Billy realized he must wait for Brad to come. To attempt to rescue Mi Ling by himself along with Sandy was stupid. Billy motioned for them to move back away from the small shed. He dug out his cell phone and called Brad. Brad was in flight and told Billy they would be on site in ten minutes.
Mi Ling was licking the edge of the soup bowl when she heard someone at the door. Then she heard the lock being opened and wondered who was coming now? When the door opened she was never more shocked or happy in her life. Billy Ricker stood there smiling at her. She ran crying into his arms. Billy a little embarrassed soon recovered and hugged her back.
Sandy and Brad, with the Master came in. It was a full five minutes before she could gather enough composure to tell them the story. Meanwhile the Master had slipped out to look around.
While Mi Ling was telling her story, the Master came back with a man who had a very pained look on his face. He was holding his shoulder with one hand. The Master pointed at the floor inside the shed and the man sat down. The Master whispered into Brad's ear and Brad nodded his head.
Brad asked Mi Ling, "Is this one of the guys or guy who kidnapped you?"
"I don’t know Brad as the man I saw always had a black bandana on." The Master reached down into the guy's back pocket and pulled out a black bandana. Then he showed Brad the crooked heel on his shoe.
In Mandarin Brad asked, "Are you willing to talk to save your life?"
The man on the floor just shot daggers at Brad. Brad nodded to the Master who touched the man behind his neck. The man screamed in pain and rolled on the floor scaring Mi Ling and Sandy both.
A few minutes later, Brad asked him the same question. The man nodded his head. In no time at all he had identified who hired him; who he knew in the Everground Corporation and was also privy of the plan to assassinate the President of China in San Francisco.
Back home safe and sound Mi Ling cried her eyes out. A doctor came and gave her a sedative to make her sleep for awhile. Crooked heel was being question in some dark place. It was revealed the Grand Master was in San Francisco waiting for instructions.
Mike returned with a load of information implicating the main man, Hi u Yan, in all kinds of schemes. It was decided by the President to clean up the mess this man had made. He too was questioned in an even darker place and then, no further word was heard about him.
However, there was still the matter of the Grand Master and his orders to assassinate the President of China. It was too late to call off the hit.
The next day all flew home to Oregon. The only difference was there would be an extra passenger with them.
~+++~
While the Batt Team flew home, a first class passenger on Air China was enjoying a glass of wine. Number Two was now Number One. Number One didn't have any relatives; Number Two saw to the demise of the wife, and the corporation was left to Number Two. He'd been totally dedicated to his boss and mentor. Of course he was sorry he was gone, but being elevated to Number One made up for the loss. In about ten hours he would be in San Francisco. He looked over at his companion and personal body guard. Certainly not as skilled as the Grand Master, but Junior Master was very able indeed. Number Two was determined to finish the job.
As a matter of fact, as far as he knew, nobody even knew his name. When it came time to close a deal, Number One always stepped in and finalized the details. Others, he was sure, thought he was just a flunky. Well, he'd show them.
It was four days before the Chinese President would arrive in San Francisco. Mi Ling would be with him; much to Billy's happiness. Sandy, on the other hand, went back home to the compound with a sad look on her face. Brad thought Sandy had taken a real liking to Billy.
Sujin was very happy to see her husband and all the team back home. Brad was thunderstruck when he saw a very large Motor home parked in the pine trees just off the front door about 50' away. All you could see was the nose of it and a flagstone walk way led around the side to the door.
Sujin was so excited she led Brad around the side of the motor home and up the steps into the inside. Brad's eyes swept around noticing that it was very austere inside; only a small gas stove and refrigerator could be seen. A hardwood floor with roll up futons to sleep on was evident. Brad smiled, knowing this motor home for the Master and on this occasion, his twin brother.
Brad said, "My wife, you've done us proud. This is a fine idea. The only thing I see lacking is a big screen TV."
