White Jade (The PROJECT) (16 page)

Chapter Twenty-
T
hree

In a corner office on the fourth floor of the Ministry of State Security in
Beijing
, Senior Investigator Yao Aiguo studied a folder of reports. It was a hot day
. T
he windows
were
open to
the
humid, smog-filled air outside. A small black electric fan fluttered the papers on his desk.

A large portrait of a beaming Chairman Mao hung on one wall of
the
office, across from a picture of the current President and Party Chairman. The room was painted a dingy yellow
. It was
sparsely furnished with a few wooden chairs, the desk where
Yao
sat and some filing cabinets. A picture of
Yao
and his parents provided the only personal note in the room. A cheap print
of
the famous mountains on the
Yangtze River
, now submerged under the waters of the
Three Gorges
dam, rounded out the
decorations.

Yao
looked at the latest report from the West and picked his nose. He looked at the result and wiped it off under his chair.

The reports from
San Francisco
about Colonel Wu
bothered him
.

Yao
looked out his window at the heavy traffic crawling along on the broad avenue below. Motorcycles and scooters wove
like manic squirrels
in and out
through t
hick clouds of exhaust smoke
spewing
from the trucks and busses. The leaves of the trees lining the boulevard hung
wilted and
defeated in the stifling heat.

An agent reported a meeting in a restaurant between Wu and his sergeant, Choy. Wu had sent Choy after a book belonging to a capitalist banker. The banker was dead.
Yao
had a thick file on the man, Connor
, a heavy investor in Chinese industry
. According to the report, Wu was responsible for the death. Why had Wu killed the American and sent someone after the dead man
'
s book?

Inquiries had been made at the Consulate regarding Choy and the death of an American police officer
. N
ow Choy was on his way back to China.
It
was
all
spread out in the papers on his desk. The eyes and ears of the
Te-
Wu
, the
Chinese
Secret Service, reached across the Pacific as easily as to the next room.

Wu
was supposed to be in San Francisco to probe the Chinese community there
about
money being funneled from America to the independence movement in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
But Wu
walk
ed
in the shadow of General Yang.

Why would Yang concern himself with a rabble of monks and peasants who ha
d
no possibility of achieving their revisionist goals? That kind of intelligence
wa
sn't important enough to send a high ranking officer to investigate. Something
was
n't right.

Few people in
China
had the authority
and resources Yao
wielded as a Senior Investigator of the Secret Service
. H
e never gave up on an investigation until it was finished
.
He lived by the words of Sun Tzu
, and i
t had
made him
one of the most successful agents in the two thousand year history of the Service.

If one wait
s
patiently by the banks of the river,
the Master had said,
sooner or later the bodies of one
'
s enemies w
ill
float by.

When they did,
Yao
would be
there
to pluck them from the water and make sure they were dead.

For
Yao
, it was simple. Loyalty to the nation and the Communist Party formed the foundation of a stable society.
Yao
thought society was even more important than family, the bedrock of Chinese culture. The greater good of
the nation
was the standard that must be followed. Yao
'
s given name meant
Love of Country
.
He
considered
himself a patriot and guardian of the greater good.

He reached for another file, this one on General Yang. In the People
'
s Republic, no one was above investigation
. A
ll top military leaders received periodic scrutiny. If there was nothing irregular, there was no need for concern. If there was, measures were taken to correct the situation.

Yang
'
s file gave no indication he was anything but an outstanding example of the professionalism now infusing the People
'
s Liberation Army.

The file noted that Yang had founded a social and cultural group called the White Jade Society. Membership consisted of high-ranking officers and senior government leaders. Such societies were common. Belonging to a group of powerful associates was expected for someone in Yang
'
s high position. The General was a man of influence in today
'
s
China
.

He studied the file. Yang was Chief of Military Intelligence, the most powerful position on the General Staff
,
important in the daily oversight of China
'
s considerable military might. He was also a member of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party Central Committee. Anything to do with the Commission was political at the highest level and therefore dangerous.
Yao
would have to pursue his inquiries with care.

Yao
'
s success as an investigator was based on obsessive attention to detail and a highly developed ability to think like his quarry. Why did Yang want Connor
'
s money? Connor had been wealthy beyond belief.
Yao
made a note to follow the money trail.

