by Ethan Jones
“I’m sure you can work things out—”
“Did he tell you what happened the last time we met?”
“No. What happened?”
Han pulled down the collar of his shirt, revealing a four-inch-long scar along the right side of his neck. “Zhang did this to me.”
“Why?”
“He thought I was involved in the hacking of his team.”
“Were you?”
“No.”
“Did you explain that to Zhang?”
“Of course, but once Zhang has made up his mind, no one can convince him otherwise.”
“This time will be different.”
“Why? Because you’re here?”
“No, because Zhang’s brother’s dead. And he wants you to find who killed him.”
Chapter Three
Han’s Hideout
Outskirts of Beijing, China
“Dead? What do you mean ‘dead’?”
“He was killed in a car accident, along with his partner.”
“I thought he had retired from field ops.”
“He was kind of retired. And this was supposed to be a routine mission. Pick up and delivery.”
“Then what happened?”
“The accident happened. The car crashed, then erupted in a fiery explosion. Both agents in the car died on the spot.”
“What did the investigation show?”
“Nothing conclusive. The car was repaired two weeks before the crash. They suspect faulty brakes, but there’s nothing in the repair reports to indicate there was a problem with the brakes.”
“Security cameras?”
“Yes, plenty, but they show the moment of the crash and about thirty seconds before that. Everything looks normal, then the driver, Zhang’s brother, loses control of the car, smashes into a nearby truck, and the explosion...”
“I’d like to review the recordings...”
“Sure, we’ll put everything at your disposal.”
Han nodded and gave Javin a thoughtful look. “What’s your theory?”
“I think someone messed with the car controls remotely.”
“That’s not as easy as they make it to be in the movies. It takes time, planning, know-how.”
“Whoever did this had the time to plan. The agents knew about their assignment at least twenty-four hours in advance.”
“That’s not enough time.”
“Even for you?”
Han smiled. “I’m different.”
“Who else is like you ... assuming this was not your work?”
“What?” Han jumped to his feet.
“Sit down.” Javin gestured with his pistol.
“I had nothing to do with this.” Han remained standing.
Javin closed the distance and pushed Han back into the chair with the muzzle of his Sig Sauer pistol. “Are you sure?”
“I swear on my mother’s grave. I had nothing to do with the accident.”
Javin studied Han’s face. He seemed to be telling the truth, and there was no twitching, squirming, or any other clear telltale sign of lying on his face. Han’s small gray eyes remained focused and looking straight at Javin. The hacker’s voice was steady, and he was not fidgeting with his hair or his hands.
Javin nodded, but before he could speak, his cellphone rang. It was Claudia, his partner with the Canadian Intelligence Service, or CIS. “Yes, go for Javin.”
“Javin, we’re a couple of blocks away. What’s the sit?”
“Han’s willing to help.”
“Great. See you in a bit.”
“All right.”
Javin returned the phone to his jeans’ pocket. “Well, Zhang will be here shortly. You can convince him—”
Han waved his hands. “No, no, no. Zhang can’t be convinced. You don’t know him … Once he’s made up his mind, nothing else matters.”
“Well, Zhang hasn’t decided on whether you had a hand in his brother’s killing. Otherwise, you’d be dead. You know that.”
Han’s face twisted in a painful grimace. “Yes, and that’s why I don’t want to—”
A screech of tires came from outside the warehouse.
“They’re here,” Javin said.
Han shook his head. “Why are you doing this? I promised to cooperate…”
Javin shrugged. “I’m not doing anything. Zhang just wants to ask you some questions—”
“No, he’s going to kill me.”
“Nonsense. I won’t let him.”
Han’s shoulders slumped.
The door creaked and Claudia stepped inside. She was dressed in a black trench coat, and her long black hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
The Asian man behind her stormed inside the apartment. Before Javin could say or do anything, Zhang raised his pistol. He aimed at Han and fired a couple of rounds.
Han had anticipated the move. He had already dropped from the chair and was crawling to hide behind the sofa, which was a few feet to the right and behind him.
Javin grabbed Zhang’s wrist, pushing his arm upwards. “Hey, stop.”
The MSS agent fired another round.
Javin shouted, “Enough. That’s enough!”
He twisted Zhang’s wrist, and the pistol fell to the ground.
“Hey.” Zhang pushed Javin away and reached for the weapon.
Claudia had already picked it up. “Guys, let’s handle this like pros, shall we?”
Zhang frowned at Javin. “Han’s lying to you.”
“You have no idea what he’s—”
“It doesn’t matter. He swore to work with us and stabbed us in the back.”
“No, I had nothing to do with that.”
“I’m going to kill you.” Zhang bolted toward Han, who was still behind the sofa.
Javin wrestled with Zhang, trying to keep him away from Han. “Hey, stop it, all right? Han’s on our side.” He shoved Zhang back.
He shook his head and flattened the front of his jacket. “He’s never on our side. You’ll see.”
“Let’s give him a chance.”
Zhang cursed Han and spat on the floor. Then he glanced at Claudia. “My gun.”
