Dancing with the Dragon (2002) (17 page)

"That's our man," Jackie suddenly declared as Hartwell handed them the picture. "Sorry to interrupt."

"No problem."

"What do we know about him?" Scott asked before he and Jackie studied the photograph of the man.

"Zheng is a self-proclaimed aide to a former Chinese prime minister who now chairs the National People's Congress. Zheng reports directly to General Wang Zedong, the deputy chief of staff of intelligence for the People's Liberation Army. As China's chief military spymaster Wang oversees all of the espionage efforts in the
United States and around the world. He is very powerful and extremely ruthless."

Hartwell paused to reclaim the photograph of Zheng. "General Wang is the man who in the mid-nineties threatened to incinerate Los Angeles with nuclear weapons if the United States supported Taiwan. Through the People's Liberation Army, Wang again threatened L. A. with a nuclear strike in February of 2000."

"If I recall correctly," Scott said, "wasn't General Wang the puppet master at Tiananmen Square?"

"He certainly was. As a matter of fact, he personally directed the crackdown on the demonstrators--killing hundreds of supporters and injuring more than ten thousand students and workers."

Jackie remembered the horrible scenes. "Politically, Tiananmen ranks right up there with Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima and the World Trade Center."

"No kidding." Scott thought about a photograph that had been widely circulated inside the walls of the CIA. "Didn't the former SecDef host and toast him at the Pentagon in early 2000?"

"Yes, I'm afraid that's true."

Sensing the embarrassment Hartwell felt, no one commented.

"Zheng and his associates have ties to the 'Four Seas' Triad gang, and he has been implicated in espionage at Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, Sandia, Lawrence Livermore, and two or three other national U. S. laboratories."

He reached for a copy of a recent article in Xinhua News Service. "Zheng is mentioned twice in this piece about how China's national defense technology and weaponry have closed with the United States in a very short period of time." He handed the article to Jackie.

"Zheng and other operatives in his gang have been given credit for purloining sensitive data on a variety of state-of-the-art weapons systems and atomic secrets related to our modern nuclear weapons."

Hartwell waited for her to share it with Scott before he went on. "They don't even try to camouflage their stealing and bribery. In fact, Zheng is applauded for his highly successful record of recruiting foreign engineers and scientists to assist the People's Liberation Army."

"Anything else on Zheng?" Jackie asked.

"Just the usual narcotics trafficking, prostitution, gun smuggling, extortion, money laundering, and contract murders."

"An all-around prince of a guy," Scott said.

"Oh, yes, a real peach."

Jackie handed the copy of the news article to Prost. "How did they--the FBI--find out about the secret laboratory and the scientists and engineers?"

"From an informant."

"One of the traitors?"

"Let me explain. They were initially contacted by Dr. Filo Neubauer, a prominent physicist who was a close friend of Dr. Lavon Douville and his wife."

"Didn't Douville die in an accident?" Scott asked.

"Yes. Dr. Douville, also a highly regarded physicist, had a deadly accident at his home in New Orleans. It seems as if someone used a hacksaw with a fine-tooth blade to cut most of the way through a balcony railing that Dr. Douville regularly leaned against."

"Any suspects?"
.

"One obvious one. The Douvilles' Chinese gardener of five months, a Mr. Chu-ko 'Benny' Kuang, who hasn't been seen since Dr. Douville's unfortunate plunge into his fountain."

"Were they, Neubauer and Douville, involved in the lab?" Scott asked.

"Douville was a key player, but Neubauer had turned down three offers from Zheng in the past two years."

"Smart decision."

"Neubauer suspected the lab was located somewhere in the vicinity of the TRW test site. He also knew some of the members on the research team, but he was out of the loop until Douville's wife contacted him."

Jackie started to ask a question.

"Let's finish first," Prost suggested. "Then I'll take questions and explain our options, if you agree with my thinking."

"Fair enough," she said evenly.

"Mrs. Douville, who was celebrating their anniversary and her husband's retirement the night he died, became suspicious when a homicide detective discovered that the balcony railing had been sabotaged in two places. When the detectives questioned her, Mrs. Douville told them everything she knew, including what little she knew about her husband's secretive work."

Prost paused. "She also told them about Dr. Douville's new three-million-dollar motor yacht. Douville's previous craft was a well-worn forty-two foot houseboat."

"Yeah, keep it low key," Scott said.

"Neubauer, who feared for his life after Mrs. Douville located him, immediately contacted the FBI, and the investigation has been interesting, to say the least."

"I'll bet," Jackie said.

"Dr. Dixon Owens, one of the eight recruits, was found dead in Mount Rainier National Park. A casual observer might have concluded that Owens crushed his skull when he fell off his mountain bike while negotiating a steep trail."

Jackie caught Hartwell's eye. "Was he wearing a helmet?"

"No. Also, he was overweight and out of shape, not exactly the type to be riding a mountain bike."

Prost poked a finger at one of his notes. "The local coroner explained that it would have been impossible for Owens to ride a bike after the onset of rigor mortis."

"That makes sense," Scott said.

Hartwell glanced out the window as a Bombardier Challenger 604 corporate jet taxied past the air force transport. "Not long after Dr. Owens's demise, Dr. Clyde Aycock, another member of the secret dream team, accepted a complimentary dinner at one of San Francisco's finest Chinese restaurants. Afterward he got into his car and promptly had a massive heart attack."

Prost's eyes narrowed. "As in the Owens case, the coroner found a problem with the cause of death."

"The heart attack was induced," Jackie surmised.

"That's right. The needle mark behind Aycock's ear and the lab reports were a dead giveaway."

Prost cupped his chin in his hand. "In addition, three other members of the dream team have recently died under suspicious circumstances."

