Private Beijing

Chapter 23

I got clear of the area around the Private Beijing building before the police had a chance to establish a cordon and managed to hail a taxi that dropped me off five blocks from the hostel. It was almost 3 a.m. and everywhere was still and silent, making me feel even more isolated and alone. I was hiding in a strange city, hunted by people who wanted to destroy my organization and kill my colleagues. I didn’t know who to trust or where to turn and everything around me felt unfamiliar and unwelcoming. I heard distant noises — an animal rooting through trash perhaps — and others that were unidentifiable and closer echoed along the deserted street.

Office blocks lined both sides of the road, interspersed with the occasional shop, house or apartment block. The district was a little rundown, its flaws even more apparent in the dead of night. Rust ate away at the roller shutters that covered entrances. Corporate signs and logos were cracked and some had flickering lights. Most of the buildings looked as though they hadn’t been painted or cleaned in years.

I picked up my pace, eager to get back to the hostel, and made it another block before my phone rang.

It was Justine.

“Hey,” I said.

“NYPD found three devices,” she replied instantly, and I stopped in my tracks and tried to center myself. Someone was targeting Private, someone dangerous, someone who didn’t care if people got killed.

“Is everyone okay?” I asked.

“Yes. We evacuated the building and the bombs have been deactivated. Sci is pleased because he thinks he will be able to pull some evidence from the devices.”

“He’s probably right,” I replied. “I want you to notify every office about exactly what was found. Tell them to move to a war footing. I want heightened security measures across the board.”

“Will do,” she assured me. “Where are you now?”

“On my way to somewhere safe. Back to Zhang Daiyu. You?”

“Mo-bot and Sci are setting up a mobile command unit in one of the staff trucks so we can continue operations remotely until NYPD clears the building.”

“Call me if anything else is found,” I suggested.

“I will,” she replied. There was a pause and then: “I love you, Jack.”

“Love you too.”

She hung up and I slipped my phone into my pocket. I wanted nothing more than to be with her, curled up in bed in my home in LA, but first there was ugly work that needed to be done. The comfort and peace of being back with her would have to wait.

I hurried to the hostel, let myself into the deserted building and went to our room. I unlocked the door and eased it open silently. I went inside to find Zhang Daiyu exactly where I’d left her. She was breathing heavily and seemed to be deep asleep. I shut the door quickly and sat in the gap between the bed and the shower-room wall. I rested my hands on my knees and put my head down on my forearms. Soon the soothing sound of Zhang Daiyu’s regular breathing, rising above the silence, calmed me and I drifted off to sleep.