Dragon Head

by James Houston Turner

  Ginie and Emily opened their eyes when Zak turned into the twenty-four-hour truck stop, which was illuminated like a football field. In the center of the massive facility was a restaurant and souvenir shop. Extending in each direction were long rows of fuel pumps beneath towering flat awnings. Beyond the lights, in a darkened rest zone, were rows of big rigs parked side by side, their engines idling while their drivers caught a few hours of sleep.

  After refueling in one of the bays, Zak drove to the other end of the parking lot and pulled into an empty space in a row of parked cars, He had chosen the spot because it, too, was dark, like the rest zone for the big rigs, but much nearer the restaurant.

  “Must be good. The place is packed,” Zak remarked, switching off the engine. He looked toward the restaurant, where a wall of large windows revealed a full house of hungry people leaning into whatever it was they were eating. Others were chatting and laughing. A few were hunched over their phones while waitresses crisscrossed the floor carrying plates of food stacked up their forearms. It was just like the IHOP, only larger.

  “How much farther to the cabin?” asked Ginie.

  “We’re halfway there,” Zak replied, opening his door. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

  “Zak, wait,” said Emily.

  Zak paused and looked over at his wife.

  “Jingfei was right,” she said. “I was paying more attention to my clients than I was to you, and I got so mad at her for saying that. Thing is, down deep, I knew she was right. Plus, if I’m being honest, I was jealous of the way she always fusses over you.”

  “Why? There is nothing inappropriate going on. She treats me like her clueless dad.”

  “I know. It’s just that . . . we never had children because I knew it would interfere with my professional ambitions, even though I knew it was a longing of yours. But you were willing to make that sacrifice for me, and never once did you complain or express resentment. Then Jingfei, Kai, and Su Yin show up, and I saw how your eyes lit up, and how they lit up around you, even though they were a lot of trouble . . . and a lot of work.”

  “Tell me something in life that isn’t.”

  “Point is, I should be the one fussing over you. But I’m not that kind of person. I don’t like doing that, Zak.”

  “And that’s okay. But Jingfei does, and it’s become a game we play. It’s what makes families . . . families.”

  “But we’re not a family.”

  “Yes, we are. Like Ginie is part of our family.”

  Emily looked away and did not reply.

  “So, where does that leave us?” asked Zak. “The threat you made is not something that’s easily forgotten.”

  “What threat?” asked Ginie.

  “Emily threatened to have me deported unless I kicked out the kids.”

  “She did what?” asked Ginie, looking with disbelief at Zak, then at Emily. “Did you do that, Emily? Did you threaten to have Zak deported unless he kicked out the kids?”

  “I was angry, okay? I said things I shouldn’t have said.”

  “Uh, yeah. But is that how you really feel?”

  “I don’t know how I feel!”

  “Well, maybe you should figure that out instead of threatening your husband,” said Ginie with disgust. She slid open the side door of the van and got out. “I’m going inside.”

  “Why did you have to tell her that?” said Emily once Ginie was gone.

  “I think the larger issue is why you felt the need to threaten me in the first place,” Zak replied. “I’m a package deal, Em. I come with kids and, yes, they’re a handful. You need to decide what it is you want the most. Now, come on, let’s settle down and go inside and get something to eat. We still have a long way to go.”

  Zak and Emily locked their doors and walked inside under the watchful eyes of Alpha and Bravo. They had watched Zak fill up, then managed to discreetly find a parking space near Zak’s van once he had parked. Bravo was in the passenger seat of the blue sedan with a GPS tracking device that showed a blinking dot on the screen. The blinking dot represented the GPS signal on Wilcox’s satellite phone, which was in Zak’s hand.

  Alpha’s cell phone buzzed and he answered the call.

  “Where is he?” asked Angus Shaw.

  “Truck stop near Stockton,” replied Alpha, switching the phone to speaker.

  “What are they doing?”

  “Having something to eat. We saw them just walk in.”

  “I told you to stay out of sight.”

