Jack defending himself replied, "It is not a witch hunt-"
Sarah interrupted him, "Jack, I know your life has turned upside down. The loss of your grandfather was tragic. So is the loss around the world. Believe me, the smartest people around the world have discussed the possibility of this pandemic to be bio-attack. Everyone has concluded that it will be near impossible to carry out the attack on this scale."
Jack looked at Sarah with anger. He wanted to shout at her will all his might. How can Sarah bring his grandfather in this? Jack started taking deep breathes to control his feelings.
Sarah concluded her feelings saying, "Jack, I am just worried about you. You are in a foreign land on an unofficial mission. You have done great so far. Be careful. Your one misstep could be fatal to the diplomatic relations between two countries, especially if China has the vaccine."
Jack hated Sarah for using his personal losses to push forward diplomatic benefit. With a half-hearted promise to Sarah, he decided to leave the room and go back to Emily. Jack was hoping for some insight into the archived documents.
Chapter 20
"Well, this is nice. I wanted to do this since the moment I saw you in that cafeteria."
Jack was all smiles as he sat down with Emily for brunch across the road from Shanghai consulate. Jack had asked Emily for brunch before hitting the bed at 7 in the morning.
As the coffee was served, Jack looked at Emily's beautiful face and anxiously asked, "How are you holding up? Is it too early to ask you about your family?"
"No. I actually need to talk about it."
"Well, I am all ears."
"Like I told you, I grew up in Edmonton. I had a very decent life. My dad, well, my adoptive father was a pharmacist. My step-mother, Lyla, loves me more than anything in the world. She is a homemaker. She never let me miss my birth mother." Emily smiled at the mention of her mother.
"As you know, my birth mother passed away when I was a child. And my dad married Lyla six months later and was unequivocal with Lyla about the reason for their marriage. Preference was me and not their relationship. Lyla prioritized me over her career, over having her own children."
Jack could feel Emily's pride in having a mother like Lyla. He could connect his own childhood with her upbringing. "You know I lost both of my parents at an early age. I was raised by my grandfather, who gave up his retirement to give me and my sister the life we deserved."
"I know a lot of information about your grandfather," Emily replied calmly, trying to smile, but evidently hiding some kind of guilt.
Jack sat there looking at Emily, completely bewildered by her response. Immediately he feared to learn another secret about Emily, which would derail their recently revived relationship.
Fearful of the answer, he asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"Jack, I am going to tell you how this assignment to bring Dr. Chung back, was planned. I am going to tell you why we are in China when really I am supposed to be back home helping our fellow citizens."
A ghastly dilemma hit Jack's mind. The trip to China had allowed him to potentially find and punish the culprit behind global tragedy. But he did not like the idea that this could all just be a ruse to help someone's propaganda.
Emily continued, "About three days before we met at RCMP, I got a letter from my late father. It came with his will papers. I had ignored those papers for over a month. In that letter, he confessed about not being my birth father. He identified Dr. Chung as my birth father. I had read about Dr. Chung's work at my college. I was able to quickly locate him in Wuhan, working for a private lab."
Jack was listening carefully. He was getting curious to know about how he was involved in the assignment.
Emily continued, "You see, my birth mother divorced Dr. Chung before I was born. I was never told about Dr. Chung, and I do not blame my parents or my step-mother for it. I did for a few moments after reading the letter, but Lyla calmed me down. Still, an urge to meet Dr. Chung was lingering in my mind. Honestly, I was a little excited to meet a person who had contributed to the profession I love and the cherry on top, he was my father."
Emily' eyes were becoming watery. But she kept calm, "I knew I had to visit him in China as soon as possible. This seemed an impossible task, but can you believe my luck? I got an intelligence report that the company Dr. Chung worked for, was prepared to launch a vaccine. I was able to convince my boss for a China trip. But we wanted to keep it unofficial. So, we devised a plan of assessing the stranded Canadians in Wuhan. We planned to tell the Chinese government that we were bringing back the Canadians, so we thought a law enforcement officer should accompany for security purposes."
