The Interior

20

MONDAY MORNING DAWNED HEAVY AND HOT. HULAN dressed in a loose-fitting suit of pale green pongee. Since she was going to the MPS, she carried her weapon under her jacket. She still felt tired, and she went about her morning activities quietly. At 7:30 she left the compound, got into the backseat of Lo's black Mercedes, and drifted back to sleep for the short drive to headquarters. As she walked through the lobby and upstairs to her office, the temperature seemed worse than ever before. The dinginess of the walls and the lack of light made the heat all the more oppressive.

She went straight to Zai's office. Vice Minister Zai was already at his desk, and it occurred to her that perhaps he'd spent the entire weekend there. The tea girls hadn't come in yet, so Zai poured the tea from his thermos himself. Hulan took a sip and felt its heat radiate through her body and produce a fine sheen of sweat on her face. This was exactly what tea was supposed to do. Sweat was nature's way of cooling the body. But today, instead of giving any relief, the tea only added to her discomfort.

"You recall the file of which we spoke yesterday?" Hulan said. When Zai nodded, she went on, "I would like to see it again."

They were inside, where anyone could be listening, and yet Hulan- though her words were ambiguous as to whose file she wanted-had broken the protocol with which she and her mentor usually communicated. But Zai didn't question her motives or even ask her to step outside for a walk. For her to show such a lapse must mean that she needed Sun's dangan urgently. He left the room and came back a few minutes later. As he'd done the day before, he placed the file in front of her, but instead of turning away he watched as she opened it and read. Sometimes she would pick up a piece of paper and hold it up to the hazy light coming through the window or she would set out two pieces of paper side by side to compare them. She worked silently and Zai didn't ask any questions. After a while he went back to his own work, and the two of them worked in companionable silence.

At nine sharp, Zai's support staff arrived. A pretty girl came in and refreshed their tea, bowed, and left again. A few minutes later another girl entered carrying his morning newspaper, and Zai instantly felt the change in her demeanor when she saw Hulan. It was true that Hulan had never been considered as just one of the workers. She was different from them by education, money, and political position. As a result she had always been seen as an outsider, and when Zai considered this he thought that this separateness above anything was what made Hulan so good at what she did. Still, this morning Zai's assistant stared at Hulan with more than the usual curiosity. After the girl left the room and he picked up the People's Daily, he understood why.

He cleared his throat. "Inspector Liu," he said formally, knowing without doubt that someone would be listening given the circumstances, "have you seen this morning's paper?"

"No, uncle, I haven't," she said without looking up. "You know I try not to read our papers. I have learned from personal experience that what they say is not necessarily true."

Zai stared at his protegee. She was speaking to him with her mouth, but her words were clearly for the others-if they were listening. He realized then that she'd come here for two reasons. The first was that she had a legitimate reason to look at Sun's file. The second was that she suspected something was about to happen and wanted to get her position on record with the people who'd be monitoring their conversation.

He pushed the paper across the desk and watched as she looked at the four photographs that blotted the front page. The first had been taken last night and showed Governor Sun, Henry Knight, and Randall

Craig. The second showed the Knight factory. The third was of a Chinese woman-a foreigner from her dress, haircut, and know-it-all expression. In the article Zai had read that this Pearl Jenner worked for an American newspaper and was spoken of in glowing terms as a true friend to China, who'd come back to the motherland to help her countrymen rid themselves of corruption. The last was that same grainy photo of Hulan and David dancing at Rumours Disco that newspapers across China had used when the propaganda tide had shifted against her. Rumours was in the Palace Hotel and reputed to be owned by generals from the People's Liberation Army. Only a handful of people on the globe knew that Hulan's last big case had at its heart the smuggling of nuclear components. Those smugglers happened to be some of the same generals who owned Rumours. These were men who, with the exception of a couple of scapegoats, had avoided prosecution. Still, they had lost a lot of money, and they did not forgive easily.

