Rising Tiger

by Trevor Scott

  But as the Gulfstream rolled up the tarmac at the private area of the international airport, police cars suddenly appeared, surrounded them, and officers jumped out and pulled their guns.

  “What the hell is going on?” Jake asked Lin.

  She looked concerned as she shook her head. She hurried to the cockpit and said something to the crew. Then she returned and got onto her phone. As she listened to the person she had called, she simply nodded agreement before closing out the call and shoving the phone into her front pocket.

  “Well?” Jake asked.

  “The local police were tipped off that we were smuggling heroin into the country,” Lin said.

  “That bastard,” Alexandra said. “The general has that kind of power?”

  Lin took the question. “He has enough power to send a Chinese jet after us. This is nothing compared to that. He has friends throughout our government. That’s why. . .”

  Jake was up and checking out the police, but he turned to Lin when she didn’t finish her thought. “Why what?”

  Putting her hand in front of her mouth, Lin tried not to make eye contact with Jake or Alexandra.

  But the German officer wanted answers. She went to Lin and pointed at the smaller woman. “What the hell is going on?”

  Lin’s head lowered to her chest, the universal non-verbal for shame, but far more prevalent in the Asian community. “I was told to stand down a week ago. Not to make waves with General Wu Gang and his organization.”

  Jake started laughing as he paced around the Gulfstream cabin. “This is amazing. You just gained my total respect, Lin.”

  The Taiwanese woman looked genuinely confused.

  Alexandra helped out Lin. “You don’t know Jake very well. When he finds someone who stands up for principle and bucks his own government, that’s like sex to him. He’d do you right here if I wasn’t present.”

  “Seriously, Alexandra,” Jake said. “I think you’re overstating my character.” She wasn’t, but he had to protest.

  “It’s the truth,” Alexandra declared. “So, tell us more our young Taiwanese friend.”

  Jake still shook his head in protest as Lin explained how her boss had told her to only concentrate on the American, Bill Remington. The general was not important. When Lin was done, Jake did have to agree, at least to himself, that he was a little turned on by the woman’s admission.

  “All right,” Jake said. “Where do we go from here? The villagers have more than torches and pitchforks out there. And we’re going after a rising tiger.”

  Lin said, “Since I already told my boss that Remington was killed, he will take care of the police. It might just take a few minutes.”

  Jake considered their current plight and their recent encounter in the air. “Who knew that we were flying from Saigon to Taipei?”

  The Asian woman’s mind seemed to be clicking, as if a movie was forming in her mind. Finally, she said, “I got approval for this plane from my boss.”

  “And the flight plan?” Alexandra wanted to know.

  Lin thought about that. “Under the cover of business.”

  “Did anyone know that we would be aboard?” Jake asked.

  “No,” Lin said. “I used my business cover as a cell company executive.”

  “So, the general must have had some knowledge that we were aboard. How did he know? What about the crew?”

  “They were nearly killed as well,” Lin reasoned.

  True. But they still could have mentioned to someone that Jake and Alexandra were aboard, not knowing the consequences of their action. It mattered not, Jake guessed. When he saw flashes of movement outside, Jake looked out the window and saw the police cars taking off.

  “Looks like your boss is forgiving,” Jake said. He adjusted the Glock on his right hip and felt the two extra magazines in his pockets. Alexandra had been forced to drop her extra empty mags in Saigon during the chase, so they would need a little help with firepower. “Any way to get some more magazines and nine mil rounds?”

  “Not through my Bureau,” Lin said, a resounding smile on her face. “But through other sources.”

  “All right,” Jake said. “Let’s go.”

  Alexandra stopped him with her hand. “Whoa, cowboy. Let’s try to pin down a strategy first. With Lin having no support from her own government, doesn’t that leave us all swinging in the breeze when the shit hits the fan?”

  Jake shrugged as he glanced at Lin.

  “I learned a valuable saying in America,” Lin said. “Don’t ask for permission. Ask for forgiveness.”

  Alexandra laughed. “Jake has been living that way since I’ve known him.”

  “Hey,” Jake said, with mock indignation.

  “That’s right,” Alexandra said. “Jake doesn’t even ask for forgiveness.”

  “It’s implied,” he said. “Can we go now?”

  The three of them exited the plane and found Lin’s car waiting in the parking lot. It was a large, black Hyundai sedan with tinted windows. The two women were in the front and Jake took the entire back seat. He thought now about what needed to be done. While it was true that General Wu Gang was running a hugely corrupt organization, which included murder and the possible incitement of war between two Chinese countries that would invariably lead to a massive regional conflict, at least the communist billionaire was employing a bunch of people. Silver lining, Jake guessed.

  Lin wound through the streets of Taipei, her driving skills reminding Jake of Nascar without the crashes.

  “Where we going?” Jake asked.

  Lin looked at him in the rearview mirror. “You said you need some more bullets. More guns. The general will not go away without a fight.”

  “How many men does he have?” Alexandra asked.