Wu would never kill such an important man without orders, so there had to be some direct benefit to Yang. Money had always been a corrupter of men. If money was behind this
, Yao
would root out and expose Yang
'
s complicity, but somehow it didn
'
t feel right. Yang would not be able to spend that kind of money without being discovered and punished.

If it wasn
'
t money, what else would motivate Yang? Wu had sent his Sergeant to fetch a book. What was in it? Had he been successful? Yao
would
assign a team to Choy when he arrived home. General Yang was in
Beijing
and surveillance would begin immediately. Colonel Wu was in
San Francisco
, but that was no obstacle.
Yao
would
contact his agent in the Consulate and give him instructions.

Yao
looked out the window. He decided to elevate Yang and Wu to priority level. Until he found out what they were doing, they were under suspicion of being enemies of the State, distinguished careers or not.
Yao
trusted his instincts. He would find out what was going on, it was only a matter of time.

He put his hands behind his head, leaned back and looked out into the hazy air of
Beijing
. Yang
was
up to something treasonous, he could feel it.
Yao
breathed deeply of the smog and felt the exhilaration of the hunt beginning.

Chapter Twenty-
Four

Selena made herself at home in the spare bedroom
. She
had some things sent over from her rooms at the Mayflower.

Carter's
apartment
was
minimal in terms of decoration.
A
good copy of a Paul Klee painting h
ung
over the couch
. The carpet was a
neutral tan
.
There were
Japanese woodcuts on one of the walls. The furniture
was
European
Modern,
clean and
functional.

Ronnie sat on the couch, reading a magazine. He
'
d set up shop next door. The book was locked up back at
the Project
.
Selena had scanned it onto her laptop and was working on the translation.

Carter
was in the kitchen putting together a salad and pasta
. He liked salad and pasta.
It didn't challenge his culinary skills, which were minimal at best.
Selena's
cell phone rang.
He
heard her talking, voice excited and pleased.

She paused, covered the phone.
"
This is an old
friend, Cathy Chen. We used to go out and have drinks, go dancing, that kind of thing. She
'
s here in
Washington
and want
s
to get together. We
'
re not supposed to be out on the town, but I thought she could come over here and we could talk. You don
'
t mind, do you?
"

"
No, o
f course not.
"

Selena gave directions and hung up.

"
I need to let security know downstairs. When is she coming?
"

"
She said it would take about half an hour.
"

"
Then we
'
d better eat. Everything
'
s ready.
"

"
Best news I
'
ve heard today,
"
said Ronnie from the couch.

Carter
set the food on the table and cracked a bottle of Pinot.
He
called security and told the guard to expect Selena
'
s friend
. They
sat down.

"
How are you doing with the translation?
"

"
I
'
ve got the Sanskrit done and I
'
m making
progress with the Linear A. It
'
s all here on my laptop. You remember I told you one of the ingredients for the elixir was something called burning silver
rocks
?
"

"
Yes?
"

"
The text says the silver rock turns black
.
The directions say to crush the rocks and leach them with what is probably some kind of acid.
That turns the rock gold, or at least yellow in color. I've never seen the particular word construction before.
Then you powder the result and mix it with the other ingredients in a liquid infusion. Or maybe it
'
s a solution.
"

"
Sounds like Alchemy. The Alchemists were always trying to turn th
ings
into gold.
"

"
T
his
formula
already contains gold. I have an idea about those rocks. I think they
'
re uranium ore, extremely high grade. I asked Stephanie to program my translation into her scenarios to see what comes up. We
'
ll know tomorrow.
"

"
How do you figure uranium?
"

"
W
hat
kind of rocks
'
burn
'
?
There's not
h
ing in the text about heating them.
The only thing I could think of is something radioactive. I did some research
. U
ranium ore can be silver in color. It oxidizes and turns black.
"

"
China
has uranium deposits. Why would that interest Yang?
"

"
China
'
s deposits are poor quality. It takes a lot of processing to get anything you can use
.
"

"
Like for bombs?
"
Ronnie asked.

"
Yes.
If th
o
se rocks are from a high grade deposit,
Yang
would want
to know where it was
. There
'
s only one
known
deposit like that in the world, in
Saskatchewan
. The Canadians get as much as seventy-five percent useful refinement from their raw material. The regular stuff produces only one or two percent.
"

"
That would give Yang something to speed up China
'
s nu
kes
program. It makes more sense than hunting for an elixir of life.
"
Carter
drank some wine.

