The Money Is Green (34 page)

Jason followed and hopped into the ambulance with Brian. The door was shut tight and the driver took off. Settling into a chair across from Brian and next to one of the EMTs, Jason took out his phone and made a call. He breathed easier when he heard Janine’s soft voice on the other line.

“Janine,” he said concernedly. “I’m back. I just landed a few minutes ago. I’m going to accompany Brian to the hospital, and then one of my employees has volunteered to let me use his car to drive to Roseville. How is Crystal?”

“Oh, it’s so good to hear your voice, Jason,” she answered, almost in tears. “She’s doing much better. She woke up yesterday and seems to be getting stronger every minute. She’ll be so excited to see you.”

“I can’t thank you enough for everything, Janine. I don’t know what I would have done without you. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“I can’t wait to see you. Please be safe.”

He hung up the phone, but before he could put it into his pocket, it rang again. Jason studied the number for a second then answered. “Hello?”

“It’s Agent Mark Namath, Jason,” the voice spoke in a steady voice. “Are you on the ground?”

“Yes, I just landed a few minutes ago. How is everything going?”

Namath’s anxious voice filled him in. “We’ve found out that there’s been a hit ordered on you and Brian, and also on your daughter and girlfriend. Do you know where they are at this minute?”

Jason glanced over at Brian lying on the bed. One of the paramedics was searching in his bag next to him. “Brian’s in the ambulance with me right now and we’re headed to St. Joseph’s Hospital in San Francisco. My daughter and Janine are in Roseville at the Kaiser Hospital there. I just spoke to Janine before you called. What should we do?” He looked over at the paramedic who had pulled out a needle and was filling it with some kind of liquid.

“Right now, get Brian to the hospital and I’ll have some of my agents there waiting. We can watch him from that point on. I’ll also send a team to Roseville to watch over the two women there. Where will you be?”

Jason studied the paramedic as he fiddled with the needle. “I wanted to drive to Roseville to be with my daughter. Will that be okay?”

There was a pause on the other line. “Let me think,” Namath said. “I believe one of my guys could drive with you, but let me check. When you get to the hospital to drop off Brian, stay there until I call you. It won’t be long.”

As Jason hung up, he looked harder at the paramedic. He was wearing tennis shoes and appeared to be wearing jeans under his uniform. Something isn’t right about his guy. Why would he be giving Brian a shot?

The paramedic had rolled back the sheet covering Brian’s arm and rubbed some antiseptic on it. He held the needle above the arm and started to bring it down. Jason reached over and grabbed his arm. “What are you injecting in my friend?” he asked. “Don’t you think we should wait until we get to the hospital where a doctor can examine him?”

The paramedic glared at him, trying to shake loose from Jason’s grip. “Let me do my job,” he snarled. “You’re not the one with the medical license.”

Jason held firm. “Not until you tell me what you’re putting in my friend’s body. I think there’s something wrong here.”

The man smiled, reached down, pulled a Glock pistol out of his duffle bag, and pointed it at Jason’s forehead. “You’re right, Mr. Ballard. There is something wrong. I’m sitting here wasting my time listening to you babble when I can pull this trigger and be done with you.”

Jason felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He stared into the barrel of the gun then into the paramedic’s eyes. This is not good, he thought. Not good at all.

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IX

C
ongressman Waters, his elbows on his desk and his chin resting on his folded hands, sat in rapt attention as he listened to Sheila Andrew, the young attorney representing a group called Victims of Gun Violence, walk him through the legislation he was going to introduce at the House of Representatives the following morning. A slender blonde with bright blue eyes, she was a striking figure in Washington D.C.

His eyes walked from her white blouse, which tastefully exposed a hint of her perky breasts, to her eyes and back. Man, what I won’t do to party with you, he thought. Mmmm, what a dish. After I get this gun control bill to vote, I’m going to propose we go out and celebrate properly.

His thoughts were interrupted when she stopped and looked at him quizzically. “Is there something wrong, Congressman? Am I reading the bill too fast?”