Jack was fuming inside his mind but was hiding that very well on his face. His fear of being a puppet in the plan was coming true. To comprehend more about the reason, he asked, "I do not understand why you need a police officer to bring back your own people?"
Smiling weakly, Emily replied, "We had a lot of trouble getting people to test and quarantine. And WHO and all the health agencies in the world unanimously have decided to implement strict measures for getting people to contain. So, your role was defined as enforcing these laws."
Jack's mood suddenly changed. He agreed to Emily's logic. Still curious about his selection, "Why me?"
"I am sure you do not know this. But your grandfather, Marvin Wilson, was one of the index patients in Canada. He was one of the first Canadians to contract the virus from an Italian tourist. He was also the first death in Canada. We knew all about him and, therefore, all about you and your sister. I personally selected you. After your loss and after the incident that led to your demotion, I thought you would be motivated enough. And I think I was right."
Jack smiled at Emily, "Yes. I am definitely taking this as a second opportunity. Now I know, I thank you for that." Emily returned a smile. It was so pretty, Jack almost blushed.
"Thank you for joining me for brunch, Emily. This is by far the best morning I have spent since my grandpa got sick. I was lonely for the last two months. I have not seen my sister for so long. I am proud of her but very much worried too." Jack chuckled.
"I have always been a bright student. Be it army, the academy or the department. But after losing grandpa, I just hit rock bottom. When I try to remember the feeling, I go blank on why I pressed the gun against that man's chest. I think I was at my worst at the moment. But thanks to you, I have a new purpose."
Emily's smile faded away. She timidly said, "Jack, I know you believe that this pandemic was planned. I have been observing you since the start of our journey. I am telling you again, it is nearly impossible to weaponize these viruses. And do not get me wrong, I am not trying to defend Dr. Chung. Honestly, I am not even missing him. I barely knew him. But scientifically speaking, we have not even matched the structure of the current strain to any previously discovered structures."
Jack sat there in confusion. The structure of strain was a new phrase for him. He had tried to study as much as he can from the research papers and articles to gain a basic understanding of how viruses work.
"What do you mean by the structure?"
Emily noticed the sudden urgency in Jack's voice. "The new strain is always a derivation from a previously known strain. There is a group of doctors who travel the world to discover new types of viruses. They scan various animals, identify the virus and flag them as per the threat level. I did a small project with this group in 2013 after MERS breakout."
Jack impatiently asked, "So was this virus not discovered previously?"
"No. It is not as simple as that. These discovered viruses evolve once they are transmitted from animals to humans. We have not been able to identify the base virus that evolved to form this strain of the virus, which causes VD-19."
"What do you think is the reason you were not successful in identifying the structure of the virus?"
"One of the main reasons is screwed up diplomacy around the world. China has not been transparent with us. America is at a trade w
ar with all the nations that threaten their position. WHO under pressure to report as per the convenience of their biggest contributors. How are we supposed to do the work with limited resources?"
Jack nodded, acknowledging Emily's frustrations. "Hmm. It must be quite tiring to tackle politics and still do good work. But honestly, I still feel Wuhan Pharma has some mysteries hidden. Were you able to go through the documents I got from their archives department?"
"No, I hit the bed as soon as I went to my room. I promise to take a look at the documents when we return."
"Great. So, Dr. Rogers, how was your college life?", said Jack hoping to deviate from a serious discussion. He wanted to know more about Emily.
Emily was taken aback at a sudden change of topic. They discussed their personal lives for another half hour before returning to the consulate.
Jack was delighted with how his morning was spent. As he hit the bed to rest for a while, he called up his sister. It was past midnight in Canada, and Jack hoped Julie would answer. And to add to his happiness, she did.
"Julie. How are you, dear? It is so good to hear your voice," Jack said as if he was addressing a child.
