by Lynda Filler
33
Singapore, Malaysia
“I DON’T PAY you for excuses Woo! You said you had that information!” Sying screeched, teetering dangerously on her five-inch Cheetah Louboutins.
“I do Mme Anjou! I mean I did. My file is locked. I had all the cartel passwords, their financials, the US, Mexican and South American Banks. I had the banking codes for the Bahamas, the Caymans.” Woo waited for more of Sying’s wrath. This was a planned disaster of epic proportions.
“Woo.” Sying dropped her voice.
“What game are you playing Woo? Who are you working for?”
Her quiet was frightening. Woo shivered, looked towards the windows on the top floor of Sying’s luxurious condo. If there was a balcony he might seriously consider jumping. This game was way over his head. But then he wasn’t the architect, merely the contractor.
“Woo, tell Billy Lam this is not going to work. Does he think I am without power? Does he think he can buy anyone and anything he wants?” Sying screamed and threw a bronze Buddha against the wall. A 17th-century French mirror smashed to the marble floor.
All Woo could think about was seven years of bad luck.
“I’m not playing a game Mme. Billy Lam is a voice on the phone to me! I would never betray you. I’m still trying to get in. This is impossible. No one could get through the systems I have set up. It makes no sense.” Woo swore a Chinese curse that made Sying stop her tirade.
“We’ve been together a long time Woo. I trusted you with my wealth when the Raven Group tried to destroy everything. And while in Paris you were faithful to our mission to take the funds the cartel had spread around the world. If that despicable bitch Luci hadn’t interfered, we would be safe and be living the life of the superrich. I will take this into consideration and give you a chance to redeem yourself.
Now, you have work to do. We can’t wait any longer to get in. We need to move the billions we know are there. Get back to work. I want results tomorrow evening. Three days from now Tariq and Billy will be here. We need to be able to access those funds when they arrive so together we can do the transfers. I cannot wait any longer.”
Woo turned, sighed and exited quickly.
34
On the highway towards Washington, DC
“I DON’T KNOW how it happened.” Josh used a fake Facebook account to talk to Billy.
“It’s not important. What matters is those thumb drives. I’ve got one piece under control in Singapore. You hold the key to the other. You can’t let that information out of your sight. I must have those drives.”
“I know I got away clean. I’m driving. No one’s following. I should be in Washington in 48 hours.”
“As soon as you arrive, contact me. Don’t forget, your family is counting on you. Stay outside the city. I will have a plan in place by then.”
Josh felt his anger building. The threats were real. He didn’t trust Billy. He hadn’t since they’d fought as kids. Billy left a trail of dead animals when he was eleven. At fifteen his two-legged enemies were often found with irreparable damage to their limbs. He was a psychopath worthy to be the leader of the world’s most malignant triad; a wealthy powerful animal.
Josh thought he was done with Billy when he left Toronto and entered MIT. But his summers visiting family in China had opened his eyes to how he would always be indebted. Billy controlled the family and Josh was family.
He wiped a tear from his eyes and said a prayer Cai had not suffered in death.
All he cared about now was staying alive.
35
Shanghai, China
WOO LEFT THE high-rise building now enshrouded in a murky world overcome by exhaust fumes. The mid-morning air chilled, the smell of brine from the nearby fish market assaulted his allergy-laden nose.
He brushed off Sying’s limo driver and instead chose to walk among the bustling street vendors. He maneuvered around the early morning hawkers and con artists grasping their first cups of Starbucks’ coffee. The traditional red buildings, the Chinese colors for joy and happiness, were making way to sleek white Carrera marble high-rise towers. Singapore’s intense vibe was steeped in a mix of the old and new, past and future values.
Moving quickly down a side alley, Woo came to a roughly stained red wooden door and tapped twice.
“Good morning Woo. Enter. Please.” A diminutive aging man, his head bald, eyes sparkling, bowed gracefully and pointed to his left. “Your room is ready sir.”
Woo entered a private space unlike the world he now inhabited. After first removing his shoes, he knelt on tatami mats, then gazed upon humble surroundings dominated by an altar and a 14th-century sandalwood Buddha. He let his body drop, his will surrendering to the Buddha’s message of peace and love.
His mind moved into a meditative state. He wandered with love to a past where he and his sister, bereft from being removed from their parents, received compassion and nurturing at the hands of Buddhist Monks. Their formative years were spent surrounded by verdant hills, stark beauty and joy. They had endured a tutor for necessary Chinese Communist indoctrination. But once done with that, Woo would escape to a serene world where war and deceit did not live.
He was so young, unformed and craved to understand why he could no longer be with his parents. He remembered only his mother’s silent tears, his father’s stoicism as he was ripped from her arms.
It was in this environment of sadness and emotional pain that he learned and lived the First Noble Truth. All beings are afflicted with all sorts of disappointments, depression, and anxiety. In short, they are subject to suffering.
He learned that the human existence is attached to sensual pleasure, wealth and power and also ideologies; so, one craves these things, failing to truly understand the reality of experience and life. The ego rules and clings to things that are impermanent, perishable. Suffering, disappointment is the only result.