  The Taiwanese officer said, “A few less since the two of you have been in Asia.”

  Jake had to laugh. That was the first sign of levity from the Taiwanese officer since they had met.

  A half hour later and they pulled into a residential area, through a remote-controlled gate, and Lin parked next to an older, two-story structure.

  “Is this a safe house?” Jake asked.

  Lin leaned back toward Jake. “Not officially. It was owned by my grandfather on my mother’s side. I inherited it a couple years ago, but only come here once in a while to escape.”

  “It looks very serene,” Alexandra said.

  “I played here as a child,” Lin admitted. “But I like my apartment downtown.”

  Lin showed Jake and Alexandra around the modest house. It had everything they needed, but the food supply was nearly non-existent. So, Lin left the two of them alone while she went out for food and ammo.

  Alone now, Jake sat in an old leather chair in the main living room. His eyes scanned the walls, observing the Chinese paintings on the wall depicting scenes from Asia, with the ever-present cranes and the misty mountains of the Guilin area.

  Alexandra had her Glock apart on a towel on the glass coffee table across from Jake. She was doing her best to clean the parts.

  “No solvent,” Jake said to her.

  “No, but I found this oil in the kitchen,” she said, raising a small glass bottle.

  “Peanut oil?”

  She smelled the top. “Sesame. It’ll work.” She rubbed a little oil on the slide and then put the gun back together again, cycling the movement a few times to make sure the oil worked.

  Jake smiled and removed his gun from his hip. He set it onto the table in front of Alexandra. “As long as your fingers are covered in sesame.”

  Alexandra rolled her eyes, but then accepted the task of cleaning Jake’s gun. She had his gun apart within a couple of seconds. “You can wash your own underwear.”

  “Oh, so that’s how it’s gonna be. I thought you were a good putz frau.”

  Now her eyes seemed to burn through Jake. “If that were the case, I would have had a good German man years ago.”

  “German men want the three Cs,” he said.
“Clean, cook and copulate.”

  “You just made that up. In German, two of the three start with a K.” She stopped working on Jake’s gun. “Do you want me to clean your gun or not?”

  He nodded. “But I was hoping for at least two of the three Cs.”

  “So you want to copulate?” she wondered.

  “Actually, I could eat.”

  She threw her dirty, oily rag at him.

  “All right. You take care of the gun and I’ll find us something to eat.” He got up and started toward the kitchen. But he stopped and turned. “You don’t suppose I could call out for Chinese take out here?”

  She didn’t answer. She just shook her head.

  Jake left her and went to the kitchen. He found some rice, which he started cooking in the microwave. Then he gathered a bunch of spices, selecting them from smell, since he couldn’t read the labels. While he prepared to make the fried rice, he thought about what he had to do here in Taiwan. In theory, he didn’t have to continue at all. He knew this deep in his bones. Yet, he also knew that the general was used to getting his way through political influence primed by his large bank account. Why did it always come to this, he wondered. If he had a billion dollars, he would simply be content in a villa overlooking the Med. Maybe an infinity pool. He would keep it simple. Of course life might only be complete with the right woman at his side. And he was starting to think that Alexandra could be that woman. At one time he thought it could be Toni Contardo. And then he was sure it could have been Anna. But maybe those two, and their deaths, had made Jake a bit gun shy. Perhaps that was his best reason to simply let this go. He wasn’t sure if he could live with himself if anything happened to Alexandra.

  After the rice finished cooking in the microwave, Jake put a little oil and soy sauce into a huge wok and fired up the gas stove. Then he added the rice and started including spices. Unfortunately he had no meat or fresh vegetables to add, so this would be a poor-man’s fried rice.

  Alexandra showed up and held Jake at the hips from behind. “Something smells great. Now who would make a good putz frau?”

  “You’re funny.” He turned his head and kissed her quickly on the lips. “I wish I had some fresh chicken and veggies.”

  “I’m sure it will be fantastic,” she said. “If not a little hot. Are those red peppers?”

  “Yeah, they’re good for you.” He almost slipped and mentioned his old Chinese girlfriend, who had taught him how to cook Asian food.

  “I like spicy food,” she assured him.

  He turned off the burner and swiveled around to her. “Why didn’t I know that about you?”

  She kissed him on the lips and then pulled away. “You never asked.” Alexandra looked through a number of cupboards before finding two plates. She seemed to be looking for something else.

  Jake found a couple sets of chop sticks and he handed her a pair.

  “I’m not great at these,” she said.

  “I’ll teach you.”

  They sat down at a small kitchen table and started eating the rice. He showed her how he had been taught to use chop sticks and they quickly finished the entire serving of rice.

  Alexandra set her chop sticks across her plate. “Wonderful. Now, I will take care of the final C, but first I need a little nap.”

  Jake smiled. “Agreed.”

