The Ninth Orphan (28 page)

In a private room of the hospital’s recovery ward, Isabelle had regained consciousness, but was still in pain. A little color had returned to her cheeks and, although tired and weak, she was feeling more with it now that the effects of morphine and other drugs were wearing off.

Monsieur Alleget and Isabelle’s stepmother, Catherine, sat close by. They couldn’t stop smiling, so relieved were they their daughter had survived. The trio wouldn’t have been so happy if they’d known, at that very minute, Chinese and American intelligence agents were converging on the hospital.

While she was glad to be alive, Isabelle’s emotions were in a whirl. Her relief was matched by confusion, a sense of loss and more than a little fear – fear about what could happen next. Nine’s warnings, about certain people wanting to get to him through her, were still fresh in her mind. Isabelle’s confusion was caused by her feelings for the enigmatic man who had abducted her and whose actions had almost cost her, her life.

Try as she may, she couldn’t deny her feelings for Nine.
Damn you, Sebastian
. She was missing him and this accounted for her sense of loss.

Isabelle tried to sit up, but lacked the strength and fell back on the pillow. Catherine came to her rescue, placing two extra pillows behind Isabelle, enabling her daughter to sit up with a minimum of pain.

The patient looked at her parents gravely as she wondered how best to explain her unusual situation to them. As she thought over
her brief, tumultuous time
with Nine, it seemed so extraordinary even she had trouble believing it actually happened.

She took a deep breath. “Papa. Catherine. I don’t have time to explain what occurred over the last week or so, but I have something very important to tell you.”

Isabelle was momentarily distracted when she noticed Nine's silver necklace on her bedside table. The ruby attached to it glowed red under the hospital lights. She reached for it, but the effort was too much. Catherine passed it to her. Isabelle immediately placed the necklace around her neck then looked at her parents intently.

When she saw she had their undivided attention, she continued, “My abductor is not the evil person the media has portrayed him to be. He did take me hostage, but it was for my own protection, and his. He has opened my eyes to some shocking conspiracies. I am now aware of some very sinister people and organizations operating in this world.”

She looked directly at her father. “Someone will come for me soon, I am sure. You must get me out of this hospital tonight.” Monsieur Alleget and his wife looked at each other strangely. Before they could protest, Isabelle added, “Like it or not, I’m implicated in someone else’s mess. I’ve already been shot. Next time I fear it could be fatal. I know they’ll be coming for me.”

Catherine glanced at her husband then returned her attention to Isabelle. “Who are
they
?”

Isabelle shrugged. She realized she didn’t have a clue. “Maybe CIA or maybe a more secretive organization. All I know is they will not hesitate to use me as bait to lure my former captor.” Isabelle was surprised how she was repeating almost verbatim what Nine had told her only the day before. She hadn’t believed him then, just as it seemed her parents didn’t believe her now.

Monsieur Alleget had heard enough. Summoning all his patience, he leaned forward and addressed his daughter. “Isa, your abductor has obviously cast a spell over you. I have seen this phenomenon before with recovered hostages I encountered in the course of my career.” He paused for a second. “Do you know what the Stockholm Syndrome is, my child?”

“
Of course, papa,” Isabelle said angrily, “but it isn’t that!” She’d known it was only a question of time before her long-suffering father mentioned it.

“
I am quite certain it is, my dear,” Monsieur Alleget continued. “How do you know any of the conspiracies your abductor told you are true? How do you know he’s not the bad guy and those chasing him don’t have your wellbeing and the public’s at heart?”

Although Isabelle couldn’t be completely certain her father's summation wasn't at least partly true, she knew deep down Nine was who he said he was – and while she couldn’t prove this, she needed to trust her mind and most of all her heart.

Isabelle was about to argue with her father when the ward’s head nurse ushered three officers of the Paris Police Department into her room. The senior officer acknowledged Monsieur Alleget then began to question Isabelle about her abductor. Isabelle folded her arms and shook her head, indicating she didn’t want to talk.

