Note: This story is set between the Season Two episodes "Steel vs. Steel" and "Space Opera." Whenever possible I have stuck to the facts, but some fudging was unavoidable. (All historical details are accurate to the best of my knowledge.) The ship's name, later in the story,is my invention.
The first emperor of China is known variously as "Qin Shi Huang" (chin shir huang) and "Qin Shi Huangdi." I've used the first version for this story.
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All warfare is based on deception.
- Sun Tzu, The Art of War
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SHANGHAI, CHINA
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Fog blanketed the harbor and turned the nighttime city into distant neon fireflies. It muffled the sound of buoys and passing ships, and made the passage of one small powerboat all but invisible. This was to everyone's advantage.
The boat pulled up the side of a vessel big enough to be a cruise ship. Its engine cut and it bobbed gently on its own waves. Its passenger glanced around out of habit, then stepped into the lift and rose to the main deck.
There she found her host waiting with his usual bodyguards. Their armor did not intimidate her. She was wearing her own.
Her host stepped forward. "Welcome," Chang said.
"I'm sure I am," Dragonelle said. She smiled.
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DEL ORO BAY, CALIFORNIA
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"We have a situation developing," Jefferson Smith told the two agents in front of him. They were seated at the table in one of N-Tek's briefing rooms. Both agents had been pulled from training exercises. Jeff ran N-Tek and he wanted the best for this operation. Max Steel and Kat Ryan were definitely among the best.
Field Agent MX-1, nicknamed Max Steel, was the alter-ego of Joshua McGrath. Josh had been accidentally dosed with experimental nanoprobes over a year ago. It had nearly killed him. Even now he was dependent on the agency's transphasic energy generator for survival: the energy was the only thing that could power the nanoprobes. The trade-off was a host of superhuman abilities and a chance to save the world every day. Being Max had changed Josh's life forever - and Jeff's as well; Josh was his adopted son.
Senior Field Agent Kat Ryan was Max's new partner. She had replaced Rachel Leeds when Rachel was promoted a few months earlier. Kat was an ace pilot and infamously hard to get along with. Her violations of N-Tek's dress code - electric blue hair and multiple earrings - were never mentioned. Her special abilities were limited to keeping up with Max. They had mostly stopped arguing.
The third member of "Team Steel" was Agent Dr. Roberto Martinez, Berto to his friends. He monitored the data from Max's nanoprobes and ran other support services. He was a world-class genius in several fields. He was one of Josh's best friends. He wasn't at the briefing because he was doing routine maintenance on the generator.
"Our people in Shanghai have alerted us to new activity from the Cyberdragon Triad," Jeff continued. He put up the triad's file on the room's central monitor screen.
"The Cyberdragons?" Max asked, slightly surprised. "Chang's still around?"
Jeff nodded. "The Seraph business took its toll - Ivan Vostok is a sore loser. But Chang somehow came out with his power base intact, even if his wallet is empty."
"Seraph," Kat said. She leaned back in her chair. "That was one of Rachel's ops, right?"
"Kat," Max said, warning. It had been one of his ops, too.
She winked and turned back to Jeff. He had been waiting for the skirmish to conclude. Now he picked up the briefing again. "We believe that Chang is about to pull a heist. Not his usual technology MO - something big. Something very big."
"How big?" Max asked.
Jeff put a new display on the monitor. "Three hundred and fifty square meters at its base. Give or take."
Both agents let out low whistles.
Max said, "He's going to need a bigger boat."
Kat said, "How do you steal a pyramid? Never mind why."
"It's not the pyramid Chang's after," Jeff answered. "It's all the stuff inside." He gestured towards the low mountain of earth on the screen. "This is the funeral complex of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. It's located a few miles northeast of the city of Xi'an. A big tourist attraction. Legend has it that the interior contains enough treasure to make the Egyptian pharaohs look like cheapskates."
"He has to be desperate for cash if he's chasing fairy tales," Kat said. She was not impressed by a triad boss who would waste resources.
Jeff said, "Even if it isn't true, Chang thinks it is. That means we can't afford not to."
Max drummed his fingers on the polished surface of the table. "Right. If it's true, Chang's a black-market billionaire. And if it isn't -"
"- he trashes some priceless Chinese history," Kat finished for him. Max threw her a dirty look. She returned it.
"Exactly." Jeff slid two identical information packets to his agents. "Go to Shanghai. Get inside the triad and stop Chang from pulling off this 'Heaven and Earth' project. And," he added as they started to rise, "be careful. There's a rumor that the Cyberdragons aren't working alone."
Max flashed an easy grin. "No problem, Dad."
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There was a problem.
It was a predictable one. Max and Kat were partners. They were also competitors. In everything, including running ops. They were both bad at undercover work, but that didn't stop them.
"I'm the senior agent," Kat said. She had her hands on her hips and a nonnegotiable glare on her face.
"Yeah, but I have experience dealing with Chang," Max said. He was matching her posture and expression. The cockpit of the Behemoth was larger than some planes, and they were the only people in it, but it felt crowded.
Berto had come up from his monitoring station to intervene. "Uh - rock/paper/scissors?" he suggested now. It was less likely to end in bloodshed than other methods.
"Deal," Max said.
"Deal," Kat said.
Berto officiated by default. "Three, two, one - shoot."
Max came up scissors. So did Kat.
"Tie," Berto said. It didn't take a genius IQ to predict that outcome. "Three, two, one - shoot."
Kat threw scissors again. This time, Max picked rock. "Ha!"
Kat scowled. "Two out of three."
They were flying over Hawai'i. They could still be playing when they got to China. Berto cut the game short. "Nope. Max wins."
"Ha," Max said again. "Thanks, bro."
Berto left the cockpit before Kat could hurt him.
Max folded his arms over his chest and looked smug. "Okay. Here's the plan."