Hulan picked up the paper. Unlike the others who were listening, Zai had the benefit of watching Hulan's reaction as she scanned the article. Immediately he saw her brow furrow as she read the allegations: Knight International was harming Chinese citizens. Another American company, Tartan, was prepared to buy Knight to further this activity. The deal was being shepherded by Governor Sun Can, who was reputed to have accepted bribes. The proof? The newspaper printed a copy of one of the pages of numbers that Guy Lin had tried to show them in the bar of the Shanxi Grand Hotel. It was a page from Miaoshan's papers and the reporter, Bi Peng, had deciphered the SUN GAN code. Sun's arrest was pending, but it was a forgone conclusion that he would be caught soon. Representing Sun was American attorney David Stark, which suggested just how corrupt the governor was.

Hulan winced, and Zai knew she'd come to the section where Pearl Jenner was quoted as saying, "Inspector Liu Hulan and a certain Miss Quo Xuesheng are responsible for introducing Mr. Stark to Governor Sun. These two women-both Red Princesses-obviously stand to profit from their affiliation with Sun and Stark. It is no wonder, then, that Inspector Liu has tried to bury the facts of Sun's misdeeds and Stark's cover-up."

Hulan set the paper down in disgust. The government controlled the newspaper and this story wouldn't have appeared if Hulan didn't have powerful enemies, but it was also true that Bi Peng had it out for her. This time the reporter had surpassed himself. By tonight this news would be on television. By tomorrow it would go out across the country. It might take two or three days to reach deep into the countryside, but these lies would get there eventually.

On the other hand, Hulan also had some powerful friends. It was to these unseen people that she spoke now. "Attorney Stark is innocent of these unfounded charges. I am also innocent. Miss Quo comes from one of the Hundred Families. To suggest that she would do something like this for money is ludicrous when she could practically buy Knight International herself." Zai didn't say a word.

"In many ways I'm most concerned with these lies about Governor Sun. As you know, Vice Minister, I've been curious about him. I'm an investigator of facts. My job is to look for criminal activity. I think that I've done a good job over the years. But as I look at his personal file and as I've talked to him, I see nothing to suggest that he would be guilty of any acts of bribery. Still, I believe we're being manipulated into thinking he's to blame."

"Nevertheless, if he has run away, then we must find him." "Of course, Vice Minister. Have you already authorized this as it says in the paper?"

"I will authorize it now."

"Good," Hulan said. "When we find him, I'm sure that he'll be able to clear away all ambiguity." For the first time since she'd entered his office, Zai heard the deceit in her voice. But would the others, who didn't know her as well as he, hear it as well?

Hulan stood. "Thank you for your time, Vice Minister. I will keep you informed of my activities."

Zai followed her out the door, past the cluster of chattering assistants, down the stairs, and into the parking lot. They stood in the middle of the courtyard and hoped they wouldn't be heard. "Are you so sure of what you said, Hulan?"

"I'm sure that David, Miss Quo, and I are innocent. I believe that Governor Sun is being set up. But why and by whom I don't know."

"Maybe it's politics. He may be too popular and they want to bring him down as they have done to you."

"Um, perhaps."

"What is it?"

"Someone has doctored his dangan."

Zai recoiled. "This can't be!"

"In some sections the paper doesn't match. In others it appears to be the same person making the report, and yet the calligraphy is subtly different. I only have my bare eyes, but I think a lab would be able to verify my conclusions."

"They've put damaging information in it?"

"Just the opposite. His file reads as thought it were for Mao or Zhou. It's perfect. Every place that you'd expect to find criticism is only praise. He was not targeted during the Cultural Revolution, yet I know that the people in and around Taiyuan were very harsh and cruel."

"Why change his file to make him look good if they're going to accuse him of corruption so publicly?"

"This is exactly the question I'm wondering."

Zai contemplated Hulan. He admired her fortitude, but always worried that it would get her into trouble.

