Dragon Head

by James Houston Turner

  Gustaves apologized for having to cut short the Q&A and left the stage with the cell phone to her ear.

  CHAPTER 59

  While Wilcox brought Gustaves up to speed, Talanov finished cleaning his face, which was swollen and sore. When he emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, Jingfei jumped up and ran over to him.

  “Su Yin, did you see her?” she asked.

  “Su Yin is fine,” said Talanov, noticing scrapes on Jingfei’s elbows and face, and a blood stain on one knee. He then looked at Kai and saw more of the same. “What happened to you two?” he asked.

  Jingfei glanced nervously at Kai but said nothing.

  “Did you get in an accident or something?”

  Both kids averted their eyes.

  “Okay, what gives?” asked Talanov, folding his arms and looking back and forth between them.

  The kids said nothing just as Wilcox clicked off from his phone call and joined them.

  “What happened to these two?” asked Talanov.

  “We had a little . . . problem,” Wilcox replied. “The kids thought we were leaving – as in flying back to the States and leaving Su Yin behind – so they decided to give me the slip and follow you to where Su Yin was being held. On the way, they got jumped by one of Dragon Head’s men.”

  Talanov stared at the kids with open-mouthed incredulity.

  “We thought you were leaving!” shouted Jingfei.

  “Are you out of your minds?” asked Talanov incredulously. “Look at yourselves. Look at what nearly happened!”

  “Look at yourself!” Jingfei fired back. “You don’t look a whole lot better.”

  “You have got to do what Bill and I tell you. That was part of the deal, remember? It’s called responsibility. Want me to spell it out for you? Re-spon-si-bil-i-ty.”

  “You said the government was making you leave – I heard you – and that if you didn’t, some guy named Shaw would kill Zak.”

  Talanov sighed with resignation. “Okay, yes, I did say that.”

  “See? Someone had to do something!”

  “And how did that go for you?” Talanov shouted back. “What happens if you get captured or killed?”

  “What happens if you get killed?”

  By now Talanov and Jingfei were standing face to face, like boxers squaring off.

  “I’ve got it under control,” growled Talanov.

  “Really? You said you had to go to the bank and put some money into an escrow account, but as soon as you did, some bitch was going to kill you.”

  Talanov sighed with exasperation. “Okay, yes, I said that, too.”

  “You don’t have it under control!” shouted Jingfei, jabbing Talanov with a finger. “So don’t expect me and Kai to just sit around while you keep doing dumb stuff that gets you killed. What happens to Su Yin then? So, go ahead and leave. Take the chicken’s way out. Me and Kai are staying.”

  “We are not leaving. How many times do I have to keep telling you that?”

  “I heard you!”

  “I’m still here, aren’t I? So is Bill.”

  “For how long, though, huh?”

  “Until we figure this out. Which we can’t do while you and I waste time arguing.”

  “Come on, Jing,” said Kai from the couch. “Maybe we should, you know, give Alex a chance. I mean, he is still here, and all you’ve been doing is arguing.”

  “Whose side are you on?” yelled Jingfei.

  “I’m just saying—”

  “I don’t care what you’re saying! Su Yin’s got no chance with a dinosaur and a moron in charge.”

  “We are going to get her back,” Talanov said gently. “Now, come on, let’s sit down and talk this through.” He reached for Jingfei but she batted his hand away.

  “Get away from me!” she shouted. “You’re the reason she’s in this mess.”

  “And I will do whatever it takes to get her back.”

  “How can you? You don’t know what you’re doing. You’ll get killed. Su Yin will get killed. And none of us will be able to do anything.”

  Talanov tried reaching for Jingfei again but she knocked his hand away again. “Leave me alone!” she shouted. “In fact, go ahead and leave. Me and Kai will do this on our own.”

  By now, Jingfei was crying. Talanov tried reaching for her a third time, but Jingfei shoved him back, then kept coming at him, fists flying, enraged, out of control.

  Talanov deflected her punches, keeping just out of her range, but the more Jingfei couldn’t connect, the more

  frustrated she became, and the harder she tried, and the more out of control she became as a result.

