Chapter 1

10/2/2007

01:32 Local Time

LOCATION: The Manila Hotel- Manila, Philippines

She writhed and wailed; it had been so long. Her manicured nails, like claws, raked crimson alongst her lover's back, as he pummeled her into the palatial bed. Like an animal, her lover snarled and flipped them over, so she was the one on top. Pansy squealed in delight as he edged her on. She felt it, they both did, her boiling pleasure could not be controlled any longer.

"What the fuck?"

Her lover stilled beneath her. Pansy moaned; she had been so close. "Baby, it's nothing. Come on… come back to me."

The lights in the bedroom had shut off, pitching the bedroom in darkness. The balcony, overlooking the jeweled lights of Manila, glinted before its open doors; providing little illumination in the dark. The autumn wind gently blowing on their slick bodies, Pansy's lover pried himself away and began to dress a robe over his naked body.

Her frustration mounting, Pansy laid back on the bed and huffed.

"I fucking swear to God…" She muttered to herself, before turning her voice soft. "Admiral? It's alright. You don't need to check… come back to bed, baby."

Pansy rose on her elbows, her eyes struggling to see Admiral Tsang in the stygian dark, and beckoned for him again in a saccharine voice.

Admiral Tsang hummed in pleasure at her apparent need for him, "One minute, love… you're too pretty to be hidden in the dark. And I do love to see you come undone, before me."

For a moment, Pansy was glad that the bedroom was pitch black. The Admiral's attempts at romance, always, made her grimace in disgust. Yet, she played the dutiful lover and decided to let him fumble in the dark. Pansy laid back down on the massive bed and ran her hands over the soft silk sheets; her flat in Shanghai was a far cry from this heaven.

Her frustration breezing away, Pansy sighed as her body melted onto the bed. Her eyes staring up into the pitch black. She thought of the ingrate drones back at her office in Shanghai and the beige ambience of her flat, with intense disgust. So lost in her thoughts, the sound of a rough tumble did not register in her mind for a few seconds.

Pansy groaned and propped herself back onto her elbows. Impatience lacing her words, "Admiral? What are you doing?"

The distant sounds of the Manila streets were her only reply. Her curled lips twisting, she blew a disgusted grunt and swung herself off the bed.

"Admiral, what the hell's going on over there!" Her brow furrowing, Pansy peered into the dark and could not see the Admiral's silhouette. "Admiral!"

"God. Fucking. Damn. It." Her feet shuffled out of the bedroom and into the shadowed living room. "Admiral! I'm not in the mood for this game!"

"Then you really shouldn't be telling secrets, Pansy."

Her shrill shriek scratched the air. Twisting around, Pansy saw the lone form of a figure standing in the corner of the dark.

"W-w-who the fuck are you?" Pansy's heart beat like a drum in her ears, yet her gall seeped into her timid words. "You've got five seconds to tell me… otherwise you're dead!"

"No… I'm afraid you are."

The metallic snap of a suppressed sub-sonic shot cracked in the air and Pansy collapsed to the floor, her shocked visage grotesque. The remnants of her brain and skull slid down the wall, behind her. The man walked forward and aimed, once more, at her head. The shot cracking in the still air. He turned and stalked past the crumpled body of Admiral Zu Tsang, his dark blood seeping into the carpet. His eyes wide with despair.

Passing into the bedroom, the figure scanned the area, before he found the make-up bag that had once belonged to Pansy Parkinson. Securing the bag in his waist pack, the figure walked back into the living room and looked around the room, one final time. Satisfied that the PLA Navy would understand the message, his gloved fingers unscrewed the suppressor and holstered the gun in to his back-holster, while placing the suppressor into his waist pack.

Stepping out onto the balcony, he walked to the far-left side and gripped the tensile metal wire disappearing up into the air. It was a hard climb up, the man's arms strained as he pulled up on the metal wire and his legs burned with every little push. He did not breathe a sigh of relief, until his feet were planted on the whirring roof of the hotel. Taking a few much-needed breaths, the man turned back to the edge and packed up the climbing equipment into his waist pack.

