by Chris Goff
“What type of magnet?” asked Charlie.
“One with a 125-pound pull, though I doubt we’d need one that big.”
“I put it on the list.”
“What about the railgun?” Zhen asked.
Jordan pointed to the warehouse blueprint. “Can you show us where he keeps the prototype?”
He enlarged the diagram on the screen. “Here’s the warehouse layout. This is the front office, the storage area. Over here is Ping’s office, and down here, in this corner, this is where they keep the gun.”
Jordan studied the screen from a distance. “We might be able to reach it.”
“But what then?” Charlie said, pulling up a chair and sitting down.
“What about using a drone?” Kia pulled up some information on the computer. “We did some tests using drones while I was at Berkeley. You can buy and fly much larger drones in China. I think the weight limit here without having to register them for flight is up to 7.5 pounds. A drone that size could easily carry a payload of five pounds.”
“A block of C-4 would do the trick,” Davis said. “It weighs about 1.25 lbs.”
“Where are you going to get it?” Jordan said. “Plus you’d need a detonator.”
Charlie leaned in. “Any of the mines around here would have explosives.”
Kia’s face lit up with excitement. “All we’d have to do is rig the drone, fly it into the warehouse, and—Kaboom!”
“Provided the Triad doesn’t shoot it out of the sky first,” Jordan struggled with getting on board. “A drone that big will make noise.”
Zhen shrugged. “It’s noisy there to begin with.”
“But what if they see the drone coming? We can’t afford to lose the element of surprise. We have to get in there to retrieve the plans, anyway. Why not sabotage the warehouse from the inside?”
“That still requires us to obtain some explosives,” Davis said.
“So give me a better idea,” she said.
“If we can get to the gun, I think I know a way to neutralize it.”
Jordan nodded for Davis to continue. “I’m listening.”
Davis turned the computer. Pulling up an image of the gun, he pointed to a piece that looked like a cargo box. “The energy source, the compulsator, is just a glorified battery. All we have to do to is redirect the energy. When the charge is sent, the armature becomes the conduit. It should be enough to fry any computer or computer parts, not to mention pieces of the gun.”
“How much time would you need?”
“A couple of minutes, depending on how easy it is to get to the wires and whether I have the right tools.”
“Like what?” Charlie asked.
“A screwdriver, wire cutters, and electrical tape.”
“Give me some money, and let me see what I can do.”
* * *
Two hours later, parked in a small pullout to the north of the plant, Jordan looked at the others.
“Everybody ready?”
Her eyes lit on Zhen. He was the variable in all this. Realizing they needed his computer skills and his knowledge of the weapons plans, she’d made the decision to include him. Her other option was to duct tape his mouth, tie him up, and lock him in the trunk. Both options carried pluses and minuses.
Across the road, the REE Manufacturing plant’s main warehouse slumbered in the moonless night like a dragon curled against the base of the mountain. Peaceful except for the occasional growl of a generator rising up like a snore, a long row of wide loading doors spanned the lower section of the massive warehouse like a large maw open and waiting for food. A string of smaller windows inset above formed a row of beady eyes, now shut against the night. The only sign that anyone was present on the property was the warm glow of light spilling out at the back of the building and lighting up a small section of the rock-cut.
A few hundred yards to the north, the main production facility was lit up like a football stadium. The place bustled with activity. Smokestacks in the roof belched steam, smoke, and chemicals into the air. The noise outside was deafening. So far there had been no apparent activity at the main plant, though the lights in the back remained on.
“Does everyone have their comms in?” She heard a chorus of yeses. “Then let’s do this.”
Zhen opened the laptop, lighting the dark interior of the car. He made a few keystrokes, then shut the laptop. “The alarms and motion sensors have been disabled, and I’ve frozen the camera images for the front door and main office areas.”
Crossing the highway and the gravel parking lot went without a hitch. There was no one stationed in front, and no one appeared to be upstairs in the administrative offices.
