Chapter 11: Making Contact:

Once back in their hotel room, Felix sniffed the small bottle, took his finger around the top, then put barely a drop of the remaining liquid in his mouth. He made a puckered face, then nodded while throwing the bottle away in the trash.

"That's tetrodotoxin alright," he said, making his way to the two kids sitting on Arnie's bed. "Having it be a part of China's history regarding medicine, it wouldn't be difficult to get a hold of this."

"It didn't look like it took long to kill him," Arnie said, remembering the earlier events of tonight.

"It's toxicity is extremely severe. It's said that it is more poisonous and quicker to kill someone than cyanide."

"Therefore killing him within seconds after ingestion."

"Correct, my boy."

"Is it a painful death?" Lulu asked, curious to learn more about the toxin.

"You ever had an asthma attack?" Felix replied, turning to face her.

"Not since I was seven…I don't remember much of it, either."

"It's like that, but more intense and much faster in its attack."

"Sounds horrid." Although grateful to have one less man of Lobster's to worry about, she could not help but feel dread over an ordinary human life dying in such a way. It sounded like a nightmare to her.

"Not a preferred way to die." Felix answered.

"Did you ever find that guy you were looking for?" Arnie asked, changing the topic of discussion.

"No, but I did find one of his colleagues. I told him what was going on and said he would let him know. We meet with him tomorrow morning in the ballroom of the InterContinental Shanghai Pudong Hotel," the American said.

"What's his name?" Lulu asked.

"Dr. Mao Zhang. He's a Chinese agent that works for MI6 stationed here in Shanghai. Lulu, I want you to make contact with him tomorrow. Arnie and I will be on lookout in the other room for any of Lobster's men that might be spying in on us. If anyone knows about the last time Ying was seen, it's him."

"There a special code I need to know it's him?"

"I'll tell you more details in the morning before you go to meet with him. He's an older man. Wears glasses, has blackish gray hair, and about 5'11"."

Lulu nodded.

"Got it," she said.

"And now that Lobster's men know what 008 looks like, it'll be even more vital to keep your real identity hidden. If he finds out who you really are, you'll be in much more danger than you already are."

The young girl gulped, her expression turning from one of curiosity to one of anxiety.

"I'd rather prefer that not happen," she said, meek.

"From this point on, we only use your last name in this room unless I say otherwise…got it?" Felix asked, his tone firm.

"Yes, Sir," Arnie said, soft.

"Yes, Uncle Felix," Lulu added.

"Good," the American said. He looked at his watch and nodded. "It's almost 1AM. We better get headed for bed. I want us up and ready at 7:30 exactly. It's about a 45 minute drive from here to the hotel."

Both children nodded, then made their separate ways to get ready for bed.

After brushing her teeth and putting on her pajamas, Lulu crawled underneath her bed covers, turned off the light, then lay in bed awake for awhile. She had been thinking about her father a lot that night. Dancing at the club, tricking Lobster's men like he would have done, Fallaci's death, it had struck many memories within her. It was Fallaci's death that got to her the most. It made her remember the night her father had died: sitting by his bedside, giving him hugs and kisses, praying to have as much time with him as possible before…it happened.

She closed her eyes tight, fighting back with all her strength to not start crying. She could feel the emotional pain striking her harder inside her chest and made the urge to cry much more difficult to fight off. Lulu felt water burn in her eyes, and a few tears managed to escape and roll down her face.

I'll never be gone too far away, she heard James say inside her head.

"Oh, Papa…" She finally reached her breaking point and began crying. What she would not have given to see him again, even if it were just for a few seconds. She needed his advice on how to defeat Lobster, to see his smile, to hug him and let him know how much she loved and looked up to him.

Lulu continued crying, when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She calmed herself down enough to turn to her right and see who it was that was standing there. She saw Felix kneeling at her bedside in his pajamas and looking at her with empathy.

Lulu sat up in bed, wrapped her arms around his neck, and continued sobbing.

The American rubbed her back and hushed her softly.

"I know, sweetheart. I know," he said, quiet.

The only answer he received was little whimpers and sniffling.

"He's right here with us, hon…he never left us entirely."

"Papa…I miss you, Papa." Lulu bawled.

"I know…he knows…we all miss him."

Felix took his thumbs and wiped Lulu's wet cheeks, though more fell. He helped her to her feet and wrapped an arm around James's daughter.

"Come on. You can sleep in my bed tonight," he said, running his fingers through her hair.

Lulu nodded, still softly sobbing, and both headed out into the main room for the remainder of their night.


Colombo made his way down a dark, silent hallway, knocked on a door on the right side halfway down, and entered on command. Once inside, he made his way to his boss's desk next to his partner, Mazzanti, both being Lobster's assistants.

"Well?" Lobster demanded, irritated with the ongoing silence. "Did you find him?"

"She, Don," Colombo said, with a slight snarl.

"She!"

