by Paul Knox
Kai cozied up on a barstool and placed his gun on the bar top. “And we teach Yunru a lesson, too, I’m assuming?” He slapped Konstantin on the back.
All the tension in the room seemed to evaporate as Konstantin chuckled merrily. “I thought we could see eye to eye. Here’s my plan…”
42
YUNRU descended the stairs from the jet, setting foot in Honduras under a dark sky. Morning would be coming soon, but for now the only lights were orange or white, blinking from the planes or glowing from the airport windows.
“I hate this country,” he muttered to Aiguo, who escorted him across the runway to a black SUV which was waiting. “It’s the humidity. Feels like a swamp everywhere you go.”
Aiguo opened the back door of the Escalade, and Yunru climbed inside. Aiguo followed next, saying to the driver, “Turn the air conditioner on high.”
The driver nodded and turned the controls.
They drove away from the Toncontín International Airport, headed for the border. Yunru would be in San Salvador by the afternoon.
While they drove, Yunru instructed Aiguo. “I want to speak with Konstantin.” Aiguo dialed, but there was no answer.
Irritated, Yunru next had Aiguo call Kai. Once again, no answer.
“These baboons are worthless,” Yunru muttered. “I hope they’re already dead. Regardless, it matters little. My plan is working flawlessly.”
43
SHANAHAN awoke early, sitting straight up in bed. He had dreamed an idea.
Sure, he had already tried calling Kai’s number to analyze his phone. And like Yunru, Kai didn’t answer.
But Shanahan had Osmin’s SIM card information. He got to work, programming Hound in a slightly different way.
After he finished, he commenced the new process. And it worked. Shanahan had a virtual phone that called from Osmin’s number.
Shanahan used the virtual phone to dial Kai, as if Osmin was calling himself. Shanahan only hoped that Kai hadn’t yet found out about Osmin’s death.
Kai answered. “Osmin?”
Shanahan bit his lip, commanding himself to not say anything. He waited a second and then disconnected.
Bingo. Kai’s SIM had been duplicated.
Stretching his arms, Shanahan yawned. Computer programming before breakfast always made him thirsty. He shuffled to the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. The first sip was always the best.
He sat back down at his desk and began to sift through text messages and emails. He found recent communication from Yunru.
And then he almost dropped his coffee mug. He stared at the message in question for a full twenty seconds, replaying everything he knew in his mind. His head spun.
He slapped his own cheek just to make sure he was awake.
The words didn’t change.
He immediately dialed Reece. But she didn’t answer.
I can’t wait…something might’ve already happened. I have to do something right now.
Still staring at the computer screen, he whispered, “Reece is a sitting duck.”
44
REECE stepped out of the Airbnb’s bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body. Steam from the refreshing shower she’d taken followed her out. As she walked to the clothes dryer, she called out, “Duke, shower’s all yours.”
“Thanks!” came his voice from across the house.
Reece could hear the guys talking in the kitchen. She pulled her clothes from the machine and ducked into a bedroom.
Gazing out the bedroom window, Reece watched the blue sky and roaming clouds, which were now white and fluffy. The hurricane had passed. She opened the window and a morning breeze freshened the room.
She sat down on the bed and checked her phone. It was dead, as was everyone’s, probably. After everything they had been through, no one had extra clothes, they didn’t have food, and there weren’t any chargers around.
The only things Reece had were on her person. Guns, her debit and credit cards, and her dead phone.
And those guys in the kitchen, she reflected, smiling at the fact they had all, so far, survived the craziness of this trip.
She heard the shower water going again. She would wait for Duke to freshen up. And then she’d ask him if he wanted to go to the store with her for some breakfast and phone chargers.
She got up and left the bedroom, headed for the kitchen. They all needed to be in agreement on a plan for Kai and The Association.
As she walked down the hallway, she heard Chang’s voice from inside a different bedroom. The door was closed and he was speaking Mandarin. Something didn’t sound right. Chang sounded upset.
She peeked open the door to check on him.
“Shì ma, Xie?” Chang asked, before becoming aware of Reece. He switched to English. “Got it. I better go. Talk to you later.”
Reece had the distinct feeling she just interrupted something.
“Chang?—what’s going on?” Reece asked. “Anything I should know?”
“It’s nothing,” he said, gazing at the floor.
“Are you the only one with a working phone right now?”
“Am I?” Chang looked up, surprised. He shrugged.
“Chang…” Reece whispered with a disappointed look all over her face. “Are you and Xie…” She couldn’t bring herself to say traitors.
“It’s not that, Reece. Nothing of the sort.” Chang sat down on the bed and hung his head. “When Xie contacted me the other day, I actually had hope for an instant. Hope that I might see my father again. I thought that maybe, just maybe, he was alive in China somewhere. So I asked Xie to look into it for me. I asked him to pull some strings, to do anything and everything he could to find him.”
Reece saw pain written all over her ex-husband’s face. She hesitated, but sat down beside him on the bed. “I take it that didn’t bear any fruit,” she said softly.