"Tell me this," he said. "Do you still believe this has something to do with the death of your friend's daughter?"

"Yes, and what Bi Peng wrote about the Knight factory is true. It's all linked."

Zai grunted. This was not what he wanted to hear.

"I think you should leave the city," he said at last.

"I'm going back to Da Shui Village. I think the answers are there."

"No!" he rapped out. "I was thinking you should go to Beidaihe and stay with your mother. It might remind people who you are." He thought for a moment, then said, "Better yet, go to Los Angeles. If you remain here, I don't know what will happen. Our anti-corruption policies are very strong now. If they demand your arrest, there's nothing I can do. The best thing for you to do is leave. Do you have your visa ready?"

"Of course, always." As a Red Princess she was always prepared to leave on a moment's notice. It also went without saying that she had plenty of cash-Chinese and American-hidden at her house.

"Go with your David to the United States," Zai said. "Take Lo with you. He'll always be able to reach me. I'll take care of your mother. I'll bring her to you as soon as I can." He put his hands on her shoulders. "You should never have come back here. Not in 1985 and not three months ago. It's time you realized your life lies elsewhere." He released her, looked around, and signaled for Lo and the car.

He stood on the hot asphalt and watched as the Mercedes left the compound. Then he headed back to his office, where, as soon as he had made the proper calls to ask that Sun be arrested and Miss Quo picked up, he would have to decide just how long he could wait before he ordered Hulan's and David's detainment.

When Hulan, hot and feeling exhausted, entered the small reception area of David's office, she saw Miss Quo crying into her hands. Hulan put an arm around the young woman, said a few soothing words, and escorted her into David's office. He was perched on the edge of his desk, staring at the television. Pearl Jenner, wearing a sky blue suit, was on the screen, her face twisted into a look that somehow managed to convey outrage and pleasure. She was clearly enjoying her newfound celebrity. She spoke in English while a Chinese woman's voice translated over the broadcast.

" Pearl 's been busy this morning," David said. "How long before we're taken in for questioning?"

David had used tame Western words for what could be hell in Beijing, but his worried look told Hulan that he wasn't taking this lightly. But before she could answer, she needed to know how far the story had gone. With Miss Quo still weeping, David ran through events to this point. He'd come to the office and found Miss Quo sobbing over a copy of the People's Daily. They turned on the television and learned more. Reporters and the local police had gone to Governor Sun's Taiyuan home and to his Beijing apartment, but he was in neither place. Between the time that Hulan had left the ministry and now, Vice Minister Zai had sent out a spokesperson to announce that the country should be on full alert for Governor Sun. He might try to leave the country, or he might try to disappear into the interior. People should report any strangers to their Neighborhood Committee or local police.

This had been followed by clips showing Sun at banquets, cutting ribbons at commercial fairs, and striding across cultivated land as peasants trailed along behind him, while the anchor discussed the acts of bribery and corruption. "This all seemed innocuous enough," David said, "but then the stories and with them the images shifted. Suddenly there was Sun clinking glasses with a Caucasian, posing with Henry and others before the Knight compound, and moving through a crowd, shaking hands and pressing the flesh as if he were a presidential candidate working his way through New Hampshire."

Unlike the U.S., where journalists were supposed to use the word "alleged" in connection with supposed crimes, the Chinese reporters had made no such attempt. Sun was portrayed as an enemy of the people, a man who was willing to sell China to the lowest and most corrupt bidder in the world-the United States of America. Randall Craig of Tartan Enterprises and his entourage had left the country. (That they'd gone to Singapore on a previously arranged trip was not mentioned.) The government promised a prompt inspection of the manufacturing giant's factories in Shenzhen.

