Pole shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He continued drinking his coffee. Natalie’s jaw had clenched so hard he could hear the sound of her grinding teeth. “In a few moments you’re going to need your fix. The hospital deal with junkies all the time, but they still need to have authorisation to administer methadone … so it’s going to take a while, a long while.”
“So what …”
“And then … I will take over and it can take a bit of time to get that authorisation too … the police system can be a bit congested at times.”
“I’m not well enough to be discharged.”
“Unfortunately, for you … your scan has just come back and you are as good as new … except for a few bruises. A bit of good luck for both of us.”
“Shame you didn’t end up under the wheels of that bloody bus.”
“Well, I didn’t.” Pole had almost finished his cup. “I have only a little coffee left to drink. I’ll finish it. Then you can tell me what you want to do.”
Natalie closed her eyes and yanked on the handcuff.
Pole kept concentrating on his drink. He took a final sip, stood up and dumped the cup in the wastebin.
“The Bratva don’t forgive. And even if you’re the girlfriend of one of these guys, that will make zero difference … you are expendable and, more importantly, you failed, big time.” Pole spoke whilst moving slowly towards the door.
He gave a final look over his shoulder. Rage on her face made her otherwise attractive features bulge. She threw her free hand over her face, the other stopped on its course by the restriction of the cuff.
“Time’s up, Natalie. You die, one way or another. You speak to me … you get to be reborn. You stay silent … well, you know the deal.” Pole placed his hand on the door to pull it open.
“What do you want to know?”
“Who is the man behind all this?”
Natalie’s head turned towards the wall. “Turner.”
“How do you know it’s him?”
“Because it’s rare for the Bratva to do contract killing outside the gang world … that’s not their business.”
“So, your boss … or boyfriend … what is he called?” Pole had moved to the seat he had occupied earlier, next to her bed.
“Dimitri …” Natalie murmured.
“Dimitri what?”
“Rezmikov …”
“Rezmikov asked you to do this as a favour to Turner because they are in business together?”
Natalie nodded.
“Opium from Afghanistan, Herat Province … turned into heroin that floods the European market.” Tears started pouring from Natalie’s eyes.
“I want him, Natalie …”
“Yes …” Her voice shuddered.
“The problem, Natalie, is that it is your word against Turner’s, and if we protect you as witness X, the department is still going to need to disclose your testimony.”
Natalie mumbled a few words that Pole couldn’t make out.
“I didn’t get that.”
“I have proof.” She pressed the palm of her free hand against both her eyes in turn, drying her tears. “I made some recordings on my phone, just in case …”
“That’s much better … and where are these recordings?”
“Still in a mailbox I created on purpose.”
Pole rose slowly. “If the content is as promising as you say … we have a deal.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The light cheek bones, the unmistakable slant of the almond eyes, the distinctive button nose … these are features Nancy recognises instantly.
But it is not her father that stands in front of her, it is a young woman in her early 30s. She has walked in without a word and she is standing motionless a few feet away from Nancy.
Her calm is impressive. She knows the shock she has triggered is immense and that Nancy needs a moment, perhaps a long moment to accept who she is.
Nancy’s mind has gone blank. Of all the outcomes she anticipated, this one she had not envisaged. She is unprepared. If her mind has gone limp, her emotions are raging … pain, anger, betrayal but somehow hope, joy, has crept in amongst them.
The young woman still hasn’t moved and the expression in her eyes is kind. Nancy thinks she has seen a flicker of hope too.
Nancy takes a step forward, her legs leaden. She wants to ask a question … struggles to find the Chinese for it. She tries to remember. The effort required is enormous.
“Who are you? Ni Shi Shei?” She repeats the Chinese, not certain her pronunciation is correct.
The woman breaks into a smile and that smile squeezes Nancy’s heart. If she was in doubt, the handsome smile takes it away instantly.
“My name is Mingmei,” she nods. Her English is accented but Nancy can tell she is fluent.
“But you are … ?” Nancy can’t quite bring herself to ask the right question.
Mingmei nods again. She has taken a step forward, towards the table that separates them. Nancy has also closed the gap. She can almost reach the back of a chair of black lacquer.
She can take one final step, sit at the table and hear her sister’s story or she can just walk out, fly back to Hong Kong, to London, to the life she has led until now in complete ignorance.
But the veil has been lifted. She wants to know the truth. No matter how hurtful that truth might be. She has the courage to hear about her father who, no matter what, has always been in her eyes so righteous, no longer is.
Pain and anger tear at her for a short moment and yet …
Nancy takes the final step slowly. She moves the chair away from the table, lifting it in a measured movement, and takes a seat to listen.
She had lost count of the number of cups of tea she had drunk. Nancy listened, pausing, asking very few questions. The sun was now low on the horizon and the room was getting dark. Mingmei stood up and switched on the light, a single tube, fixed to the ceiling, flickered and finally came to life. They both squinted and smiled.