"008 is a female. And might I say a fairly young one, too. She's no where near past the age of 20."

"And Fallaci; where is he?"

"Dead. 008 tried making him talk and killed himself with a vial of tetrodotoxin. I would have made an attempt at rescue, but it would not serve you well with two men dead and not knowing more information on who 008 is."

Lobster looked like he was about to snap, but took in a deep breath through his nose and exhaled slowly. His body slowly lost tension and was finally able to speak calmly.

"You made the right decision, Colombo," he said, then snapped his head to his second assistant. "Mazzanti, I'm putting you and Colombo in charge of this assignment from here on out. I want 008 brought back here, and I want her alive. You are to kill her only if necessary."

"Si, Capo," the man said, with a firm nod.

"There's something off with her, Don. She looks familiar to me, but I don't know why." Colombo commented, agitated that he could not figure out who the young agent was.

"Then I'd advise you to find out, Colombo. I want every mount of information you can find out about 008, capisce?" Lobster snarled.

"Yes, Don."

"Good. Now, get out!"

Both Mazzanti and Colombo made their way out of Lobster's office and without another word, closed the door behind them.

Now to himself, Lobster put a fist to his mouth and sat in silence. He would not rest until he knew that 008 was dead and out of the way. His plans to assassinate Chairman Mao and corrupt the government of its money was at its peak, and he refused for it to all be ruined by some young, amateur of a 00 agent. He had already dealt with one of those and succeeded in his demise. He was determined to do the same with this one.


"Lulu…Lulu…yo, Lu!" Arnie's voice called out in the morning.

The young Bond was peacefully sleeping and seemed in complete tranquility. As much as he wanted to sleep after last night himself, Felix had given them their orders to be ready at 7:30 on the dot, and it was pushing 6:55 already. The American was in the main bathroom taking a shower and getting ready for the day.

After getting nothing for a response, Arnie took a pillow on his bed and threw it at his friend's face.

Feeling the fluffy object smack her in the face, Lulu whimpered, sat up in bed, and glared at her friend.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty. Time to get up," the boy said.

"It's not even 7:00 yet."

"It's gonna take at least a half hour to get dressed and eat something for breakfast."

Letting out a deep sigh, Lulu climbed out of bed and headed for her room to get dressed for the day. She just missed Felix, when he came out of the bathroom straightening his black tie.

"Lulu get up?" He asked, spotting his bed vacant.

"It took throwing a pillow at her face, but she got up." Arnie answered.

"Be easy on her, today. She didn't have a good night."

"Something wrong?"

"No, she was just missing her pop real bad last night is all."

The teenager hung his head and closed his eyes, ashamed at waking her up the way he did.

"Now, I feel bad," he said sadly.

"You didn't do anything wrong. Just be easy with her, today. Unless she brings it up, I think it's best of us to lay off on discussing James today. Give her a day to recuperate."

Arnie nodded, and the two were soon joined by Lulu, who was in a pink sweater and a white skirt that went down to her shins. She had a small sparkly hair clip on the left side of her head for decoration.

Spotting his best friend, Arnie got up and made his way over to her, then gave her a gentle hug as a way to say 'sorry' for her loss and for the rude way he had woken her up.

The young Bond raised her eyebrow slightly and turned to look at Felix.

The American did not need to say anything in response. His eyes conveyed the message he wanted to send.

Lulu looked back at Arnie, gave a small smile, then leaned her head on his shoulder and gave him a hug back.

Felix could not resist the grin that grew on his face. He knew James would have been happy to know his daughter had a wonderful friend in her life. She needed him now more than ever in this part of her life.

"Alright, son. Get brushing on your teeth. I'm timing you," he said jokingly.

"What?!" Arnie exclaimed.

Lulu smirked.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty," she teased.

The boy gave her a playful glare, then rolled his eyes and headed into the bathroom to finish getting ready.


The three grabbed a taxi after eating breakfast and soon arrived at their destination. Once receiving the information she needed, Lulu made her way into the ballroom where some business dinner was to take place later. While she did that, Felix and Arnie waited in the front lobby with their guns, making sure no one suspicious made their way inside the building.

The young spy gripped her firearm tight in her hand, scanning the area for anything that looked out of order or suspicious to her. Finding nothing, she made her entrance inside the ballroom and began looking for a man that fit Zhang's physical description. She glanced over each table for anyone she thought would be her possible contact, when her eyes landed on someone not too far in front of her.

At a big, round table covered with a white tablecloth sat one older gentlemen in a dark blue suit, a maroonish purple tie, had glasses, blackish gray hair, and looked around his late 40s-early 50s. He was flipping through a black binder at what looked like contained business work and speech notes.

Taking her chances, Lulu let out a deep breath to calm her nerves, concealed her weapon, and made her approach to the man. Once she finally reached the table, she hesitated to speak and was relieved when the man finally looked up at her. He gave a look of slight confusion, not recognizing who the young stranger was.

