Storm Front

CHAPTER 20

Somewhere over Decatur, Champaign, or perhaps Columbus

Among the many great things about being Derrick Storm, one was that he had friends with their own airplanes that they didn’t mind loaning out on occasion.

Among the many great things about private air travel, one was that no one insisted you turn off your cell phone and all portable electronic devices the moment the plane doors closed.

Among the many great things about satellite phones, one was that they worked at thirty-seven thousand feet.

As his borrowed Gulf Stream IV reached cruising altitude, Storm placed a call to Ling Xi Bang, who had been on the ground in Washington for several hours by that point.

“Good afternoon,” he said pleasantly. “How did the meet go?” Storm had arranged for Xi Bang to rendezvous with one of his sources. After she’d uttered a password, he’d provided her with a Senate staff ID card, a Virginia driver’s license, and a credit card. They contained her picture and the name Jenny Chang. He’d also given her a small pouch that included what he called “a pill and a powder,” then provided a briefing on what those drugs would accomplish for her.

“Went fine,” Xi Bang said. “Nice password, by the way. Are you sure you don’t have some kind of legume fetish?”

The password had been “soybean.”

“At least it’s a healthy obsession,” he said.

“Where are you right now?”

Storm leaned out the window. “I don’t know. That might be Bloomington, Illinois. Or maybe Bloomington, Indiana. But from this height every city in the Midwest looks the same. There’s a reason they call this flyover country, you know. Where are you?”

“In Washington.”

“I know that. I mean where are you, specifically?”

“Specifically, I’m sitting on a bench at the northeast corner of the National Mall. I was thinking about going to the Air and Space Museum and seeing if I could seduce one of the male tour guides into giving me your country’s aerospace secrets.”

“You probably won’t even have to sleep with the guy. Just offer him some freeze-dried ice cream and he’s yours. You’ll learn everything you ever wanted to know about Apollo 11. Just be warned: There’s no gas left in the tank, so don’t think you can use it to get ahead in the space race.”

“Yeah, you know we won that one, right? We Communists put a man up in space while you capitalists were still messing around with sending monkeys up there.”

“Yes, but think of how much fun the monkeys had.”

She laughed. Storm liked the sound of it.

“So I’ve got you set up with Senator Whitmer at eight o’clock to night,” Storm said. “His staff should be gone by then. He thinks he’s going to have an important, one-on-one, face-to-face meeting with Dianne Feinstein. But at the last second ‘Senator Feinstein’s office’ is going to call and cancel. That’s when you’ll move in.”

“Got it.”

“From there, just work your magic. We need to know who wanted that appropriations rider and/or who the mysterious donor behind the Alabama Future Fund is. Although, more than likely, it’s the same person.”

“Right.”

“Good.” Storm paused for a second, then said: “Now what are you wearing?”

“Are we really going to play that game? Come on. I’m in public.”

“No, no, I mean it. What are you wearing? Or, rather, maybe I should say: What is Jenny Chang wearing?”

“Same thing I wore yesterday, unfortunately. You may recall I didn’t exactly have time to pack when I left Paris.”

Storm flashed back to the last outfit he had seen Xi Bang in. It was lovely, but… the pants made her legs something of a well-kept secret. And the turtleneck?

“Yeah, that’s not going to work for Jenny Chang. She needs something a little more… youthful. Something that announces innocence, a lack of sophistication, and, above all else, availability. You said you’re on the northeast corner of the mall? Near the American History Museum?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, start walking north. I know a place.”

Xi Bang followed his instructions, which Storm didn’t mind admitting he enjoyed. It was like having his very own remote control girl spy. Talk about the most awesome toy ever.

Storm proceeded to guide her from the Mall to a mall. It was a store that specialized in making sixteen-year-old girls look and feel like twenty-five-year-olds, even if the only people they fooled were themselves — and old men who could no longer tell the difference. Which is what made it perfect for what Storm had in mind.

“I’m in,” Xi Bang said.

“Okay, first step, the skirt. The skirt is key. I’m thinking pleated. And short. You think you can handle that?”

“Am I going to have to get pom-poms with it, too?”

“Only if they have them on sale. Remember, Uncle Sam is footing the bill for this.”

Storm could hear the squeal of wire hangers being moved on racks.

“Okay. Pleated skirt. Got it,” she said. “Next?”

“Blouse now. Something simple. With buttons. It must have buttons.”