"Jack. I am not a kid anymore."
"You will always be my baby sister."
"I know, I know. So, what are you doing in China? Tell me everything."
Jack narrated the adventures he participated in since leaving Canada. He felt relaxed after talking to Julie for over an hour.
Chapter 21
Emily laid down the documents in a chronological order. She was carefully studying the contents when she observed multiple mentions of a previously discovered virus - RaT-G-13. She had a doubt in her mind, which, if true, would be alarming information.
Emily knew the virus more than anyone in the world. It was discovered during her study in 2013 with a group of researchers - DisConVi. The name was an abbreviation for the Discovery of Contagious Viruses. Emily was invited by the group as a representative of Health Canada. The month-long testing on thousands of bats was one of the first projects Emily had completed in her role at Health Canada. She remembered the meeting with her boss after returning to Canada. She felt proud even today, just by remembering the praise she gained from the project.
Emily called her assistant, Megan could not hide the gloom in her voice, "Hi, Emily, are you back?"
"No. I need something from my computer promptly. Log in to the computer. The password is RogHC89. Remember to log out when done. The folder is named as 2013 China Reports. Compress and email me the folder. Remember, log out when done."
Emily was not confident that Megan would log out. She decided to contact IT and ask to remotely change the password later. Emily read the reports she had prepared during her project with DisConVi. She was now sure what she had suspected.
Emily sat there, thinking about the next steps. She knew sooner or later, someone would connect the dots to the current virus and Rat-G-13. If she tells Jack about the report's findings, her career would have a high chance of ending. She decided to act alone, but she did need Jack's help.
"Let's meet in the conference room in twenty? Got an idea," she texted Jack.
Jack walked into the conference room, excited to hear Emily's take on the documents. He thought it was potentially the only lead to connect Dr. Chung's death to Lee family.
"So, what do you have?" Jack asked with all his hopes up.
"These documents show an extensive testing of the vaccine done since November 2019. The testing was done on the people who already were infected with VD-19."
Jack's face fell. This was the information he knew already. "We know the lab was testing a new vaccine."
Emily did not expect that answer. She thought for a moment and adjusted her plan, "But Jack, if the company knew about the disease and the new virus, they did not tell anyone. They still should be punished."
"How do I prove it? With this little evidence, it would be a short mismanagement scandal in the media. No one would be punished for the death of hundreds of thousands of people. No one would suffer for the deaths of my grandpa, your father." Jack's voice was trembling by the end of the sentence. He knew the people who caused havoc, by mistake or deliberately, but he could not make them suffer.
Emily calmly replied, "I have an idea."
Jack looked at her, asking to elaborate more with his eyes.
"We put out a press release in local Kingston paper about Dr. Chung's death. He was a known personality in the Kingston area due to his work at Queen's University. We mention my name as the daughter. The news wouldn't blow up to national attention."
Jack impatiently interrupted, "How is that going to help us?"
"I am getting there. The news article is just a verification tool for Lee. I will contact Lee as Dr. Chung's daughter. I will claim to know the secret behind the outbreak and vaccine."
Jack yelled, "NO. I will not allow it."
Emily smiled at Jack. She was happy to see Jack's reaction. She had hoped to get that reaction. "Jack, there is no other way to prove Lee murdered my father."
This was the first time Emily had called Dr. Chung, her father, in a sentence. Jack kept silent, thinking of the risks involved. He knew that Lee had ordered the murders of two people - Dr. Chung and his escort, Chen. Jack realized, Emily did not know about Chen's death. He thought of telling her later as she had a lot on her mind.
"Emily, I will not deny that the idea is tempting. But lately, my decisions have not always panned out as hoped. I will need to discuss this with Sarah and Neil."
"Jack, they are not going to allow it."
"That is what I am hoping for," said Jack, smiling.
