by Jack Du Brul
“Are our espionage efforts in the United States so effective that we know exactly what they’re doing?” Chen asked, surprising himself at his boldness in the face of Sun.
The interrogator smirked. “Yes. Gentlemen, we are forgetting that unless the Americans land a sizable force in the next eighteen hours, it doesn’t matter. Even if Lauren Vanik has contacted her superiors, it’s clear to me that her reports haven’t generated much interest. Don’t forget, she’s only a captain in their army. How much clout can she have?”
“Once we eliminate her, that thread is cut,” Liu said.
Chen straightened. “She will be dead before the canal is ruined, sir.”
“A boast,” Sun mocked.
“A promise! Men are already on their way to her apartment to see if she left behind any indication about the identity of those helping her. I will also post men near the American embassy to stop her if she tries to enter it.”
“Who?”
“For obvious reasons I can’t use any of ours. They will have to be some of the soldiers President Quintero has seconded to us, former Dignity Brigade killers.”
“Make sure they are the very best,” Liu cautioned.
“Yes, sir.”
“Losing her was a dangerous mistake, but pushing up the timetable should negate the effects provided she is dead before Gemini detonates.” Again, Liu felt a twinge about the code name. It had been hubris on his part to use even that oblique clue.
Captain Chen’s cell phone rang. He used his eyes to ask permission to answer it and stepped to the corner of the office. “Yes.”
“Sir, it’s Private Jhiang.” One of the men detailed to kill Maria Barber.
Chen’s guts tightened. He knew this wasn’t going to be good. “What happened?”
“Li is dead. Corporal Hung is injured. The woman is gone.”
“How?” Chen screamed, not caring his commanding officer was fifteen feet away.
“Five men, whites. I think one of them was the engineer, Mercer. Li shot one of them, but they all escaped in a waiting vehicle with the woman. They were here before we arrived.”
“What’s going on?” Liu demanded, striding across the carpet to where Chen stood.
“Maria Barber escaped with Mercer and four other men, one of whom was shot. One of our men was killed, another wounded.”
Liu snatched the cell phone from Chen’s grip. “Who is this?”
“Colonel Liu, this is Private Jhiang, sir. I was the third man on the detail.”
“Where are you now?”
“At the Hatcherly infirmary, sir.”
“Good. Who is the wounded man?”
“Corporal Hung.” The young soldier’s voice quivered.
“And he headed the detail to kill Maria Barber?”
“Yes, sir.” The boy’s voice cracked.
“Do you agree that he is to blame for failing to eliminate her?”
“Yes, sir.” The words came as a ragged murmur.
“Is he there with you now?”
“Yes, sir. He’s holding my hand while the doctor bandages his leg.” Jhiang then added timidly, “We are comrades, sir. From the same village.”
“Now listen to me very carefully.” For a fleeting moment he thought of the mercy he’d shown Ping on the night of the warehouse break-in. He should have ordered the man killed on the spot. Liu spoke as if he savored the words, relishing their taste and feel as he spoke. “Look him in the eye, pull out your sidearm, and kill him.”
“Sir?” the soldier cried.
“Do it now,” Liu whispered seductively, “or kill yourself and I’ll have Hung executed later.”
Eight seconds later, the pop of a silenced automatic carried to Liu. He smiled grimly. “Are you there, Private?”
“Yes, sir,” Jhiang sobbed. “The doctor is staring at me.”
“Don’t worry about him. You are now absolved of Corporal Hung’s failure. Remain at the terminal port for now.” Liu snapped off Chen’s phone and handed it back. “I want that man executed for dereliction of duty.”
For an instant, Chen’s expression protested Liu’s order and then he bowed his head. “Yes, sir.”
“Good.” Liu retook his place behind his desk, noting a tinge of respect on Mr. Sun’s shriveled face. He felt he deserved it, too. To men like Sun, Liu was an office worker, what the Japanese so brilliantly called a salaryman, content to shuffle papers from pile to pile. Now he knew that Liu was as much a man of action as General Yu or any of the other gray veterans who ran China. Proving he was a ruthless businessman capable of amassing a fortune meant nothing to them. Being able to order death was the only kind of power they recognized.
