Jian Hsu was in a bad mood.
He had ranted and raged the previous night, when he had learned that Carter not only escaped from Zhenzhi but also killed two of his men in Chongwenmen.
‘How many dead in less than twenty-four hours?’ he yelled at Rong when his deputy came to his office.
‘Four, laoban. Two of them at Zhenzhi.’
‘Those two … they have been with me forever. They have protected me, and now they gave their lives for me.’
‘Shi, laoban. I know.’
‘You know? Then why aren’t you doing anything? WHERE IS CARTER?’
‘He’s out there, somewhere.’
‘DON’T I KNOW THAT? WHY HAVEN’T YOU CAPTURED HIM?’
‘YOU’VE KNOWN HIM LONGER THAN ME,’ Rong roared back angrily. ‘DID YOU THINK IT WOULD BE THAT EASY? WE HAVE THROWN EVERY MSS RESOURCE AT FINDING HIM. WE WILL! HE CAN’T ESCAPE FOREVER.’
Hsu stared at his deputy’s furious face in astonishment. No one had ever dared respond to him in that manner. He chuckled ruefully as his anger abated. Shi, Jimmy Rong was turning out to be a great MSS deputy. He would be a good chief one day.
‘Sit down,’ he ordered. ‘We can’t get angry at each other.’
‘I’m sorry, laoban—’
The MSS head cut his apology off with a hand wave. ‘We came close yesterday, but Carter was better prepared. Why didn’t we search the street for those flash-bangs and smoke grenades?’
‘I thought of it, laoban, but I guessed he would be watching. If we had found those devices, he would have called off the attack and we would have lost even that slim chance. We shouldn’t be so disheartened, laoban. We came very close to getting him.’
‘Are you sure that man was him?’
‘Yes, laoban. In another face mask. I got our artist to draw him up and have circulated the image, but—’
‘He’ll be wearing another disguise.’
‘Shi, laoban. I am more disappointed in what went down at Chongwenmen. There were six of our men and that one American.’
‘Bwana.’
‘Shi, him. He killed our men bare-handed. No guns, just with punches and blows. Our agents say they never saw anything like it.’
‘They failed.’
‘Shi, laoban, and they will be punished. I am transferring them to a labor camp on the Uzbekistan border.’
‘This traitor Wang Hua … did you get anything from him?’
‘He gave us a number to the cell leader, but that phone is dead.’
‘What’s his name?’
‘Dai Qiang. We are watching everyone with that name … but I think the activist has gone underground. All the people on our radar don’t fit the rebel profile.’
‘That’s how Zhao has survived,’ Hsu said bitterly. ‘All the activists might be using their real names, but they have erased all records. It’s as if they don’t exist.’
‘Shi.’
‘What about the cameras at Zhenzhi? Did you get anything there? They—’
‘Only a few of them were working, laoban. They had the wrong angles, unfortunately.’
‘What about the others?’
‘Our technicians say they were damaged by an EMP blast.’
Hsu stared at him. ‘EMP? How did he set this up so quickly?’
‘It wasn’t difficult. I worked it out. Once Wang Hua leaked out the meeting, all they had to do was place those bombs. Anyone could have walked down the road and taken out the cameras with a handheld EMP blaster or gun.’
‘We know this for sure,’ the MSS boss said heavily, ‘Carter and Zhao are in contact.’
‘Shi, laoban. Unfortunately, we don’t have any more informers within the rebels.’
‘Question everyone at the Commission of Transport,’ Hsu ordered. ‘Find out who Wang Hua hung out with. Interrogate everyone in his building. Dai Qiang might not be the only rebel he knows. What about his computer and phone?’
‘Our technicians are going through it.’
‘Good.’ Hsu eyes turned mean. ‘And kill his family in Henan. We have to send a message to these rebels.’
‘Shi, laoban. Shall we set another trap for Carter?’
‘No. He’ll be wary. Let’s wait for some time. We have to prepare for our JSLC trip in any case. I see you took care of the newspapers and the media.’
‘I called every one of them and threatened the producers. If they covered the events at Zhenzhi and Chongwenmen, they would be in trouble. I also got our people to shut down the social media accounts of people who reported them.’
‘Good. I have a meeting with the president later today. I’ve already received several calls from the Minister for Public Security. I told him the jingcha are investigating.’
‘Tell everyone Carter is in the country, laoban.’
‘No, that will make us look weak.’
‘Blame it on the rebels, in that case. That story will go down well. That they tried to kidnap you.’
‘That’s it.’ Hsu snapped his fingers. ‘That’s the story I’ll go with. Go, check out Wang’s associates.’
He brooded for several moments once his deputy left. Rong’s idea is great. Everyone will buy it.
His smile faded as he thought of Carter. He looked out of the window instinctively, toward Tiananmen Square.
He’s there, somewhere. He won’t give up.
Neither will I. He clenched his fist. I will get him.
‘I spoke to Zhao. She’s checked with Gao Ling. He’s a go for us. He’ll drive us to the drop-off point outside Jiuquan.’
Zeb grunted in acknowledgment as he shuffled slowly on Zhenzhi Road. He gaped as if astonished at the presence of the police and nodded meekly when one of the jingcha snapped at him to get moving.
‘What happened, xiangsheng?’ he asked politely.
‘It’s those rebels,’ the officer snarled. ‘They tried to kidnap a VIP yesterday.’
‘Tried? Did they succeed?’
‘No.’
‘They should not be allowed to get away. Did you capture anyone?’
‘No, they escaped. Move! This isn’t a tourist site.’
Zeb nodded and went down the barricaded sidewalk. He glanced down the alley, which was filled with more cops, some of them cleaning blood off the ground.
Is Rong here?
He searched the throng of officials but couldn’t find the deputy. He went to the café and found a seat after ordering his drink. Watched the screen-mounted TV, which was playing the previous night’s coverage on repeat.
‘They’re blaming it on Zhao.’
‘Yeah,’ Bwana agreed. ‘What’s that background noise? Where are you?’
Zeb grimaced when he realized he had spoken aloud and in his collar mic.
‘You’re on Zhenzhi, aren’t you?’ Beth guessed quickly. ‘You told us to check out our gear, stay in our rooms,’ her voice rose, ‘but you’re out and about? Why are you there?’
‘He wants to see if Rong shows up,’ her sister said coldly. ‘No other explanation for it.’
‘Yeah,’ he admitted. ‘I need to watch him for some time, pick up some mannerisms—’
‘You can’t impersonate him. We won’t allow it,’ Broker cut him off firmly. ‘In any case, we’re going to take out Hsu in Jiuquan.’
‘We need a backup strategy.’
‘We won’t. All we need to confirm is whether that visit is genuine. Which we can once we question Ma Xiaoping.’
‘Yeah, Zeb,’ Chloe joined in. ‘Going as Rong is out of the question.’
He raised his hands in surrender. ‘Alright, I’m out of here. Meg, how did Zhao react to the news?’
‘She wasn’t surprised. She said the government has been blaming the activists for every protest.’
‘Some good news,’ her sister interjected. ‘Zhao’s people located Wang Hua’s family in Henan. They have taken them away to a safe house.’
‘How big is it? His family?’
‘Parents, wife and young daughter.’
Who’ll never see her father again, Zeb thought bleakly. He finished his drink and left the café with the same resolution Jian Hsu had made.
I’ll get him.