I saw the president at the top, Chen Ju-Long, and the name registered with me, but I couldn’t figure out why. I said, “You recognize that name?”
“No, should I?”
“No. I guess not. But I’ve heard it before.”
It tickled my brain, like a piece of meat between my teeth, my tongue worrying it over and over trying to break it free.
Chapter 41
Chen Ju-Long exited the ferry at Darling Harbour next to the Sydney Aquarium and began walking inland, checking his watch. He didn’t have far to go, but he most certainly didn’t want to be late. He was sure he was about to be excoriated for Bobcat’s idiocy, and yet he was just the cleanup crew. He didn’t run Bobcat. He just policed the mess.
And the mess was big indeed.
He walked swiftly through Sydney’s business district, ignoring the professionals out and about, cutting into the mall inside the Queen Victoria Building. He’d planned enough time to identify surveillance targeted against him, and used the building to do so.
He went to the second floor, bought a coffee at a local stand, and took a seat, watching the escalators that led to his level.
He didn’t see anything that spiked. He waited a few more minutes, then went back down the escalator, exiting the building on the southern side, not where he’d entered.
He continued up George Street, not paying any particular attention to his backtrail, and reached Hay Street. He walked straight north, crossing Hay Street and going under the ornate paifang arch of Sydney’s Chinatown. He went a block and stopped outside of a karaoke bar called Destiny. He checked his watch, saw he was within the window, and entered.
The venue was closed at this time, but that didn’t matter to him. He ignored the velvet rope blocking access to a stairwell and went up, exiting into a garish bar area, full of neon, mirrors, and chrome, with a large stage to the left, microphones empty and televisions off, the lighting muted and dark. An Asian woman was behind the bar, cleaning glasses. She saw him and left, going into the kitchen in the back.
He went right, down a hallway to the private rooms, and saw a fit man in a business suit standing outside a door. The man nodded at him, opened the door, and said something. Chen waited, and then was waved forward.
He entered, finding the small room ringed with a couch that wound its way around the walls to a television screen and a microphone stand. Interspersed at intervals were cocktail tables. Behind one table in the rear was his control, a wizened older man with a drooping white mustache. The man pointed to the cushion on his right, saying, “Have a seat.”
Chen did so, waiting. Control said, “So I understand there have been complications.”
“Yes, sir. More than I expected.”
“Your earlier report mentioned a possible compromise, but you had it under control. Now you say that it is not under control?”
“Not yet. I still believe my original estimate that he’s just a computer engineer, but we’ve had a confluence of events. The same day we attempted to eliminate him, a friend of his showed up here for vacation. That man is more dangerous, but still within the scope of our capabilities. I intend to have this settled by tomorrow on favorable terms to us.”
The old man nodded, then said, “You will kill them both?”
“That is my hope, but the primary problem is Clifford, not the other one. If we eliminate him, the other man will know something has happened, but he really can’t affect our operation. Even if he went to the police—which he seems disinclined to do right now—he will not have any concrete evidence to break our operations.”
“He has concrete evidence to break open your company. Didn’t you say the man in the park lost his passport? Which is directly tied to your cover company?”
“Yes, but that company was made for this mission. If we have to burn it, we do so. We’ll all be off this continent by then, and the friend won’t be able to break open the actual operation.”
“Can your men accomplish the mission here without you?”
Taken by surprise, Chen said, “Possibly. Why?”
“I met this Jake Shu—Bobcat—in Brisbane. He might be a genius with computers, but he’s an idiot when it comes to tradecraft. A walking barrel of mistakes. I would like you to take over the northern portion of the operation to ensure there are no mistakes. Deal with any unforeseen problems that might occur, like you did here.”
Chen was genuinely surprised. He had assumed he was to be chastised for the way things had escalated here, not praised.
“Yes, sir, I can do that. Can I bring Zhi with me?”
“Is it necessary?”
“I might need a female touch. It gives me options. Options that aren’t needed here anymore.”
Left unsaid was Chen’s worry that if she remained behind, she might do something catastrophic during tomorrow’s operations, like she had the night before—or, worst case, she might convince the team here to let the girl, Nicole, go.
“So be it.”
They sat in silence for a moment, then Chen said, “When would you like me to leave?”
“Immediately.”
“As in flying?”
“No. Trains only. I don’t want your name tainted on a manifest to Cairns if you fail to kill both men.”
Chen stood, saying, “Then I’d better leave. I need to ensure the plan is in place before I go.”
His control nodded and said, “Don’t let me down.”
“I won’t, sir. They have managed to screw up a simple transfer through luck, not skill. They are about to see the difference.”
Chapter 42
We boarded the ferry with our tickets, nobody saying a word in the line to the gangway, not wanting the people in front and behind to hear anything. Once inside, we went to the small upper deck at the front of the boat, standing near the rails, away from the larger seating inside, and Dunkin began whining again about the timeline.
“Pike, you should have brought your weapons. If we get there and see it’s only guarded by one guy, we could hit it today. With any luck, it’ll be easy.”
Knuckles said, “We don’t deal in luck. We deal in skill. Please, before I punch you in the mouth or throw you off of this boat, shut the hell up. I’m sick of hearing it.”
He cowered and sat down. Brett sat next to him and said, “Actually, I deal in lead, friend.”
When Dunkin just looked at him stupidly, Brett turned to us and said, “Do none of you recognize a good movie quote when you hear it?”
I chuckled and said, “Dunkin, trust us. Nicole is coming home. Don’t push anything. Just like in the Taskforce, your skill is here to enhance ours. And we do deal in lead.”
He nodded and we rode the rest of the way in silence, Dunkin occasionally glancing at Veep for support, as they’d bonded a little bit on their separate mission.
Veep had surprised me, because I was sure that townhouse was radioactive, but it turned out the police had vacated, leaving nothing but tape behind, and Veep had managed to penetrate the house through the roof access using a key provided by Dunkin. He hadn’t even had to pick the lock. He was in and out in thirty seconds, finding the small pen-test kit that apparently all computer geeks carried around.