Dragon Head

by James Houston Turner

  “How can we find out for sure?”

  “That’s where you and Alex come in. We need eyes on the ground – eyes I can trust – which means this insane scheme of yours may well be our best shot.”

  “So I’m not headed to Leavenworth for taking the scenic route back to DC?”

  “That’s a creative way of describing it. I won’t kid you, Bill. When I first heard that you’d hijacked a company jet, I wanted to wring your neck. You disobeyed a direct order by Shaw to bring Talanov and Straw Sandal to DC. That woman, or her accomplice, killed my secretary, so, yes, I wanted to question her – hard – but your little stunt ruined my opportunity. So let’s just say if this latest collision hadn’t occurred, you probably would be on your way to Leavenworth. Shaw still wants your head on a stick, because you embarrassed him, although he knows, like the rest of us, what the intel says, and right now you’re our best bet of stopping Dragon Head before he brings down more planes.”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “Stop him, simple as that. If you do, you’ll still get your hand slapped, but in the end, all will be forgiven. If, however, you don’t . . .”

  “I presume this stays off the books?”

  “That’s putting it mildly. No one here can officially sanction what you’ve done and are doing. In fact, Shaw’s already creating a paper trail of official charges. He’s an expert in C-Y-A. However, these charges will never see the light of day unless you’re identified or caught. If you are, then I hope you like orange, because you’ll be wearing it for a very long time. Plus, if Dragon Head brings down any more planes, Shaw will pin the blame on you. You’ve got one shot, so make it count. Stopping Dragon Head is your number one priority.”

  “And Alex, what about him? His number one priority is rescuing Su Yin.”

  “And I admire that, really, I do. But we have a national security crisis on our hands, so I need Alex to set aside his personal agenda.”

  “And I’ve tried to convince him of that, believe me. But he regards his mandate to be more important. He’s willing to help, but not at the expense of Su Yin.”

  “This isn’t a request, Bill. It’s an order. Put Talanov on the phone. I’ll tell him myself.”

  “And how, exactly, do you plan to enforce such an order? With threats? I’ve already tried reasoning with him, but this is beyond reason. This is personal.”

  “He can’t go around pulling stunts like this. Right now, Shaw considers him to be a loose cannon and I tend to agree.”

  Wilcox started to rebut that argument, then paused and took a breath. “Why do you think I risked my career on this?” he finally asked. “I commandeered the company jet. I’m flying Alex and our witness to Hong Kong instead of DC. Why do you think I did that?”

  Gustaves did not reply.

  “Because I believe his way is the right way,” Wilcox said, answering his own question. “Because I believe we can accomplish both goals without sacrificing either.”

  “Do you seriously think he can pull it off?”

  “For some reason, Dragon Head wants Talanov in Hong Kong. So badly, in fact, that he used his own jet to fly a team to DC, hack into your system, kill Amber, then fly that same team to San Francisco, kill again, then kidnap a little girl. Why? We don’t know the answer to that yet. The one thing we do know is this: Dragon Head wants Talanov alive and he wants him in Hong Kong.”

  “Maybe Dragon Head was trying to kill Talanov, and when the attempt failed and his daughter was captured, his people kidnapped the girl in order to lure Talanov into a trap.”

  “Assassinations are usually performed by individuals working alone, not by a team of more than a dozen men and women. This feels like an attempt to capture him. But let’s assume you’re right, that Dragon Head’s purpose was to kill Talanov, but because he failed, his new purpose is to lure Talanov and Straw Sandal to Hong Kong in order to kill Talanov and rescue Straw Sandal. What do we lose by proceeding as planned? Nothing. In fact, we stand to win big if Talanov turns the tables. Don’t forget, Dragon Head has ordered Talanov to bring Straw Sandal to Hong Kong. That means a time and place will be established for some kind of a trade, even if the whole arrangement is nothing but a set-up. In other words, we have an opportunity to turn the tables. Which means, if we allow Talanov to proceed – and if we assist him – we stand a good chance of not only saving the life of a little girl, but identifying Dragon Head’s location, pinpointing his vulnerability, and using it to bring him down.”

