Myra’s shoulders straightened imperceptibly. Her right hand went to her pearls while her left hand picked up her sandwich. She took a huge bite and looked across the room at Dennis, who was waiting for a compliment. She nodded, and he smiled.
All was good.
The old-fashioned wall phone took that moment to ring. Kathryn was the closest, so she picked it up, and they all heard her say, “Okay.”
“What?” Nikki demanded.
“Our fearless leader is ready for us in the war room.”
Harry was off his seat like he’d been shot out of a cannon and was on his way out of the kitchen when he turned around as he remembered his wife. She ran after him.
The dogs decided to voice an opinion, but their barking was cut short when Cooper started to herd them all into the family room. The sudden silence was almost deafening.
“That dog scares the living hell out of me,” Alexis whispered to Isabelle. “I think he . . . I think he isn’t . . . real. He looks real, acts real, but I think he’s . . . a spirit or something. What do you think, Isabelle?” Her voice was so fretful, Isabelle shivered.
“Let’s just, you know, pretend he’s real, okay? That way we won’t have to worry about . . . whatever it is we’re worrying about.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Alexis said.
“I know. Move, Alexis, or they’ll close the door on us, and we’ll be stuck up here with the dogs and . . . and Cooper.” That’s all Alexis had to hear. She picked up her feet and ran to the opening that would take them down the old, moss-covered stone steps to the war room.
Once inside, no one spoke as they took their seats. To the naked eye, nothing had changed except that Charles’s sparse hair was a little more askew and Fergus seemed more agitated, but nobody dared to mention it. The only sound to be heard was the clatter of the computer keys and the whirring of the fax machine. They waited, each busy with his or her thoughts, their eyes on Lady Justice.
Harry kept his eyes on the oversize watch on his wrist, his breathing slow and shallow. When the minute hand turned over for the tenth time, he rose from his chair just as Charles and Fergus descended the steps into the major part of the war room. He sat down immediately, his eyes narrow and speculative. Yoko reached for his hand and squeezed it. Harry squeezed back.
Charles spoke bullet fast to make up for lost time. “Lizzie is incorporating Crescent China Tours and backstopping everything. We need three days. Actually, five days would be ideal, but we all know time is of the essence here. I’m sorry, Harry, it’s the best we can do to ensure safety for everyone. As much as you don’t like it, you will have to accept it. If there were a way to speed this up, you know we would do it.
“We, Fergus and I, have come up with what we think is the perfect entry into China, via Hong Kong using Crescent China Tours. A gambling junket for us all. Annie’s owning Babylon in Vegas gives the whole trip credibility. Our story is she is considering building a casino in Macau. Two days in Hong Kong, time to get some clothing and shoes made to order, buy some jade, and have high tea at the Peninsula Hotel. From there it’s an hour-long ferry ride to Macau, where all the gambling is done. Everything legitimate and aboveboard. If I’m not mistaken, there are several Vegas casinos already in Macau. Gambling is a very, very big business in China. Actually, it’s one of their major industries as far as I can tell. No one will give us all a second thought or look. You only go to Macau to gamble. It will be as legitimate as we can make it. A day or so to set the wheels in motion, then we take off for Song Mountain. I don’t exactly know how we’re going to do that. Yet. We’re working on it.”
Annie jumped up off her chair. “Good Lord, do you know how absolutely perfect that is, Charles?” Without waiting for a response, she prattled on, excitement ringing in her voice. “Bert and I have been having discussions this whole past year on whether we want to take our business to Macau. He’s made two trips already to scout it out and lay the groundwork. We’ve had dozens of meetings with our lawyers, who think it’s a great idea. I’ve been dragging my feet for some reason, and I don’t know why. Wynn has a casino there, and the Sands also. Bert was in talks with both owners just last week. Did you know that, Charles? Of course you didn’t, because I never told you,” Annie said, answering her own question. “I think we should call Bert and alert him and take him with us. He’s going to need some time to arrange things in his absence. Oh, oh, this is just so perfect. Now, I’m feeling a whole lot better about this junket to China.”