"Good morning, Miss. Can I help you with something?" He asked, with a fairly strong Chinese accent.

"Good morning…I was wondering if you knew where the elevator was." Lulu spoke quietly.

He raised his eyebrow, closed his binder, and gave her more of his attention.

"Past the front lobby and near the swimming pool. Which floor are you headed for?"

"."

The man smiled, got to his feet, and stuck out his hand to shake.

"Miss 008, a pleasure to meet you. Dr. Mao Zhang of MI6 Shanghai," Zhang said kindly.

"Lulu," she answered, with a small smile back.

The old man gestured for her to sit down, then made his way back to his own chair. Once they were both sitting down, Zhang gave his complete attention to the young 00 agent.

"I was told you are sent here from Mr. Leiter, a good friend of mine," he said, soft.

"Yes, Sir," Lulu said, with a gentle nod. "We are here in Shanghai investigating the murder of CID agent, Ying Chiang."

"I knew him. He was a good man and one of well respect. He will be missed by many…and how are you doing? I was told by my colleague Felix spoke with about your recent loss."

"Papa," Lulu softly said. She gave a frown and felt a single tear roll down her cheek.

Zhang gave her a look of sympathy and reached out to gently pat her hand.

"I'm sorry, little one. I did an assignment many years ago with 007. He was a very good man. He will never be forgotten, Little Lulu, I promise you that. A very good man indeed." He answered.

The young girl smiled small. She always liked meeting people that were friends with her father and that respected him greatly. It only strengthened her belief that James Bond had changed the lives of many and influenced others to try and be just like he had been.

"Papa would've been happy to see you again," she said, feeling her father smile down at both of them. "Are you an actual doctor, Dr. Zhang."

"Many years ago, dear. I served as one in the Chinese Army during World War II. After the Japanese had surrendered, I decided to retire from my medical career and flew out to London to join MI6 as an undercover spy to be stationed in southern China. I'm responsible to report to the United States or London with any information on possible criminal activity going on within the country."

"So, you're the one who alerted Papa and Mr. Leiter about Ying's murder and Dr. Lobster's suspicious activity."

"Correct, my dear."

"Do you know what happened the night Ying disappeared?"

"Very little. I know he had been here on investigation regarding Dr. Lobster's recent activity and never returned to work the following morning. A city wide search was put out, and 990's body was found in suburb Shanghai early Thursday morning in an old, abandoned shack. Stabbed and shot at least three times to death. I was then reported to by one of my agents about the police's findings and made emergency contact with M in London and Mr. Hoover of the United States CIA the following hour."

Zhang handed a picture of Ying to Lulu.

"That was taken a few days before 990 disappeared," he said.

The young Bond looked at the black and white photo in detail. It was a picture of two men standing at the edge of a dock on the beach with their arms wrapped around one another's shoulders. The one man she assumed was Ying. A fairly young man, no older than around the age of 26 years. He had jet black hair, tan skin, and was wearing a long sleeved, button up shirt and dark pants. It was the other man that had Lulu's mind racing. It was an African American man, a tad taller than Ying was. He was wearing a tank top and pants, looked around his early 30s, and wearing a fishing hat.

"Who's the man with Ying?" She asked, curious.

"Arnold Walmer is his name. He's an important businessman from California. He does many business trades with China and Japan. Travels to both countries at least four times a year. We believe he may have been the last person seen with Ying before his disappearance."

"What would a businessman have to do with an important Chinese spy, though? Were they friends or acquaintances of some sort?"

"Unknown, little one. I have no knowledge of what 990's relationship was with this man. All we know is that he may have something to do or knows what happened with Ying the night he disappeared and assumingly murdered."

Across the room was the man that had spied on Lulu last night at the club. He was watching the young girl discuss something with the man across the table from her. It looked business related, but he could not get any closer without the risk of being spotted by either one of them. He remained in the shadows and continued to observe silently.

"Dr. Zhang…do you have any ideas on what Dr. Lobster's plans are. Yesterday at the shack his body was located, Mr. Leiter and I found the beginnings of an international warning that was addressed to go to London and the United States. It said that he wanted to corrupt China's government of over 2.6 billion American dollars and to assassinate someone…but it looked like Ying never got the chance to finish his report to say who that someone was."

"I do not, Miss Lulu. I am sorry sincerely."

"It's not your fault…" She looked back down at the picture quickly before returning her eyes to Zhang. "Do you know where I can find this Arnold Walmer?"

"He's staying at the Park Hotel in Nanjing. I would get in contact with him to find out more about Mr. Chiang's murder."

Lulu gave a friendly smile.

"Thank you, Dr. Zhang. You've been a lot of help," she said.

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Miss Lulu. I wish you luck in the rest of your mission." The man answered, shaking the young girl's hand.

"Stay safe."

"You, too."

The two said their goodbyes, then Lulu made her way out to the front lobby to give her full report to Felix and Arnie.