Bravura (Portentous Destiny Series Book 3)

by S. E. Rose

  “Miss Greene, are you OK?” he asks as he opens the door.

  “I’m very sorry to ask, but I had an accident, and I don’t have money on me. Could someone pay the cab, and I’ll go get cash to reimburse them?”

  He nods and throws a few bills at the cab driver. I stand for a moment looking at the door. In slow motion, I can see the doorman rushing toward me and I wonder why, but then I feel myself falling, and then nothing.

  Chapter 27

  Zoe’s Playlist: “Chandelier” by Sia

  I feel myself getting lifted up, but I don’t feel hands. Am I dead? I start to open my eyes, and I realize I’m on a stretcher, being loaded into an ambulance.

  “Miss Greene?” I hear a very worried voice, and I glance over to see the doorman. A look of intense relief floods his face as I blink up at him. “You are OK. I call the ambulance. I call Xu and Mr. Cunningham too. They do not answer but I leave message.”

  “Thank you,” I manage to croak out and realize I don’t know how to communicate to the paramedics. “Uh, I don’t speak Chinese.”

  “Oh, right,” he says. He smiles and says something to the paramedic. “There is a doctor where they take you that speak English.”

  I nod and thank him, and the paramedic slams the door shut and we are moving. I’m half aware that there are two paramedics, and they are taking my vitals and cutting my sleeve to look at my wound. They are speaking in Chinese and it sounds like they are angry. I know they are not, having been here a few weeks. I’m acclimating to the harsh tones of the language.

  A million questions begin to run through my head. Where is Xu? Did he make it out alive? Where is Cody? Does Mohammed have Cody? Did Jack get my text? Did anyone get the message as to where I was at? Will the USB drives be readable?

  I can hear my pulse start beating faster as my mind races. And before I have time to think of anything else, we are pulling up to a hospital. I’m wheeled out and into a room. This hospital appears very modern.

  A young doctor greets us at the door. He smiles at me and places a hand over mine.

  “Hello. I’m Doctor Zhang. You can call me Bob if that is easier for you. I am going to take a look at you, OK?” he says very calmly. I nod as the paramedics lift me onto the hospital bed, and I am unhooked and rehooked to various monitoring machines. A nurse takes my vitals and speaks with the paramedics while Dr. Zhang turns his attention to me.

  “So, tell me what happened, Miss Greene, is it?”

  “Uh, yes.” I suddenly feel nervous. I hadn’t planned on what I’d say to a doctor. Should I tell him the truth? I don’t want to endanger him. I’ve already caused enough harm today. Who knows if Xu and Cody are alright?

  “Dr. Zhang, Bob, is it possible for me to place a call to the U.S.? I have run into some problems here, and I need to make sure I can relay that information before I can tell you my story,” I explain as generally as possible. Dr. Zhang sighs with frustration, a frustration I know all too well. “I understand, Bob. I’m a PICU nurse back home. I can assure you. I have no life-threatening injuries. I have a possible sprained ankle, a bruised hip, a wound on my arm, and I have mild hypothermia,” I explain.

  “Oh?” he says, a little taken aback.

  “Yes, may I please make this call? It will only take a moment, I promise,” I say. He nods and hands me the phone receiver. I tell him the number, Jack’s number, which I thankfully remember somehow, and he dials it and steps out of the room.

  “Hello?” Jack answers very curtly.

  “Jack?” I ask.

  “Zoe?” His voice changing instantly. “Where are you?”

  “Jack, I’m OK. I was shot in the arm. Mohammed is here. He has had someone following me. He took me to some warehouse complex, and my driver, Xu, too. I lost Xu escaping. I made it across the river and back to my apartment, but I passed out and my doorman called an ambulance. Anyhow, I’m at the ER now. I have USB drives, Jack. They got wet, but I put them in a baggie with rice. I don’t know if they are damaged or not. How can I get them to you?” I finish and let myself breathe.

