Dylan Ting rang from a gas station near Williamsburg on the way to Cape Hatteras.
“Can’t talk for long,” he whispered to Mitch. “We’re about three hours away. Ru has given me a brief on the mission, can you believe what they’re doing?” Dylan asked but didn’t wait for a response. “I’ve enthusiastically added my support to it—like I had any option, he’d have to kill me otherwise I imagine. Anyway, he told me I’m to go out with Froggy to help in case the VIP panics. So I’m guessing that I’ll be sent back to shore once the VIP is gone, but if he panics I don’t know what that means for me. If you guys are going to be there closing that down, will I get caught in the crossfire?”
“There will be no firing if it goes to plan. Dylan, here’s what we are going to do.” Mitch explained the plan. “Just follow your part and ignore all other distractions, alright?”
“Got it. What if …” Dylan continued.
“Just do your part,” Mitch shut him down, “we’ll have your covered. Remember, you want to be one of them, you want to be on their team and you are ready to make something of your life.”
“Right,” Dylan whispered.
“Has he told you who the VIP is?” Mitch asked.
“No, he said that would be a wonderful surprise tonight. I pretended not to know of course,” Dylan said. “He’d die if he knew I was taking photos of the VIP leaving with William this morning.”
“Be careful with your aliases, it can be hard to remember who knows what,” Mitch said.
“Mitch, I found out something … I overhead it.”
“What?” Mitch asked.
“The four policemen … I found out how they got rid of them,” Dylan said. “The four men shared a ride to the airport, but the car that was sent for them didn’t drop them to the front of the airport, it took them around the back. They were killed, packaged and put in the luggage hold and flown into the States. They were collected later and put in that container storage that’s going to be dumped at sea next week.”
“And Danny Huang and his team took their places and checked in, while the police officers were below, dead in cargo,” Mitch said.
“Yes,” Dylan confirmed. “I’ve got to go.”
“Dylan, will you be all right?” Mitch asked. “Because tell me right now if you can’t do this and I’ll pull you.”
“Yeah, of course I can do it, I’m good. I’ve got to go, but thanks Mitch, for—you know …” Dylan said.
“See you tomorrow after the lift.” Mitch hung up.
He looked at Nick and Ellen. “He’s freaked out.”
“It’s risky,” Ellen said, “and this is way out of his league.”
“Everyone has a first mission,” Mitch said, “but yeah, his first one is pretty full on.”
Dylan Ting sat in the passenger seat as Ru drove the hired sedan to Cape Hatteras. They spoke comfortably in Mandarin.
“Last time I drove down this way with Danny, he didn’t say one word the whole six hours,” Ru said.
Dylan laughed. “Good grief. I like my own thinking time, but that’s extreme.”
“Yeah. The first hour was tough and then I just fell into it. It’s kind of a test with Danny—everything is. If I had spoken he would have seen it as disobedience or a sign of weakness.”
“He seems so composed,” Dylan agreed.
“You never really know what’s going on in his head,” Ru agreed. “So, no last minute regrets about wanting to join us?”
“No way, it’s a rush.”
“You wait until you meet the VIP, you won’t believe it,” Ru said.
“Yeah?” Dylan kept up the pretence. “I’m feeling kind of proud about being involved. I guess that sounds corny. But members of my family were radicals against the status quo in their day. I reckon my grandparents are looking down feeling pretty proud about now too.” Dylan looked to Ru. “My life has been nothing but indulgent. I work to earn, I earn and buy, I want more. Then what?”
“You could have a family,” Ru said.
Dylan shrugged. “Sure, and then a mortgage and school fees and live the great American dream. But what am I giving back? How am I changing the world? I’m just adding to it. This, your team, it is the only time I have felt motivated. I feel like I’ve found a purpose. Does that sound lame?”
“Not at all,” Ru said with sincerity. “My family is proud of me for standing up and acting on my beliefs.”
“They know?” Dylan asked.
“Of course. My father inspired me to be involved. We are a great nation, we are not just here to produce cheap goods for the Western world. Our history, our …” Ru stopped. “Sorry, I get a bit carried away.”
“I get it! It’s great to actually feel passionate about something, to feel anything really,” Dylan agreed, pleased that he had the chance to reinforce his commitment.
They drove for a while in silence.
“It’s pretty, this part of your world,” Ru said.
Dylan looked around. “Yeah, when I was a kid we came down this way a couple of times for holidays. It’s packed in summer. So what did you do for holidays when you were a kid?”
Ru grinned. “I worked. Dad and Mom own a stall in the markets so I was the runner. But it’s the festivals that are the best when you’re a kid at home.”
“Like Thanksgiving?” Dylan asked.
“Sort of.” Ru merged onto the Interstate 64 West and followed the sign. “My favorite was the Lantern Festival. We’d all go out with lanterns and there was no curfew. It’s a night for match-making and I had a girl in mind.”
“Oh yeah?” Dylan turned to the handsome young Asian man, who looked like he was fresh from school. “Are you still with her?”
“We’re engaged,” Ru said. “Her name is Lan, which means orchid. She’s a teacher now.”
“So did you propose on lantern night?” Dylan asked.
“I proposed a lot of times, but I had to talk with her parents and my parents and arrange it and get permission. The Lantern Festival is all about finding love.”
“Well congratulations. If Lan means orchid, what does the name Ru mean?” Dylan asked.
“Ru? It means scholar, more or less,” Ru said. “What’s Dylan mean?”
“Nothing. Mom just liked it.”
The two men laughed. Dylan Ting glanced at Ru, knowing that the young man would probably never see his fiancée again—or else he’d be an old man when he did, and her life would have gone by without him.