Gaining Sun’s respect should have meant nothing, but it took on a meaning far more important than the fortune he’d created or the dominion he was about to wield. The realization surprised him, and somehow made him feel bigger, stronger. Curious.
“I suspect we’ll find Captain Vanik with Maria Barber and Mercer,” Liu continued, able to resist the urge to blow on his fingers. “Chen, warn the men you’ll station at the American embassy. I expect the soldiers you dispatched to kill Maria were some of our finest. For them to be overcome by a geologist and his mysterious friends should be a warning to us all.”
“We’ve had many opportunities to learn that lesson,” Sun said laconically. “The warehouse, the lake, the mine, the lock.”
“And you’ve failed to deliver information to me from two people who you’ve had in your care.” As secure as he was in the role of political officer and as China’s most skilled interrogator, Sun had to feel some measure of distress about that. Liu gave him a disarming smile. “That is all behind us now. I want additional security on Gemini, in case Mercer or anyone else tries to interfere. Dispatch them as soon as I get a transit time from Director Silvera-Arias.”
“Sir,” Chen hazarded. “As a contingency in case Captain Vanik manages to convince some of her people to send a Special Forces team here, could you have President Quintero suspend incoming flights from the United States?”
“A good suggestion but no. It would look too suspicious. However, I’m sure we can deny a military flight if the Americans try to send one.”
“In that case, how about staging a demonstration at the American embassy? We could use our Panamanian soldiers as agitators, maybe pay a few street people to join them.”
“For what purpose?”
“If the United States does manage to mobilize troops, they would have to come down on commercial aircraft. They’d have no weapons and the only source to get any would be from the embassy’s marine guard armory. We can deny them access to arms as well as preventing Vanik or Mercer from reaching sanctuary.”
Liu nodded slowly. “Excellent suggestion. And no one could possibly link it to our actions. See to it at once.”
Chen stood and snapped a salute. Liu usually dispensed with military formality, but returned it. Sun flowed up off his chair and made to follow the young officer.
“Sun,” Liu said from his desk, phone in hand to dial Silvera-Arias. “From now until after the explosion, I want you at hand at all times. Remain in the compound.”
He paid no attention to the old man’s reply. His attention was already on his call. “Felix, Liu Yousheng.”
“Ah, my friend. I want to apologize again about almost giving away your liaison with Senora Barber.”
“That is no longer important.”
“So how are you today? Busy, no doubt.” The canal director affected a light tone to counter the darkness in Liu’s voice.
“And about to get busier. Have you changed tomorrow’s transit schedule to allow Gemini’s passage in the afternoon?”
“The revised list is in my hand. I was about to have it given to the harbormaster and alert the canal pilots of the modifications.”
“Don’t send it. We’re pushing ahead even sooner.”
“What?! Impossible!” Silvera-Arias sputtered. “Transit times are determined days
, even weeks, in advance. Ship owners were furious when I told them about the alterations. You have no idea what I went through to make this new schedule.”
“Nor do I care,” Liu menaced. “I want Gemini in the Gaillard Cut early tomorrow morning and I will not accept excuses.”
“Senor Liu, por favor,” he wheedled. “You don’t understand how our system works. I can’t just change the timetable again. It takes negotiations, money for ship owners. It is amazing that I made the first schedule as quickly as I did.”
“Do it, Felix, whatever it takes to get Gemini in position. And make sure it doesn’t look suspicious. Rearrange every ship if you have to.”
“Senor, cruise ships are returning to the Caribbean from their summer in Alaska. They take priority. I simply cannot deny them transit.”
“Don’t deny them, you fool. Send them through.”
“The PANAMAX cruise liners sail with three thousand people on board. We can’t let one of them near the Gaillard Cut with your Gemini. The loss of life. .”
“Is acceptable when you think what will happen to your life if you don’t do what I order.” Liu could detect defiance in Silvera-Arias’s silence so he added, “And you must also consider the lives of your family.”
