BLOOD DRAGON

by Freddie P Peters

  No matter what Andy did, he always looked like a nice guy. Pole approved. No one would suspect he was a copper in disguise.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  “Go away.” Nancy was determined not to sound scared. Even if the receptionist had heard her before her phone went dead, the security guard would not arrive on time. The door had become still again. The man on the other side had not given up, but was bracing himself for another harder push.

  Nancy looked around in despair. She moved away from the door. Perhaps if he crashed into it expecting resistance, finding none, he would overshoot and fall into the room. She might then have time to run for it.

  Her back bumped into something solid and unexpected. A small fire extinguisher was fixed to the wall.

  She tried to yank it out of its holder. It resisted her first attempt, came out at the second and, without thinking, she hurled it towards the door as it crashed open. The extinguisher flew from her hands. The impact was fierce. She heard the crack of bones on impact. A body crashed backwards into the corridor.

  Nancy leaned down towards the extinguisher. She retrieved it from the floor and waited. The door was still ajar. Hurried knocks startled her.

  “Ms Wu … are you alright … may we come in?”

  She hesitated. But no, the man she had just slammed in the face would not sound so polite.

  “I’m fine.” She approached the door still holding her weapon, and pulled it fully open with her foot.

  Two security guards stood in front of her. She looked into the corridor. There was blood on the carpet. The man she had just hit had disappeared. Nancy slumped against the frame of the battered door.

  One of the security guards called the hotel manager. Nancy surveyed the damage still leaning against the wall. There was no way she could remain in this room.

  Nancy gave a quick account of what had happened to the manager when he arrived. Already two maids had appeared to help Nancy pack her suitcase. The police had been called and Nancy’s attempt not to attract attention had just failed.

  “We will move you into one of our suites. There is one available just a few floors up with the same view. You will be very comfortable there and …” The woman hesitated. “… there is additional security. We have selected a suite that is made available for high profile clients or public figures that require additional protection.”

  Nancy thanked her. “I’m very grateful but I’m not sure that is necessary.” She would have been worried if the manager had taken her at her word. A secure door and a video camera at the entrance might be a good addition after all, if she were to get any sleep that night.

  It was almost midnight when Nancy closed the door of her new suite. The place was more luxurious than she had expected but she was not in the mood to enjoy it.

  The police officer who came had been professional, taking notes, asking the right questions. She had convincingly told them she was on a short break in Hong Kong, a place where she had often done business as a lawyer. Mentioning her profession had the desired effect, prompting a mixture of concern and respect.

  She stood in the middle of the vast lounge cum dining room overlooking the Bay. It was no longer just a bedroom; it was a small apartment. Her head was aching, and her body clock had been tricked into telling her it was no longer time to go to bed. She’d moved from suitably tired and relaxed to being wired up by the adrenaline of fear.

  She thought about calling Pole, but he would know something was up. He didn’t need the additional burden at the moment.

  Nancy moved to the small bar that looked well stocked up. She decided against anything stronger than a cup of tea. She chose a simple chamomile from the large selection of teas offered by the hotel. Her phone was now fully charged. She checked her messages. There was nothing of importance. Nancy picked up the mug and settled onto the sofa. She stood up again to check she had activated the security at the door, and returned to drink her tea gazing absentmindedly at the view.

  A new email had just come through, it was from Cora. Nancy read it, sipping her tea, and smiled. Now she had an excuse to call Pole.

  * * *

  The security guards were not at the door and the doorman looked unusually distracted. Jack wondered how he could get a scruffy looking Randy through the door of the five-star luxury hotel. Randy assured him his T-shirt was only a few days old and that his frayed jeans were the latest fashion in Hong Kong.

  He must have been right.

  They walked through the lobby without anybody querying Randy’s presence. Jack chose a couple of seats in a corner from which he could survey the scene. He had heard the word ‘police’ as they passed the check-in desk and he wanted to make sure the Mandarin would not be swarming with cops asking the wrong questions.

  Randy was anxious too. He didn’t particularly trust the police, but seemed happy enough to be following Jack’s lead for the time being.

  Jack sat down facing the lobby whilst Randy sat opposite him. He ordered two Scotches and Randy nodded. He was not fussed as long as it might help soothe his nerves.

  “Why don’t you tell me your side of the story?” Jack picked up his glass and took a mouthful.

  “To start with, Ollie and I simply disagreed with Viro-Tech transferring technology to China for further development, on ethical grounds, even though there was nothing illegal about it. Other companies get a lucrative deal with China because they are prepared to agree to a technology transfer. At the end of the day, they are private companies, financed in the private sector, doing what they like with their own research and development.” Randy drained half his whisky and began to look a lot calmer. “ US government barely knows what R&D the private sector is developing, let alone its impact on national security.”

