Yoko was standing at the top of the steps, her hands out in front of her, the signal for Harry to grind to a halt. “What? What?” Harry bellowed. Cooper continued to bark. Harry was so relieved that his wife was all in one piece and okay, he flopped back against the wall to catch his breath. “What’s the emergency?”
“Calm down. Take a deep breath, Harry. Then we are going to go into the kitchen. Oh, Cooper, it’s good to see you. Welcome home!” Yoko said as she hugged the dog and tickled his ears. He allowed it, and when she was done, he beelined for the kitchen and started to howl.
“What the hell. . . .”
“Come along, dear. Mind your manners now,” Yoko said in a voice that Harry could only describe as fierce.
Harry went through the kitchen doorway first, and his jaw dropped as he stared across the room at the tiny woman and two children huddled together. Teacups were on the table, along with rice cakes. Guests. No, not guests. Jun Yu’s family. His wife Jun Ling, daughter Gan, and son Hop. At the sight of Harry, Jun Ling burst into tears. The children huddled even closer.
“Do something, Harry,” Yoko hissed. “And make Cooper stop barking. He’s scaring the children.”
One look from Harry, one light touch to Cooper’s head, and the big dog grew silent. He sat back on his haunches, statue-still. Yoko sighed at the silence. Then Harry started talking in rapid-fire Chinese. His words shot out faster than a runaway train. Being Japanese, Yoko was only able to decipher every fifth word or so, and none of it made any sense to her. Though Jun Ling usually spoke pretty good English, as upset as she was, her English seemed to have deserted her, so Yoko continued to listen as Jun Ling, using her hands, spoke totally in Chinese just as fast as Harry had as she tried to say everything she needed to say.
It was something bad. Yoko could tell by the way Harry’s head bowed and his shoulders sagged. It took a full ten minutes before the kitchen was once again silent. Yoko knew it was ten minutes because her eyes had been on the clock on the range the whole time.
“Harry, tell me, what’s wrong?”
Harry turned around, his eyes wet as he stared at his wife. “This,” he said, indicating Jun Ling and the children, “is what Jun Yu said he was sending me. What he wanted me to guard with my life because he told Jun Ling I was the only one he could trust. He managed to smuggle them to safety with just the clothes on their backs, Jun Ling’s backpack, and the three special cell phones he gave them. He said they were not to use them until they were safely out of China.”
“But why? What happened? Does she know?”
“No, she doesn’t know. She just said Jun Yu was in trouble. Big trouble. He told her the less she knew, the safer she would be. She says she’s not safe even here. She flew into New York, then from New York to here. Some of the same people on the plane from China followed her here. She thinks so, anyway. It’s possible the people she’s referring to had Washington, D.C., as their final destination, just as it was her final stop. As you can see, she is petrified, as are the children, and her English seems to have deserted her for the moment. Not surprising, given how upset she is.”
“What are we going to do, Harry?”
“We’re leaving right now. Get everything together, and we’ll head out to Pinewood. I’ll call Jack to alert him.”
“Harry, there’s nothing to get together. What you see is what there is. They arrived like this. Does she think they, whoever they are, followed her here to the dojo?”
Another rapid volley of Chinese. Harry shook his head as he punched out the number of Jack’s cell phone. “She doesn’t know. She said there were too many cars, and they all looked alike to her. The children are afraid of the dog.”
Harry was surprised at how calm his voice suddenly became when he heard Jack say hello.
“Jesus, Harry, I’ve been counting the minutes till you got home. I was just going to call you when you called me. I had my finger on the send button.”
“Why? Why were you calling me?”
“Because I have something to tell you, and I want you sitting down when I tell you. Tell me Yoko is there with you. Tell me that, Harry.”
“Yes, Yoko is here. So is Cooper. So tell me what you have to tell me.”
“You called me, so you go first. Is everything okay? What was the emergency?” Jack said, stalling for time.
“You remember that Jun Yu said he was sending me something I needed to guard with my life?”
“Yeah, yeah, I remember that. Did it get there? What is it?”
