by S. E. Smith
A movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention. Once again, he felt a shaft of desire and the magnetic pull of some invisible force drawing him toward the slender young woman who had just emerged from the building. He wondered if this was what Harrington had felt for his wife.
Brian released a soft curse at his thoughts, shifted the car into drive, and pulled out onto the street. Within seconds, the small group was piling back into the car. He glanced over his shoulder at Makayla’s smiling face. She held up a piece of paper with a series of numbers on it.
“Tian Tan Buddha,” she said with a glow of triumph.
“We won’t have time to get there and back before we meet with Ren Lu,” Helen commented with concern. “It will take over an hour to get there, plus the time to locate the item and we still need to rent another car.”
“We’ll stick with the plan,” Brian said, turning on his signal and merging into traffic. “You, Makayla, and I will meet with Ren Lu, while Tyrell watches our backs. I’ll give Ren Lu the flash drive when he gives us Henry’s location. The moment we have it, Tyrell and Makayla will go to the Tian Tan Buddha while we go after Henry. Then, we meet up once again when we know where the last location is. We’ll get the information, and get the hell out.”
Makayla leaned forward and rested her chin on her arm on the back of Brian’s seat. He glanced in the mirror and could practically see her mind racing with questions and concerns. Turning left, he headed back to Victoria Park. There was a car rental place not far from the marina.
“What if he lies about Henry?” Makayla asked in a quiet voice, unable to keep the worry out of it. “What if you give him the flash drive and Henry isn’t where he says he is?”
“I’ll know,” Brian assured her with more confidence than he felt. “Kevin will be listening in and can give me a heads up if Ren Lu tries to lie.”
“How can he do that?” Tyrell asked, leaning forward as well.
Brian glanced in his side mirror before changing lanes and accelerating. There was a lot that Kevin could do remotely. He could keep a visual on them, listen in, and cross check information to see if Ren Lu was telling the truth. Some of the methods his friend would use were highly classified, his connections to some of the satellites were part of the security system he had helped develop for the government, while another was just crafty nerdiness and too much time on his hands.
“Whatever information Ren Lu relays about Henry’s location, he can cross check to make sure Ren Lu is telling us the truth,” Brian explained, merging onto the Eastern Harbour Crossway. “There is no guarantee, but my gut tells me that Ren Lu will tell us the truth about where Henry is.”
“But… Why would he?” Makayla asked in a husky tone. “Why wouldn’t he just kill him if he doesn’t need him anymore?”
Brian glanced at her in the mirror before forcing himself to focus on the traffic ahead of him. Men like Ren Lu and he didn’t kill unless they had to or were ordered to. If Henry wasn’t dead yet, he most likely had not been ordered terminated. Once Ren Lu reported back to Sun Yung-Wing that he had the information, that could change. Brian was betting that Ren Lu wouldn’t terminate Henry until he knew he had the information his employer was seeking in his hand. Henry alive, whether Ren Lu had him or he was somewhere else, was still a valuable pawn. Men like them were not restricted by releasing that pawn back out into the world. They knew they could always locate them again if they needed to.
“He can kill him anytime, Makayla,” Brian finally replied. “He’ll want to make sure he retrieves the information first.”
Brian felt Makayla’s hand tremble and she drew in a swift breath. “What happens when he finds out that we’ve got to it first?”
“I have to make sure Henry and you have disappeared before that happens,” Brian said, turning into the parking lot of the car rental. “Then, I go hunting.”
22
Victoria Park: Fifteen Hundred Hours
Makayla nervously gazed around her. Brian and Tyrell had parked in the parking lot located in front of one of the large pavilions. Tyrell had grabbed his backpack and taken off in the opposite direction, pretending he didn’t know them, while Brian, Helen, and she had exited and walked along one of the main stone paved paths near the South Pavilion Plaza.
