The Chinese Woman: Red Dragons: A Spy Mystery Thriller: Li Mei Spy Action Series (The Chinese Woman: Li Mei Spy Action Series Book 4)

by Brian N. Cox

  “Yes. The leader, Fong Lei, who has visited Seattle several times over the past year visited no other American city that we know of, although he could have travelled anywhere once inside the US. Can you confirm that he was there and find out what he was doing and who he may have met. If he went elsewhere, we’d like to know where. Anything at all will be helpful. I’ll send you his photo and particulars right away.”

  “We’ll get on this right away, Li Mei, as soon as we receive the info.”

  “Thank you Sean. You have my cell number if you find out anything helpful….and Sean, please be careful. The Red Dragons are vicious psychopaths and won’t hesitate to eliminate any law enforcement officers who may be investigating them.”

  “Don’t worry, Li Mei. I am always careful. The American streets aren’t exactly a place of peace and fellowship. We’ll talk soon.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The vessel, owned by the Red Dragons and painted to look like a US Coast Guard Cutter, travelled northwest at least fifty miles off shore and then headed due north into American waters. Many of the girls were violently seasick causing the hold in which they were housed to smell appalling besides being stuffy with very little fresh air.

  None of the Red Dragons were aboard the vessel as they took an alternative route and were entering the US surreptitiously along the US-Mexican border. Even though they all carried professionally forged American passports, they did not want their names recorded as having entered the USA at the Mexican border.

  The American crew of the vessel were all attired in Coast Guard uniforms, and in fact, six of the ten men were former members of the Coast Guard. The captain, Mervin Taylor, had set a course for a small harbour north of San Francisco, not near any population center, that he had visited several times before on similar trips. He was not told where his cargo of teenage girls were destined although he had a suspicion. The Red Dragons paid him very well to do their bidding and not to ask questions. Taylor served the Red Dragons purposes very well and the feeling was mutual. He assumed the girls were probably going to Seattle as he had acted as a front man, using two different fake names, in the purchase of three properties in Seattle on behalf of Fong Lei.

  On the third day, the cutter berthed at a small dock expertly guided through the breakwater opening by Captain Taylor. There were no other boats at the dock but two sixteen foot fishing skiffs were pulled up on the beach beside the wooden wharf on the north side. A dirt road lead down to the dock but no vehicles were in sight. The only sign of life was an elderly man wearing a blue plaid shirt, denim overalls and dirty brown ball cap and holding a fishing pole.

  As four of the crew members jumped ashore to affix the hawsers to bollards, the old man slowly walked towards the cutter looking at the bridge from which Captain Taylor had just stepped out to ensure that the crew had properly affixed the lines…bow line, stern line and two spring lines.

  “Ahoy Captain,” said the old man, “Never seen a Coast Guard Cutter here before.”

  “Good afternoon sir;” replied Taylor. “just had some engine trouble and pulled in here to fix the problem. Might have to wait for some parts.”

  “Best of luck then,” said the old man. “A few squalls forming to the west; best be laid up here than out there. I live on the beach about three-quarters of a mile to the north. If I can be of any service, send one of your crew to get me. I’ll be happy to help the Coast Guard.”

  “Thanks old-timer; you are very kind.”

  At that, the old man walked slowly north on the beach occasionally looking back to look at the cutter and even waving on a couple of occasions.

  ****************************************************************************

  Fong Lei had been very busy when he visited Seattle over the past year. On the first trip he had purchased a large mansion outside the eastern outskirts of the city which was surrounded by a small forest obstructing view of the mansion from the roadway. There was also a high electrified wire fence around the property except for about thirty feet on either side of the wrought iron gate where the fence was replaced by a beautiful stone wall about seven feet high. The road running by the mansion was not a through street so only local traffic used the road except for people who may have made a wrong turn and got lost. Fong Lei thought himself very lucky to have found this beautiful old house for sale on his first trip. He thought he would have to spend the entire three weeks of his first trip scouting the area for the perfect building to set up his brothel, but he found the mansion on the fifth day and it was perfect. Of course he stayed in the background during the actual purchase negotiations and transactions.

  On the second trip, he purchased a rather high-end bar and arranged for extensive renovations. He also purchased the adjacent attached three-story building that housed several small businesses. The exterior of the bar wasn’t changed much, except to order a small sign which simply said “Lounge”. On the third trip to Seattle, he hired a bartender and two very attractive waitresses. Two Red Dragons, fluent in English, were sent from Beijing to manage the premises, both of whom had previously lived in the US while attending university. Beside the premises was a parking lot that could hold up to forty cars and behind was a paved laneway. The mansion was about a thirty-five to forty minute drive from the lounge.

  All three properties were purchased by three different numbered companies whose ownership would be difficult, if not impossible to trace as the trail lead through several countries most of which weren’t forthcoming with information. On each occasion, the actual purchase was conducted by Fong’s American friend, Mervin Taylor. The companies were, of course, owned and controlled by the Red Dragons.