  “You’re starting to sound like Talanov.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” said Wilcox, “although I’m not sure it was meant that way.”

  “This had better work, is all I can say.”

  “And you know there are no guarantees. However, I really do believe this is our best shot.”

  “All right, then, how can I help?”

  “I’ll need technical support from Charlie,” answered Wilcox, “and someone to keep Shaw off our backs.”

  “The former’s been taken care of. Charlie has temporarily been reassigned to me, where she’ll be working in a facility operated by Naval Intelligence. She’ll give you whatever you need. The latter, I’m afraid, is a problem. You did, after all, steal one of Shaw’s jets, and, officially, you still work for him.”

  “How do I get around that?”

  “Be creative. You’ll figure it out.”

  “What, exactly, does that mean?”

  “Be creative. You’ll figure it out.”

  CHAPTER 43

  “How about I give this to you?” Stephanie asked Kai about the frittata she had cooked for Wilcox. “Bill’s being longwinded again on the phone. Otherwise, I’ll have to pitch it, and I hate to see food go to waste.”

  “What is it?” asked Kai. “And what’s that green stuff?”

  “Kale,” answered Stephanie, who was pouring more coffee for Talanov, who was seated across the aisle. “Along with sausage, cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, green peppers, and eggs.”

  With a scowl, Kai wrinkled his nose.

  “Unless you’d prefer something less daring, like oatmeal or Cream of Wheat? Something without all of those awful vegetables?”

  “Is that your attempt at reverse psychology?” asked Kai.

  Stephanie smiled.

  Kai scowled and looked away.

  “By the way, my frittata was spectacular,” said Talanov. “The cheese, was it Provolone valpadana?”

  “Piccante,” Stephanie replied.

  “The sharp notes, I should have known,” Talanov said, kissing the tips of his fingers and tossing them away, like the petals of a flower bursting open.

  “You two are sick,” muttered Kai.

  Stephanie smiled and turned to go.

  “Okay, I’ll take it,” said Kai.

  Stephanie looked back. “Are you sure? Vegetables are, like, good for you, right?”

  Kai replied with an exaggerated smile, and after Stephanie had placed the frittata in front of him, he asked Stephanie if she had any ketchup.

  Stephanie responded with a reprimanding glare.

  Kai grinned and said, “Ketchup is a vegetable and vegetables are, like, good for you, right?”

  Stephanie laughed just as Kai sliced off a section of frittata and stuffed it in his mouth.

  Once Stephanie was gone, Talanov picked up his coffee and moved across the aisle to sit with Jingfei and Kai.

  “Don’t even bother,” said Jingfei, who was curled up in her seat.

  “With what?”

  “Convincing us how it’s for our own good that you’re sending us back, or that we’re too young and inexperienced, or that we’ll be in danger if you let us stay.”

  “How would you reply?” asked Talanov.

  “I’d say the positives outweigh the negatives. But that doesn’t really matter, now, does it, because you’ve come over to tell us Spy Bill’s plane will touch down to refuel, then take off again – with us on it – and there’s nothing we can do, beca
use we don’t have passports, which means we can’t get into the country, which means Su Yin doesn’t stand a scintilla of a chance because you’re such a dinosaur, and a pigheaded one at that, because you won’t listen to anybody who tries to tell you differently, especially me, because, after all, I’m just a dumb kid – right? – so who cares what I think?”

  Talanov was poised to take another sip of coffee but stopped with the mug in front of his mouth to listen with both admiration and disbelief at another of Jingfei’s rambling sentences. “How do you do that?” he asked. “Long sentences are, like, an art form with you.”

  “Gee, I’m sorry. Do long sentences and big words confuse your dinosaur brain?”

