by Brian N. Cox
“Yes, yes, of course. I will do this. No problem.”
“You will not be held responsible, in fact, Tang Ming will be very pleased that you warned him. Your position in the Black Society will be secure,” added Li Mei.
Wen Tai could not believe his good luck. This plan would work. He would stay alive.
“You will then owe me your life, Wen Tai. At some time in the future, I will be calling upon you to assist me in some way,” said Li Mei.
“Yes, yes. I owe you my life.”
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Li Mei softly ordered Wen Tai to go to the door and see who it was, while she stood ready to kill Wen Tai if he betrayed her, or take control of any Mei Hua visitors. Wen Tai kept the chain on the door when he opened it.
“Good evening sir,” said the hotel security officer. “Some screaming was heard from this room. Is everything all right?”
“I am very sorry for the noise sir,” replied Wen Tai. “It was the TV. I’ve turned it down; it won’t happen again. Please apologize to anyone we disturbed.”
“No problem sir. Please have a pleasant evening.”
Once the security officer had left, Li Mei directed Wen Tai to sit down again while she phoned the State Security agents on surveillance duties.
“Little Brother, maintain our priority project,” said Li Mei on her cellphone. The “Priority Project” referred to a 24-7 surveillance, both physical and electronic, on Ma Shan, the leader of the Mei Hua Triad. “Put a team on Tang Ming, including his phones. How long will that take to put in place?”
“Probably thirty to forty minutes. As you know, his home is not far from Ma Shan’s home and we already have his phones tapped 24-7.”
“Good; call me when that is done. I expect Tang Ming will send some forty-nines to an address. I must know that address immediately.” The term forty-nine is a common term for the lower level members of the Triad, the persons who would carry out assignments to kill people who have been designated for death by the Triad leaders.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“Thanks for coming to my office, Sean,” said Jim Bridges, the Special Agent in Charge of the Seattle FBI Field Office. “You received this bulletin I assume?”
“Yes; just few minutes before you phoned me.”
“There is a federal arrest warrant out for your friend Li Mei. The investigators found hotel rooms in both Minneapolis and Denver where a person matching the description of the shooter registered using the name “Ms. Mei Li” with an address here in Seattle.”
“I’m not going to ask you if you know if this is Li Mei’s address, in fact, I’m not going to ask you if you know her present whereabouts.”
Sean didn’t respond to either question because Jim made a point not to ask him. He did reply however. “Li Mei is not the shooter, Jim. I’ll stake my career on it.”
“That’s exactly what you would be doing. That’s why I didn’t ask the questions.”
Jim Bridges had served in the US Army as an officer in the Criminal Investigation Division before joining the FBI. He was, without question, the best boss Sean had ever worked for. He supported his agents and gave them free reign to conduct their duties as long as they had the integrity to work hard and do their best. He had no time for slackers or “yes men”. Although he had never met Li Mei, he knew of her accomplishments in New York and had relayed messages between her and Sean. Jim and Sean were very close, even before Sean became the ASAC, and they often discussed matters that they would not discuss with other people. The only persons closer to Sean than Jim Bridges was his former partner, Gary Webster, and his long-time RCMP friend, Bill Dowey.
“Jim, put someone else on the case. It could later be seen as a conflict of interest for me to try and track Li Mei down while at the same time trying to prove her innocent.”
“Yes, that is why I am assigning Webster to the case. He has no connection to Li Mei that anyone knows about. Even I don’t know, although I strongly suspect he has.”
“Thanks Jim.”
“You realize that Webster is going to go to that address with a take-down team. I suspect she won’t be there, but the ERTU Unit will have go over the apartment and they will undoubtedly be able to recover her fingerprints and DNA. Are her fingerprints going to be found on the gun that was recovered in Chicago?”
“Considering the sophistication of this plan to frame her, I suspect the gun will have her prints on it.”
“That’s going to be almost impossible evidence to refute in court, Sean.”
“I know, Jim. Gary and I will do everything we can to locate the real shooter, but that doesn’t look promising. This is pretty close to the perfect crime. Even if we found the real shooter, the evidence against Li Mei is even stronger.”
“Sir, there are two people here to see you,” said the receptionist at the front desk of the FBI Seattle Field Office.
“Did they say who they are,” asked Sean, “or where they are from?”
“No sir. They have given me their names as Bill Thompson and John Brown and they said they have some important information for you.”
“Did they show you ID, Loretta? What agency are they from?”
“They said they are private citizens. Their only ID are Illinois driver licenses.”
“OK, I’d better come down to the lobby and see them,” said Sean.
Sean walked out of the elevator to the waiting area on the main floor, and there he saw the man he had always considered his oldest friend, Bill Dowey, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Sean and Bill had met while attending Northwest Law Enforcement Academy in Winnipeg, and after graduation, had joined the RCMP together. They had been at the RCMP Training Academy together and had both been posted to the frigid northern city of Thompson after completing their training. In many ways, Sean was closer to Bill Dowey than he was to Gary Webster.