To her credit, Kat listened to the entire plan. Then she pointed at him. "I am not dyeing my hair," she said.
Max said, "Oh yeah?"
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GOLDEN DRAGON, SHANGHAI HARBOR
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Dragonelle was pleased. Reports from Heaven and Earth were good. The project was ahead of schedule. Chances of a substantial payoff were high. Her Shanghai accommodations - aboard Chang's private cruise ship, the Golden Dragon - were excellent. And Chang himself, head of the notorious Cyberdragon Triad, was in her debt.
It was even better because Dragonelle had been on the ship before. She had been sent there to steal the Seraph program. But she had been disguised as Sofia, an undercover N-Tek agent, the entire time. Chang had never known that she, Dragonelle, had been anything more than just John Dread's courier. Now he was happy to take her money in return for her participation in Heaven and Earth.
So she was very pleased. She didn't have to act like it.
"This wasn't part of the plan, Chang," she said sharply.
His bodyguards bristled but he only made a sour face; he disliked women who stood up to him. This was something Dragonelle was keenly aware of. "Plans change."
In more ways than he knew. Dragonelle rose and left the room. She said nothing. Chang let her go with a dismissive wave to his bodyguards. He was happy to get rid of her.
She walked unescorted to the main security control room and went inside. Dozens of monitors showed locations all over the ship: the decks, the casino, the passenger cabins (all empty), Chang's suite of rooms. There had been fewer cameras on her first visit - the botched Seraph job. Chang was now paranoid enough to spy on himself.
The Cyberdragon soldiers on duty swung around at her entrance. "Get out," she ordered in bad Chinese. They exchanged glances, then left their chairs and the room. Dragonelle took a seat in front of the monitor showing Chang.
"Arrogant fool," she muttered. It lacked venom. She was used to arrogant fools. She expected them. But Chang was pushing his luck by trying to line up buyers before there was anything to sell.
Seven minutes later, there was a soft chime on the audio feed. One of the bodyguards opened the door to Chang's suite and admitted two people.
A man and a woman, both young, both dressed in slick black business suits. They were nearly the same height as each other (and as Chang, Dragonelle noted). There the similarities ended. The young man was blond and athletic: an all-American football star. The young woman was dark-haired and built like a gymnast. Dragonelle didn't recognize the young woman.
It took her a moment to recognize the young man.
"Welcome," Chang said, all charm. "Please, make yourself comfortable before we begin our business tonight."
They both sat and accepted tea. The young man's attention was fixed on Chang. The young woman's eyes flicked around the room. Light glinted off of several small earrings as she turned her head. Dragonelle kept her focus on all three of them.
And she listened carefully to what was said - and what was not - by Joshua McGrath, aka Max Steel, and his fellow N-Tek agent.
This was even better than she'd thought.
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Kat thought the plan could be worse. She just wasn't sure how.
First, they were both lousy undercover agents: they weren't patient, subtle, or good actors. Second, Chang and Max had already met. Josh and Max were not that different; Max's voice was pitched slightly lower and his hair and eyes were different colors. It wouldn't fool anyone who was looking closely enough, and Chang would have them under a microscope.
Third, she'd had to dye her hair - blue bangs spoiled the high-class underworld shark image that they were going for.
She was not thrilled about the hair.
For those reasons she had decided to let Josh do the talking. She would sit silently and chime in when she felt like it, or when - not if - his plan imploded. Chang didn't like women to be anything other than decoration anyway.
"So," Chang said. He set down his teacup. "It is Mr. Holman and Ms. Hilts, correct? I understand that you are interested in one of my... business ventures."
"Our employer is," Josh said.
Chang smiled. "Your employer. A mysterious man. And careless with his money, it seems. Does he even know what he's investing in?"
"He has his sources." N-Tek snitches in Cyberdragon employ. "He'd like to get involved with the Heaven and Earth project now, before things become more -"
"-public," Kat finished. Josh nudged her foot sharply. She ran her fingers through her brown hair and smiled at both men.
"More public," Josh said, forcing a smile of his own.
Chang toyed with his cup. "This venture is in fact about to go public, as you put it. Getting in now will be expensive."
Josh pulled out a checkbook. "Our employer is very interested."
"Convince me," Chang said. He motioned a Cyberdragon guard forward. "You'll forgive my caution. Other business partners have been untrustworthy regarding payment."
"Better safe than sorry," Josh agreed. He handed the check to the guard without hesitation. The payment problem had been N-Tek - Berto specifically - transferring three hundred and one million phantom dollars during the Seraph op. N-Tek would be stupid to complain about it now.
There was a two-minute wait for the guard to return. They sipped tea and feigned polite civility.
"Where are you staying in Shanghai?" Chang asked finally.
Josh opened his mouth but Kat got there first: "A hotel."
Chang's eyes flashed. The civility strained. "Which one?"
"A really nice one," Kat said. It could have sounded empty-headed. It didn't. It sounded mocking, which was what she had intended.
Josh kicked her foot again, but knew better than to say anything: she was a great agent but low on tact. Chang refused to be baited further. Kat had scored her point and saw no reason to go on. A tense silence fell.
Over the biolink, Berto said, "We're clear." The bogus account was more convincing this time, but still bogus. N-Tek didn't give money to gangsters.
Josh was relieved. He nodded almost imperceptibly at Kat.
The guard came back and said something in Chinese to Chang. It was probably the same thing that Berto had just said.
Chang stood and smiled broadly at Josh and Kat. "It was a pleasure doing business with you. I'll contact you later tonight with further information."
"Great," Josh said. Being friendly with scum like Chang was killing him. At least that part was nearly over.
"One more thing," Chang said as the agents stood. "Please, for your own safety, accept some of my assistants as an escort back to your really nice hotel."