"Watch this husband," as Sujin pointed a remote control at a side wall next to the stove. A panel slid open revealing a large thin TV by Samsung. It automatically came on and both Master's sat down Indian style and began watching the soundless TV.
Sujin leaned down and whispered into the Master's ear. She told him dinner in an hour. Brad and Sujin left smiling both inside and out.
Mike went home for a much needed rest. Nancy went to freshen up and Billy saw Park leaning on his garden hoe. He went to look at the garden. Sujin and Brad went inside so Brad could see his son.
Dinner was a little early that night and Brad took the time to tell the story of the kidnapping. Sujin was all ears and a few tears leaked down her cheeks knowing how lonely it must have been for Mi Ling. Billy was grinning from ear to ear when he heard Brad say to Sujin that Mi Ling ran into Billy's arms when she was first rescued.
Sujin smiled at Billy and then realized he hadn't been outside to smoke. She asked, "Billy, are you not smoking?"
"I guess not Sujin. When we were in China at the compound, the Master did something to me and I've not wanted a cigarette since then. I've no desire for one and I can breathe a little better already. However, I'll continue wanting to ride my horse whenever I see the red and white crush proof box." He laughed and his eyes twinkled with happiness. Sujin realized he was in love with Mi Ling.
Sujin told Brad that Agent Jones and Wendy were due in tomorrow sometime. Sujin also told him they needed more living space very soon. She made it plain that newly married couples needed their own space.
What Sujin didn't know was that Brad had been thinking the same thing. However, his idea was an earth home built into the cliff area facing the ocean to the west. It would be one of a kind. A pile driver would have to find hard pan or some stable base under the cliff for any structure to be built. Environmentalists would have a fit probably. Brad was convinced that the environment would not be harmed or degraded. Anyway, that was a plan for down the road.
The next morning early found Brad and his shepherd Sandy running down the beach. He'd crossed the creek barefooted and put his running shoes on after that. Rarely did he run south on the opposite side of the creek. But today he was feeling a little contrary to ordinary.
Running south felt a little lonely as no houses or people dotted the beach or cliff side like to the north of the Round House. Even though sea stacks ran south clear to California, the littoral zone was like a windblown desert. Be that as it may, Brad enjoyed the workout. He had a good time with Sandy. Rocky seemed a little jet lagged so he was keeping an eye on Sujin and the baby. Which meant he was sleeping with one eye open.
When Brad made the turn to return, he caught a glimpse of two fast moving objects on the sand dunes above him. The dunes were perhaps 100 feet high with tall beach grass growing to hold the sand in place. Even though the dunes were ever changing, the grass helped to stabilize the dunes.
Brad smiled knowing the two fast moving objects were the two masters training for the mission ahead of them. He marveled at the ability of the Masters and their skills. Truly nothing was impossible in their way of thinking. It was difficult to define whether or not it was a religion or a way of life. Christianity was a religion; Buddhism a way of life.
Brad realized this was a simplistic way to think about it, but for a person over the age of 100 to move almost faster than the eye can see, defies belief. To have the knowledge of the body's nervous and muscle systems went beyond medical science of today.
Brad asked the Master one time about how he could see what
was coming and all he said was: "vibrations my son." Brad took that the easy way out knowing in his small mind the cause and effect principal.
He was so deep into concentration he ran right through creek and up the side hill to the house. He should have been surprised, but he wasn't when he saw the two Masters munching fresh vegetables out of Park's garden. It appeared that they had been there since they arrived yesterday. Nobody but Brad knew they had probably done twenty miles that morning.
Billy was working with Park. Park was showing him the difference between a weed and a vegetable. Brad smiled and went to take a shower.
Sujin told Brad that Nancy went to the airport to pick up Wendy and Jones. She also told him Mike called and he was bringing the kids and Julie up for a beach BBQ. Park had ordered some lean beef and I ordered some fresh caught fish for non meat lovers. Billy said he would set out some crab pots. It should be a nice day for a picnic she told him.
