Hu took it and squeezed with just a little too much force. “Why did you insist on this place?”
Chen glanced around at the concrete walls. “This place has… history.”
Hu’s eyebrow twitched. “A Chinese laundry? I find this offensive.”
Chen smiled thinly. “It has never been compromised.”
“A public meeting—”
“Public meetings in Washington aren’t anonymous,” Chen said. “Not anymore.”
“But—”
“The MSS may still teach such nonsense,” Chen said gently, “but this isn’t Beijing. There are cameras everywhere.”
Hu started to argue but finally shook his head as if the details were inconsequential. “I wanted to speak with you earlier…”
“You’ve been occupied with your new assignment.”
Hu took the seat across from Chen and glanced down at Chen’s empty teacup. “The chairman wanted to make sure I understood my assignment.”
“The chairman,” Chen said. “Of course.” He considered offering the young man a cup of tea but dismissed the idea.
“You’ve never met him?”
Chen smiled. “I have never had the pleasure.”
“Yes,” Hu said, bowing his head the tiniest bit. “You’ve been away for so long. When was the last time you were home?”
“Before you were born,” Chen said.
“And before that?”
“This job requires sacrifices,” Chen said. “You will learn.”
“Thank you for the advice,” Hu said without a trace of sincerity. “Experienced operatives have much to teach us.”
Chen let the silence linger just a moment too long. “I would be glad to provide my insights.”
Hu smiled. “We must speak about the situation you found yourself in.”
“What more is there to say?”
“The chairman felt differently.”
“Smith is no threat to me.”
“Smith knows who you are. That is a problem for the chairman.”
Chen shook his head. “Smith knew that China had operatives here. Knowing my name is not enough.”
“He tracked your movements through the city—”
“I’ve taken steps to ensure that he will not do that again.”
“You guarantee this?” Hu asked. “If Smith is the man you suspect he is…”
“He is.”
“How can you perform your job with his agents searching for you?”
Chen’s lips parted in a smile. “And what of your job? The project?”
Hu blinked. “The project?”
“Old men hear rumors. Your first assignment was quite the success.”
“Whatever you’ve heard,” Hu said, “I strongly urge you to forget. It’s beyond your station.”
“Of course,” Chen said amicably. “I serve at the chairman’s pleasure.”
Anger flitted across Hu’s face, but he recovered quickly and leaned forward and tapped his fingernail against the table. “Huang Lei.”
“Yes?”
“He presents a risk?”
“He is much like his father,” Chen said. “That’s why I kept a careful watch over him.”
“Careful watch?”
“I didn’t allow him to disappear. The officer handling his case decided that he presented no threat.”
Hu’s face reddened. “Imagine the chairman’s surprise when Huang Lei contacted him and demanded to speak with you.”
“With me? There must be some mistake.”
“He contacted the chairman. That is simply not done.”
Chen remembered his first glimpse of Huang Lei. Huang Jin had always encouraged his son. It came as no surprise that Huang Lei would become so… formidable. “I must express, in the strongest possible terms, how unfortunate that is. Nothing can possibly justify the risk.”
“The chairman shares your concern, but he would like you to investigate. If Huang Lei can deliver what he promises…”
“What did he promise?” Chen asked.
“You needn’t concern yourself with the details,” Hu said with a smirk.
“Huang Lei could be anywhere in the world,” Chen said. “How shall I find him?”
“He will contact you,” Hu said. “Do not fail the chairman in this.”
Chen’s heart beat harder and his palms began to sweat. If Hu had read his reports, he would know that dealing with Huang Lei should be out of the question.
Unfortunately, Hu had the authority to order him to aid Huang Lei, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Without understanding what Huang Lei offered, Chen was unable to determine the risk. If the information turned out to be valuable, Hu would take the credit. If the information turned out to be dangerous, Chen would receive the blame. He stared into the young man’s beady eyes and bottled up his anger. “As always, it will be an honor.”
Lila tossed and turned on her narrow bed. The sheets were like sandpaper against her skin, and the room was so cold it made her teeth ache. No matter which way she positioned herself, sleep simply would not come.
I can’t believe we’re not releasing the video.
Patrick had been so adamant, but surely he was too cautious. The public still tolerated two wars and countless operations in the Middle East, but if they found out that the Americans were operating in Europe?
The people would howl for answers.
She continued tossing and turning but finally gave up on sleep. It was nearly three in the morning when she finally climbed out of bed, wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, and searched the refrigerator in the kitchen.
Two slices of day-old mushroom pizza and a can of Red Bull later, she parked herself back in front of her computer.
“We’re missing a perfect opportunity,” she muttered. She checked Patrick’s Skype account, but he was still offline. “Damn it.”
She needed to talk to him again. The video would stir the public. There was little chance they would have the time to investigate the DFA.
Plus, she knew what she was doing. She could release it anonymously.
She sat down, wrapped the blanket around her, and logged in to her favorite MMORPG, but logged out after checking her character’s training queue. She tried to catch up on her email, but her concentration was shot.
A quick search of her favorite hacker sites kept her busy for an hour. She was especially intrigued by people’s responses to the Bank of America document dump.
THE DFA ARE HEROES, wrote user funnybitch134.
An infamous hacker from Finland, SnatchWax, posted that the bank’s leaders were panicking, and that history would show that the dump was the beginning of the end for them.
She wished that were true, but after watching the man ride the drone to the ground, she felt the Bank of America dump was inconsequential.
A post buried on the site echoed her own thoughts.
THE RICH AND POWERFUL WILL NEVER WILLINGLY SURRENDER. THE PEOPLE MUST RISE UP AND DEMAND CHANGE. THERE ARE SO FEW OF THEM AND SO MANY OF US. NOW IS THE TIME! IF WE DON’T DO SOMETHING SOON, THEY WILL BE SO THOROUGHLY PROTECTED THAT CHANGE BECOMES IMPOSSIBLE. WE MUST ACT NOW BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE! IMAGINE HITLER’S THIRD REICH RULING FOR A THOUSAND YEARS.
She played the video from Switzerland again. The man jumped from the hospital window and fell to the earth.
The US can’t be allowed to get away with this. It’s… evil!
Before she could stop herself, she uploaded the video to the DFA’s favorite hacker site, undergroundrising.com, explaining the man in the video had murdered Klaus Holzinger.
“We can’t wait any longer,” she muttered. “Once this hits, we’ll see real change. It’s better this way. Patrick will understand.”
Senator Barbara Novak fumed as she rode the electric tram under the busy streets. The air in the tunnel smelled of mildew and ozone. She had initially balked at using it, but after countless wackos had mailed her everything from bags of dog waste to an envelope containing what the FBI had finally assured her was only talcum powder, she had started taking the death threats seriously.