by Jack Du Brul
“What’s my father doing?”
“Mourning you for one thing, but he’s taking the threat seriously. He’s checking with the CIA and others about recent Chinese missile movements. Also, Rene is going to get in touch with his people to corroborate our findings. With any luck we can get an Army Rapid Reaction Force down here before tomorrow.”
“Easier said than done,” Lauren said grimly. “You can’t just whistle up the cavalry to come to your rescue. The United States no longer has bases in Panama so they’ll have to mobilize out of Fort Bragg and then fly down. Unless they parachute in, the Panamanian authorities could deny them landing permission.”
“Maybe we’ll get lucky and there will be an assault ship in range with a load of marines.” Mercer’s voice betrayed that he doubted there would be such an eleventh-hour deliverance.
“I’m not too optimistic either,” Lauren agreed, then added, “but if there are marines close by, my dad will get them for us.”
“Listen, I just want to say . . .” Mercer was at a loss at how to continue. He sounded more intimate than he intended. “This sounds lame, but I am glad that you’re okay. I thought, we all thought that, well . . .”
Lauren laughed. “Please, don’t underwhelm me with sentiment.”
“You know what I’m trying to say.”
“I do, but it’s fun to hear you tongue-tied,” she teased.
The van made the turn from Avenue Balboa to Calle 53 Este. The hospital loomed on their left. “Lauren, I have to go. Can you get to the Radisson Royal?”
“Is that where you’re staying?”
“Yeah, we’ve got a couple rooms under Harry’s name.”
“Okay. I should be there in half an hour or so.” Her tone darkened. “Tell Lieutenant Foch that I’m sorry. Tomanovic died at the lock.”
“I’ll tell him. And Lauren, I can’t wait to see you.” Mercer smiled as he said it.
“Me too,” she replied and the phone went dead.
“Vic?” Foch asked when Mercer folded the cellular and shoved it back into his pocket. Mercer shook his head.
The Legionnaire had already accepted the Serb’s loss once and took the news with little outward reaction.
“How did she escape the lock?” Rene asked.
“I have no idea. I guess she’ll tell us in the hotel. We all set here?”
The driver swung the van toward the emergency room entrance, braking just shy of the busy doors.
Rene turned so he was looking at Maria. “You see what happened back there when you warned Liu’s men. If you try a stunt like that again, I will kill you myself.”
“I won’t.” Maria was still in shock from what she’d witnessed. Or maybe her numbness stemmed from understanding that had she not double-crossed her husband she’d be far wealthier than what Liu had promised.
Foch spoke with the driver and returned his crisp salute before whispering to the injured soldier. He kissed the man on both cheeks and followed Mercer and Maria out the side door of the van. The driver proceeded to the ER and what would no doubt be a long police interrogation. There were a number of cabs waiting at the hospital and a minute later the group was en route to the French embassy so Bruneseau could use their secure communications equipment to alert his people back home.
Mercer kept a close eye on Foch to make sure he didn’t strangle Maria Barber. Not that he wouldn’t blame him if he tried.
El Mirador
The confusion following Lauren’s escape had abated. The fury had not.
After learning what had happened, and the failure of a pursuit team to bring her back, Liu Yousheng locked himself in his office for twenty minutes. When Mr. Sun and Captain Chen were finally ushered into the room, they found the executive barely in control of himself. Liu’s face was red with suppressed rage and he had to turn his back on the two men before he could muster the discipline to speak clearly.
“I will deal with your pathetic excuses later,” he seethed when he faced them. “For now I need to concentrate on reducing the damage this can cause.”
He blew on his fingertips as if they’d been dipped in acid.
Captain Chen couldn’t meet Liu’s eye.
“Killing you two won’t make up for Ruiz’s stupidity, but don’t think the decision was an easy one to make. Ruiz has already paid for his idiocy. Your time will come.” Liu’s hot gaze fell on Sun. “What does she know and how can it hurt us?”
