond my control. And yet, I am surprised that someone employed as you are pursues a romantic relationship. Does he know what you do?”
She started to say that of course he did, but caught herself. “No,” she said, turning to look at a tree in a different direction from his face. “He knows I travel a lot, but that’s all. Under circumstances like these, the plan is to let him think I was kidnapped by some local gangsters or something like that. That way, if I turn up alive, we can always say I got lucky.”
Chung was silent for a moment, then touched her shoulder. “Is it difficult? To have such a relationship, when you must keep so many secrets?”
The answer came easily to her, because she had wondered about that back when she had first been recruited. How would someone like her have a relationship, if it was with someone who didn’t know about E & E?
“Well, he knows I work for the government, but he thinks I’m just kind of a messenger. When we started dating, I had to explain to him that I wasn’t allowed to talk about what I do, and he said that didn’t matter. It wasn’t my job he wanted to date, anyway.”
“Ah,” Chung said. “That sounds very wise.”
Sarah turned and looked at him. “What about you? Are you married? Got a girlfriend?”
He shook his head. “Unfortunately, the position I hold does not allow me to have any personal entanglements. It is considered to be a security risk, since a foreign agent might use someone I care for against me. To help you understand, imagine that your fiancé was in our custody. If one of my advisers were to threaten him if you did not answer a question, would you not feel the need to
protect him?”
Sarah let her face go cold. “Is that some kind of threat?”
Chung’s eyes were suddenly wide as he tried to portray the picture of innocence. “Oh, no, no, no,” he said. “I was merely trying to illustrate the reason why I am not allowed to have a girlfriend or wife. I can assure you that we know nothing about your personal life, or who your fiancé might be. In fact, I give you my solemn promise that I will never even reveal that you have mentioned him. He will have nothing to fear, I promise you.”
“But aren’t you required to report what we talk about? I wouldn’t want you to get into trouble.”
Slowly, he let himself smile again. “There is no reason to worry about me,” he said. “I have been given considerable autonomy in dealing with you. If you share something with me that I believe should not be reported, I have the authority to keep it secret, between us.”
Sarah nodded. “A way to build my trust in you, right?” She slowly smiled at him. “You are definitely a charmer, I’ll give you that. The thing is, Chung, I really don’t think I know anything that’s going to be important enough to keep your—what did you call them, advisers?—from deciding to use whatever kind of torture techniques are popular with them these days.” She turned and looked across the courtyard again. “One of the first things they explain to you when you take a job like mine is that if you’re ever captured, you are almost certainly going to die. You and I both know that’s what’s going to happen to me, in the long run.”
She felt his fingers gently touch the back of her hand as it lay on her thigh. “Sarah,” he said softly, “here is something you may believe. I do not wish to see you tortured, and so I shall do all that I can to prevent that from happening. For as long as I can, I will contrive to keep you with me.”
She looked at him again, and this time he saw the doubt in her face. “Chung, why would you do that? The only thing that could do is blow up in your face, and then mine. Yes, you’re very charming, but I am not interested in living my life inside these walls. Sooner or later, you’ll have to let me go, and then other men will do whatever they think it takes to break me. That’s how this game works, remember?”
“But, Sarah,” he replied, “the important thing to remember about a game is that it has rules. Rules can be used to strengthen your own position, or to weaken those of your opponent. Fortunately for you,” he said, giving her a conspiratorial grin, “I am one of those who write the rules.”
Sarah looked at him for just a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing. “Oh, my goodness,” she said as she caught her breath. “Chung, if you weren’t holding me prisoner you’d be almost likable.”
The Chinaman offered her a broad smile. “That is possibly one of the nicest things anyone has ever said about me. Let us hope that I shall only continue to become more so.”
Her laughter subsided and faded away. “Well, letting me go would be a step in the right direction.”
“I’m certain it would, but I’m afraid it is not within my power to do so. You and I, Sarah, are much alike. We both work for a government, and we are both subject to orders we may not always wish to follow. We perform the task set before us, and we cannot imagine failing to do so. If it were not for the fact that my government considers yours to be deceitful and cunning, you and I would not be having these conversations.”
Sarah shrugged her shoulders. “I guess you’re right,” she said. “So where does that leave us?”
Chung let out a long, slow sigh. “Sarah, today I must begin asking you questions, and report to those above me what you say. This does not mean I will reveal everything; as I said a moment ago, some things I will keep between us.”
“Yeah, I figured that was coming. So, what happens when I refuse to answer? Is that when the friendliness ends?”
“I suggest we simply start with some easy questions. If you do not answer one of them, I will simply move to another. This way, you can choose what you wish to tell me.”
Sarah gave him a humorous but knowing look. “And the more questions I answer, the easier answering them becomes.” She suddenly grinned. “I’ll tell you what,” she said. “You can ask anything you want to know about me personally, and unless I feel that it’s going to endanger anyone I care about, I’ll answer.”