Hartwell sighed. "While vacationing in Hawaii, Dr. Hugh Fitzpatrick fell from his sixth-floor lanai and did a belly flop on Waikiki Beach, inches from a sunning honeymoon couple."

"Any sign of foul play?" Jackie asked.

"Perhaps, if you consider the fact that he had 'consumed' a fifth of bourbon by early afternoon. After getting him falling-down drunk, someone tossed him off the lanai."

Prost looked at the police report. "His wife had lunch with him about thirty minutes before he died and he was completely sober. After they finished lunch, she went shopping and he went to their room to write some postcards and take a nap."

Prost fell silent. "I almost forgot. Fitzpatrick never drank bourbon, couldn't stand the stuff."

"Any signs of a struggle?" Scott asked.

"None. Another unfortunate traveler, Dr. Victoria Mills-Morrison, apparently fell from her veranda suite on a steamboat cruise somewhere north of Vicksburg."

Jackie's glance fell on her neatly written notes. "I assume that's where her body washed ashore?"

"That would be correct."

Prost turned another page. "A CIA operative in Russia noted the death of another team member, Dr. Vasiliy Kalenkov, in the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta. According to the paper, Kalenkov was the victim of a hit-and-run accident."

Hartwell placed his lengthy notes on the foldout table. "Suffice it to say, we have a pattern of premature deaths associated with the secret Chinese lab--which appears to be connected to the mysterious crashes. And there are other strange deaths tied to having possible knowledge of the cause of the accidents."

"Don't forget Cliff Earlywine and the attacks on us," Jackie said, and looked at Prost. "All of this in a matter of weeks."

Hartwell gave her a slight nod. "Besides the deaths and attacks, we're still missing two of the team members: Dr. Guy Nash and Dr. Richard Cheung, a Chinese-American who is the big kahuna in the conspiracy."

Dalton leaned back and closed his eyes. "Now that the Chinese scientists have pumped the team for every scintilla of weapons technology they possess, it's time to close shop, pay off the brain trust, then eliminate them."

"You're close."

"Why would the Chicoms pay?" Scott asked. "Once they have the gouge, why wouldn't they call an off-site meeting, kill the entire team, and dispose of them?"

Jackie had a quick answer. "If the word got out, it would put a damper on further recruiting. The money was to entice more engineers and scientists, but the recent incidents drew too much attention. Someone decided to eliminate the laser team and anyone who was getting too close to the truth about the secret project."

"That's possible," Hartwell said. "According to the FBI, about fifteen or sixteen months ago the Chinese scientists and engineers had the pertinent knowledge and a full-scale operational weapon. They moved part of the laser project to a research, development, and production complex in the heart of China."

Hartwell grabbed Jim Ebersole's meticulously handwritten summary of the secret operation. "Approximately two months ago, the remaining Chinese engineers began the process of closing the lab in California and moving the last of the Chinese team members to their homeland."

"Do you suppose Cheung and Nash went with them?" Scott asked.

"We don't know anything about Nash. The FBI is convinced the Chinese forced Richard Cheung to go to the laser-weapons fabrication complex."

"Do you know where it's located?"

"Mianyang," Prost confided with a hint of satisfaction. "The CIA is convinced that the laser complex is an integral part of the Mianyang facility--they have firsthand knowledge from a reliable informant."

A small frown entered Scott's expression. "How can they be sure Dr. Cheung is there?"

"They can't--the informant has disappeared."

Prost reached for a glass of water. "However, Cheung's wife contacted the FBI. She told them her husband mailed some coordinates to her before he disappeared, no written word, just the latitude and longitude. That's Mianyang, so we have to assume he's there--perhaps under house arrest."

"Nice play," Scott said.

"The CIA believes China may have as many as eighteen to twenty laser weapons deployed on cargo ships. I think Cheung is being held in Mianyang to work out any bugs in the system while the weapons are being evaluated."

"Isn't Mianyang near Chengdu, in western China?" Scott asked.

"Yes. It's about seventy-five to eighty miles north-northeast of Chengdu. The buildings in the production facilities are strung along narrow valleys and blend in with the local terrain features and agricultural patterns. They did a great job of camouflaging the place."

"What about a covert operation to rescue Cheung and interrogate him?" Jackie quietly asked.

"That's being discussed, and that's all I can say at this time."

Prost anxiously checked his watch. "Earlier, I mentioned options. The president has made it very clear that he considers these suspicious crashes to be a threat to national security. He wants answers and he isn't a patient man, as you well know."

Hartwell lowered his eyes and took a few seconds to form his words. "We're going to pursue the drone operation first. If we aren't successful in uncovering the truth about this phenomenon--whatever it is--then I have another suggestion. Actually, it's the president's idea."

"Would you care to share it with us?" Jackie asked.

Prost looked at Sullivan without meeting her eyes. "I really don't want to get into it until we've completed the drone operation." She suppressed a response.

"What's the status on the op?" Dalton prompted.

"Three of the Phantoms are on San Nicolas Island, and the carrier is operating off the southern California coast."

"Are they flying at night?"

"Not yet--only the Hawkeye will be launched at night until we see what happens with the drone."

"What about the Harriers and recon assets?" Jackie asked.

"The Harriers have arrived at Miramar. Our intel spacecraft and recon planes are ready, and we're sitting on go for tomorrow night."

Hartwell had an afterthought. "We're also tracking a number of Chinese ships due to arrive or depart Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland."

Jackie looked through her collection of notes. "Are any of them the ones you mentioned before?"

"No, but we're closely watching two cargo ships that have had some strange itineraries, including one Russian ship, the Kapitan Zhirnovsky, which is crewed entirely by Chinese sailors. The other ship in question is the Chen Ziyang."