  “I gathered that.” Jack kept an eye on the far end of the large reception area. A couple of policemen had arrived and were moving toward the lifts.

  “I worked with Ollie on the same piece of research. He was building the programme that would gather all the data I needed to validate our findings. Our research concentrated on how the human body protects itself against certain viruses, in particular pulmonary infections like bird flu. It’s really interesting to understand what it would take to create a universal vaccine for pulmonary diseases … you know the RNA-based vaccination idea is not that new in concept but Ollie and I had found a new way of delivering the instructions to the human immune system through Lipid Nanoparticules and …” Randy stopped himself. “Sorry … I get carried away when I start talking shop.”

  “That’s alright. I’ve done a crash course on what you and Ollie were studying at Harvard.”

  “We stumbled over this piece of research from another lab that had never been fully exploited. This RNA-vaccine is incredible … you can map a virus RNA sequence, assemble a vaccine and start testing on mice a week later …”

  “You mean it would take only a week to come up with a vaccine that can work on human, even if it is a novel virus?” Jack redirected his attention to what Randy was saying.

  “That’s a bit of a simplification, but yes, that’s the general idea. You can do in one month what may take a year or more and this gives you a platform too.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It means you don’t have to reinvent the process for a new virus … you simply update the RNA sequence or even combine different viruses sequences altogether.”

  “Is it legal?”

  “That’s legal as long as you don’t use it in combination with the development of a man-made virus and that’s where the conversation became more complicated … we were only at the beginning of our research, trying to come to some conclusion about that.”

  “Did you speak to Turner about it?”

  Randy squirmed at the thought of his former boss. “He was on our backs because of our apparent lack of progress, so we eventually spoke to him about the pre
liminary results of our research.”

  “And he saw an opportunity?”

  “He has been working on a very high-profile project. He would not tell us what it was, but it involved regular trips to China. Then he wanted to know everything about the potential of what we had discovered. He had some applications in mind for it, but he never told us what they were.”

  “But you and Ollie did some further research and came up with your own conclusions.”

  “Jared seems a nice guy when you first meet him, but he is also a tough businessman. Ollie thought he might want to approach the military with the idea … after all, the US army is always looking for ways to enhance its soldiers’ resistance to disease whilst engaged in combat. So, you can imagine the importance of what that would mean, to make their soldiers immune to viruses deployed in a biological attack.”

  “But you didn’t buy it.”

  “It’s not that we didn’t buy it. Turner made no effort to contact the military. Ollie eventually got into his diary … he is a wizard with encryption you know …” Randy emptied his glass and the alcohol was doing the trick. “Turner spoke to his father instead.”

  “About what? I know his father is on the board of a large US pharmaceutical company. Why the interest?”

  “Cutting edge biotechnological agent production in China. He and his father have already created a company to do that and entered into partnership with the US pharma you just mentioned.”

  Randy slumped back in his chair. “But still, that’s not illegal. Although that may depend on whether there is a conflict of interest. But as long as all parties are well compensated, I doubt anybody will stop the Turners.” Randy looked at his glass, somewhat forlorn. Jack ordered two refills. “The point is, as long as the technology remains in the private sector, they can transfer it to whoever they wish including China.”

  Jack recalled a passage in the McCain report he had just read. The transfer of technology from the private sector, proceeding unchecked or even openly tolerated by both the US and Europe, had enabled China to leapfrog the rest of the world, cutting the time and cost of the research process and cost by many years. China now had an advantage over the US in many technological fields.

  “Did you or Ollie say anything to Turner?” The two glasses of Scotch had arrived. Randy took his, cradling it in both hands for a moment.

  “We didn’t for a while. Until Ollie discovered that Jared was going regularly to Sichuan in China.” Randy took a gulp. “That’s when we realised that he had already committed to transferring our technology. In exchange for which he was being shown the site of the factory … I mean the newly formed company’s factory that would be producing the drugs he and his father had in mind.”

  “Which drugs would those be?”

  “Antidepressants, opiates … lots of the types of medication sold to the US in large quantities … But we also suspected they had the intention of producing more complex drugs at a fraction of the price they otherwise would cost if produced in the US …”

  “And that increased the dependency the US has on China when it comes to its supply chain.”

  “That’s right … but Jared didn’t care. Sichuan is a new area for development as far as China is concerned. There are plenty of qualified people but not enough jobs for them.”

  “Can’t they go somewhere else to find a job?”

  Randy shook his head. “Not under Chinese rules. You’re stuck in the region or province in which you were born and trained. If you move anywhere else you become an illegal worker.”

  “So, the Chinese government was being generous with the terms of the deal.”

  “That’s right … Ollie spoke to a friend of his. He didn’t mention her name but she had been doing some research about China. From what he said, she was looking for her father, an artist who disappeared quite a few years ago. He came from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. She was hoping to find out what had happened to him.”

