“Double what you received for the video.”
Jerry stood and looked at his actual boss, Yuan Bo. “Now?”
Yuan nodded, and Jerry left the room, going to his workstation. He booted it up, then glanced surreptitiously behind him in the darkened room. He was the only one working. Through the window, he could see Yuan talking to Han, and realized this would be the only chance he had to contact his company.
He pulled up his secret embedded VPN app and sent a message, waiting on the bikini-clad woman to appear. She did so within seconds, and a chat window opened.
He typed:
—What is the urgency here? I had to come to the office at night.
He made no mention of the fact that he had been involuntarily recalled.
The screen bubbled for a minute, then he saw:
—Did you create those videos in Taiwan?
—Why would you ask that?
—We’re being strong-armed by the US Gov. They’re throwing around words like ‘espionage’ and ‘treason’—because of our contracts with China. We took a look at the videos, and your fingerprints are all over them.
Jerry felt a hot flash race through his body, his forehead breaking out in sweat. He typed:
—I told you I had nothing to do with them. Why are you working with the US Gov?
—Because they are bringing the heat. No offense, but this company is bigger than just you. We have shareholders and a board and you are putting it all in jeopardy.
And Jerry realized that in coming to China he had relinquished his power as CEO. He was losing control.
—What is the next step?
—They want our evaluation. We haven’t given it yet, but they’re going to ask again. And they aren’t going to ask nicely. They have the ability to put us out of business for good. Nobody will work with us if they give us a blacklist.
Jerry thought for a second, then typed:
—Hold off on that. Give them some technical reason to stall. I’m working on something here.
—What?
—I’m honestly not sure, but it might be something that makes the videos moot. If it works, the US Gov won’t be worrying about our company.
—You better be right. Don’t dig a deeper hole. I’ll do what I can.
And that was the crux of his dilemma, but Jerry Tribble had no other choice. Han’s money no longer mattered, and if it was a deeper hole, it wouldn’t matter when those videos were analyzed. Jerry was now working to ensure Han’s success for his own survival.
Chapter 79
Chen Ju-Long took a sip of his tea inside the Huaxi Street market, the workers getting ready for another night. It was only noon, but the place was starting to bustle with people preparing. He watched them passing back and forth, bringing in propane, crates of drinks, and other goods, all of them desperately attempting to regain the glory of the market’s past. But that was long gone, leaving in its place a sad reminder of what the snake market had once been.
The alley was littered with refuse and homeless people looking for a place to sleep outside the glare of the police. Chen spent most of his time waving off one or another asking for money while keeping watch on one specific door to a “massage” parlor at the end of the lane. The one that was owned by the Snow Leopard.
He kept his eye on it, waiting for his partner to return—or call for assistance—and saw neither. His phone on the table vibrated, breaking him out of his focus. He picked it up, thinking he would see something from Zhi inside, and saw a blocked number. He knew who was calling.
He picked it up and said, “This is Tiger.”
“This is Control. We have a change of mission. The Triads are still on the threat to Ocelot. They missed him last night, but he checked into a hotel with a personal credit card. They’re on him now, so delay the mission against the Snow Leopard until that target is complete.”
Incredulous, Chen said, “I know where he is. I directed the team you sent me from Tainan against the target this morning. What are you telling me? What do you mean, the Triads are still on him? I’m about to execute that target, and I’m now going to be fighting with other assets? You gave me the mission and I’m executing. Who’s running the other side of this?”
He heard a cold voice come back. “The Snow Leopard, which is why you can’t execute the mission against him. Let it play out, and then complete the mission.”
“You’re too late on that. I’m already executing.”
“What?”
“I have the team against the Ocelot threat, and I have Zhi against the Leopard.”
“Pull her out.”
“I can’t. I have no comms with her. She was searched when she went in. She’s in there now.”
He heard muffled shouting on the phone, his control giving orders to someone in the room, then the voice returned. “Get in there and turn her off.”
Chen saw the door to the massage parlor fly open, then a man stumble out, his shirt red from a wound to his neck. Zhi appeared behind him, grabbed him by the collar, and jerked him back inside.
Chen knew how that would end. He said, “It’s too late. Too late.”
“Why is it too late? Call her off.”
Zhi exited the doorway of the massage parlor, sucking her middle finger like it was a Popsicle, a thin trace of blood running down her cheek.
Chen sighed and said, “It’s done. Leopard is dead.”
He heard nothing from the phone. Zhi approached him, a look of pride on her face. He pointed to a chair, and she sat, expectantly waiting.
Control said, “Are you sure?”
Chen glanced at Zhi and saw the trickle of blood on her cheek. He pointed at his cheek, and she wiped her own clean. He didn’t even bother to ask her. “Yes. He’s dead.”
There was a pause while Control determined the damage. He said, “Then nothing remains now but to protect Ocelot. MANTIS must go tomorrow.”
Chen heard the phone disconnect and put his own away, saying to Zhi, “Any complications?”
Zhi gave him a smile full of teeth, the ring of her upper gums red from her makeshift Popsicle. She said, “No. They’re all dead.”
He closed his eyes, wondering about her mental state.
He said, “We have another target.”
Chapter 80
I opened the door to see Paul Kao glancing nervously to the left and right. I stood aside and said, “Come on in.”
He entered and I said, “You look like you’re still afraid of the boogeyman.”
He grimaced. “You didn’t really pick an inconspicuous place to stay. In the past, this hotel was ground zero for spies here in Taiwan.”
I flicked my eyes to Jennifer and saw her return to the computer, her face turning a slight shade of red. I’d always left it up to her to pick our place to stay, and because she’s a die-hard history buff, she’d settled on the Grand Hotel in Taipei.
Built like a temple palace, it was once the centerpiece for Chiang Kai-Shek’s new government in the fifties, after he was forced to flee mainland China, and was originally used solely to house diplomats and distinguished visitors from abroad. Created as part of Chiang Kai-Shek’s bid to win the information war against Mao Tse-Tung as to who made up the rightful government of China, in the fifties and sixties it had housed multiple world leaders, from President Eisenhower to the king of Saudi Arabia.