Sunday, early morning
November 7 – 4:52 a.m. MST (1:52 a.m. HAST)
Denver, CO
Margaret’s cell phone buzzed. Trying not to wake her boyfriend, she snatched it off the bedside table and crept into the bathroom. She closed the door before looking at the phone. It was a New Mexico area code she didn’t recognize.
“Yá'at'ééh,” Margaret said hello in Navajo.
“Granddaughter, baby Ooljee is in the albini hospital,” an elderly woman’s voice said in Navajo. “Shiprock.”
“What?” Margaret asked in Navajo.
The line was dead. Margaret tapped the phone against her hand.
“What is it?”
Her boyfriend’s voice came through the door. She groaned. She’d hoped not to wake him. She opened the door and smiled at the naked form of Cian Kelly. He held out his arms and hugged her.
“What’s happened?” Cian asked.
“I received this weird call,” Margaret said. “An elderly woman called to say that Ooljee was in the hospital in Shiprock.”
“Your grandmother doesn’t speak on the phone,” Cian said. “We’ve only just gotten her to use the computer.”
“She could have paid someone to call,” Margaret said. “But . . .”
“What?” he asked.
“The woman on the phone just gave me the information,” Margaret said. “Your baby Ooljee is in the hospital in Shiprock. Fair enough. But my grandmother would say something like, ‘It pains me, my granddaughter, but your baby was as hot as the desert under the summer sun. We became afraid for her, so we took the long road to visit the white medical men at the MC in Shiprock.’”
“Sounds like her.”
“That’s how her generation talks,” Margaret said. “They take the time to paint a picture with their words. Plus, my gran would never say Ooljee’s name over any phone, for any reason.”
“Should we leave for Shiprock?” Cian asked.
“No,” Margaret said. “The LC said this weird thing. She said that they were trying to split us up and not to let them. We thought she was being paranoid, but I wonder . . . What do I have in common with Trece, Mr. Pershing, the LC, Rasmussen, and . . .”
“You’re fluent in the same languages?” Cian asked. “Do you know languages the others who are left don’t know?”
“I do,” Margaret nodded.
“Can you call the hospital to check?” Cian asked.
“I doubt it,” Margaret said. “My gran is listed as Ooljee’s guardian. I doubt I have right to find out.”
“We should wake Johnny.”
Margaret groaned and shook her head.
“We’ve been creeping around for more than a year,” Cian said.
“I heard the LC asking the Jakker if he knew who your new girlfriend was,” Margaret said. “I was very keen to hear who you were dating.”
He kissed her nose and went to put on his clothing.
“What are you doing?” Margaret asked.
“I’m going to get my little brother,” Cian said. “I bet he knows someone who works there. He can find out for us.”
“But . . .”
“Yes, then my little brother will know that I’m in love with you,” Cian said. “Are you embarrassed by me?”
“No,” Margaret said. “I thought my gran would have a fit, but you explained that the Northern Irish are very similar to the Navajo. Plus, you spent a week on the rez learning how to cook. I thought she was going to marry you after that.”
“We have a lot in common,” Cian said.
Margaret plopped on the bed.
“What’s the LC going to say?” Margaret asked.
“Alexandra will say, ‘Are you happy? Does he treat you right?’ You’ll tell her what an asshole I am. Then she’ll kill me and bury me in the backyard.”
Margaret laughed.
“Listen to your heart,” Cian said. “Is your baby ill?”
“I don’t know,” Margaret shook her head.
“Then you call your team and I’ll wake my brother,” Cian said. “Do you trust me?”
Margaret nodded.
“Let’s stop hiding,” Cian said. “I’d really like to spend my life with you.”
“Are you asking me to marry you?” Margaret smiled.
“Did that,” Cian said. “You accepted my offer because I bribed you with warm cookies. Remember?”
“I remember the cookies,” she nodded.
“Time to stop hiding.”
Margaret gave him a vague smile. He kissed her cheek and left the room. She stared at the door for a while before calling Matthew.
“Go,” Matthew said.
“You’re awake?” Margaret asked.
“I just received a call from Leena,” Matthew said. “She was informed that she was in contempt of court for not bringing her daughter to see her father.”
“To a Supermax in Maryland?” Margaret asked.
“He’s in Leavenworth,” Matthew said. “His military and his civilian sentences are running concurrently.”
“I’d kinda hoped he was in the general population in Maryland,” Margaret said.
“You and me, both,” Matthew said.
“Anyway, aren’t his parental rights terminated?”
“That’s what Leena asked. ‘I’m supposed to bring my five-year-old daughter to visit a convicted sex offender in Leavenworth?’” Matthew asked. “You can guess the response.”
“What is she going to do?” Margaret asked.
“The General has hired a lawyer friend,” Matthew said. “Hell hath no fury like the General’s lawyer friends.”
Margaret didn’t respond.
“What’s going on?” Matthew asked.
