by Robin Mahle
“I can do that. That might work. I know who his right-hand man is too. Between the two of them, I can get Yang here. Might take a few days.”
“You don’t think it’s better to, you know, take him out in the US?” Aaron asked.
“Not a chance. It’d be an international incident. And I thought that’s what we were trying to avoid,” Shaw replied.
“Right.”
Maddox clapped his hands. “Alrighty then, let’s get this show on the road. I’m outta here.” He grabbed his coat. “Shaw, I’ll be in touch.”
“Same here. Thanks for getting them back safely.”
“That’s my job.” He turned to Axell. “Today was a blast. We’ll have to do it again soon.”
After he left, Axell turned to Shaw. “I have to ask. Where the hell did you find that guy?”
“Maddox? He was instrumental in Operation Honey Badger. Figured out that the restaurant was bugged. I trust that man with my life. We both lost good friends when that shit went down. Neither of us have forgotten it either.”
Axell nodded. “That’s good enough for me.”
“What’s Operation Honey Badger?” Lacy asked with marked hesitation.
“They found our people, our operatives,” Shaw began. “Took most of ‘em out. Executed them. Some went to prison and are still sitting in some shithole cell today. Somehow, they figured out where we were taking our assets. No one really knows who fucked up. Our intel or if they just got lucky. Anyway, we lost a lot of damn good case officers. It won’t happen again.”
Inside the Oval Office, the president listened while his chief of staff briefed him on the day’s agenda. Before he was finished, Secret Service opened the door. “I’m very sorry to interrupt, Mr. President, but Secretary Bainbridge is here to see you. He says it’s urgent.”
The secretary of state entered. “I sincerely apologize for the interruption, Mr. President, but it’s imperative I speak with you.” He looked at the chief of staff. “Alone, if that’s all right, sir.”
“Tom, would you give us a moment, please?”
“Of course.” The chief of staff nodded to the secretary and made his way out.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Have a seat, Frank. What’s happened?”
“Mr. President, I received a call from Ambassador Browning and I’m afraid I have some disturbing news.”
“Yes?”
“The Beijing police force has requested assistance from the embassy on locating one of our citizens in their city under false identification.”
The president’s expression hardened.
“The name on the citizen’s passport was Jacqueline Russell. However, the woman was caught on surveillance in a branch of the Bank of Beijing as well as the streets of the city. And on further inspection, they recognized this woman to be Lacy Merrick. They matched it up with the passports of recent arrivals and made the connection.”
“How the hell?”
“I don’t know why she’s there, sir. And especially travelling under forged documents. This is serious, Mr. President, which is why the ambassador called me. Local authorities have been unable to locate her, as of yet.”
“For God’s sake. What the hell is going on? Travelling under a fake passport? This doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“It’s no surprise she was flagged in their system,” the secretary continued. “Their facial recognition program is as good if not better than the FBI’s, and given what this woman did, we shouldn’t be surprised that they would have identified her. Virtually the entire world knows what she did.”
The president slammed his fist on the desk. “Damn it. How did this happen? We need to find her. And there’s not a chance in hell she’s alone. Get the CIA director in here. Now! He needs to put all available resources on finding not just Merrick, but the rest of their team.”
The president stood from his desk as the secretary left. The only one he could trust apart from the secretary was Director Handley. No one else knew what was about to happen. Not the vice president and certainly not any of the cabinet members. He was doing what he needed to do for the American people, for Lacy Merrick herself. And now she was about to destroy it all. If the Chinese captured her, it would be all over the news. They would insist she’d been sent for some nefarious purpose. They would undoubtedly kill her and the others, if they were unfortunate enough to be caught.
But he knew Trevor Axell well and knew he would protect Merrick at all costs. Along with the rest of his team. The president couldn’t allow the Chinese to capture her, and would insist Director Handley put into motion a plan to bring them all home. And the sooner the better. It was only weeks away and this could scare Yang enough to pull out. He couldn’t allow that to happen either.
It was far too early for the knock on the door to be anything but an omen. Yang had gone dark. No email. No cell phone. Nothing that would tie him to anyone in Xinjiang. The only way to get any word to him was by courier; a member of his staff who had set up secret communications with those working alongside Yang. And any messages received were delivered in person. No paper or electronic trail.
Upon opening the door that revealed a rising sun against a bright blue sky, his courier stood firm.
“My apologies for the early hour, sir.”
“Come in.” He again cast his gaze outward before closing the door. “What do you have for me?”
I received message from Xinjiang, from Fatima. She has indicated Mehmut could be discussing the plans with individuals not associated with the cause.”
“Why would she say that?”
“She spotted him in the café with men from the village. Men who had recently been reprimanded for taking to the streets and calling for prayer.”
“Reprimanded? How were they disciplined and by whom?”
“I do not know. She did not know. Only indicated he was discussing a potential end to their suffering. And that they would soon be able to return to the mosques and again answer the call to prayer.”
“I need to know, specifically. Did she overhear him speaking of the plan?”
