Point Blank (Sisterhood Book 26) (5 page)

“This is not going to go well,” Kathryn muttered as she remembered the last dustup she had had with Pearl and her rules of secrecy.

“No, dear, it isn’t,” Myra agreed as she finally gave up trying to appease the children. “They are frightened out of their wits. We need to keep that in mind.”

“Yeah, well, I’m thinking that mother does understand
some
English and is playing stupid. Harry told us all back when Lily entered the monastery that she would be learning Chinese and those children from China would be learning English. So there is a good chance the boy Hop knows some English, as do his mother and sister. For all we know, the father might have told them to pretend they don’t understand. The way things are going now just does not work for me.”

“You want to bring it to a test?” Isabelle asked. “If so, corner Pearl when she gets here and threaten to separate the children from the mother. That should give you your answer.”

“That sounds . . . cruel,” Alexis said.

“Do you have a better idea?” Kathryn snapped.

Alexis was saved from replying by Jack and Pearl’s appearance in the family room. Once again, everyone started talking at once. The dogs remained in place, with Cooper growling low in his throat. But he didn’t advance or make any other move.

Jack whistled sharply. The room went silent to give Pearl the floor. “One person, talk. Everyone else, keep quiet,” Pearl said as she eyed the three newcomers.

Myra explained the situation right down to Kathryn’s opinion. Everyone in the room knew that Pearl and Kathryn were not bosom buddies and that Kathryn had brought Pearl to her knees twice when she refused to divulge information the sisters needed. To those keeping score it was Kathryn 2 and Pearl O. Pearl kept nodding to show she understood what was needed and expected.

“I admit we came up with this scenario on the fly, Pearl, but we thought if we could spirit them across the field to our farmhouse, you could take it from there just in case anyone followed them out here. The agents said there were no tails, but those Chinese are a slippery group,” Nikki said. “If we can get them to our house, can you take it from there?”

“I will need to make some calls first, but I think it’s doable.”

“And we need to know where they are at all times,” Kathryn said. “That is not negotiable, Pearl.”

Pearl sighed. She didn’t have the stamina to go up against Kathryn yet again, so she simply nodded.

Harry took that moment to enter the kitchen. Jack looked at him sharply. Okaaay, this was the old Harry, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Jack brought him up to speed within minutes. Harry nodded. He nodded again when Jack told him Kathryn’s opinion and surprised Jack even more when Harry said that Jun Ling had a fair command of English. He did not, however, think she was faking an inability to understand but that, as upset as she was by what was going on, her English had pretty much deserted her.

“What’s our plan?” Charles asked.

“I think we should do it Nikki’s way. Turn all the floodlights off outside. We will take them across the field to Jack and Nikki’s by way of the pickup truck with a tarp spread over the passengers in the back. We can drive without lights since there is no traffic to take into account.”

“That should work,” Jack said, his eyes on Pearl, who was talking quietly on her cell, her head bobbing as she listened to the voice on the other end of the line. She hung up and nodded to Jack.

“How much time do we have?” Nikki asked.

“Forty minutes,” Pearl said flatly.

Jack looked at Harry. “The floor is all yours.”

Harry looked across the room at Cooper, who was at his side in a nanosecond.

The sisters looked from one to the other as Harry rattled on at the speed of light. He was rewarded with moans, groans, tears, and sobs. Harry remained steely-eyed as he gathered up Jun Ling and carried her over to Pearl. He stood her upright and rattled off a string of Chinese. He went back and grabbed the children and carried them under his arms.

“Go!”

Annie looked at Yoko. “Did he tell them Jun Yu is dead?”

“Yes. That’s why they gave up the fight. What happens now?”

“I guess the boys will come back here once Pearl’s people take over. You do all understand that there is no way we could leave that mother and her children on the loose while we go to China,” Annie said.

“Of course we all understand that,” Fergus said. “It was the perfect solution. Actually, if you stop to think about it, it was the
only
solution. When we leave, we’ll be knowing they are safe. Starting a mission with something like that hanging over our heads simply would not work.”

They all agreed. Even Kathryn.

