White Jade (The PROJECT)

by Lukeman, Alex

  He wanted to crush her against him but her words brought an odd sense of relief. Maybe he wanted more than casual sex with Selena. The thought unsettled him.

  "It's okay. It's like you said. Sometimes people end up in bed after something happens."

  The tension went out of her face.

  "You mind if I use the bathroom first?"

  "No, go for it."

  She went into the bath closed the door. He thought about tomorrow. Harker would have a plan. She always did.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  They ate a mediocre breakfast in the cafeteria and at seven were in the Director's office. Stephanie was there, sitting at a computer console set off from Harker's desk. Steph had a wide, pleasant face and dark hair cut in bangs. She wore a black and red combo that concealed a few extra pounds. Gold bracelets jangled on her wrist.

  She looked like the sort of person you'd see standing at the edge of a soccer field cheering on her kids. Stephanie didn't have any kids. She had a Glock 40 millimeter in a speed draw holster tucked high on her waist. She had the Project.

  Harker said, "There's a new twist on Yang." She pushed a piece of paper and her pen across her desk to Selena. "Before I get into it, I need you to sign this."

  "What is it?"

  "I'm upgrading your security clearance. You sign that and you go to jail if you repeat anything you hear in here. You can't talk about it with anyone except us."

  Selena said nothing. She signed.

  Harker put the paper in a drawer. She said, "Deng Bingwen defected. Langley's got him."

  Carter was stunned. "He's been building bombs for them for years. Why would he come over now?"

  "Yang wants a war and Deng wants no part of it. Or so he says. He says Yang heads up a group called the White Jade Society. According to him it's a cover for a conspiracy to seize power. Langley is listening to what he says about China's nukes, but they don't believe him about a coup. They don't think anyone could pull that off, or would even try. If he's telling the truth, the money Yang stole could help fund a takeover."

  Selena said, "The White Jade Society? White jade symbolizes immortality in Chinese culture. Maybe that's why they wanted the book. But it's just an old formula. No one could take it seriously."

  Carter tugged on his ear. "Who's in this group?"

  "Colonel Wu is one, but he's small fry. It wasn't hard to get a list. They're heavy hitters. The head of their naval forces, two of the missile base commanders, the Minister of Railways and several senior generals from the PLA, including two armored division commanders. There are other government and military leaders."

  She tapped her pen. "A coup would destabilize the entire region. Pakistan, India, Russia, Iran. All those countries over there ending in 'stan'."

  "You call Afghanistan stable?"

  "Don't be a pain in the ass, Nick. You know what I mean."

  Harker was definitely in Director mode. He decided to keep quiet.

  Her intercom buzzed.

  "Special Agent Jordan is here."

  "Bring him up."

  Jordan wore a blue suit and blue silk tie with gray accents that matched the color in his close cropped hair. The collar of a crisp, white shirt cut a deep crease in his thick neck.

  He reminded Carter of pictures of Leadbelly, the famous blues singer. Big, hard, with a life of being black in America written deep inside his face. Jordan was a serious man.

  Harker settled back in her chair. She said, "We identified one of the men who came after you in California from prints on the wine bottle. He's Wu's gofer."

  Stephanie tapped on her keyboard. A picture came up on the big monitor.

  "That's him," Carter said, "the one who tossed the grenade. Ugly bastard, isn't he?"

  Jordan cleared his throat and pointed at the screen. "His name is Choy Gang. He's a real piece of work. The night you were in that mine a CHP patrolman made a routine stop outside San Francisco. He wrote up a safety violation. When he gave it to the driver he noticed something and went for his gun. The driver blew him away, three shots, nine mil. The camera in the cruiser taped the whole thing."

  On screen, the video played. An arm and part of a face came out of the driver's window. There were three flashes as the gun fired and the officer went down. The video was badly lit but the hard looking face behind the gun was Choy's.

  Jordan continued. "We got lucky and found a print on an empty casing. They usually burn away, but we've got a new process that sometimes can bring them out. We matched it up with Choy. We sent people over to the Consulate yesterday.

  "They were told Choy was no longer in the country and had left two days before for the People's Republic, so there had to be a mistake in the identification. The Consulate representative said several weapons used by the security guards had been stolen a week before, so perhaps that was why Choy's prints were found. He expressed his sincere condolences over the death of our police officer and offered any assistance he might be able to provide. Then he showed our agents the door."

  Nick had to say something. "Can't you get a warrant?"

  "Not for the Consulate. It's off-limits. We don't want any incidents here."

  "Shooting a cop isn't an incident?"

  "Not big enough."

  "What about Wu and Connor?"

  "There's no hard evidence. Anyway, Choy is gone and there's nothing we can do about it."

  Jordan looked at Carter as if it were all his fault. "What I want to know is why the Chinese are throwing grenades at you and in general making a whole lot of trouble."

  Harker said, "Tell him about the book, Nick."

  "What book?" Jordan ran his finger under his tight collar.

  "An ancient book that belonged to Selena's uncle," Nick said. "The Chinese were looking for it when they killed him. He hid it in California. We went there to retrieve it. Then Choy showed up and you know the story.

