Not since she had been following Bethany Anne’s protection detail had Paula felt so insanely happy.
It had taken years, but her quarry was within her grasp.
CHAPTER NINE
Kaifeng, Henan Province
Captain Zi Shun entered the restaurant, one that he and his three friends had used years ago before the time of the clan.
The time of decimation.
He and his group resupplied over and over again with new recruits who just became fresh meat in the ongoing war with the changers.
The cats.
Jian and Zhu were waiting for him. Based on the empty bottles in front of them, they had been here a while.
Both men had been promoted, and now commanded their own squads. As the three ‘untouchables,' Shun, Zhu, and Jian had a mythic reputation with the men in the military. The three of them personally responsible for twelve changeling kills over the years. Always offering the dead as a sacrifice for Bai, their friend, who had died during that fateful trek out into the forests.
All three men had been offered transfers to postings out of the forest patrols. All three respectfully declined.
How would they get their revenge from within the city?
Now, they were posted again in Kaifeng because all troops had been pulled back. No one could find the Clan Kings and the fighting, at least with their three groups, had become a stalemate. Captain Shun had brought in technology to register movements, and it became too expensive for the cats to attack, they would always lose at least one, sometimes up to three of their members.
For the last three months before they were recalled, there had been no headway, and finally, the brass understood it was a hopeless cause. No one had found the technology hurriedly taken out of the mountain temple.
They had found the empress, or priestess dead. Her arms and head cut off. Rumor had it that TQB was responsible for the death. There had been five bright meteors that entered Chinese airspace from the southeast, and no reported impacts.
Whatever, Shun had come to the opinion over the years that maybe TQB had the right idea. Governments, even his own, weren’t the right people to have the technology, either.
Shun waved to the waitress who nodded and went to retrieve a beer for him. He tossed his hat onto the seat and pushed it over as he slid into the half-circle booth. “You two still capable of thought?” He smiled as Zhu hid a rude gesture behind his beer bottle.
Shun pulled out his wallet and raised an eyebrow. Jian shook his head, so Shun counted the six bottles on the table and placed a fifty-yuan bill on the table. That should pay for what they had plus what he intended to drink along with a tip. He would add more later if necessary.
“Rumor, or real?” Jian asked. Both Shun and Zhu turned to their friend. Zhu turned to Shun, “Real?”
Shun nodded his head.
“This is not right,” Jian said. The two friends listened to their quiet and contemplative friend. “They want to use Chinese who work for TQB as assets to draw TQB into a fight?” Jian exhaled loudly, “That is wrong.”
Shun shrugged, “Ok.”
Zhu’s eyebrows raised, “That easy?”
Shun took a swallow of his beer, “That much time in the forest gives one time to contemplate what is right for one’s country, and what is good for one’s leaders. They often have not matched.”
Jian picked up his bottle and tapped Shun’s bottle before he took a swig and put it back down.
“Do we have a target?” Zhu asked.
“Yes, small manufacturing company about an hour south of Zhengzhou,” Shun admitted. “Just received the instructions before I left.” He turned his wrist over and looked at his watch, “Woo’s group is going to leave in about an hour and go down there by truck to capture the employees who are working the late shift.”
“An hour?” Jian asked, and Shun nodded.
“I’m not having it,” Jian said and reached into his back pocket and pulled his wallet out, “I’m driving, guys.” He dropped another fifty on the table and stood up, no sense of imbalance at all in his steps. Shun and Zhu watched their friend for a second as he walked towards the door and then to each other.
“It’s prison,” Zhu said.
“Or execution,” Shun admitted.
“For Bai,” Zhu said and slid out of the booth past where Jian had sat and stood up and started after their friend.
Shun grabbed his hat and slipped back out of the seat as he put his hat on and agreed, “One more time, for Bai,” he murmured and followed his two friends.
Whatever Shun’s ancestors wanted, he might not be able to provide them. He would, however, protect his countryman from the enemy.
The problem was ... this time the enemy was the government.
New York City, NY - USA
“Are you telling me,” Tabitha spoke into her tablet as she looked at the laptop screen, “we finally got the slimy bastards?”
