She kept her helmet on and visor down as she crossed the road and headed down the side of his house. The extension he’d built on the back of the house had a window. The light was on and there was movement.
“There’s a good boy, doing your kung fu training,” Casey whispered as she saw the Chief pass by the window in his red outfit. She reached back and pulled the large pistol from her waistband at the small of her back and pointed it at the Chief’s chest as he moved across the window again.
“Pow,” she whispered, before putting the gun away and creeping quietly back to the street thinking, maybe later.
She started the bike and headed for the street stall area that Lu Lei liked.
Matt’s trip on the motorbike to the safe house was recklessly fast, but after dropping off the rifle and pulling a pistol from the safe, he’d made it over to house without incident. The house was dark and the front door was locked. No Lu Lei. Where could she be?
He did a slow drive-by through a few places where he thought she might be, before heading back to the safe house. The situation wasn’t yet dire, but if Lu Lei was picked up by the police, things would become very complicated.
Half an hour later, Lu Lei arrived at the Chief’s house. From her bicycle, out on the street, Lu Lei could see Wei Bao’s light up on the second floor of his house. He was probably doing his homework. His world would change tonight. There would be no more beatings.
She lay her bike on the ground, just a few steps from the front door. Ringing the doorbell would be the point of no return. The moment she pressed that little white button, she was committing to killing another human being. She was surprised to see her fingers trembling as she pulled the envelope out of her backpack. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
The seven steps she took to the front door seemed to put her into a state of disbelief. Am I really doing this? She stopped, now at the door. Her heart pounding. She could still turn around and walk away with the envelope.
Almost involuntarily, her hand reached forward and pressed the doorbell. Her eyes widened, shocked that she’d done it. She dropped the envelope on the doormat and ran over to her bike and rode away.
The sound of the doorbell surprised the Chief. Having sent the housekeeper home already, he had to halt his training in the back studio and walk all the way through the house to get to the front door to see what idiot was visiting at dinner time.
Peering down at the envelope on the doormat, he looked each way down the street. Seeing no one, he picked it up. Written neatly were the words: 'To the Chief of Police. Wu Feng’s house, 9PM tonight. Come unarmed, come alone, or you’ll regret it.'
The Chief looked both ways again before going back inside. It was now 8:30, so he’d have to leave soon to get there by 9PM.
The contents of the envelope were surprising. Clipped to a photo of a pair of tire tracks, was a file in English that named the model of his old Mercedes. There were photos of the bodies of his two police officers, blood types, fingerprints, a picture of the missing police baton. Another folder contained the confidential police report of the car accident. The report was supposed to have been buried.
The Americans were doing this. Trying to blackmail him. They must have people inside the police department. What could they want? Releasing people from jail? That would be easy. The Chief’s mind ticked over. After some momentary thoughts ran through his head of being tortured and killed by the Barbecue Couple, he thumped the table with a fist and then picked up his phone and car keys, and walked out slamming the door, still dressed in his kung fu uniform.
He started the engine, but before pulling out, he dialed a number.
After Wei Bao heard his father drive off, he came downstairs to look in the refrigerator, relieved that his father was gone, not caring where. On the table he saw some photos and papers. He sifted through them, seeing his father’s name on the top of an old police report. The front of the envelope caught his attention as the handwriting looked strangely familiar.
Cheng Li was working late at the precinct. While he waited in the break room for the kettle to boil, he looked through the yellowing venetian blinds at the night-shift members of his plain-clothes squad.
Instant noodles for dinner. Not the semi-glamorous lifestyle that the Chief seemed to have. Over the last seven years, since the day of the fight against the two Tai Chis, the Chief had given him more power and responsibility which came with various promotions in rank. Keeping his mouth shut had helped him retain the Chief’s trust. He was third in command now, but that was as far as he could rise here in Beijing until both the Chief and the lieutenant retired, which would not be for years.
Two of his squad had just gone out to investigate the death of a high-ranking scientist who had choked to death on a pork bun. Another from the squad had not shown up to work tonight. This absent officer was the least well-behaved member of his squad. He had a tendency to bend the rules. Often late to work and early to leave, the officer flaunted his bribe-taking with flashy clothes, watches and the occasional new motorbike. Somehow, though, he managed to make the most arrests and seemed to always know everything that was going on both in the police force and on the street. He’d also been agreeable to kicking some bribe money up the ladder.
Cheng Li took the noodles back to his office, a little annoyed that he hadn’t yet heard from the officer who was more than an hour late. He opened his private email, two new messages from the missing officer.
The first had the heading ‘American Spies - audio file,’ the second: ‘Stand by. More coming. Do not act yet.’
Cheng Li closed his office door and listened to the audio file.
Lu Lei felt for the light switch inside the front door of her old house. The lights blinked on, perfectly this time, row by row. She walked in, leaving the front door wide open. The new clock on the wall showed 8:58PM.
She reached into her backpack and pulled out Casey’s pistol. It felt even heavier tonight than it had at home. Tossing the backpack into a corner, she moved to the center of the floor. Matt’s lesson about gun barrel length versus accuracy had taught her that with Casey’s gun she would have more chance of hitting the Chief if she was close to him, but not so close that he could take it from her.
