The Canton Connection

by Fritz Galt

  Jake held his breath until he was calm enough to talk reasonably.

  Wu looked plainly amused. “Sorry. I won’t sneak up on you again.”

  “You’d better not.”

  Jake looked at Wu’s cell phone and mouthed the words, “Where should I make the call?”

  Wu rolled his eyes at the walls and ceiling. He knew there might be bugs in the room. Then he pointed outside at Jake’s small balcony.

  Jake nodded, but Wu hung around in the room.

  “I’ll make this private,” Jake said. “You watch the door.”

  Reluctantly, Wu agreed and left the room.

  There was a small overhang that could keep Jake’s upper body dry, but didn’t prevent the rain from splashing on his socks and trousers.

  He held the phone out of the rain and found the CIA number at the top of the Recent Calls list.

  The call took a moment to return a ringing sound.

  Bill Brewster answered.

  “It’s me, Jake.” He tried to talk over the roar of the rain, but not let his voice carry into the house.

  “I see that you’re in Guangzhou,” Bill said.

  “Right.” He hated it when the CIA was aware of his every move.

  “I’ve got a man you can meet,” Bill said.

  “It won’t be so easy, and I have to make this quick,” Jake said. “Two things. I want you to check back with the DOJ about Simon Wu’s fingerprints. I believe his thumbprints were purposefully mis-filed under Oscar Walsh. Have them check the file’s metadata to verify who the other fingerprints belong to.” He looked around behind him and lowered his voice. “If the index finger and other fingers are not switched, we’ll know that Wu killed the programmers.”

  “If you say so,” Bill said. “I’ll check the database.”

  “Second,” Jake said, rushing through the rest of the conversation. “I don’t think I can get out of this villa. It’s a guarded compound owned by Eric Li.”

  “Yes. I’ve got a fix on it,” Bill said. “You seem to be by a reservoir.”

  “I thought it was a lake.”

  “No. You’re in a valley between two ridges, and a river makes its way down the valley into Guangzhou. There’s a series of dams, one above you, and one below.”

  “Whatever,” Jake said. “I’m staying in the main structure, which is residential. But there is a bunch of outlying buildings where people come and go on a regular basis. It’s where Li’s programmers work.”

  “Interesting. Is that where Stacy Stefansson is located?”

  “She’s arriving at the house later today.”

  “You called Li’s people ‘programmers,’” Bill said. “Are they programmers or hackers?”

  “I don’t know. They make millions of dollars a month. Hardly sounds like typical programming. My guess is they’re hackers, but I have to verify it.”

  “Okay, listen carefully,” Bill said. “I’ll communicate with my man in Guangzhou. He’s a one-man demolition team, and very hard to trace. He can blow up the dam above the buildings and flood everything out. I’ll get back to you on the fingerprints. I’ll also call you back to alert you when my man has rigged the explosives. It’s your call if and when he should set them off.”

  “Fine.”

  Jake would have to hang onto Wu’s phone and wait for Bill’s calls informing him about Wu’s culpability and alerting him when the dam was ready for demolition.

  When he hung up the phone, his fingers were numb. It might have been the height of summer in that steam bath of a place, but he felt a sudden chill. The place might be destroyed soon.

  He also had to prove Stacy’s ill intent before he left her to die there.

  Fingers rapped on the window behind him.

  It was Wu, motioning for him to come in.

  Jake put the phone into silent mode and slipped it into his pocket. Then he opened the door.

  “Li’s on his way,” Wu said.

  Jake removed his wet socks and wrung them out in the sink. He heard Wu talking with Li in the hallway.

  “Stacy just arrived,” Wu said. “Come down and join us.”

  “Fine.”

  Jake jumped to his window that looked over the driveway. A third Ferrari had pulled up and people ran around with umbrellas. He couldn’t see who was under the umbrellas, but saw a shapely pair of legs.

  Chapter 37

  The umbrellas snapped shut and water dripped all over the floor in the foyer.