“None.” Chang turned, facing Reece. “My whole life has been dictated by others. I was manipulated into working with The Association. I defended criminals in court—bad, bad guys, Reece. Terrible people back in Los Angeles. And I was set up from the start.”
“You didn’t know. But it’s over now and you’re on the right side.” Reece placed her hand on Chang’s knee, squeezing. “Trust me, I can relate. We both had Association dragons as parents. No one can understand what we’ve been through in the same way. And things might not be how they used to, but if you ever need anything, let me know. Okay?” She offered him a warm smile.
“Kay,” he said quietly. “I’ve been playing dead for seven years now. But…I’m tired of being thought of as the weak one.”
“You’re a good man. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Reece, I miss what we had. What if…” Chang’s voice trailed and his eyes reflected some unknown thought he was having. And then, just like that, he leaned forward and planted his lips onto Reece’s.
At this exact same moment, Duke walked by the bedroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. He stopped cold.
Reece immediately pulled away and stood.
Duke’s face still bore the marks of being beaten the day before, and Reece noticed bruising on his body, too. It added to the look of shock on her face.
“Duke,” she gushed, “it’s not what it looks like.”
“That’s what everyone says,” he whispered.
His body seemed weak from lingering pain and his knees wobbled. He shook his head, grimacing, and then limped down the hallway.
Reece darted out of the room after him.
45
“CAN YOU GIVE ME a chance to explain?” Reece asked through a closed bedroom door.
There was no answer from inside, only the sound of clothes shuffling. Reece waited, trying to be patient. She closed her eyes. She gritted her teeth.
She could jump from planes, fight people twice her size, and rescue an untold number of victims from physical danger. But she was powerless to change the mind of this one person she cared about.
&nbs
p; Emotions were a fragile thing, she knew all too well. And Duke had been through his fair share of life’s problems, from the death of his late wife—which he had taken hard and spent years recovering from—to the recent events of yesterday.
Chang appeared in the hallway. He avoided eye contact as he walked by and into the kitchen area—which was a good thing for him, because Reece’s steel stare could’ve sliced him in half.
Then the door opened. Duke’s eyes were red. He looked away, avoiding her gaze, waiting for her to move from the doorway.
“Duke…” she said.
He didn’t respond or move. Just waited.
Reece stepped aside. He left the room, walking straight for the front door. And then he was gone.
Deciding that he needed a few minutes alone, Reece waited again. Time passed. In the meantime, Sandy visited a small restaurant and ordered breakfast burritos for everyone, bringing them back.
An hour passed and Duke still hadn’t returned.
Reece stared at her burrito, not hungry.
“Sandy,” she asked, “can you keep an eye on Mario?” Then she mumbled, “And Chang?”
He nodded. “I get it. When will you be back?”
“If I can’t find him in an hour, I’ll come back with phone chargers…and we’ll go from there.”
* * *
Reece spent twenty minutes driving up and down streets to no avail. She went to the nearest shops and checked around but couldn’t find him.
Every second that ticked by, Reece felt her anger rising higher and higher. She wasn’t only mad at Chang, she was frustrated at the entire situation here in El Salvador. There were too many unknowns.
Her awareness returned to the road. She had been on autopilot while thinking intently on the best course of action.
Then she realized where she was heading. Where her subconscious had been steering her to. She was on the way back to Jaguar Morado.
Fine, she thought. If I can’t find Duke, I’m going to find something.
Her gun was loaded and ready. Her body was tense and impatient.
She pulled right up to the front, stopping only a few car lengths down from the front entrance. She wasn’t hiding this time; she’d barge in there and demand answers.
But an answer of sorts suddenly appeared at the front door, in the form of a person. This person walked out of the establishment and to a black Mustang GT not far from where Reece was parked. His muscle tone was solid and he strode with confidence. Not arrogant confidence, but an ever-watchful, ever-ready confidence.
This person was easy to recognize with his short, jet-black hair and foreign appearance.
Xie Jié wasn’t in China. He was here in El Salvador and had just left Jaguar Morado.
46
REECE had a decision to make. Follow Xie, or go inside Jaguar Morado and find out what he was doing there and who he was talking to. She chose the latter, knowing she could get back in contact with him and play dumb.
After Xie drove off, Reece stepped out of the rental and barged up to the entrance. There were no bouncers, probably because it was so early in the morning. She wondered if any patrons would even be inside.
Swinging open the door, she stepped in. Her gun was concealed under her T-shirt, but her hand rested on it.
Like she’d thought, the place was dead. One scraggly-looking man sat at the bar, and the bartender appeared busy with non-service-related tasks, gazing up at the top shelf with a notepad and pen, jotting notes. He was a different bartender than the one who had been there the night before.
Reece marched across the room directly headed for the stairs. When the bartender noticed her unflinching stride, he called out, “The bathroom is occupied.”
Reece flipped him off, not slowing in the slightest, and bounced down the stairs. No one was there. Soon the sound of footsteps stomping on the floor above caught her attention. The bartender’s silhouette appeared at the top of the staircase.