  “They didn’t see us. Do you know yet where Babikov is headed?”

  “We’re not sure,” answered Shaw. “Probably to the mountains.”

  “And Talanov?”

  “On board a commercial flight to Hong Kong with Dragon Head’s daughter.”

  “Has this been confirmed?” asked Alpha.

  “Adam’s working on that now—” Shaw began, then stopping mid sentence when his phone chimed. “Just confirmed,” Shaw said, reading Schiller’s text.

  “What exactly is Wilcox planning to do when he lands?”

  “He plans to arrive before Talanov.”

  “And then? He can hardly take Talanov into custody.”

  “If Talanov won’t listen to reason, that’s where you come in.”

  “Meaning what?” asked Alpha.

  “That if we need to force Talanov’s cooperation, Babikov and the women will be our leverage.”

  “What I don’t understand,” said Bravo, “is why Dragon Head wants Talanov in Hong Kong in the first place. A Chinese crime lord going to all of this trouble for a former KGB colonel? To me, that doesn’t make sense.”

  “Talanov is at the center of everything that’s going on,” answered Shaw. “Exactly how, I don’t yet know, nor do I know what his connection with Dragon Head is. Whatever the reason, I intend to find out, which is why I want him in custody. One way or another, I’ll make him talk.”

  “And if he doesn’t? Or if Wilcox doesn’t come through?”

  “Like I say, that’s where you come in.”

  “Does this include extreme measures?” asked Alpha, keeping a casual eye on the blinking dot on the screen of their GPS tracking device. The map had been enlarged to show the overall shape of the restaurant. The blinking dot was on top of a table in the center of the floor.

  “Is that a problem?” asked Shaw.

  “No, sir. I am merely clarifying the rules of . . . holy shit!”

  “What’s wrong?” asked Shaw.

  Alpha and Bravo threw open their car doors and jumped out. “The tracking dot. It’s disappeared.”

  CHAPTER 45

  Zak was out of breath from running around the darkened perimeter of the parking lot. He was not sure who the two occupants of the blue sedan were, but he remembered the same or a similar vehicle pulling into a parking space at the Valero station. Two occupants had been in that vehicle and there were two occupants in this one. Was it a coincidence? Possibly, but probably not. Regardless, it was enough of an irregularity to catch his attention.

  After filling his tank and washing the van’s windshield, Zak drove to the opposite side of the restaurant, out of sight of the sedan, where he paused in a no-parking zone, engine idling, and got out to inspect a tire. He took his time feeling the tread, then got down on all fours and peered along the undercarriage. It was a ruse, of course, because if indeed he was being followed, the occupants of the sedan would not allow him to remain out of sight for long.

  And he was right. While down on his knees, he saw the blue sedan drive slowly around the end of the restaurant and continue to the end of the aisle, as if looking for a parking spot. With his suspicions confirmed, Zak stood and slid behind the wheel again, and after shifting into gear, drove to a parking space on the perimeter of the lot. And sure enough, before long, the blue sedan pulled into a parking space in the next row.

  His concern was how they had found him, because he had taken every precaution necessary to make sure no one had been following. How the
n had these cheykas managed to pinpoint his location?

  In asking himself that question, Zak realized he had not used the term cheyka in years, which was a slang term he and his men had used to describe enemy assassins.

  The term originated from the word ishcheyka, which meant beagle. The reason: beagles were used as hunting dogs in Russia because they possessed the personality and stamina to track down and kill their prey. And these cheykas were definitely on the hunt.

  The question, however, still remained: how had these cheykas managed to pinpoint his location? What “scent” had they been following?

  The possibility of a tracking device having been planted on his van was unlikely but certainly possible. His guess: these cheykas were following Wilcox’s cell phone using its GPS signal. Which eliminated Dragon Head’s people because they did not know his number. That left only one possibility.

  These cheykas were CIA.

  Another question then emerged: were they after Wilcox or did they know about the switch in phones? If the latter, it meant he and the women were targets. However, at this point, there was no way to tell without additional information.