Jordan stepped up to the door and jiggled the handle. “How about unlocking the door?”
Zhen flipped open the laptop, tapped a key, and the door latch clicked. He repeated the process at the top of the stairs.
Jordan took point entering the main office. Rounding the corner, she checked the bank of monitors. The office where the four of them stood appeared empty on the screen, dark except for a glow from the monitors. The remainder of the images detailed the warehouse floor, a couple of shots of the perimeter, and Ping’s office. The latter appeared dark. The only people visible in the images were four men standing inside, in a back garage area of the building, around a truck with the mounted weapon.
Zhen pointed to the smallest man. “That’s Ping Mu.”
Jordan identified the others as Triad by the tattoos on their forearms. Big and tough looking, two of the men carried QBZ-95s, a standard issue Chinese bullpup rifle.
“There aren’t as many guards as I thought there would be,” Jordan said. Maybe it was a good omen.
Zhen punctured her bubble of optimism. “There’re more. Ping insists they smoke outside. They’re just off camera.” He reached over and hit a button, unfreezing the camera at the front entrance. “Now we can see if anyone decides to come in that way.”
“Are there more banks of these monitors?”
“A couple. There are some in Ping’s office and some on the warehouse floor.”
“Okay, then we’ll go with the original plan. Charlie, you stay here and keep your eye on the monitors. Give us a heads up if you see any of the guards coming. Davis, Zhen, and I will head to Ping’s office. Once we’re done there, Zhen comes back here, and Davis and I head for the garage. If things go south, Charlie, you and Zhen are to leave and head back to Guangzhou. Get Zhen to the consulate and have the PO notify Lory. Understood?”
“Got it. But don’t worry, everything is going to be fine.”
“Because you know kung fu?” she asked.
“That’s right.”
Chapter 27
Zhen showed Charlie how to operate the camera feeds, then froze the images in the warehouse cameras. On Jordan’s mark, she, Davis, and Zhen headed for the office on the other side of the warehouse. Large pallets of stored steel sheets and racks of pipe were laid out in grid patterns on the stone tile floor, leaving aisles between the stacks wide enough to maneuver a forklift. Overhead, a crane system was attached to metal beams that spanned the ceiling.
“So far you’re in the clear,” Charlie said. His voice sounded loud in Jordan’s ear, and she reached up and turned down the sound. Taking the stairs from the warehouse floor to the second-floor office, she signaled to Davis and Zhen to hold up at the bottom. When Zhen used the laptop to unlock the door, she opened it, simultaneously turning on the radio jammer Charlie had given her. If it worked, the alarm system would pick up the electromagnetic frequency and block the central unit from sending out a distress signal. If it didn’t, they would soon have company.
After a few moments, she heard Charlie’s voice. “It looks like it’s working.”
Jordan shot him a thumbs-up, then entered and swept the office suite. It consisted of a main room with a secretary’s desk and a tall credenza; a second room, which was clearly Ping’s office; a bathroom; and a door that led into a large, empty confe
rence room and the back way out.
“All clear.”
Davis and Zhen sprinted up the steps to join her. The ambient light from the warehouse floor was enough to see by, so she left the lights off. While Davis secured the door, Zhen headed for Ping’s office.
In the largest room, Ping’s desk was at the far end opposite an outsized built-in wall unit. Both ornately carved and made out of Hong Suanzhi wood. A thick carpet covered the floor, and two tall-backed chairs faced the desk.
“I need to boot up his computer.” Zhen tapped a key or two, then pointed. “The safe is inside the cabinet.”
Jordan crossed to the built-in wall unit and opened the center double doors. Inside was a large safe with a digital keypad. “Do you have the magnet?”
“The big thing I remember was his warning not to get your fingers between the magnet and the safe.” Freeing the magnet from its wrapping, Davis gripped it gingerly around the edges, positioned it just above and to the left of the keypad, and let it thunk into place. “Now for the test.” Davis turned the handle.
