home. Nothing beat Bermuda’s beaches, and Samantha had been to a great many of the world’s most luxurious playgrounds in her travels for Uncle Sam. Having completed her swim, she walked back to her towel and chair to enjoy a nice long lazy nap in the sun. Her new electric blue bikini, purchased in the shop at The Palace Hotel while on her recent trip to Gstaad, had quickly become her favorite. For some unknown reason it didn’t creep into the areas that make a girl uncomfortable.She lay in the sun, reading the latest novel her sister had sent. Another mystery. If only her suburban housewife sister knew the depths of the real world mysteries. Ah well, it was nice to escape all of that. Carstairs had promised her and Mark a nice little vacation and Samantha was going to waste time and read trash until she couldn’t take it anymore. Boredom is a nice change of pace from the mad dash and red blood of international espionage.
She was halfway into the fifth chapter when her cell phone rang.
“Agent 3826, please hold for the director…” Click.
“Samantha –“
“Carstairs,” she interrupted, “you had better be calling to wish me a relaxing vacation.”
“Now, Samantha, you know that the calendar of terrorism and blood thirsty dictators do not necessarily fit into a neat 9 to 5, 5-day work week.”
“Yes, yes, but all work and no play makes for a very bad spy…”
“Nor,” he continued, “does it allow for extended vacations. Wasn’t I a good guy and let you go see your sister’s new baby? Don’t you think I’d call somebody else if I thought they could do the job?”
“By all means, when guilt and cajolery fail, appeal to my vanity.”
“Look, Sam,…”
“Enough, Carstairs! What is it?”
“I need you to go to Hong Kong with Elise. She is flying in this afternoon and has your cover documents. I’ll lay out the mission for you in our next briefing, say at 1700 hours?”
“Fine.”
“Enjoy the rest of your vacation.”
He hung up. Yeah, she’d enjoy the rest of her vacation, what was left of it. She looked at the sportwatch attached to her sandal. 90 minutes and counting.
***
Elise was waiting for Samantha when she drove up in her tiny little car.
“Hey! This is the life, huh? You pick up guests in your bikini? Nice to know you went out of your way…” Elise smiled at Samantha, teasing her. They hadn’t worked together in a couple of years.
“Well, I’m sorry. I would have dressed to the nines, but I got caught behind some traffic and was late coming home from the beach. Perhaps Carstairs mentioned that I’m supposed to be on vacation?”
“Yeah, so he mentioned. Seriously? There was traffic here? I thought everything was supposed to be so laid back?”
“Oh, it is. It is just that our roads are so narrow that when something does happen it takes a while to restore order. Anyway, I’m glad to see you. Virginia appears to be treating you well. You are absolutely glowing.”
“Thank you. I just got back from Playa Del Carmen.”
Gritting her teeth, “So, where are we off to this time?” Samantha asked.
“Hong Kong! I’m so excited!”
***
The two business women, smartly dressed in black business suits, deplaned and walked up the jetway toward the waiting crowd. A veritable throng awaited them, many laughing and hugging people while others held up signs, some in Chinese, some in English.
Samantha saw their driver and she pointed to Elise to follow her.
Walking up to the elderly and extremely short Chinese gentleman she said, “Roarke and Van Whipple. That’s us. I’m Erica Roarke and this is my business partner, Joanne Van Whipple.” The gentleman bobbled his head and motioned for them to follow. He helped them into the back of the black sedan and then made his own way to the front seat. He reached both arms around the steering wheel and pulled himself forward, leveraging himself to reach the pedals.
“We go!”
Hong Kong was bustling with the activity of millions.
Samantha and Elise were undercover as textile buyers and needed to check in to the Excelsior Hotel before meeting their contact. The short Chinese man steered the little car into the driveway in front of the hotel and then motioned for help from a bellman for the bags. The girls walked nonchalantly to the desk and checked in, receiving keycards to their adjoining rooms.***
Two hours later, they were seated in the bar of the hotel. Samantha was drinking Scotch and soda while Elise sipped a martini at the bar. They chatted casually about the hotel and the city lights, fully aware they may be under surveillance. A young woman approached them.
“Ms. Roarke. Ms. Van Whipple. My name is Kai-ying Heng and I’m with Luthai Textiles. It is very nice to meet you.” She extended her arm for an American-style handshake. “How was your trip?” The young lady’s sleek jet black hair was cut crisply in a bob that fell at the jaw bone. Her suit was a smart dark pinstripe accented by a very crisp and startling white blouse. Her features were delicate, but Samantha could see a back bone of steel under the elegant façade.