“Bill, what are you doing here?” said Sean with a big smile while shaking his hand vigorously. He was genuinely surprised and happy to see his old friend.
“Just in the neighbourhood, Sean,” said Dowey, equally happy to see his old friend. “This is my friend, John Brown. Maybe we should go somewhere we can talk in private.”
“I usually invite strangers using phony names to my office,” laughed Sean, “so let’s go.”
Within five minutes, the three men were sitting in Sean’s office with the door closed.
“So, travelling in the States with phoney ID and a phony name, eh? I should call ICE to come and get you,” laughed Sean.
“I think that would take some time, old friend. There are about eleven million Mexicans in the line before me,” said Dowey with a big smile.
“This is Jerry Poulton, Sean. He’s with CIA. I have no idea if Jerry Poulton is his real name…probably not,” laughed Dowey.
“So what brings you gentlemen here?” said Sean, as his curiosity couldn’t be contained any longer.
“As you know, the US Attorney has issued an arrest warrant for Li Mei for the assassinations in Minneapolis and Chicago. I’m tempted to say that if she did it, they deserved it, but actually we are here to tell you she didn’t do it,” said Bill.
“I didn’t believe for one minute that she was the shooter,” replied Sean, “but do you have any evidence that she is innocent.”
“Yes and no, replied Poulton. At the time of both shootings, she was with us. Unfortunately, we cannot, under any circumstances, testify to this or even give you a sworn statement.”
“I assume you will explain that,” said Sean.
“We have special authorization to give you top secret information, Sean. Before we do so, you will have to sign this document confirming you will not tell another person or use this information in any way,” said Poulton.
Sean took the document, the format of which he had seen before many times, and then signed it, and along with the date, time and place. He then handed it back to Poulton.
“There is a unique terrorist group here in the US,” said Bill Do
wey. “What makes them unique is that they originated in the States, all members are American citizens, most born here, but all their acts of terrorism are directed at allies of the US. In other words, none of attacks have or will likely occur on American soil, at least that is our belief so far.”
“As you know,” said Poulton, “it is unlawful for CIA to investigate American citizens on American soil, in fact we cannot investigate anyone on American soil. For this reason, our meetings are top secret.”
“Is the FBI involved?” asked Sean.
“Everyone’s involvement is unofficial and deniable,” said Dowey. “Strictly speaking, the FBI would have to take action against CIA if they found them breaking the law on American soil.”
“Forget the lesson in law, Bill. Is the FBI at these meetings?”
“As a matter of fact…yes. In fact it was Assistant Director Ron Harding that authorized us to come here and talk to you about this,” said Dowey.
“So I assume one of the target countries is Canada, which is why you are at the meetings,” said Sean. “Why is Li Mei there?”
“The countries that have been targeted are: Canada, China, the UK and France. There may be other nations in their sights, but we haven’t heard of any others so far.”
“And why are they doing this? I can’t say I have ever heard of a home grown terrorist group targeting America’s allies but not America itself.”
“We don’t know, but Li Mei and I have a theory…it’s a stretch, but it’s on our radar,” said Bill. You know how we thought there was some high-level conspiracy group behind the activities in Barbados?”
“Yes. I am one-hundred percent convinced of that. We just don’t know who they are. There is no doubt they were behind my arrest in New York.”
“Exactly. CIA got wind of such a group,” said Poulton, “but we haven’t identified them. They seem to call themselves ‘The Group’. We think they are the ones who invented this terrorist cell and are pulling their strings.”
“In other words, if they can generate military confrontations, they can make $billions as key members of the military-industrial complex,” said Sean.
“We don’t know that for sure yet,” said Dowey, “but that is the general consensus at this point in time. Bringing us to the brink of war with China, would be the best case scenario for them, as that would generate the biggest build-up of military equipment. The money that would be made by the suppliers of this equipment would be astronomical.”
“Since the States and China need each other as suppliers and purchasers to stimulate their economies, it will take an impressive plan to bring those two nations into a military confrontation. Li Mei thinks the plan would require co-conspirators in both America and China to pull this off. The military-industrial complexes in both countries would make multi $billions,” said Bill.
“Well this is huge, and I thank you for bringing me into this. I suggested that this be investigated immediately upon my return from Barbados last year, but I think the suggestion was shelved by the Assistant Deputy Director Benoit, who in my opinion was part of ‘The Group’”.
“Do you ever wonder who killed him and why?” asked Bill Dowey.
“No, I have never given it a minutes thought,” replied Sean, although he had a good idea who was responsible.