Later Brad asked the Masters how they liked their accommodations. They looked at each other and then both gave a smile. Brad knew it was the big screen TV and not the enclosure that mattered.
When Brad had a few minutes he placed a call to the President. It was an hour later when he called Brad back. Brad told him they would meet at Travis Air Base in Fairfield. To confirm the date, Brad asked the President to call the Chinese President.
The new Number One was in San Francisco's Chinatown. This wasn't his first visit by a long shot. Some of his customers lived here and invested in China. One such customer had a restaurant on the second floor of an alley. No one was there for the view. All were there for the food. Number One was there for two reasons: one for food and the other to meet the Grand Master. Regardless of who was there, no one took any notice of any other customers. Privacy was as important as the food.
After dinner a small piece of paper was passed to the Grand Master. It said, "Napa Valley 2pm next Thursday. Chinatown, 7pm next Thursday."
As most diners do with a fortune inside a cookie, the Grand Master ate the paper.
The next day at the Round House a team picnic was planned. The weather was good. An off shore wind actually made the weather a little too warm for the locals but felt good to the visitors.
Park moved his BBQ barrel down to Devils Kitchen. He seemed to be in the swing of things. Sujin had mentioned to Brad that Park thought the Batt Team was his family. Brad felt a little proud of that fact.
Nancy and Wendy were chatting up a storm. Wendy went on and on about her honeymoon and Nancy went on and on about her rekindled relationship with her old flame. Agent Jones was helping Billy pull in the crab pots. Mike and family had just arrived. They brought some friends of the kids with them.
Rocky was left up at left at the house and was probably sulking. The two Masters were playing a Chinese game called Ma-jong. Only Brad and Sujin knew what the game was about. Anyway, they seemed to enjoy being on the beach.
Mike had brought volleyball net with him. The tide was going out so hard sand was available. Mike and Julie had two kids and they had brought two friends with them. Beach grass straws were drawn for teams. Needless to say, an exciting two game set was enjoyed. There wasn't any clear cut winners as a lot of cheating by Mike and Billy occurred. Fun and friends were most important; not the score.
The party went into the night. A large campfire was built to ward of the chill of the night. A huge pot was atop the fire boiling with salt water and crabs. A special tool box was prepared by Park. It was full of pliers and other pointed tools to dig out the crab from its shell. The crab was especially liked by the Masters. However, instead of dipping the crab in melted butter, they enjoyed it naturally.
Finally around 10 pm they called it a day. The fire was put out; the crab shells were buried where they would return to the sea at high tide. The walk back up the side hill was slow going. At the top of the cliff Mike and family said good night and went home. The rest of the Batt Team went to their respective rooms for a good night's sleep.
Chapter Six
The Batt Team flew to the Bay Area a day early. Brad wanted to inspect the Napa Valley Winery before the two most powerful men on the planet toured the winery. What Brad didn't know was on that very same day, the Junior Master with the new Number One was going to take the same tour. It was a coincidence that would result in death to one of the combatants.
They had clearance to land at Travis Air Base and would be provided a van for ground transportation. With the intended arrival of both Presidents the base commander was a little nervous when Brad showed up. The base commander was a friend of Brad's father; who was now the Secretary of the Navy.
Brigadier General John Chowder met Brad's Gulf Stream as it parked in a special area. Both the Chinese and American presidential planes would park nearby.
General Chowder said, "Welcome Colonel Pratt. I'm to see to your needs. Your reputation precedes you Colonel. And I must say, your team has been very successful. As it's close to lunch time, would you care to join me and my staff for a causal lunch?"
"We'd like that very much General. Our schedule is a tour of the Napa Winery at 2 pm. I think we have time don't you?"
"Indeed yes. Load everyone up in the van and in just a few minutes we'll be sitting down to a nice lunch."