They passed a long line of courts filled with late afternoon visitors playing basketball. Up ahead, Makayla could see a huge fountain where couples sat enjoying the fading sunlight while the children ran around squealing and trying to splash in the spray. She bit her lip, wondering if Ren Lu was already there, watching them.
“I spent many days playing in this park,” Helen reflected, staring around her. “It seems like a lifetime ago. My parents would bring me here to race boats in the Model Boat Pool or to listen to the concerts at the bandstand. They still come here,” she mused, watching an older couple walk by holding hands.
“Do you still come here?” Makayla asked, watching a couple of young boys turn to gawk at several giggling girls. It didn’t matter where you lived, people were the same everywhere, she thought. “It looks like a huge park.”
“It is. I haven’t been here in years,” Helen murmured. “There is a lot to do and some of the festivals they have here are magnificent.”
“Did you get a chance to talk to your father?” Makayla asked, glancing at the other woman’s calm expression.
“Yes, Kevin was kind enough to supply me with a cell phone,” Helen replied in a soft voice. “My father is a very powerful, much respected member of the police force. Commander Yeng should have taken that into consideration when he made the accusations that he did. An investigation has been started and Commander Yeng has been relieved of duty. There is still concern over those on the force that may be on the same payroll as Yeng. Now that I know there is more to this case than Henry’s disappearance, I’ve asked Commander Wang to allow me to continue the investigation alone until we know who could be trusted. Both he and my father agreed. I also thought it would be safer for Henry.”
“Can you trust the person who has replaced him?” Brian asked, glancing around.
“Yes,” Helen chuckled. “Captain Wang has been promoted. He is a good man with a kind heart. Yeng did not like Wang because he couldn’t be bought. He used his weight as an excuse, but Wang has been with the force for over twenty years.”
“There’s the statue,” Brian interjected with a nod of his head.
“And Ren Lu,” Makayla murmured, slowing down when she saw the tall, menacing form of the man she just mentioned standing by the railing surrounding the statue of Queen Victoria.
Makayla felt a shiver run through her body when her gaze locked with his. Brian must have seen the possessive look that flashed across the other man’s face before it disappeared because he reached over and grabbed her hand. She wanted to look up at Brian, but was afraid to take her eyes off the man who had not only kidnapped Henry, but had cold-bloodedly shot her.
They slowed to a standstill when they were within a few feet of Ren Lu. This was the first time that Makayla had a chance to really see the man up close and personal. The other two times, she had been fleeing for her life. She wrapped her arms around her waist when Brian released her hand.
“You are a very talented man for being a Political Advisory, Mr. Jacobs,” Ren Lu stated in greeting, staring at Brian with an assessing gaze before turning to look at Makayla. “And you are a very resourceful young woman, Makayla Summerlin.”
Makayla’s chin jerked up and she raised her eyebrow at him, not missing the way he drew her name out or the narrowing of his eyes when he said it. She had all but forgotten what he had said to her the last time they had met when she asked him what he wanted. Her brow creased into a fierce frown when his silky words echoed through her mind and she pressed her lips together in defiance as she glared back at him.
“You would be too if someone was shooting at you or trying to kidnap you,” she retorted in a scornful tone. “Where’s my grandfather? I swear, if
you’ve hurt one hair on that old man’s cranky head, I’ll do more than knee you in the groin.”
Ren Lu’s lips twitched, even as his eyes hardened. “He’s alive,” he replied, turning his attention to Helen. “I see your father has taken care of Commander Yeng.”
“How do you know…?” Helen started to demand before she pressed her lips together.
Ren Lu’s intense, dark gaze sent a shaft of fear through Makayla. This guy wasn’t someone you wanted to underestimate. Automatically her hand rose to push back the strand of hair from her face when the wind blew it. She could feel her face flush when his gaze followed the movement and quickly dropped it back to her side.
“Where is Henry Summerlin?” Brian demanded, stepping to the front and side so that he was slightly in front of Makayla.
