Tang feigned confusion and held up his hand to block the bright light. From what he could see, the man looked to be in his early twenties which probably meant he was inexperienced and hopefully unprepared for a driver taking the offensive.
“What is this? What’s happening?” He kept his voice loud in an effort to mask any noise from the trees.
The soldier’s pause behind the flashlight was brief. More brief than Tang had been hoping for.
The man staring down at him was not a rookie. Instead, he peered at Tang with a look of bemusement. Without a word, he checked the empty passenger’s seat.
“Where are you going?” he asked again, sternly.
Tang didn’t take his eyes off him, even while a second flashlight appeared and began searching the rest of his car.
“I’m going to visit a friend.” He remained calm, knowing that without the bag in the back seat their flashlights wouldn’t find anything… unless they opened the trunk.
“And where is your friend?”
Tang paused. His mind was racing, trying desperately to retrieve one of the towns Clay had mentioned.
“Dadonggou.”
The soldier’s mannerism did not change. He continued studying Tang and extended his hand. “Identification.”
“What is the meaning of this?” he tried again.
“It’s a security check.”
“There has never been a check here before.”
“How many times have you visited your friend?”
“Many times. And there is no trouble in this xian.”
“That’s right. And we are here to ensure it remains without trouble.” The soldier nodded, examining Tang’s ID. “You are a long way from Guangzhou.”
Clay slid to a stop at the bottom of a steep bank. Much steeper than he was expecting, causing him to lose control and slide into a small creek with a splash.
He quickly jumped to his feet and scrambled behind a nearby tree trunk. He waited for flashlights to appear over the edge of the road, but seeing none, Clay dropped his bag on the damp earth in front of him.
Unzipping the bag, he pulled out a set of night-vision goggles and slid them over his thick dark hair. Next he retrieved a black matted .40 caliber and pushed it into the waistband of his pants before swinging the bag onto his shoulders again.
He moved smoothly through the thick layer of needles and leaves, winding away from the road above him. Once beyond the glow of lights and the muffled voices, Clay broke into a sprint.
49
Qin peered out from the small window of the Harbin Z-6 helicopter into the near pitch-blackness below. There were now only occasional lights visible from the air, which gave the darkened interior of the cabin an eerie feeling. Only the thumping of the blades and the cockpit’s instruments were left to remind him that they were moving.
The last three hours had unleashed a frenzy of activity. Once M0ngol had zeroed in on the American’s location, time was of the essence. They had to stop him before he reached the hospital.
The mobilization took less than thirty minutes, but it still required time to travel the several hundred kilometers. Fortunately for Qin, there was a small team of Special Operations Forces on return from maneuvers at the base of China’s Guangxing Reservoir, close enough to intercept the American before he could.
Qin checked his watch impatiently. He hated having to call Xinzhen, but he had no other choice. He needed transportation immediately… and men. And being a member of the Politburo, Xinzhen had as much authority as anyone within China. A level of authority that had a fully equipped Z-6 helicopter landing in the parking lot of the MSS building a mere half hour later.
But now Xinzhen knew. Not everything, but enough to know what Wei had done and what was likely hidden in a small building in the middle of nowhere. Qin didn’t mention it was a hospital, nor that it was where he believed Wei’s daughter to be a patient. He’d been at the MSS long enough to learn that investigators never revealed everything, even to the Politburo.
Especially since he now possessed information Xinzhen would kill over. He already had. And Qin was now walking a thin line between a being an asset to someone like Xinzhen and being a liability.
He glanced up when the helicopter’s copilot waved to get his attention and pointed to his headphones.
Qin nodded and glanced at the two men sitting next to him. Xinzhen’s men, both of whom were already aboard the chopper when it arrived at MSS.
Together the men watched him stoically without saying a word.
Qin raised the headphones and lowered them over his ears before adjusting the microphone.
“This is Qin.”
“Sir, we’ve stopped twelve cars. But no American yet.”
Qin’s eyes narrowed. They should have been there by now. “Any gweilo at all?”
“No, mostly locals. But two are from Beijing and another from Guangzhou.”
“What kind of cars are they driving?”
The soldiers on the ground paused. “Several Hyundai, GM, Nissan. And a Honda.”
Qin remained, thinking, staring into the darkness with his coal-colored eyes. The man would have had to come in quietly. Unnoticed. And he’d need help to get here quickly. Which also meant help blending in.
But in China, cars were not used for blending in. Instead, they were about status and prestige. Something that was especially true in Beijing. Cars were meant to be noticed, not overlooked.
“How old?”
“Hold old are the drivers?”
“No. The cars.”
The soldier on the ground turned and assessed the cars. “Most are new. Within a few years. The Honda is old. Ten, maybe fifteen years.”
“Who was the driver?”
“A security guard. From Guangzhou. Says he’s visiting a friend.”
“From Guangzhou?”
“Yes.”
Guangzhou was too far, Qin thought. Almost anyone traveling that far would have taken a plane over paying for two thousand miles worth of gasoline. Especially a lowly guard.
“Where does he work?”
“Ministry of Foreign Relations.”
Qin’s eyes widened. His response was instant. “He’s a spy. Subdue him!”
“Subdue him?”
“Yes! Now!”
Qin leaned forward urgently and slapped the copilot on the shoulder to get his attention. When the man turned around, Qin motioned forcefully toward the windshield. The message was clear: hurry!
On the ground, Tang was standing nearby, watching the soldier. He couldn’t hear what was said on the phone, but the sudden change in the man’s expression was enough.
50
With his computer now secure, Borger was watching from his chair. The icon representing Clay’s phone had suddenly jumped off the road and was now moving very slowly.
Another screen displayed the latest overhead shot from the satellite. He typed in the coordinates, which quickly zoomed the picture in. Most of the image was completely dark, except for two items.
Borger picked up his phone and dialed.
Clay was struggling up an embankment when the phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out and answered without stopping.
“Not a good time, Wil.”
“Clay!” Borger shouted. “You okay?”
He rolled his eyes inside the green-tinted goggles. “That’s debatable.”
“I see lights coming in from the northeast. I think they’re helicopters.”
“You’re a little late,” Clay replied, between breaths. He spotted a narrow path through the trees and plowed through several large bushes to reach it, where he broke into a run again.
Borger zoomed out and examined a third light on the image. This one was further away and headed due north. “I have another one coming in.”