HONG KONG – Stokes showed the team how to attach the implants to their
molars and demonstrated their operation. ?A simple bite at the back
of the mouth, like you?re eating a cracker, turns it on,? he said.
?Another bite turns it off.?
Silk sat back in one of the luxurious chairs in Yvonne?s suite,
looked out towards Victoria Harbour view and grinned. ?And what
happens at dinner? On, off, on, off, every time you take a bite??
?Doesn?t work that way. As long as your molars don?t make
contact it won?t change the setting.?
When the group was satisfied the hardware worked, they split up.
Buck and his team, except for Woody, dressed in Cathay Computer
Works uniforms, took the van and headed for the airport to do recon
for the night?s mission. They took Colin and Stokes with them,
although Stokes wouldn?t be allowed out of the van. Woody stayed
with Yvonne. They hadn?t been able to get a uniform in size
XXXXL, and didn?t want to attract undue attention by trying to have
one custom-made at any of the tailors in town. He?d have to work in
the background when the team went on its mission.
It was just as well. Yvonne could use him to run interference. She
needed to get to Asiaworld-Expo, the convention center a few
minutes from the airport. Cathay had a shop there where visitors
could purchase smart phones and laptops, and the demo models tied
into CCW?s network. If she could get close enough, she?d be able to
access the company?s database and finally ping the IP address that
had launched the cyber attack on Silicon Valley. But getting that close
was a problem. She couldn?t just stand in public and run a program
to infiltrate the CCW server.
She transferred a worm she?d written to access the server from
her laptop to her smart phone. It was a new model they?d surely have
in stock. If she could switch her phone with one of the displays, it
might look like she was just playing with the functions while deciding
whether to buy, instead of hacking Chinese intelligence.
A salesman met them before Woody was even finished walking
through the doorway. He was a skinny kid, maybe as big around as
one of Woody?s legs, but what he lacked in size he made up for in
aggressiveness. ?I know what you need,? he said in English. ?Great
deal on iPad today. Beat any other store in Expo. You buy today, take
back to America tomorrow.?
At least Yvonne?s disguise was working. The salesman assumed
they were a tourist couple on the prowl for cheap electronics. She
played along. ?What do you think, dear,? she said in her best
midwestern accent. ?The kids already have iPads, but maybe we
should get one for the dog.?
?Oh, I don?t know, honey,?Woody said. ?He might have trouble
using his paws on the screen.?
?Hmmm,? she said. ?I guess it?s not bowser friendly.?
Woody groaned at the bad pun.
Although the salesman didn?t speak English very well, Yvonne
could see he knew he was being put on. But he didn?t leave them.
Must be working on commission, this one. She pointed towards the
center of the store, where the smart phones were on display. ?But I
will take a look at one of those,? she said.
?Excellent choice,? the salesman said. ?We have latest of
everything in stock.?
She walked slowly, looking at several of the models, making sure
the salesman didn?t get suspicious. She picked one up and examined
it as though it were incomprehensible to her. ?I don?t even know how
to turn it on,? she said.
The salesman rushed in to help, but she put it back and grabbed
a pink device from the rack. ?Well, this one?s a pretty color. What
does it do??
?Many functions for hardworking American family woman.
Hundreds of apps.?
?Sounds too complicated for me.?
?Then we have this simple model here. Entry level so not
confusing.?
?But I don?t like the color,? Yvonne said. ?Don?t you have
something pretty and simple too??
She had the poor kid on the run. Time for Woody to go into
action. All he needed to do was turn sideways, and he knocked a
stand full of accessories to the ground, and ear buds and belts and
cases in plastic, theft proof packages scattered over the shop?s carpet.
?Oh, I?m sorry, sir,? Woody said. ?Seems like I?m always doing this
when I go shopping. That?s why my wife hardly ever takes me.?
The salesman began scooping merchandise from the floor.
Woody leaned in, ostensibly to help, and knocked his shoulder,
sending him sprawling. This was Yvonne?s cue.
She went straight to a display of Blackberry phones. Woody
helped the salesman to his feet, but made sure he was facing away
from Yvonne. She found the model she owned, unlocked it from its
tether with a key Silk had given her, and replaced it with the one she?d
programmed earlier, pocketing the store model. Woody continued to
?help? the salesman, brushing his clothes off, fixing his collar and
piling loose accessories into his arms, making sure he stayed occupied.
Yvonne had to smile while her new ?husband? gave her the time she
needed.
She connected through the store?s private router to Cathay?s inhouse
network and let the worm dig into the company?s database
files. Once linked, she contacted the Network Systems server back in
Key West and had it power cycle to phone home. While the chip on
the motherboard sent out its signal, she monitored the packet capsule
logs to determine where the chip?s commands originated.
This time a ping traced past the Hong Kong data center and back
out of China. To Japan and then to South Korea. From there it
jumped to Bombay. Next, over the border with Pakistan into Lahore.