  29

  The Taipei 101 tower was like nearly every other high rise building constructed worldwide in an attempt to gain the pinnacle of height and fame as the tallest building on the planet. The difference, however, was that whereas all of the other towers of power contained primarily corporate offices of some of the most prestigious companies in the world, this one had one residence. The building didn’t start that way, but over a two-year period, General Wu Gang had bought and paid for the 88th floor, just below the observation and security levels, turning the top level into a lavish penthouse apartment with views in all directions. The other half of that floor just contained the headquarters to his business empire. Of course, anyone visiting the building would never know this. There were no signs on any level that let visitors know of his properties on the 88th floor. Elevators could only access this floor with a special card and by punching in a six-digit access code. And only a couple of the general’s most trusted men had cards and the code.

  Now, the general stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window with a view of the sun setting to the west. He imagined it was still somewhat light in Beijing, assuming the dust and pollution still allowed the light through.

  His head of security, Shangwei, entered quietly and stood behind the general, who caught the man’s reflection in the window.

  “Well? What do you have to report?” General Wu Gang asked.

  “The police were not able to stop them at the airport,” Shangwei said.

  The general turned. “I assumed that much. What about the American and his girlfriend?”

  “The police had no reason to detain them. I believe that officer from the National Security Bureau has more influence than we first thought.”

  There was no way that a captain in the Taiwanese intelligence agency had more power and influence than a former general in the People’s Liberation Army and the richest man in either China. No, he would crush that woman. Chinese women, all women, were only good for two things—sex and motherhood.

  “Where is this woman, Lin?” the general asked.

  Shangwei shrugged. “We are not sure, general. According to my contacts at her organization, she is not officially working this week.”

  General Wu Gang smiled with that revelation. “That’s good to know. It means she had enough influence to make the police go away, but she was still not sanctioned by her superiors.” Which also meant that his money had gone to a good cause. “Anything else?”

  Shangwei hesitated.

  “Go ahead,” the general implored.

  “I have learned more about the American. He will not stop coming, sir.”

  The general smiled. “I was hoping you would say that. Prepare your men.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  With that, the security officer left the general alone. He turned again and stared at his adopted city. And then his mind drifted to his workers in their offices across from the huge dampening ball in the center of the upper tower, where his legitimate interests plodded just a couple of doors removed from his clandestine minions. Computers never slept, so his workers never did either.

  ●

  At that very moment, Lin stood in her modest living room glancing out from her sliding deck door on the tenth floor of her apartment. The sun was now just a memory and the city lights shone brightly across the Wenshan District of the city. Her apartment building was nestled against the mountains near the city zoo. From her location, she could see the upper half of the massive Taipei 101 building, lit up now with cool shades of blue and purple lights.

  It had taken Lin weeks to dig into General Wu Gang’s finances and the location of his headquarters. What kind of billionaire didn’t let anyone know the true nature of his business or even the location of his legitimate enterprises? She knew the answer to her own question. General Wu Gang was still as secretive as he had been while running one of the largest intelligence gathering organizations in the world. This secrecy meant just one thing to Lin. The man was corrupt. The general was trying to bring irrevocable damage to her country, and that was something she could not allow. No matter what her superiors told her to do. The man could not get away with this, she thought.

  Then she turned and went to her bedroom. She opened her closet, spread her clothes in both directions, and released a hidden latch, which popped open two doors. Inside, she assessed her options. When she told Jake and Alexandra she would get them more firepower, Jake probably didn’t guess she would get them from her own closet. Yeah, she knew a guy. She was the guy. And these were all weapons that she had accumulated over the years, taken from criminals and not reported to her superiors. She pulled out a number of familiar Glo
cks, along with a number of fully-loaded extra 17-round magazines.

  She started loading up a black duffle bag with the guns. Then she smiled and added a number of extra toys, including flash bangs and full fragmentation grenades. That might equalize the numbers a little, she guessed. Then she zipped up the bag, closed her special stash doors and considered her wardrobe. All black and sensible shoes. Cover that with a long leather coat. Now she was ready to go pick up her new friends.

  30

  Jake woke in the dark room, sensing something was not quite right. He grasped his gun from under his pillow and quietly stalked through the bedroom in just his boxer briefs and a T-shirt, and out into the main living area of the house, his gun aimed at any possible target. When he heard the key in the front door, he guessed it would be Lin, but he crouched behind the sofa and waited for the light to click on.

  Lin startled when she saw the gun pointed at her. Then she simply locked the door behind her and set her large black duffle bag on the floor.

  “I should have called before coming in,” Lin said.

  Jake wandered around the sofa, set his gun on the table and sat down. “That’s all right. We’re all on edge.”

  She took a seat on the other end of the sofa. “Where is Alexandra?”

  “Still sleeping.” Jake shifted his head toward the bedroom.

  Her eyes seemed to scan Jake’s body and he realized he was only wearing his underwear.

  “Sorry,” Jake said. “I’ll get some pants on and wake Alexandra.”

  “Let her sleep,” Lin said. She went to her bag and pulled out her laptop and then set it up on the coffee table.

  The two of them spent the next hour going over the plan, from the physical security to the potential response of the general’s forces.