“His wife, Jun Ling, and his two kids, Hop and Gan. They’re sitting here in my kitchen. They came with only the clothes on their backs and special cell phones, whatever the hell that means. Jun Ling said some of the same people who got on the plane with her in China traveled all the way with her to Washington. Asians. She came through Kennedy in New York to Dulles. She said Jun Yu managed to smuggle them out. I want to bring them out to the farm, but first I want you to call Jack Sparrow to have his agents give us an escort. Then I want you to get in touch with Pearl, so she can take this little family to safety via her underground railroad. Can you do that, Jack?”
“Well, yeah. I have you on speakerphone. Annie and Myra are on it right now. Don’t open the door to anyone, Harry. Do you hear me?”
“I’m not stupid, Jack. What did you want to tell me?”
“I don’t think this is the time and the phone . . . we can talk when you get here.”
“Tell me now. Nothing can be worse than this.”
“You wanna bet? You know that old saying, when it rains it pours? When I got here, Fergus and Charles had C-SPAN on, and a bulletin flashed across the screen. Just a bulletin, Harry, with no details.”
“Okay, I get it, a bulletin with no details. Do I need to yank it out of you?”
“Jun Yu is dead. He was killed today. Actually, they used the word slaughtered.
“If I remember correctly, Jun Ling doesn’t speak English, and you said the kids are there, so how are you going to handle this?”
“Very carefully but not here,” Harry said, his head reeling at the news and not bothering to tell Jack that Jun Ling’s English was usually quite good. “Right now they’re exhausted, and I don’t think Jun Ling can handle any more bad news. You’re sure, Jack, there’s no mistake.”
“Harry, I’m as sure as the bulletin I saw sliding across the screen. It’s still running across. It’s for real. Still no details. You okay, Harry?”
“No. How long before the agents get here?”
“Ten minutes,” Harry heard Annie loudly in the background. “Be downstairs waiting. Two agents, Panellie and Dante. We’ll be waiting for you to get here. And Pearl should be here by the time you and the others arrive. We have it covered, Harry.”
“I’m going to China,” Harry said.
“We’re all going to China but not right this minute. The girls are on it, Harry. They’re waiting for Yoko. You know they don’t make a move until everyone is present,” Jack said, coming back to the phone. “Easy does it, buddy. See ya when you get here.”
Harry looked down at the phone in his hand, then over at his wife, who was staring at him, her eyes narrowed. How much to tell her? Everything, by the expression on her face. He swallowed hard as he led her from the room and whispered what Jack had told him. Yoko’s hands flew to her face as she fell into Harry’s arms.
“Don’t tell them. Not yet. I’m so sorry, Harry. I know how much you loved Jun Yu, and he you. Proof is sitting in our kitchen. Of all the people in the whole world, he chose you to safeguard his little family. We must honor that wish.”
Harry’s head bobbed. “Gather them up and meet me downstairs. Do we take Cooper or leave him here?”
There was no need for Yoko to respond, because Cooper had his one-eared rabbit with its half tail in his mouth. He was ready to go. So ready, he beat Harry to the steps and the workout room. He settled himself by the steel door as a sentinel.
Harry reached down to pat Cooper’s head.
“This is something I never expected. I don’t know if I can handle this, Cooper.” Cooper whined to show he understood.
The knock when it came seemed exceptionally loud to Harry. He leaned in closer in time to hear the words, “Agents Panellie and Dante. We have orders from Director Sparrow to transport you and your family to Pinewood. Are you ready, Mr. Wong?”
Harry opened the door to admit the two agents. “Wait here, and I’ll gather up the family.”
Dante, the taller of the two, looked at Cooper sitting by Harry and said, “No one said anything about a dog.”
Harry stopped in his tracks. “The dog goes with us. He’s the reason we have to leave. What’s it going to be?”
Panellie was whispering on the phone. When he ended the call, he said, “Director Sparrow said the dog goes. Can you speed this up, Mr. Wong?”