  After being seated at their table, Zak handed the phone to Ginie and told her to wait five minutes before removing the battery. Emily was to stay with her and they were to not to move until the five-minute mark, at which time they were to casually get up and leave by way of the kitchen door. Once outside, they were to make their way quickly to the front corner of the restaurant, where they were to hide until he, Zak, waved them to the van.

  In the darkness outside, Zak moved into a crouching position behind the blue sedan, where he watched one of the cheykas run into the restaurant with his hand near the small of his back. No question what’s located there, he thought, knowing it was a gun. Thank God the kids are with Alex. Turning his eyes onto the second cheyka, who was standing beside the driver’s door of the sedan, Zak knew he had, at most,

  ninety seconds before the first cheyka figured things out. Thankfully, the second cheyka’s attention was focused on the restaurant, where the establishment’s large windows afforded a cinematic view of everything going on inside.

  Moving quietly into position behind the second cheyka, Zak could see the silhouette of a pistol in his hand. He was holding it close to his thigh so as not to be obvious. It had a silencer on its barrel, which extended its overall length to roughly a foot.

  A car engine started off to the left and Bravo glanced in that direction. Concealed in the shadows, Zak did not move until Bravo looked back toward the restaurant. When he did, Zak sprang forward and delivered a hand-chop to the back of his neck.

  Bravo went limp but Zak caught him beneath the armpits and dragged him out of sight, so that when the first cheyka returned to the car, he would not know where his partner had gone, which would give them additional time.

  With a sharp whistle, Zak signaled Ginie and Emily, and the two women sprinted to the van while Zak used Bravo’s pistol to fire single shots into the front tires of the blue sedan. Small explosions of hissing air saw the vehicle sag down onto its rims.

  Running to the van, Zak jumped behind the wheel, fired up the engine and squealed away. He knew he would have no more than a five-minute lead before the two cheykas came after him.

  What he did with those five minutes would spell the difference between life and death.

  CHAPTER 46

  Gazing contentedly out the window at the shimmering ocean below, Talanov was about to finish his second mug of morning coffee when he saw Wilcox emerge from the cockpit with an ashen face.

  Nodding for Talanov to follow, Wilcox walked to the rear galley of the Gulfstream, and once Talanov had joined him, pulled the curtain across the opening.

  “What is it?” asked Talanov.

  “Another call from Diane,” Wilcox replied in a low voice, “who just sent me this.” He worked the screen of Emily’s phone and followed an email link to a video report about the midair collision over the Pacific. The footage showed debris floating on the ocean and rescue vessels looking for survivors. Shown next were clips of witnesses from other flights describing the giant flash they had seen in the sky. Photos were then shown of the crew, especially the pilots. The footage then showed wailing family members in the arms of friends. Embedded reporters on board ships were then shown against a backdrop of rescue helicopters taking off. Then came a medley of experts pontificating about what had happened. Many used technical terms and a variety of diagrams and illustrations, followed by government experts, both American and Chinese, all of whom were blaming the other side. Then came images of protests in front of the Chinese embassy, as well as candlelight vigils across America. When the video report ended, Talanov and Wilcox stood together in stunned silence, staring at one another, unable to speak.

  “Naturally, Shaw’s blaming Diane and me,” Wilcox finally said, “not directly but by innuendo, alluding to our friendship with you, a former Russian spy, which the media is lapping up because they love blaming everything on the Russians.”

  “Why is Shaw going after you and Diane instead of the people who did it?”

  “It’s the way things are done in DC. Surely you know that by now?”

  “I’m serious, Bill.”

  “Unfortunately, so am I. Simply put, Shaw wants Gustaves gone from politics. She is, after all, his political opponent and a major pain in the ass as far as he’s concerned. As for me, it’s because I didn’t bring you and Straw Sandal back to DC. In other words, I defied him. Diane is keeping him at bay for now, but she told me in no uncertain terms what our priority is, and it’s not rescuing Su Yin. It’s stopping Dragon Head.”