Myra looked over at her husband. “I think we could all use something to drink, and possibly something to eat, Charles. This has been a very hectic evening, and I see it getting still more hectic.”

“It will be my pleasure. Come along, Fergus, let’s leave the ladies to whatever it is they want to do or say that they don’t want us to hear.”

 

C
harles Martin risked a glance at the sisters and brothers over the top of the bank of computers he and Fergus Duffy were working on. He took a step back and looked over at Fergus, his right hand. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen them look so . . . so . . .”

“
Pissed off
is the term you’re looking for, mate. Can’t say as how you’re wrong since I agree. From this vantage point, all I can see is snapping, snarling, angry men and women. It would appear to me that not a single one of them is in the mood to listen to anything we might have to say. They’re used to dealing in action. They want to
DO
something. And they want to
DO
it now. As in
now,
Charles.”

“I know, I know. But the simple truth is that that is not going to happen. Not until we come up with a plan that is foolproof. We can’t just send them into China willy-nilly and not expect repercussions. We don’t even really know what we’re dealing with here. Oh dear, now they’re all stomping their feet.”

“That means they’re tired of waiting for you to . . . um . . . get on the stick and advise them. Tread carefully, my friend. Very carefully. Time to blow that whistle you have hanging around your neck.”

Charles took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before he clicked the remote device that turned the switch on the huge monitor that hung from the top of the dais that would reveal Lady Justice in all her glory. He was rewarded with instant silence and surly looks. But there was always respect for the scales of justice.

“You’re not scaring me, ladies and gentlemen, so get rid of those surly looks and focus on what I’m going to tell you. That’s an order unless you vote to impeach me, and if you do that, then Fergus goes with me. Just so you know. Ah, that’s better,” Charles said when he saw a small smile work its way to Myra’s lips.

“For starters Ms. Jun Ling and her children are on their way to safety via Pearl’s underground railroad. That means they are no longer a cause of worry for any of us. Second, Jun Yu is dead. We will mourn his passing later on. For now there is nothing we can do since he has passed to the land of his ancestors. Our immediate concern is the child, Lily Wong, Harry and Yoko’s daughter, because we cannot account for her presence at this moment in time.

“Having said that, we need to form a plan. A plan that will work for all of us. I want to repeat the ‘all of us’ part again. Harry and Yoko, you are to sit on the side. We cannot have you interfering with the plan, because you are both too emotional right now. You have to trust us, your friends, all of us here in this room, to do the right thing. You also want to avenge Jun Yu, whom you consider a brother. We will help you to achieve vengeance for your brother, too. But only when we come up with a plan that benefits us all.

“Last but not least, we all know, though perhaps Myra, Annie, and I know more than any of you, that there is nothing worse in the whole world than losing a child. We will find Lily or die trying. Do you understand me?”

Harry chewed on his lower lip, his eyes like angry storm clouds. He nodded, as Yoko wept on his shoulder.

“One last question. Are all your calls still going straight to voice mail?” Harry nodded again.

“Do you have a plan, Charles?” Jack asked.

“Not yet, but I’m working on it. Fergus and I need another few hours to gather all our information. I am also waiting to hear from Avery Snowden in regard to what Jun Ling referred to as the
special
phones that her husband gave her and the children when he arranged to have them smuggled out of China to the United States. We’re hoping Jun Yu somehow provided us with clues that he felt Harry would be able to figure out. Since time is of the essence, I suggest you all catch a bit of a nap and return here to the war room in two hours. Annie, you can alert the pilot of your Gulfstream. Have him and his crew on standby. Myra, call Jack Sparrow at the FBI and clue him in. Have him expedite all the passports and whatever else we need to get into China. Ask him if he would like to make the trip with us. He will probably decline, saying he can be more help here on the ground, but ask him anyway. Any questions?”

In a scratchy-sounding voice, Dennis West asked if he needed shots or a visa.

“Myra will help with all that. No visa is required. We have a doctor on call who can come out to the farmhouse at an hour’s notice and take care of whatever needs to be done. The truth is we all need a physical of sorts before we leave, so someone arrange that ASAP.”

“Are we all going?” Maggie asked.