David paused in his recitation when a visa photo of Henry Knight flashed on the screen. As the television anchor spoke, Hulan translated: "We opened our doors to this man. He has paid bribes to Governor Sun Can and who knows whom else since he has come to our country. The government suggests that he be expelled at once. The American embassy has made no official statement regarding either Knight or Tartan. America is a strong country, but we are strong too. China will not allow any bad fellows on her soil."

But the story didn't end here. Quo Xuesheng, David's assistant, translator, and secretary, was shown in a tight evening dress getting out of a limousine. "Is Miss Quo, daughter of Quo Jingsheng, the victim of these Western influences, or is she one of the co-conspirators? Her father, who is a well-respected member of our government, has been unavailable for comment, as he is in the United States on tour." In other words, the press, for now, was withholding judgment on Miss Quo. They might have to wait a day, a month, even a year or more before the government made its final decision on her and her father. But that didn't offer any solace to Miss Quo, who continued to weep.

And of course, those few grainy clips of David and Hulan dancing many months ago in the Palace Hotel appeared on the screen. More surprising was a shot of Hulan and David getting out of the Mercedes just last night in front of the Beijing Hotel. One of the video men who'd been there to record the arrivals to a wedding banquet had probably opened the morning paper, remembered the mixed-race couple from the night before, replayed the tape, found their faces, and had promptly gone down to China Central Television hoping for a little remuneration. However, the anchor gave the film a rather more sinister interpretation, reporting that her station's cameras had spotted Hulan and David as they went in for a clandestine meeting with Henry Knight and Governor Sun. (Hulan supposed that all across Beijing the handful of people who had been at the banquet were hoping that they hadn't been filmed by the wedding video crews, that the other shots taken by the official photographer wouldn't be released, that their names wouldn't arise in this mess.)

Once again the good and bad of Hulan's family background were dredged up. Reporters suggested that Hulan had been tainted by the West, by David, and by Governor Sun, who was of the same generation as Hulan's father. The implication was that if Sun and Hulan's father had been friends, then they were both equally wicked. If they were corrupt, then Hulan was without question corrupt as well. It wasn't a matter of what was false but rather what parts, if any, had been true.

"Where do they get this stuff?" David asked when Hulan stopped translating.

"This wouldn't happen if there wasn't agreement somewhere high in the government."

"But I don't understand why they would do such anti-American stories," David said.

Hulan looked at David in surprise. What did he think was happening here?

David tried to clarify what he meant. "I thought it was anything for profit. Business relations with foreign countries should be preserved no matter what the cost."

"Come on," she said, her fatigue deteriorating to impatience. "With China and the U.S. it's always the same. One minute they're friends; the next minute they're enemies. These things have little to do with us or even how things really are."

David thought back to his country's yearly hullabaloo over whether or not to give China most favored nation status and the ongoing conflicts over human rights while at the same time investing billions of dollars. These thoughts brought back the conversation they'd had with Pearl Jenner in the bar of the Shanxi Grand Hotel. All of that work she had talked about-the manufacturing of toys, computer chips, clothes-all of that went on even as American politicians beat their chests about China's unfair trade practices, its selling of nuclear technology to rogue nations, and its attempts to influence American elections. It was part of the American psyche not to look at the shades of gray in the big picture.

"We're so close-minded," Hulan said, as if reading David's mind, except that she was speaking of her own people. "The Chinese were the first explorers. It is said that we were the first ones to the Americas. We had fleets going across the Pacific, exploring, trading, but we looked, we saw, then we came home, shut the door, and built our walls even higher. I listen to these people on the news…" She shook her head in disgust. "They speak with smiling faces and tell one story as though it were true, but tomorrow they may have a completely different agenda to sell. One day we're forbidden to use the Internet; the next we're encouraged to use it. The day after that? Who knows? We might be forbidden again. Yesterday, every time a new deal was signed with an American company, these same reporters were covering it as though it was a great gift to China. Today those same deals are stained. Tomorrow, you may still see the deal with Tartan and Knight go through. If it does, these people will be doing stories about how the factory is bringing prosperity to the countryside. Three months ago you were our new friend, our hero; today you are once again a suspicious foreigner."