She turned and charged up, meeting him halfway up the stairs. “Where is Kai?” she demanded.
The bartender looked somewhere between shocked, confused, and condescending.
“He’ll call you if he wants more of that,” he sneered, grabbing for Reece’s wrist.
But she rolled her hand out and up, easily grabbing his wrist, then quickly spinning his arm up and back. He stumbled down a stair trying to keep his balance. Reece dodged to the side and shoved his arm even higher and tighter. He completely lost his footing and flew forward, all the way down the stairs. He landed on the lower few steps and clunkered to the ground.
“Ow,” he moaned, glancing up at Reece. The condescending look from earlier had disappeared.
Reece pulled out her gun. “I asked you a question.”
“I don’t know, I don’t know!” he stammered. “He was here last night. And he’ll probably be back today or tomorrow. That’s all I know.”
“There was a Chinese man here a minute ago. What was he doing?”
“He asked about someone—Young Wu. I don’t know anything about that.”
“Yunru?” Reece clarified.
“Yeah, whatever.”
“If you know more than you’re telling me, I won’t be so easy on you when I come back.” Reece spun around and jogged up the stairs, headed for the rental.
If Xie had been here in one of Kai’s known spots looking for Yunru… Was Xie, in fact, a traitor? Had Reece been set-up this entire time?
Reece sped back to the Airbnb. When she got there, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Xie’s Mustang was parked out front!
Reece skid to a stop and flew out, racing to the front window. She crouched down and peered through, scanning the interior, planning the best and most effective way in.
She didn’t want to imagine the worst-case scenario, but she naturally did. Sandy, Mario and Chang might be dead.
Through the window she heard muffled voices coming from the kitchen. No one could be seen in the front area.
She crept to the front door and slowly, quietly, tried the handle. Locked. Remembering she opened the window in the bedroom for fresh air, she went around to it. It was still open. She removed the screen and snuck inside.
Then she padded through the front living room along the walls until reaching the kitchen. After steadying her nerves and taking a small breath, her body rotated around as she burst from the corner. Her gun’s sights fell directly on Xie.
47
“DON’T SHOOT!” Sandy called, jumping up from the kitchen table and moving toward Reece.
“I saw him come out of Jaguar Morado not even twenty minutes ago,” she said, not lowering her gun.
“It’s true,” Xie admitted, holding his hands up in surrender. “I was there. I was trying to find information on Yunru’s activities or whereabouts.”
“Smooth,” Reece said sarcastically. “Have you been in this country the whole time?”
“I left China after your plane disappeared. Right after I talked to Shanahan, I left. But regardless, I had planned on coming, as backup for the Sandman.”
“Please call me Sandy,” Sandy said. “The Sandman is no more.” He glanced up at Reece. “There’s only one other title I hope to earn someday.”
Reece ignored him, keeping her attention on Xie. “We’ve been found over and over again by Konstantin and Kai. Something’s going on.”
“I agree.” Xie motioned at Chang. “He mentioned it earlier over the phone, and I’ve double-checked INSITE, too. But I guarantee no one has access to Sandy’s beacon except the people in this very room.”
“Why does this seem too convenient—you just showing up without a word to anybody?”
“I understand your concern.” Xie nodded in deference. “But I didn’t tell anyone I was on my way for this very reason. I’m not sure what’s going on and I couldn’t take any chances.”
Suddenly Xie leaped up into the air, doing a backflip over the chair he had been sitting on, twisting in the air and landing on his feet inches from
Reece. He did this so abruptly and quickly that Reece barely had a chance to react.
He could’ve attacked her but he didn’t.
Then he bowed slightly to her. “I’m sure you can sympathize with that motivation.”
Reece lowered her weapon. “I can. But I still don’t know if I can trust you.”
“Neither can any of us, Reece,” Sandy offered, stepping forward. “But if we don’t trust each other, we will eventually die at the hands of the new dragons, whether it be by new technology, a mole, or something we can’t even fathom yet. If we break apart, we stand to lose everything.”
He approached Reece and stood close, speaking softly to her. “I wish Duke wouldn’t have gone. But you have my word we will find him again. And we will stop the dragons. But to do that, we need to work together.”
“For now.” Reece spun around and headed for the front door.
“Where are you going?” Sandy asked.
“To get our new phone chargers from the car.”
* * *
Reece tried to settle her mind with a reheated breakfast burrito and a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, Kai had taken Duke’s phone, so calling him was out of the question for the time being.
Who will make the next move, she wondered. As soon as their phones were sufficiently charged, she would go out searching for Duke again.
And when she found him, she would get his butt on a plane back home and out of harm’s way. She would argue, if necessary, to also send Chang back to America. Xie could probably arrange a fake passport for him, and if he couldn’t, maybe Shanahan could enlist the services of Kennedy Ross again.
Reece tried calling Shanahan for the tenth time, but his number kept going straight to voicemail. She was hoping to get Kai’s location again.
This isn’t like Shanahan. Where is he?
