Owen Chau’s residence in Niavaran was a gated villa off Shahin. The estate agent, from whom Gayou Corporation had rented the residence, boasted that it had views of the Alborz Mountains.
That’s possible. Zeb, wearing a dirty khaki shirt and trousers, tightened the nut on a wheel and wiped his brow. He was a car mechanic, the sign on his nearby-parked van proclaimed he was from a local garage. He was on a call-out to fix the wheel on Broker’s car which had broken down near Chau’s house.
The residence was perched on top of a steep hill, the mountains visible through the gaps between various apartment buildings and houses.
The businessman’s house was flanked by two buildings on either side, each of them multiple-stories high.
‘How long?’ Broker called impatiently. His friend sat on the parapet of the winding road that curved beyond Chau’s house and disappeared over the slope.
A hot afternoon. They had moved swiftly, switched disguises and collected the vehicles after deciding to question Chau.
Interrogating the man required some knowledge of where he lived and what his security looked like, which was why he was in his mechanic get-up, all the operatives backing him up. To gather intel.
‘Not long, agha,’ Zeb bent to his task and applied more torque to the wheel nuts.
‘Be quick,’ Broker snapped. ‘I am late for several meetings.’
‘One of the guards is approaching,’ Meghan warned from inside the maintenance van. She and her sister had assembled the surveillance drone and launched it from the blind side of the vehicle that overlooked the side of the hill. Out of sight from the two men who guarded the gates of the villa, using the trees and a long, passing truck as cover.
‘Hey, you,’ the armed guard came close to Zeb. ‘You are blocking traffic.’
‘Not really, agha. There’s enough space for one vehicle to pass.’
‘This road is for two cars.’
‘What do you want me to do?’ Zeb got to his feet angrily. ‘Did I make this car break down? I am working as hard as I can.’ He pointed a greasy finger at Broker who was thumbing through his phone. ‘Ask him why he doesn’t service his car regularly. I am just the mechanic.’
‘Our boss will be coming in an hour. We need the road to be clear by then.’
‘Why?’ Zeb taunted him. ‘Is he the president?’
‘Just do your job,’ the guard retorted, looked up and down the street and hustled back to the gates.
‘Those two are rent-a-cops from a local company. Well-reputed. They provide security to celebrities, politicians.’ Beth announced in their earpieces. ‘Their guards are ex-military or former cops.’
‘Inside is a different story,’ Meghan cut in. ‘We can see at least six guards. Two patrolling in the front, two at the rear … look at that,’ she whistled.
‘How can we, when we’re stuck here,’ Bwana grumbled. He and Roger were in another vehicle, on the downslope, beyond Zeb, keeping watch for any police vehicle while Bear and Chloe were similarly occupied on the upslope, on the approach to the residence.
‘It’s a swimming pool. Fancy. Umbrellas, a dining table, the works. A woman in it.’
Zeb’s fingers paused on the wrench. ‘His wife? She’s in China as far as we know.’
‘This one looks like a model. Not his wife for sure. Hold on, we’ll run her face through Werner.’
‘She’s a TV star,’ Beth said presently. ‘Hosts a popular reality show. Must be his girlfriend.’
Zeb resumed working on the wheel. ‘About those guards?’
‘One each on either side of the house, where those apartment buildings are. Lawn and gardens all around. Two more guards that we can see inside the house. Cameras mounted on the compound wall. Those men are all Chinese-looking. Fit. They move like they are operatives. Each of them with, Beth, are those HKs?’
‘Yeah,’ her sister replied. ‘Or Chinese rip-offs. But, Zeb, these men look like the real deal. Very capable. It wouldn’t surprise me if they were Chinese Special Forces or from some elite unit.’
Makes sense, Zeb thought as he straightened and wiped his hands on a rag. Gayou is a billion-dollar company. The Chinese government has a big stake in it. Chau is responsible for the largest part of the business. He will be well-protected.
‘Your car is ready,’ he announced.
‘Finally,’ Broker exclaimed. He pocketed his phone and hurried over. He inspected the wheel, kicked it a few times, got inside and turned the engine. It fired up. He reached inside his wallet and came out with several bills. ‘I want that back,’ he said softly in his earpiece, winked and drove away.