"Dobs, anything?" The man spoke into his earpiece.

"Nope. Their comms haven't rang and they're snoring harder than a fed pig."

"Copy, I'm on the roof." The man replied. His hands pulling off the dark button-down and tearing away the ballistic vest beneath. "I'm heading down… will be out in fifteen mikes, how copy?"

"Solid. You may want to hurry up, though, his vehicle detail is now sounding pretty curious… eyup, they're heading in."

"Acknowledged." Opening the service door, the man had changed back into a green t-shirt and grey cargo shorts. The waist pack still around him.

His black Adidas flip-flops banged away at the tiled floor. He jogged to the staff elevator, its doors opening as if it knew he was coming. Stepping in, he looked up and gave the camera a small salute, before his left hand reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of black-rimmed round glasses.

Throughout the way down, the man's heart beat a little faster and when the chime of the elevator signaled that he was down at the lobby, the carefree visage of a young and wealthy European tourist stepped out of the elevator.

"Sir? Do you need assistance? I'm afraid this area is only for staff members." Turning around, one of the hotel's concierges stood to his left, a look of polite helpfulness on her face.

A look of sheepish bafflement sprung on his face as he stammered an apology. "Yes! I'm really sorry. Wanted to go have a smoke and one of your people said to go this… way? Imagine my surprise when I saw the 'Staff Only' sign on the floor!"

Bowing her head in understanding, the pretty concierge led him to the palatial lobby, while profusely apologizing for her colleague's incorrect directions. Smiling, the man waved off the concierge's apologies, gracious for her help to the main entrance. It was the absolute march and grim faces of Chinese men in pristine suits that made them still for a moment. Their faces dark and severe as they passed them and into the VIP elevator.

The man watched them pass, before turning back to the curious concierge with a small smile. "Thanks a lot for the help, miss. Appreciate it… gonna have a smoke, now."

They had walked out into the hotel's driveway. The humid air of a Philippine autumn cloyed to the man's skin. The concierge smiled and bid him a good night, before walking back into the cooled air of lobby. The bespectacled man pulled a pack of Camels from the pocket of his shorts and lit one. He takes a long drag, the smoke filling his lungs and soothing the snake in his stomach.

He glided away from the entrance, the cigarette smoking away between the fingers of his left hand, when the rush of a car motor pulling into the hotel driveway caught his attention. Glancing, he saw more of the grim Chinese men rush out from a black Mercedes' and into the hotel lobby, all the while demanding in Mandarin.

He shrugged his shoulders at the sight of it and took another drag. It was not long till he stepped out into the motoring rush and bustle of Katigbak Drive. Looking around, the man pulled out a cheap Motorola and dialed a number.

Pressing the cell phone into his ear, "You clear?"

The Yorkshire accent of Dob's replied, "Yup, driving away, almost three miles out. Will clean and ditch this within the hour… meet you back at Reggie's for a brown beer?"

The man grunted in disgust at the mention of brown beer, "Don't know how you can drink that shit… Did you call it in?"

He blew a puff of acrid smoke. Following the concrete of the sidewalk, his green eyes flicking back and forth from the many faces, he pushed up his round glasses.

"Nah, mate… figured I'd let you do the honors, yea?" The man could hear the blare of Dob's van, through his cell, as it weaved in and out of the Manila night traffic.

"I'll make the call, and yea, I'll see you back at Reggie's."

The man lowered the cell and ended the call. He flicked away the finished cigarette and fished out another one. Looking down at the screen of the cell, he dialed a five-digit number, while lighting the cigarette between his lips.

"Operator? I would like to make a review of the product, I received. My friends loved the custom message."

The man ended the call and dropped the phone into the street, where it soon shattered into bits of plastic and silicone. Walking amongst the ever-buzzing crowd of the Manila metropolis, the man with the dark hair and green eyes seemingly disappeared into the legion of strangers. Just another tourist enjoying his trip.