Beijing, a week later
‘Lai!’ Rong yelled through the open door to his office.
‘Shi, laoban?’ his deputy rushed in.
Laoban. It sounded good.
‘Have the Range Rovers arrived?’
‘This week, xiangsheng.’
The president had appointed Jimmy Rong as the MSS boss the night Hsu was killed. The former deputy had blamed the rebels for the assassination and ordered his staff to stay silent about the Americans. It wouldn’t look good for the agency that a foreign outfit had entered the country and had killed one of the most powerful men in China.
One of Rong’s first acts had been to replace the BMW fleet. He had gone with Range Rovers, to stamp his authority and show he was different from his predecessor.
‘The newspapers, laoban.’ Lai placed a bunch of them on his desk and departed with a bow.
That was a new practice, too. The MSS chief read the world’s dailies every day. It was as much for show as for learning how other countries covered China.
Rong reached for the New York Times and unfolded it.
‘LAI!’ he shrieked when he read the headline.
‘What, laoban?’ His deputy came rushing.
‘THIS …’ The MSS chief turned the newspaper around for him. ‘THAT’S NOT A REAL HEADLINE. WHERE DID YOU PICK THIS UP?’
‘Where all the newspapers are delivered, laoban,’ Lai frowned. ‘Downstairs. They go through a security check before I bring them up. It must be a prank.’
‘Shi,’ Rong agreed, as he put on a professional expression and dismissed his deputy. ‘It must be that.’
He sat down heavily in his chair when he was alone and hid his hands beneath the table to conceal their trembling.
His eyes returned to the headline.
WE ARE WATCHING.
The rest of the front page was filled with meaningless words.
Only one agency could pull off such a stunt.
And one man in that agency.
Carter.
Jimmy Rong felt a chill sweep through him.
New York
‘What’s that?’ Zeb joined Beth and Meghan as they placed photographs on their planning wall.
‘You don’t recognize that city?’
‘Moscow.’ He grinned at them.
They’re one step ahead of me. They knew what I was thinking.
‘Yeah,’ he agreed. ‘It’s time.’
They began the prep that day.
To take down Alexei Gorshky, head of Russia’s SVR.
