Spyder Web

42

Kang had returned to London early on Monday morning, following the disastrous attack on Newton and Kilkenny. The papers said three people were killed in the tragic accident with a fuel truck; his intended victims were listed among the survivors. Kang was bitter about that failure, but he could not make another attempt on the MARC researchers.

He thought about an exquisite tapestry that hung in his home in Beijing and the one flawed thread that marred its perfection. He dared not pull on this thread, or trim it, for fear of destroying the entire tapestry. Kilkenny and Newton were like that thread, marring the intricate weave of his current operation and threatening to unravel it.

Shortly after his arrival at Heathrow, Kang had caught a glimpse of an old adversary, Neville Axton. Axton was a formidable opponent, one who deserved Kang’s utmost respect. Kang had no operational intelligence on Axton’s current assignment, but he didn’t believe in pure coincidence, either. Seeing his rival in the airport had added another level of challenge to this operation.

Kang had run a wild chase through London that afternoon, making chaotic changes in direction to flush out the agents shadowing him. He’d been successful in uncovering two pairs of watchers, which were enough to confirm that Axton was now managing his surveillance. Once clear of the watchers, Kang had made his way to a safe house that the Chinese embassy maintained just outside London, and he hadn’t left since. He had kept his contact with the embassy at a minimum and had no contact at all with Parnell.With Axton in the area, it was foolish to take any unnecessary risks.

Four days had passed and the streets outside the safe house still appeared clear of any unwanted observation. While there, Kang altered his appearance by cropping his hair short and coloring the silver-gray strands black. The effect removed several years from his appearance, enough to fool a careless observer.

As he ate his lunch, the phone in the safe house rang twice, then stopped. A moment later, it repeated the pattern of two rings before stopping; it was the embassy. He picked up the phone and placed a direct call to the embassy resident over the secure line.

‘This is Kang.’

‘You have a call from Phillip Moy,’ a voice whispered back. There was no need for the man to whisper; their conversation was filtered through a scrambler at the embassy switchboard.

‘Put him through,’ Kang demanded.

The phone made a buzzing sound as the connection switched to Moy. Kang turned on the cassette recorder attached to the phone. ‘This is Deng Cho-Nam. Do you have the information that my clients requested?’

‘Yes.’Moy’s voice was calm and deliberate. ‘We will be transferring the cipher upgrades next Friday at eleventhirty A.M. Chicago time.’

‘And the access codes to your computer system?’

‘There are two sets, the first of which I will give to you now. These codes will provide access into our computer network. The second set of codes are the passwords to access the secure mainframe. I will turn these codes over to you when I have seen my uncle.’

‘Very well,’ Kang replied. Moy was performing as ordered. ‘The first codes, please.’

Moy dictated specific instructions on penetrating his network without triggering the recently installed Gatekeepers. ‘Everything must be done correctly or the system will shut you out.’

‘Very good.’ Kang kept his voice flat and unemotional. He found that such detachment often unnerved his opponents, leaving him at an advantage. ‘Here are my instructions for you. Arrive in London no later than Thursday evening. Make arrangements to stay at the Hilton.We will contact you Friday morning for the final exchange. Do you understand?’

‘Yes,’ Moy answered obediently.

‘If the PRC representatives detect any sign of British or American security forces, your uncle will be killed. Do I make myself clear?’ The question held a lingering threat for Moy and his family.

‘Perfectly, Mr Deng.’

Kang detected a slight quiver in Moy’s voice. The man is a docile sheep, he thought, despising Moy for his weakness. ‘Good. Then I will see you next Friday for the exchange.’

Kang cradled the handset and smiled. The final pieces of this operation were falling into place. If he could remain out of Axton’s view for one more week, he would succeed. He pulled the cassette from the recorder and placed it in a clear plastic shell. He had a lot of work to do in only a week’s time.

Moy hung up the phone. He still felt awkward about handing the access codes to his computer network over to the Chinese spy. The codes were legitimate and, for the next week, this foreign agent would have nearly unlimited access to his electronic empire. It was a gamble, but his father often told him that much of life was a gamble.Moy hoped that Barnett’s hand was good enough to win.