“Where are you staying?”
“Professor Licot has booked a room for me at the Shangri La Hotel in the centre of Chengdu.”
“It’s a good choice … quite a few tourists are there. It’s the most popular for visitors from abroad.”
Nancy felt odd suddenly. Mingmei was working in a factory that produced food and by all accounts didn’t seem to be very wealthy. She was at the other end of the spectrum and had booked a hotel room for her in a five-star hotel.
“It’s okay.” Mingmei smiled. “I’m comfortable … it doesn’t look like it here, but the business is doing well and it’s the perfect cover.”
“How long have you been running this operation … I mean helping people leave China?”
“Since father disappeared … there were a few months when I didn’t know whether I would be able to cope.” Mingmei’s voice trails off as she recalls that time. “But father had already managed to put together a couple of safe routes as well as gather people on the ground, ready to help.”
“And what can I do to help? I must be able to contribute somehow.”
Her sister tilted her head. “I’m not sure yet … I need to think.”
“Of course, I wouldn’t want to endanger your operation.”
They both fell silent for a moment.
“It’s probably not a good idea if I come back here. Licot and I need to visit a few artists before I leave for Hong Kong again … although …” Nancy hesitated. “I could extend my stay.”
“Don’t do that. The government will want to know why, and it might look suspicious. … Anything that is a deviation looks suspicious to the authorities in this country.”
“There is still so much to talk about.”
Mingmei inhaled slowly and gave a short exhale. “I too want to talk some more … but I also need to keep you
safe”
Nancy shook her head. “Safe is not what I do but I take your point. I can’t blow my cover on my first visit.”
Mingmei didn’t quite understand.
“I mean … I need to be able to come back again.” Nancy felt exhausted, but she now had another task she needed to prepare for before returning to Hong Kong. “And I also have to pay a visit to a business that is of interest in a case I’m working on.”
“You investigate criminal cases?” Her sister’s face looked puzzled, perhaps even concerned.
“I’m not the police … But that’s who I sometimes help.”
“But why are you interested in a business in China?”
Nancy wondered whether she had said too much.
“It’s a biotech company,” she finally admitted.
Mingmei pulled a face. “Industrial espionage … There’s a lot of that in China.”
Her frankness emboldened Nancy. “It’s also linked to an attempted murder.”
“What is the address?”
“Century City International …”
“There are quite a few biotech labs there. It’s part of a huge complex of offices, a research centre.”
“So, it won’t be a large factory?”
“No … something smaller, but it could be …” she was looking for the right word. “… very high profile.”
“That sounds even more interesting … I need to take a look.”
“How are you going to do that?” Mingmei frowned.
“Not sure yet … I’ll need a trustworthy driver to start with.”
Mingmei poured a final cup of tea. “Let me help.”
* * *
“She did a really good job of covering her back.” Andy had finished accessing the email account onto which Natalie had downloaded her evidence. “It’s not very secure, but I suppose if she thought no one suspected her …”
Pole leaned against Andy’s desk.
“But she captured some key conversations. Instructions from her minder, discussions with Turner … It’s all very good quality, too.” Andy was going through the list of recordings.
Pole punched the air. “That bastard is going to have to talk.”
Andy still looked deflated.
“What’s wrong? These are excellent results.” Pole raised his eyebrows, surprised.
“I know, Gov, but this single piece of coding from the USB Cora gave us is still bugging me.”
Pole shook his head. “And she risked a lot to get it … I understand.” He tapped his fingers on the partition separating Andy’s desk from his neighbour’s. “One thing at a time though. Natalie’s piece of evidence is going to make a big difference, and it’s enough to bring him in.”
Andy pursed his lips. He was not yet ready to admit defeat.
Pole checked the clock on the wall. Ferguson had been quiet, so had Marsh. He was not sure whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, but he would not try to find out.
Pole left the building to return to the Café Conte near Trafalgar Square. The weather was cold yet sunny. His breath came out in small clouds as he increased his pace. Nancy’s text had been reassuring, although he would have much preferred hearing from her directly.
His favourite table had just been vacated by a young woman with a large laptop and a set of bright yellow headphones. She smiled as Pole approached. Pole returned the smile and left his coat on the chair. He ordered, waited and collected his beverage, finally moving back to the table.
Pole took his time to sip his cafe latte with an extra shot. The room was full of the usual crowd. Young people on their laptops, two women having a catch up and a couple having early lunch.
His burner phone was still turned off. He turned on his work smartphone as well as his mobile.
“Pole … How far have you got?”
“The name of the Bratva boss did the trick … the future doesn’t look so rosy for Turner Junior.”
“May not be as bad as that.” Harris thought for a moment before continuing. “He has a rather large ace up his sleeve.”
Pole held his cup in mid-air before it reached his lips. “What do you mean? He’s on record asking for Ollie Wilson to be dealt with.”