  Jake descended the staircase and waited for Stacy to see him.

  She busily handed her suitcase to the maid and kicked off her shoes. “Man, it’s wet,” she said, and shook the droplets from her blonde hair.

  Eric Li moved briskly across the floor with a hand extended. “I’m Eric,” he said. “Welcome to my home.”

  Stacy looked at the architecture. “This is some place.”

  Then her blue eyes spotted Jake on the staircase.

  “Oh, Jake!” she cried. She ran up the stairs and threw her arms around him. “You’re in China.”

  Suddenly she had all the love in the world for him.

  Sure they had eyed each other when they first met. They had gone on a dinner date. They had held hands afterwards. She had invited him to visit her folks. And they had spent an idyllic afternoon at Mountain Lake Resort. But they had never kissed. They had never slept together.

  Now she was treating him like her long-lost love.

  Either she was incredibly homesick, or she was pulling a fast one on somebody.

  Jake returned her hug, but wasn’t going to play the fool this time.

  “Simon!” she cried, right by Jake’s ear.

  She pushed Jake aside and climbed several more steps to throw her arms around a surprised-looking, but pleased Simon Wu.

  “What are you two doing here?”

  “We’re here to see you,” Wu replied. “Welcome to China.”

  “Oh,” she said, and spun around to drink it all in. “Everyone is so nice to me.”

  Guess why, Jake thought to himself. In that pretty little head of hers, she was carrying the password that would make them instant millionaires.

  Jake shook off the temptation to just let it happen. He had seen the castle at the end of the lake. Sure it was tempting, but what could replace a Skins game on Sunday or a cup of fries at Five Guys?

  He watched Stacy with interest. She was speechless. It looked like she had already bitten the forbidden fruit.

  Eric Li took command of the hiatus in conversation. “Take our guest upstairs to her room,” he ordered his maid. “We can have lunch in an hour.”

  Stacy smiled at Li. “You’re too kind.”

  She didn’t yet know the full extent of his generosity.

  Stacy went upstairs to freshen up from her trip. Jake watched the backs of her slim calves as she climbed to the next floor. Was she getting the room where they had found Oscar Walsh’s body just a few hours before?

  Where was the body buried anyway?

  He took the hallway to his bedroom and locked the door. He didn’t want Wu sneaking up on him again.

  At one end of the room, he could look out over the garden at the front of the house. Several workmen were patting down the soil on a heap of dirt between pink plumeria trees halfway up the mountain.

  Jake offered a final salute to the fallen federal marshal. Had Oscar Walsh’s sudden trip to China been a gallant effort to rescue Stacy? If so, he had died before he got a chance to save her. Simon Wu had ensured that.

  Who was going to save Stacy now?

  Or did she even deserve saving?

  He felt a vibration in his pocket. It was Wu’s phone.

  Bill Brewster was reporting back from Langley.

  “I’ve got partial news,” Bill said. “Our man is working his way through traffic to your location. He says he needs an hour to get in place and set the fuses.”

  Jake nodded. “One hour.”

  “Remember, he’s expecting to flood the place. I don’
t want you hurt.”

  Jake looked out the window at the steep slope of the mountain behind the house. That was his escape route. “I’ll be ready. But there are soldiers at the front gate.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about that.”

  “…with automatic weapons.”

  “I’ll let my man know. Proceed as planned.”

  “Okay then,” Jake said.

  “Just call the following number and tell him when it’s best to detonate.”

  Bill read off an eleven-digit number that Jake added to the cell phone.

  “How about the fingerprints?” Jake asked. He needed to know if his theory about Wu was correct. “Did Wu kill the programmers?”

  “Still no news on that,” Bill said. “I’ll call you as soon as I hear back from the database experts at DOJ.”

  “I’m running out of time here,” Jake said.

  “Stay cool. We’ll get you an answer.”

  Wu walked in just as Jake was putting the phone back in his pocket. “What did you learn?” Wu asked.

