Jackpot

51

Arrow Donaldson was having his morning coffee and watching the sun rise over his construction site when he got word that the congressional delegation arrived in Hong Kong, and he called his car and driver immediately so he could head to the consulate to meet them. He didn’t have nearly the influence within Hong Kong that he did in Macau, but because the two administrative regions worked together in many areas, Arrow realized early on that he needed some sort of connection on the other island. He’d meticulously cultivated a network of reliable sources that had just paid great dividends.

Arrow’s driver dropped him at the VIP entrance of the consulate. Inside, Arrow found the group in an executive conference room, just outside of the secure conference room where Li Feng would give her testimony. They all looked disoriented and jet-lagged and Arrow wondered if he’d made a mistake seeing the group before they’d had a chance to rest and collect themselves. But he knew the CIA had him in their sights, and they might try to undermine his reputation with the delegation. Under the circumstances, time wasn’t a luxury he had to waste.

“Welcome to the command center, gentlemen,” Arrow said, closing and locking the door behind him. The delegates remained silent and avoided eye contact with him.

He sat down in an empty seat not at the head, but at the middle of the table, an exhibition of humility. He put on an inviting smile, and gestured to the other chairs. This seemed to ease the tension in the room. Though, as the delegates took their own seats, no one spoke.

“I’m glad to see you’ve all made it here,” Arrow said. “I hope Ken Joo took care of you.”

“Where is Li Feng?” Secretary Jeffrey asked.

“She’s housed in a secure location — as you know, the Chinese government has no interest in allowing her to testify. In fact, for that reason I believe we should move up the testimony to tomorrow, or possibly tonight if we can confirm the room in time.”

Jeffrey gave Arrow an even look. “We’ve been discussing this among ourselves,” Jeffrey said, “and have decided to call off the testimony.”

Arrow kept his gaze glued to the wall behind the group as he processed the news. Only a small tic in his cheek could hint at his rage at his whole plan collapsing.

“You had this conversation without me or any other representatives on hand?”

Jeffrey said nothing.

“May I ask your reasoning?”

“Concerns were raised that—”

Arrow’s eyes narrowed. “Raised by whom?”

“—that the testimony has put Li Feng in mortal danger. The attempt on her life made that clear.”

Millie Martindale had clearly wasted no time catching the delegation’s ear.

“And given that extraordinary attack,” Jeffrey continued, “we feel it most prudent to cancel and return to American soil.” Left unsaid, Arrow realized with contempt, was that the delegates feared being targeted themselves.

“So we just abandon all the good work we’ve done here and go home? Let China win because a bunch of old men got cold feet at a resort?”

“Mr. Donaldson, we’re prepared to recommend to the president that the ban on QuiTel be instated effective immediately without risking Li Feng’s safety to have her testify. The attempts on her life are evidence enough of the veracity of her claims.”

At that, Arrow blinked. “That’s great. Great for the country, and for Li Feng,” he said.

“And great for your business interests as well,” a younger guy next to Secretary Jeffrey said.

“That’s enough, gentlemen,” Jeffrey said, mostly to his colleague. He turned back to Arrow. “Ms. Martindale doesn’t know about our decision yet. We thought she would be here with you and Li Feng. We’d like for her to hear this from us rather than from you.”

“Of course,” Arrow said. “I’ll have Li Feng moved to the second-phase housing I’ve arranged for her, before she heads off on her new, protected life. Thank you for your help and your service to our country.”

Back in his car, Arrow’s mind was racing. Without the testimony, Arrow worried Li Feng would flip on him. He was pretty sure that planning to lie to Congress wasn’t a crime and that as long as she didn’t go through with it, she was safe from prosecution. Arrow, on the other hand, would be a perfect candidate for obstruction of Congress at best, and conspiracy or treason if the right people decided he needed to be made an example.

It would be much easier if he could just tell Bingo to kill Li Feng, but that would look suspicious this soon. He didn’t want to give the CIA or the FBI any reasons to look at him more closely. Arrow still had Li Feng’s coveted new identity papers and was helping her orchestrate her revenge on Sonny Ma. That should be enough, but he also knew the CIA had the same sort of resources available if they decided to help her out in exchange for evidence against him. He needed to go to Li Feng and talk to her in person and remind her of his power, and what could happen if she betrayed him.

Arrow told his driver to take him to Li Feng. Even though his driver didn’t say anything, Arrow noticed the man suddenly avoided eye contact and grew suspiciously quiet the rest of the drive to the bunker.