“Of course,” she said. “Let’s see what we’ve got here…. How’s white cotton with just a hint of spandex?”

“What kind of cut is it? Fitted? Kind of snug?”

“Yes. And it has cap sleeves.”

“Perfect. Do they have shoes there?”

“As a matter of fact, they do.”

“Do they have black patent leather shoes?”

“You are such a dirty old man.”

“Dirty, yes. Not sure I qualify as old yet. But I aspire to it.”

“All right. Uhh, yes, I have visuals on a pair of black patent leather shoes. They look like Mary Janes all grown up.”

“Brilliant. Acquire them, please,” Storm said. He heard Xi Bang ask a sales clerk for size nine.

“While she’s looking for those, they do have tights there, yes?” Storm asked.

“Yes. Black, white, or gray?”

“Let’s go gray. White is a little too Sunday School.”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Xi Bang said.

“Aww, come on, it’s fun. It’s like having your own personal long-distance shopper.”

“I never knew you were so metrosexual.”

“I’m not. Trust me. But I’ve known guys who are, and I’ve learned about their tendencies in the process of making fun of them.”

Xi Bang was talking to the sales clerk again. The shoes had arrived. Storm listened as Xi Bang confirmed that, yes, they were the right size.

“Okay, I’ve got shoes, tights, skirt, and blouse. What’s next?”

“You have underwear?”

“Same stuff I was wearing yesterday.”

Storm’s mind immediately went to the black lace bra and matching pan ties Xi Bang had been wearing. “Yes, that will do nicely, actually. Time to hit the fitting room. I want you to try all this on.”

“You’re the boss.”

“I like the sound of that.”

“Don’t get used to it. I have to put you down now. Hang on.” Storm peered out the window again. They were over Toledo now. Or perhaps Cleveland. Who could tell the difference, besides Toledoans or Clevelanders?

“All right, I’m back,” Xi Bang said.

“How do you look?”

“Like a naughty Catholic schoolgirl who’s about to audition for her first porno flick. That’s the look you’re going for, yes?”

“Naturally. Now please take a picture of yourself and send it to my phone. I need to make sure it’s authentic. We can’t have you risk blowing your cover again, Agent Xi Bang.”

“You’re getting off on this, aren’t you?”

“A little,” he said. “Okay, a lot.”

Storm waited for the picture to arrive. Thirty seconds later, his phone displayed an image that might have stirred certain yearnings in him. He might have felt a little ashamed about that, but he was fairly certain any other straight male beyond the age of puberty would have felt the same way.

“Fantastic,” Storm said. “Just a few finishing touches. Put your hair in a ponytail.”

“You’re sick, you know that?”

“Just paying attention to detail. Have you done it?”

“Yes.”

“Very good. Now I’m sorry, but you’ve got to go one button lower on the blouse. He has to be able to get a little glimpse of that bra of yours every now and then. But it has to look sort of like a wardrobe malfunction, like you don’t know the button is undone or that you’re giving him a little peep show.”

“This is so over the top,” Xi Bang complained.

“This is America. Wardrobe malfunctions happen here.”

“All right. I feel like such a slut.”

“Another picture, please.”

“Fine. But before you even think about putting these on the Internet, you should remember that with just one phone call, I can arrange for you an absolutely humiliating death. And just to make sure we’re on the same page: Yes, it will involve sheep.”

“That sounds baaaaaad,” Storm bleated.

Xi Bang groaned. The photo of the new, even trampier, Jenny Chang appeared on Storm’s phone.

“Got the pic. I do believe I’m looking at the real Jenny Chang. All right. Why don’t you pay for this stuff, then let’s talk about your backstory.”

As Storm crossed the remainder of the eastern quarter of the nation, he and Xi Bang brought Jenny Chang alive, creating her history with the ease of two seasoned liars. Storm loved the banter with her, the mix of serious moments and silly ones, her sense of adventure. It was sort of like talking with Clara Strike, except Storm didn’t have the feeling that Xi Bang was hiding a meat cleaver behind her back the whole time. For reasons Storm couldn’t quite explain, he trusted her.

His plane was coming in for a landing at Westchester County Airport when it came time to end their call. He had to make contact with G. Whitely Cracker V. She had a job to do as well. He just wished it weren’t so. As they said their good-byes, she stopped abruptly and said, “Hey, Storm? It’s great working with you. Thanks for your help.”

Storm just smiled and said, “Always.”