“Will you behave?” she said in a stern tone.
“Of course, I’ll be a good little boy.”
Javin gave Zhang a sideways glance. “No, let’s make sure you’re calm and will not do anything stupid.”
Zhang cursed Han again. “That man, you can’t trust him.”
“All right, I’ve heard enough. Stand back and let us work this out.”
“This is our operation.”
“Yes, so behave, if you still want to be a part of it. Or I’ll talk to the colonel, and then he’ll get you out.”
Zhang opened his mouth, but then thought about it and said nothing.
Javin drew in a deep breath and turned around. “Han, come out of there.”
Nothing happened for a long moment, then Han stood up. He did not seem shaken by the ordeal. Maybe it’s because of what he heard me say to Zhang. Or maybe because Zhang is now unarmed.
Han’s eyes flitted between Zhang’s and Javin’s faces. “You said he hadn’t made a decision about—”
“He hasn’t, but this is an old wound. Something you should have brought up.”
Han shrugged. “I assumed you knew about it.”
Yes, I should have known about it. I’ll have a little chat with Zhang, but not right now. “Don’t make such assumptions. Now, let’s get out of here.”
Han glanced at Zhang, whose menacing eyes were following the hacker’s every move. “And he will stay away from me, right?”
Javin shrugged. “Yes, you’ll be in separate vehicles. Do you mind if I drive the Merc?”
“Not at all.”
“I didn’t think so.”
He turned to Claudia and said, “We’ll meet at the hotel, as planned.”
She nodded. “We’ll follow closely.”
Javin grabbed Han by the arm and marched him outside.
&n
bsp; Chapter Four
Han’s Hideout and Outside
Outskirts of Beijing, China
“So, how was that?” Zhang smiled as he drew close to Claudia.
“You’re overdramatic. And what was with the shooting? What if you had hit him?” She handed Zhang the QSZ-92 pistol.
“I missed on purpose.” He holstered his gun. “About the drama ... what can I say? I always wanted to be an actor.”
Claudia shook her head. “And I wanted to be a ballerina. But here we are.” She gestured with her hands around the apartment.
“This isn’t bad at all. Considering Han’s low profile, I’d say this is luxury.”
“Yes, the low profile kept him alive and hidden for so long.”
“Until he made the mistake of helping Liu Tang.”
Claudia nodded and headed toward the door. Liu was a Chinese millionaire obsessed with Middle Eastern artifacts, especially the ones from the ancient times when Babylon and the Medo-Persian empires ruled the region. According to MSS sources, he had hired Han to locate a series of winged bull statues that were pillaged from the Mosul Museum after the city fell into the hands of the jihadist fighters for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, back in 2014. Han had tracked down the highly valued pieces and had identified the owners as Syrians living in London. “Yes, a mistake which he will shortly fix.”
“I hope so, otherwise my fury will be real.”
They climbed into the black BMW M7 sedan just outside the door. Javin and Han were walking toward the back of the warehouse, where Han had parked his Mercedes. “We’ll be able to listen and record everything.” Claudia pointed at the radio mounted on the dashboard, while Zhang put the BMW in gear.
“But they can’t hear us, right?”
“Right, unless we switch this off.” She gestured at a button on the side of the radio.
“Good. Now, let’s see what he’s going to do about the accident.”
After the initial investigation of the accident had ruled out mechanical causes, the Chinese intelligence agency had begun to look at a potential traitor in the MSS team. The suspicion had fallen on a third member of the team, who was supposed to be in the vehicle at the time of the accident. He had a bulletproof alibi, and the MSS was still investigating.
Claudia said, “Do you think Han is behind the accident?”
Zhang shrugged as he shifted gears. The BMW glided down the road and followed the Mercedes, which was about thirty yards away. “No, but he has the right contacts to find out who was pulling the strings. I mean, we know Liu is involved. But whether he gave the order, or someone was trying to impress him, that’s something we need to determine.”
“Right. Now what was the other op that you accused Han of betraying you on?”
Zhang shrugged. “Oh, that was nothing. Part of the show, I guess.”
Claudia shifted in her seat, so she could face Zhang. “Strange … Han seemed to think you were talking about something specific…”
Zhang said nothing for a long moment. Then he broke the silence. “Not sure, but I don’t think there was any occasion he betrayed us.”
“How often was he involved in MSS ops?”
“I’ll have to check. I’d say a handful, less than ten for sure.”
“And there was never an issue?”
“Not related to Han, no. At least, not that I know of.” Zhang sighed, and a frown creased his face. “Look, there were problems, like in all operations, but nothing that could be tied to Han.” He gestured with his hand toward the back. “At the warehouse, I was trying to scare Han into working with us. Nothing else.”
Claudia nodded. She had noticed the irritation creeping into Zhang’s voice. I think there’s more here than he’s leading me to believe... She decided not to press the matter any further and instead switched on the radio. “Javin, do you copy?” she said into the handheld receiver.
“Claudia, how’s everything?”
“Good. Right behind you.”