  Jingfei’s frustration was understandable. She was capable of helping and she wanted to help, and she knew he needed her help, which of course he did. And by most accounts, allowing her to stay made sense. Except allowing her to stay put her within Dragon Head’s reach. Plus, by now Zak had to be worried sick. After all, Zak had already lost Amina and Ramona – brutally – so there was no way he would allow—

  Wilcox tapped Talanov on the shoulder and handed him a slip of paper. Talanov asked what it was. Wilcox told him it was a printed email from Zak, which had been sent from Zak’s new satellite cell to Charlie, who had forwarded it to the Gulfstream using a secure channel, which Stephanie then printed in the Gulfstream’s communications bay.

  Talanov looked at the note, which read, Afghanistan, Colonel. They’re you.

  “I take it you know what that means?” asked Wilcox, sitting on the armrest of Talanov’s seat.

  Talanov chuckled and looked out the window.

  Not able to stand the suspense, Jingfei snatched the note from Talanov’s hand and held it so that she and Kai could read what it said.

  “What happened in Afghanistan?” asked Kai.

  There was a long pause before Talanov answered. “You’ve heard of the Viet Nam conflict?” he asked.

  Kai nodded while Jingfei just stared at Talanov with her arms folded across her chest defensively.

  “Well, Russia had its own Viet Nam conflict,” Talanov continued, “and it was our invasion of Afghanistan. Zak was there with Spetsgruppa A, which were elite units of our special forces. Zak’s unit was about a hundred miles south of Kabul, near the border with Pakistan, near a small town called Khost, which is located up in the mountains. One night, on a reconnaissance mission, they were attacked by Mujahideen guerillas, and during that skirmish, Zak was captured. They took him to a remote location and began torturing him for information on our troop movements. I was in Moscow when I heard Zak had been captured, so I asked for some time off to organize a rescue. Zak was as tough as they came, but I knew he couldn’t hold out forever. No one can. My request was refused because I was overseeing KGB activities in Europe, and my superiors thought my job there was far more important than any single individual. So I went anyway, by hopping aboard a military transport to Afghanistan, where I met up with a few of Zak’s team members. That night, we captured one of the guerillas and made him tell us where Zak was being held, which was in a network of concrete bunkers inside a mountain. But when we got there, all we found were a bunch of dead bodies.”

  “What happened?” asked Jingfei, unfolding her arms and leaning forward. “Where was Zak?”

  “Gone. We could tell he’d been tied up because we found pieces of bloody rope, which he’d cut loose from his hands using the rusty edges of his chair. Obviously, he got the jump on his guards and killed them, then used their AKs to shoot the others before grabbing the rest of their weapons and escaping up into the mountains.”

  “What did you do?” asked Kai, now on the edge of his seat.

  “In what proved to be the ultimate irony, our group became trapped in that same bunker by the Mujahideen, who pinned us down with heavy gunfire. Bullets were flying everywhere. Chunks of concrete were spitting down on us and we had nowhere to run, and our ammo began to run low.”

  “What happened?” asked Kai.

  Talanov picked up his empty mug and waved at Stephanie. “Anyone for coffee?”

  Jingfei grabbed the mug away from him. “Quit being a jerk and tell us what happened.”

  Talanov chuckled and said, “Guess who came to our rescue?”

  “Zak!” exclaimed Kai, scooting even closer.

  Talanov nodded. “You know how he’s built, like a bear, and even after being tortured and beaten, he was able to escape with a ton of weapons and ammo. He knew they’d come after him, so he was not about to let them take him without a fight. Little did he know he’d need those guns to rescue the men who’d come to rescue him. Anyway, there we were, on the verge of being overrun, when suddenly the shooting stopped and there was a lot of yelling and shouting. When I looked out, I saw heads exploding like watermelons. I knew right away it was Zak, especially when the guerillas began shooting up into the mountains and running for cover. So while Zak rained fire and brimstone down on our enemy, we made it out of that bunker.”

  “Did you get in trouble for going after Zak?”

  Talanov nodded. “I had disobeyed a direct order, so I was threatened with demotion, disciplinary action, termination, even prison.”

  “They wanted to send you to prison?”