  *************************************************************************

  Sean sat is his office with his old friend and partner, Gary Webster, who was Supervisory Special Agent in charge of organized crime intelligence and investigations. Gary had a unique background being the child of a Foreign Service father and had spent most of his developing years in China. Subsequently, he was fluent in the national dialect of Mandarin, called Putonghua, and several other dialects.

  Both Sean and Gary were dedicated law enforcement officers but both were extremely cynical about government, the FBI and life in general. They were both apolitical, believing all politicians were self-serving liars who thrived on power but lacked integrity. The Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Seattle FBI Field Office, Jim Bridges, always assigned the very difficult cases to Sean or Gary as he had tremendous confidence in their abilities. Gary was eight years younger than Sean, at thirty-four years of age, and had served four years on the New York Police Department before joining the FBI. He was tall, handsome and generally considered the Field Office “babe magnet”. Sean, on the other hand, looked every bit his forty-two years with many lines and wrinkles starting to form. He definitely wasn’t “leading man” handsome but women were attracted to his rugged, masculine appearance.

  Gary had two occasions in the past to work with Li Mei and he was one of her greatest admirers, in fact, she had saved his life on the island of Barbados. He was actually in love with Li Mei but never confided this to his friend Sean or anyone else. Both FBI agents trusted Li Mei implicitly and she, in turn, trusted them without question.

  Sean briefed Gary on the information provided by Li Mei and assigned him to ascertain if Fong Lei, a high ranking member of the Red Dragon Triad, had been in Seattle and if so, what he had been doing in the city.

  Both men suspected that he was setting up a brothel in or near Seattle. They also knew it would be a difficult investigation as an experienced Triad gangster would not leave a trail easy for law enforcement to follow.

  ***************************************************************************

  “I will travel to Seattle the day after tomorrow,” Li Mei said to Detectives Chen and Hu.

  “We know the plane with the girls aboard turned east towards North America, and since Fong Lei has visited Seattle three times in th
e past year, it is at least a good starting point. I have some contacts in the American federal police and I am sure they will help us without any official request coming from the Beijing government Ministries.”

  “Excellent, Older Sister,” said Chen. “I think that is the best course of action for you. We will continue our investigation here, so if either of us obtains any information that will be useful to the other, we will pass that along quickly.”

  “I will do that for sure Younger Brother. We must keep each other updated, whether we think the information is relevant or not. I have a meeting with my boss at State Security and then I will be on my way.”

  The following day, Li Mei met with Director Duan and updated him on the investigation of the abducted girls. They had decided to prepare a new cover background for Li Mei in the event that she had an opportunity to infiltrate the Red Dragon organization in Seattle should the opportunity arise.

  Her new name would be Tan Xiaotian, born and raised in Chongqing, and daughter of the executed boss of the Hui Shan Triad, Tan Bai. The Hui Shan Triad was a small Triad that had been totally destroyed in the successful anti-triad war conducted by the Police in Chongqing a few years previously. The real Tan Xiaotian had been killed in an auto accident and Li Mei would be assuming her background and identity. The background that was created for Li Mei, included suspicion of two murders, but no arrests. Tan Xiaotian had run a successful illegal gambling operation which escaped prosecution even after her father was arrested. She was twenty-nine years of age, had a university degree from Southwest University in Chongqing and had been sent to Yale University by her father to obtain an MBA and where she became fluent in English. She had recently returned to the US to look for business opportunities and had chosen Seattle because its opportunities for smuggling, not only from China but to and from the Vancouver area in Canada, which was a huge market for everything, legal and illegal. The car accident that had killed the real Tan Xiaotian had resulted in an intensive fire whereby Tan’s body could not be positively identified.

  Li Mei was supplied with a fake Chinese photo ID card and an American passport and would study her cover background during the flight on Cathy Pacific from Beijing to Seattle.

  ***************************************************************************

  The day after Gary’s meeting with Sean, he again met with him in the ASAC office.

  “The addresses Fong gave to immigration were non-existent,” said Gary. “We canvassed all the hotels downtown and near Chinatown and found he had stayed in a different hotel on each visit, the last one being the Hilton in November. He has an American passport in his real name but don’t know if it is genuine or not. He made no phone calls from his room. A hotel security officer thinks he remembered him from the photo I showed him. He never saw him in the company of anyone else; he was out quite often but otherwise he was always alone.”

  “I did find that he rented a room at the Holiday Inn on his third trip, at the same time he was staying at the Hilton, apparently to conduct business interviews of some kind. The manager’s record indicated he was holding employment interviews,” Gary continued.

  “Couldn’t find any record of him renting a car. A couple of employees at the Holiday Inn remember him taking a cab on a few occasions but don’t remember what cab company or when that may have occurred. “

  “If he is setting up a brothel”, said Sean, “I assume he must have been in contact with a real estate company during that time period.”