“Yes, I can see your headlights.”
“All right. Talk to you at the hotel.”
“Copy that.”
She returned the receiver to its place and smiled at Zhang. “Now we can hear him.” She turned up the volume.
At first, there was only static, then Javin’s voice filled the BMW’s cabin. “So, where will you start?”
“First, tell me how you were able to find me…”
“What, at the apartment?”
“No, it’s obvious Zhang or someone else from the MSS helped you. But, when I escaped, I thought I lost you, after I removed the tracking chip…”
“You would have lost us, but you never looked up.”
A moment’s pause, then Han said, “What do you mean?”
“The drone, you never saw the drone.”
Claudia smiled and glanced at the backseat where Zhang had placed the unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone, they had used to follow Han. The team had anticipated Han was going to leave through the window, and he was going to find the bug implanted in the Mercedes-Benz. Zhang remote-piloted the drone, and had positioned it outside Han’s apartment even before the police knocked on his door. Then, as Han attempted his escape, the drone kept a close eye on Han. It transmitted a live video feed to Zhang’s ground control station, so the team was able to follow Han’s moves in real time.
Another brief pause, then Han said, “Yes, I … I should have paid attention.”
“Now, back to our operation…”
“Yes, I want to examine those recordings, and see if the investigators missed something. If this is, as you suspect, a hacker accessing the car remotely, they probably exploited a zero-day vulnerability in the car’s software.”
“Zero-day… What’s that?”
“Oh, yes, it’s a term that means a flaw in the software system that hasn’t been fixed yet. The ‘zero’ indicates the developers just learned about the problem, and haven’t had the time to find a solution.”
“Cars are sold with flaws like that?” Javin sounded very much surprised at the revelation.
“All the time. I’m sure you’ve heard of patches and updates…”
“For computers and phones, not cars.”
“Well, the race to the market can’t wait until all glitches have been fixed. What kind of car was it?”
“It was made here, but let me check.”
Claudia glanced at Zhang, who was attentively looking through the windshield.
A moment later, Javin said, “It was a Zotye Z700.”
“Oh, that explains it.”
“How so?”
“The Zotye is plagued with such issues. There have been a few cases of improper configurations, or programming errors, which create security holes. Someone with the knowledge and the skills can exploit those weaknesses to bypass the onboard digital security and take over the car.”
“Take over as in drive it?”
“Yes. Turn the steering wheel, accelerate, use the brakes.”
“Fully remotely?”
“Right. Now, there are some distance limitations, and, in most cases, physical access to the car is necessary. But it can be done remotely—again, if one knows what they’re doing.”
“All right, so those recordings might show suspicious vehicles around the targeted car, the Zotye … That’s what we’re looking for?”
“Yes. Maybe there’s a license plate or a sticker, a logo on the side, which we can then match to someone that has the expertise to use malicious software for such a remote car hack.”
A moment of silence followed.
Claudia knew Javin’s mental wheels were turning.
He said, “How many people are we talking about?”
“I know of at least a dozen who have launched such attacks, with various levels of success. But in this case…” Han’s voice trailed off.
“What?”
“In this case, things are different. The people I’m talking about … they wouldn’t mess with the MSS.”
A slight pause, then Han’s voice came clearly through the radio, “This was done by someone who was paid handsomely for such a brazen attack or…”
“Or what?”
“Or this was an inside job.”
Chapter Five
In Front of the Saint Nicholas Cathedral
Monaco City, Monaco
The driver began to slow down as the yellow Lamborghini Urus Super SUV came near the end of the narrow Rue Colonel Bellando de Castro. Around the corner, on the left side, the Saint Nicholas Cathedral towered with an imposing grandeur. The original 13th century chapel dedicated to the saint was demolished in 1987, and construction for the current cathedral started the next year. Built in a Roman-Byzantine style with a white marble façade, the cathedral housed the tombs of former princes of Monaco, including Prince Rainer III. It was a favorite location for the weddings of princes, celebrities, and millionaires, like the daughter of the Russian steel tycoon Artyom Orlov, which was one of the reasons Liu Tang had come to this part of Europe.
The second, and perhaps even more important reason, was that a reclusive art dealer who specialized in “hot” items, or ancient objects that were deemed too risky even for some clandestine markets, had agreed to meet with Liu and present him with a special offering. The dealer, who went by the name of “Maubeuge”—after his first real sale, which had been an incredibly rare Maubeuge flintlock pistol model of 1799—had information about a shipment of looted artifacts coming from Syria and landing in France in three days. Maubeuge wanted to give Liu the first right to purchase the unspecified objects.
Liu glanced at his diamond-encrusted phone and shook his head. They were almost at the cathedral, and still no calls or messages. He glanced at the driver—a man in his early forties, about fifteen years younger than Liu—then he turned his head and studied the rugged faces of the two security guards in the backseat. “Did his aide contact anyone?”
“Not since we left the hotel,” the driver said.
The two guards shook their heads.
“But the dealer said he would meet here?” Liu asked.