“Sure thing, Mr. Super Agent,” Harry muttered as he raced through the workout room, down the hall, then up the steps, bellowing every step of the way. All he could hear was rapid-fire Chinese that sounded like curses to him, crying kids, and Yoko screeching in Japanese.
Harry whistled between his teeth, a sharp, shrill sound that created immediate silence. “That’s better. Let’s go. The agents are waiting for us.”
“Is it safe, Harry?” Yoko whispered.
“As safe as two special agents of the FBI can make it be is my guess. Plus, we have Cooper.”
Outside, everyone piled into a dark-colored van that said MONGELLO HEATING & AIR on the side panels in stark white lettering. The doors slid open. Yoko went in first, then helped the kids and Jun Ling. Next, Cooper hopped in, his rabbit between his teeth. Harry climbed in last and yanked at the door. He immediately set the lock before he settled back in his seat for the forty-five-minute ride to Pinewood.
“Crap! I forgot my phone again. Yoko, did you bring yours?”
“No. It’s on the kitchen counter charging right next to yours.”
Harry closed his eyes and leaned back as he tried to come to terms with what was happening all around him. He refused to allow thoughts of his daughter to enter his head. Maybe Jack was right, and he was losing his edge.
Forty minutes later, Harry found himself standing in Myra and Charles’s kitchen. Explanations happened quick and fast, with everyone offering an opinion. He moved off to the side of the kitchen, out of the way. The others could handle things now. He’d gotten everyone here in one piece. He needed to do something right now.
Find your center, Harry, he warned himself. Work outward. Find your center. Clear your mind. He moved then from one plane to the next, his breathing evening out until he was at peace with his body and his soul.
Yoko watched her husband and knew exactly what he was doing. She sighed with relief as she stared at the family across from her. How lost they were, how sad. She knew they would all be devastated when Harry told them about Jun Yu. She was devastated, and she barely knew the man, but Harry always said he was a brother to him.
Annie looked around Myra’s overflowing kitchen. “I think we need to relocate to the family room. Harry can stay here as long as need be. Hustle, people,” she said as she watched Myra herd Jun Ling and the two children forward.
The youngsters were clinging to their mother’s legs, their eyes filled with terror at the gaggle of people all talking at once.
“Where the hell is Pearl?” Kathryn bellowed.
“Five minutes out,” Nikki shouted back.
All seven dogs, not knowing what to do either, followed Cooper’s silent orders and lined up in front of the fireplace, then sat back on their haunches to await further orders.
Ted Robinson scribbled notes in a ratty notebook he kept in his back pocket as he muttered to Maggie, who just looked befuddled at what was going on. Espinosa discreetly snapped pictures of the mother and her children.
“I’m going outside to wait for Pearl. I don’t want her coming through the kitchen door and disturbing Harry. I’ll bring her through the front,” Jack said.
Charles stepped forward to where Jun Ling was cowering and held out his cell phone and asked for hers. She shook her head no. Charles nodded yes and held out his hand. Jun Ling started to cry and speak in Chinese. The children wailed at the top of their lungs. The dogs howled but did not move out of position. In the end, Charles had the three special phones in his hand.
Fergus looked at Annie and shrugged. “If the phones were the last thing her husband gave her, then that’s why she’s unwilling to part with hers and the ones the children were clutching in their hands. I understand that. We need Harry to speak to her but not until he’s ready.”
“This is not going to go well,” Kathryn muttered as she remembered the last dustup she had had with Pearl and her rules of secrecy.
“No, dear, it isn’t,” Myra agreed as she finally gave up trying to appease the children. “They are frightened out of their wits. We need to keep that in mind.”
“Yeah, well, I’m thinking that mother does understand some English and is playing stupid. Harry told us all back when Lily entered the monastery that she would be learning Chinese and those children from China would be learning English. So there is a good chance the boy Hop knows some English, as do his mother and sister. For all we know, the father might have told them to pretend they don’t understand. The way things are going now just does not work for me.”
“You want to bring it to a test?” Isabelle asked. “If so, corner Pearl when she gets here and threaten to separate the children from the mother. That should give you your answer.”
“That sounds . . . cruel,” Alexis said.