“I assume so. Since the flight time from Dulles to China is about fourteen and a half hours, it is questionable for Abner with his ear problems. He will have to make that decision himself after his physical. All right, then, if there are no other questions, you can all return to the house, and Fergus and I will do what has to be done down here. Two hours tops, ladies and gentlemen.”

When the door closed behind the chattering group, Charles threw his hands in the air and stomped his way down into the main part of the war room, where he plopped down in Myra’s chair. Fergus joined him, sitting in Annie’s chair.

“This is not going to be a walk in the park, Fergus. China is . . . is . . .”

“The last place anyone in their right mind wants to travel to. We need to be ever mindful that Harry might try to take matters into his own hands and try to go on his own. If that were to happen, I can almost guarantee that he will be red-flagged. He’ll never get into China on his own.”

“I know, I know. At this moment in time, we are totally dependent on FBI director Sparrow and Avery Snowden. Snowden has the contacts and the people. He should have gotten back to us about those special phones by now.

“Fergus, what about your old contacts at Scotland Yard?”

“I’ve contacted all of them. No one has gotten back to me as yet. We need time, Charles. I sense a certain impatience in you, and that’s not who you are. I’ve always thought of you as a slow-and-steady, leave-no-stone-unturned kind of operative. This is just another case for the boys and girls. So, mate, tell me what’s really eating at you?”

“The child—Lily. I think you and I both know she’s being held hostage with the other children. Jun Yu told Harry he tried to get her out but was unsuccessful. And yet he got his son and daughter out. That’s bothering me.”

“Perhaps the children from outside China are separated from those inside, and he didn’t know where or how to locate her. I’m inclined to believe him, Charles.”

“Yes, yes. But I don’t think Harry believes him, for some reason. It’s just a gut feeling, nothing more. All he sees is that Jun Yu got his boy out and girl out but left Lily behind. And, of course, any resentment he holds for Jun for not telling him that he was Jun Yu’s equal in the martial arts and was equally deserving of being named the number one martial-arts expert in the world. Yes, he denies it, but even so.

“Anyway, right now Harry is not thinking too clearly. His daughter is foremost on his mind; Yoko’s, too. And that is as it should be. Any parent would feel the same way, helpless. Then there is the death of a man Harry considered a brother. Add the arrival of that brother’s family, which the dead man sent to him for safekeeping, and Harry Wong’s plate is filled to overflowing.

“The only positive thing right now is that Jun Yu’s family is safe, thanks to Pearl and her underground railroad. At least that worry is not hanging over our heads as we move forward.”

Charles stared up at Lady Justice. “I don’t have a good feeling about this mission, Fergus. This one is different. If it were any country but China, I might not be so worried. The Chinese do not play by our rules, we all know that.”

Fergus struggled to find words that he hoped would portray confidence. “Having said that, Charles, the Chinese have never come up against the Sisterhood. Look lively here, mate, and tell me. If you were a betting man, where would you place your bet?”

Charles knew what he was supposed to answer, but the words stuck in his throat. “The special gold shields won’t work in China. Do you know anything about Chinese prisons, Fergus?”

“A thing or two. I don’t exactly live in a cocoon, Charles. I know more about Chinese prisons than I care to, thanks to all my years in service at Scotland Yard. I assume you have no intention of notifying the State Department that we will be visiting China.”

Charles gave off a snappy salute to Lady Justice before he climbed the three steps that would take him to his workstation, where Fergus was waiting for him. “In a manner of speaking. Tell me what you think of this . . . plan? Subject to change, of course.”

“I’m all ears, mate.”

“We go in as a tour group. Crescent China Tours. We have Lizzie Fox backstop us, set up a dummy company that’s been in business for like twenty-five or thirty years. She knows how to do all that. She can have CCT incorporated within an hour, and up and running in two hours. She can come up with everything we will need, and if she requires Avery’s help, he will be available. Jack Sparrow can help, and he has sources we can only dream about. Then there’s Annie. As she is fond of saying, money talks and bullshit walks. If she’s willing to spend, and people are willing to buy what she’s selling, I think we can make it all come together to make it work for us.”