“Well, we’d better get going now; we’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Bill. “Jerry, I’ll meet you down in the lobby, I just want to talk to Sean about a personal matter.”
After the CIA case officer left the office, Bill closed the door again.
“Sean, if worse comes to worse, I’ll think of some way to testify that Li Mei was with me in another city when the shootings occurred. I can’t violate my oath of secrecy, but I’ll wrack my brain to come up with something. We can’t let her go to the death chamber. My big concern is, however, that my testimony will not be accepted because it can’t refute fingerprints evidence.”
Sean really appreciated this expression of loyalty and support by Bill Dowey. Sean had realized way back at Northwest Law Enforcement Academy that Dowey was a special person; undoubtedly the best criminal investigator he had ever known. In fact, Dowey’s nickname at Northwest was “Brill” as the Logic & Deduction instructor was always telling him he was ‘brilliant’ when solving particularly difficult problems. He wished Bill was in the FBI here in Seattle so they could look for the real shooter together. They would be a team that few criminal masterminds could escape. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen, and the real shooter probably doesn’t even reside in the State of Washington. Things didn’t look good for Li Mei.
“Sean, one thing you may have overlooked. I know what Li Mei did in Barbados and in New York. There is probably no one more capable and resourceful than her. While we despair about her situation and how hopeless it is for us to help her, my bet is that Li Mei will find the shooter herself without any help from us.”
“I desperately want to believe that Bill,” replied Sean, “but if the Mystery Assassin is dead or is alive and doesn’t confess, Li Mei’s problem won’t go away.”
“We’ve got to have faith in her Sean. If this were a game of chess, I wouldn’t bet against her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Li Mei stood in the shadows of the small red brick apartment building in the older section of Seattle. As per her instructions, once the surveillance teams had set up on Tang Ming’s house, Wen Tai had phoned Tang Ming, and told him that he had found Liu Wei dead when he returned from dinner. Within three minutes, Tang Ming had phoned his lieutenant, Du Yaoping, and given him an address. Although the conversation had been disguised in Mei Hua code, it was clear to the State Security agents, who had become familiar with this code, that he had ordered the killing of the person at this address.
Li Mei had driven very fast to arrive at the apartment building before Tang’s killers, and she had only parked her car and hid in a shadowed area in the parking lot for a brief time before they arrived. Li Mei had discarded her pant suit jacket and replaced it with an old style top coat that almost reached her ankles. She also retrieved a cane from the car trunk which contained a variety of clothes and items she often used to change her appearance. With her bucket hat and a pair of granny glasses perched low on her nose, she was able to look quite different.
A black Lincoln moved into the parking lot and stopped about five spaces from Li Mei’s car. She heard the passenger tell the driver to wait, in the Mandarin language, as he got out of the car. Although most members of the Mei Hua Triad were indistinguishable from any other Chinese businessmen, these killers were stereotypical of the Triad thugs that were assigned to intimidate and kill…husky, wide-shouldered, and very sinister looking.
As the passenger rounded the corner and out of sight, Li Mei approached the Lincoln from behind. The driver had opened his window to provide some fresh air as he smoked a cigarette. He was startled to see Li Mei at his side as she said, “Time for a nap,”…Phmpt…the sound of a gunshot muffled by a silencer was heard and the driver began his last and permanent nap.
She quickly ran around the corner, into the front door, down the short flight of stairs and saw that the killer, Du Yaoping, was about thirty feet in front of her looking at the apartment doors for the number 108, which Tang Ming had given him over the phone. Li Mei walked, head down, back rounded, slightly bow-legged assisted by a cane in her left hand, looking like an old woman suffering from arthritis or the aches and pains of an aging body. She saw the killer glance her way but he didn’t seem concerned other than to wait until she had walked by.
As Li Mei limped by the killer, she heard him say through the closed door of apartment 108, “Little Sister, it is me, Du Yaoping. I have come with important information from Tang Ming about your mother. It is good news.”
Li Mei saw that Du Yaoping had a gun in his right hand, equipped with a noise suppressor. As the door opened Du raised the gun. “Phmptt”, Du fell forward as Li Mei shot him in the head.
Li Mei rushed t
o the apartment door and saw a beautiful Chinese woman standing there wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans. Although they didn’t look like twins, this woman looked enough like Li Mei to be a sister.
Li Mei pointed the gun at the young woman and said, “Pull him into the room and close the door.”
The woman complied immediately and seemed to drag the dead killer very easily; obviously a strong woman.
“So you are the Mystery Assassin,” said Li Mei. “What is your name?”
“I use the name ‘Jade Liang’ in America. My real name is ‘Liang Xiao Xiao’. I don’t know your name but I know who you are and that you are here to kill me,” she said. Li Mei was surprised to see that Liang Xiao Xiao showed no fear. She looked apprehensive but there was no fear evident in her face.