“Do you have a better idea?” Kathryn snapped.
Alexis was saved from replying by Jack and Pearl’s appearance in the family room. Once again, everyone started talking at once. The dogs remained in place, with Cooper growling low in his throat. But he didn’t advance or make any other move.
Jack whistled sharply. The room went silent to give Pearl the floor. “One person, talk. Everyone else, keep quiet,” Pearl said as she eyed the three newcomers.
Myra explained the situation right down to Kathryn’s opinion. Everyone in the room knew that Pearl and Kathryn were not bosom buddies and that Kathryn had brought Pearl to her knees twice when she refused to divulge information the sisters needed. To those keeping score it was Kathryn 2 and Pearl O. Pearl kept nodding to show she understood what was needed and expected.
“I admit we came up with this scenario on the fly, Pearl, but we thought if we could spirit them across the field to our farmhouse, you could take it from there just in case anyone followed them out here. The agents said there were no tails, but those Chinese are a slippery group,” Nikki said. “If we can get them to our house, can you take it from there?”
“I will need to make some calls first, but I think it’s doable.”
“And we need to know where they are at all times,” Kathryn said. “That is not negotiable, Pearl.”
Pearl sighed. She didn’t have the stamina to go up against Kathryn yet again, so she simply nodded.
Harry took that moment to enter the kitchen. Jack looked at him sharply. Okaaay, this was the old Harry, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Jack brought him up to speed within minutes. Harry nodded. He nodded again when Jack told him Kathryn’s opinion and surprised Jack even more when Harry said that Jun Ling had a fair command of English. He did not, however, think she was faking an inability to understand but that, as upset as she was by what was going on, her English had pretty much deserted her.
“What’s our plan?” Charles asked.
“I think we should do it Nikki’s way. Turn all the floodlights off outside. We will take them across the field to Jack and Nikki’s by way of the pickup truck with a tarp spread over the passengers in the back. We can drive without lights since there is no traffic to take into account.”
“That should work,” Jack said, his eyes on Pearl, who was talking quietly on her cell, her head bobbing as she listened to the voice on the other end
of the line. She hung up and nodded to Jack.
“How much time do we have?” Nikki asked.
“Forty minutes,” Pearl said flatly.
Jack looked at Harry. “The floor is all yours.”
Harry looked across the room at Cooper, who was at his side in a nanosecond.
The sisters looked from one to the other as Harry rattled on at the speed of light. He was rewarded with moans, groans, tears, and sobs. Harry remained steely-eyed as he gathered up Jun Ling and carried her over to Pearl. He stood her upright and rattled off a string of Chinese. He went back and grabbed the children and carried them under his arms.
“Go!”
Annie looked at Yoko. “Did he tell them Jun Yu is dead?”
“Yes. That’s why they gave up the fight. What happens now?”
“I guess the boys will come back here once Pearl’s people take over. You do all understand that there is no way we could leave that mother and her children on the loose while we go to China,” Annie said.
“Of course we all understand that,” Fergus said. “It was the perfect solution. Actually, if you stop to think about it, it was the only solution. When we leave, we’ll be knowing they are safe. Starting a mission with something like that hanging over our heads simply would not work.”
They all agreed. Even Kathryn.
Myra looked over at her husband. “I think we could all use something to drink, and possibly something to eat, Charles. This has been a very hectic evening, and I see it getting still more hectic.”
“It will be my pleasure. Come along, Fergus, let’s leave the ladies to whatever it is they want to do or say that they don’t want us to hear.”
Chapter 4
Charles Martin risked a glance at the sisters and brothers over the top of the bank of computers he and Fergus Duffy were working on. He took a step back and looked over at Fergus, his right hand. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen them look so . . . so . . .”
“Pissed off is the term you’re looking for, mate. Can’t say as how you’re wrong since I agree. From this vantage point, all I can see is snapping, snarling, angry men and women. It would appear to me that not a single one of them is in the mood to listen to anything we might have to say. They’re used to dealing in action. They want to DO something. And they want to DO it now. As in now, Charles.”
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