Private Beijing

Chapter 56

It took a day for Hua and his team to get full surveillance on Liu Bao up and running. Hua was young, but he was as careful and methodical as a seasoned veteran, and went to great pains to ensure his electronic surveillance wouldn’t be detected by any counter measures Liu’s people might employ.

He was very ingenious: replacing the target’s toothbrush in his penthouse apartment with a replica that contained a listening device, hacking into the webcam on Liu’s laptop and compromising his digital personal assistant at home and in the office. Within twenty-four hours, Zhang Daiyu and I had eyes and ears on most of Liu Bao’s life.

And what a life it was.

Money had washed him clean of the dirt of the street, but success hadn’t changed everything about him. He clearly had a drug problem, which he indulged in the company of the girls who visited his home and office. His penthouse apartment was located on the top three floors of a magnificent tower block in Chaoyang, the diplomatic district, which was full of fashionable restaurants, clubs, and bars. His home was as much of a status symbol as his office block.

But for all the trappings of power and success, Liu Bao’s life looked empty to me. Full of distractions but lacking in meaning.

Zhang Daiyu and I had established a makeshift command center in our room in the hostel. It consisted of three laptops Hua had provided us with, each connected to the Private backup server network by high-speed wireless dongles that fed us Liu Bao’s movements and conversations. In addition to the digital surveillance we now had a team of eight agents working in shifts. There was no higher priority for me than finding out why Liu had targeted Private, and ensuring that he and the people who had killed so many of our colleagues were punished.

“Any idea where he’s heading yet?” I asked Zhang Daiyu as I came through the door with dinner: a couple of cartons of noodles. Liu Bao had left his apartment with his security detail shortly before I’d gone to get our food.

“It’s a drinks reception for the American Friends of China Business Consortium,” she replied, shifting slightly so I could sit on the bed next to her.

I handed her the spring chicken noodles she had ordered while watching Liu Bao on-screen mingling with people in cocktail dresses or black tie.

“How did our agent get inside?” I asked.

“Fake Beijing Police identification,” Zhang Daiyu revealed, and I frowned.

That was definitely beyond our permitted activities in China, but the situation was sufficiently desperate for us to be flexible about interpreting the law.

Liu Bao was glad-handed and had his back patted by many people as he walked around the room. It made me wonder how many of Beijing’s rich and powerful knew about his background as a street criminal. Would they have cared or was money the great absolver?

On-screen, he made a beeline across the room for a guy who could only be American. He had carefully combed, wispy blond hair and was carrying a few extra pounds beneath his tux. There was a Stars and Stripes pin fixed to his lapel.

Liu Bao greeted him warmly, and the two men smiled as they engaged in friendly chatter together.

“Do we know who that is?” I asked.

Zhang Daiyu shook her head. “We can find out.”

“Looks like they are friends,” I remarked.

“I’ll ask Hua to find out who the American is.”

Her phone rang as she was texting the request and she answered. She listened for a short while before hanging up.

“Interesting,” she said, and I was immediately intrigued. “That was a friend I’ve been trying to speak to ever since you followed that man to Guoanbu headquarters.”

She put her noodles down, untouched, and got to her feet.

“Come on,” she said. “We need to go. She wants to meet us tonight.”