“It’s really happening,” Margaret said. “I thought the LC was nuts to think they were pulling us apart.”
“It appears that way,” Matthew said. “What happened?”
Margaret told him everything, including everything about her relationship with Cian. To her relief, Matthew only said, “So you’re here. Good. I’ll be right over.”
She set the phone down and got dressed. She was coming out of the bathroom when Cian returned with his brother. John’s striking blue eyes scanned her face.
“As a resident, I worked at a lot of hospitals on call. Alex was gone, and we needed the money,” John said.
“Okay,” Margaret said.
“He knows people at almost every hospital in the country,” Cian said.
“I work at training hospitals,” John said. “It’s very rare for someone to get a job here in Denver after training.”
“Do you know someone in Shiprock?” Margaret’s voice betrayed her desperation.
“A few, actually,” John smiled. “Come. Let’s get this sorted.”
Margaret nodded and followed the Kelly brothers down the stairs of Max’s side of the rooming house. Matthew was waiting for them in the shared dining room when they arrived downstairs.
“I’ll put the pot on,” Cian nodded to Margaret and went into the kitchen.
“I’ll make some calls,” John said.
“Great,” Margaret sat next to Matthew. “I’ll wait right here.”
John nodded to Margaret and followed Cian into the kitchen.
“Have something to say about me and Cian?” Margaret asked Matthew. “You’d better spit it out now.”
“No,” Matthew said.
“Were you surprised?”
“Alex told me you were dating,” Matthew said.
“She did?” Margaret asked. “When?”
“Uh . . . ,” Matthew squinted. “A year ago? Wait, what month is it?”
Margaret eyes narrowed while Matthew tried to work it out.
“More than a year ago,” Matthew nodded.
“Then why is she asking everyone who he’s dating?” Margaret asked.
“She probably thinks it’s about time for you to tell everyone,” Matthew shrugged. “How many times have you heard her ask?”
“Five or six,” Margaret said.
“I’ve never heard her ask anyone,” Matthew shrugged.
“You mean she’s just asking people around me?”
Matthew nodded.
“Sue Ann Joiner is right,” Margaret said. “She’s a real stinker.”
“Lieutenant Colonel Stinker,” Matthew winked. “It does have a ring to it.”
Margaret gave him a dark look.
“Ready to shift gears?” Matthew asked.
“To what?” Margaret asked.
“To figuring out why someone wants to split up the Fey Team?” Matthew asked. “Leena and her daughter are already on their way.”
Matthew nodded toward the laptop on the table.
“Yes, sir,” Margaret said and set to work.
FFFFFF
The next day
Monday afternoon
November 8 – 4:54 p.m. China Standard Time (1:54 a.m. MST)
Chongqing, China
They had arrived in China’s most populated city around two in the afternoon and were asked to wait in a small room near the tarmac. An hour later, their bags and passports were returned to them. An hour after that, their laptops were returned, and they went through another full body scan. When Max asked about their cell phones, their guards looked confused and did not respond. Almost three hours after their plane landed, they were welcomed to China and introduced to a driver who would take them into town.
“They’ve never taken our cell phones before,” Alex said under her breath when they were in the back of the limousine.
“We never gone to an execution,” Max said.
“Don’t like it,” Raz shifted uncomfortably.
Alex nodded. The limousine took the highway and sped toward downtown.
“Something is definitely going on,” Max pointed to the river surrounding the peninsula. “We’re going to the Central Politburo.”
“Don’t like it,” Raz repeated.
The limousine stopped in front of the Communist Party headquarters. Their vehicle had just come to a stop when their door opened.
“Please,” a young soldier said in accented English. “Your baggage will be taken to your hotel. Please bring your computers.”
He directed them out of the vehicle where another soldier waited. The soldiers escorted them across the sidewalk and up the concrete stairs into the large building. They reached the door, and the two soldiers saluted them. Once inside the building, they were met by a young man and woman. Wearing the official uniform of the international intelligence community, ill-fitting blue suits, the agents did not introduce themselves.
“Thank you for coming,” the young woman said in perfect American English. “We are meeting upstairs.”
She waved her hand toward a row of elevators where a crowd of people waited. The young man stepped forward to catch the first elevator that opened. He waved Alex, Raz, and Max onto the elevator. The young woman followed them in. No one else attempted to get into the elevator with them.
Alex shifted closer to Raz, and Max moved next to her. Shoulder to shoulder, they eyed the numbers above the door as the elevator rose.
“Been here before?” Raz asked in a low tone.
Max shook his head. Alex nodded.
“The Lieutenant Colonel is a friend to China,” the young man said in Mandarin.
Alex smiled. Noting the set of her shoulders, Raz knew that she was mentally preparing herself for any possible outcome. Max glanced at Raz and nodded. They had no idea where they were going or who they would meet.