  “They called my actions criminal, reckless, irresponsible, and pigheaded. Can you believe it? One of my superiors actually called me pigheaded. He used that exact word. Personally, I’ve always found pigs to be highly intelligent creatures.”

  Jingfei saw the gleam in Talanov’s eye and kicked him on the shin.

  “So they let me off with a stern reprimand because Zak defended my actions. ‘Kak odin,’ he told them . . . as one. Which is how we lived then and how we live now. I have his back and he has mine.”

  “Zak’s note, then, what does it mean?” asked Kai.

  “He was reminding me of my own actions.”

  “So . . . it’s okay with Zak if we stay?” asked Jingfei with growing excitement.

  “That depends,” answered Talanov.

  “On what?”

  “On you. Because Zak was also reminding me – reminding us – about the chain of command.”

  “Because he addressed you as Colonel?” asked Kai.

  Talanov nodded. “Don’t get me wrong. There are times we buck the chain of command in order to save lives. You did it, I did it, and Bill is doing it right now. Even so, these are genuinely rare occasions, and we should never abandon the chain of command.”

  “In other words,” said Jingfei, “you’re still the boss and we have to do what you say, even if you’re a dinosaur and don’t know what the hell you’re doing?”

  Talanov smiled patiently and said, “When we were heading up into the mountains to rescue Zak, that didn’t mean we were all doing our own thing. We worked together as a team. I was the ranking officer, so I had the final word. But the other men on my team were more experienced than I at desert warfare, so I consulted with them constantly about what to do. The same holds true here. You know things that I don’t, and I will always consult with you. Yes, I’m a dinosaur, but I am still the ranking officer, and what I say goes. If you can live with that arrangement, then you can stay. If not, I’m sending you back. It’s up to you.”

  After glancing at one another for a long moment, Jingfei and Kai both nodded.

  “Are you sure?” asked Talanov. “Because if you commit to this, I can’t have you storming off on your own. We have to work together.”

  “I’m sure,” responded Kai.

  Jingfei scowled and folded her arms.

  “Come on, Jing,” said Kai. “You know I can’t do this without you. Tell him you’ll play by the rules.”

  “What if he keeps making dumb decisions?”

  “He said he’d consult with us.”

  “I don’t know if I can trust him.”

  “And he may not want to trust you. Isn’t it time we start?”

  Jingfei looked away for a long moment, then grudgingly nodd
ed.

  “All right, then, we have a deal,” said Talanov. “Kak odin. As one.”

  CHAPTER 44

  Zak looked across at Emily, who had fallen asleep to the hum of the tires, curled up in her seat, her head against the window, her mouth open slightly. Ginie was asleep in the back seat, also curled up in her seat, also with her head against the window, also with her mouth open slightly.

  Ginie had been ashamed at having kept silent about the kids’ scheme. In truth, he was glad she had, because he would not have allowed them to go. In retrospect, however, he admired how Jingfei and Kai had executed their escape. Two teenage kids outwitting three seasoned professionals. If only he could have seen Talanov’s face when he discovered them aboard the Gulfstream. Mr. and Mrs. Cho had done something very right with their kids.

  Zak pushed a button on Wilcox’s satellite cell phone and the screen lit up with a map showing their GPS position. They had taken the 580 east through the barren hills of the Diablo Range, then merged onto the 205, which took them through Tracy and onto I-5, heading north. There was not a lot to see out here – groves, farmlands, emptiness, and pollution – so traversing it at night was actually a good thing. The rhythm of the highway through the endless darkness was comforting, and reminded him of the many times he had flown night missions to various parts of the world. The drone of the aircraft engines. Endless darkness in all directions. Pinpoints of light far below. There was nothing like it, although it was almost as exhilarating to be driving the open road at night, with a window cracked open and a mug of hot coffee in his hand. Speaking of which . . .

  In the distance Zak saw the illuminated sign of a truck stop. Truck stops meant coffee, as well as fuel, as well as hot food, bathrooms, and a chance to stretch their legs before the long drive east through the citrus groves of the central valley. There would be no truck stops along those lonely stretches of highway. It was now or never.