Sun had already considered his answer. “She knows the name Gemini—”
“Practically meaningless,” Liu snapped. That wasn’t exactly true, but he doubted anyone would link the code name to anything tangible.
“And,” Sun continued as if Liu hadn’t spoken, “she knows that our action is planned for tomorrow.” No matter what happened in Panama, Sun’s position within the Chinese military was too secure for him to worry about the anger of a man of Liu’s stature. That authority allowed him to remain tranquil in the face of his towering rage. “Telling her was part of my breaking her,” Sun stated, although there was no real need to explain himself.
Liu’s expression had narrowed and he regarded the torturer with utter contempt. Yet he was well aware of Sun’s influence in Beijing and maintained his silence. No doubt General Yu and Sun had spoken, probably this morning before the general’s flight back to China, which explained why Sun hadn’t arrived at the house until late morning. The sadistic torturer enjoyed Yu’s full protection.
For a frantic moment Liu wondered if the powers back home weren’t setting him up. Perhaps diplomatic lines had already been opened with the American authorities to explain how a rogue agent, without any support from Beijing, was planning on blowing up the canal. They might justify Yu’s unprecedented trip to the isthmus as an attempt to rein in an out-of-control COSTIND executive. If that were true, did they consider the forty million dollars in gold a small price to pay to untangle themselves from Red Island?
That concept alone dissolved Liu’s concern. If nothing more, Beijing was tight with their purse strings. If there was even a remote chance of Red Island’s success, they would protect their investment. However, Liu was wary. Factions back home would likely want his removal from COSTIND whether he succeeded or failed. That was one of communism’s many sins; triumph was met with as much condemnation as praise.
“Very well,” he said at last. He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed the Hatcherly headquarters in Balboa. A quick conversation with one of the executives confirmed the refrigerator ship Korvald, carrying the eight DF-31 ballistic missiles, was approaching Panamanian waters and would be ready to enter the dry dock tonight. More proof that Beijing is still behind me. He turned his attention back to Sun and Chen. “The rockets are almost here. We’ll make the assumption that Panama’s infernal rainy season will maintain its steady pace and tomorrow morning will enjoy its daily typical storm. I’ll call Felix Silvera-Arias to have Gemini’s scheduled transit moved to eight A.M. I told him last night that we’d send Gemini through in the afternoon.”
He added sourly, “It’s time he pays us back for the bribes he’s taken. Other than turning interest away from the Pedro Miguel Lock when we positioned the diving chamber and explaining away the incident on the car carrier, the canal director has done little for our cause.” He paused and changed the subject. “Chen, anything further on establishing the identity of the commandos?”
“The dive equipment recovered from Captain Vanik and the body we found last night came from a shop in Panama City. I have two men watching it this morning, but no one has shown up. I suspect they might have been warned to stay away.”
“What about the corpse?”
“Other than it being Caucasian and in excellent shape, nothing.”
“H’m. So we have a female American army officer, a mine engineer and one of the bodies we recovered near the volcanic lake had the tattoo of a European motorcycle gang. What is the connection?” Liu’s question was met by silence. He looked pointedly at Sun. “More disturbing,
we have no way of knowing if she reported her findings to her superiors.”
“If she had,” Sun croaked, “we would already see a greater interest out of Washington.”
“It’s a risk to make that assumption.”
“Young captain”—Sun’s cold eyes seemed to shrivel Chen in his seat—“everything in life is risk. The Vanik woman has had a week since the trespassing at the warehouse to inform her chain of command. We’ve seen and heard nothing to indicate that she’s done so. There’s been no diplomatic pressure, no increase in American military preparedness. Nothing.”
“Are our espionage efforts in the United States so effective that we know exactly what they’re doing?” Chen asked, surprising himself at his boldness in the face of Sun.
The interrogator smirked. “Yes. Gentlemen, we are forgetting that unless the Americans land a sizable force in the next eighteen hours, it doesn’t matter. Even if Lauren Vanik has contacted her superiors, it’s clear to me that her reports haven’t generated much interest. Don’t forget, she’s only a captain in their army. How much clout can she have?”