“That sounds very compelling, but …”
Pole interrupted. “Don’t tell me it is some operative you need to indulge.”
“Not me … not even the CIA.”
“Stop speaking in riddles, otherwise I’m presenting the evidence and getting a warrant.”
“Turner is central to an agreement that is about to be signed between China, the US and Europe.” Harris’s voice had grown serious. Pole mumbled a string of swear words.
“Couldn’t agree more with you, mate. Timing is essential … Nab him too early and he will use it to protect himself, and might even ask for a deal of some sort to exonerate him.”
Pole had been about to shoot Harris down for telling him how to do his job, but Harris was right. It was a waiting game.
“When is this goddamn agreement going to be signed then?”
“Actually, it’s a rather good agreement … but in answer to your question, Turner is in Beijing at the moment.”
“For how long?”
“How long is a piece of string.” Harris interrupted. “These things can take days even if the text has been well hammered … but I’d say a good week.”
“I need to show Marsh progress though …”
“Don’t worry. Someone in the UK government is having a conversation with Marsh, perhaps as we speak. Don’t be surprised if he doesn’t sound so keen suddenly.” Pole didn’t say anything, unconvinced.
“Perhaps you could use the time to cross the t’s and dot the i’s on the Wilson case. And before you tell me to mind my own business …” Harris’ voice had regained some of its cockiness. “You may even want to take a trip abroad.”
“Should I be asking why?”
“Yes, you should. Ms Wu has just left on a trip to mainland China …”
A kick in the gut could not have winded Pole more. Harris waited at the end of the phone.
“Look … she’s with the chap we have been monitoring for some time. He understands China very well. He will be a good guide.”
“Is it about her father?” Pole managed to ask.
“It is …”
“Do I detect a but?”
“Chengdu is the city of her ancestors, and that matters as far as the search for a father is concerned, but it also is …”
“… the place Viro-Tech is growing its lab presence.”
“Correct.”
* * *
A knock at the door startled the two women.
Licot poked his head in. “How are we doing?” His placid face couldn’t hide his happiness. They had been talking for more than two hours and now he had to interrupt, but Mingmei had been right to take the risk.
“Could you give us another few minutes please?” Nancy smiled at him. Licot nodded and disappeared back outside.
“Are you certain? It’s got nothing to do with your organisation, or even the people you’re trying to save.”
Mingmei shook her head. “Nancy …” The name was pronounced perfectly. She had rehearsed it for a while. “You know nothing about this city, and, from what I can tell, you don’t remember much of your Chinese. How are you going to find the place?”
“I know … no excuse to have let my Chinese lapse.” Nancy didn’t mind the comment.
“I was not trying to … make you feel bad. I simply know you can’t do this discreetly unless you’re with someone who knows the streets of Chengdu.”
Nancy smiled at the proper pronunciation of the city she was born in … a long vowel at the end and the voice raising up.
“Let’s say I agree.” Nancy turned serious again. “But
I have to see the place for myself.”
“You sound like … Miss Marple …” Mingmei grinned.
“Now, young lady … I may be a single woman, and I am rather sharp when it comes to observation, but the comparison stops there!”
Mingmei kept her grin. “Of course, … Sis.” Her grin disappeared as soon as it came, but Nancy smiled back.
“Half-Sis would not sound as much fun …”
Mingmei beamed at her half sister for a short moment.
She became serious again. “There are cameras all over Century City.”
Nancy stood up, hands on hips, thinking. “Okay … I need your expertise but … I take the risk of being caught investigating this lab.”
* * *
“We have to make Turner feel secure, otherwise he will delay the signing of this agreement until he has come up with a plan.” Jack was on a call to Harris.
“Pole has already sussed that one out. One of the key witnesses is being moved to a witness protection programme.”
“Why should Turner not have wind of this?”
“Because that witness is supposed to have died in a bike crash.”
“I get it.”
“Any news on your front?” Harris was fidgeting at the other end of the line.
“I’ve looked at the line of code you sent me. I think it’s a password. I ran it past my crypto team and they came to the same conclusion. How about you?”
“I’m a little too much on the fringes of the China Project to start asking questions.”
“And you’re confident this guy Pole and his team are up to the task?”
“They are surprisingly sharp when it comes to tech matters … but I might give them the heads up on your suggestion.”
Harris batted a question from left field. “Have you asked Ms Wu for help?”
Jack smiled. Harris knew him too well. “I thought I could do with someone going to exactly the place I wished I could go myself. She has been a resourceful person and she’s got the grit for the task.”
“Hands off though … if she’s going to become a spook, I spotted her first.”
“Maybe, or do you already have some plans for her? I can’t help thinking that MI6 providing her with information is no free lunch.” It was time for Jack to turn the tables on Harris.
BLOOD DRAGON Page 41