  “They’re still trying to get a man out here,” he said, not lying, but also not telling Wu the whole story.

  “Mind if I have the phone back?” Wu asked.

  Jake hesitated. He was waiting for Bill to call back and he needed the phone to call the CIA operative when it was time to set off the explosives.

  “Need to make a call?” Jake asked, not handing it over.

  Wu shook his head.

  “Let me hold onto it,” Jake said. “I’m expecting a call.”

  “Careful how you use that thing,” Wu said. “The Chinese might be tracking you.”

  Wu really wanted it back, and Jake felt bad not returning it. But there was far more at stake than hurt feelings.

  “Let’s go downstairs,” Jake said. “I smell something frying.”

  Finally Wu cracked a smile. “You know,” he said. “I’m getting used to this life.”

  Chapter 38

  When Jake did lunch, it was usually something he bought at the salad bar in the local grocery store and ate in the parking lot.

  When Eric Li did lunch, there was a chef and several servers involved.

  A long table was set in the dining room.

  Jake sat across from Stacy. She had changed out of her travel clothes and had opted for a cotton blouse and skirt.

  Skirts struck Jake as an odd choice for her. It ruined the tomboy image he had created of her.

  Who was she trying to fool?

  Through the tall windows behind her, rain had ceased to streak the sky. The day became a standoff between a hot sun and dense, humid air.

  Champagne was served first. The server showed Jake the bottle before filling his glass. It was blanc de noir from France.

  “Fine,” he said. “Whatever.” He needed to stop drinking and keep a clear mind.

  But at the end of the table, Eric Li lifted his glass and everybody had to follow suit.

  “To our lovely young lady, Maggie Smith,” he said.

  Jake looked around.

  All were toasting Stacy. Including Simon Wu.

  Had Jake missed something?

  “Soon to be…” and Li turned to offer a toast to Jake. “Maggie Maguire.”

  Again everyone toasted. Including Stacy Stefansson.

  Jake felt his face burning. He hated when he was the only one in the room who didn’t get a joke.

  But nobody was laughing. Apparently it wasn’t a joke.

  Jake stared at Stacy with a “What the…?” look, and she smiled back at him with a nod.

  It was a nice smile, lips stretched from cheek to cheek, eyes warm and friendly. He felt like a prop in a cheesy play.

  Maybe he’d take a drink after all. The fizz tickled his nose, but he took a big gulp. Had Wu created a false identity for her at the Witness Protection Program?

  Then the food came, course by course.

  Jake caught the strong scent of ginger and garlic.

  “We begin with river shrimp,” Li said. “Very small. No need to peel.”

  A lump of orange bodies, complete with heads and legs, lay on the plate before him.

  This was going to be a long meal.

  Midway through the endurance contest, with his glass twice refilled, Jake was hoping the whole thing would end. But Li was just getting started.

  Li clanged a chopstick against his glass to get everyone’s attention. Then Li stole a sideways glance at the Chinese girl seated by his side. “Today,” he announced, “we have a special gift for Jake and Maggie.”

  Jake was still trying to get over the whole “Maggie” thing, but let the speech proceed.

  “In celebration of your upcoming marriage,” Li said, “I have decided to give you the gift of a new house, right across the lake from us.”

  Stacy hadn’t been surprised by the name he had called her, but she was taken aback by the real estate offer.

  Li rose and stood by the window. He held his glass up to the chateau in the mist. “That will be your lovely abode.”

  Stacy gasped, her eyes wide.

  Jake sneaked a look at Wu, who wasn’t celebrating the news.

  So, not everyone was onboard with this make-believe future Li was laying out for Stacy and him.

  Neither was Jake.

  The more Li jabbered on about love and luxury, the more nauseated he became. Meanwhile Stacy was soaking it up.

  By the end of Li’s speech, she turned to Jake with a sparkle in her eyes. Her lips were spread in an irrepressible smile.