Waters cleared his throat and rearranged some papers on his desk. He waved his arm at her. “Oh no, not at all. The legislation you’ve written is superb. When we’re done, trying to buy an assault rifle in the US will be harder than buying heroin. Keep reading. It’s music to
my ears. The sooner we get those destructive weapons off the streets, the better the country will be.”

She smiled sweetly at him and squirmed in her seat. “Well, Congressman, you don’t know how much my clients appreciate your stance on gun control. You’ve been one of the most consistent voices on the Hill on this issue, and we’ll reward you when it comes to contributing for your upcoming re-election campaign.”

Waters grinned and waved at her dismissively. “It’s a cause I feel strongly about, Sheila.” And you’re a cause I’d love to feel strongly about, he thought, smiling. “If I didn’t believe this strongly about gun control, I wouldn’t put my name on the legislation, but I do believe in it. I can’t wait to get on the floor of the House tomorrow and introduce it.” He snapped his fingers. “That reminds me, I need to make sure my assistant, John, sets up the news conference after the session. I need lots of cameras rolling.” He leaned forward and said in a soft tone, “When you’re in Congress, you can’t get enough publicity. You’ve got to get a big bang for your buck.” Winking at her, he threw his head back and laughed.

Biting the tip of her pen, Sheila laughed along. “Congressman Waters, you are one of a kind.”

A sharp knock on the door made Sheila almost jump out of her seat. Waters had barely looked up from his desk when the door flew open and three men dressed in dark suits burst into the office, the first one holding up a badge at eye level. “Congressman, I’m agent Mark Namath with Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco. I’m placing you under arrest for the crime of illegal shipment of guns across state and country lines.” He pointed at the agent next to him, a tall black man with a shiny, shaved head. “Willie here will read you your rights.”

Sheila sprang up. “You’ve made a huge mistake!” she yelled. “Congressman Waters would never be involved in anything to do with guns. He hates them!”

Agent Namath ignored her and set a piece of paper in front of Waters. “This is a search warrant for your office, your home, and your
office in San Francisco. I would appreciate you alerting your staff as to what’s happening and encourage them to cooperate with us.”

Waters’s mouth hung open in disbelief. “I, uh, I,” he stammered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He looked at Sheila innocently. “I don’t know what’s happening.” Oh no, he thought. They caught Wo Sung with the guns. I need to get ahold of my lawyer and a good public relations firm. He stood there in handcuffs as agents scurried about his office, going through drawers and file cabinets.

Agent Namath grabbed him by the elbow and pushed him toward the door. “Come on, Congressman. I need to take you downtown to get booked.”

As Waters stumbled forward and out of his office, his mind raced. Do they know about Mei Chen? What else do they know about Wo Sung? Can’t everyone stay quiet?

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EVEN

T
he kitchen counter was covered in legal documents. Mei scanned them one at a time. In her left hand she held a teacup filled with jasmine tea, its aroma floating around the kitchen. These documents will do the trick, she thought. My lawyer actually did what I told him for once and covered all the things I was worried about. Now, I need to take these to the proper authorities and I’ll be the owner of all of David Wilson’s hotels. At least Tan did a credible job at forging his signature. She held her teacup with both hands and took a sip, looking out through the French doors to her backyard. She squinted her eyes as she surveyed the lush gardens. David should have taken my offer. It was fair and he’d be alive and enjoying life right now. She sighed. This was all his choice.

A sound to her left made her turn to see her husband Ho standing at the kitchen’s entrance, his arms folded and a concerned look on his face. “Did you know there is a formal inquiry, requested by the President, into your business dealings and the disappearance of a prominent British citizen, Mei?” he asked. “I’ve been summoned to the court to testify tomorrow. I have not been informed as to what they want to talk to me about, but I know they’re going to demand to know about our finances and where our wealth came from.”

Setting her cup on the counter, she stared at him, disgusted. Ho, you are such a wimp. Every time you get a hint of a whisper, you run off and hide in the corner. No one is going to challenge me. You’re lucky you’re married to me. “I don’t listen to such garbage,” she spat. “It’s like a bunch of old ladies gossiping about nothing. I have better things to do than worry about what simple minds are talking about.”