The General was right on the button. A very nice lunch was served. Brad noticed it was a vegetarian delight along with beef roast for protein lovers. Chinese noodles and California rice; It was very thoughtful of the General.
After lunch Brad asked for the General's attention. He gently told the base commander he was not to interfere with security off the base. Brad did ask him for back up helicopters if they were needed to be on standby.
"I think I understand. The President was very emphatic that I follow your orders." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small cell phone. "This is a direct line to me and my chief of security. If you need help, just push the red button and we're on line to listen to whatever request you might have."
Brad thanked him and he thought it was nice to have complete cooperation from the military. Ever since their last mission where two Navy Admirals were fired and one Secretary of the Navy retired early, help from the military was just for the asking.
A short cut from highway 12 to highway 2 was a lovely ride through the small mountains into the Napa Valley. Lincoln Hwy was a busy road and even busier on a Saturday. They arrived at the winery a few minutes before 2 pm. Their timing was perfect. Brad heard lots of exclamations of how nice it all looked. He thought that was very true as not a piece of paper or errant oak leaf lay on the ground. Giant old oaks, better known locally as mush oaks, shaded the blistering hot area. This was July and the Napa Valley had regular days of 90 degree plus temperatures.
A blast of hot dry air greeted the visitors as they stepped out of the van. A middle age woman came running across the parking lot with her hand out to greet the VIPs. Brad put on a 'dog grin' and shook her hand explaining who they were. She, Mrs. Vine, led them to her office. Billy chuckled at the name. Brad was sure she'd heard every play on words about her name, so he chose to ignore it.
Inside a large room, with the central heating keeping the hot air out, she asked them to sign the guest book and rambled on about what they were going to view. Brad was the first to sign in and he quickly took a look at the previous guests. A few lines before his signature were a scrawl line that was impossible to decipher. It struck Brad as curious. It also struck him as something not quite right. He looked at Rocky who was staring at the beautifully carved white oak door. Brad went on alert. He nodded at Mike who caught the drift. Billy saw something and he too went on alert. Soon all of the team members were keyed up with all senses hitting on 8 cylinders.
Mrs. Vine pleaded a prior engagement so her daughter Amy would lead them on the tour. Both Masters chose to stay at the base to watch TV and wait for the team to come back. As they followed Amy out the door, well trained eyes scanned the parking lot and the entire area. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. A
small 12 passenger bus waited to take them to a storage warehouse. It was seen that literally hundreds of wooden casks of wine lay horizontal stacked from floor half way to the ceiling. These storage warehouses were also temperature controlled.
A cement floor with a red carpet running down the middle allowing at least a 20' walk way for visitors. The total length was, as Mike guess, a hundred yards long. Each wooden cask was labeled and dated. The smell was unmistakable heavy grape. For Rocky he sneezed shaking his head.
Amy was leading and the Batt Team was slowly following her. Brad noticed a lot of visitors were ahead of them, but they were being hurried along by their guides.
Brad felt it long before he saw it. The hackles rose on the back of his neck. Rocky gave off a low throated growl. Mike alerted the team that danger was lurking just ahead. Mike hustled up to Amy and told her to hurry the visitors out of this building. Amy looked at him with curious eyes and then she saw the look of a very dangerous man in his eyes. She quickly informed the other guides and in no time the place was empty except the Batt Team.
Brad whispered into Mike's ear. Mike had everyone move off to the side and not move. Don't interfere, he emphatically told each team member. All of the team members were looking down the long stacked rows of casks wondering what was really going on. Wendy was very intensely watching Brad. Brad was starring down the long red carpet to the end where a slightly built man walked out dressed in all black with a green dragon across his tunic. While he slowly walked down to meet Brad, Brad was taking off his shoes and socks. Mike threw him a knife which he used to cut off his Dockers above the knees. He then tossed the knife back to Mike. Nancy was holding her breath knowing what was about to transpire. Wendy kept looking at Brad. He unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it off to the side.
Peking Assassin Page 5