“No. Only what I told you. However, given that she agrees with what you’re doing, she does not wish you to fall upon disruptions. Whatever else you might think, she does not wish that on you, sir.”
“I need to get word to Mehmut, then. I must know who he’s talking to and what he’s saying. He’s jeopardizing everything by openly speaking about it to anyone. Even if only in vague terms.”
“Sir, she has suggested you return as soon as you can to prevent further occurrences. She has indicated he believes he is the one in charge. Not you, sir. He says you are living comfortably in America and why should you wish to make changes to their small village?”
“No. I can’t believe he would say that. She must be lying.”
“What would be the point in that, sir?” He stepped back. “I’m sorry. It is not my place. You will, of course, do what you need to do. I simply came to relay the message.”
“Your point is not lost on me. Thank you for coming. I will attempt to settle this one way or the other.” Yang walked toward the door again.
He bowed his head.
“Goodbye.” Yang closed the door and standing his pajamas, the wheels began to spin. The Party already had a heavy presence in the village. If they overheard anything—anything at all, there would be no more Mehmut. He would be dead. And he was not—yet.
With only weeks left, perhaps it was best if he went back to ensure the mission’s successful completion. How else could he be certain the plan would survive? He could find a way to get out from under the thumb of the administration, from Handley. No more money was coming. He’d been given the resources. Yes. He would need to personally see this through. All he’d worked for. It was all at stake. He would not see it fail.
Chapter 23
The unrelenting jet lag refused to allow Lacy to give in to sleep. Now she found herself sitting in the metal kitchen chair, its torn yellow Naugahy
de snagging her pants, and staring through the tiny opening in the curtains at the rising sun. The others were splayed out on the floor, Shaw on the couch, and all finding sleep just fine.
Lacy had a chance to think about all that had happened as she sat alone in the quiet. Finding herself on the other side of the world, away from her children. Something that had continued to happen despite her best efforts. This was no longer about Jay and so she couldn’t fall back on that justification. While her family wasn’t in danger, her absence was yet another reminder of the woman she’d become. And it was a woman with whom she was no longer acquainted. Why was she really here? To stop some terrorist attack in a country that brought about pain and death to her own beloved country, or to stop a war? Was she so arrogant to believe she wielded that kind of power?
Her goal had always been to protect her country. That was why she joined the FBI. But Lacy was just a civilian, an analyst in the Cyber Division who helped the field agents find the bad guys. She didn’t actually find them herself. Not until recently.
Lacy suddenly became very aware of just how out of her depth she really was. And how her kids would be missing her and how she put them second behind this insane act of what anyone else would call heroism. But she was no hero. She wanted people to know their government lied to them. And now they did. Maybe that was what drove her at this moment. More lies and conspiracies, this time to topple the world’s second largest economic super power. She let slip an incredulous giggle before realizing those around her still slept. It wasn’t until she spotted Will’s approach did she grasp how loud that must’ve been.
“Hey,” he whispered. “You’re up early.”
“Couldn’t sleep. Did I wake you?”
“No. Not really. Still fighting the jet lag?”
She nodded. “There’s coffee.” She pointed toward the kitchenette. Lacy watched as he poured himself a cup. Black. No sugar here. Or creamer. Oh well. Beggars can’t be choosers, she thought.
Will returned and sat down next to her. One sip of the coffee and his nose crinkled.
“I know. It’s awful.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Better than nothing, I guess.”
“Not much.”
A grin spread on his lips. “We’ll figure this out, Lacy.”
“I know.”
“What is it, then? I can see something’s bothering you.”
Lacy glanced at the floor where Aaron and Trevor still slept. “I don’t want to wake them. It’s nothing.”
He held her gaze. “You sure?”
“Why don’t you guys talk a little louder? I don’t think the neighbor heard you.” Axell sat up and tossed the blanket from his legs.
“Sorry,” Lacy whispered.
“We’re all awake now.” Shaw sat up too. “Just as well. We’ve got a busy day ahead of us.”
At this, Aaron finally stirred. “Man, is it morning already? I don’t think I slept two hours.”
“Yeah. It’s tough getting over the time difference. It’ll wear you down.” Shaw stood in a long stretch. “Thanks to whoever made the coffee.”
“You’re welcome,” Lacy replied. “But I’d hold off on the thanks. It’s not good. Like—at all.”
“She’s right. It tastes like dirt,” Will replied.
“So, what’s the plan, Stan?” Axell emerged from the restroom. Hair slicked back with water and appearing more awake than only moments ago.
“I’ll contact Maddox to see if he got word to Yang. His network is pretty extensive. It won’t have taken long to make it happen. Then we can figure out what we’re going to do on our end. We need Yang to return, though. That’s the most important thing.”
“What about getting Lacy out of here?” Aaron said. “That should be our priority. They’re already looking for her.”
“I know that. I need to make some calls so I can understand how much effort they’re putting into finding her.”
“Well, they did try to kill us at our hotel, so I’m guessing it’s a decent effort on their part.”
“Aaron,” Lacy said.
