The Worth of Souls

by T. Martin O’Neil

  “Thank you, Myan,” Fang spoke direct, but not condescendingly. “Please make sure I get my messages in the future.”

  Myan recognized the rebuff. He’d screwed up again. He had to do better or he’d never become the Senior Inspector he wanted to become. In the short time Fang had been at this office, Myan idolized him. He felt horrible he’d let him down even on this small task.

  Fang knew the telephone number almost by heart. His virtually photographic memory kept all things of importance immediately available. He dialed the number on the paper.

  “CINCPACFLT Duty Officer,” responded the unembodied voice on the other end of the line.

  “This is Inspector Hsu Feng Jyan calling for LT Kevin Marks. I am returning his call,” the even tone of Fang belayed the anxious excitement of talking to his friend.

  “Sir, LT Marks is out of the office right now. Can I have him return the call?” replied the Duty Officer at Commander in Chief, Pacific (CINCPACFLT).

  “Yes, please. He has the number. I will wait for his call,” replied Fang. He knew full well that if LT Marks (code name Spoke) were in the office, he would have been immediately patched through. Either Spoke was on assignment or had not come into the office yet. After all, it was mid Sunday morning, yesterday, there in Hawaii. He’d wait. He was sure it was important since Spoke had talked to him less than a week before for their usual social update. An unscheduled call was important enough to wait for his reply.

  He’d call Mei-Li and let her know not to expect him right away. He and Gao Mei-li had been married for almost four months now and the couple were the closest thing to a perfect marriage anyone could imagine.

  “My Lotus Blossom, is everything alright? I wanted you to know I will be a little late and not to worry. Kevin called and I am waiting for his return call,” he said quietly.

  She responded in her usual purring way, “Thank you, dear, I will wait here for you. Please tell Kevin hello. I love you.”

  Fang smiled. Since they’d been married, he’d never been so happy in his life. He’d been so worried that he’d lost her in Hong Kong what seemed like a life-time ago. In fact, was only five months ago, but he still felt a cold chill move down his spine every time he thought about the situation that led up to the move and transfer to Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

  It was no mistake that Kevin rated so high in Mei-Li’s eyes. He seemed the closest thing to a younger brother she’d ever had. It was amazing that in less than a week he’d endeared himself to both of them. The most surprising thing was that he’d remained close even though they were separated due to other assignments.

  Fang wondered what was on Spoke’s mind. He’d not seen anything in the message traffic, so this truly had Fang’s attention.

  About 2000 the telephone rang. Fang had already sent Myan home, so he promptly answered, “Yes.”

  The other end of the line crackled and Fang could barely make out what was said but recognized the voice. It was Spoke.

  “I can barely make out what you are saying,” Fang said into the receiver. “Must be interference on the line. If possible, please send me a secure message if this is work-related. If not, we are anxious to hear from you anyway.”

  Again, crackling and broken words. Then the line went dead.

  It would be hours before the message arrived, so Fang hung up the telephone and called Mei-Li. “Lotus Blossom, I’m on my way home,” was his simple announcement.

  Mei-Li responded, “Please be careful. I love you.” He knew she did and he would do nothing to ever jeopardize that respect and love.

  Fang turned off the hot water as well as the coffee maker, turned off the lights, closed the safe and locked the door. Another day filled with the horrors, excitement and worry of an International Police Inspector. He walked down the quiet hallway and headed out to his car.

  The occupants of a darkened Mercedes watched him. Fang got into his Toyota and prepared to back into the street. Suddenly, his senses immediately screamed to be on the alert. He noticed the black Mercedes and due to the fogged rear windows, determined that it was occupied. He did not believe in coincidences and so he would take an alternate way home in case they chose to tail him. He could always recognize a tail and he did not want to give any indication where he was going. He had far too much to lose.

  Fang immediately turned on his radio frequency scanner. If these men were going to call for help, he wanted to be ready.