The director drew a breath then blew it out loudly. “Si, senor. It will be done. I will telephone you when I have completed the revisions again and tell you exactly when Gemini will enter the canal and the approximate time it will reach the cut.”
“I knew you’d see it my way.” Liu hung up the phone.
Out of habit Liu reached into his desk for a bottle of liquid antacid. He had the cap off and the bottle an inch from his lips when he realized that his stomach didn’t hurt. He swallowed, steeling himself for the inevitable eruption of acid. None came. He pushed at his abdomen, expecting to hear it churn audibly. It was quiet.
The years of business stress that had so damaged his stomach was nothing compared to the pressure he now faced and yet he was pain-free for the first time in a decade. Somehow, knowing that his own life was on the line had eased the constant agony of his ulcers.
He took a deep gulp of air.
Nothing. No searing acid from his ruined stomach, no raw scraping in his weakened esophagus. He laughed. Two surgeries, countless bottles of chalky medicine and all it took to cure me is ordering others to their deaths and placing my own life in danger. God, had I known that I would have done this years ago.
Liu practically ran from his office, liberated.
The Radisson Royal Hotel Panama City, Panama
Harry was on the couch teaching Miguel how to play poker when Mercer entered the suite. Roddy stood over the desk, talking on the phone, and two Legion soldiers sat with their backs against a wall as they cleaned weapons. Another Legionnaire was just visible in the bedroom where he covered the front door with an automatic pistol. He lowered it when he recognized Mercer.
The remaining French soldiers occupied a room next to the one the Herrara family was using. Foch had gotten off the elevator on that lower floor with Maria Barber, promising that he would only lock her in the bathroom until Rene returned from the embassy and he and Mercer were ready to talk to her.
“Mercer!” Miguel shrieked and raced into his arms, his smile dazzling. “Mr. Harry is cheating.”
“I’m sure he is.” Mercer set the slender boy back on his feet. “He cheats me all the time.”
“Damn kids these days,” Harry growled. “They expect to learn poker from a master and think they won’t lose a little money.”
Mercer whispered in Miguel’s ear and the boy ran back to the sofa. He reached under Harry’s cushion and extracted a fistful of cards. “You were right!” he cried. He plucked several dollar bills from the pile of money in front of Harry. “There,” he pronounced with the gravity of King Solomon. “Now we are even.”
Harry nodded, satisfied with the price his trickery cost him. “Seems fair since I lifted that money from Mercer’s wallet this morning.”
Mercer became aware that the shower was running in the bathroom. He shot a look at his friend.
“I almost had a heart attack when she called from the front desk to get the room number,” Harry remarked. “You could have warned me she was back from the dead.”
Mercer smiled. He’d called Roddy from the cab to tell him about Maria and Lauren, and what she’d said about the Gemini. He made Roddy promise not to mention her miraculous escape to Harry. “Consider it payback for the stunt you pulled in the hospital.”
Harry laughed at him. “Don’t think for a second that resurrecting a dead woman comes close to matching that practical joke.”
“You got some warped priorities, buddy.”
The shower snapped off, and suddenly the suite seemed very quiet. Mercer could feel time passing, but could do nothing to fill it. He had to wait until she emerged. Roddy hung up the phone and shook Mercer’s hand.
“Where’s Maria?”
“Downstairs with Foch. We’ll interrogate her when Bruneseau gets back from his embassy.”
“I was just talking with another canal pilot. He’s one of the last Americans still working.”
“And?”
“He’s heard a rumor that they’re shuffling tomorrow’s transit schedule. Nothing final yet.”
“Only a rumor? Isn’t he at his office?”
“His position with the Canal Authority is pretty uncertain right now. Since Felix Silvera-Arias was appointed director, almost all the older pilots have been fired, and those that remain have had their hours severely cut. They aren’t given much information anymore. My friend hasn’t worked in a week and doesn’t expect to be called into the office for another few days. I asked if he’d go to the administration building to get the revised list. He refused.”