She watched as the signal made its way around the hemisphere. It
knew no politics, respected no governments. It was a tool of man,
yet more free in this respect than any human being.
Finally the signal terminated in Puli Khumri, on the back side of
the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan. Maybe a hundred miles from Kabul.
Woody watched over her shoulder as the signal resolved on the
tiny map. He whispered, ?Fuck. Al Qaeda country.?
?You know it??
?I did a year there with the SEALS.?
?I thought you guys only worked in water,? she said.
?Think of it as a sea of sand,? he said. ?You can still drown in it.?
The salesman was finally regaining his bearings. He still smelled
sale. ?Ah yes,? he said. ?You have found best of smart phones. Special
price today.?
?No need to talk it up,? Yvonne said. ?I?ll take this one.?
The salesman acted as though it had been his easiest sale of the
day. ?Wonderful. Excellent. I get sales slip. Need your information.?
?Oh, no, no, sir. I?ll pay cash.? Yvonne pulled a roll from her
purse and peeled enough hundreds from it to cover the cost of the
phone, a warranty plan and a hefty commission for the young man.
?No need to write this one up,? she said. ?And we?ll keep this our
little secret?right??
?Highly irregular?? The salesman started to protest, but when
he counted the bills she handed to him, he quickly changed his mind.
They turned to leave while he tried to interest them in more
electronics.
?Expensive little phone you got there,? Woody said as they
walked through the mall. ?Especially considering you already owned
it when you went in.?
?The price of doing business. Besides, I?ll just add the expense to
the bill I give Stokes.? She pulled the new phone from her pocket
and gave it to Woody. ?A little gift for being such a good actor back
there,? she said.
They stopped at a coffee shop and sat at one of the tables lined
up outside. ?So now we know where the attack originated,? Woody
said. ?What do we do now??
?A good question. Depends on what we find in the warehouse
tonight.? She was about to go on, but felt something?an electronic
pulse?at the back of her jaw. The molar implant. It was connecting
to her surgically augmented hearing?the cochlear implant?and
producing a signal like she?d never experienced before?part sound,
part feel, almost like a dentist?s drill originating from her jaw. She
jerked her head back and looked around.
?Something wrong?? Woody asked.
?I don?t know. I have this weird sensation.?
?Lots of women get that around me.?
?No joking,Woody.? She felt the outside of her jaw. ?I think we?re
being monitored somehow.?
Woody didn?t move, but she could see his eyes darting about the
mall. ?Can you localize it?? he asked.
?I wish I could. But it?s like it?s coming from inside my head. The
only person who?s been able to do that is Stokes.?
This didn?t seem like one of his tricks. He would have
communicated to her by now. Besides, he was with Buck and the
others at the airport. They?d be too busy avoiding security. This had
to be someone else. But even that didn?t make sense. She must have
left her molar implant on by mistake?accidentally tapped her teeth
together. Damn the technology. Even so, Stokes had assured them
the implants included a jamming component to preclude being
tracked. She resolved to remove the implant as soon as she got back
to the hotel. The sensation stopped as abruptly as it started.
?Let?s get out of here,? she said.
As soon as the elevator let them off, Yvonne noticed the door to
her suite was open slightly. There was no cart in the hallway, so this
was no housekeeping call. Woody ran ahead of her and positioned
himself to throw the door wide on her signal.
But from inside, a familiar voice. ?No need to be violent. Do
come in.?
The big man eased the door open. Shi Tao was lounging on the
sofa, his feet up as though relaxing after a hard day. He was engrossed
in Yvonne?s laptop, and was busy poking around the keyboard,
although he seemed frustrated, obviously confused by her login
protocol. Two of his agents rummaged through drawers and luggage
behind him. Shi had helped himself to the bar and had a martini on
the table next to him. Very dry, Yvonne recalled. Woody tensed, ready
to rumble.
?You Americans are always so ready to become physical,? Shi
said. ?A country of super comic book heroes, or at least you imagine
yourselves to be. I see you?ve grown to be just like them, Yvonne. And
what is this disguise? Trying to hide your secret identity? Shame on
you.?
?Woody, this is Shi Tao,? Yvonne said. ?Chief of Blue Army in
the People?s Liberation Army.? She took off her sunglasses and hat,
and shook her hair free.
?Much better, Yvonne,? Shi said. ?This is the beauty I remember.
And so much more beautiful in person than the cheap Cyber Styletto
avatar you use.?
?Liberation Army?? Woody asked. ?Talk about oxymorons??
Shi ignored him. ?Do not forget, I am also master at Shandong
Jinan Lanxiang Vestibule School.?
?I?ve heard of that one,? Woody said. ?A school for training
computer spies.?
Yvonne folded her arms. ?Not like other schools. Instead of
Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, students major in Denial of
Service, Trojan Horses and Worm Coding.?
?We?ve got the three R?s, and they?ve got the three wrongs,?
Woody said.