“Well, I’m not. We’re talking five days here on American soil, then another four or so once we hit China. That’s practically ten whole days!” Harry exploded. “Do you know what could happen to my daughter in ten days? Already with this plan of yours, we’re into next week. This is not going to work for me.”
“It has to work, Harry. Right now, you’re dealing emotionally while the rest of us are dealing with the reality of a trip into China to do a rescue. First of all, no one with half a brain would try that without proper government sponsorship. But . . . we’re going to do it, so that means we have to make sure our plan is foolproof. I am as sure as I can be that your daughter is safe. She might be a hostage with the other children, but they’re also safe. If you need further proof, just ask yourself why Cooper isn’t sitting by the door or crawling up your leg to get this show on the road. That damn dog knows Lily is safe, and he knows we’re working it. Get with the program here, Harry,” Jack said firmly but not unkindly.
“Or?” Harry snarled.
“Don’t go there,” Jack snarled in return.
“We’re good here, Jack,” Yoko said softly. “We understand.”
“All right then, moving along here,” Charles said, his tone indicating relief that things were back on an even keel. “Avery Snowden tells us the special phones Jun Ling and her children had on them are one of a kind. As in CIA special. Where Jun Yu got them is a mystery, which means we will probably never know. Avery tells us that the same name and phone number are programmed into each phone. No, he did not call the number. On the off chance, I’m sure, that they might self-destruct. As in Mission Impossible. That kind of thing. There is just no way of knowing, since none of us has ever seen such a phone.”
“Whose number is it? What is the name?” Yoko asked. “Is it anyone we know?”
Charles looked at Harry. “We do know that much. The number belongs to someone named Dishbang Deshi. Avery said the man runs an import-export business in Hong Kong. His showroom is on Silk Road. He imports and exports raw silk. He’s quite wealthy, is married, and has seven daughters, none of whom go to the Shaolin Monastery because Dishbang Deshi’s American wife will not allow it. I understand that you know this man, Harry.”
Harry’s face registered pure shock. “Very well, as a matter of fact. The three of us were at the Shaolin Monastery as boys. We’re the same age. We were like brothers without the bloodline. We palled around together as much as it was allowed. You could say we bonded out of necessity back then. We swore our lives to each other. Dishbang Deshi was every bit as good at martial arts as Jun Yu and I. But he didn’t take it as seriously as the two of us did. He wanted to have fun, and having fun was not something the monks approved of. In many ways, I think Jun and I would have cut and run during the early years but for Dishbang Deshi. He kept us level, if you know what I mean. In his own way, he taught us not to take ourselves so seriously. He wanted us to know there was a life outside the monastery, and we needed to know that so we could survive once we left the monks. He had a different upbringing than Jun Yu and I. Dishbang Deshi came from wealth. The Jun family and the Wongs were simple farmers. Neither of our families or we knew anything of the world outside the farm and the monastery. Dishbang Deshi educated us. To the monks’ chagrin, I might add.
“I talk to Dishbang Deshi perhaps twice a year. If there is a trial, a contest, or an exhibition, then I see both of them more often. None of us ever missed an event. Jun Yu and Dishbang Deshi saw each other more often b
ecause they both still lived in China. Jun Yu used to go to Hong Kong on a regular basis, mini-vacations if you will. He was always granted special privileges because of his status. Now it’s starting to make sense to me that Jun Yu would smuggle his family to Hong Kong and trust Dishbang Deshi to get them to me here in America. Why haven’t you called the number? What are you all waiting for?”
“We want you to call. Your friend will talk openly to you as opposed to someone he doesn’t know. At least I’m hoping he will. There is no speaker feature on these phones. We want you to call the number, and we want you to speak English. Dishbang Deshi does speak English, doesn’t he?”
“Fluently. He has to because of the business he runs. Give me the phone, and I’ll call him. What’s the time now?”
“We’re good timewise. I’m thinking it wouldn’t matter if it were the middle of the night, if he’s expecting you to call him.”
