“I don’t have one.”
“Oh yeah,” the woman looked up at her, “sorry babe.”
“Ling Shimming said to call him if there was a need.”
“Ok, on your head.” She made the call listened and sat up. “Yes Sir.”
It was like she’d turned a switch.
“Please let me have your old MSS card.” She handed over the one she stolen.
“Stand over there.” She had her picture taken.
“Leave these with me. Go through that back door and see Dr Blast.” She walked to the door and opened it. Inside it was a firing range with a workshop in the immediate foreground. A man with half moon glasses worked on something that looked like the innards of a rifle, he looked up and gave her a faint smile.
“Hi, I’m here for a gun, a pistol.”
“They always are.”
“Do you need to know who authorised this?”
“No if you’re here you have permission. They filter out the crap first. I’m Dr Blast. Let me measure you up.”
“I’m here for an H&K.”
“We’ll see,” he said, “we’ve a selection but what you should have said is I want the right gun for me. That’s all your going to get. If you don’t like it, you can fuck off down the quartermasters and pick what shit you want.”
“Ok off you go.” He asked her some questions as he was measuring her up. He looked into May’s eyes with a microscope type device and got her to do an eye test. She had to pick up weights. He timed her. Next, he lined up six handguns of various types Chinese, western and Russian. She fired at targets downrange. He told her how to stand and what to do with her eyes. She’d done all this with the NSB. He shook his head at her scores although they didn’t seem bad. He told May how to get better, it took over an hour, but she did. Frightfully so. Her scores became staggeringly good. Next, he made her wear an eyepatch. This went on. Finally, Dr Blast hung a black sheet down the range sides covering the desk. She could see the guns behind but not their types.
“I know which is you. There are three pistols there, throw some lead down range see which you like.” He showed her how to use each one half an hour later she turned to him.
“Ok I know which I like.”
“Which one?”
“The right hand one. It fits perfectly well, smooth, accurate and my scores are far too good.”
“That’s what I thought,” he smiled, “let’s see what you rejected.”
He uncovered the first, a Chinese Norinco 92. She raised her eyebrows, that had been number two, next a Sig Sauer, it had been number three, but a very good number three.
“And here is what you picked and what you will take away today. He pulled the sheet back. She didn’t recognise it and frowned, he saw her.
“It’s a CZ 75 compact, Czech Republic. Nice gun. My daughter keeps one on her at University in Harbin.”
“University?” He nodded.
“Here it’s yours, look after it and it’ll repay you, good day Miss.”
“Thanks, Dr Blast.”
She pocketed the gun plus two boxes of ammo, two mags and left the room.
The cigarette woman sat facing her. “Here you are May, your pass and credit card.” The pass was her photo but still in Tang Li’s name, the credit card was the same, it sported the crest of Huaxia Bank.
“Your credit limit is $50,000 USD.” She slid over a smartphone and charger.
“Start the Goopy game, select wait and it will call Ling Shimming direct. You have all you need?”
“Yes, thank you.” May left the building and walked towards the compound entrance.
Now it’s infiltration time, now the fun starts.
MAY TOOK A CAB TO THE Hou Hai area and walked into Otto’s hot pot restaurant on Ping’an road. She took a selection of Chef’s specials, small tasters that added up. She needed time to think.
The 7/12 group were a potential disaster for Taiwan, well meaning from a ROC point of view but totally unrealistic. The PRC too would be rent apart by civil war, the US pulled in, a nightmare. They had to be stopped, but she had a soft spot for them too, they meant well by her country. But…
She couldn’t see them destroyed by the PRC either. She knew it was a near impossible task.
Stop them, but don’t lay them open for the MSS to slaughter them.
By right too the PRC deserved punishment for the invasion. She suspected it was failing, the news coverage was too low key for a success. Trouble is she couldn’t discuss it with the NSB. They’d have to call in the government and that would just bury it in debate for weeks.
She watched the guests around her, all manner of types all having fun, all enjoying the meal. She spotted two young women about her age, friends or sisters having a gossip and giggling.
“That’s it, yes.” She finished, paid and crossed the road and found a market mall. May/Tang made her way to a quiet area, remembered a number and called.
“NIKKI IT’S A CALL FOR you,” said Lemineux.
“Who sir?”
“I don’t know but it’s piped in via satellite. It’s a cell phone.”
“A cell phone? Here?”
“Yes, it’s a woman. She says she wants the talk private.”
“Use my cabin Nikki,” said Nathan. She walked aft to his cabin and the call was patched through.
“Yes, this is Lieutenant Nikki Kaminski.”
“Hi Nikki, it’s May.”
“May, good God, where are you? How are you?”
“I’m in Beijing now. I was back in Taiwan for a while, part of the invasion force. Glad to be out of that.”
“Are you up on the news?”
“Nikki I’m in the PRC.”
“Yes ok, the PLAN fleet has been devastated, the PLA are being embarked onto surviving ships. They’re all on their way back home. The invasion is over.”
“I’d thought that’s the way it had gone.”
“It’s great May.”
“Well yes, but it makes my job harder. Believe it or not, I’m kind of working for the MSS now.”
“What?” May explained all she could about recent events and the political turmoil going on.
“I had to speak to someone about the situation, sorry.”
“I wish I could help May. But I can’t. But anything, anything let me know and we’ll be there. You know that.”
“Thanks Nikki, I’ll try to call again.” The connection was cut. Nikki blew out her cheeks and flopped back on Nathan’s bunk.
“What a mess May. What a mess.”
There was a soft knock on the door. It opened, and Nathan walked in. He sat on the bunk’s edge.
“It was May, she’s in Beijing.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb. She hugged him.
“We can’t Nik.”
“Sorry.” She let him go and told him what May was up to as far as she could.
“I know we can’t do anything but…I wish.” He knew they couldn’t do much down here, maybe they could prepare for a request for help.
“We’re at Periscope depth charging the batteries. I’ll get a signal bounced down for Frank Pike. If I must, I’ll come alongside and speak to him. We’ll move up into the Yellow Sea, closer to Beijing and the PLAN base at Qingdao. It’s not much.”
SHE GOT A CAB AND ASKED him to take her to a middle grade hotel, she turned the first one down without leaving the cab. The second looked better, she checked in and got a decent room. Tomorrow would be a big day. May slept.
After a good sleep and a breakfast, she walked off to a quiet corner of the lounge. She ignored the MSS phone and used a disposable pre-paid phone she’d picked up last night. May called a Shanghai number.
“Hello, The Golden Garden.”
“Hi, I’d like to speak with Hue.”
“Please, who are you? Hue is a busy man.”