Shi turned his palms up, offering them the pose of someone who
had been insulted for no reason. ?I am merely a poor soul, risen
through hard work from a lowly American college student to
prominence in his homeland.? He?d kept his dark good looks from
those days too. He was her age, but still looked thirty.
?More like cheating and bribery than hard work,? Yvonne said.
?An unbroken record of lies at MIT.? She quietly tapped her molars
together to activate the implant again.
?Statements made in earnest, I assure you. How others
misinterpret them is another affair.?
That was you in the mall, spying on us.?
?Honestly, Yvonne. You come to Hong Kong, access a secret
government satellite, steal from an innocent electronics salesman, and
are planning who knows what else?Who is spying on whom? I can
have you arrested for any of those things.?
?Try proving it, ?Woody said. ?And we paid for the smart phone.?
?Do you have a bill of sale??
Woody tapped his sledgehammer of a fist into his palm. Yvonne
put her hand on his bicep to calm him.
?My dear Mr. Woodman.? Shi gulped down the last of his
martini, swung his legs off the sofa and faced them. ?How little you
understand about Chinese law. My suspicions are proof enough to
keep you in custody for several weeks, maybe months. And just think
of the embarrassment and trouble you will cause your government.
Give me the phone and I will forget that charge. As for the others, we
are still investigating.?
Woody handed him the smart phone.
Shi?s agents came up from the back rooms and reported to him
in Chinese. It sounded as though they?d found nothing else. He closed
the laptop and stood. ?Thank you for the refreshment. And I will
keep this, as a memento of our good times together.?
Woody tensed again. If she let him, he could probably handle
this trio, whether they were armed or not. But for sure there were
more agents in the lobby or outside. It would be best to cut their losses
and let him have it.
The agents waited for Shi at the door. He stopped in front of
Yvonne and took her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it. ?Still
so lovely,? he said. ?Seeing you again has awakened the erotic
memories of our affair.?
?I?m sure the sex was all that mattered to you,? she said.
?You underestimate me, my dear. I had other uses for our love as
well.? He nodded at Woody and went out. His agents trailed him,
walking backwards to make sure Woody didn?t follow. Yvonne
watched as they got into the elevator.
?I need a drink,? she said as she pulled her smart phone from her
pocket.
Woody headed for the bar. ?Are you sure it?s safe to call Buck
now? They probably bugged us while they were searching the suite.?
?I?m glad he didn?t confiscate this.? She pressed a few buttons,
waited a second, then pressed a few more. ?Actually, I?m calling my
laptop. A little program I installed a while ago just for moments like
these.?
?High explosives??
She laughed. ?Maybe Shi is right. Maybe we are all about
violence.? She pressed one more button and put the phone back.
?Just a simple hard drive routine. By the time Shi hits the front door
the disk will be wiped clean.?
?Too bad,?Woody said. ?A little violence might be just the thing
to get Shi?s attention, not to mention the Chinese.?
?I?ll keep that in mind. We may need it later. If they?re watching
us tonight?s operation is in jeopardy?both aspects.?
?We?ve been watched before on jobs like this,? Woody said.
?Buck?s pretty good at stealth. But we will have to be careful. We?ll
need a decoy of some kind.?
?You know, every day goes by I?m more glad we brought Stokes
along. I?m sure he?ll help us create a suitable diversion.? She put two
fingers into her mouth and reached in the back, and began working
the molar implant free. It took a minute of wrenching, but she pulled
it out and laid it on the bar. ?We?ll have to take a look at these, too.
So far it?s caused more trouble than it?s saved us. I switched on while
Shi was here, but no one seems to have heard.?
?Right.?Woody dropped his arm, wound up, and belted himself
across the jaw with a right cross. He spit his implant out and it
clattered onto the counter.
?Nice,? she said. ?I?m sure that?s how Shi tracked us down today.?
?Yeah, but how did he know about the satellite? We didn?t even
have the implants working then.?
?He couldn?t have pinpointed my signal that fast. Someone had
to have told him we were on our way here and he was waiting for
that kind of activity.?
?Who knew??
She rattled off the list. ?A couple of execs from Network Systems,
and Stokes. Maybe he mentioned it to someone on his staff back in
D.C.?
?And your friend Pansy. You sure you can trust her??
Yvonne sat on a stool to think about it. She?d known Pansy for
years. They?d been business associates, then good friends. But time
and politics made people change. Shi had managed to hide his real
motives for years. Maybe Pansy had too. But then, she?d warned her
about Shi being here. The relationships were becoming more
complicated by the minute. How much easier it was to stay in her lab
and do her work remotely.
Woody brought her a vodka stinger. He drank a beer straight
from the bottle. ?So what are you going to do without your laptop??
?Looks like I?m going to need another favor from our friend,
Buck. I?ve got a lab in Paihia Beach. If I can get back there I?ve got
the equipment I need to bring the Afghani operation down. Once
we pick up the repo do you think Buck would mind making a little
detour on his way to Sydney? Say, a quick stop in Auckland??
END chapter 7