Ren Lu’s gaze flashed with irritation before he turned to stare back at Brian. Makayla swore she could feel the temperature drop from the frigid glare he shot Brian. Makayla hastily bit her lip before she made the mistake of making a nasty retort. Something along the lines of the two men reminding her of dogs peeing on trees.
“Harrington is dead,” Ren Lu stated instead of answering Brian. “I want the information he gave to Summerlin. It was not on the old man or on the sailboat, so I would assume that Makayla has it. You give me the item I am looking for and I will give you the location of the old man.”
“It won’t do you much good,” Brian said, pulling the flash drive out of his pocket. “Harrington encrypted it. As you said, Harrington is dead. Without the password, there is no way to retrieve the information.”
“I will worry about that,” Ren Lu replied, holding out his hand for the flash drive. “Give it to me and I will tell you where Summerlin is located.”
Brian’s hand paused, his fingers still wrapped tightly around the flash drive while his gaze was fixed on Ren Lu’s face. Makayla could see the muscle twitching in his jaw. Her fingers curled until she could feel her nails biting into the flesh of her palm. All she wanted to do was rip the flash drive out of Brian’s hand, give it to Ren Lu, then knock the crap out of the guy once he told her where Henry was being held.
She finally released the breath she was holding when Brian turned his hand over and dropped the flash drive into Ren Lu’s opened palm. The other man didn’t close his fingers around it or drop his hand. He continued to stare at Brian for several long seconds before a satisfied smile curved his lips at the corner.
“Container Terminal 8 West,” Ren Lu stated in a quiet, even tone. “The Sea of Hong Kong; Deck Three.”
Makayla, unable to stand not knowing, stepped past Brian when Ren Lu started to take a step back. Her hand reached out and she touched his arm. She knew her gaze was filled with worry, but she didn’t care. They had what they needed – hopefully.
“Is he… Is my grandpa okay?” She asked in a hesitant voice, almost afraid of his answer.
Ren Lu paused and looked down at her. “His wrist is broken. Other than that, he is well,” he promised.
“Broken… How…?” Makayla started to say when she heard Tyrell’s sharp warning a moment before Brian jerked back against the railing. “Brian!”
Her cry was cut short when Ren Lu wrapped his hand around her arm and pulled her up against him. Another sound exploded around them, sending Helen diving to the ground. Makayla’s eyes were glued to Brian. He had been struck in the chest. She could see the dark hole in the front of his shirt. The second impact knocked him backwards and over the short fencing surrounding the statue. Her lips parted to scream when she felt a slight sting followed by warmth.
“Makayla!” Tyrell’s voice seemed to shout in her head even as it started to grow fuzzy.
It took a few precious seconds for Makayla to realize Ren Lu had drugged her. She fought against the effects, clenching her fist and swinging out at the same time as her legs started to give out from under her. Her body felt motionless for a second before an arm wrapped around her waist and she stumbled forward when Ren Lu turned and began hurrying them away from where Brian lay hidden behind a row of short hedges and Helen was behind a stone bench.
“Let me go!” She mumbled more than hissed, ineffectively trying to push away from him. “Brian….”
*.*.*
Tyrell cursed and swung his camera over his shoulder. He reached down and grabbed his backpack off the ground before breaking into a fast sprint. Whoever in the hell was on the second floor had just taken out Brian and had Helen pinned down.
He had been taking photos of Ren Lu before scanning the area through the six hundred millimeter telephoto lens attached to his Canon EOS5. The flight of several doves and the open window drew his attention and he had zoomed in on it. He had called out a warning the moment he realized that he was staring down the end of a gun. His finger instinctively captured the man at the same time that he had fired.
Even with the warning, it had been too late. Tyrell had jerked his camera down in time to see Brian stagger backwards. The second shot had sent him over the railing. From this position, he could see Helen draw her own weapon and dive behind the bench. Tyrell knew that her pistol would be useless against the man with the high powered rifle.
