The Lost City

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The area known in Mandarin as Dong Jiaomin Xiang, but to the West as the Beijing Legation Quarter was in the very heart of the enormous, sprawling Chinese capital. It contained many of China’s most famous landmarks and buildings, including the Great Hall of the People, the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong and Tiananmen Square.

It also contained the headquarters of the Chinese Ministry of State Security.

The vast building was close to the Forbidden City, but the tourists rarely went south of the Tongzi River, and the building’s purpose was unknown even to most Beijingers. The machinations whirring behind its heavy doors were some of the most secretive on earth, and if the Guojia Anquan Bu, or Guoanbu, didn’t want you to know what they were doing, you didn’t know.

In an unassuming corner office somewhere in the building’s northeast, a thin man in a boring suit buzzed for his personal assistant and moments later she showed another man into the room. The second man had slicked-back hair and a small scar contracture below his lower lip. He nodded his head respectfully at the man in the boring suit and after being invited to take a seat he lowered himself into the uncomfortable wooden chair opposite the desk.

“Good morning, sir,” said the man with the scar.

“You are over two minutes late.”

“I apologize.”

The man in the boring suit, whose name was Zhou Yang, was the second in command of the General Office of the Central Investigation Department. He also ran a small subdivision of ruthless assassins informally named the Zodiac Syndicate. Sitting opposite him, with the scar, was the man they called Tiger. Zhou had long forgotten his real name and would have to search his files to retrieve it, something he was not particularly inclined to do this morning.

“Have you found her?” Zhou said quietly.

“Yes, sir. She is working with an independent Western agency.”

“Based where — London?”

Tiger shook his head. “Not London, but we don’t know beyond that.”

“Last known location?”

“Cartagena.”

Zhou nodded, unsurprised. “The little dragonfly has flown to Colombia, I see.”

“Your orders?”

“She is to be terminated, and so are any of her associates. We do not know what she has told them and we do not take risks.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Make sure you take only your best people with you.”

“Of course, sir.”

“I await your final report with restrained excitement.”

Tiger rose from is chair, bowed to the man and left the office. By the time he had closed the door Zhou was already on his feet and peering out his little window across the enormous courtyard at the center of the Ministry’s sprawling compound.

It was too bad the Dragonfly had betrayed him. Once she had been a loyal servant of the State and it was with disappointment that he had ordered her death. Such a beautiful and merciless creature as that would have had a glowing career ahead of her at the Ministry, but crossing him was unforgivable, and in their trade letting her live would be bad etiquette so he had no choice.

He sighed and buzzed his personal assistant again.

“Yes, sir?”

“One cup of white tea, please.”

“Yes, sir.”

He cut the connection and nodded his head slowly.

Very bad etiquette indeed.