The Wuhan Mission

As the deadline for stealing the package had approached, she laid a web of misinformation using the audio bugs. She’d given the appearance of not knowing what was going on in the lab, or behind the scenes. Luckily they didn’t know about Jimmy, who was feeding quality intel to Roet, by the sounds of it. It was pretty damning stuff. Government conspiracies to kill their own people with a new virus. The problem with double agents was always about what they were NOT telling you. Xue Lin often theorized about what Jimmy was holding back, but there was never anything solid to incriminate him.

Xue Lin put the radio together for what would be the last time. She set up under one of the audio bugs, and made her usual phone call out to a burner phone, just so they didn’t suspect use of a radio.

“Good evening this is Xue Lin.” she said, using the ‘disinformation code’ for Sam’s benefit.

“Things are going badly. I don’t know what’s going on. I’m completely in the dark still. I’m going to try and talk to Dr. Wu next Thursday. Maybe I’ll sleep with him and see if I can get him to tell me what he’s working on. I think I have been wasting my time. I really love it here. Maybe I’ll just stay. How is Hungary doing? Anyway, that’s it. I’ll call you on Friday at the same number and tell you how it goes.”

Xue Lin hung up the mobile phone and turned on some heavy metal music for the bugs. Then she moved the radio to the bathroom to make her real call to Sam.

“Hello Poo Eyes, this is Ho’s Forest. Do you read me?”

“Yes, Snow Forest I do read you, unfortunately. Go ahead.”

“I’m a go here for tomorrow. I’m setting up the apartment for permanent vacation. I have a SAT-phone number, but I need you to give it to the tech guys. Jimmy gave it to me. It’s for emergencies only.”

Xue Lin read the number to him, knowing that if she had to use the SAT-phone, things must have gotten bad.

“Received, Snow Forest. You have my SAT-phone number, you call me if you need a boat.”

“Actually, Blue Eyes, the boat is sounding rather attractive right now. I think with the passengers, I’m really going to need you there waiting for us. Can I bank on that?”

“Roget that. We’ll have a team in a ‘quick boat’ off the coast of Shanghai. Just give me a couple of hours notice and we can pick you up, with your two passengers preferably, please.”

“Coordinates?” she asked.

“Standby for those.” Sam sent a text message to the Team Leader. The reply was quick. He read them out to Xue Lin.

“Memorize them.” he ordered, thinking how lucky she was to have a photographic memory.

“What’s the code name for the pickup point?”

“Empire Szechuan. Table for three, telling us how many.”

“Roger that, Blue Eyes.”

“I’m at the base in Korea. You are good to go any time from now.”

“Can you give me details on the package please?”

“Yes, you are to grab three biological vials. One is a new strain of the SARS virus, one is a vaccine, and there’s the antidote. Don’t ask me the difference between a vaccine and an antidote, I just don’t know.”

“Jesus Christ, what are they up to?”

“Diabolical shit, Snow Forest. That’s why you are there, saving the world.”

Xue Lin paused for a moment, letting it sink in.

“Roger that, Blue Eyes. And the two passengers I can shoot if they get on my nerves?”

“That is a negative on shooting the passengers, Snow Forest. Only put them down if there is no alternative. We would much prefer them breathing. Good luck, and try to go quietly like a church mouse. Don’t go ‘bang bang’ or you’ll have half of China following you.”

“ Don’t get your knickers in a knot Blue Eyes. I’ll keep the noise down if I can, but I’m not promising anything.”

“Good enough. Be careful Snow Forest. Over and out.”

Sam went back to eating his take-out kimchee as he looked over at his bed and the pistol he’d just cleaned and oiled. It was time to start planning the extraction with the SEAL Team.

*

Xue Lin left her phone by the lamp, playing some ‘erhu practice’ for the techs who were listening while she set about preparing her apartment for the inevitable break-in which would come soon after the heist went down. She had learned in training to organize a wild goose chase for anyone who might be trying to catch her. She took down her map and put it in the garbage for disposal and put up a second map on the wall with a misleading escape route drawn in red marker. She wrote various lists of contacts in Vietnam, which was the opposite direction to that which she was really planning on going.