Woo had found a place of comfort and peace in the monastery, as he did in this intimate prayer room.
But the Chinese government had other plans for him and his sister. For this abuse of his will his soul will be in constant conflict with his hatred of the Chinese Government.
Unfortunately, they hold power over both of them. This balance of power will soon be altered.
Woo bowed once more to all that the Buddha represents.
His suffering will soon end. He had only a few days left to complete his personal mission. One day China will experience the complete destruction of delusion. Slavery of its people is against everything the monks had taught him. In the end, this new China cannot win.
36
Beijing, China
ZHANG PANTED, his face chili red, his heart pounding under the influence of false confidence. Why did he keep doing this to himself? He was going to die. It was of no use. Neither the blue pill nor the China white could remove the problems that occupied his mind.
The sophisticated plaything wrapped her hands around his withering excuse for an instrument of love and cooed diligently to no avail; time to quit.
“Sorry, my Little Flower. I have so many things on my mind.”
“Oh Zhang, let me ease your thoughts. I will give you a massage. I have precious oils. I will mix Ylang with something my mother grew in her garden. Let me pleasure you.”
Zhang sighed deeply. He inhaled her oils and allowed his body to relax.
With the pressure to perform removed, he slowed down his breathing and allowed his mind to empty. Things were definitely looking up. Until his cell phone rang.
“Damn!” Zhang checked caller ID and sat up. A stern look told his paramour to leave the room.
“Yes, Yes. What do you want?" Foremost in his mind was his annoyance at his inability to perform.
“Am I bothering you?” The Chairman queried.
Zhang came to attention immediately, all signs of passion withering under the irascible tension exuding from the Chairman’s greeting. How did he get this number?
“No, no sir, I was e
xpecting a different person.”
“So, I understand. You think because you have a ‘private’ phone that I am not able to know the number?”
“No, not at all sir.”
“Listen, Zhang, this has gone on long enough. You have two days remaining to get me what I need from the USA. If not, you will be replaced. Have I made myself perfectly clear?”
“Of course. Yes. I will secure that information. I know we are close.”
“Close and “in” are not the same things.” The Chairman chuckled. Zhang wondered for a moment if his room was wired for video. Seething, he responded.
“Yes, of course, sir. I will get right on it.” Again, he heard the Chairman laugh in the background.
“You do that Zhang. Get on it and get it done!” Zhang remained silent, utterly humiliated.
Zhang shivered. All remains of passionate thoughts deflated.
He watched his playmate dress quickly. She blew him a kiss, discreetly removing the US dollars dusted in cocaine from the counter.
She closed the door softly.
37
Las Vegas City, NV
“WE’VE GOT A PROBLEM.”
“You think?” Luke curbed his sarcasm. They’d exited the underground and moved out in convoy to Josh’s last known destination. It always seemed to be rush hour in Las Vegas. Luke was cursing the poor driving habits of Americans when his cell phone had vibrated.
“Yeah, so here’s what we have. We’ve got the storage unit on satellite. The co-ords will be coming through now.”
Raven smiled. “We already received them from the Navy Boy.”
“Yeah, I thought you might. I understand the young man made an impression on you. Don’t even think about it. That kid is going places.”
“Right. He risks his life for less than minimum wage; the best years of his life to work for a pussy outfit like the SEALs.” His contact sputtered on the other end of the line, while Zach smacked Luke over the head from the passenger side of the SUV. Laughter all around.
Luke continued. “Any outfit that thinks it’s so smart that they don’t allow women in combat is one I’d really want to be a part of.”
“Okay, point taken. Now let’s move on. I’ve looked over this Josh kids’ file, personally this time. Seems a few things aren’t adding up. Like the summers he returned to China. He was enrolled in summer school in Beijing, but we looked more in-depth, and he never attended any classes. He went off grid entirely.”
“It figures. Why pay attention to a near genius Chinese computer nerd, top of his class at MIT, especially when he’s returning year after year to the Chinese Mainland for months at a time? Never mind that we’re in full-blown cyber war with the Peoples Republic of China. No, I can see why that might fall through the cracks.”
Silence. “As they said in Vietnam, SNAFU. Anyone in here too young to know what that means: Situation Normal, All Fucked Up.”
Luke was focused on driving.
“And furthermore, why not bring Josh into the inner workings of DARPA so he can help figure out how to keep the fox out of the henhouse? Oh, wait. He is the fox. Brilliant.”
“I got it, Raven. I guess I can take myself off your recruitment list.” Guffaws emerged from everyone but the Boss.
Luci broke into the conversation.
“So, boss, what do we know?” Luci changed quickly in the back of the SUV from casual clothes and t-shirt to body-hugging workout gear. Her jacket and shoes had been modified to carry small high-tech gadgets for close combat situations. Her HK sat comfortably concealed yet easily accessible in a hot pink gym bag. She pulled her sleek ebony strands into a ponytail, adjusted her dual-purpose Ray Bans and declared herself ready.