"How do you stand it?"

"How do you?" she asked back. "It's not so different in the U.S. Here our 'truth' is usually political propaganda. In the U.S. propaganda is disguised as 'truth.'"

Pearl Jenner reappeared on the screen. "I'm an American by birth," she said, "but I felt it was my duty as someone of Chinese blood to step forward. In America freedom of the press is a Constitutional right. It's our duty to expose wrong. That I have been able to help my ancestral homeland…"

Hulan shook herself. What were they doing sitting here, watching television, and having a chat about Sino-American relations? It was only a matter of time before Hulan was arrested. David could probably get her to the U.S. embassy. Rob Butler might be able to finagle political asylum, but this all seemed a pipe dream. Because if they came after Hulan, then they'd come after David too. In the meantime Sun would be tried and executed. Miss Quo, innocent of all charges, would also face prosecution. Henry Knight and Tartan would settle their differences, and tomorrow newspapers in China and the U.S. would talk about the acquisition, about the money that had changed hands, about the profit that would be made. No matter what, Hulan and David shouldn't be wasting time. They needed to get moving. But it wasn't so easy to leave Beijing if the government was looking for you. More than a half million of the city's citizens were engaged in watching. Intersections with traffic lights had cameras to track cars through the city. There were ways around these devices. Certainly David and Hulan had gotten out of Beijing once before when the stakes had seemed as high. But it wouldn't be so easy this time.

As all this ran through Hulan's mind, Miss Quo had continued her sniffling. Hulan crossed to her and patted her hand. David too had been lost in thought, and suddenly he said as he pushed himself off the edge of the table, "I've got to try and reach Miles. This whole thing has gotten out of hand." Without moving, Hulan watched as he picked up the phone, dialed, and asked for Miles Stout's room.

"I called my father in California this morning," Miss Quo said to Hulan. "I told him not to come home. He has money there. He'll be okay. But Mama and me?" Two new rivers of tears sprang from her eyes. "I've brought disgrace upon our family. My father will be abandoned in a foreign land. I'll go to jail. Mama will die all alone." An idea suddenly came to her, and she quickly stood. "I have to run away. Maybe I can leave the country. Dissidents do it. Maybe I could too. I have money. Pay a little here. Pay a little there. I could be in Vancouver by tomorrow." The young woman quivered in terror. "I don't want to die."

Hulan felt sorry for the girl. She'd been raised in a house of privilege. She'd never known hunger or suffering. She was too young to have experienced the Cultural Revolution. Instead she'd partied, swilled champagne, gone to karaoke bars and nightclubs, dressed in designer clothes, traveled the world. In an hour her whole life had fallen apart in a way she could never in her worst nightmare have imagined.

"Did you do anything wrong?" Hulan asked gently.

"They say I did."

"Do you think you did anything wrong?"

Miss Quo shook her head.

"Then you have nothing to be afraid of."

In the background Hulan heard David raise his voice. "Listen, Miles, you can't do that. You need a vote from the full partnership."

Hulan felt a tap on her arm. It was Miss Quo. "I was asking you, how can you say that? Don't you know what they'll do to you?"

"Yes, but I also didn't do anything wrong."

Miss Quo's eyes widened. "You're not going to stay here, are you?"

Hulan glanced back at David. He gripped the receiver so tightly that his knuckles had gone white. "Special circumstances?" David shouted into the phone. "What are you talking about? When I explain to the partners what's been going on over here…"

David was talking like he was going to get out of China, but they'd never go anywhere but jail unless they got moving. The more Hulan eavesdropped on David's conversation and the more she talked to Miss Quo, the more she wanted to go home and wait it out. She was too tired to run. Her arm throbbed, her body burned, and all she wanted was to lie down under a cool, wet cloth and sleep. She registered David's anxious look and thought he understood what she was thinking, but the words that came out of his mouth were all wrong.