  Finally, exhausted, with tears streaming down her face, Jingfei sputtered to a stop and began crying uncontrollably. Talanov hugged her and Jingfei buried her face against him, sobbing, her back and shoulders shaking, grief and frustration overwhelming her.

  “I should have done something when that Chinese bitch took her,” Jingfei sobbed. “Ginie tried helping her, but that woman smashed her in the face with her pistol, and I just sat there.”

  “This isn’t your fault,” said Talanov.

  “Yes, it is! I’m supposed to take care of Su Yin and I didn’t. She’s my sister, and I was right there, and I saw the terrified look in her eyes, and she was looking right at me, begging me to help her, and she was screaming while that woman dragged her to the car, shoved her inside, slammed the door, and drove away, and I just sat there!”

  “People around you had been shot, which was a calculated act to shock you into submission. It’s why she did it.”

  “I should have done something!”

  “If you had, she would have shot you, too. You’re alive. Su Yin is alive. And we will get her back.”

  “How?” asked Jingfei, stepping away to wipe her eyes.

  “The first thing we do is get you and Kai to safety. Away from this hotel. Out of Dragon Head’s reach.”

  “Then what?”

  “Bill and I figure out a way to get Dragon Head his money. Then we figure out a way to keep Shaw from killing Zak and the women.”

  “I don’t see how you can do that. If you don’t give Dragon Head that money, he kills Su Yin. If you don’t obey Shaw, he kills Zak, Ginie, and Emily. It’s a no-win situation.”

  “We’ve got time. It’s why Bill grounded the Gulfstream for repairs. It buys us some time.”

  “Time to do what? Don’t you get it? You can’t do this alone. You need our help.”

  “Don’t you get it? If Dragon Head captures you or Kai, it’s game over. For all of us.”

  “If I may?” offered Wilcox. “Right now, we’re all we’ve got. Us four, here, in this room. And we’ve all got useful skills.”

  “You can’t be serious,” said Talanov.

  “Very,” Wilcox replied.

  “They’re kids, Bill! Do you get that? Kids.”

  “And you’re a dinosaur,” shouted Jingfei. “Want me to spell it out for you? Di-no-saur. And we all know what happened to them.”

  “Come on, guys, not again,” said Wilcox, shaking his head.

  “He started it,” said Jingfei, pointing at Talanov.

  “You started it!” Talanov shouted back.

  “And I’m ending it,” Wilcox shouted in a loud voice that startled everyone. “Now, all of you, just . . . shut up!” He paced back and forth several times, then stopped in front of Talanov and said, “I get it that you want to keep them out of Dragon Head’s reach. But we need them, Alex. We need their help.”

  Talanov started to protest but Wilcox halted him with a hand held up, like a stop sign.

  “Do you have the foggiest idea how to access that money?” Wilcox asked.

  Talanov shuffled awkwardly and said, “Someone at the bank will help me.”

  “Really? And if that ‘someone’ happens to be working with Dragon Head? How can you possibly know whether or not they’re actually helping you when you can’t understand what they’re saying? Dragon Head has friends ever
ywhere and you will be completely at the mercy of whoever the bank assigns to you.”

  Talanov walked to the window, his frustration evident.

  “This is China, Alex,” Wilcox continued. “With Chinese banking protocols, language, Swift codes, routing numbers.”

  “I’ll figure something out.”

  “We’ve got one shot and this is it. Yes, me grounding the plane may have bought us some time, but Shaw will carry through on his promise to kill Zak and the women if we don’t figure this out and do something fast. Jingfei is right. You can’t do this on your own.” He turned and looked at the kids. “And neither can you. But you’ve got to quit fighting us at every turn. If you want Su Yin back – and I know you do – then you need to control your emotions and use your skills to work with us, not against us. No more tantrums. No more escapes. If you’re not able to do that, tell us now.”

  Jingfei glared at Wilcox for a long moment, then grudgingly nodded.

  Wilcox looked at Kai. “What about you? Are you in or out?”