Nothing.
“Try moving it,” Jordan said.
Davis forced the magnet half an inch to the right. Still nothing.
“We need a bigger magnet, don’t we?”
“It looks that way.”
They’d known it was a possibility. When Charlie had returned from the store, he’d brought back a ten-pound magnet—the largest he could find.
Jordan headed back toward Zhen. “How are you doing on the files?”
“It’s still frickin’ booting up.”
“Let it load and help me find the REE Manufacturing products list. Do they manufacture magnets?”
Zhen pulled up the list and skimmed his finger down the face of the laptop. The blue color of the screen cast his face in an eerie glow. “Yeah, they’re listed.”
“I need a product location.”
“Near the northwest corner of the warehouse.”
Jordan headed for the door. “Davis, you stay with Zhen. If he gets in, make sure the computer files are destroyed. Charlie, I’m going downstairs.”
“So far, you’re all clear.”
Jordan reached the warehouse floor in seconds and started walking the shelves along the outside walls toward the northwest corner. Most of the boxes were products intended for export and labeled in both Chinese and English.
“Jordan, you’ve got company,” Charlie said. “One armed guard coming from the back garage.”
Jordan didn’t respond for fear of attracting attention.
“Which way is he headed?” Davis asked, saving her from having to speak.
“Toward the office.”
Jordan was about to turn back when she spotted the pallet of magnets. Each were individually wrapped in cardboard boxes. Checking the sizes, she found one labeled “one hundred pounds.” Grabbing it off the shelf, she ducked between the pallets and moved quietly and quickly back toward the office. She rounded the corner near the stairs just as he opened the office door.
“Hey!” he shouted.
Bounding up the steps, Jordan pushed through the door. She found the scene inside contained. The guard lay sprawled on the floor, with Davis standing over him holding his gun.
“Charlie, are we good?” Jordan asked, shutting the door.
“So far.”
“Keep an eye out. They may not have heard him, but they’re eventually bound to miss him.” Jordan handed Davis the boxed magnet. “Look what I found.”
“Perfect.”
While he unwrapped the magnet, she pulled a zip tie from her pocket and trussed up the guard. Then she started opening drawers. “There has to be something here that we can use to gag this guy.”
Davis whipped out the roll of electrical tape.
“You are a regular MacGyver.”
“I’ll take it. As I recall, he was good with the ladies.”
She laughed, then rolled the guard over and wrapped a couple of pieces of tape over his mouth.
“That should hold him for a while. Let’s just hope no one comes looking for him.” Jordan straightened up. “How’s it going, Zhen?”
“I’m done.”
“You’re sure they’re erased.”
“The best way is to overwrite them. Turns out Ping’s computer is full of porn. Nasty stuff. I used them to overwrite the Quinn Industry’s files and then deleted them for good measure.”
“How’re we doing on the safe?” Jordan stepped up behind Davis.
“We’re about to find out.”
This time the bolt action clicked, and the handle turned. Jordan reached in, pulled out the solid state drive, and walked it over to Zhen.
“Check it.”
He plugged it into the computer and pulled up the schematics.
“You have two guards headed your way.”
“Hook into the Internet and send them to Lory, then wipe the drive clean. Hurry.”
“You better get moving.”
It took Zhen a matter of seconds. He handed her back the SSD, and she handed it to Davis. “Put it back in the safe and lock it up. Get rid of the magnets. Zhen, turn off the computer, then help me drag the guard into the conference room. We need to buy ourselves some time by making it look like no one’s been in here.”
Jordan and Zhen each tucked an arm under the guard’s armpits and pulled him forward. The guard’s head lolled to the side, and he moaned.
“What are we going to do?” Zhen said. “He’s coming around.”
“You need to pick up your pace,” Charlie said. “They’re at the bottom of the stairs.”