  Fang checked his semi-auto Colt .45 pistol. It had seven 45-caliber shells in the magazine and one in the chamber. He also had 2 spare magazines. He hoped he was only being too careful and would not have to use it. He’d used a .357 revolver in Hong Kong to match the Hong Kong Police, but much preferred his Colt.

  Fang placed the car in reverse and backed out deliberately going the opposite direction the Mercedes was pointed. He drove by the car and proceeded to the corner. He went straight ahead to the next block. As if on cue, the Mercedes came to life. As he started into the second block, the car made a U-turn and once established in the traffic flow, turned on its lights.

  Fang was not going to lead those individuals whoever they were, to his home. Again, he made sure his Colt was loaded and the two extra magazines were on his belt. He knew it was nerves, but he was leaving nothing to chance. He did not want a repeat of Hong Kong.

  Fang watched as the Mercedes increased in speed and weaved through traffic. When they were within a block of him, he turned abruptly down a side street. Sure enough, there they were, sliding around the corner after cutting off another driver.

  Fang turned left at the next block. He had the advantage since he knew the area. They obviously did not. Twice, they had been in the wrong lane to turn, requiring traffic to dodge and weave around them. It was a shame they could not do it in front of a police officer. Fang mumbled that there never was a policeman when you needed them.

  Fang next turned left again and entered an alley. He turned off his lights and waited until the Mercedes roared by.

  Minutes passed. Still he waited. After 15 minutes, he again started his car and carefully moved to the edge of the buildings. Nothing.

  Fang started to move again but did not turn on his lights. The pea-soup thick marine layer became more apparent. He could not see much more than half a block away.

  Suddenly two shots rang out. Fang felt the solid impact of the bullets hitting his car. Fortunately, it was in the boot area of his Toyota. Lower and they might have hit his gas tank. Higher and the bullets would have shattered the glass and perhaps hit him.

  Amidst the fog and traffic, he spun his car into the flow. Instead of turning right, however, since there was a break in traffic, he turned left making his way back toward the streets around his office. His first thought was to engage the shooters, but his mind screamed that since he did not know who they were, he had to gain the advantage. There were at least two of them and he was alone.

  He again turned into traffic and the Mercedes followed. It was almost a block behind him. His contact at the Kaohsiung Police was his next best call. He raised the microphone to his police-band radio. It was a different radio than his INTERPOL radio since the scrambler on his INTERPOL radio would not link with the local police band.

  “Chen, this is Fang. Over.” No response.

  “Chen, this is Fang. Over.” The silence was suddenly broken by an almost irritated response.

  “Fang, go ahead.”

  “Chen, I’m being followed. Shots have been fired.” The message was open-voice for a reason. If the bad guys had a scanner, Fang wanted them to know he was calling in back-up. Fang needed that backup now.

  “I’m being followed by a black Mercedes with at least two occupants eastbound on Kai Da Ge Lan Blvd approaching a right turn on Zhong Shan South Blvd. I need back-up.”

  “Roger, wait,” was the terse reply.

  The time seemed like forever. Actual time was less than 30 seconds.

  The radio responded, “Head for the Sunduo shopping area. You will be followed
by two marked units and one unmarked unit. Kindly do not shoot up my city or my officers.” The last remark was added because Fang’s predecessor had more than once added collateral damage to the almost pathological draw of Chinese Triad shootouts in Kaohsiung.

  Kaohsiung was one of the largest container ports on the island of Taiwan. The Chinese Triads were always attempting to get their contraband through an “open western” port for trans-shipment to ports all over the world.

  Fang replied simply, “Roger, out.”

  Could this be revenge for his predecessor’s killings, or was he being specifically targeted? The thoughts of Mei-Li and the nightmare in Hong Kong flooded again across his mind. He force-focused on his driving. He headed toward the shopping district. Yes, it was night, but most of the storefronts remained open until quite late.