Chung bowed his head to her. “I accept,” he said. “And my first question would be a very simple one. Would you tell me how old you are, Sarah?”
She shrugged again. “Don’t see any harm in that,” she said. “I’m twenty-two.”
“Twenty-two,” Chung mused. “I would’ve thought you were a bit younger than that. Simply judging from your appearance, I had taken you for only twenty, perhaps even nineteen.”
Sarah chuckled. “Flattery isn’t going to get you anywhere with me,” she said. “How about you? I figure you’re about thirty-five, am I right?”
Both of his eyebrows shot upward. “I am only twenty-nine,” he said. “It appears that while you look younger than your true age, I must look older.”
“No, not really,” Sarah said quickly. “There’s a look in your eyes that made me think you were older. Like maybe you’ve seen too many things you didn’t really want to see. I’ve seen that look before in people who work for their government.”
Nodding, Chung said, “And this is probably true. I began my career in the Army when I was quite young, and displayed a propensity for intelligence work. I was transferred to the Ministry of State Security, where I spent four years as a field agent, then two more years as an attaché in our embassy to the United States. It was for that position that I was taught to speak English, but afterward I was placed in our counterintelligence division and trained as an interrogator.” He looked at her with a slight grin. “My next question is also an easy one. How did you come to be in this type of work?”
Sarah considered whether or not to answer for a moment, then decided it was safe. “I was raised by my dad, who was a car thief. By the time I was fourteen I could drive anything, and better than most professional drivers, so that’s when he started taking me out to steal them. We got caught when I was nineteen, and I was offered this job instead of a prison sentence.”
“So you are truly nothing more than a driver?”
“That’s what it says on my job description.”
“And yet, you were sent into Bangkok prison for some reason. What was the purpose of placing you there?”
“Sorry, buddy,” Sarah said. “That’s one of those questions I’m not going to answer.”
Chung smiled. “Very well, I’ll leave that alone. For now.”
NINE
Noah, Neil and Marco had taken one of the bunk rooms, and Jim, Randy and Dave took the other. While Jenny went into the bathroom to shower, the men decided to catch some rest while they had the opportunity. Neil hopped onto the bunk over Noah’s, stretched out on his back, and was asleep only a moment later.
Marco was sitting on the other bottom bunk, and he suddenly grinned and pointed at Neil’s feet, which were hanging in the air almost a foot from the end of the bunk.
“You know that’s got to be uncomfortable,” he said, and Noah nodded.
“Most likely, but I’m sure he’s used to it.”
“Yeah, probably.” Marco looked back at Noah. “Hey, boss?”
“Yes?”
“Is there something going on that I don’t know about?”
Noah looked him in the eye. “What makes you ask that?”
“I’ve been watching you and Jenny,” Marco said, “and it looks to me like y’all are watching the rest of us pretty close. Like maybe you two know something the rest of us don’t. Anything I need to worry about?”
“Not as long as you do your job right,” Noah said. “Is there something bothering you?”
Marco chewed the inside of his left cheek for a couple of seconds. “Matter of fact, there is, but I’ve been reluctant to say anything. Permission to speak freely?”
“Go ahead.”
“Okay. It
’s that whole mess that happened in Thailand. I can’t for the life of me figure out how it could be some big coincidence that Sarah got snatched out of that prison, can you? If the guys who took her were really looking for sex slaves, wouldn’t you think they’d go after locals, especially the younger ones? Why would they grab American girls?”
“Western girls have been abducted into the sex trade before,” Noah said. “You heard the local guys, this happens every now and then at the prison.”
“Yeah, I heard that,” Marco said, “it’s just the timing that throws me. What are the odds, you reckon, that Sarah would get there on the very day these goons show up to do their girl shopping?”
“Marco, what are you trying to say? Are you implying that someone knew Sarah wasn’t who she claimed to be?”
“Well, hell, Noah,” Marcus said. “I just can’t wrap my head around the idea that this is all some big coincidence. I mean, didn’t it strike you as odd?”
“That thought had crossed my mind,” Noah replied. “The problem is that I can’t put my finger on who could have slipped up and allowed anyone to know about her. Any thoughts on that?”
“Only ones that come to mind would be that Darrell and his people. They live there, and sometimes they work with the local intelligence folks. Could be they’ve gotten pretty friendly, or at least that’s a possibility.” He chewed his cheek again for a moment. “There’s another thing that’s bugging me, too. I can’t help wondering if maybe Sarah’s still alive and that whole thing about showing us her hair in the ashes and all that was just a smokescreen.”
Noah looked into his eyes. “I’ve also considered that possibility,” he said. “Another possibility is that the way she was taken out of the prison really was coincidental, but then someone found out just who they had. There’s pretty much no doubt in my mind that somebody knows she’s an American agent. Whoever was behind her abduction is after information. If she’s still alive, and I personally think she is, then we need to find out who it was that betrayed her.”