  Jake had to smile back.

  “Now for our dessert,” Li said. “A delicacy of our region.”

  The sugar water with black sesame seed paste and mung beans nearly sent Jake running for the toilet.

  Chapter 39

  At lunch, Li suggested that Jake and Stacy, now known to everybody, including Jake, as Maggie, take a walk along the lake to visit the chateau.

  He even placed a key in Jake’s hand and squeezed the hand shut with a fervent wish to enjoy their new home.

  Jake hadn’t acted appreciative enough over lunch, so took the opportunity to profusely thank the young man. He used words he couldn’t believe he was saying, and never cared to repeat again. But he got it out and Li seemed pleased.

  So Jake offered Stacy an elbow and they started out on their stroll.

  He didn’t like the circumstances forced on him, but he did appreciate the chance to talk with her alone.

  “What the hell’s with this ‘Maggie Smith’ stuff?”

  “Oh, that,” she said. “I needed an alias for when I got to China. So when Simon offered to make up a falsified passport last month, I just pulled that name out of thin air.”

  “She’s a British actress.”

  “I know. I know. That’s all I could think of. I was thinking about Downton Abbey.”

  Jake shook his head dolefully. She was crazy, but at least she wasn’t good at being devious. Unless, of course, she was devious about not being devious…

  “Come on.” She poked him in the ribs. “Play along.”

  He jerked away. “You think this is a game?”

  “Of course not. But stop and smell the roses.”

  In the shade, the air didn’t move and the wet heat hit him with that old jungle smell from the Botanic Garden.

  Then they turned a corner and sunshine and wind came off the lake like a breezy day at Rehoboth Beach. One step, and he was in a different world.

  The breeze helped awaken his thought processes.

  “So Simon helped get you to China. It must feel great to have a buddy who works for the Witness Protection Program.”

  She was growing quiet, if not morose. “It doesn’t hurt.”

  He took advantage of her weakened state. “And who said we were getting married?”

  She looked at him nervously. “You’ll have to forgive me for that.”

  “What? You told them we were engaged?”

  “I had to explain to Li’s men why you were i
n the country. I had no idea you were here. I don’t know how you even got a visa to come to China so quickly. So I had to think on my feet. I said that we were desperately in love, and that we were engaged to be married.”

  Jake stared at the ridgeline opposite the lake. What had looked like a string of pagodas in the rain was now in clear view. They were transmission towers carrying power lines from the dams down to the city.

  He could see equally clearly now why Li had accepted him so trustingly. For all Li knew, Jake was a young man in love just trying to be with his fiancée.

  Stacy had explained a lot that needed explaining. But she hadn’t come close to explaining why she had lied about Wu on the bike path. Why she hung out with Wu in the first place. And why she had fled to China.

  They were at the junction where the path turned to cross the dam toward the chateau or split the other direction to head up the hill in a series of low-rise steps.

  “Which way, my dear?” he said.

  “Oh, c’mon,” she said. “Let’s check out the house.”

  The dam they crossed rose thirty feet over the surface of Li’s lake on one side, and dropped fifty feet in the other direction. A stream of water gushed through a spillway into the narrowing valley, and then eventually toward distant high-rise buildings. Presumably Guangzhou lay in the fog below that.

  He looked upstream past Li’s house and the programmers’ offices at the far end of the lake where a similar dam controlled water flowing out of an even larger body of water. The atmosphere was too thick to make out any details. That was useful cover for Brewster’s man, who was up there rigging explosives.

  They crossed the dam and stood in the shadow of the enormous house.

  The key worked and the heavy door swung open. The house was fully furnished with modern touches and marble floors. The view of the lake and mountains out the two-story-high window was better than any Chinese painting.

  Stacy walked briskly from room to room, moving furniture and appraising the curtains. She looked like an interior decorator with a big job to do in very short order.

  She tried the window shades, stuck her head in all the rooms, and held her finger to her chin trying to imagine dinner guests.