  Then he saw the first marked police car. The Mercedes did also and slowed down to turn off. The second marked car was approaching their position and turned on its lights and siren. A third car moved from the roadside and headed on a parallel street to attempt an interdicting position on the fleeing Mercedes.

  Fang turned his car around and followed the fleeing Mercedes and wailing cop car. The Mercedes was pinned in by traffic down the side street. The unmarked police car appeared at the end of the street. There was no way out.

  Both occupants of the Mercedes tried to flee together; a panicked response. The cops raced after them. A shot from the bad guys slowed the cops down, but only for a second. People started yelling and screaming. Police officers yelled for a small group of shoppers to get down. Stunned, most did not move until the shooting started. Then as if on cue they started dropping to the pavement.

  A clear, 5-yard shot suddenly opened for the pursuing police officer. He stopped, leveled his Browning Hi-Power and fired. One of the men dropped. Seeing his accomplice drop, the other man dropped his weapon and raised his hands screaming that he gave up. The cops threw him down on the wet pavement and quickly immobilized them both.

  Fang watched without stepping forward. He would get all the information from Chen tomorrow. He had a call to make to CINCPACFLT, as well as a beautiful woman to go home to. Besides, the collar was justified and required a bottle of single-malt, 20-year old Scotch for Chen.

  Fang never drank, so he needed to acquire some. That was the going price these days for favors such as he’d received tonight. Fang smiled. He was glad he didn’t have to do the paper work on this one; illegal possession of firearms, discharging those firearms against the police, endangering citizens’ lives, a shooting. It all seemed too interesting to leave alone tonight, but hey, they got their bad guys. He could hear other sirens coming their way. One was no doubt an ambulance and there would be numerous other cops showing up for part of the glory.

  Chapter 16

  The Safe(?) House

  2330, An Interpol Safe House, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

  Mei-Li was asleep on the couch, a very contented smile on her sleeping face. Having removed his shoes, Fang carefully walked over to his wife and blew softly on her ear. She gently opened her eyes and smiled. “You are being most loving. What do you want?” she asked coyly. Her Jasmine perfume was driving him crazy.

  “My love, the only thing I want is to be in the gentle arms of the most beautiful angel ever to be on this earth,” Fang responded very breathy. “What should I want?” He smiled and she moved her arms tenderly around his neck and pulled him down adjacent to her on the floor next to their couch.

  Fang thought who could ever want more than this. He was extremely happy. True, he was hungry, but he’d calmed down from the urgency of the evening’s activities on the way home. Now he had all that he held dear here in his arms.

  Mei-Li sensed that he was holding her very fervently. She also knew that the only time this happened was after a very close call. She squeezed him hard. She wanted him to know she understood and felt the same.

  “Would you like some supper?” she asked softly.

  He nodded and responded that he wanted to try Kevin again. She opened her embrace and walked toward the kitchen. Fang watched and smiled again. She was so beautiful and he was so lucky. He walked over to the telephone, looked carefully at the writing and dialed the number.

  “CINCPACFLT Duty Office. Senior Chief Barrett. This is a non-secure telephone line,” was the response.

  “My name is Hsu Feng Jyan. I am returning LT Kevin Marks’ telephone call,” responded Fang.

  “Yes sir, LT Marks is not available right now. Can I give him a message?” was the reply.

  “Yes, please have him call me at home at his earliest convenience. He has the number.”

  “Yes, sir.” The line went dead.

  That confirmed the thought Fang had earlier. Spoke had called him from a field assignment. He hoped the response time would be as quick as earlier that evening. He also hoped that the communications lines were clearer than before.

  Mei-Li called him softly from the kitchen and asked if he was ready for something to eat. The chicken-flavored miso as well as a bowl of steamed rice was a light fare but smelled heavenly. Fang realized how hungry he was. He went into their small bathroom and washed up. He realized that he had not washed since late in the afternoon. The warm water felt good on his hands. Again, he looked in the mirror and smiled. This had to be as close to heaven as he probably would ever see.

