A Time for War (2 page)

Within hours Media Wire, the leftist radical watchdog group funded by reclusive, Austrian-born billionaire Lawrence Soren, had organized a smear campaign. They had been looking for a hook on which to hang Jack like a slaughtered bull. He was labeled an Islamophobe and the liberals gleefully piled on with the kind of manic indignation only aging hippies and ignorant youth could muster. By the time Soren was done,
Truth Tellers
had not only lost half of its sponsors but Jack was out of a job. And he was barred from the United Kingdom, due to his “radical and provocative statements” that were deemed “a threat to public security.”

Eddie trotted into the office, the chew toy in his mouth. He lay down and sank his teeth into it.

Now Jack was freelance, but San Francisco had been quiet for weeks. The most promising story was the smuggling …

His phone rang. The caller ID said it was Max.

“I don't care if it's good or bad,” he said into the phone, “as long as it's news.”

“It's one of yours,” she said, “so it's news.”

Maxine Cole, twenty-seven years old, was a triathlete of Somali descent who'd moved to the United States when she was a kid. She'd spent her teens in the projects but got herself out by teaching herself how to shoot network-quality video. She'd managed to keep her street sense and her fearlessness, too, and the result was a coworker who could keep up with Jack in any situation, no matter how dangerous.

“The arrest of the state senator's son?” he asked her.

“Yes,” she said. “I read your report.” Jack had sent it to her for a few tweaks and some feedback. “Listen, Jack,” she continued, “for ninety-nine point ninety-nine-percent of the world, this report is going to be exactly what we expect from you. But I have to say this. I think you're dialing it in. You're not fully in it.”

Jack was silent for a moment. Then he said, “You're right.”

“Just a tiny bit. Like I said, no one except me is going to notice. But I didn't feel right, not saying something to you.”

“It's just…”

“It's just that it's not the smuggling story?” she asked.

“Exactly. It's a rich kid getting arrested for drugs. Meanwhile in China there are farms where bears are caged, lying on their backs with no room to move, with tubes in their abdomens to collect bile for so-called medicines. Some of the bears have actually committed suicide by starving themselves to death. And multiple smuggling operations are carrying the bear bile along with body parts from tigers and other endangered animals out of China to the rest of the world. I covered it on
Truth Tellers
until the network got too scared of offending their Chinese investors. Now I have a chance to break the story again and I can't.”

“You have contacts in London, you can ask them to follow up on it, can't you?”

“Yes,” he admitted.

“But it's not the same.”

He didn't reply. She knew him well. It wasn't that he didn't trust his contacts to do a good job. He simply wanted to be the one doing it.

“I'm sorry, Jack.”

“Don't be sorry for me, Max. I'm just frustrated.”

“Well then, get over it,” she laughed. She added gently, “And find a way to reconnect, OK?”

They said good-bye and hung up. Jack ran his fingers lightly over his computer keyboard. She was right; he needed to put his finger, not just a plug, back in the socket. He needed to recharge. And he knew exactly where to go to do that.

San Francisco, California

Standing just over five feet tall and “slight as a snowpea,” as her father put it, there was nonetheless something about twenty-six-year-old Maggie Yu that commanded the aisles of the Yu Market on Clay Street. It was partly her posture, erect and centered, creating a straight line from the top of her head to her feet. It was partly the serenity of her expression, her dark eyes never seeming to blink, her lips together in a relaxed line, her round face untroubled with lines or color other than the natural blush of her cheeks. And it was partly the unwavering focus she brought to the task at hand.

Maggie finished checking the inventory her father had brought in before dawn. There were fresh fish neatly arrayed on ice, vegetables harvested just hours before, sliced fruit he had cut himself and placed in plastic containers. The beverages, candy, and cigarettes had all been restocked, the floors carefully swept, and the mousetraps and fly strips cleared away. In her hand she held the clipboard with the receipts for all the goods, including the note he always left her—“I love you” he wrote in Cantonese on the topmost sheet before he went upstairs.