Looking on, Monsieur Alleget was becoming more convinced than ever that Isabelle was demonstrating the misguided loyalty that some hostages inexplicably give to their captors during and even after captivity.
Monsieur Alleget relaxed as he reminded himself that it usually wore off over time.

Isabelle’s father wouldn’t have been so relaxed had he known who was arriving at the hospital at that very moment. It was Special Agent Cho-Wu. The MSS agent
was under orders to terminate Nine and confiscate all materials that might relate to the Yamashita treasure site. Before he could carry out these orders, he needed to find out where the elusive American operative had gone after dropping Isabelle off at the hospital.

Cho-Wu climbed out of his vehicle and approached the hospital entrance. He graciously stood back to allow a group of visitors to enter so as not to draw any attention to himself. The appreciative visitors smiled their thanks. The agent followed them inside.

In the foyer, he passed a French television journalist talking to camera in a live-to-air broadcast. The journalist said, “Doctors have just issued a statement saying Isabelle Alleget has recovered well after her operation.”

None of this meant anything to Cho-Wu as he couldn’t understand French.

The journalist continued, “Her father told us earlier it's still not clear who her abductor was. Apparently Miss Alleget has so far refused to comment on her recent experience. There are unconfirmed reports she vowed never to reveal her abductor's identity to police. If those reports are true, legal experts say she is quite within her rights to remain silent.”

Cho-Wu studied his surroundings. The same visitors he made way for earlier were now crowding around the reception counter. Satisfied the hospital’s admin staff were fully occupied, he sneaked by and strode up a flight of stairs. Having studied floor plans of the hospital before arriving, he knew exactly where to go.

The MSS agent paused outside the door of the hospital’s security office on the third floor. He tried the door and found it locked. Checking to ensure there was no-one around, he expertly picked the lock then, drawing his automatic weapon, he opened the door and entered the office.

Inside, he was relieved to find the security office unoccupied. Closing the door, he placed his weapon on a desk which supported a dozen monitors. Each monitor screened live footage captured by security cameras inside and outside the hospital. Nearby shelves accommodated videotapes whose jackets featured dates and times handwritten in French. Cho-Wu scanned each one, but couldn’t make head nor tail of them.

A security guard suddenly entered the office holding a mug of coffee. Cho-Wu picked up his weapon and pointed it directly at the guard who nearly dropped his mug when he saw the intruder. The MSS agent motioned to the guard to close the door. The shaken guard obliged then looked to Cho-Wu for some explanation.

“
Show me the tape from Wednesday, five a.m.,” Cho-Wu said in English.

The guard shrugged. He didn't understand. “Sorry, I speak no English,” he replied.

Cho-Wu shook his head. “Keep quiet!” he said in Mandarin. “I don’t speak French.”

The two men looked at each other. A frustrated Cho-Wu persisted, reverting back to English. “I need the tape of Isabelle Alleget.”

Recognizing Isabelle's surname and connecting her with the politician's daughter, the guard nodded. Cho-Wu pushed him toward the shelves of videotapes. The flustered guard soon found the relevant tape and inserted it into the machine. He then pointed to the appropriate monitor.

Keeping one eye on the guard and one on the monitor screen, Cho-Wu watched footage of a bare-chested Nine carrying Isabelle into the Emergency Department. Cho-Wu snatched the computer mouse from the guard and froze the screen on Nine’s face.

He nodded to himself as he stared at Nine. “Changing-Face Dragon,” he said in Mandarin, “your season of deceit is over.” He turned back to the guard. “Show me the tape of outside the hospital,” he ordered in English.

As before, the guard didn't understand. Cho-Wu reverted to clumsy hand gestures. After several infuriating moments, the guard nodded. He located a new videotape and screened it on another monitor. Cho-Wu spotted Nine in the hospital car park. The bare-chested American was climbing into the red Peugeot.

After some further hand gestures from Cho-Wu, the guard zoomed in on the Peugeot’s number plate:
PXR4512TQ
. Cho-Wu memorized the number then turned to the guard yet again. Pointing to himself, he said, “Show the tape of me.”