Hearing the crackle of tires on gravel, she pulled the slide back on the pistol. She widened her stance and put both hands behind her back. The Chief would not be expecting her to have a gun. She would put a bullet into his chest the second that he was close enough. Then when he was down, she would empty the whole magazine into him. She would make him pay for everything that he had done.
The sound of the car door jarred her adrenals. She realized that she was clenching every muscle in her body. Breathe, the voice of the Master sounded in her imagination.
The Chief appeared in the doorway, twenty feet from where she was standing. He stared at her, looking confused. She waited for him to speak first.
“You!”
“Who else? You have already murdered everyone.”
“Little Tai Chi, I was expecting the famous Barbecue Couple. It’s their evidence, after all. Am I correct? You stole it?”
Keeping the gun behind her back, Lu Lei yelled, “You killed my parents. You killed the Master. Now it is your turn to die.”
Lu Lei glared at him as he sniggered. His lip seemed to quiver with rage and his eyes narrowed. She couldn’t wait to pull the gun out from behind her back and see his smile disappear.
The Chief shouted at her, “Your father deserved it, that little bastard. It was because of him I got shipped off to the army. I went through hell. He had it coming. And you! You cast shame on my son. You should have learned your place. Instead of cooking and cleaning, you study tai chi. Your parents and your Master trained you to beat up boys. Well, let’s see how tough you are now, little Tai Chi. Let’s see how well your foolish old dead master trained you.”
Lu Lei heard a shrieking growl come out of her own throat as she brought the pistol around from behind her
back and aimed it at the Chief, who took a couple of steps backwards, shocked.
“Don’t!” he yelled, palms outstretched.
Lu Lei could feel her hands shaking as she squeezed the trigger. She instinctively closed her eyes as the loud bang accompanied the unexpected violent kick of the pistol. She opened her eyes just in time to see the Chief moving at her, delivering a powerful kick to her outstretched hand, knocking the gun from her grasp. It slid all the way across the floorboards to the door.
The Chief’s fist came down at her face. She moved her head outside the swing of his punch, hearing the Chief’s sleeve flick by her head.
He swiveled around to face her again. “You dare to point a gun at me? I am the chief of police, you little monkey turd.”
Lu Lei felt herself lock up, staring at the furious frothing scowl on his face. Such uncontrolled anger from an adult. Frightening to see close up. She wasn’t sure what to do. She waited.
His steps were broad: one, two, and he was above her again, the uppercut punch caught her under the chin. She felt herself falling backward, feet in the air, surprised at the loud sound the fist had made on her jaw. Landing on her back, her lungs now empty of air, she struggled for oxygen. His foot was on her neck and she could feel him putting weight on it as he looked down at her, victorious, smiling.
She had bitten her tongue and could taste blood.
“Good night my little Tai Chi. Go and meet your parents and your silly old master.”
She stared up at him helplessly. He gritted his teeth and moved to put all of his weight on her neck. She wrapped her arms around his leg and pulled him off-balance. She was surprised at how soft his groin was when she connected directly with her heel. He didn’t go down. She managed to roll to the side, out of reach. His eyes looked moist. She must have hurt him.
Her lungs opened up again. Panting, she wiped her chin with her sleeve and saw her own blood. Standing flat-footed, a short distance from him, she was unprepared for another attack. The cold realization hit her now for the first time. She was about to die. He really was going to kill her. This was it. This was the end. She felt an ache to see her mother and father. The warmth of the tears streaming down her cheeks surprised her. Then she thought of the Master.
The Chief seemed to be limping a little, slightly stooped over. She must keep her distance. He was much too strong for her. She noticed that she had unconsciously adopted a tai chi stance and thought it strange. The Chief was recovering. He was swearing at her, calling her some names she’d never been called before.
He walked toward her, shaking his head menacingly. She felt herself holding her ground, watching his feet as he took the final three steps. The first kick was predictable, and merely by sliding sideways she didn’t have to block. The next kick came straight at her. He was slow, she realized now. Sliding one foot forward, she moved under his powerful kick, and from between his legs she shot her right fist straight to his groin. She stood up again behind him, ready. She knew she had done less damage this time. He whirled around and swept her feet out from under her. She was on her back again and in a second the Chief had straddled her.
His weight was terrible on her hips, his hands around her neck. She was shocked at how tightly his hands were squeezing. She was unable to inhale. Her face felt like it was about to pop. Doing her best to punch and scratch him, she started to feel like she was looking up at him through a long tunnel. Everything was going blurry. The lights dimmed.
Then his hands relaxed their grip, and she felt a warm dripping on her face and then the weight of the Chief’s whole body fell on her.
She rocked him to one side and slid out from underneath, struggling dizzily to her feet. The Chief’s head was spouting a fountain of blood.
Lu Lei caught movement in her periphery vision. Someone by the door.
“Wei Bao!”
He was still holding Casey’s pistol up, looking bewildered. His mouth was open, eyes unblinking, staring at the Chief.
“I didn’t shoot.”
