This was not good.
“Breathe,” Kwon whispered in her ear. “I will answer all questions unless they direct them specifically to you in English.”
Harper kept her eyes forward and whispered back, “They’re spending more time with each passenger. They’re scrutinizing their documents, too. Before, they were just walking through the screening machine.”
They were almost to the front of the line. Two of the screeners began to assess Harper and Kwon. They leaned into one another and nodded toward her. Harper took a deep breath and exhaled, forcing the front of her mask away from her face like a balloon expanding. She reached up and adjusted it to let in some fresh air, as she suddenly felt claustrophobic.
Kwon uncharacteristically made physical contact with her. He reached for her hand and squeezed it. She made eye contact with him. His piercing dark eyes looked deep into her soul, imploring her to relax. Harper didn’t want to disappoint him. She was trying not to derail their mission before it even started.
First Kwon and then Harper passed through the scanner. There were no alarms sounded, as they had packed all of their belongings in their luggage. The person manning the luggage scanner took an inordinate amount of time studying their duffle bags. Then Harper’s heart jumped in her throat.
“You, step aside for special screening,” ordered one of the security agents in Chinese.
Kwon gently took Harper by the arm and pulled her aside. She nervously followed his lead and then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw their bags pushed forward along the conveyer belt. However, the security personnel held up the rest of the passengers while they focused on Harper and Kwon.
Two of them now stood face-to-face with the Americans. They were giving orders to Kwon in Chinese, and as he received them, he told Harper to do as he instructed. Another security guard appeared and took their bags off the conveyer belt and set them on a stainless-steel table. He began to rifle through their belongings.
“Papers! Papers!” the security agent demanded.
Kwon responded politely and pointed toward their duffle bags.
They waved the electromagnetic wands in search of any metal hidden in their clothing. The Chinese had also developed the ability to identify traces of gases emitted by explosives residue.
Harper began to sweat. Her palms were sweaty. Her breathing had become more rapid. Keep it together, she told herself. All eyes of the three security personnel were on her now. One of them had her documents in his hand. He handed them to the other guard, who held them up to compare Harper’s face with the passport.
The lead guard reached for a portable radio nestled in his utility belt. Harper closed her eyes for a moment, as she presumed their true identities had been discovered. And then alarms began to sound.
From the far end of the security checkpoint, the high shrill beeping and flashing lights indicating a breach in the secured area was causing the passengers standing in line to cover their ears. Other security guards began shouting and waving their arms as the alarms screamed throughout the concourse.
The guards scrutinizing Harper’s documents shoved them into her bag. The trio ran toward the alarms and lights, as did several other security personnel.
Kwon forcefully grabbed Harper by the arm. “Let’s go. They can only help us so long.”
“Who?” she asked, turning around to look for an answer on her own.
“Probably the agency. The timing was too perfect. Hurry!”
They walked quickly toward their bags, stuffed everything spread out on the table inside, and slung the straps over their shoulders. They separated, with Kwon hanging back while Harper walked briskly up the concourse until she reached the long moving walkway.
I can do this.
Harper kicked herself in the pants. After there were a dozen people between her and anyone who might have been trailing her, she rested her bag on the moving handrail to retrieve a light jacket from her luggage. She quickly slipped it on. Then she whipped her hair into a ponytail, pulled out a solid white Ralph Lauren Polo cap, and placed it on her head with the ponytail pushed through the back clasp. Finally, she changed her mask from dark blue to light blue.
This was a risk, but a calculated one. At this point, she presumed all security personnel were concerned with the breach at the checkpoint, but the eyes in the sky, as she called them, were still monitoring passenger movement. Until she reached the gate, she’d change identities. Then, at boarding time, she’d switch back.
All of these crafty maneuvers might have been unnecessary, but to Harper, she felt the need to do something. In the moment, it changed her level of confidence. She was no longer an out-of-place epidemiologist. She was playing the part of an undercover detective in search of a killer. Most importantly, she believed in herself.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Underground Great Wall
Urumqi, Xinjiang, China
Fangyu had just created the final post to social media. He’d already sent a detailed email to several news media outlets that were at least receptive to publishing dissenting opinions that ran against the official statements of state-run media. He also blasted it to hospitals and doctors’ offices throughout the two westernmost autonomous regions of China.
After a day of searching for their financial benefactor, many of the students and citizen journalists had returned to the karez disheartened. Most were hungry and needed rest. Fangyu thought they needed a reason to lift their spirits.
They were in an intense information war with the Communist Party. The battle would not be won with bullets or bombs. It would be won by the dissemination of ideas and suppressed information. He approached his uncle and asked him to read his open letter aloud.
After gathering everyone around the center of the karez, Dr. Zeng picked up the paper with his handwritten statement. He began by reading the title aloud.
“Why I must disturb the sound of silence.
“My name is Dr. Zeng Qi. I was formerly a physician and professor at First Affiliated Hospital in Urumqi. With this post, I am suppressing my apprehension and fearfulness. I am speaking because others must remain silent. My words are whispered, but they will be shouted by many. And when they are, I fully expect that I, and even my family, will face harsh punishments from those who stifle dissent. Yet I may no longer stay silent.
“For many decades, China has been the origin of viral disease outbreaks that, when not contained, can be transmitted around the globe. A decade ago, a novel virus, labeled COVID-19, began as an outbreak in Wuhan and soon spread to nearly every nation.
“Physicians like myself knew it was highly likely a disease of its kind would arise. We warned our government of this fact, and we were ignored. When it happened, the Party instinctively organized a cover-up, ordering the police to crack down on physicians who were accused of improperly trying to alert others of the risks. Party news programs repeatedly denounced us as rumormongers and condemned us for hating our country. This, of course, was not true.
“Now we face a similar catastrophe. There is a new disease. It’s one that is so unique, so novel, that it is nearly impossible to define it. Until now, it is a virus that has outsmarted me and others who’ve tried to identify it. Let me explain.
“It cripples the body’s immune system in a manner similar to HIV/AIDs, attaching to white blood cells. This, in turn, triggers a cytokine storm just as we witnessed during the avian influenza outbreak. Like H5N1, this new disease results in uncontrolled inflammatory cytokines, which target the human respiratory system and then other internal organs, leading to sudden failure.