A split second of indecision held him motionless when he saw Ren Lu grab Makayla. He finally made the decision to go after the gunman when he saw Brian crawl behind the statue and press his back against it. The gunman must have seen the slight movement as well because he fired another shot, cutting a piece of marble off the corner of the base.
Tyrell cut through several startled tourists and pushed open the door of the building. His gaze swept around the lower floor before he spied the staircase leading upstairs. He gripped his camera with one hand and slung the strap of his backpack over his shoulder before taking the stairs two at a time to the second floor.
He glanced back and forth when he reached the top, trying to gauge where the man would be. His gaze narrowed on the far end of the hallway facing the statue. Hurrying down the corridor, he glanced through the glass doors while he went. The second to the last one was an exercise room. Behind a pillar, Tyrell caught a glimpse of a shoe. He slid his backpack down off his shoulder and gripped it tightly by the handle before he pushed open the door and stepped in.
*.*.*
Brian drew in a deep breath, wincing when his chest ached and a shaft of pain radiated through him at the movement. His fingers fumbled for the gun under his jacket before he wrapped them around the grip. Rolling onto his stomach, he glanced through the small bushes lining the inside of the fencing and peered at Helen. Their gazes locked, hers filled with worry, while he knew his eyes reflected his fury.
“Where’s Makayla?” Brian asked in a furious voice.
“Ren Lu took her,” Helen replied with relief and confusion. “How bad are you hit?”
“I’m good, just bruised,” Brian said, glancing toward the statue. “Do we know where the gunman is?”
Helen shook her head. “No,” she muttered, wincing when another bullet struck the bench above her and bits and pieces of concrete rained down on her.
Brian gritted his teeth. Pushing up, he rolled behind the statue and pressed his back to the smooth base. A fraction of a second later, another bullet struck inches from him.
“He could be anywhere,” Helen shouted above the screams and shouts when the tourists close to them realized what was happening.
“I have to stop Ren Lu from taking Makayla,” Brian yelled back, glancing around the other side of the statue.
“You can’t save her if you are dead, Brian,” Helen retorted.
Brian tried to glance around the side of the statue again. This time he was able to catch a glimpse of Ren Lu and Makayla in the distance before they disappeared through the front entrance to the park. He leaned back and glanced around.
“Tyrell,” Brian growled into the microphone.
“I’m on it,” Tyrell replied in a breathless voice. “Second floor, last window to the west. I’m entering the building now.”
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Brian’s mouth tightened and he glanced over at Helen. Her gaze was filled with concern as well. They were trained to handle people like the shooter, Tyrell wasn’t. He saw Helen’s expression change to determination. She drew her legs up under her so that she was now squatting. His gaze followed to where she was looking. There was a line of trees along the path that led to the building. He nodded to her when she shot him a look.
“Go!” Brian shouted, rising up and aiming for the window.
Helen took off when she heard Brian’s gun discharge. She disappeared behind the large oak and out of direct line of sight of the gunman. Brian jerked back behind the statue when she was clear. Frustration gripped him. He was pinned down until Tyrell and Helen could stop the gunman. In the meantime, Ren Lu was getting further away with Makayla.
In the microphone in his ear, he heard Tyrell yell and the sounds of a scuffle. Rolling to his feet, he took off, jumping the short hedge and low fence. The sounds of sirens echoed in the background. He had to hope that Tyrell and Helen could take care of the man and get out. His focus was on finding Makayla.
“Kevin, I need you to track Makayla,” Brian muttered, raising the watch on his arm to his mouth while he ran.
“I’m on it. Helen is in the building. I don’t have a visual on them any longer,” Kevin muttered. “I’m working on the security cameras inside, but they only have them on the first floor.”
“Where did Ren Lu go?” Brian demanded.
“Cameras show them going across the foot bridge to the parking garage,” Kevin replied.