Ho walked up to her and pointed a finger in her face. “Let me tell you something, Mei. You think because your grandmother was a charter member of the Party with Chairman Mao that you are immune from following the rules.” His voice rose. “You are mistaken. I know what you’ve been doing and I have a strong suspicion you were involved in the fate of Mr. Wilson. And if I know, so do other people in the Party. You’ve flaunted your wealth around when I told you not to, and you’d better hope it doesn’t come back to haunt you. I will not take a fall for you. Do not look to me for help if your world comes crashing down!”

Mei threw her head back and laughed. “Me, need help from you? That’s funny, Ho. I’m the one who has the connections in this family. If you are to become President of China, it will be because of my influence.”

Ho’s face turned red and he spoke in an angry voice. “You are not as influential as you think. Did you really believe the British government would sit by quietly and not pursue the cause of the death of David Wilson, a prominent citizen who died under mysterious circumstances here in China? Do you not think that there will be an investigation, and if it is proven your actions were behind the death it would be a huge embarrassment to China? That you would not be severely punished, possibly put to death?”

Mei walked past him and waved her arms dismissively. “You’re wasting my time with your scare tactics, Ho. I’ve got to attend to my business. Go on and play with your ass-kissing Party members.”

A loud banging on their front door stopped her in her tracks. She looked back at Ho. “What is that?” she asked in an irritated voice. The
banging continued and voices could be heard shouting for the door to be opened.

Ho went to the door and hesitated before opening it up. Four men dressed in military fatigues and toting assault rifles rushed into the house, followed by an older man with a chest full of decorations on his uniform and a shiny silver helmet on his head. He had a riding crop under one arm as he strode up to Mei and pulled out a scrolled roll of paper. Rolling it out, he started reading out loud:

“By order of the Communist Party of China, Madam Mei Chen is to be arrested for murder, extortion, and other crimes against the State. She is immediately to be arrested and housed in the Beijing State Prison to await her trial. It is signed by President Xi.” The man rolled the scroll back up and stuck it under his arm.

Mei stood in the foyer, her mouth wide open in horror. “There has to have been a mistake. I am Madam Mei Chen, daughter of Chi Hong and granddaughter of Tian Kung, the comrade of the great Mao Tse Tung! I am the face of the Party! You can’t arrest me!”

The man with the medals motioned to the soldiers standing at attention, and they moved quickly to surround Mei. He walked up to her and put his face inches away from her nose. “I’m sorry, Madam, but I have my orders.” He nodded to one of his men, and he grabbed Mei’s wrists firmly and whipped them behind her back, cuffing them.

“You don’t want to do this!” she screamed as the men pushed her out the door. “You will pay dearly for this insulting action. I am Madam Chen! Do you hear me! You will be sorry for this. Let me go!” She continued screaming as they led her to a waiting car out front and shoved her in unceremoniously. She turned her head and screamed to no one in particular. “When I get out of this mess, which I will get out of, there will be hell to pay! I will hunt down everyone who has any involvement in this action and they will be severely punished!” One of the soldiers pushed her back and slammed the door shut.

Ho watched the scene unfold but said nothing. After Mei had been placed in the car, the man with the medals came over to him and stood at attention, a soldier standing on each side of him. “Comrade Ho, you have been summoned to Party headquarters immediately. I will escort you there in my car. We need to leave here now.”

Bowing his head, Ho nodded. “May I use the restroom before we leave?”

“If you hurry,” the man said curtly. He nodded to one of the soldiers to follow him.

Ho walked steadily through the kitchen towards the bathroom next to it, stopped, and looked around. He went over to a line of drawers and quickly opened the first one on the left. Reaching in, he pulled out a long, stainless steel knife and held it close to his chest to shield it from the soldier who was standing a foot away. The soldier saw the knife and reached out to grab it, but Ho, with both hands, brought the blade down hard into his belly, pushing it to the hilt. The soldier struggled with Ho and yelled for his commander. Blood immediately gushed from Ho’s mouth and the wound in his belly, and he wobbled on his feet a few steps before falling face first onto the floor, a pool of blood growing around him.

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