The guard understood immediately that the intruder wished to see footage of himself. He quickly rewound a tape that was still rolling on yet another monitor and soon found the footage of Cho-Wu’s recent arrival at the hospital and his forced entry into the security office. The guard looked at Cho-Wu who simply nodded at him. He understood the intruder wanted the footage destroyed. The guard quickly obliged.

Now convinced no record of his unauthorized visit existed, Cho-Wu disconnected the power feed to the hospital’s security cameras to ensure his departure wouldn’t be recorded. He then reached out and grasped the guard’s neck. Expertly squeezing an acupressure point behind the man’s ear, he rendered him unconscious before leaving.

As he departed the hospital, Cho-Wu silently congratulated himself on a good day’s work. Uncovering the trace to the Changing-Face Dragon meant he didn’t have to concern himself with Isabelle. That was a relief for he knew she was being guarded.

40

A
s night descended, Seventeen parked an ambulance in front of a loading bay at Perigueux Hospital. She had hijacked the vehicle and terminated its female driver a short time earlier, having learned of the driver's instructions to transport Isabelle to a private, and more secure, hospital.

The Omegan checked her reflection in the ambulance’s rear-view mirror. Wearing a paramedic’s uniform and having disguised her face to be a mirror image of the forty-something brunette she’d just killed, Seventeen was unrecognizable.

Although she had identical training to Nine, Seventeen wasn’t usually one for disguises, finding them too theatrical for her liking. Instead, she tended to rely on other skills. On this occasion, though, she needed to conceal her true self as she suspected Isabelle may have caught a glimpse her face the night Nine abducted her from her apartment building.

Seventeen climbed out of the ambulance and casually looked around to ensure she wasn’t being observed. She entered Perigueux Hospital and headed down a long corridor. In her paramedic’s uniform, preoccupied hospital staff paid her zero attention.

Nearby, in the hospital’s recovery ward, Isabelle’s parents waited
on their daughter as
she ate. Catherine spoon-fed her while Monsieur Alleget adjusted the height of the bed. Outside the door, a different armed guard was now on duty.

Isabelle finished her meal just as the disguised Seventeen entered the ward. The wounded Frenchwoman watched as the apparently friendly paramedic approached the guard and showed him her identification. The guard stepped aside and Seventeen entered Isabelle’s room.

Monsieur Alleget immediately stood up to greet her. “You're here to transfer Isabelle to the private hospital, I presume?”

“
Yes, sir. The ambulance is ready,” Seventeen replied in flawless French.

The Allegets had been expecting her. They were ready to go. Seventeen smiled at Isabelle as she wheeled her portable bed out of the room. Monsieur Alleget and Catherine followed her to the nearest elevator.

As they waited for the elevator’s doors to open, Seventeen surreptitiously glanced at a nearby security camera. She needn’t have worried: the cameras were out of action thanks to Cho-Wu.

After going through complex security procedures to check Isabelle out of the hospital, Seventeen wheeled the bed along a ramp and into the rear of the waiting ambulance. Isabelle’s parents followed her inside.
Seventeen checked that Isabelle was comfortable then smiled reassuringly at the Allegets before stepping outside.

The super cool operative nodded to herself as she shut the rear doors. All was going according to plan. She strolled to the front of the vehicle and casually climbed in behind the wheel. A few seconds later, the ambulance pulled slowly away from the hospital.

#

Minutes later, on the outskirts of Perigueux, Seventeen drove the ambulance off the highway and traveled fast along a gravel road. She slowed as the ambulance’s headlights revealed a black van parked among some trees. Seventeen had left it there a few hours earlier.
She parked alongside the van then switched off the ambulance’s headlights.

Robot-like, Seventeen fitted a silencer to a pistol then jumped out and walked to the rear of the ambulance. Without hesitating, she flung open the rear doors and shot Monsieur Alleget and his wife Catherine, killing them instantly.