  “Which we will do.”

  “Not with those kids around,” said Wilcox, pausing to peek around the curtain to make sure the kids were still seated. “If one of them gets hurt or killed, of if Dragon Head manages to capture one of them, it most definitely will be on my head. We have to send them back.”

  “Bill, we need those kids. Jingfei speaks the language and she can handle technical issues. Things we’re clueless about.”

  “They’re kids, Alex. As in children.”

  “Jingfei is nineteen. An adult. Su Yin is, what, eleven?”

  “Your point?”

  “Su Yin is a minor, and since neither one of us is Su Yin’s guardian, things could get messy with Chinese officials unless there’s an adult family member on hand.”

  “And I must reiterate our position: we are not here to rescue Su Yin.”

  “And I will reiterate my position: the hell I’m not.”

  “Come on, Alex. These planes going down have changed everything. More than a thousand people were killed.”

  “Look, I know we’re here to stop Dragon Head. And I will help you do that. But I will not leave Su Yin behind. If Gustaves or Shaw doesn’t like it, tell them to sue me when we get back. Until then, we do this my way.”

  “Dammit, Alex! Those kids put everything at risk.”

  “I’m not saying we keep them with us every moment. We’ll house them somewhere else. Out of Dragon Head’s reach.”

  “Neither kid has a passport,” Wilcox replied. “Entry into Hong Kong will be impossible.”

  “Call Alice. Explain the situation.”

  “Don’t you get it?” said Wilcox, his voice rising. “I’m not even supposed to be in Hong Kong. Alice is already doing me a huge favor by allowing me in through the diplomatic gate. Same with you. She’s circumventing protocol in order to help us as much as she can. She wants the hacking stopped, too. But allowing those kids into the country? It’s not going to happen. We have to send them back.”

  “I knew it!” exclaimed Jingfei, yanking back the curtain and stepping up to confront Talanov and Wilcox. “I knew you were back here planning a way to ditch us. I hate you. Hate you both!”

  She turned and stormed back up the aisle.

  Wilcox groaned and closed his eyes.

  “Find a way, Bill,” said Talanov. “Find a way to
get them some passports and do it now.”

  More than two thousand miles to the east, Alpha ran past his blue sedan looking for Bravo, who was nowhere to be seen. He knew Bravo would not have moved from his post unless someone had jumped him. Cursing silently, he ran between the rows of vehicles until he found Bravo lying between two parked cars. Kneeling down, he slapped Bravo awake and helped him to his feet.

  “My gun. Where is it?” asked Bravo.

  “Babikov must have taken it.”

  The two men ran to the sedan, and Alpha was just opening the driver’s door when he noticed the flat tire. With a curse, he slammed the door, then saw a silver SUV pulling into a nearby parking space. Fitted with a reinforced bull bar and halogen spotlights for off-road use, it was big and shiny and looked as if it had been driven right off the showroom floor. It was a hot night and the windows were down and Alpha could see the faces of an adult couple, two kids, and a dog. The rear compartment was packed with coolers, tents, sleeping bags and backpacks. A young family on its way to the mountains.

  “Grab our equipment packs,” he told Bravo, and with his pistol in hand, he ran over to the SUV, pulled open the driver’s door and ordered everyone out. The father tried protesting but Alpha flashed his pistol in the father’s face. “Out, now!” he yelled. “Before you really piss me off.”

  The family climbed out with their dog and ran inside while Alpha and Bravo jumped in. Seconds later, they were speeding out of the parking lot.

  While Alpha raced east along the same highway Zak had taken, Bravo called a real-time satellite image of the area onto his cell phone screen. He entered several commands that enhanced the image and showed their GPS position on a digital map in the form of a blinking green dot. Other vehicles on the roads were shown as yellow dashes of light because the geosynchronous satellite was picking up the glow of their headlights.

  “I’ve got seven possibles heading east,” said Bravo, “which is the direction Babikov was headed. Four on the main highway and three on secondary roads.”