  Kai grinned. “I’m totally in.”

  Wilcox turned to Talanov. “The kids are willing. Are you?”

  Talanov continued staring out the window, saying nothing. After nearly a full minute, Jingfei threw up her hands but Wilcox motioned for her to be patient. Finally, with a sigh of resolve, Talanov turned and looked at the kids, eyeing them both. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”

  “Are you sure you’re up for this?” retorted Jingfei.

  Wilcox cleared his throat.

  Jingfei threw Wilcox a sharp glance and Wilcox replied with a warning look.

  “All right, yes, we’re sure,” Jingfei grudgingly replied.

  “Then we’re in this together,” said Wilcox with an approving nod. To Talanov: “What do we do first?”

  Talanov thought for a moment. “Call Alice and fill her in,” he said. “Then ask if she’ll meet us at Sun Cheng. We need her help getting past the front desk.”

  And with a spreading grin, Wilcox took out his cell phone and dialed.

  CHAPTER 60

  Dressed in a black slack suit and white shirt, Alice met Talanov and the others in the giant breezeway of a thirty-story office building. There were tall windows and thick glass doors on each side of the breezeway, and through each sets of doors were banks of elevators. The soaring highrise had an exoskeleton of titan pillars that resembled ladders. Between these mammoth supports were angled beams and lots of glass. Neighboring office towers were equally artistic and modern, with mirrored exteriors, rounded walls, angled sections, spires, and every size and shape of window.

  Alice gave Wilcox a kiss on the cheek before shaking hands with Talanov and the kids, saying she was happy to help. She then turned serious and looked at Talanov. “But I need to confirm that I understood Bill correctly,” she said. “Dragon Head wants you to access an account at Sun Cheng that already belongs to you? Is that correct?”

  Talanov nodded.

  “And the account contains one-point-five billion dollars?”

  Talanov nodded again.

  “And Dragon Head is extorting you to give him the money or he will kill the young girl he has taken hostage?”

  Talanov nodded a third time.

  Alice rubbed her forehead anxiously.

  “What is it?” Wilcox asked.

  “First things first,” said Alice, handing Wilcox an envelope. “Your documents came by special courier, which I used to process your entries.”

  “Thanks, Alice, I owe you,” said Wilcox, opening the envelope and distributing the passports.

  “Although Colonel Talanov’s documents were somewhat unorthodox, I think is the best word to use, since they came in the form of certified copies of an American Green Card based on his Australian passport, which, per the handwritten note from Congresswoman Gustaves, were on file with her office, which she then used to create a temporary American identification booklet – i.e., a custom passport – the likes of which I have never seen. And yet there it was. I have to be honest, Bill, I would not have accepted this passport but for an accompanying letter from the congresswoman – with her congressional seal – verifying the legitimacy of the document. What is going on? Who is Colonel Talanov?”

  Wilcox opened his mouth to reply but Alice cut him off. “Never mind, I don’t want to know,” Alice said, then, just as quickly, “Actually, I do want to know. Why would Congresswoman Gustaves be issuing a document like this when Colonel Talanov is obviously not an American citizen?”

  “We’re working on that,” Wilcox replied. “I trust it’s not a problem, given our longstanding friendship and history of open and honest cooperation?”

  “Do not try that on me, Bill. Everything about you is a problem! Which infuriates me in ways I cannot describe in front of these children.”

  Wilcox replied with an exaggerated smile that showed his teeth, like a small boy who’d been caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

  “Don’t, just . . . don’t,” said Alice, holding up a hand, then pacing back and forth, rubbing her forehead and muttering in Chinese while throwing Wilcox angry looks. Finally, after several calming breaths, she stopped and said, “You and I will finish this later.”

  “I look forward to it,” said Wilcox with a smile. “Over a glass of wine, perhaps?”

  After a roll of her eyes that said she was both amused and annoyed, Alice said, “I did some digging on the Sun Cheng Financial Group, and two of their bankers died recently from unnatural causes. Their deaths, of course, were familiar to me from police reports that were filed. The CIB considered the deaths of two investment bankers from the same financial institution to be, how should I say, an unlikely and unfortunate coincidence, but not a point of particular concern until your phone call earlier today.”