Jack wondered if he was the only one to notice the tremor in Harry’s hands as he reached for the phone. In all the years he’d known Harry, this was the first time he’d ever seen Harry anything but rock solid. Seeing what he was seeing set his stomach into turmoil. He felt rather than saw Nikki’s hand on his arm. She had noticed it, too. Her touch calmed him right away, much the way Yoko’s touch could calm Harry.
The room was deathly quiet as Harry hit the programmed number on the strange-looking cell phone. Jack didn’t realize that he’d been holding his breath until he heard Harry say, “It’s Harry, Dishbang Deshi. Talk to me.” He listened for a full two minutes before he said, “The three of them are safe. Even the triads can’t find them.” He listened again, longer this time, four minutes, Jack thought as he stared at his watch. It felt like an eternity.
Harry spoke again. “What do you mean you aren’t safe? You sent your family back to the States yesterday. Why are you so worried? You need to tell me right now what is going on if you want my help. I don’t want any bullshit, either, Dishbang Deshi. Stop beating around the bush and tell me straight out what’s going on. Not what you think is going on, what is actually going on. Jun Ling said she knows nothing, only that Jun Yu said he was in trouble. How’s that possible, that she doesn’t know what kind of trouble her husband was in? Don’t go giving me that crap that this is America, and we do things differently here. Pillow talk is the same the world over.” Harry listened again, this time for five minutes, according to Jack’s watch. An eternity.
“Three days, four at the most. I can’t tell you that. You’ll see me when you see me is the best I can offer you right now. I have one question, Dishbang Deshi. Why didn’t you help Jun Yu?” Harry listened, his mouth a grim, tight line in his face. Two minutes this time, Jack thought. Back among the living. That was good.
“I want to know about my daughter. I don’t care about your sorry ass or how many excuses you come up with. Nor do I care about the two tons of silk you need to ship. You should have been there for him. You should have sensed he was in trouble, Dishbang Deshi. Didn’t you learn anything at the monastery? Now tell me again why Jun Yu couldn’t get my daughter when he snatched his son Hop and daughter Gan.” Harry’s shoulders sagged as he listened to the voice on the other end of the line. Then he shrugged and tossed the phone to Charles. “It’s dead.”
“Talk to us, Harry,” Myra said gently.
“Dishbang Deshi did a lot of talking, but he really doesn’t know anything. He said when Jun Yu called him he was vague and wouldn’t confide in him. He said Jun Yu told him the less he knew, the less he could be blamed for if things turned dicey. That’s how Jun Yu was. He did, however, scare Dishbang Deshi enough that he sent his family to the States. Mississippi, to be precise. He said the watchers, that’s what he called them, which translates to the triads, would be no match for the bubbas in Mississippi. He got word a short while ago that his entire family is safe and in the bosom of his wife’s family. He said he knows he himself is being watched. He’s scared. No, that’s wrong; Dishbang Deshi is petrified.”
“But why?” Annie demanded.
“He doesn’t know. He thinks it has something to do with gambling. The monks are a peaceful lot and not into deviousness. There’s a new Abbot at the monastery, and he’s not exactly in favor. He said he’s heard rumors over the past year, since the new Abbot took over, that there is a faction that wants to commercialize the whole province. He has no proof. He thinks Jun Yu had the proof, but he isn’t sure. Dishbang Deshi is living at his place of business now that his family is gone. He says there are a lot of people around him to protect him and also to warn him if they sense trouble. He is anxious for me to get there. He doesn’t want to end up like Jun Yu.
“He said, the day Jun Yu went to get his son Hop and daughter Gan, he didn’t know the foreign students had been moved several days before. His son told him that men came, a lot of men, who walked with the Abbot and took all the foreigners away. And some of the older Chinese. Hop did not know where they were taken so he couldn’t advise his father. Dishbang Deshi said Jun Yu wanted to stay to try to find Lily, but the people with him said it was too dangerous and that they had to leave. I believe him. For whatever it’s worth,” Harry said sadly.
Maggie Spritzer let loose with a very unladylike sound. “So where does all this leave us?”