  “Take a breath, Zoe. I have men on the ground over there. It’s a bit of a sensitive situation. In any case, your brother got the alert about your location on his phone. He rang Cody, who rang me. I put Cody in touch with folks over there, and they were heading your way last I heard. I can’t fly out till the morning, so I’m not of much use, at the moment.” He pauses.

  “Jack, can you call Cody and tell him I’m at…geez, I don’t actually know, but the concierge at our apartment will know. It’s some hospital about two or three miles from our apartment.”

  “Yes, of course, Zoe. I’m sorry. I wish I could have gotten you the intel faster…” He trails off.

  “Jack, I need to tell you what happened. I was hiking in a forest earlier today. I think someone was following me. I went off the trail and got lost and fell into a cave. It took me hours to get out, but I managed. Then, when I called Xu, someone else came and got me. I don’t know what happened to Xu…Oh God, Jack…” I clamp my hand over my mouth as my emotions get the better of me.

  “Zoe. I need you stay calm. Tell the doctor you were shot by some robbers and leave it at that. Let them patch you up. Do you have a phone?” he asks.

  “No…I gave it to Xu,” I say.

  “OK…stay at the hospital. I’m going to get back in touch with you after I figure out a few things,” he says.

  “Alright,” I answer meekly.

  “And, Zoe?”

  “Yes?”

  “It’ll be alright, love,” Jack says soothingly.

  “Thanks, Jack,” I respond and hang up.

  A minute later Dr. Zhang pops his head back in my room. “Can I treat you now?” he asks. I’m not sure if that is sarcasm I hear or not.

  “Yes,” I sigh. “Thank you. I’m sorry about that. I’ve had quite the day, Bob.”

  He sits down on the bed and pats my leg. “Tell me all about it.”

  “Where did you learn English? Your English is very good,” I tell him.

  “America. I went to college at USC,” he says proudly. I smile.

  “That’s a good school,” I say. He nods. “I was hiking today, and I fell and twisted my ankle. I got separated from my driver and ended up back in town eventually but in a not so good part. I got held up by some guys and they stole my bag. I tried to run with my cell phone, but they pulled a gun. Anyhow, we had an altercation, and I got shot in the arm. I tried swimming across the river to get away…” I pause as I see his eyes widen. I realize that gun violence here must be very unusual as citizens wouldn’t have handguns. But it’s too late now, so I continue with my story. “I know, not the smartest idea this time of year with an open wound. But anyhow, I managed to swim about a half mile and get a change of clothes. I made it back to my apartment, and I must have passed out or something. I think I freaked my doorman out because he called the ambulance.”

  “Well, that is quite a day, Miss Greene,” he says.

  “Please, call me Zoe,” I say.

  He begins to examine my bullet wound. “Where do you work, Zoe?”

  “At the PICU at the University Hospital in Philadelphia,” I say to him.

  “Ah, that’s a good hospital,” he says. “You’re lucky; the bullet went through the muscle and exited out the back. Can you move it?”

  I manage to move it a bit but grimace from the pain.

  “OK, I don’t think you’ll have any permanent damage. I need to stitch you up and give you some antibiotics. I can wrap your ankle. I don’t see any damage from the cold water, but I’ll give you some IV fluids. We’ll have you all better and hopefully out of here by the morning,” he says.

  “Thanks,” I answer. Remembering Jack’s comment about staying here, I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that I’m stuck here for at least the next few hours.

  By 9:00 a.m., I am ready for discharge. Dr. Zhang comes in and gives me a good once-over before signing my paperwork.

  “Is someone a
ble to come get you, Zoe?” he asks.

  I shake my head. I still haven’t heard anything. It’s been over five hours since I got here and almost four and a half since I spoke to Jack. I begin to have a bad feeling that settles in the pit of my stomach. “I’ll call a cab,” I say.

  He nods. “I can arrange one for you. Where are you going?”

  I hand him the scrap of paper with the address of the apartment, amazed that it’s still legible after all it’s gone through today, and he makes a call. He helps me to the front doors and hands me his card.

