Red Dragons

by K W Frost

  ‘A pretty handy little agent you’ve got hidden somewhere,’ Ritson said, ‘I’d like to meet them.’

  ‘You don’t have far to go then,’ Child replied. All eyes turned to Child. His were focused on one person in the room.

  ‘What!’ exclaimed Ritson. ‘Who is it?’

  ‘Why don’t you tell him, Sam,’ said Child looking squarely at Samantha.

  ‘How did you know?’ she stammered, stunned by Child’s insight.

  ‘I guess I had my first inkling when you recognised the cocaine and knew the price of it. Then you used the term ‘visual’, which isn’t a commonly used term in that context. Then when you picked me up the other night, there was no hysterical reaction either. You saw what I did to those bikies, yet you made no comment. The normal reaction would be yelling and screaming for the police, but you said nothing and stayed calm.’ Child paused for a moment, his gaze never leaving Samantha’s face. ‘I put all these things together and it made me think that you might have some other reason to be here. Then I did some checking. I rang Auckland University — it took a while to get through to the right places, but it turned out that no one had heard of you and that the computer board was never given to them. That was the first real fact. Then there was your reluctance to state the obvious while we were having lunch at Lah Wah. I had already guessed the truth about you, but Mr Smaille here has confirmed my suspicions. I think his words went something along the lines of “…we were fortunate enough to have a sample of the technology fall into our hands”. Lastly, there were the phone calls during the night. I was pretty certain by that stage. I thought I might’ve blown it when I started making it easy for you to go out and make them. Also, I checked your cell phone last night while you were in the shower.’

  ‘You did what!’ Samantha exclaimed indignantly.

  ‘I simply turned it on, pushed redial and it showed the last number you had called,’ Child continued despite Samantha’s outrage. ‘You had made an international call to America — again, a clear pointer. A few other things happened just today. In the restaurant today I held your hand while you tried to explain why I could be recognised… why you didn’t tell the truth straight away I’ll never know. Instead you gave me a different answer. Perhaps you didn’t want to appear too intelligent? I don’t know… what I do know is your pulse raced when you weren’t telling the truth.’ Child paused again, smiling at the blush rising in Samantha’s cheeks. ‘Finally,’ Child said, ‘you haven’t denied it.’

  ‘Sam, you’re an agent?’ asked Ritson, his mouth hanging open.

  ‘Yes, I’m an agent,’ Samantha replied softly. ‘I was sent over to help investigate a possible smugglers route. Our New Zealand intelligence informed us that the Leigh area was a likely spot, having such a reputation for being a drug route into New Zealand. So, that’s where I moved to investigate. I had to get to know the locals, and most of them appeared to be honest. I was beginning to think I was wasting my time here when the whole thing blew up.’ She placed both hands together and looked over at Ritson. ‘I am really sorry I mislead you,’ she said quietly.

  Next, she turned to Child. ‘Simon, I’m sorry that I lied to you all this time. Trust me when I say what’s happened between us had nothing to do my being an agent.’ Child smiled wryly. He knew what she meant. ‘Okay, I’d like to accept that but I tend to find when someone says ‘trust me’, they’re about to lie about something,’ Child replied.

  Samantha knew that she had yet to fully convince Child of her sincerity, yet he had been suspicious for a long time and had done nothing. Perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope in fully regaining his trust again. Somehow that had become important to Samantha.

  ‘Smaille, I think we better decide what we are going to do next,’ Goody said, bringing everyone back to the current problem.

  ‘Yes, you’re right,’ replied Smaille, looking over questioningly at Child. Child understood the look and answered the unspoken question.

  ‘Smaille, you’re the expert here,’ Child said. ‘My friends and I are just enthusiastic novices.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Smaille said, feeling relieved that potential difficulty had been solved. ‘Ritson, could you check on the status next door? We need to know if there have been any recent changes and what sort of mental state they appear to be in.’

  ‘No problem,’ Ritson nodded as he moved into next room to check on the electronic eavesdropper. Next, Smaille turned to speak to Gray.