  Fang sat down to the light meal and devoured it. Finishing his rice, he smiled at Mei-Li. “Boy did I get the best of all worlds; a beautiful flower and a great cook to boot.” His American sayings always made his bride smile. Just then the telephone rang. He moved quickly to it.

  “Hello,” was the guarded reply.

  “Fang, Spoke. The line is much better. Can you hear me alright?”

  “Yes, I hear you very well,” Fang spoke into the handset guardedly. They had worked out a coded word if the situation was of a confidential nature.

  “I was just thinking of you and wanted to call and say hello. I had some Peking duck tonight and it brought back such great memories that I wanted to call and tell you,” Spoke responded. He’d used the code word. This meant that he could not divulge anything over the open line telephone, but needed to have Fang be ready for message traffic from him. Tonight meant he was possibly in the same time zone.

  Fang responded, “Well, at least you had it for dinner and didn’t have it for breakfast. We are doing great. How is your family?” The reference to breakfast was that he would be able to read the message when he got in tomorrow morning.

  Spoke’s voice continued with small talk for a few more minutes and then signed off. Mei-Li had moved over behind Fang and was gently but firmly massaging his neck and shoulders. It felt great as he sat there. He hung up the phone and leaned his head over on her arm and hand. Her essence was thrilling him completely. She was driving him crazy and she knew it. She definitely knew how to handle a man.

  Mei-Li led him quietly into the bedroom. Then she slipped out of the room and turned off the lights in their apartment. He’d already made sure the two doors were locked when he came in. She entered the bedroom again and approached several candles. She lit them. Then she turned out the room’s lights.

  He watched her every move. She smiled and carefully removed his house slippers as well as his socks. His shoes had been left at the door. Slowly she reached to undo his belt and leaned over to kiss him again. Her soft silk kimono opened and he realized she was wearing nothing under it. He was already feeling his manhood responding and helped her remove his trousers by arching his back.

  Mei-Li carefully removed his tie and began unbuttoning his shirt. Her hands caressed his chest. He was trembling with excitement. She smoothly removed the belt of her kimono and it fell open exposing a very delicate treasure that was only his. He struggled to shake off the rest of his clothes as she slid out of hers.

  The clouds and the rain came and he held her in a warm and tender embrace, not the highly charged emotional one that so often she provoked in him. She sm
iled and snuggled against his shoulder, her Jasmine scented hair enveloping him with a blissful cloak. He could not think of any time in his life he’d been happier. Tomorrow could wait. This moment was pure joy. He drifted off to sleep. Mei-Li nuzzled him firmly. She wanted him to know how much she loved him.

  Chapter 17

  A New Assignment

  0630, INTERPOL Headquarters, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

  Fang arrived at his office before Myan. In fact, he arrived before anyone else. In the early dawn light, he’d examined the bullet holes in the boot of his car. As soon as he’d finished getting Spoke’s message, he had to get over to see Chen at the Kaohsiung Police Department. He also needed to pick-up a bottle of good Scotch to pay his debt.

  Fang opened the door to his office and walked over to the coffee maker and turned it on. Water would be hot in a few minutes and he needed a cup of tea. He opened the safe, turning the magnetic sign on the drawer to the red “Open” side. Next, he walked to the secure message teletype machine. Messages would be held in a cue until the recipient put in the correct code to unlock it.

  Inputting the security code, the machine immediately started its noisy clacking. The first messages were from INTERPOL Headquarters near Paris, France. They included the daily briefing updates; worldwide followed by regional. Then the nefarious “Wants/Warrants” list of the bad guys. Most important were the ones in his area. The next message had the familiar “From line” of CINCPACFLT and was addressed to him. He tore that one off and moved to his desk. He read it with eager haste.

  The words stood out and slammed his conscious thought like lightning. Spoke was in Malaysia again seeking kidnapped children. The operation had turned up a solid lead on a ‘Lian-Na.’ No additional information at this time, but the communique continued asking if he was available for a week to 10-days.