“Tell him. I bring a change, from the sea to the East. I’m with the Tiger.” She heard a shuffling, thirty seconds later Hue answered
“Yes, how is it? Are you well?”
“I’m OK but I need your help, I need your contact in the chain of command. The one who passes down requests to you. Your superior.”
“May, we operate a cell structure, it’s vital for survival. The MSS are everywhere.”
“I’m aware of that. I’ve got my orders from the NSB. Who is your contact in Shanghai?” She could hear Hue wrestling with the problem.
“He is not here, he’s in Beijing.”
“That’s not a problem.”
“Damn. I know him as Rui, the password is: As evening clouds withdraw a clear cool air floods in. Here is the number, do you really need to do this?”
“Yes, I must. I’ll tell him I forced you.” She went back to her room for a little while it was too early yet.
May put her tea down and called him. “Hello yes,” it was rough low and impatient.
“Rui, as evening clouds withdraw a clear cool air floods in.” There was a soft grunt down the line. “Yes. Who is this?”
“My name is not needed, but you can know that I’m with the NSB. I must meet with you today. Tell me where?”
“I have an office in Zhongnanhai, pick a restaurant near there this afternoon, call me and I’ll be there.” May made her way to the imperial city and found a suitable place. She said she wanted a table and her guest from Zhongnanhai would be here soon. The staff ran around after her they knew where her guest would be from.
After a while the door opened, and a man walked in. In his late fifties he oozed command. With him was a woman in her thirties, hair pulled back in a pony tail. They sat. “Hello Rui, and who’s this?
“She’s my assistant in the matters you wish to discuss. You’ll know her as Zhang. Now what do you want Miss?”
“May is my name. Here is my card,” she took out her NSB card.
“Then times are good are they not? The invasion failed, the troops and the fleet are recalled. The word is getting out, we’ll see that it circulates freely. Discontent has started around the naval ports, it will grow and become unstoppable. We are winning.”
She ate part of her starter, a mushroom and noodle soup.
“My government knows the Communist party will fight back, it’s inevitable. Many external powers will be drawn in.”
“Yes, they will and many will be to our advantage. We can cut off the head and replace it.”
“We think you have a chance. But your foes are many. The MSS for instance.”
“Some of them yes, but many in that organisation do not even know of our existence. The regime is so frightened of us.”
“Rui, we have infiltrated many high ranked organisations in the PRC and see great danger for you.” She passed over her MSS card. Rui stared at it wide eyed. “You?”
She smirked. “I’m not MSS, but I move around among them. I’m part of Gothic Panda.”
“God help us. No.”
May leaned forward. “Look the MSS is very close and very determined, they are more dangerous than ever. I need to speak to your superior now. This is vital.”
He pulled his face and scalp back.
“You cannot. No.”
“Then you leave us no choice, the NSB will act alone. There will be assassinations and disruption of the government, some in ways you would like to see, others won’t be. The 7/12 group will not be immune. The NSB is sworn to defend Taiwan, we are allies but we have our differences too. The choice is yours, make it now.” She sat back and continued her meal, after several minutes he took Zhang to one side after a couple of minutes they sat.
“Ok May. You will need to approach him via one he trusts. His son is in the navy and was injured in the invasion.” He wrote on a spare paper he got from the waitress. “Here, this is his name and the hospital he’s in, it’s in the south out the city.” May looked at the details and had to suppress a response. It was Commander Long. Her Commander Long, Jin Long.
She remembered his words in Taiwan as they lay in the shed by the bridge.
“My Father is a part of a large subgroup of the Politburo and other figures in the government and the Military.”
Good God. Part of her would be delighted to see him again, another would not. Where would it end?
“Very good Rui. I’ll act on your advice. Good day.” She left.
“Zhang.” He leant over to her and lowered his voice. “She must not be allowed to interfere, get a team together. Kill her.”
Chapter 18
May stepped off the bus in the Gu’an area south of the city. She turned left and made her way to the Military hospital. A car noisily ran out of a side street and skidded across the road towards her. Two shots rang out. They missed her but one hit a store window and it looked like a shopper inside. She knew it was here they were after. She ran down the street and turned into a mall market, it was old style, two floors and lots of hanging bird cages and baskets. She made her way towards the rear. Who were they? MSS? Unlikely, goons that Rui had called, unlikely but possible. She needed help. May took out the MSS phone and started the Goopy game, pressed wait, soon Ling answered.
“It’s Tang. I’m in a market mall in Gu’an. Xinchang E street, east of the G106. I’ve a team of gunmen out to kill me.”
“Ok.” The line went dead, she hoped that meant help was on the way.
May got to the rear and turned left down a short corridor, there was a door with a window, she looked outside. It looked clear, of course these goons might find it too, but they’d have a lot of searching to do down the back streets. May moved forward, kept herself concealed and took out her gun. She noticed opposite a flight of stairs going up to level two. She climbed them and pushed further towards the front of the market. She saw him. A man with an open jacket and weary expression, he looked around fitfully but not at the goods. A stall holder beckoned him to look at wrist watches. May knew there’d be more, she took aim with the CZ 75 and pulled the trigger, his face took the bullet and the back of his head exploded in a red grey gore. A shopper screamed. Three more men ran in firing randomly, the shopper dived into stalls and took cover. May lined up, crack, crack. Move crack, crack. Two more dropped with head wounds. The third ran into a stall. More men ran in from the front with guns raised. The man who’d ran to the stall shouted. Fire came in her approximate direction. A wood sliver was punched from a nearby post. She took out one of them with another head shot, she saw the man who run into the stall peeking out. The shot took the top of his head off. Damn it, Dr Blast did recommend a fine gun. More men appeared, and the incoming fire got more intense. May was slowly taking them down one shot at a time, but they were advancing. Three made a run for the staircase, she took one out with two bullets in his back, but the others got upstairs. Fire now came from two directions. She knew she had to drop these two upstairs first. A fusillade of covering fire came from downstairs, May screamed. The two opposite her ran out of the stall to finish her off. The CZ came up, crack, crack, crack, crack. They were down, she loaded a spare mag. Fire came from below she was still badly outnumbered.
“Police, get down on the floor, your weapons too.” What?
A Police Swat team came into the mall, covered in black body armour, helmets and carrying submachine guns.
‘You down now.” The man dropped his gun and lay down.
The swat team didn’t behave quite like a swat team. One of them shot the man twice in the head. Cascades of lead flew toward the men in the Market Mall, within a minute it was over.
“Tang, Tang, you OK?”
“Yes, I’m here.” She came down the stairs. One of the swat team shook her hand.