Ronnie buttered a piece of sourdough bread
and
took a large bite
. The
crumbs dropp
ed
on the polyester surf scene he was wearing.

"
What do you think, Nick? Is Yang planning an attack here? He
'
s got to be crazy if he thinks we wouldn
'
t retaliate.
"

"
Crazy as a fox, maybe. Politics being what it is, he might pull it off by setting someone up as the fall guy, like a terrorist group or even the
Triads
. They
'
re right here and a lot easier to go after than whoever is running things in
Beijing
.
"

"
But the
Triads
would blow the whistle on him.
"

"
Sure, but where
'
s the proof? It would be their word against his, and he
'
d be sitting on the trigger of China
'
s nukes. If you were a bunch of our politicians trying to calm everyone down, would you tell the truth? They
'
d spin it like crazy.
"

"
You
'
d think Yang would be satisfied with all the power he
'
s already got.
"

"
Power is never enough,
"
said Selena.
"
At least it seems those who have power always want more.
"

"
You
'
re a cynic.
"
Ronnie
said
.

"
It
'
s true here at home. Why would it be any different in Communist China?
"

Carter
took a fork full of pasta. 

The buzzer rang.
He
got up and went over to the intercom.

"
Yes.
"

"
Mister
Carter
, your guest is here.
"

"
Send her up.
"
He
looked at Selena.
"
Your friend is downstairs.
"

"
You
'
ll like her.
"

Ronnie wiped his plate with bread and downed the rest of his
soda
.
He never drank
alcohol
.
He'd seen families and friends destroyed by
it
on the Reservation.
"
I
'
ll go next door. Let me know if you need me for something.
"

There was a light knock on the door as Ronnie reached it. He opened it and stepped aside.

Cathy Chen had long, jet black hair and classic Eurasian beauty. Her golden skin and good looks would fade in a few years
, but f
or now she was in her prime, radiating vitality.

She wore a burgundy silk cheongsam, cut low and tight against her body. It showed off her slim figure to perfect advantage.
It would have made some women look like
a high priced hooker
. O
n Cathy Chen it provided the touch of elegance and style it was meant to convey.
A necklace of delicate
white
jade graced her throat. She carried a paper bag with a high end shop logo on it
. T
he neck of a bottle st
uck
out.

"
Cathy!
"

"
Hi, Selena.
"

They moved toward each other and embraced. Ronnie glanced at
Nick
, shrugged his shoulders, and closed the door behind him.

"
Cathy, this is Nick.
"

She took
his
hand, her touch cool. Her eyes were bright.
He
thought
he
detected something there, but then it was gone.

"
Nice to meet you, Nick. This is your place?
"

"
Yes.
"

"
Great view.
"
She turned to Selena.
"
Hey, girlfriend. What have you been up to, aside from Nick, here?
"

"
Oh, not too much.
Nick and I have been hanging out some. I
'
m working on a translation and doing some consulting work.
"

"
It
'
s about time you hung out with someone. You haven
'
t been seeing anyone since that jerk you tossed in
Greece
—what
'
s his name…
"

"
Ted. But Nick and I are
just friends.
"

"
Oh sure.
"
She gave
him
a look.
"
Well, it
'
s great to see you.
"

"
How about you, what are you doing?
"

"
I just started with a consulting firm here in
Washington
. They
'
ve got a client in
China
and they hired me as the token Asian.
"

"
Oh, come on, Cathy, no one
'
s going to take you on as a token. Where are you staying?
"

They began talking away. After a few minutes Cathy broke out the bottle she
'
d brought with her.

"
Let
'
s open this. I know you appreciate wine and this one is supposed to be excellent. It
'
s Australian. They
'
re making some really good stuff now.
"

Nick
got out
an
opener, some fresh glasses, and pulled the cork. Cathy poured. She held up her glass.

"
Money, health, love and time to enjoy them. Here
'
s to you.
"

They
clinked glasses.
The wine
was good, full bodied and smooth, with an underlying taste
Nick
couldn
'
t pin down.
They
moved into the living area and sat down, carrying the glasses.

Cathy glanced over at Selena
'
s laptop, still open on the desk.