  ‘Gray, could you look after our pair of prisoners next door? We don’t want them coming to and breaking free,’ Smaille said as he felt the side of his bruised abdomen. ‘Those are two very dangerous men, and we will need to use them for information.’ Gray nodded, picked up his bag, checked inside it and then went off to check on the prisoners. ‘This place is a complete replica of the office next door,’ Smaille commented and gestured around the room. ‘The main door opens up into a room just like this one. There are two rooms coming off it, from one of which I detected faint odours of a gas cooker. Someone is probably staying on the premises. The room we are most interested in is on the left-hand side… which means it backs onto our right-hand room. This is where Steve was lucky enough to connect up his microphone.’ Smaille looked at the team before him. Samantha and Child were standing close together, despite their difficult conversation earlier on. Stulz, having almost fully recovered from the attack, dominated one side of the room. On his other flank was Goody and Harrison. Smaille had made up his mind that the firepower was there. He looked at each person as he named them.

  ‘I suggest a frontal assault,’ Smaille explained. ‘Our presence is known here, so a subtle approach won’t work. Inspector Harrison, Goody and myself will go in the first wave. I don’t think they’ll have anyone in the front office, so we can quietly enter there and then aim to hit the left room hard. ‘Inspector, you’ll go right, Goody will go left and I’ll go straight. Samantha and Simon can follow us five seconds behind to help secure the room. I don’t know what we’ll find in there, and they may have grenades and a death wish. So, if it all turns to custard, Simon and Samantha need to take control and finish the job. Stulz, you and Ritson are the backup. If anyone comes along the corridor and follows us in then it’s up to the two of you to take them down.’ Smaille paused, looking around the room with a hardened expression on his face. ‘We do want prisoners,’ he continued, ‘but make no mistake — if there’s a choice between you or them, it’s them.’ Ritson had come to the door to listen to the end of the briefing.

  ‘All I can hear is a keyboard typing and the occasional exclamation,’ Ritson reported. ‘I think the two people in there are still in the same room. There have been some other faint noises which could be movement.’

  ‘Okay, thanks,’ Smaille said to Ritson before turning back to the group, ‘everyone ready? Check your weapons and then we go.’

  The agents and Harrison all pulled out Glock pistols, the universal handgun for police forces worldwide. Child noted that Samantha pulled a small snub-nosed thirty-six from her handbag, which he had somehow missed. He had no weapon handy, as he hadn’t thought he would need one yet today. He walked into the room on the right and soon reappeared with Gray’s stun gun. It was a strange, ungainly little weapon.

  Child nodded at Smaille. ‘Let’s go.’

  Harrison led the way out of the office door, looking both ways as he entered the empty corridor. ‘It’s clear,’ he said, gesturing for the team to follow. Harrison waited outside the door into Blue Water Securities until Smaille and Goody were in place. Next, he gently turned the door handle and once it was fully turned, pushed the door open.

  The office space was empty.Harrison marched onto the room and swiftly turned right. Goody followed immediately, catching the door before it hit the wall behind, Smaille following closely behind. After the all clear signal, Samantha, Child and Stulz stepped into the room too. No verbal communication was necessary now. Harrison led the way towards the left hand door of the inner offices. Child
went to the right hand door and pressed his ear against it. Harrison waited for Child’s verdict. Child shook his head to indicate that no sound came from within. The left hand room it was.

  Harrison held the door handle with his left hand, and grasped his gun in the other. Glancing back towards the group, he saw that everyone was ready for action. With a swift nod, he twisted the door handle, thrust the door wide open and took two quick steps into the inner office.

  ‘Police!’ he yelled. ’Stay where you are!’ Goody moved to the left, his gun extended out in front of him. Smaille stepped through the open door. Three guns lined themselves in front of the two men inside. Tagahasi didn’t even look over his shoulder at the three police officers. He remained seated at his computer console, staring at the screen. His fingers jabbed down twice on three keys before the screen went blank. Only then did he turn to look at the intruders, content in the knowledge that his program was safe.

  The other younger man, showed even less of a reaction. He slowly stepped forward to place himself beside Tagahasi, his face devoid of expression.