  “If you need anything, call, OK?” he says.

  “Alright, thanks again,” I say. He squeezes my shoulder as he helps me into a taxi.

  The ride back to the apartment takes longer than normal due to the heavy rush hour traffic. Eventually, we pull up outside the apartment, and I see our other doorman. Crap, money. I go to signal to the driver that I need money from inside, and he shakes his head. I’m confused. The doorman opens the door, and I ask him to explain to the driver that I’ll go get money. The doorman and taxi driver exchange a few words.

  “Miss, he says the doctor already paid,” the doorman says.

  “Oh, thank you,” I say, and I walk inside. All I want to do is go shower and put on clean clothes and take a nap, but I know once I shower and change I’ll need to find Xu and Cody. I don’t even know where to begin. I sigh as I ask the concierge for the apartment key. I had given mine to Xu when I went hiking, not wanting to lose it. He hands me the key and asks if I’m alright. I nod and head to the elevator.

  I walk into the apartment.

  “Cody?” I yell out as I walk around. “Cody?!”

  Silence. I frown. Would he have just gone to work without trying to look for me? No, no, Cody would look for me. Crap, maybe Jack didn’t get ahold of him and he’s still out driving around trying to find me. I pick up the phone and call his cell phone. It goes to voicemail. Well, it could have run out of battery. I try Xu’s cell phone. It also goes to voicemail. I sigh. A shower, I need a shower.

  I’m finishing my shower when it dawns on me to call Mei. Jesus, she must be sick with worry. I dry off quickly and throw on some jeans and a t-shirt. I stick the now dry USB drives into my pocket. I find Mei’s business card and call her work number. No answer. Then I try her cell.

  She answers in Chinese. “Mei?” I ask.

  “Zoe?” she asks back.

  “Yes, oh thank God.”

  “Zoe? Where are you? Is Xu with you? He didn’t come home last night, and he didn’t call. It’s very unlike him,” she says, her voice thick with worry.

  “I don’t know where he is. Something happened, Mei. Can you meet me?” I say.

  “Yes, of course, where?”

  “Where you showed me the beautiful fountain,” I say, remembering a fountain on her campus that she had shown me.

  “Of course, give me twenty minutes,” she says.

  “Alright, I’ll see you then.”

  I hang up and try Xu and Cody again. Nothing. I try Jack, voicemail. I try my aunt, voicemail. I try Lily, voicemail. I try Lance, voicemail. I even try my brother, but his voicemail is full. Jesus, this time difference sucks.

  I walk briskly toward the school, and I find Mei sitting on the edge of the fountain. Her hands clasped, her fingers clenching and unclenching. She stands when she sees me.

  “Any word?” she asks, her voice hopeful.

  I shake my head, and she sits back down.

  “What do we do now?” she asks.

  “I don’t know,” I say. And for the first time in a very long time, I really, truly don’t know. We sit in silence for a while. I start thinking. If the tables were turned, what would I have done if Cody hadn’t been home when he said he would be? I would try calling him. He did that. I would try texting him. He did that too. I’d call Xu. I don’t know if he did that. I would call Mei.

  “Mei, did Cody call you last night?”

  She nods. “He left me a voicemail, asking if I knew where Xu was. I thought maybe he needed him for something. I texted him back and said I didn’t know. Zoe, I am so worried. I am ready to call the police.”

  OK, so then what would he do? I would have called Jack but wait. My mind wonders back to an earlier thought I had. Did Jack get ahold of Cody too? Did he know Mohammed was alive? Maybe he did.

  “No. We’re going to Cody’s office,” I say as the wheels in my head start spinning.

  “OK,” Mei says hesitantly and stands. She gets us a taxi, and we head to the office. Construction is so quick in China. In only three weeks, the building has gone from half done to almost completely done. Even with the missing pipes, they seem to have plowed through the work. Mei speaks to a guard in Chinese, and he allows us to enter the building. At the reception area for the company’s suite, a young woman sits staring at a screen.