Taking a last look around, the young woman placed the clipboard on its hook beneath the counter. She removed the apron—it had belonged to her mother—checked herself in a hand mirror she had beside the baseball bat her father kept beneath the register, then unlocked the door and turned around the
OPEN
sign.

The century-old brass bell tinkled above the door. Maggie smiled as she welcomed her first customer, Mrs. Chan. The smile was sincere. Maggie felt blessed to be surrounded by three of the four things she loved.

One was her father. Johnny Yu had opened the grocery store in 1986, the year before Maggie was born. It was originally going to be named the Huangpu Market for the river where he used to sit as a boy growing up in Shanghai, his eyes on the ships that used to come and go—one of which, a freighter, eventually took him to his new home with his new bride. But Anita Yu did not want to be reminded of their old life: she insisted he name the grocery for his ancestors but also for himself and Yu descendants. He agreed that was a better idea.

Maggie's mother Anita died fourteen months after Maggie was born. All Maggie remembered of the woman was the hole it left in her father's life.

The second thing Maggie loved was the store itself. The checkout counter was straddled by a four-foot-tall dragon gate made of empty boxes of Chinese tea. It was held together by the flaps of the boxes, nothing more; it had survived the 1989 earthquake. There were three short aisles, each of which was lit by bulbs that reflected the contents: green for produce, red for condiments and spices, amber for grain. Small freezers and refrigerators lined the back wall. Mrs. Chan was pulling a bag of lime leaves from one of the freezers.

The third thing Maggie loved was the Chinese population of San Francisco. Today the community had over a hundred thousand citizens nestled between the Financial District and Nob Hill. The citizens were vibrant and resilient, hardworking men and women devoted to their families, their neighborhood, and their nation. They were patriots with affection for their ancestral land but a fierce love for their current home.

Sadly, there were also some—the fewest in number and certainly the least in moral character—who exhibited the kind of selfish ambition that tore the community apart a century before in a series of wars fought to control criminal activity. These people troubled Maggie. She saw them every day when they came into the store—usually young men, usually buying cigarettes, chips, or soda. They always looked out the door while they stood at the counter. There was something itchy about them, restless, as though they were about to do something or were preparing for something to happen to them. Eyes roving, shoulders rolling from time to time like a fighter before a bout, fingers texting or flexing or making gestures to other malcontents … but never at rest.

They just seemed ready to take. Not from her or her father; shoplifting was too small. Besides, the locals knew she was ready for them and there were security cameras behind the counter—one of the upgrades Maggie had succeeded in negotiating with her father. These misfits preferred to steal cars or electronics outside the community, so as not to embarrass family. They sold drugs or laundered currency to those who were not Chinese.

Until today.

The bell jangled again. A Chinese man entered the store as Mrs. Chan was leaving. He was in his early thirties and she had not seen him emerge from the black SUV double-parked outside, but there was no doubt it was his. The smoky windows were like his smoky sunglasses: secretive, out of place. He removed the glasses as he approached. He wore soft, tan gloves. It wasn't cold enough for that, not even on a chilly winter morning. The man was sharp, from the even lines of his buzz cut to the strong set of his square jaw to the rigid creases in his tan suit. He was short, only about five foot six, but the way he stood when he reached the counter, with his shoulders drawn back and his feet close together, made him seem taller.

“I would see the owner of this shop, please,” he said, glancing about the store.

“My father is not here. How may I help you, Mr.—?”

“Lee.” The man regarded her, his eyes very still. “You can help by telling your father I wish to speak with him.”

Maggie did not believe his name was Lee; that was the equivalent of Smith or Jones in America. His schooled, noncolloquial English reinforced the woman's impression that he was not from around here. She guessed he was a Chinese national; his severe bearing, his neutral identity with personal nuance drilled away, suggested a military background. And he obviously wasn't here to sell her father anything: he wasn't carrying a tablet, a briefcase, or even a cell phone.
Protection?
she wondered. That was the enterprise of local thugs who knew better than to come here. Besides, the shop was on a block of mom-and-pop stores and restaurants. Shakedown money from all of them wouldn't pay for a week's worth of gas in his Escalade.