“Yes,” both Achronyx and ADAM answered her at the same time.
She hated it when Achronyx ignored ADAM. For an E.I., Achronyx could be a turkey sometimes. She was surprised ADAM didn’t digitally slap Achronyx.
She was with Hirotoshi, Ryu, and Katsu in Michael’s office. The treasure trove of backdoors Michael’s laptop accessed allowed them to finally follow the money trails her team’s work had uncovered.
It all made sense.
The assholes were in Boston. Not New York as she had thought, but they were close enough.
She had Katsu buy a new laptop when he had gone out shopping earlier. She had virtualized Michael’s laptop OS. In the event something went wrong, they wouldn’t lose the vast amount of access it provided. Due to the new laptop, she could work at speeds that would have caused Michael’s laptop to seize up.
She slid back in her chair, “ADAM, are you sure?” She chewed the inside of her lip.
“Yes, Tabitha. The financial records show the money trail all the way through the four locations you searched previously.”
“Son of a bitch,” she whispered, “Location of these guys?”
“Achronyx has the Boston address, and I can confirm, using satellite imagery in place, that the site is guarded.”
“That makes me feel better, not worse,” Tabitha admitted. “When do those that sleep well at night need guards? ADAM, please notify Barnabas I need to speak to him.”
“Done.”
“Ok, let’s drop ADAM. I’ll speak to you later.”
“Understood,” ADAM confirmed and dropped off the call.
Seconds later, Barnabas called. When Tabitha accepted the call he got down to business, “I understand you have had a breakthrough?”
“Yes, we got the bastards, Barnabas. But, there are guards and other issues, and I’m considering doing this a little different than normal.”
“What, no three-story falls?” He asked.
“I’m doing better with those. Just last week I accomplished falling from four stories successfully.”
“Number two, that would be funny if I wasn’t sitting here, wondering if that story is true or not.”
“I’ll leave you wondering,” Tabitha replied.
“Yes, you do that while I hear your plan,” he agreed.
“Ok, so here it is…” she started and then proceeded to lay out her idea.
South of Zhengzhou, Henan Province - China
Jian pulled the car around the back of the manufacturing plant. The three men had switched out of their uniforms and hoped the people inside would listen to them. If not, well then they had their weapons inside the car, and perhaps they could frighten them out of the plant.
Shun had his Captain’s hat inside a bag which he grabbed as Jian shut off the car and the three men got out. It was a little past two o’clock in the morning here, and all men were wearing sweaters to deal with the cold.
Shun walked up to the back door and knocked. When no one answered, he knocked louder.
A muffled voice came from inside, it was unintelligible.
“Open up,” Shun called out, “You people need to get lost!” He spoke to the person behind the door, trying to keep his voice down, but loud enough to pass through the door and be heard.
There was a crack in the door, and someone inside asked him to repeat his comment.
“The government has cut orders to take you hostage against TQB for some reason, you need to clear everyone out of here!”
“Who?”
“The government!” Shun was getting exasperated. Usually, you mention the state, and it got someone to show their face quickly, and their backs as they ran away, soon after. He looked back at Zhu who shrugged. He turned back to the crack in the door, “May we come in? The three of us need to get out of sight.”
The door opened, and Shun’s mouth dropped open.
It wasn’t a countryman standing at the door, but a European who was smiling.
And his eyes seemed to glow red.
Hands reached out and grabbed all three men quickly, pulling them into the building and the door shut, the light outside flickered, then burnt out leaving the back door in darkness.
—
Shun, Zhu, and Jian stood looking at those standing in front of them.
“I am Stephen, from TQB. We appreciate your warning but as you can see,” he swept his hand towards the large manufacturing floor, “There is no one working tonight.”
Jian spoke first, “You knew.”
Stephen nodded, “Yes, we knew. We have been at odds with governments for years, now. They have been holding people hostage, trying to force the Queen’s hand. Although this is the first time we have no interest in a company and the Government is attacking.”
“Why then?” Zhu asked, “We were told this building was owned by TQB.”
“Oh, it is a TQB, just not us,” Stephen admitted. “Either paperwork snafu, or perhaps someone hoping the government shuts their competition down.”