On the same factory rooftop on which he’d been seven years ago, Jimmy dismantled the rifle, still marveling at the red spray that had come out the back of the Police Chief’s head. Different from target practice. Much more satisfying.
The Chief had ordered him to kill the Barbecue Couple, but seeing the Chief on top of that little girl had been unexpected. The Chief was clearly rabid and needed to be put down. Maybe that young girl would go on to become a great artist or musician one day. It was all meant to be.
28
The Signal
Cheng Li felt torn. The missing officer was not reporting in. The second email had instructed him not to act yet. His instinct was to call the Chief at home. On the other hand, this could be his opportunity to get out from under his superiors and show his value to the Party. If he caught two American spies who had been operating right under the Chief’s nose for all these years, it would probably change his future.
He slammed his hand down on the desk and stood up. He sat down again and began typing. Pulling up the folder with all the files on the so-called 'Barbecue Couple,' he printed off a dozen headshots of Matthew Nelson, Casey Nelson and Lu Lei Nelson, their home address, the factory address and Lu Lei’s previous home address.
Opening the door to his office, he looked around the bullpen at his squad, all looking busy. He called out to get their attention.
“Squad members, please come into my office now.”
He couldn’t help smirking a little, enjoying the moment as they all shuffled in and crowded around his desk.
“Shut the door, please.”
“New assignment.” He passed the copies to an officer to hand out.
“This is a secret job. Not one of you is to tell anyone what you are doing. That includes the Chief and anyone else in the precinct. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You are to find and arrest any of these three people. The white couple may be armed and probably are well trained. They are most likely CIA. The daughter is thirteen years old, we can use her to bring the parents in. Sergeant, you organize them into three teams: apartment, factory and house. Clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Also, capture only. Do not kill. Keep your radios on this frequency. Be careful what you broadcast.”
Cheng Li paused for a moment, wondering if he had forgotten anything.
“Go get them.”
Lu Lei, stunned by the sight of the Chief’s dead body, looked at Wei Bao kneeling next to his father. A puddle of blood pooled outward from around the Chief’s head, across the floorboards. Lu Lei stood, trying to wipe the red mess from her face with her sleeve.
She bent down and gently took the pistol from Wei Bao’s hand. “If you didn’t shoot him, who did?” she asked, looking toward the front door.
Wei Bao was silent.
“We need to go. Does anyone know that you are here?”
“How do you have a gun?” he asked.
“I’ll explain on the way. We need to get out of here. Did you ride a bike?”
“Yes. What about my Dad?”
“I don’t know. He’s dead, Wei Bao. I am sorry. Someone outside shot him. Let’s hope he doesn’t shoot us too. Maybe I should turn the lights out.”
Wei Bao didn’t move. He just stared straight ahead.
“Come on.” She bent down and lifted his elbow, hoping that he would come out of his trance. She heard the Master’s voice in her mind again, repeating the same word she’d heard the night he’d been shot:
“Run.”
She dragged Wei Bao to his feet and pulled him toward the door. She flicked all the lights off and peeked outside, not knowing what to look for but expecting to be shot if she ran out of the house, just like the Master had been seven years ago.
“Ready? We have to run fast to the bikes. Are you listening to me?” She shook his arm, and he seemed to come back to her.
“Yes, I heard you, Lu Lei. Let’s go.”
“Ru
n when I get to ‘one’ okay? Three, two, one.”
Lu Lei grabbed his hand and yanked him out the door and started running, dragging him along with her.
Wei Bao’s bike was parked next to hers. He swung it around and got on. “Where are we going?”
“Your house first,” she replied, wondering what she would do after that. She should probably get home and return the gun to the safe, hopefully without them noticing. They must be worried about her. She’d never been out alone past nine before. This part, she had not thought through.
Lu Lei eased off her pedals. A rickshaw was up ahead, going in the same direction. How odd.
As they passed it, she turned to look at the driver, slowly pedaling with no passengers, his eyes obscured by a baseball cap pulled low. He smiled and bowed his head in her direction.
She looked at Wei Bao, who returned a quizzical look. They were pedaling too hard to talk to each other, which suited Lu Lei. Headlights in the distance, Lu Lei took a hand of the handlebars and pulled the hood of her jacket over her head.
“Quick, let’s hide.”
They both pulled in behind a tree and lay on the ground. Two cars roared by. Typical unmarked police vehicles. Must be cops.
“Something’s up. Your dad must have called them earlier. How else would they know?”
Wei Bao said nothing, and Lu Lei could see that he was about to cry.
“Come on. No time for that.”
Back on the road, as they neared Wei Bao’s house, she called over to him, “You go upstairs and stay in your room. You never left the house, okay? Your Dad went out at nine but didn’t say where he was going. Oh, and can you do me a favor?”
They pulled up outside the house and Wei Bao looked back at her, his mouth crumpling a little as he held back his tears.
“Find that envelope with all the photos and police files in it. Burn everything straight away. Can you do that for me please Wei Bao? It’s important. It’s evidence that will point the government to my parents.”
Surviving Spies (Irving Waters, Spy Fiction Series) Page 22