The Money Is Green (31 page)

Janine wiped a tear out of her eye. “It was nothing, Crystal. I was just so worried about you. I’m so glad you’re back with us.”

The nurse picked up a chart at the end of the bed and started writing some notes. “There are some other friends of yours who have been by to check on you almost daily. They were very concerned about your condition.”

Crystal turned her head to the side. “Really? Who was it?”

The nurse shook her head. “They didn’t leave their names, but they were definitely older than you. Somewhere in their mid-twenties I’d guess.” She partially shut the curtain covering the window. “I think we should let the young lady get some rest before the doctor gets here.
Why don’t you go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat and let her rest for a little while?”

Janine stood up and patted Crystal’s leg. “Of course, get some rest. I’ll try to get ahold of your dad and tell him the good news. See you in a little while.”

Watching her leave, Crystal felt a tear coming to her eye. Where is my mother? she thought. She’s had a couple of days to get here, yet she’s nowhere to be found. She’s always bragging about how much money her boyfriend makes. Why can’t she spend a few dollars to visit me? Was Dad telling the truth that the reason I couldn’t go stay with her was because of her boyfriend? What else has she told me that isn’t true?

She looked up and noticed two shady-looking young men peer into her room, take a glimpse of her, and then dart out. Who are those creeps? What are they looking in my room for? She fiddled with one of the IVs in her arm for a second. I wonder who’s been by to see me. The nurse’s description of them doesn’t sound like anybody I know.

As she lay there, her eyelids grew heavy and she slowly drifted off to sleep.

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he counter at Malaysia Airlines was crowded as people jostled for position to determine what the statuses of their individual flights were. The electronic message board was reporting that the next flight had been delayed by an hour, and people were trying to figure out what the problem was from the harried workers behind the counter.

Jason leaned against a pillar near the waiting area and watched the commotion. Every twenty yards or so, Chinese soldiers with starched uniforms, shining pith helmets, and AR-15s strapped to their shoulders stood at rigid attention, their only movement being their eyes as they flicked left and right. Holding a Chinese newspaper at eye level, Jason would look over periodically, scanning the area to see if any of the soldiers were watching him or if anyone was approaching him. A voice behind him made him jump.

“Excuse me, do you happen to know who won the Cowboys’ game?” the person asked nonchalantly.

Putting the paper down, Jason stared at a small man—about five-two with balding hair, wearing a pair of sweatpants and a tee-shirt—standing behind him. He answered, “I’m sorry, I don’t know, but I heard they were leading going into the fourth quarter.”

The man nodded and said in a low voice, “I’m Bret.” He indicated with his head for Jason to follow him. He walked briskly past two gates and then came to a side door next to the men’s restroom. Pulling out a keyring, he opened the door and stepped out as Jason followed. He led them down a long flight of stairs, and just before they hit the bottom, Jason heard the door behind them open and footsteps rushing down the stairs.

“Step it up,” Bret said over his shoulder as he quickened his pace. “We need to get out of this terminal quickly.” He flew down the rest of the stairs and came to another door. While he was fumbling with the keyring, Jason caught up with him and bent over, trying to catch his breath. He looked back at the stairway. Whoever was coming down the stairs was getting closer.

Bret found the right key and opened the door, which led to a tarmac, and tore off running. Shielding his eyes from the bright sunlight, Jason sprinted after him as they headed toward the awaiting jet. Bret bounded up the stairway and waited at the top for Jason to join him. Jason sprinted up, taking two steps at a time, and ducked into the jet as the pilot started to rev the engines. Behind them, a man emerged out of the airport door they had come from and sprinted toward the plane, waving a handgun. He was Chinese, young, dressed in a dark suit and dark glasses. Two military vehicles roared around the corner of the terminal building, their wheels squealing and smoke coming from the tires. Each jeep carried two soldiers. The soldiers aimed AR-15s at the plane. By the time the man in the suit reached the bottom of the jet’s stairs, the jeeps had come up screeching to a halt.

Jason felt a tugging on his collar and was pulled into the jet’s interior. Bret stepped around him then moved halfway down the stairway and started speaking rapidly in Chinese, gesturing wildly with his hands.