They followed the young woman off the elevator. She turned right and stepped into an office labeled “Fourth Bureau” in Chinese. They were going to the Technology Bureau of the Ministry of State Security. The young woman nodded to a middle-aged woman sitting at the receptionist’s desk. The middle-aged receptionist passed out badges which stated their names, their official titles, and had photos that had been taken while they waited at the airport. Alex clipped her badge to her shirt and checked to make sure that Raz and Max had their badges. The young man came into the office just as they finished putting on their badges.
“Are they ready for us?” the young man asked in Mandarin.
“Did you allow them to use the restroom?” The receptionist’s chastising tone indicated her rank. The young man looked flustered. “Will you take them to use the facilities?”
“Thank you for your concern, ma’am,” Alex responded in Mandarin. “We were able to refresh ourselves at the airport. We are ready.”
The woman gave a slight bow. She glared at the young man, and he gestured them into the offices. When Alex got to the desk, the woman playing receptionist reached out her hand. Alex took her hand for a moment before nodding and following the young man to the back.
“What was that?” Raz asked under his breath.
“We’ve met,” Alex said.
The young man stopped at what seemed to be a conference room. He opened the door and stepped back.
“Here we go,” Max said.
He stepped into the room. Alex paused for a moment before following him in. Raz held the door for the young man and went in after him. Max and Alex waited at the door until Raz was at her side. They moved into the room together.
The head of the Ministry of State Security, China’s intelligence agency, sat at the end of the table. A man about Alex’s age sat to his right. Although his eyes were now deep brown, she could detect the faint outline of bruises left by a healing broken nose. He stood when she looked at him. A woman sat at the table across from him. Alex recognized her as the second-in-command for the MSS fifth bureau, local intelligence, in Chongqing. She nodded hello.
Two men, whose short-sleeved white shirts and pocket protectors made them look like agents from the technology bureau of the MSS, sat next to the woman. The man with the healing broken nose sat next to a man in an expensive suit. A woman, possibly his secretary or a young agent, sat just to the right and behind the man with the expensive suit. The man in the expensive suit gave a nodding bow to Max. As if he knew the man in the expensive suit, Max returned the nodding bow.
The young man guided them to three empty chairs at the end of the table.
“You may sit here,” he said in Mandarin.
“I’d prefer to stand,” Raz said in English. He gestured to his back and added, “It’s been a long flight. My back is stiff.”
“There is no danger here, Agent Rasmussen,” the head of the MSS said in clear British-accented English. “We need assistance with a matter. We believe you might be able to assist us.”
“And what would that be?” Max asked.
“It is nice to see you again, Mr. Hargreaves,” the head of the MSS said. “I had heard you were an exact twin to the Fey. I would never have believed it if I wasn’t sitting right here.”
The middle-aged woman who was playing receptionist scooted into the room. She pulled over a seat to sit between the head of the MSS and the woman from local intelligence. As if on cue, the young woman who’d met them came in with two pots of tea. She set a pot of tea in front of Alex, Max, and Raz. Knowing the Chinese would receive their tea in the order of their importance, Alex waited to pour the tea until the Chinese were done.
The head of MSS, of course, was served first. The man with the broken nose was served next, and then the woman who had pretended to be the receptionist. The man in the expensive suit received his tea before the agents from the technology bureau. The young woman sitting next to the man with the expensive suit received her tea last. When tea had been distributed among the Chinese agents, Alex poured Max and Raz a cup of tea before pouring for herself. The room was silent while everyone drank their tea.
The head of the MSS cleared his throat and sat up straighter. He nodded to the man with the broken nose.
“Would you mind if we skip introductions?” the man with the broken nose asked in English. “We’d only offend you with false names.”
“Does save time,” Max said.
They had agreed that Max would take the lead in the meeting. As a representative of the US secretary of state, he had more authority in China than Alex or Raz.
“We knew you’d understand,” the man with the broken nose said. “If it is all right with you, we will conduct this meeting in Mandarin. I am aware that although Agent Rasmussen has made an impressive attempt at pretending not to understand Mandarin, you speak it fluently.”
“That will be fine,” Max said in Mandarin.
Alex leaned back in her chair and waited. She caught a nervous look pass between the technology agents. The young woman near them took out a computer tablet and began taking notes with a light pen. The technology agent closest to them took a plastic box out from his bag and set it on the table.
“What is this?” the technology agent asked in Mandarin.
The box was made out of a paper-thin plastic. The top appeared to be hermetically sealed to the box with silicone. There was a small winged object inside.
“A plastic box?” Max responded.
The technology agent glanced at the head of the MSS, who gave a curt nod. The technology agent took a plastic wrapped sterile knife from the pocket of his shirt. He picked up the box and pressed the sterile knife through the plastic wrapping. He used the knife to break the seal on the box. He carefully pulled off the top and slid the box in their direction. Max picked up the box to look inside. He passed the box to Alex.
Alex looked at the head of the MSS, the man with the broken nose, and the middle-aged women sitting next to the head of the MSS before looking into the box.
A nanodrone sat inside the box.