‘Pity we can’t just arrest him, sir.’
Axton cast a withering glance at the young man. ‘Under the new Hong Kong rules, we’re the ones who should worry about being arrested. Our job here is just to watch and see if we can figure out how Wu is getting the goods on his competitors. Somebody outside Hong Kong is selling restricted technology to Wu, and that’s the bloke we’re after.’ Axton smoothed back his thinning gray hair. ‘A security leak at Moy-the Yanks aren’t going to like that one bit. I’ll bet you a bottle of single malt that Sir Daniel Long will be on the hot line to the CIA once our report reaches London.’
The photographer leaned up from his camera. ‘Well, sir, it looks like the show’s over for today.’
Axton observed the scene through a pair of field glasses, watching Kang exchange pleasantries with his smiling host. In his mind, another scene came into view, that of a young woman murdered on a dock not far from here. Lin Mei, her brother, and all the rest had been murdered by the man he was watching. It had taken him over six months to put a name and a face to the person responsible for the deaths of his agents and an innocent girl. Axton just wished this view was through the scope of a sniper’s rifle.
‘So, you finally crawled out from under your rock, you bastard,’ he whispered to himself. ‘I know who you are, Kang Fa, and I haven’t forgotten what you did to Lin Mei.’
22
February 18
Wu Zhusheng waited in the London hotel room, just as Kang had ordered. A week had passed since he had made his proposal to Kang, and the response from Beijing was not what he’d expected. Instead of a lucrative contract, Kang had demanded to know how the Moy computer designs had been acquired.
The interrogation had lasted for over two hours, with Kang questioning him repeatedly on the details of his arrangement with the British business consultant Ian Parnell. Once satisfied that he’d wrung out every scrap of information from him, Kang demanded an introduction to Parnell.
At 9:10, Wu answered the knock at his door. It was Kang Fa. Without a word, Kang ushered him down to the hotel lobby and into a waiting car.
Axton’s report from Hong Kong arrived just ahead of Wu’s flight, giving the watchers barely enough time to set up their surveillance, not that their first ten hours of watching Wu had produced much. According to the report, Wu’s departure from Hong Kong had been sudden and followed a meeting with the Chinese agent Kang Fa. Kang’s appearance in the lobby of the Inter-Continental caught the hotel team completely off guard. This was the only glimpse of Kang that the watchers in London would get today. By 9:20, Kang’s car had disappeared into the crowded streets of London, driven by someone who knew how to evade observation.
Kang’s car pulled up to the contemporary mixed-use high-rise nestled among the old wharf buildings and tower cranes of London’s Canary Wharf. Kang and Wu entered and took an elevator to the
twelfth floor, where they reached the office bearing the brass nameplate PARNELL ASSOCIATES.
The receptionist greeted Wu and his guest and notified Parnell of their arrival. Both men took a seat in the tastefully decorated reception area, patiently awaiting their audience with the high-priced consultant. After a few minutes, she escorted them into his office.
‘Zhusheng, it is good to see you again. I trust that there are no problems with our recent efforts on your behalf?’
Parnell stood as Kang and Wu entered, towering nearly a foot over his visitors. Wu had declined to tell him the purpose of this visit, other than that he wished to make an introduction for an associate in need of Parnell’s special consulting services. Wu was a valued client and Parnell was always willing to assist him.
‘None,’ Wu replied with a crisp bow. ‘Your work was outstanding, and our reverse-engineering efforts are proceeding satisfactorily.’
‘I’m pleased to hear that,’ Parnell replied.
‘It is in light of your work on that project that I would like to introduce my associate, Ba Xan.’ Parnell shook hands with Kang, who had created a new identity for this meeting. ‘He will be assisting me financially with the development of our products.’
After everyone had taken a seat around the black granite conference table, Parnell again turned his attention to Wu. ‘To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?’
‘Ba Xan is a longtime associate of mine with varied interests throughout Asia. He has a project with very specific requirements that I believe you can assist him with.’
Parnell basked in the glow ofWu’s compliment before turning to Kang. ‘I am certain that Zhusheng has represented us fairly before bringing you here to London.’
‘He has indeed. Wu speaks very highly of you and the services you have provided for his corporation.’ Kang shifted from pleasantries to business. ‘Recently, you acquired very detailed technical information from Moy Electronics, information that could only have come from a source within that firm. I also have a need for information that can only be acquired from within Moy Electronics. You are the only person, whom I am aware of, with access to such information.’
Parnell thought briefly about Moy Electronics and Michael Cole. ‘What do you require?’
‘Moy Electronics has developed an advanced encryption technology that increases the security of data moving among computers. My firm is involved with projects across the Pacific Rim and we must ensure that our data traffic remains secure.’
‘Why don’t you just buy this technology from Moy?’
‘It is not that simple. The technology is restricted by the United States government and may not be sold outside that country. My firm does not qualify as a legal purchaser of that technology. Therefore, we must acquire it through alternate means.’
If Ba turned out to be as high-paying a client as Wu, Parnell would be happy to do business with him. ‘It’s possible that we may be able to assist you in this matter. How long will you be staying in London?’
‘Only a few days.’
‘That should be long enough for us to make a determination. Zhusheng has informed you that our fees are nonnegotiable and final for services of this nature?’
‘Yes, and I am certain that your fees reflect the full value of your services. So that you understand how serious my request is, I am prepared to offer you one million pounds for discreet acquisition of the cipher system’s hardware design and programming.’ Kang pulled a business card bearing his alias from his wallet and wrote the name of his hotel on the back. ‘This is where I am staying while in London. Contact me when your proposal is ready, and I will draft a check for your retainer.’
Parnell’s eyes glittered, and then narrowed at the mention of such a fee. He reached over and accepted the card. ‘I look forward to doing business with you.’ Following the meeting, Parnell lay down on his leather couch, kicked his shoes off onto the floor, and phoned Roe in New York with the news. What he didn’t expect was her lukewarm response to Ba Xan’s request.
‘Alex, I don’t understand you at all. Ba simply wants a data encryption system that’s not for sale at his local shop. What’s the problem?’
‘Think about it. This guy wants encryption technology-that is, ciphering technology. We already know what kind of ciphering Moy has, and whom they made it for. This isn’t business software; this is the kind of thing my previous employer might have sent me after.’
Roe’s reference to the KGB wasn’t lost on Parnell. ‘So you think we should turn Ba down?’
‘That’s your call, but I don’t have a good feeling about this. You don’t know a thing about Ba, and I’ll bet money that some intelligence service is pulling his strings. I think you should pass. Even if Ba is legitimate, he wants forbidden fruit from the U.S. government.’ Over the phone, Roe couldn’t tell if she was making any headway with Parnell. ‘If it helps you decide, we don’t have a secure way into Moy right now, and it’s much too soon for me to do a follow-up interview.’
Parnell was silent. Roe knew he was weighing a million-pound fee against his cardinal rule of avoiding