“No. It’s fine. He’s right. You two got what we needed and there’s absolutely no reason either of you should stay. It’ll put you both in peril. Now I’m fairly confident I can get you back to Beijing without any trouble. But getting you through the airport will be the hard part.”
“Wait a second,” Lacy began. “I don’t like the idea of leaving Trevor hanging out to dry.”
“Um, hello?” Will interrupted.
“There you go.” Axell gestured to Caison. “And with Shaw and Maddox—we’ll work on Yang. We’ll take care of him. Shaw’s right. You two should go home. If I’d known any of this was going to happen, there’s no way in hell I would’ve let you come in the first place.”
“Let us? You needed us, Trevor,” Lacy replied. “Aaron got the goods, but I wasn’t exactly sitting on my thumbs.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean you…”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just tired. Look, I can still be of use. I can act as the diversion you’re going to need.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, instead of us trying to avoid the cops or whoever else is out looking for me, why don’t I just go to the American Embassy and turn myself in, so to speak. That should put the brakes on efforts to continue any search, meaning they won’t find you either. What are they going to do? Shoot me?” Her attempt at humor fell on deaf ears. “Okay, okay. I just need to get to the embassy. I’ll be safe there. Even if they don’t let me go home, the embassy won’t just turn me over to the Chinese, right?”
“It’s unlikely,” Shaw replied.
“Unlikely? I think I’d prefer something a little more convincing than ‘unlikely,’” Aaron replied.
“Point being is that I take the heat off and you can do what you need to do. They don’t have your faces. You guys weren’t all over the news for the past few months. No one knows you’re here.”
“Believe me, Lacy, it won’t take long for them to figure it out.” Axell approached her. “They’ll pull the airline’s passenger manifest.”
“And they’ll find your fake names.”
“Yes, with our real faces. These people aren’t stupid. They have the same tech we do. Even if they did steal it. They got it and that’s all there is to it. So, no. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go to the Embassy. Too many variables. And what happens when Handley finds out? Because he will find out. There are a lot of us here. He’s still got plenty of loyal people who may not know what he’s planning.”
“Then what, Trevor? What do we do? How do I help you do what you need to do without jeopardizing the mission any further?”
Shaw approached him. “Axell, she’s got a point. This could work. I know you don’t want to put her in harm’s way and neither do I, but if we plan it right, this could work.”
Two days holed up in the tiny apartment and the word finally came down. Yang was due to arrive later in the evening. The plan was put into action.
Lacy tossed what few personal items she had into her bag. “I’m ready.”
“Okay. We figure our best bet is to go by bus,” Shaw began. “Less likelihood we’ll be stopped by any potential check points on the route. This place has a big-time tourist attraction and the buses leave about every thirty minutes. So they’ll do what they can to minimize inconvenience for the tourists. And if we get you in disguise, all the better. Because once we get to Beijing, we’ll be on foot to the embassy. I don’t want to risk a cab in the event we’re sitting at a light or whatever and some cop pulls up next to us. That’s when we’ll be at our most vulnerable.”
“Hey, someone’s pulling up.” Caison peered over his shoulder at Shaw.
“It’s okay. It’s Maddox.” Shaw approached the door and pulled it open. “You get what we need?”
“Well, I don’t know, does a bear shit in the woods?” He smiled and held a bag in his hand.
Shaw grabbed the bag. “
Yeah, yeah. Let’s just see what you got.” He reached inside and retrieved a wig. “Perfect. You’ll be playing the part of the blonde today, Lacy.” He tossed it to her. “Go put this on. We’ll need to take a picture.”
“A picture? For what?” Aaron asked.
“New passport,” Maddox replied. “Even on the bus, they’ll want her passport. And I got one for you too, Shaw.”
“Hang on, I thought I was going with her.”
“Hunter, you’re going to need to stay here with Axell and Caison. In the short term.” Shaw moved toward the kitchen and picked up his carrier bag. “I got this for you.”
“A laptop. What do you need me to do?”
“You’ll need to get Merrick’s new passport into the database. The US database, so when they scan it, she’ll be good to go.”
“That’s going to take time—and resources. I’ll need passwords, user ID’s. I can’t just hack into the State Department’s database. And from here?” He shook his head. “Not a chance.”
Maddox opened the door again. “Meet your new partner.” A young man, college-aged, stood in the doorway. “This is Yan. He’s going to help you.”
Aaron looked at Axell. “Do we know this guy? What the hell is this?”
“Before you get your panties in a bunch, Yan is one of the best hackers in the country,” Maddox continued. “He sits in his bedroom in front of a computer and does nothing all day except figure new ways to screw over the Americans and anyone else who might’ve pissed him off.”
“And one day, we crossed paths with him,” Shaw said. “Got a little too close to our operations. So now he helps us out. It’s a mutual understanding, isn’t it, Yan?”
The kid nodded. “I can help CIA.”
“So, as I said, Hunter, you and Yan will get Merrick’s new passport into the system so when they do scan it, everything will come back clean, capiche?” Maddox closed the door again as the kid entered.
Lacy emerged from the bathroom, hair tucked beneath the short blonde wig. “This is the best I can do.”