  “I agree. I’ve got several teams canvassing all the real estate companies. If he closed a deal, they can probably tell us. If the deal is still pending the real estate agents may deny any knowledge of him so nothing interferes with their sale and commission.”

  “Now how did you become so cynical?” Sean laughed. “You’re dead right on that score, but if they are bringing the girls here now, I think we can assume the sale was finalized previously.”

  “I think you’re right on that, Sean. I’ll get back to you as soon as I hear back from the people on the canvass.”

  “One other thing Gary. I can’t imagine them giving the brothel’s address to prospective customers and letting them drive there on their own. I assume there will be some meeting place that won’t arouse suspicion and then the customers will be driven to the brothel.”

  “Good point Sean. They must have bought another location for this purpose. It would not be logical to meet in a public place. Since the customers are all perverts, they would not want to congregate in a public place such as a train station. Not only too many people milling about but also too many cameras. Besides those type of places all have regular police patrols.”

  “I doubt if he purchased the premises under his own name,” said Sean. “They will probably be corporate purchases. If you can find a place suitable for a brothel purchased by the same person who purchased a night club, bar or restaurant, then we may have a good lead.”

  “We’re on it Sean. Talk to you soon,” said Gary as he got up and left the room shutting the door behind him.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The day after the faux Coast Guard Cutter docked at the small semi-deserted harbour, a tour bus came an hour after sunset and the young girls were put onboard and then the bus drove east on the dirt road where it would eventually hit Interstate Highway I-5 northbound. The bus was large, modern with tinted windows and a tour company sign on the side that was changed regularly. The bus was driven by Michael Keng, a Chinese American criminal, who had been in the employ of the Red Dragons for several years. Like Captain Mervin Taylor, Keng was very happy with the financial arrangements with the Red Dragon Triad, and also like Taylor, he knew that to betray them meant certain death.

  This was the most vulnerable part of the entire trip between Beijing and Seattle. Even a chance spotcheck by a highway patrol could be disastrous. There were four armed killers aboard the bus, members of the Red Dragon Triad, so any highway patrol officer who got too curious would be in grave danger. Michael Keng was well aware that he was never to exceed the speed limit and never break any traffic law regardless of how minor the law seemed to be. He had driven a bus load of young women three times previously, but never to Seattle and never girls this young. The women he had transported on previous trips appeared to all be in their twenties but also equally cowered and afraid as this group of children.

  *****************************************************************************

  “Hi Sean. I’m in the Beijing Airport just about to leave for Seattle. Any luck in tracing Fong Lei?” said Li Mei on her cell phone.

  “Hi Li Mei. Tell me when your flight is due and I’ll meet you. You were right; Fong was here three times and stayed at a different hotel each time. No lead on associates or what he was doing. Right now we are checking with realtors as I assume he was going to buy a place suitable for a brothel and also a place for clients to congregate before being taken to the brothel.”

  “Good. I am sure you realize the real estate purchases won’t be in his name. I am assuming they will be purchased by corporations using a non-Chinese frontman,” said Li Mei.

  “Yes, that was our assumption also. Gary is working on that right now. Maybe we will have some news by the time you arrive.”

  “Thank you so much Sean. I’ll be landing at eleven fifteen in the morning if we’re on time. Looking forward to seeing you. Don’t approach me. You can put the make on me at the Starbucks,” she laughed.

  Within ten minutes of his phone call with Li Mei, Sean received a call from Gary.

  “Hi Sean, I’m at the state land titles office looking for premises that may have been suitable for a brothel purchased by the same buyer as a bar, restaurant or night club where the clients could go to before being taken to the brothel.”

  “Good Gary. Keep at it. If both places were purchased on the same trip, it would make it easier, but at least you know the time frames for three of Fong’s visits. Since nothing is ever easy, they were probably purchased on sep
arate trips. Nevertheless, if either type of premises was purchased by the same buyer during any of the three visits, it’s a giant red flag,” said Sean.

  ***************************************************************************

  Fong had occasionally dropped in briefly to the mansion to check on the progress of the renovations. Wang Xicheng, Fong’s close friend and long-time body guard, had accompanied him to Seattle to take charge of the renovations so the workmen on the project were unlikely to remember Fong or be able to identify him. It was shaping up very nicely. The décor was elegant and expensive and would convey a first class appearance for the clients. The clients, in turn, would pay large sums for the privilege of having these beautiful female children be their obedient sex slaves for an hour or two, depending upon how much they were willing to pay. Fong knew that as word spread throughout the pedophile community, wealthy perverts would be flying to Seattle to make him and the Red Dragons rich. Wang Xicheng would remain as the brothel manager once business commenced, which would probably be in a week, possibly even less. Wang spoke fluent English but with a noticeable Chinese accent.