“We’ve got to get that list,” Mercer pressed. “Did you tell him what’s at stake?”
“Yes, but he won’t do it,” Roddy said bitterly. “Since yesterday all off-duty employees have been barred from going to work. He’s heard guards have been posted and isn’t willing to risk going back.”
There was no need for Mercer to ask Roddy to get the manifest. The Panamanian almost looked eager to do it. “You’ll be careful?” Mercer asked.
“I’m friends with a lot of the staff there. I’ll be fine. As soon as I have the revised schedule, I’ll fax it over.” There was a fax machine attached to the suite’s telephone as a convenience to the hotel’s business clientele. “If I can’t get the new one, an old manifest will do. It’ll have information about the Gemini and give us an idea what to look for.”
“Good thinking.”
“Mercer, is that you?” Lauren’s voice was muffled by the closed bathroom door. It swung open in an excited rush.
Even with her breasts straining the front of the towel and the fact that the thick terry cloth ended just inches below her buttocks, the first thing Mercer noticed was the livid bruise around her right eye. The eye hadn’t swollen shut despite the puffiness, yet the dark purple and blue welt looked painful. Mercer crossed the room in four long strides, his face split by a soft smile.
Lauren was grinning.
He took both her hands in one of his and used the other to turn her head slightly. Feather soft, Mercer touched his lips to the bruise. The moment was so emotionally charged and so tender that neither trusted their voices for several long moments.
Lauren laughed softly, finally breaking the lengthening silence, and touched the wound as if it were a badge of honor. “If you think this is bad, you should see the other guy.”
“I knew you’d say that.” He enfolded her in his arms and she melted into him. He could feel the damp heat from the towel and her skin soaking into him. He wanted the sensation to last forever.
“Get a room, you two,” Harry groused. “There are minors in this one.” He ruffled a goggle-eyed Miguel’s hair.
Lauren reluctantly stepped from Mercer’s embrace. “Harry, you hugged me even harder when you saw me.”
“Yeah, but you were wearing a uniform that smelled like a wet dog.”
Mercer looked over his shoulder at his friend, his eyes mocking. “Jealous?”
“Damned right. I’m old, not dead.”
“Mercer,” Roddy interrupted. “I’ve got to go.”
Roddy had been working the phones since before Lauren arrived at the hotel so she knew where he was headed. She asked, “No one’s willing to get the manifest for us?”
“It’s up to me,” Roddy replied. “I should have something in an hour or so.”
“Watch yourself,” she cautioned. “Getting the schedule isn’t worth your life. If it looks like you’re going to have a problem, just get yourself out of there. We’ll figure out something else.”
They all knew he’d do whatever it took to get the list. Still, the words of warning were appreciated. Roddy nodded. “Thanks.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” one of the Legionnaires asked.
Lauren seemed to have forgotten the soldiers were here and leapt back to the bathroom in an embarrassed dash when she realized her half-clothed state.
“Thank you, no,” Roddy answered. “It’ll be tricky enough getting just myself inside.”
The soldier offered his Heckler and Koch P9S pistol. “It’s loaded. Safety is on the left side. Click it off and give the trigger a long pull to fire the first round.”
“No need to cock it?” Roddy asked, accepting the matte-black automatic.
“Oui.” The soldier gave him a second magazine. “Nine rounds each.”
“Gracias.”
“Pas de tout.” The soldier shook his hand by slapping palms and grasping Roddy’s thumb in a tight grip. “Bon chance.”
Roddy turned to Mercer, his voice steady. “You’ll talk to Carmen for me?”
“Talk to her yourself when you get back.”
Roddy paused at the door and smiled. “That’s what I mean. She’s going to kill me when she finds out I did this.”
“Get out of here.” Mercer laughed. The gravity of their situation had been suspended, at least momentarily, by the collective relief at Lauren’s miraculous salvation.
She emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, her hair still damp and shimmering. The duffel bag of clothes she’d lived out of for the past days had been brought to the room by Carmen Herrara, so she had on a fresh shirt and jeans. Mercer took a few seconds just to admire her.