Jack expecting completely to get a scolding from Sarah, called her. Sarah was in a surprisingly good mood. "So, what can I do for you, my lord," said Sarah with an unadulterated tone. A laughter bust in Jack's head. He found it funny that he was going to ruin Sarah's mood. "Sarah, we studied the documents we retrieved from Wuhan Lab."
"You mean, you stole them," Sarah quickly responded with a wink.
Jack laughed, "I prefer to use the word borrowed. Anyway, Emily went through them and found out that Wuhan Lab has been testing the vaccine on VD-19 patients since November 2019."
Sarah's mood changed. With a straight face, she said, "Jack, we discussed this. Just because the lab was testing vaccine since November, that does not prove foul play on their behalf."
Jack knew he was going to get pushback on this. He was prepared. "Sarah, developing a medicine to prevent a disease is different than testing cure vaccine."
Sarah looked down, pondering about Jack's hypothesis.
"Jack, let's for a moment, assume that Wuhan Lab did know about the deadly virus and did nothing to stop it. Or even to amuse you, I will assume that they deliberately caused the pandemic. Where is the evidence? If you do not have it, I know you don't, how do you plan on getting it?"
Jack smiled. "Emily here has an idea. I will let her tell you."
Emily looked at Jack and eyed him "what-the-hell."
"Hi, Sarah. I will jump right into it. It is now out in the open that Dr. Chung was my birth father." Emily continued to explain the idea to Sarah, who listened carefully without any reaction.
Sarah did not respond for five minutes after Emily finished.
"Jack, you know I cannot authorize this based on the suspicion. You have any better reasoning?"
After listening to Emily narrate the plan to Sarah with confidence, Jack was convinced of the idea. He quickly thought of a response.
"Sarah, if we even get a minor confession from Mr. Lee, we would have a tremendous advantage in dealing with China on vaccine sharing."
Jack hated politicizing the case, but he knew he hit the bullseye. Sarah again went mute for ten minutes. She carefully responded, "Jack, I am not authorizing this. But you are on an unofficial assignment anyway. It's your call. If you decide to go ahead, I will hold you responsible. Emily is a civilian. Do not let that slip your mind."
&nbs
p; Jack knew this was enough. He turned to Emily and gave a smile.
Chapter 22
January 2018
A limo with a convoy of four diplomatic town cars entered the driveway. The driveway was lined with plush green bushes pruned to depict mushrooms. The driveway was laid down with marble chips. The entrance was designed to make the visitors concede to the wealth of the residents.
At the sight of convoy, Wang gave out instructions on his walkie, "They are here, bring out the welcome tray." Four waiters with the head butler rushed from the kitchen to stand behind Wang. The limousine stopped precisely in front of a massive wooden door. Two security personnel, dressed in charcoal black suits, jumped out of the front doors. One of them scanned the area and gave a tap on his colleague's shoulder. On getting the signal, the other person opened the rear passenger door.
A middle-aged man, dressed in a bespoke blue suit, wearing an orange tie and designer shoes stepped out of the limo. His features, complexion and a gray beard said he was from the middle-eastern country.
"Welcome to Hong'an Cottage, Mr. Ghazi," Wang said, bowing down to him, keeping with Asian tradition.
Mr. Ghazi gave him a smile. His power was evident from his facial expressions.
The head butler offered him a rose sherbet. Mr. Ghazi's bodyguard stepped in front of him and had the first sip. He then wiped off the glass. Mr. Ghazi waited for a minute and took the glass from the tray. He was impressed with the first two minutes of hospitality he received.
"Very well. I hope Mr. Lee is ready for the meeting."
Wang bowed down again, "Yes, Mr. Ghazi, he is waiting in the dining area."
Wang led the way to the dining area. As they entered the dining room, Mr. Lee stood up from his chair. The stern looks on Mr. Ghazi's face changed into a broad smile. The shine from his golden tooth reflected on the wall-to-wall French window.
The Hidden Agenda Page 11
