Point of Contact

The back door burst open.

* * *

Jack leaped to his feet as men in tactical gear charged in, guns drawn. But two powerful hands shoved him back down by the shoulders from behind as the cold steel of a rifle barrel pressed against his face.

Paul sat in his chair, mouth open and full of curry, gasping like a carp in the bottom of a boat.

The men in black tactical gear all had POLICE blazoned across their bulletproof vests. Jack heard boots thundering up the stairs and shouts in English and Mandarin.

A short, powerfully built man with lieutenant’s bars sewn onto his collar stepped forward, holstering his pistol.

“You are under arrest!”

“On what charge?” Jack demanded.

“Possession of drugs.”

“What are you talking about?” Jack ignored the crashing, banging, and thudding on the ceiling. It just meant their rooms were being torn apart upstairs.

Another policeman lifted Paul to his feet, his jowly face white with panic.

“Arms behind your back!”

Paul nodded, complying. Plastic cuffs zipped behind him, pinching his wrists. He winced with pain.

The lieutenant pointed at Jack. “You. Stand up. Hands behind your back.”

“You’ve made a mistake,” Jack said, standing. Another cop zip-cuffed him.

Something crashed on the floor above them. Paul startled, staring at the ceiling. The lieutenant noticed.

“Mistake? Then why is your friend so scared? Afraid my men will find something?”

“You won’t find any drugs,” Jack said. “Not even a stick of Juicy Fruit.”

The lieutenant got in Jack’s face. “Don’t you realize the penalty for drug smuggling in Singapore is death?”

“Yeah, I read about that—”

“What’s going on here?” Lian barked as she marched into the kitchen, Park right behind her, his face a brutal mask.

“Who are you?” the lieutenant demanded.

“Lian Fairchild. I own this place. What’s the meaning of all this?”

The cocky lieutenant softened. “Fairchild? I know that name. Weren’t you with STAR?”

“Yes. What of it?”

“And your father—”

“Answer my question, Lieutenant!”

“My unit received an anonymous tip that there were illegal narcotics stashed in this place.”

Lian pointed at Jack. “You think this man is an international drug smuggler?”

The lieutenant scowled. “The tip was legitimate—”

“Do you know who he is?”

“Do you think I care? If he’s breaking the law, he’s a criminal.”

“You’re a fool, and you’ve been played like one.” Lian spat out a string of syllables in Mandarin in a low, violent growl. Jack didn’t speak the language, but he could tell by the look on the lieutenant’s panicking face that it wasn’t good for him.

“Release them!” The lieutenant shouted orders into his shoulder mic and the racket overhead stopped instantly. By the time Jack’s cuffs were cut off, the other tactical officers were down the stairs and racing out the doors.

The lieutenant told Lian, “You take full responsibility for these men?”

“I do. And I’ll be sure to call your captain and tell him.”

The lieutenant gave Jack and Paul one last suspicious look, turned on his heel, and marched out of the back door, slamming it behind him on its busted frame.

Jack turned to Lian. “I guess we should say thank you.”

Paul rubbed his aching wrists. “Yes, thank you, Ms. Fairchild.”

Lian crossed over the door-frame splinters on the floor. “What a mess.” She turned to Park. “Call somebody to come over here and fix this door.”

Park pulled out his cell phone and headed for the front room.

“If you’ll excuse me—” Paul pushed past Jack and headed upstairs.

“You want to tell me what just happened?” Jack asked.

Lian shook her head, seemingly perplexed. “Somebody made a mistake — or was sending you a message.”

“A message like ‘Get the hell out of Dodge’?”

“Dodge?”

“An expression. Someone doesn’t want us here and tried to scare us away.”

“Who would do that?”

Jack fought the urge to laugh. “Gee, I wonder.”

Lian frowned. “You think I did this?”

“I don’t know what to think. But it was awfully convenient of you to show up at just the right moment. Otherwise, I might have called the American embassy, kicked up a ruckus.”

Lian shook her head. “You are one arrogant prick, you know that?”

Jack wasn’t expecting that kind of pushback. “I’ve been called worse.”

“I came here tonight to apologize to you for my boorish behavior this afternoon. I was very angry.”

“I could tell.”

“And now you accuse me of this?”

“If you were me, wouldn’t you think the timing was awfully convenient?”

Lian blew air out of her clenched teeth. “I don’t know what to think, either, so maybe it’s best if I leave.” She turned to go.

Once again, Jack was at a loss with this woman.

He was usually pretty good about reading people, but this one kept throwing him off balance. Up until this moment he was sure she was jerking his chain, but her emotional turn made him question himself. He couldn’t shake the feeling he was being played.

Who was Lian Fairchild, really?