A light fog of toxic dust rolled through Guangzhou’s central district with silt so fine that only a few people donned their surgical masks. Violet’s driver opened her door and offered a hand.
“Umbrella.” she said.
She had no intention of ruining her Akris pantsuit in the pollution. The driver returned a second later with the covering fully extended. She rose, felt her leg shift and limped forward. The designer leg had more style, and gave her the option of wearing her Rupert Sanderson pumps, but it slipped too often. She would have words with the technician who’d fitted her.
Ed Cummings called as she walked to the tower under the canopy.
“What the hell did you do, Violet?” Cummings asked.
“What are you talking about?” She pushed through the revolving door while her driver loped back to the limo.
“I didn’t give you the Velox contact for this,” Ed said.
“Don’t talk to me in riddles. What’s going on?”
“Look up the Post’s website.”
Violet clicked off and pulled up the site on her phone. She scanned the short update: Pia Sabel attacked, one dead, four in custody, the sleepy Washington suburb of Potomac, MD shocked.
She called Cummings back.
“How could you possibly think I had anything to do with this?” The elevator doors opened on her floor.
“I gave you Kasey’s phone number.” Cummings said. “It’s being treated like a terrorist attack. This better not come back to me.”
“Verratti,” she said. “I gave him an earful about failure. He must have overreacted.”
“Marcus wouldn’t … would he?”
“I didn’t do it. Did you?” She steamed through her executive reception area.
“On another topic, one of Sabel’s best friends came down with it. She’s in the hospital.”
“How do you know—”
“It gets worse,” Cummings said. “The Malaysian authorities are—”
Her secretary held up a hand, stop, and pointed to the back of the reception area where a slight figure stood alone.
Chen Zhipeng stood with his back to her, examining something on a chest-high table.
“I have to go.” Violet’s voice sank as she clicked off.
She checked her prosthesis before crossing the marble and came up behind him. “Shifu, I had no idea you were in town. I would’ve sent the limo—”
He turned halfway to her, his fingertips touching a small plant. “This is a bonsai tree.”
“Yes. Quite lovely. An amazing art form.”
“It is not. Bonsai is a Japanese bastardization of Penjing, the original Chinese art.”
Violet turned to her secretary. “How could you let this happen? Have the decorator replace it immediately, then fire him.”
Chen reached out for her hand and took it in his. “I did not plan to visit Guangzhou today, but I am quite surprise to find you here.”
Violet’s eyes darted from side to side. “This is my office. Where would—”
“You failed to tell me about three vial of blood.” He squeezed her hand hard.
“The security man, Mukhtar,” she said, “reported it to Anatoly Mokin. Anatoly told me about it and I had the impression that he had already discussed—”
“Do not leave it to board member to keep me informed.” Chen’s face reddened and he leaned toward her as he spoke. “This project is very sensitive. You have my phone number. When trouble happen, you call me. No more mess around.”
Violet leaned back, then bowed. “I understand, Shifu.”
“You do not.” He stepped closer. “Wu Fang handled those vial. They must be retrieved immediately.” His black, unblinking eyes stared at her. “I need insurance that China will survive if the program become public. You must supervise the search in person.”
“Of course, I—”
“Have you found the missing Element 42 and Levoxavir?”
“I’ve asked Anatoly to conduct a thorough investigation. I don’t expect to hear back from him until later today. In light of all the missing items, I’m afraid I must replace Mokin Enterprises immediately.”
Chen bounced on his feet and clasped his hands behind his back. He turned back to the bonsai. “Do you have a reliable security company in mind to replace them?”
“I understand Velox Deployment Services is capable of handling a site without losing the most important components.”
Chen nodded without looking up, a thin smile stretched across his mouth.
“Have you heard of them?” she asked.
“Mokin Enterprises is based in China, and is an operation I can control if anything leaks to the press. Do not make any changes.”
“They allowed Wu Fang and Pia Sabel into the compound, they’ve lost the very things they were hired to protect. I need to make a—”
“You listen to me. I do not say thing twice. Windsor is based in China and subject to Chinese law. This is most important issue. You get all three vial back from Sabel.”
Chen went to the elevators. When the doors sealed him inside, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Letting it out, she turned to her secretary. “Get me on the next flight to Washington and put a driver on standby all week.”
Violet ran to her office and closed the door. She dialed her Velox contact.
“Who is this?” a gruff voice answered.
“I’m Violet Windsor, I was referred to you—”
“What is this, some kinda joke?”
Violet set her purse on her desk and stared out her window. “No, I’m Violet Windsor and I’ve been referred—”
“Lemme guess, Shane put you up to this, right?”
“What?”
“C’mon, who are you really?” the gruff voice said.
“I’m Violet Windsor, President and CEO of Windsor Pharmaceuticals and I’m calling because Ed Cummings told me Velox provides better security than Mokin Enterprises. If you think that’s a joke, perhaps I should speak to your superiors.”
“Holy shit, you really are Windsor. Well, what can I do for you, sugar?”
“For starters, never call me ‘sugar’ again. After that, I need to recover a package that Marcus Verratti, of Milan, Italy stole from me. Are you capable of a simple operation like that?”
“Where’ve I heard that name before?”
“I asked a simple question. Are you capable of—”
“Hang on, lemme Google that one. Verratti. Mafia boss, right? Wait a sec, he’s involved in the Collettivo, the financial mafia, investments and that shit. Yeah, that’s the guy. They call him Milan’s Don and you want me to steal from him? Steal from the Mafia—in Italy?
“Actually, I have reason to believe my stolen property is in Philadelphia, in the hands of a smaller group.”
“Sugar, you must have a lot of money.”
“Don’t call me that again. I was told your organization is qualified for an operation on that scale.”
“I have the operations, but you pay in advance. You know what I’m saying, sugar?”
“If you call me ‘sugar’ one more time, I’m going—”
“What, take your business to Sabel Security?” The man roared with laughter.
* * *
Kasey Earl clicked off from Violet Windsor’s call and stared at his phone for a moment. He checked the caller ID, then typed it into his database. The number belonged to Windsor Pharma of Guangzhou. He tapped his finger on the table for a minute then leaned back in his chair and dialed his boss.
When the call connected, Kasey said, “You ain’t going to believe who just called me.”