David slammed down the phone. Without explanation he began issuing orders: "Everybody up! Let's get out of here. We're going to the American embassy!" When Hulan and Miss Quo didn't move, he barked, "Now!"

Miss Quo jumped up. Hulan slowly drew herself to her feet as David threw a couple of things in his briefcase and Miss Quo scurried about looking for her purse and… What was she jabbering on about? Her umbrella? Then someone pounded on the door, and the others froze in place. Hulan thought it was one of the funnier things she'd ever seen, but the look of horror on Miss Quo's face trapped the laughter in her throat.

"Why didn't you tell me about Sun and the bribery?" Henry Knight demanded, as he finally burst through the door. "Did you know all along this was brewing? Did you know he was going to be arrested?"

David, briefcase in hand and ready to flee, asked, "Has he already been arrested?"

"Now, how in God's name am I supposed to know?" Henry queried, dramatically throwing himself into a chair. David just looked at the man.

Henry began to take in the scene: Miss Quo in her pink Chanel suit, eyes swollen and red, her bag over her shoulder and an umbrella in her hand; David looking rumpled, harried, with his briefcase in one hand and his laptop in the other; and Hulan swaying there as if she were ready to keel over for an afternoon siesta except it was only 10:30 in the morning.

"What's going on here?" Henry asked.

"In case you don't know it, Sun isn't the only one who's in trouble," David answered. "I've been named, as have Miss Quo and Miss Liu."

"Well, I know thatl But you aren't going to turn tail and run away like scared dogs, are you?"

"That's precisely what we're going to do." "But you have a duty to your client."

David didn't have time to talk with Henry about this. He looked at the two women. "Come on, let's go."

They made for the door, but Henry jumped up and blocked them. "If Sun's arrested," Henry said, "he'll be executed. His death will be on your head."

"If he's arrested and I go down to the jail to help him, I'll probably be arrested too. If I'm lucky, I'll simply be expelled from the country. If not-"

Henry grabbed David's shirt. He was a small man but wiry and tough. "You've got a duty, boy. The man's innocent."

"Like you're innocent of illegal practices in your factory? Like you're innocent of paying off Sun?"

Henry shoved David away. "Do you realize that at this very minute my son is selling my company out from under me? That vulture Randall Craig and your partner Miles Stout are trying to rip my life away from me, but I'm not going to let them. I'll use every penny I've got to keep them from getting Knight. What's happened there, if it's to be believed, is terrible. But I've got money too, and I've got people in New York poised to buy the stock. If Tartan wants war, I'll give it to them. Because I'm telling you right now, whatever happened in that factory before is ending. The past record won't matter anymore-"

"Of course it will, Henry. It's the key to everything. Tartan wants your company for the very abuses you insisted you didn't have. And your pal Sun has moved the whole thing along. Now," he added forcefully, "we're leaving."

"What if I told you I knew where Sun was?"

David motioned at the walls around him. "I'd say you'd better be careful where you say that. I don't think the Chinese will take kindly to your hiding a criminal."

"I'm not hiding him, but I know where he is, and…" He once again grabbed David's shirt, pulled him very close, and whispered, "I've got a plane."

The phone rang. Miss Quo stared at it. When it rang a third time, she picked it up. "Phillips, MacKenzie amp; Stout," she said, taking a stab at a cheerfulness she didn't feel. The voice on the other end spoke for several seconds with Miss Quo nodding. "Please hold," she said at last, "I will see if he's in." She held the receiver out to David. "It's for you."

"I don't have to take it. I no longer work for the firm."

"She's calling from America."

"Oh, Jesus," David said, "Jenner must have sent her story out on the wire. We're probably all over the papers in the States too. Just say no comment."

Miss Quo shook her head. "No, it's a woman from Kansas. She says she's been trying to reach you for a long time."