“Once we eliminate her, that thread is cut,” Liu said.
Chen straightened. “She will be dead before the canal is ruined, sir.”
“A boast,” Sun mocked.
“A promise! Men are already on their way to her apartment to see if she left behind any indication about the identity of those helping her. I will also post men near the American embassy to stop her if she tries to enter it.”
“Who?”
“For obvious reasons I can’t use any of ours. They will have to be some of the soldiers President Quintero has seconded to us, former Dignity Brigade killers.”
“Make sure they are the very best,” Liu cautioned.
“Yes, sir.”
“Losing her was a dangerous mistake, but pushing up the timetable should negate the effects provided she is dead before Gemini detonates.” Again, Liu felt a twinge about the code name. It had been hubris on his part to use even that oblique clue.
Captain Chen’s cell phone rang. He used his eyes to ask permission to answer it and stepped to the corner of the office. “Yes.”
“Sir, it’s Private Jhiang.” One of the men detailed to kill Maria Barber.
Chen’s guts tightened. He knew this wasn’t going to be good. “What happened?”
“Li is dead. Corporal Hung is injured. The woman is gone.”
“How?” Chen screamed, not caring his commanding officer was fifteen feet away.
“Five men, whites. I think one of them was the engineer, Mercer. Li shot one of them, but they all escaped in a waiting vehicle with the woman. They were here before we arrived.”
“What’s going on?” Liu demanded, striding across the carpet to where Chen stood.
“Maria Barber escaped with Mercer and four other men, one of whom was shot. One of our men was killed, another wounded.”
Liu snatched the cell phone from Chen’s grip. “Who is this?”
“Colonel Liu, this is Private Jhiang, sir. I was the third man on the detail.”
“Where are you now?”
“At the Hatcherly infirmary, sir.”
“Good. Who is the wounded man?”
“Corporal Hung.” The young soldier’s voice quivered.
“And he headed the detail to kill Maria Barber?”
“Yes, sir.” The boy’s voice cracked.
“Do you agree that he is to blame for failing to eliminate her?”
“Yes, sir.” The words came as a ragged murmur.
“Is he there with you now?”
“Yes, sir. He’s holding my hand while the doctor bandages his leg.” Jhiang then added timidly, “We are comrades, sir. From the same village.”
“Now listen to me very carefully.” For a fleeting moment he thought of the mercy he’d shown Ping on the night of the warehouse break-in. He should have ordered the man killed on the spot. Liu spoke as if he savored the words, relishing their taste and feel as he spoke. “Look him in the eye, pull out your sidearm, and kill him.”
“Sir?” the soldier cried.
“Do it now,” Liu whispered seductively, “or kill yourself and I’ll have Hung executed later.”
Eight seconds later, the pop of a silenced automatic carried to Liu. He smiled grimly. “Are you there, Private?”
“Yes, sir,” Jhiang sobbed. “The doctor is staring at me.”
“Don’t worry about him. You are now absolved of Corporal Hung’s failure. Remain at the terminal port for now.” Liu snapped off Chen’s phone and handed it back. “I want that man executed for dereliction of duty.”
For an instant, Chen’s expression protested Liu’s order and then he bowed his head. “Yes, sir.”
“Good.” Liu retook his place behind his desk, noting a tinge of respect on Mr. Sun’s shriveled face. He felt he deserved it, too. To men like Sun, Liu was an office worker, what the Japanese so brilliantly called a salaryman, content to shuffle papers from pile to pile. Now he knew that Liu was as much a man of action as General Yu or any of the other gray veterans who ran China. Proving he was a ruthless businessman capable of amassing a fortune meant nothing to them. Being able to order death was the only kind of power they recognized.
Gaining Sun’s respect should have meant nothing, but it took on a meaning far more important than the fortune he’d created or the dominion he was about to wield. The realization surprised him, and somehow made him feel bigger, stronger. Curious.
