Stealing the Dragon

side, the undertow pulling at her as she welcomed its embrace. She had already turned her back on any other door a long time ago.

Xan’s final words seemed to reach her from far away as they echoed around the courtyard.

“In six months, you will have to choose.”

Chapter Seventeen

San Francisco, present day

Cape was pleased to find himself surrounded by pancakes.

Mama’s Restaurant had been a fixture in North Beach for almost thirty years. They served one of the best breakfasts in San Francisco until three p.m. daily, except for Mondays, when they were closed. Cape had noticed all the good breakfast joints were closed on Mondays and suspected some sort of collusion, a concentrated effort by the forces of evil to prevent him from starting the week off right. He made a mental note to conduct a thorough investigation, if only to ease his neurotic mind and justify a sampling tour of all the pancakes made in the Bay Area.

Mama’s was cafeteria style, with only a handful of tables squeezed into a space smaller than most studio apartments. Seating was allocated based on the number in your party or the size of your order. Based on the plates surrounding him now, Cape had obviously given the impression that four or five more people were coming. He had secured the much coveted corner table, behind which he waited patiently for Linda to arrive.

In front of him on the table, bracketed by plates of food, headlines from the local paper jumped up at him. Mayor versus Mayor covered the front page, with two facing photographs-one of the current mayor of San Francisco, who was colloquially referred to as “da Mayor,” and the other of Harold Yan, whom the paper called “the Mayor of Chinatown.” Yan was accusing the mayor of dragging his heels investigating the refugee ship, saying the people of the city deserved answers. Yan referenced a trip the mayor had taken to China the previous year as a member of a goodwill committee from West Coast cities to encourage trade with the Pacific Rim.

Yan never accused the mayor of corruption or undue influence from his “new Chinese friends,” but by suggesting the mayor turn to them for help, the insinuation was all too clear. And coming from a man who was himself Chinese, it was irrefutable, at least from a political standpoint.

Cape studied Yan’s face in the picture. He had black hair with occasional hints of gray slicked back from a high forehead, dark eyes, a strong nose, and an easy, confident smile. Even on newsprint there was something charismatic about the man, and reading the article, there was no question he knew how to work the press. By contrast, “da Mayor” looked tired and angry, like he’d been at this game too long. Cape knew the newspaper trade well enough to know these photos were selected to create just such a contrast, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t that far from reality.

The hanging bell chimed as the door swung open, and people in line made way for another hungry soul to enter the crowded space. Linda Katz wasn’t immediately visible over the shoulders of the other patrons, but her hair was.

Dark brown and omni-directional, Linda’s hair added a good four inches to her height and considerably more to her attitude. People standing nearby eyed it warily, not sure if angry hornets would emerge or if the hair itself would strike without provocation.

Linda eschewed blow dryers, curlers, or anything involving electricity that might tame her unruly tresses. Convinced that electromagnetic radiation was a real and present danger to her and every other life form, Linda was very particular about where she went. Linda would only spend three hours a day indoors, unless she was at home, so they’d usually meet in a park or along the water, careful to stay at least fifty yards from any telephone poles or cell towers. Fortunately, Mama’s was sufficiently earthy for Linda to make an appearance.

Since she used the phone only when necessary, it usually took two or three tries to track her down, but Cape had been lucky and caught one of her co-workers who knew where she was. Despite her quirks, Linda was a damn good reporter, one of the best when it came to background checks and research, as far as Cape was concerned. He’d met her when he was still working as an investigative reporter, too brash to get along with the editor, but too talented to get fired. Linda had taken him under her wing and taught him some manners; he’d forgotten most of them, but he always remembered the gesture.

As she approached the table, he watched her eye the overhead lights suspiciously, then smile at him before sitting down, the lines around her hazel eyes running deeper than he’d remembered. He’d never asked her age, but Cape guessed she was ten years his senior.

“Are more people coming?” she asked, perusing the table. Arranged around the points of the compass were three stacks of pancakes and, directly in front of Linda, a bowl of granola.

“They’re short stacks,” Cape insisted. “That’s what it says on the menu.”

“They’re not that short.”

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” Cape added defensively.

“It’s two o’clock in the afternoon.”

“I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast,” said Cape, regretting it as soon as it was out. “Besides, I thought you’d like some pancakes with your granola.”

Linda’s hair lurched backward at the suggestion. “Sugar is a killer,” she said defiantly, pulling the bowl of granola closer.

Cape shrugged and transferred one stack of pancakes onto the other before ladling a generous amount of syrup onto the plate. “Here’s to a sweet demise.”

Linda sighed in dismay. “Is your client paying for this?”

Cape shook his head. “Don’t have a client.”

Linda put down her spoon as Cape told her about the ship and his conversation with Beau. Although the two women didn’t interact and couldn’t be more different, Linda and Sally were connected through Cape. While Cape might only feel good about himself when he was saving someone, both women were committed, in their own way, to keeping Cape from getting lost in the process. Linda had always considered Sally a kindred spirit, another woman looking after this errant knight that sat across the table, stuffing his face with pancakes. Neither relationship was romantic, and both were the stronger for it.

When Cape finished his story, the deep lines around Linda’s eyes looked like permanent scars. “You don’t think Sally was on the ship?”

Cape frowned before returning her anxious gaze. His eyes darkened, blue turning gray with doubt.

“I’m alive today because Sally has killed,” said Cape, knowing he could never lie to Linda. “Without hesitation.”

“But never without cause,” said Linda, unnerved at her own ability to rationalize so quickly.

Cape cut her off. “You don’t have to convince me,” he said. “I’d be a hypocrite to say I don’t approve, but I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit Sally has a different set of values from normal, law-abiding citizens. Hell, even from me, and I’m not very normal or very law abiding.”

“There’s nothing wrong with a woman defending herself,” said Linda half-heartedly. “Or others, for that matter.”

“I agree.” Cape held up his hands. “But let’s be honest-her school of self-defense believes in the pre-emptive strike. It’s more like a school of offense.”

Linda shook her head. “But if it was Sally, then she must have had a reason.”

“Absolutely.” Cape nodded. “She might be the most dangerous person I’ve ever met, but she’s not a sociopath. Like I told Beau, she’s one of the good guys. Sort of like Dirty Harry in a leotard.”

Linda frowned at the image. “But if she had a reason, wouldn’t she have told you?”

Cape had thought about that, too, and kept coming up with the same answer. “Not if it was personal.”

Linda didn’t say anything right away. They sat for a few minutes, alone in their own thoughts. Finally, Linda raised her eyes and caught Cape looking at her.

She said, “You’re going to find her.”