Davis handed Jordan the guard’s rifle, pushed Zhen out of the way, and dragged the guard into the conference room. Jordan shut the door about the time she heard the approaching guards at the top of the stairs. Zhen stepped forward and together, he and Davis lifted the guard off his feet and sprinted for the exit on the far side of the room.
“Get out. Now,” Charlie said.
Davis and Zhen pushed through onto the stairs just as the two guards entered Ping’s office, Jordan tight on their heels. Closing the outer door, she didn’t let it click shut all the way. Raising a closed fist, she signaled Davis and Zhen to get down and hold at the top of the stairs. If they’d done the cleanup correctly, the guards would never know anyone had been inside Ping’s office.
Charlie’s voice cracked over the comm. “Good call, Jordan. On my mark, go back inside. Zhen and Davis, be ready to move.”
Jordan kept one hand on the door and one on the assault rifle she’d taken off the tied-up guard. She breathed lightly and waited for the signal. If they reentered too soon, they risked being spotted. If they reentered too late, they’d be seen on the stairs.
“Okay. Get ready,” Charlie said. “Go!”
Jordan pushed open the door. Zhen and Davis dove through on her heels. The guard between them bucked and kicked, his foot catching the door and banging it sharply in place. The two guards on the stairs pulled up short.
Throwing herself across the guard’s legs, she and Davis pinned him to the floor while Zhen poked his head up to look.
“Wait,” he whispered.
Jordan prepared to fire the bullpup rifle, then she heard boots on the stairs.
“Okay, you’re clear for now. It’s time to move.”
Jordan rolled free of the writhing guard. “Want to hand me another zip tie?”
Davis did the honors. “What do you want to do with him?”
Jordan scanned the room and spotted another door. “Let’s put him in there. They’ll be back looking for him. Let’s not make him easy to find.”
Once the guard was secured in the closet, Jordan held up at the conference room door.
“We still need to take care of the gun. Zhen is coming back across the warehouse to you, Charlie.”
“I want to stick with you.”
“That wasn’t the plan,” she said. “We stick with the plan.”
“But I know the gun. What if you need
my help?”
“I do. I need you up there with Charlie to do a job only you can do.”
“Yeah, what’s that?”
“When I tell you to, I need you to set off the fire alarms in the production plant. Our best chance of making this work is to draw off some of their manpower. Can you do it?”
Zhen glared at her, and then finally he nodded. “How big a fire do you want?”
Jordan grinned. “Charlie, Zhen’s coming your way. Davis and I are heading for the garage. On your go.”
“You’re all clear.”
Jordan opened the door, and they made their way down to the warehouse floor. Zhen made speed toward the main office, while Jordan and Davis moved in the opposite direction.
“Davis, are you ready for this?”
“It’s the most fun I’ve had all week.”
Chapter 28
At the far end of the warehouse, the garage area was walled off by giant sheets of plastic that created a bay for the truck. Jordan worked her way into position at the edge of the opening. Behind her, the warehouse was dark and full of shadows from the muted light emanating from the production plant. Davis had taken up a position on the other side. She could see his tall, lean frame leaning against a rack of steel piping.
“How many are there?” she asked Charlie, speaking in low, hushed tones.
“I only count three guards and Ping.”
That fit with the fourth guard being locked in the closet in Ping’s office. Jordan crossed to where Davis stood. “What do you think?”
“It looks pretty sophisticated.”
“Like you said earlier, it’s just a battery.” She hoped her pep talk worked. They were only going to get one shot at this.
Davis moved his head so his lips were close to Jordan’s ear. His breath was warm and smelled faintly of mint. “Let’s do this.”
Jordan pulled back, their eyes met and locked for a moment, then she spoke quietly into the comm. “Charlie, Zhen, we’re ready whenever you are.”
“We’re set on our end,” Charlie replied. “Just say the word.”
Jordan waited for Davis to nod and then issued the go order. Within five seconds, the wail of emergency sirens pierced the air. Ping and most of his men bolted outside to see what was happening. She could hear Ping yelling.