  ‘Damn,’ muttered Smaille, watching the screen die. He had hoped to keep their programme running. ‘Stand still!’ he commanded again. The younger man looked blankly up at Smaille as if he didn’t understand the command. He turned to his older companion and spoke quietly in Japanese.

  ‘Tagahasi, I am sorry my friend,’ he said, a coldness in his voice. He then casually dropped an arm around Tagahasi’s neck, and with a sudden savage pull and twist, he snapped his neck. ‘Orders are orders,’ the man said plainly. Smaille, Goody and Harrison had no time to respond. Suddenly, the man launched himself at Smaille. His hand was only a foot away from his gun before Smaille reacted by pulling the trigger. The bullet drove through the palm of the man’s hand, spraying the ceiling with blood, before it continued on its journey to graze the top of his forehead, his whole body jerking on impact. The man bounced and twisted, like a puppet on a string, as two more bullets hit him in the chest almost simultaneously. Both bullets continued through the body, splattering the walls behind with blood. The body then crumpled to the floor, blood oozing from the six bullet holes. The puppet show was over. Death came to him quickly. Smaille looked down at the bodies of the two Japanese men sprawled on the carpet at his feet. He cursed silently under his breath. He wanted to keep at least one of the men alive, as well as the computer program running. But he had neither now. They would have to do things the hard way.

  Child and Samantha stepped into the inner office, their guns down at their sides. They looked down at the two bodies. Child shrugged and stepped around the pool of blood forming around the man who had been shot. He went over to Tagahasi’s body. Reaching down, Child checked for a carotid pulse. Feeling nothing, he gently moved Tagahasi’s head back into place. It wobbled freely with the movement. His neck had been cleanly broken.

  Smaille returned his gun to his shoulder holster before turning to Stulz. ‘Cover that front door, Stulz, we don’t need any unwanted guests,’ he commanded. Stulz nodded and returned to his position behind the door, allowing him the drop on any visitors. Meanwhile, Child sat in Tagahasi’s chair in front of the computer terminal. He hit the return button and a standard entry request flashed up. It required a username and a password on it.

  ‘I presume you’re the computer expert?’ Child asked Goody. ‘How long does it take you to break into one of these things?

  ‘Moving over to stand beside to Child, Goody inspected screen. ‘It would take me forever, but with a little help from some friends of mine we should be able to get it done in about two to eight hours,’ Goody explained. ‘Depends on how complicated the security system is here.’

  ‘Get your friends to help us,’ Child stressed urgently, ‘we need to break these codes as soon as possible.’

  ‘What’s the rush, Simon,’ Samantha stepped in, ‘we have control back now, and we can limit the information given out.’

  ‘That’s not the problem,’ Child replied as he turned to face the group again. Smaille was the only one who showed the beginnings of understanding. ‘You’re the expert here, Goody, how long do you think it would take to set up this room?’

  Goody quickly appraised what he could see and soon found his answer. ‘They probably ran their own power lines in here, and set up a dish on the roof,’ he explained. ‘Set up and connect and see… right, yes, I’d say six to eight hours for a quick job, maybe a day to do it thoroughly.’

  ‘That’s about what I thought,’ Child nodded. ‘Also, they’ve known we were on to this address since yesterday afternoon —why didn’t they move the equipment?’

  ‘There’s more here than we think,’ replied Goody,

  ‘They thought their protection was good enough…’ Child mused.

  ‘Possibly, but—’

  ‘Not possibly,’ Smaille interrupted Goody. ‘I’d say they didn’t move the equipment because they were already using it, and they didn’t want to disrupt its function.’

  ‘Its function being…’ prompted Child.

  ‘We don’t know yet, but we better find out fast,’ countered Smaille. ‘Goody, you get down to the car and grab your box of tricks — you have some serious work to do.’

  ‘I’ll help him,’ Samantha offered as she followed Goody into the corridor.

  ‘There is one other thought,’ Child said slowly.

  ‘What’s that?’ asked Smaille. He had an increasing respect for Child’s way of thinking.

