WASHINGTON, DC. OCTOBER 27.
9 A.M. EASTERN STANDARD TIME.
Divya took a moment to compose herself and then knocked on Wright’s door. He was in a heated discussion on the phone, but he finished abruptly and motioned for her to come in.
“Have a seat. Is it already time for an update on this fucking mess? I have to say, not my favorite time of day.”
“Me neither, sir.”
“What do you have for me?”
“Some new information from the tapes.” Divya had spent the morning poring over the transcripts from the phone tap on Canart.
“Anything important?”
“I’m not sure. Canart has promised Xiao to fill him in on who killed his wife and why.”
Wright laughed.
“Sir?”
“That’s fine with me. We didn’t do it. The Chinese killed her.”
“Why?”
Wright ignored the question. “Is Trent looking for the girl?”
“He’s cooperating, yes. Why is she so important?”
“Have you been briefed on Shar-Pei in its entirety?”
“Of course.”
Wright chuckled. “Then tell me when Shar-Pei was dreamed up.”
“Mid-1990s. Shortly after the one-child policy was put in effect. A response to overcrowding.”
“You’re a hundred years off.”
Divya’s jaw dropped. “The technology wasn’t even available . . .”
“Shar-Pei wasn’t about technology in the beginning, Divya. It was about growing a superpower.”
“How?”
“Selective breeding.”
“What?”
“The dog breed shar-pei dates back to as early as 200 BC. The dogs were bred by the Chinese for their intelligence and dominance. By selecting animals with strong positive traits and mating them, the gene pool steadily improved. Basic heredity. In 1881, a Chinese geneticist proposed a long-term plan for China to create a superior race, or at least a ruling class superior to that of other nations. Shar-Pei, named for the nation’s proudest dog breed.”
Divya jumped in. “Xiao named it Shar-Pei for his daughter’s pet.”
“Wrong. When the Chinese expat leaked information about the killer GPS chip to the US, the United States threatened to expose the program to the world.”
“Blackmail?”
“Run-of-the-mill foreign relations. We wanted information about Iran’s purchase of North Korean Scud missiles.”
“So, China made up a backstory to placate the US?”
“Exactly. But the Department of Justice continued investigating, claiming sole jurisdiction on grounds that it was a crime against humanity.”
“The Office of Special Investigations.” Divya was shaking her head.
“And they found mention of a covert operation called Shar-Pei well before the 1990s.”
“What did they do with the information?”
“We’ve monitored the situation jointly ever since.”
“That’s why I got this assignment—only because you need Jake Trent?”
“We need the girl and her father, and quietly. Any commotion around her and Xiao disappears. We didn’t have the necessary information to coordinate a pinpointed mission to take her. The Office suggested Jake could help.”
“Why do we need them?”
“Xiao and Meirong are the only two remaining intentional Shar-Peis, the superior breed. Meirong was an accident, but she in particular has an intellect as dangerous as a nuclear weapon. The operation stalled after Xiao and Mei Li proved too difficult to control. With their intelligence came unpredictable, rebellious personality characteristics. They believed themselves too smart to be used as pawns. Meirong is the vessel of that bloodline.”
“The Holy Grail. Jake would have cooperated, had he known.”
“You read about Paris. He couldn’t be trusted.”
“C’mon, that man was dying, stage-four lung cancer. Jake let him say good-bye to his family.”
“Regardless, he was a war criminal. Jake’s orders were to get him into custody.”
“You didn’t think he would finish the job?”
“I wasn’t sure if you would either.”
Divya stood up and paced. When she sat back down, she was still thinking. “Xiao sent Meirong here, in part, to save her from her own government.”
Wright nodded.
“Will we even try to get the chief’s wife home safely?”
“Of course.”
She looked into her superior’s eyes. She had to believe him. It was Charlotte’s only shot. “Then I need a real briefing on the whole story. And I need the name of the point man for the Office. I can convince Jake.”