  "They were after the book, because why else drive up there? We think the attack here in DC was an attempt to kidnap Selena and get the location of the book from her."

  "What's in it that they want?"

  "We don't know yet. We'll find out, now that we have it."

  "Where is it?"

  Selena held up the book. "Right here."

  Two old pieces of wood with yellowed pages between. It had already cost at least eight lives and might cost more before they were done.

  Jordan loosened his tie. "I've been authorized to brief you. My unit tracks Asian criminal or terrorist activity. Something's up involving the Chinese Triads and Wu is mixed up in it. We followed him to a meeting with the Triad bosses from San Francisco, Oakland, New York, and Houston. That's a big deal. They never get together like that."

  Jordan looked around the room, then at the Director.

  "Why is a senior officer from China's military intelligence ordering sanctions and meeting with Chinese criminals? You want to help me out with that?"

  Harker tapped FDR's pen on her desk while she considered what Zeke had said. Carter watched her. He knew the look. The analyst in her was computing possibilities. Debating how much to say, whether to bring him in. She made up her mind.

  "We've received some new intelligence but we haven't had time to analyze it. What I'm about to tell you is speculation. You need to bear that in mind."

  Jordan nodded.

  "It's possible there is a group plotting to take power in China. The meetings Wu had with the Triads could have something to do with that."

  "A plot to overthrow the Chinese government?"

  "Yes. Colonel Wu is part of the group we're concerned about. It's led by General Yang. Head of their MI."

  Jordan frowned. "The Triads don't like Communists. They'd like to see a change in government over there."

  "Could be where the money comes in," Ronnie said. "The money he stole from Selena's uncle. Pay them to do something."

  Harker tapped on the desk. "How could the Triads help Yang? Maybe in China, but here in the States? Why would he need them for a
nything?"

  Selena brushed hair back from her forehead. "How do you take over a country as big as China? If we knew that, we might get an idea of what Yang wants from them."

  Jordan said, "How do you take over China?"

  Carter said, "You take out the heads of the government, all at once. You make sure the military is on your side, especially the army."

  Ronnie picked at a surfboarder on his shirt. "You need surprise," he said.

  "That's a given." Carter tugged on his ear. "Let's assume a coup was in progress. Go back to our original question; what could the Triads do here to support Yang over there?"

  Jordan loosened his tie a little more. "What does Yang need to pull it off besides surprise?"

  "Well, he needs time," Carter said. "Once he sets things in motion, the clock starts ticking and he wins or he goes down. He needs time to consolidate control and get his hands on all the strings."

  The Director tapped her pen. "What would upset his time schedules?"

  "Communications breakdowns. A problem with the military units. Interference from nations outside China could do it. World reaction is a big factor. What would we do, for example?"

  Zeke unbuttoned his collar, a major breach of FBI dress code. Carter imagined J. Edgar turning over in his grave.

  Harker's pen was going full speed on the desk. She realized what she was doing and set it aside.

  "China is a known factor, with a stable government. A right wing coup would be dangerous. We wouldn't want that to happen."

  "You think there's the political will to intervene, Director?" Jordan settled into his chair.

  "If the President thought national security was at stake. But the risk of war would be huge."

  "How could you keep us from getting involved?" said Jordan.

  "If we wanted to? You couldn't. Unless…" Carter stopped.

  "Unless what?"

  "Unless we were occupied with something else. Something that had our attention while Yang took over."

  "It would have to be a damn big attention getter," Ronnie said. "It would have to be something national, something that drew a lot of resources."

  "What about a terrorist attack?"

  Everyone looked at Selena.

  "Well," she said, "don't look at me like that. Isn't that what you do here? Go after terrorists?"

  "Yes." Harker watched her.

  "An attack would keep everyone busy. Yang could use the Triads to make trouble while he grabs power."

  Ronnie raised an eyebrow. "That's really devious. Remind me not to play poker with you. But we'd find out it was him. We'd have to do something."

  "What? Send in troops? Nuke China?"

  The room was silent as each of them thought about that.

  "How many in the Triads?" Harker picked up her pen again.

  Jordan said, "Several thousand in the Bay Area, if you count the youth gangs. They're usually sent as enforcers. Thousands more spread out over the country, particularly Houston, L.A. and New York. We're not certain."

  Stephanie said, "We need more data."

  "How do we get that?" asked Jordan.

  The Director tapped her pen. "For openers, there's the book. Why does Yang want it? Selena, I need you to get it translated. I assume computer time will help?"

  "It will. I've identified points in common between what I can read and what I can't. I want to run a matrix comparison. It should give us an idea."

  "Good. Stephanie, program it in for her. While Selena is working on the translation you can run probability scenarios. I want to see what the computers say about what we've been discussing."

  "Yes, Director."

  Harker said, "All we've got is speculation and Deng's story. We have pieces of intelligence but we don't have any proof. We may be wrong."

  "You don't think that," Jordan said.

  "It doesn't matter what I think. I can't go to the President and tell him someone's trying to take over China without hard facts."

  Jordan looked at his watch. "Director, I can let my boss know what we've been talking about, but no one's going to do much based on speculation."