The man with the handgun waved it alternately at the plane then back at the man on the stairs. They each stood their ground, screaming
at each other while the soldiers in the jeeps kept their AR-15s aimed at the jet.

Finally, another jeep pulled up with a man in a military uniform decorated with numerous medals on his chest. The soldiers in the jeeps immediately came to attention and saluted, as did the man in the suit at the bottom of the jet’s stairs.

Leaning over a seat from the inside of the jet, Jason watched it all, his jaw open in amazement. What the hell’s going on here? Are they going to let me get out of this country? His thoughts turned to his daughter. Hang in there, Crystal. I’ll be home soon. I promise if I get out of this okay I won’t leave you alone for so long. Things will change. I’ll make sure of it.

The military man with the medals spoke briefly with Bret then turned and said something to the others, waving his arms wildly. The two jeeps backed up and turned around. The man with the gun jumped onto the back of one of the jeeps and they sped off.

Bret raced up the stairs, brushed past Jason, and stuck his head into the cockpit. “Get this bird in the air immediately!” he barked at the pilots. “We’ve got a real short window to get out of here!” He turned back and sat down in the seat outside the cockpit. He indicated to Jason to sit down. “Buckle up there, brother. This might be a wild ride.”

As Jason fumbled with his seatbelt, he asked Bret, “What was all that about? I thought I was just going to take a civilian airline back to the States. I didn’t realize I was causing an international incident.”

Bret wiped his forehead with the back of his sleeve. He checked out of the plane’s window, breathing heavily. He turned from the window and looked at Jason. “It seems you’ve created quite a stir. Your boss, Madam Chen, wants to keep you here in China. It’s something to do with Brian Thompson’s disappearance. I had to play the diplomatic immunity card out there. Fortunately for you, Agent Namath alerted us at the American Embassy and enlisted our help to get you out. You must be working on something big.”

“If I am, it’s news to me, Jason answered. I’m just trying to get back to the United States to my daughter. I know I’ve tripped over something the feds are interested in, but I’m not sure how it involves me.” He felt a slight surge as the jet started moving.

“What about this Brian Thompson fellow?” Bret asked. “It seems I may have heard the name before.”

“If you follow the solar energy or green energy movement, that’s where you may have heard about him. He’s a good friend of mine, and I helped him get out of the hospital in Hong Kong where they were keeping him. He told me he thinks Madan Chen was having him poisoned.”

The jet’s engines started to roar and Jason felt himself being pushed back in his seat by the thrust. The jet rumbled down the runway and lifted off, its nose pointed to the sky.

“I think you’re going to join up with your friend Brian when we get to Japan and fly home with him back to the States. From what I heard, he’s still in bad shape. So, what do you think?” Bret asked. “Is Madam Chen capable of murder?”

Looking out the window, Jason paused to ponder the question. Is she, he thought? She is ruthless and ambitious, and I’m beginning to believe she’ll commit murder. He thought back on the events of the last few months. Andrew Dillon gets murdered, and since he owns Earth-Sun and is our only competitor for Copper Mountain, we get the job. Then when Brian Thompson expresses concern over Soltech’s ability to perform, he gets sick and Mei Chen steps in. Now she’s trying to keep me in China by force. Coincidence or nefarious? He looked back at Bret. “I don’t know the answer to that, but I don’t believe there is anything Mei Chen wouldn’t do to get her way. Even murder!”

Bret unbuckled his seatbelt and sat up on the edge of his seat. “Well, we’re not out of the woods yet. We’re headed to Japan to refuel before we cross the ocean. The Chinese still have a lot of influence in Japan and they could make our lives difficult when we
arrive.” He stood. “We have a few hours to kill. Would you like a drink to ease the tension? I sure would.”

“Yeah, a scotch sounds good right about now.” He turned and stared out the window, looking down at the land slowly disappearing below him.

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he heavy jail door was pushed opened by a young soldier, and he stepped back to let the odor coming from the cell dissipate. The colonel standing next to him tapped another soldier on the shoulder. “Get Mr. Wilson on his feet. I want to see if he’s finally changed his mind and is willing to sign the documents.”