Zeb pocketed the bills and went to his van. Drove it where Broker’s car had been. Hopped out and opened the rear to stow his tools. As he guessed, one of the guards sauntered across and inspected the interior.
‘This is a mobile repair shop,’ he stated. He didn’t notice that the tool rack and equipment went only midway, beyond which was a concealed space in which the twins were huddled.
‘Lucky guess.’
The sentry didn’t seem to sense the sarcasm or, he chose to ignore it as he circled the vehicle and peered inside.
‘Can I take one of these?’ he pointed to a bunch of business cards on the passenger seat.
‘Help yourself,’ Zeb said. ‘Ask for me, Amal. There are other mechanics but none as good as me.’
I bet he’ll call to verify whether such a garage exists and I work there.
He mopped his forehead and drank water from a bottle. Offered it to the guard wordlessly who shook his head and returned to his post.
Chloe would handle any such calls and if any of the guards or anyone from Chau’s house required a call-out van, Roger would drive out. A back-up vehicle that the CIA had arranged for them.
Zeb climbed into his van and started writing in his diary.
‘Aren’t you going?’ the guard yelled across the road.
‘Paperwork,’ he shouted back. ‘Boss requires everything to be written down. If I miss anything, he’ll take it from my pay.’
‘How long will you be there?’
‘As long as it takes,’ he growled.
‘You’re blocking—’
‘This is a public road. Your boss does not own it. Report me to the police if you want. They know me well. I service many of the officers’ family vehicles.’
The guard swore at him but didn’t make any move.
‘Someone did call the garage,’ Chloe said in a while. ‘From Chau’s residence. Danny Liang. He complained that you were blocking the entrance to the house. I apologized and said you would drive away as soon as you had finished the job. He said it had better be soon.’
Zeb looked across the gates and the surrounding wall. At the security cameras. Liang might be the security head. If he’s good, he’ll have connections with the police, will check with them as well. It won’t get him anywhere. Amal and the garage do exist and that mechanic is known to the cops.
‘Liang is Chinese military,’ Beth cut into his musing. ‘I got his file.’
‘How?’ Bwana asked.
‘Werner. I could explain, but it would be beyond you,’ she replied sweetly. ‘Liang. He’s a captain in the Oriental Sword.’
That’s the Beijing Military Region’s Special Forces unit. Zeb held his phone up and spoke loudly into it as he checked out the photograph the younger twin had sent. A young man, clean-shaven, in uniform, looked back at him. ‘Anything on his record?’
‘Not much. He was deployed on a UN mission to protect commercial ships from Somalian pirates. Got an award for it. Rest of his file is bare.’
‘Standard for special forces around the world,’ Bear yawned in their earpieces.
Zeb nodded in agreement. They were all former Delta operatives, but for Broker, Chloe and the twins. Their files were similarly thin or heavily redacted.
‘Chau’s vehicle,’ Chloe warned an hour later.
A black SUV rolled past Zeb a few minutes later. Chinese driver and passenger in the front, both of them looking alert, their eyes lingering on the mechanic’s van for a second. He could see the shadow of two men at the back, through the dark windows.
Chau and another bodyguard.
‘You sure that’s him?’ Roger queried.
‘Yeah,’ Meghan replied. ‘We identified his ride. Gayou Corporation has it listed as a company vehicle. We’ve got photographs of their office parking lot in Abbas Abad. CIA’s got surveillance pictures too.’
The SUV’s blinkers flashed right and slowed as it turned towards the entrance. The guards straightened and snapped to attention as it nosed inside. Zeb got a glimpse of manicured garden and concrete driveway before the gates shut.
He waited for a few more moments, still yelling and gesticulating on his call and then tossed his phone on the passenger seat with an audible curse.
‘We go tonight?’ Bwana asked.
‘Yeah,’ he confirmed.
‘How?’ Roger looked up at him as he drove past their parked vehicle. ‘We don’t know much about their inside security. They might have motion sensors in the lawn.’
‘We will need three vehicles,’ he replied, recollecting newspaper reports of home invasions in the luxury homes of the city.
‘Disposable ones,’ he added.