  Jack gazed at the glass in his hand, swirling the amber liquid around.

  “Did she find anything?”

  “I don’t think so, but Ollie thought she might be able to help us once he explained what was happening. However, he never got the chance.”

  Randy looked exhausted all of a sudden. Jack’s time zone hopping was also catching up with him. The two police officers had reappeared. They spoke to the receptionist who looked nervous. It seemed it was not the end of the affair.

  “Wait a minute.”

  Randy looked puzzled, still nursing his glass.

  “I just need to ask the receptionist something.”

  Jack moved without hurrying to the reception desk. “I’ve lost my room card. I hope there has been no issue with the hotel security. I saw two policemen leaving just now.”

  The receptionist straightned up. “The incident is under control, Sir. No need to be alarmed.”

  “I’m on floor five.”

  “That’s okay. We are only concerned about floor eleven.”

  “Good to know.” Jack was issued with a new card. He returned to the corner of the lounge in which Randy was still sitting.

  “Let’s go to my room. We can decide tomorrow if the US consulate is a safe enough place for you to stay.”

  A flash of concern came over Randy’s face.

  Jack smiled. “That’s okay … you are my guest. You get the bed and I get the bathtub.”

  * * *

  “Your text said you had news.”

  “Yep …” Harris was calling him from his car and the reception was breaking up. “My CIA contact has located Randy Zhang.”

  “In one piece?”

  “Very funny … but yes. He confirmed Turner Junior and senior are doing a deal with China but one that we may not be able to stop.”

  Pole grunted. He had walked away from his office, in need of a breather and a cup of tea. It was not uncommon for him to think about cases whilst on a stroll in search for a cup of good brew. This time he had gone a little further away from the Yard. The Café Conte was rather full of tourists but Pole had managed to find a single armchair at the back of the long room.

  “Just as Marsh was starting to bite.”

  “Hang on.” Harris paused and the reception became clearer. “The biotech Ollie and Randy were developing is something they thought they should present to the US government.”

  “You mean it needed to be controlled because of its potential ramifications?”

  “That’s the gist of it … my contact couldn’t be more specific but I’m due to speak to him tomorrow morning … well, his morning, my midnight.”

  “I’ll get things going at my end. It might be that we don’t need the Chinese connection after all.”

  “I’m all ears. What have you found?”

  “Not yet substantiated by evidence, but the Turners have a connection with the production of opium in Afghanistan.”

  “A Russian connection?” Harris grew serious. “Afghanistan is my area. What do you need?”

  “The name of the Cartel that operates in Herat province. The drug squad is finding it pretty difficult to pin them down.”

  “I’m not surprised … ex KGB or FSB … you don’t find them … they find you. They are untraceable, at least not with simple police resources … No offence.”

  “None taken. I’ve got a pretty good team and they’ve got nowhere.”

  “Do I feel perhaps … an exception.” Harris had returned to his joyful self.

  “A recent addition to their team. Perhaps expendable … I’m working on that.”

  “Call me back at the end of the day. You’ll have your answer about Afghanistan.”

  “Will do.” Pole scanned the room. No one was looking in his direction. He felt happy to continue. “Now about the burner phone … I need to get Ferguson off my back.”

  �
�And Ms Wu’s. I’m aware of that.” Harris’ voice had grown serious once more. “We’ve created a trace of calls that leads to the right address. The one we stormed ten months ago. Your team should be able to pick it up without a problem.”

  “That’s a little slim.”

  “Pole. I know my job. It would be slim as you say.” Harris interrupted himself but came back on. “Give me another day and you’ll have the record of a purchase of that particular burner phone in a shop near the address the C-T squad stormed in north London.”

  “Much better.”

  “Again, your team should be able find this, although it’ll be a bit trickier to detect.”

  “You mean some unregulated vendor?”

  “That’s right … But the shop concerned is next to a CCTV camera.”

  Pole switched off his burner phone, replaced it in his pocket and picked up a second one. He had just missed a call from Nancy.

  * * *

  Cora had gone for a walk with DS Branning. She had never thought she would enjoy the company of a copper, but Branning had become a comforting presence.

  She just wanted to think things through without interruption.

  Pole was right. The only way to flush out the people behind the savage attacks on Ollie was to lie about his medical condition. She had agreed. She would do it. But the prospect of having to look excited and happy about a positive development when there was none had made her stomach churn.

  They were walking along the canal, away from the flat, away from the lock where she had been followed and intimidated.

  The weather was cold but windless. The sun had started to set and yet there was still enough light for the towpath to look peaceful, almost pleasant.

  Branning was quietly smoking his cigarette,.

  “I presume the hospital will have to agree to the plan.”

  “Yes. Inspector Pole will speak to the registrar. But it won’t be disclosed to many more people. The fewer the better.”

  “What about the nurse I noticed?”