Fergus’s jaw dropped. His eyes were round as saucers as he stared at Charles in admiration. “I guess that’s why they pay you the big bucks. In a million years, I never would have thought of something like that. It’s pure genius, Charles. Absolutely pure genius. One small question. Who is going to plot out the tour?”

“You are! Avery just sent a text. He should be here in about fifteen minutes. He has news. With all the information Harry gave you, and using Google, you can map out something that will pass muster. In the end, it won’t matter because that’s just a tour on paper for anyone who needs to check it on the Chinese end. Once we arrive on Chinese soil, we will be going in an entirely different direction. Get cracking, Fergus. I’ll call Lizzie now and have her get on it right away. Make sure when you do your bogus itinerary that you do not put the tour group anywhere near Song Mountain. I also think we should go via Hong Kong, as that’s where Jun Yu sent his wife and children to get them to Harry in Washington, D.C. Hong Kong must have been important to Jun Yu for some reason. I think those special phones are going to give us the answers we’re looking for.”

“I’m on it, Charles.”

While Fergus went about his assigned tasks, Charles dialed Lizzie’s personal cell phone number in Las Vegas from memory. He let loose with a huge sigh of relief when she picked up on the second ring. Sensing the urgency in Charles’s voice, she got right to the point. “Tell me what you need, when you need it, and I’ll take it from there.”

Ten minutes later, Charles clicked off. Fergus raised his head from the computer keyboard he was working at to see his partner raise his clenched fist to indicate done and done. He grinned, knowing that Lizzie Fox could outmaneuver anyone, and that included the Chinese government. Suddenly, his heart felt lighter.

He went back to work with a new intensity and didn’t look up again until he sensed another presence in the war room. Avery Snowden had arrived. Charles continued to work, knowing that if he was needed, someone would call his name.

Charles once again descended the steps to join Snowden at the conference table so as not to distract Fergus. “I hope you are bringing some good news. I don’t mind telling you, Avery, this little caper has my undies in a bit of a twist.
China
is a foul word these days.”

“I hear you, Sir Charles. I do have a bit of news. It will be up to you to decide if it’s good or bad. I daresay I have to agree with you about China.”

Charles clucked his tongue. “Are you ever going to stop calling me Sir Charles? We’re in America now, and titles mean nothing. I’m just plain old Charles Martin. You know I no longer go by Sir Malcolm Sutcliff. That was another world ago. I mean it, old chap, from here on in it is simply Charles and Avery. Or Martin and Snowden, if you prefer. Now, tell me what you have for me.”

Snowden shrugged as he stared at the man who had once controlled his life while working for the Queen. It was a hard habit to break, and he wasn’t sure he could ever show a lack of respect for the man who had saved his young life on too many occasions to count by calling him Charles. “Those phones. Your man Jun Yu must know some very powerful Americans because those
special
phones are used only by the CIA. You can’t go into a Radio Shack and pick one up, nor can you buy them on the black market. I have it on good authority that only a certain number were made and, apparently, according to my source, all of them are accounted for, which I find remarkable. And, of course, that is manifestly untrue since I have three of them sitting in my pocket right now. My source asked countless questions on how I even knew about them. I kept mum, just said I’d heard a rumor. That means someone is lying, but right now we don’t have to worry about that.”

“All right. Now, tell me what all that means.”

“I don’t know what it means, Si—, um, Charles. All three phones are programmed with one name and one phone number. In Hong Kong. Am I right in saying Jun Ling and the children came through Hong Kong?”

“Yes. What’s the name?” Charles asked.

Snowden grinned. “Dishbang Deshi. It means protect the country. I don’t think its meaning is of any importance to us—perhaps not to anyone else, for that matter. The phone number is in Hong Kong. I did some research, and Dishbang Deshi lives in Kowloon and owns an export company. He has a showroom on Silk Road in Hong Kong. He specializes in silks. He’s quite wealthy. He’s married, with seven daughters. But, Charles, here is the kicker. He was a student at the monastery with Jun Yu and Harry Wong. I guess the three of them hung out together or whatever it is kids do who go to a monastery. In other words, they have been friends for ages. So that means Jun Yu was comfortable sending his family to Dishbang Deshi to make sure they made it to America and Harry Wong.