“Dad will be here in about three hours,” Maggie told him. “If you want to come back—”

“My business cannot wait.”

She smiled pleasantly. “I'm afraid it will have to.”

The shop seemed unusually quiet, the street sounds more remote than usual. The man had barely moved since approaching the counter. Now he took a step forward. Several candy bars fell as he pressed against the child-high shelves in front of him. When he spoke, his voice was soft but firm.

“Call him, please.”

Maggie continued to smile. This man—these men—whatever they wanted, it had been thrust on them. Something urgent.

“There are two things I can do for you,” Maggie said, raising her voice. “I can give my father a message or I can sell you something. Which would you like, Mr. Lee?”

Lee smiled faintly; it was barely noticeable, but Maggie saw it. She knew he was about to grab her; she knew it from her twenty-two years as a fighter.

The fourth thing Maggie loved was kung fu. She had been training since she was four years old, first with their neighbor who held a black belt in the Nabi Su form, then at a martial arts school that practiced Jeet Kune Do, the hybrid style developed by Bruce Lee. She had earned her black belt before she turned fourteen. The essence of both styles is that energy comes from the ground, from the air, from the world around the martial artist, who gathers it in his center and drives it forward. The attack often comes in a variety of animal styles, whose offense and defense were studied and adapted by the ancient Chinese. In the split second that the man smiled, Maggie planned her attack. She knew she had the size advantage—in kung fu, smaller is faster. She knew she had the counter to work with, to use as a barrier or maybe she could double him over on it. And she knew that she had quiet skills while he had pride and arrogance—the worst hobbles a person could have in a fight.

She also knew that she would only use her skills when it was her last resort—that was her training and she would never betray her
sifu
s' wisdom.

Just then her father appeared from the back of the store, accompanied by two women in white—mourning white. It was the death anniversary of Maggie's mother; the
jichen
ceremony was going to begin in a few hours, and Johnny had been getting ready for it.

“Everything OK, Maggie?” he asked.

“Not really, Father,” she said. “This man wanted to speak to you—”

“Do I want to speak with him?”

“I don't think so,” Maggie said.

Johnny fixed steady, unrelenting eyes on the man. “I don't believe you are welcome here.”

The would-be attacker, denuded of all pride, took one look at Johnny and the two mourners. Maggie could see him calculating the odds in his head. He turned and hurried out of the store, the doorbell jingling on his way out. The street sounds were momentarily louder and the door slammed. There was a moment of silence followed by an angry squeal of tires. Then all was once again as it should be.

Maggie's father reached her. He could see in her face that she was shaken. He put his arms around her. Outside in the white sunlight, a crowd was massing, talking, pointing down the street in the direction the SUV had been facing.

“I'm all right, Dad,” she assured him. He still smelled comfortingly of fish and cold dawn sea air.

He relaxed but didn't let her go. “What happened?”

She told him. He listened without comment, but was concerned and clearly baffled. Then he picked up the phone and called the police. As soon as he put the phone down he turned back to the counter. He pressed his hands together, bowed, and said, “Thanks to you.” His remarks were directed toward one of the shelves, to a small spirit tablet nestled among the aspirin boxes. The red ribbon was inscribed with his wife's name in gold and was suspended over a small round candleholder.

Then he hugged Maggie again. “It could have been so much worse,” he said.

A small group of onlookers collected in the street, though no one entered out of respect for the two. The arrival of a patrol car caused them to part as a pair of officers made their way toward the shop.

“Before I talk to them, there's one thing you should do,” Maggie said.

“What is it?”

“That reporter, the one who helped when I found out about the Long Zai gang, when I was a kid?”