Charles looked up at the bank of clocks on the back wall that told the time all over the world. They hung directly behind Lady Justice. “Where that leaves us right at this precise moment is where we are. It’s late. I suggest you all try to catch some sleep, and we’ll reconvene in the morning. Fergus and I will be working here throughout the night. By morning, we should have something significant to report. All of you, stop looking at me like I’m some kind of ogre. Fergus and I are just two people. We do have other people working with us, but they also need time to gather information and get it to us, at which point we’ll know better how things will work.” Charles’s voice took on an edge of steel when he said, “If any of you think you can do a better job, have at it. If not, skedaddle and let us do what we do best.”
Skedaddle? Now that’s a word I haven’t heard in at least a hundred years, Jack thought. He risked a glance at Harry, who looked like he was ready to explode any second.
Topside, which meant the kitchen, Jack took Harry aside, and said, “Let’s take all the dogs for a run. Across the field. You need it more than they do, Harry, so let’s do it. You need to lighten up, or this whole thing is going to come crashing down around all of us. You know in your gut that Charles is doing all he can. He loves Lily just the way we all do. We’re gonna make it work. You need to believe that. If you don’t, I’m going to kick that scrawny ass of yours all the way to the Canadian border. Now, what’s it going to be?”
Harry was saved from responding when Cooper appeared out of nowhere and nudged his leg. Harry shrugged as he reached for his jacket and opened the door. Cooper raced off into the dark night.
Harry whirled around. “You really believe all that, Jack?”
“I do, Harry.”
“Okay, then. What are we racing toward?”
“Nothing. Just running till we can’t run anymore. You okay with that?”
Harry thought about it for a minute. “Yeah.”
Chapter 6
Bert Navarro stared at the monitor above his desk. The floor of the casino was a throbbing mass of human flesh making enough noise to rock the casino. Nine o’clock at night, and the place was juking and jiving as it did every weekend night. He sighed as he continued to watch for his right-hand man, Dixson Kelly, as he approached his private office.
He felt good about leaving Dix in charge. They were old buddies from back in the day when Bert ran the FBI. Dix was his counterpart at the CIA. The spook business didn’t pay anywhere near what the casino paid him, and Dix liked Anna de Silva and the weird way she did business, so he had been an easy recruit. He liked and respected Bert, so it was a no-brainer when Bert asked him if he wanted the job as his right-hand man. He’d snapped it up, hopped into hi
s RV and headed west, set up shop, and the rest was history.
Bert watched Dix as he strode down the long hallway that was off-limits to everyone except key personnel. Dix would be the perfect person to head up a casino in Macau if that’s the way things ended up. He had no baggage, no wife, no children, a few brothers he saw once every other year or so. His downfall, if you could call it that, was that he liked the showgirls. Maybe a little too much, but that was the private side of his life, and as long as it didn’t interfere with the job he had to do, Bert was okay with it.
Bert grinned as he watched his associate approach. He was everything Hollywood and the big screen depicted when featuring a CIA operative. Tall, six-four, weight around 210 depending if he ate pasta the day of the weigh-in. He was buff and ripped or whatever the saying was these days. The thing about Dix was his eyes, piercing blue, and they commanded truth. He could spot a cheat a mile away on a foggy day. It was said up and down the strip that Bert and Dix ran the tightest ship in all of Vegas, something both men were proud of.
Right this moment, Bert’s dilemma was how much to tell Dix. Certainly nothing about the sisters or the guys. Best to keep it strictly to the business at hand. Dix had stood in for him on the two occasions when he’d gone to China to get the lay of the land, so he was privy to all of that. This third trip fell right into that plan, so maybe the ex-spook wouldn’t ask too many questions.
Three sharp knocks on the door—Dix’s announcement of his presence. Bert pressed a button, and the hydraulic door hissed open.
The piercing blue eyes took everything in at one glance, Bert’s casual attire of jeans, Izod pullover, Nike running shoes, the duffel bag by the door. “Nothing like waiting for the last minute to tell me you were leaving,” Dix said lazily as he flopped down on one of the three ergonomic chairs in the office. That was another thing about Dix—he was like a bendable Gumby, loose as a goose.
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