“I suspect we’ll find Captain Vanik with Maria Barber and Mercer,” Liu continued, able to resist the urge to blow on his fingers. “Chen, warn the men you’ll station at the American embassy. I expect the soldiers you dispatched to kill Maria were some of our finest. For them to be overcome by a geologist and his mysterious friends should be a warning to us all.”
“We’ve had many opportunities to learn that lesson,” Sun said laconically. “The warehouse, the lake, the mine, the lock.”
“And you’ve failed to deliver information to me from two people who you’ve had in your care.” As secure as he was in the role of political officer and as China’s most skilled interrogator, Sun had to feel some measure of distress about that. Liu gave him a disarming smile. “That is all behind us now. I want additional security on Gemini, in case Mercer or anyone else tries to interfere. Dispatch them as soon as I get a transit time from Director Silvera-Arias.”
“Sir,” Chen hazarded. “As a contingency in case Captain Vanik manages to convince some of her people to send a Special Forces team here, could you have President Quintero suspend incoming flights from the United States?”
“A good suggestion but no. It would look too suspicious. However, I’m sure we can deny a military flight if the Americans try to send one.”
“In that case, how about staging a demonstration at the American embassy? We could use our Panamanian soldiers as agitators, maybe pay a few street people to join them.”
“For what purpose?”
“If the United States does manage to mobilize troops, they would have to come down on commercial aircraft. They’d have no weapons and the only source to get any would be from the embassy’s marine guard armory. We can deny them access to arms as well as preventing Vanik or Mercer from reaching sanctuary.”
Liu nodded slowly. “Excellent suggestion. And no one could possibly link it to our actions. See to it at once.”
Chen stood and snapped a salute. Liu usually dispensed with military formality, but returned it. Sun flowed up off his chair and made to follow the young officer.
“Sun,” Liu said from his desk, phone in hand to dial Silvera-Arias. “From now until after the explosion, I want you at hand at all times. Remain in the compound.”
He paid no attention to the old man’s reply. His attention was already on his call. “Felix, Liu Yousheng.”
“Ah, my friend. I want to apologize again about almost giving away your liaison with Señora Barber.”
“That is no
longer important.”
“So how are you today? Busy, no doubt.” The canal director affected a light tone to counter the darkness in Liu’s voice.
“And about to get busier. Have you changed tomorrow’s transit schedule to allow Gemini’s passage in the afternoon?”
“The revised list is in my hand. I was about to have it given to the harbormaster and alert the canal pilots of the modifications.”
“Don’t send it. We’re pushing ahead even sooner.”
“What?! Impossible!” Silvera-Arias sputtered. “Transit times are determined days, even weeks, in advance. Ship owners were furious when I told them about the alterations. You have no idea what I went through to make this new schedule.”
“Nor do I care,” Liu menaced. “I want Gemini in the Gaillard Cut early tomorrow morning and I will not accept excuses.”
“Señor Liu, por favor,” he wheedled. “You don’t understand how our system works. I can’t just change the timetable again. It takes negotiations, money for ship owners. It is amazing that I made the first schedule as quickly as I did.”
“Do it, Felix, whatever it takes to get Gemini in position. And make sure it doesn’t look suspicious. Rearrange every ship if you have to.”
“Señor, cruise ships are returning to the Caribbean from their summer in Alaska. They take priority. I simply cannot deny them transit.”
“Don’t deny them, you fool. Send them through.”
“The PANAMAX cruise liners sail with three thousand people on board. We can’t let one of them near the Gaillard Cut with your Gemini. The loss of life . . .”
“Is acceptable when you think what will happen to your life if you don’t do what I order.” Liu could detect defiance in Silvera-Arias’s silence so he added, “And you must also consider the lives of your family.”
The director drew a breath then blew it out loudly. “Sí, señor. It will be done. I will telephone you when I have completed the revisions again and tell you exactly when Gemini will enter the canal and the approximate time it will reach the cut.”