  Alice handed Wilcox another envelope. Inside it were several photos, which Wilcox removed while Talanov and the kids gathered around.

  “The names of the two bankers were Ling Soo and Wu Chee Ming,” Alice continued, “who happened to be the only two bankers approved by the Swiss for the management of Colonel Talanov’s account.”

  “The Swiss?” asked Wilcox.

  “They hold control over the account,” Talanov explained, “and their governing laws are very strict and specific, which confirms why Dragon Head kept me alive. Aside from those two bankers, no one else can access the account.”

  Wilcox showed everyone the first photo, which was of a man’s contorted body lying on the floor of an office, mouth open, tongue swollen, eyes open and vacant, one hand clutching his throat. When the kids saw it they made squeamish faces.

  “Who’s this?” asked Wilcox.

  “Ling Soo,” Alice replied.

  While everyone else looked on, Wilcox flipped to the second photo. It was a close-up of Ling Soo’s hand, which was grasping a piece of folded paper between his thumb and fingers, almost politely.

  Other photos showed Ling Soo’s office, especially his desk, which was a mess, with piles of papers on the desk, on the floor, under the credenza, on top of the credenza, and by the window. Pens, pencils, paperclips, and sticky notes were scattered over the desk as well, and there were sticky notes on top of files and on top of other sticky notes.

  “The guy’s a slob,” said Jingfei.

  “What’s in his hand?” asked Wilcox.

  “A suicide note,” said Alice. “Ling Soo killed himself.”

  “Was the note handwritten or on a word processor?” asked Jingfei.

  “A word processor.”

  “What did the note say?”

  “Ling Soo apologized for the great shame he brought on his family.”

  “Meaning, what, exactly?”

  “The note doesn’t say.”

  “Are you certain he authored the note?”

  “It was composed on his computer, which was password protected, so, yes, we are fairly certain.”

  “But it’s possible someone else could have done it, right? I mean, passwords are so la
st century, so it wouldn’t take much to slip past his.”

  “Yes,” conceded Alice, “that is correct, unlikely as that may be.”

  “Did anyone dust his keyboard for prints?” asked Kai.

  “I am not able to speak to that because it is still an open investigation.”

  “How did he kill himself?”

  “With poisoned tea.”

  “Did he drink it voluntarily, or was he forced?”

  “You kids ask a lot of questions.”

  “We’re the curious type,” answered Jingfei. “So, did he drink it voluntarily, or was he forced?”

  “Again, I am not able to speak to that because—”

  “—it’s an open investigation, yeah, I got it,” grumbled Jingfei. To Wilcox: “She’s a tough nut to crack, but I can see why you like her so much.”

  “I never said that!” said Wilcox.

  “Oh, please,” said Jingfei, with an impatient roll of her eyes. “It’s, like, so obvious there’s something going on between you two. Now, come on, what else have you got?”

  Wilcox stared with incredulity at Jingfei, then looked at Talanov for help. “You are welcome to step in and take charge of these two.”

  “Why would I want to do that?” asked Talanov. “We’re in this together, remember?”

  With a growl, Wilcox showed everyone the next photo, which was of a dainty English teacup and saucer.

  “The poisoned teacup?” asked Jingfei, and Alice nodded.

  The remaining photos were of Wu Chee Ming, the first being a company ID photo, with the next showing his mangled body lying on the train tracks, with his belongings strewn everywhere about.

  “Witnesses say Wu Chee Ming panicked,” Alice explained, “and that he ran across the platform and leaped in front of the express train.”

  “Why would he do that?” asked Talanov. “What caused him to panic?”

  “Nobody would say, although security footage showed Dragon Head to have been present. Xin Li, too, and Straw Sandal.”

  “Sounds to me like Dragon Head was chasing him.”

  “Sounds to me like Dragon Head caught him,” added Jingfei. “Or was about to, anyway, but rather than get caught, Wu Chee Ming chose to jump in front of a train.”