“It was very nice,” Samantha answered. “We were just discussing this amazing city and the way it seems to vibrate with activity.”
“Yes, Hong Kong has a life of its own. I understand from my superiors that you might appreciate some assistance in finding good restaurants and entertainment during your stay. Shall we move to a table and discuss the possibilities and make arrangements for your factory tour tomorrow?”
The ladies picked up their drinks and moved to a table in the middle of the room, Samantha choosing a seat that gave her a view of the back of the bar. Kai-ying took a paper and pen from her clutch and began writing names and addresses. “For authentic Chinese food…for excellent supper…for American-style breakfast. The best clubs are all in the same general area, but here are some names and addresses of my favorites.” She looked up from her paper and sent Samantha a meaningful look across the table. “The company will send a car for you in the morning. Is 10:00 a.m. acceptable?”
Samantha nodded and plastered a smile on her face. “Yes. That will be wonderful. Thank you for all of your help.” Elise yawned audibly. “Jet lag catching up with you, Joanne?”
“It must be,” Elise said yawning anew.
“Perhaps we should go to our rooms then. We have a very busy day tomorrow.” Samantha threw the rest of her drink down and the ladies rose. “Kai-ying, thank you again. We’ll see you tomorrow, I hope?”
“Yes. I will be at the tour to help with any language barriers.”
“Very good. Good night.” Samantha and Elise exited the bar and headed for the elevators. As they stood waiting for one to carry them to their rooms they watched Kai-ying exit the hotel through the ornate doors and walk to the right, carrying her away from the glamour of the Excelsior.
Thirty minutes later, Samantha was sitting on her bed looking at the note that Kai-ying had given her while Elise swept the room for bugs.
“What are you going to wear tomorrow?” Elise asked Samantha. Samantha looked up from the paper to see that Elise was pointing to the curtains on the window and a bedside table. “I want to make a good impression on Luthai’s management.”
Samantha moved off the bed and kneeled beside it, fussing with the contents of her garment bag. “I think I’ll wear this.” She said pointing to a black pants suit.
Elise could see from Samantha’s motions that she needed to make some noise, so she began to do just that, opening and closing drawers, switching channels on the television, and keeping up a running commentary on the next day’s “planned activities.”
This cover of noise allowed Samantha to further analyze the paper that Kai-ying had given them. Finally, Samantha realized that it was a crudely hidden message. One piece of paper had been carefully glued over an identical page. Samantha peeled them apart while Elise had a coughing fit.
“Do you need some water?” Samantha asked Elise with the papers fully separated.
“I’ll be fine. I think I could use a remedial Chinese lesson, though. I want to greet our guests in their language.”
Samantha read Kai-ying’s message. There wouldn’t be a tour after all, and their stay in Hong Kong was going to be very brief.
***
At 3 a.m. local time, Elise and Samantha snuck out of the hotel under cover of darkness. They were dressed as clubbers, hair spiked and colored, clothing revealing quite a lot of their figures. They walked down the stairs and out into the night, disappearing in the street. They walked quickly toward the docks.
Kai-ying’s note had informed them of a change in plans. Chinese intelligence was looking for Samantha, planning to arrest her when they found her. Kai had arranged for the information Samantha and Elise needed to be transferred to her grandfather on his fishing boat. Samantha and Elise would retrieve it from him and he would get them to safety.
The girls ducked into a shadow near the docks and changed their clothes into scruffy boat hands, complete with hats and dirt smudges. With any luck, they’d look like fishermen headed to work.
Kai-ying’s grandfather was waiting as arranged and the girls climbed into the boat and helped the old man push off from the dock. Once safely at sea and after ascertaining that the boat wasn’t bugged, they retired to the hold for a conversation.
“Kai give me this for you,” the man said handing Samantha a pen. Samantha plugged in her earbud and connected it to the pen, then depressed the button on the top. In short order she was listening to a recorded message in Kai’s voice.
“Sam, the ETIM is planning to bomb a Mosque in Karachi and blame it on the US as a way to expand the war into Pakistan. Musharraf will not be able to hold out against the upswelling of public opinion if the truth doesn’t come out. You have to get to Karachi and stop them. The chip has jpg files of the participants and planners that I’ve been able to identify.”
Samantha handed the pen and earbud to Elise so that she could listen. The old man looked expectantly at Samantha.
“Sir, we need…”
Heng interrupted. “We meet boat. Rest, we go far.”
No comments:
Post a Comment