  “Hello,” I say, assuming she must speak English to work for this company.

  “Hello,” she says in an American accent.

  “Is Cody in?” I ask.

  She frowns. “No, he hasn’t called either. It’s very unlike him.”

  “Oh, are any of his colleagues here?” I ask.

  “Yes, in fact, Ian just arrived a few minutes ago,” she says. Then seeing my confusion, she adds, “He’s the other executive overseeing the set-up of the office. He’ll be staying here for the first year.”

  “Oh, I see. May I have a word with him, please?” I ask, trying to smile, but it’s tough considering I am scared and still in pain.

  “Of course, may I ask your name?”

  “Oh, right. I’m Zoe Greene and this is Mei…Li,” I say, almost forgetting her last name.

  The young woman places a call and ushers us into a conference room to wait.

  A man who is about forty, tall, and slender with a shaved head walks in and extends a hand to me.

  “So, this is the lovely Miss Greene,” he says, flashing a smile. “And you’re Xu’s wife, yes?”

  Mei nods. “Thanks for seeing us on such short notice,” I say. “I’m looking for Cody. You haven’t seen him today, have you?”

  He thinks for a moment. “No, not today. He was here yesterday, but…honestly, I don’t know his schedule, so I can’t be sure if he’s on site today, meeting with contractors for the project, or what? This new company that we’re working with is a bit elusive when it comes to our schedules. Hold on a second and let me see if someone else might know where he’s at.” Ian presses a button on a nearby phone and says something in Chinese, and then turns back to us.

  “Yeah, kind of a pain, really, but the money is good, so here we are. We actually just met with another company yesterday. I think we might have our second project set up shortly,” he says, smiling again. As he speaks, another man walks in, and Ian stands to greet him. “This is Mr. Lin. He works for our client and is our main contact on the project. He thinks Cody might be at the work site, so he can get his driver to take you there.”

  “Oh, xièxiè,” I say to him and nod. Mr. Lin nods at me and motions toward the door.

  The other man turns to us. “So sorry, I’m Ian McCafferty,” he says.

  “It was nice to meet you, Ian,” I say before following Mr. Lin out the door.

  The drive to the work site is short. Mr. Lin sits up front with the driver, which I find to be a bit odd. Something feels off again, and I try to push that feeling aside because I desperately want to make sure Cody is alright. I motion for Mei to hand me her phone and she does. I text Jack and explain what is happening and to track this phone if he needs us.

  The driver slows as we approach the work site. It’s a complex of buildings that are under construction with a train station and track that is being built. It appears as a mini-city all on its own. The car pulls up to a building that is clearly not finished yet. Mr. Lin opens the door for us and we follow him into the building.

  He turns to us. “Cody should be on floor ten,” he says in perfect English. I nod, and he opens the elevator for u
s.

  “Aren’t you coming up with us?” I ask.

  He shakes his head. “I have work to attend to down here, Miss Greene.”

  The door closes, and I try again to shake the feeling that something seems off about Mr. Lin. I am feeling a bit paranoid. It’s probably my anxiety. I know I can’t question everyone. I have to learn to trust people, to hope they are good. I feel silly like I’m overthinking everything. Within a few seconds the elevator reaches floor ten and the doors open.

  “Cody?” I call out and look around. The floor isn’t finished yet. There’s plastic strung from the ceilings and the floor is still cement. Electric and fiber-optic cables hang from the ceiling and air vents are exposed. I see a movement to my left. Mei and I walk through two layers of plastic, and I stop dead in my tracks.

  Cody is sitting in a chair. Correction, Cody is tied to a chair. Blood pours from a cut on his forehead, and he’s clearly been wounded on his leg because his pants are dark with blood as well. His mouth is covered with tape and his eyes are wide as he sees me enter the room. Then I hear Mei gasp. I turn to see Xu tied to a chair. His head has a second wound. Both men stare at us with wide eyes. It’s then that I know we’ve walked right into a trap.