The young soldier bowed and entered the jail cell. His eyes adjusted to the light and he saw the form of a man lying curled up on the floor in the corner of the cell. Moving toward it, he kicked the man in the left side. Nothing happened so he kicked him again harder. The man didn’t move. Bending down, the soldier fumbled around for the man’s arm, squeezed his wrist for a second, and then tossed it away.

Jumping up, he bolted out of the cell, came to attention, and saluted. “Colonel, sir, I believe the prisoner has expired. I can’t get a pulse and he feels stiff.”

The colonel’s face turned ashen and he hurried into the cell. He rolled the body over and placed two fingers on the man’s jugular vein. He came back out of the cell, sweat pouring off his forehead. “How did this happen!?” he screamed, his face inches from the first soldier. “You were in charge of interrogating him, not killing him! You will be severely punished for this!” He screamed at another soldier
standing at attention outside the cell. “Both of you, get him cleaned up and out of this cell!”

The two soldiers dropped their weapons and sprinted into the cell. Two minutes later they half-carried and half-dragged David Wilson’s emaciated and bruised body out of the cell. The colonel paced back and forth in front of the cell, took his cigarette out of his mouth, and threw it on the floor. The soldiers stopped outside the cell and looked dazedly at him. “Where do you want us to take him?” one of them asked the colonel. “Should we take him to the prisoner’s morgue?”

Stopping to light another cigarette, the colonel waved his arms excitedly. “Wait. Wait, let me think.” He drew in a deep lungful of cigarette smoke and exhaled a thick, blue cloud. “No, don’t take him there. Take him to the backroom of the infirmary, where the ambulances come to drop off patients. The members of the Party are going to want to keep this quiet.” He turned and glared at the two soldiers. “No one is to be told about this. No one! If word gets out, you two will be shipped to the Mongolian front and will never be heard of again. Do you understand?”

Wide-eyed, both soldiers nodded. They bent down and grabbed David by his armpits and slowly carried him down the hallway. The colonel watched them for a moment then pulled out a cellphone from his pocket. He dialed a number and lit another cigarette while he waited for the other party to answer.

A male voice came on the phone. “Hello?”

The colonel cleared his throat before speaking. “Comrade Tan Wen, it’s Colonel Zhang speaking.”

“Ah, Colonel, good to hear from you. You are calling me with good news regarding our friend, Mr. Wilson? He has agreed to our terms for the hotel properties?”

The colonel lit another cigarette, his hands shaking as he held it. “Unfortunately, that is not what happened. Before we could get Mr. Wilson to agree to our terms and sign the necessary the papers, he passed away in his cell.”

There was a long pause on the phone. The colonel took the cap off his head and wiped the sweat from his face. “You’re telling me Mr. Wilson is dead?” Tan screamed into the phone. “You killed him?”

The colonel put his hand over his eyes and shifted uncomfortably. “Well, not exactly, Comrade. We didn’t kill him purposely, but were trying to convince him to change his mind. We might have, uh, used some rough tactics to accomplish this, but we never left him in bad shape. I was with him yesterday and he was in great spirits.” The colonel swallowed hard after he made that statement. When I saw him yesterday, he barely moved. I shouldn’t have ordered that beating to be given to him, but how was I to know he was such a weakling? Chinese prisoners are beaten more severely every day and survive. It never occurred to me he might die.

“Well, Colonel, it seems you have created a very tenuous situation,” Tan said in a stern voice. “Your instructions were to keep Mr. Wilson alive. He was a very visible member of Hong Kong society. Many people knew of his disappearance and many have suspected he might have been imprisoned, but for him to turn up dead at the hands of the Chinese government…this could turn into an ugly international event.”

The inflection is Tan’s voice told the colonel things were not going well with this conversation, and he knew what that meant for his future and it was not going to be good. Trying to keep his voice calm, he said, “I knew that would be the case, sir, so I instructed my soldiers to have the body taken to the infirmary. It can easily be moved from there to someplace where we can buy some time to come up with the appropriate story to explain the man’s sudden demise. I didn’t want anyone to know he was here in the prison the whole time.”

Tan spoke firmly, without any emotion. “That was good thinking, Colonel. We’re going to need to find a place to hide him and then come up with a believable explanation for finding him dead, wherever
we leave him. I’ll have to report this to Madam Chen. She will not be pleased.”