  ‘They might’ve stayed here because of some function or event that was yet to happen… something so vital that they couldn’t risk the program being disconnected at any time…’

  ‘Maybe,’ said Smaille, ‘but we can counter that threat by simply disconnecting the program ourselves from here?’

  ‘I don’t think we should do that,’ Child said slowly.

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Well, I’m no espionage expert, but if I was setting up an operation like this, I would have a second facility — something ready to go at time — that was linked into the first.’

  ‘Yeah… you could be right,’ Smaille nodded begrudgingly.

  ‘Also,’ Child continued, ‘I would have the second facility set up to delete any incriminating files by default if either one of the facilities is unexpectedly disconnected. In fact, why not delete all the files? Then the pathway would be untraceable…’

  ‘Okay, okay, you’re right, we need to keep the program online,’ Smaille muttered in a slightly exasperated way. Suddenly, an idea came to Smaille too.

  ‘Child, if they have a second facility set up somewhere, why didn’t they transfer over there once their cover was blown?’

  ‘That’s the thing that really worries me,’ Child agreed. ‘What is it about this specific equipment that makes it so damn special?’ Behind the computer’s hard plastic casing, its electronic timer clicked over to 14.30. Only six and half hours to go until all communications ceased.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Lee was puzzled. He had successfully followed Child into the office building and watched as the elevator rose to the sixth floor. Mitsu had not told him about Blue Water Securities, so he didn’t know the significance of this building. Lee then tried to contact Mitsu but could only reach his voicemail. After leaving Mitsu a message explaining where he had followed Child to, Lee settled down in the ground floor reception area to watch and wait. An hour later, when Goody and Samantha stepped out of the elevator and exited the building, Lee was tempted to follow Samantha out. She was still a target on his list, but he knew that Child was his chief concern. Either way, a clean kill of both targets was preferred. Lee was puzzled further when Goody and Samantha returned to the building a few minutes later, each carrying a black leather briefcase. Lee wondered what he should do? He had no word of reply from Mitsu. Lee decided to follow orders and settled down into his chair to observe the main exits, waiting for his chance to kill. Up on the sixth floor there was a hive of activity. The two prisoners were brought b
ack into office, and placed in the vacant right-hand room. Both men were now awake but refused to answer any questions from Smaille, Child or Gray. Ritson grew irritated by their lack of compliance and taped their mouths shut again.

  After Smaille had searched the two dead men, Child and Ritson moved them into the same room as the prisoners. The prisoner’s eyes grew wide with shock and muffled protests could be heard coming from beneath the tape as the bodies were unceremoniously dumped on the floor beside them. Ritson brought in a chair from the other room, sat down, folded his arms and faced the prisoners.

  In the computer room, Goody set his electronic code breaker to work. In this case, Goody had programmed the device to try all Japanese words and any related symbols first. The code breaker scanned thousands of possibilities in a few seconds, and almost a hundred thousand a minute. The device worked quickly, but because of the large number of possibilities, Goody knew that it could still take some hours. Still, they might get lucky and get a hit early on. Once Goody had set the device up, he opened up his other briefcase and plugged it into the back of the other computer terminal. The aim was to circumvent the computer’s security system by reprogramming it. He wasn’t very hopeful as he guessed Tagahasi was an expert, and such a man would have several safeguards built into any system he used.

  Harrison called in a special retrieval team to remove the bodies, and then went down to the ground floor foyer to meet them. To avoid any complications, Harrison had taken responsibility for shooting the assailant after he had murdered Tagahasi right in front of him. The other bullet holes in the assailant’s body were to be explained away as self-protection from a fellow officer. Harrison expected no problems.

  Smaille and Stulz stood discussing the events of the day in the larger office area. Samantha and Gray watched Goody as he worked. Both had strong technical knowledge of computer systems and were willing to watch an expert at work.

  Child sat down on the floor of the office with his back against the wall, elbows on knees, his hands cupping his chin. Some small detail in his subconscious was nagging him. By nature Child was not impatient, but he knew that time was crucial now and he wanted to speed up a result. He mentally reviewed the events of the day and how they had reached this stage. Suddenly, Child realised who would know the workings and purpose of the computer programs in this office: Kioki.