“Then why are you here?” Shun asked.
“Because my Queen doesn’t want innocents hurt and she is particularly perturbed by the Chinese Government,” Stephen admitted, “those who worked here took maybe three to four minutes to clear out.”
Shun looked at his watch, “You have maybe fifteen minutes before those who followed us could get here, probably closer to thirty or forty-five. You can leave.”
“Where would the fun be in that?” A young American man asked behind Stephen.
Stephen turned towards the young man, “Peter, not everyone enjoys a fight nearly as much as you.”
“I’m getting rusty, it’s been a little while since our last good fight,” Peter answered.
“It’s been what, four weeks?” Stephen asked him.
“Five weeks, three days and,” he looked at his wrist, “three hours.”
Stephen turned back to Shun, “So, you can see we have some anxious fighters wishing to make sure the Brass get the idea that messing with TQB, whether the right or wrong TQB, is a bad idea.”
“But, some of you will be killed,” Shun admonished.
“No,” Jian interrupted looking at the men, “they won’t.”
Shun and Zhu turned towards their friend, “Why not?”
“These are similar to those we chased in the forest,” Jian admitted.
Stephen smiled, “Ah, I was wondering why you smelled familiar. You are Baô, are you not?”
Jian’s eyes darted back to his friends, and he tried to catch Stephen’s eyes and shake his head, but it was too late.
Shun asked, “Is it true, Jian? Are you part of the Sacred Clan?”
Jian shook his head, his shoulders dropping, “No.” He straightened up and looked his two friends in the eyes, “My family, my parents, left the clan in the night, scared the Sacred Clan would track them down and take what was most precious to them,” Jian pointed a thumb at himself, “me.”
Zhu asked, “Why?”
Jian shrugged, “I’m not sure. My parents were very silent about what they knew. I think I was supposed to be a female child for the Clan’s plans, and the leaders had planned to kill me so my parents could have another child without upsetting the government. My mother found out about my sex early, and together they spirited me away in the night.”
“They want to kill the males?” Shun asked, “That’s…”
“Backward, yes,” Jian admitted, “It had to do with a prophecy. I’ve pieced together the story over the years.”
“You still have the smell, Jian,” Stephen interrupted the three friends, “Can you change?” Jian shook his head. “I imagine you might be able to, but you have never been taught, and the ability is not strong enough to work on its own unless you get highly emotional.”
Zhu snorted, “Well, that closes the discussion then, Jian never gets emotional.”
Jian shrugged when everyone looked back at him for an answer.
“Ok, let me ask the three of you, one more question,” Stephen started. When he had their attention, he continued, “Do you want to stay in China, or are you done?”
Jian shrugged, “My parents.”
“Can be grabbed safely, if you will tell me their address and go with a team to fetch them quickly.” Jian nodded his agreement. “Ok,” Stephen turned to Shun, “You?”
Shun hesitated only a moment before nodding, “I’m done with a government that would take their own people, hostage.”
“No family?” Stephen asked Shun shook his head.
Stephen turned to Zhu, “You?”
“I’ll go, my parents will stay. They are in the backcountry and haven’t seen me in three years. I never gave the Government my real address or name. I’ve sent my parents enough money over the years, my brothers and sisters can deal with caring for them. If I can provide a last letter?”
Stephen nodded, “Very good then, Peter?”
Peter turned and called over his shoulder, “Karen, Timmons.”
Those in front could hear a female cursing as two people came forward, “Sir?” the woman said. Apparently, she was able to get over her frustration at not being here for the fight before she made it up to the front.
“Help Jian here with his parents. Take transport three. When you get there, it will stay with you. The ArchAngel just released another transport for us down here. When you finish, you will take Jian and his family to the Angel.”
“Yes, sir.”
Stephen spoke again, “All three of you should go, you don’t need to be here when the PLA gets here.”
“How bad is it going to be?” Shun asked.
“For the PLA?” Stephen asked, and Shun nodded. “Not bad, well, except for their transport.” Shun nodded his understanding, then followed Jian and Zhu out the door behind the Karen and Thomas. Both of the TQB personnel walked with a hunter’s grace.
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