  "I'll brief you as we develop this."

  "I guess that will have to do."

  When Jordan was gone Selena said, "I'd like to go back to my rooms at the Mayflower. No offense, but that apartment of yours is depressing. It's confining, hard to think in. I need room to pace around."

  "That's not a good idea. There's no security at the hotel."

  Carter said, "She could stay at my place. I've got a spare bedroom. It would be a lot more comfortable than downstairs. There's an empty unit next door to mine. Ronnie can set up in there and keep an eye on things."

  Harker gave him a curious look. "You think it's safer than here?"

  "No, but it's safe enough. There's a security desk, cameras. They have to think Selena and I are dead in that mine."

  "Selena, are you comfortable with that?"

  "I guess so." She gave Nick a thoughtful look. "There's no reason those people would know we're still alive."

  "All right. Just make sure you take every precaution."

  Harker stood. "Let's get going."

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Selena, Nick and Stephanie went down to the computer room. Wide doors of thick glass separated the room from the hallway. Stephanie punched in numbers on a keypad and stood close to a facial recognition scanner mounted on the wall. A line of green light tracked back and forth across her face. The glass doors slid open with a quiet hiss.

  The room was frigid with arctic air conditioning. Half a dozen towering Cray super computers finished in an irritating red lined both sides of a polished aisle stretching the length of the room.

  Stephanie walked past them and stopped at a large, semi-circular console in front of another Cray. This one was gray-black. Mounted on a tall cooling unit, it loomed over them like something out of a sci-fi movie, a huge, dark block transported from an alien dimension. Hundreds of blinking LEDs signaled it was active.

  "This is Freddie." Stephanie took a seat at the console. "He's a Cray XMT, tweaked and maxed out. Freddie uses a multithreaded platform with global shared memory and parallel processing. There are over eight thousand CPU's in these cabinets. We can run a million simultaneous threads right here."

  "How much memory?" Selena asked.

  "Sixty-four terabytes. It's perfect for your book. We're linked to NSA and the rest of the National Security Network. Freddie will access every database, match patterns and look for anomalies. There's a database for every known language, ancient and modern. We can develop probability scenarios relevant to the content of the book and any other factors we choose to put in. When I'm not programming Selena's information, I'll be running those."

  Stephanie looked at the computer as if it were a lover.

  "We have as much time on him as we need. We'll input the book. You create the matrix for me, I'll program it in. Then we let it run."

  Selena took a notebook from her handbag.

  "I've already started."

  They sat down and got to work. Carter thought about the discussion upstairs. Everything came back to Yang and Wu, and through them, to the White Jade Society.

  White jade, immortality and Chinese Triads. It was like something out of a 50s comic book, but it wasn't funny.

  ***

  On the other side of the country, Colonel Wu's scrambled phone signaled a caller. Very few people had that number. He hoped it wasn't the General on the line.

  "Wu."

  "This is Juggler," a voice said in English.

  Wu sat up in his chair. Juggler was the code name of one of his best informants, stationed in Washington.

  "Yes, Juggler."

  "The Connor woman is here in Washington. She is traveling with a man who works in one of the counter-terrorist units. Apparently there was an armed confrontation with your men? In any event, they arrived last night."

  "You are certain it is the right woman?"

  "Certai
n. There is concern here. Speculation is high as to reasons for events, but there is no firm analysis yet. You have been identified as involved and your meetings with certain individuals in San Francisco have been noted."

  Wu smiled. Confirmation the FBI had trailed him, but he already knew that. It was part of the plan. His negotiations with the Triads were complete and it was almost time to return to China. But not yet. There was still a chance to get the book. The day had just gotten better.

  "The woman is staying with the agent, a man named Carter. It is a non-secure building." Juggler gave him the address.

  "Good, Juggler. There will be a deposit in the usual way. Inform me of any new developments."

  "Yes." The call ended.

  With an address and a name Wu had a man's life in his hands. Whoever Carter was, his secrets would soon be Wu's. He knew Carter had been in California, from the insurance slip Choy had recovered.

  Carter was probably the man who had stopped the attempt to kidnap the niece. He'd killed two agents in California and stopped Choy. The direct approach had failed. It was time for something more subtle. Wu knew the perfect person for what he had in mind. He picked up his phone and dialed a number in Washington to make the arrangements.

  Now he could contact the General and give him a positive update. Things were looking up.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  In a corner office on the fourth floor of the Ministry of State Security in Beijing, Senior Investigator Yao Aiguo studied a folder of reports. It was a hot day. The windows were open to the humid, smog-filled air outside. A small black electric fan fluttered the papers on his desk.

  A large portrait of a beaming Chairman Mao hung on one wall of the office, across from a picture of the current President and Party Chairman. The room was painted a dingy yellow. It was sparsely furnished with a few wooden chairs, the desk where Yao sat and some filing cabinets. A picture of Yao and his parents provided the only personal note in the room. A cheap print of the famous mountains on the Yangtze River, now submerged under the waters of the Three Gorges dam, rounded out the decorations.

  Yao looked at the latest report from the West and picked his nose. He looked at the result and wiped it off under his chair.