“Did your boots find anything at this storage unit?”
“Of course,” his contact sounded annoyed. “I’m sending through photos now.”
Zach used his headset to warn RB and Maggie in the second truck that they would rendezvous in 5 minutes in the Starbucks parking lot at the next off ramp.
“Now that we know what we’re dealing with, we’ve made contact with our agent in the Embassy. He’s taking a personal interest in the case and admitted to chatter of an urgent nature related to China’s security. More than that, he can’t say at this time.”
“Sounds like we’re onto something.”
“We do have one slight problem,” Luke’s Washington contact murmured.
“Yes, go ahead.” Luke sighed for extra dramatic flair. Luci smiled at him in the rear-view mirror.
“We lost Josh.”
38
Singapore, Malaysia
LATER THAT AFTERNOON Sying went into her private quarters for a massage and Woo rushed from the condo. He headed towards the bustling shopping complex at Marina Bay Sands. He typed furiously on his iPad and burnt his tongue on his Chai Latte at Singapore’s largest Starbucks.
He wasn’t afraid to admit he was frightened. All his training had been on computers, code, firewalls, and security. He had some martial arts and weapons classes, but he was non-violent. He wasn’t ready for any type of physical confrontation.
Surrounded by people, he logged on to an obscure server. At the designated time his sister came online.
“This is getting real now.” He knew she would feel his tension. Although they had a similar upbringing, big sister was the physical one. She entered and won all martial arts competitions. She’d been recruited for international sports events. She had always been his protector. But now she was online in Hong Kong, and he was in trouble in Singapore.
“Relax little brother. I know what I’m doing. I’ve got it all set up. With your help I know exactly what to do and when to do it,” she cooed.
“I overhead the plans for Tariq and Billy Lam to arrive in Singapore in forty-eight hours,” Woo typed. “They are to meet with Mme Sying and coordinate the transfers. We have one chance to get this right. I will make the phone call tonight. We will avenge the wrongs that have been done to us.”
“Yes. And then we will be together again. We will see our mother. This will be behind us, and we can begin the life we both deserve.”
Woo smiled for the first time in the last twenty-four hours. Sying was a despicable creature. He had spent the last years of his life planning revenge for his family. Sying never knew that he was that teenage boy who hung his head in shame and fear when she had murdered his cousin at the ports in Shanghai. He was powerless then spying for the government in a non-violent role. Nor did she know of his painful past being torn from his familial home at the whim of the Chinese Government.
This time he would be rich and avenge his family honor. He and Mei would be together again, and no one would be able to follow their trail.
39
Beijing, China
“DOES SHE KNOW her mother is dead?” Liu enquired.
“We didn’t think it would be prudent to advise her at this stage of the operation.” Chen bowed slightly. It was difficult reporting to both Zhang and Liu, but he juggled it with the skill of one highly trained in the spy schools of China.
Liu carried an impressive title, an impeccable party lineage but lacked the ruthlessness required to carry out what needed to be done. Chen was a junior officer who had no such hesitations. His goal was to lead China to glory, to create world domination, and make some serious money on the side, of course. Chen’s computer skills were as lethal as his physical mastery of weaponry and close-range combat. In a word, his trainers said he was “fearless.” The most intriguing part of the new China was peeling back the layers on the façade presented to the world versus the truth. No one was whom he appeared to be.
“They’ve been separated for so long that I doubt she even remembers her Mother. Of course, with her fame, it was difficult to keep the news off the wires and the web. But we did it Comrade sir.”
“Our drones are ready. They simply need the codes. This will change the balance of power for the entire world. To have the ability to control weapons from space is a dr
eam of the Committee. We were almost there with Sying’s information; then the intelligence was destroyed.”
“We are almost in Comrade Liu. I am awaiting news from Washington in the next 48 hours. We will be successful.” Chen saluted and left the room.
Politics, Liu sighed. All I want is that China takes her rightful place as the world’s foremost superpower! We must prevail.
40
Las Vegas, NV
“LISTEN UP. We might need to split up when we arrive in Washington. My sources say there are two people we need to watch. One is Josh and the second, his contact at the Chinese Embassy.”
“Has Washington got anything more to add? Do they know where the meet will be?” Zach inhaled his Grande Caramel Latte and grilled cheese sandwich. Maggie looked at him scornfully.
“What’s wrong Zach? You look orgasmic. My gourmet cooking isn’t good enough for you?”
“Nah, I always eat junk when I’m thinking.” Laughing, the tension broke in the group.
“Look, here’s what we’ve been able to figure out. There’s more than one player in this game. Nothing is what it appears. Or should I say that the smoke and mirrors are so smoky, no one knows who is working for whom and what exactly they’re after. I have my own ideas since the briefing I’ve had from DARPA.” Luke licked the croissant crumbs from his finger.
RB spoke up. “Brace yourselves. I’ve been saving this until I could connect the dots. I’ve heard Sying’s name thrown around on the chatter we’ve analyzed between Singapore and Hong Kong. Why would she be involved, Luke? One message we deciphered today mentioned El Guapo.”