Chapter 3: Mr. Yuen
As he expected, Tony was contacted by a representative of Yuen's company a few days later. The man explained that Mr. Yuen wished to contract Tony's services for a large, valuable shipment that he planned to ship later in the month. Tony casually thanked him for his interest and stated that if the man would explain the nature and value of the shipment and when and where it was to be delivered, he could draw up a standard contract and have it sent via courier service. The man insisted that Tony go to Korea to iron out the details of the contract and he assured him that this contract was big enough to make the trip worth his while.
Tony protested a bit to make the transaction appear more realistic, but in the end agreed to go, as Hammond had told him. Two days later he was on a plane to Seoul, South Korea. His secretary, Rita, had peppered him with questions when he asked her to make the travel arrangements. Tony simply told her that this was the biggest contract that he had ever negotiated, and he wanted to do it face to face in order to have the best chance of reaching a long term deal. She seemed to buy the story albeit somewhat reluctantly.
Just prior to the trip, Tony stopped by Jack's office. He made sure Chase would be out of the office before he arrived. He needed to talk to Jack alone. Hammond had made it clear that Tony was to tell no one of his mission and he hadn't, not even Michelle. But something bothered him about the mission; something gave him a bad feeling. After much thought, he decided to tell Jack.
Tony outlined the plan to Jack who thought it was basically straight forward. Tony also told Jack of Bob Warner's involvement. Jack wasn't terribly surprised that his father-in-law had made such an agreement with the CIA. Bob's sense of guilt over Marie's involvement with the terrorists was monumental. Jack knew that Bob had never forgiven himself and thought it likely that he never would. He assumed that his agreement with the CIA gave him some measure of comfort that he was righting the wrongs his daughter had committed.
Jack gave Tony a number of pointers on undercover work and helped him put together a believable cover story. He reassured Tony that he didn't think there was any real danger in the mission as long as his cover was maintained. Tony left for the trip feeling better that Jack had reviewed the mission and pronounced it sound.
Tony scheduled a lunch meeting with Mr. Yuen at his office. He was duly impressed when he walked into the huge office suite. It was paneled with highly polished mahogany and carpeted with beautiful oriental rugs. The hardwood floor that was exposed at the edges of the rugs was finished to a gloss so shiny that it was almost reflective. Hand carved teak figurines sat on a low table near a pair of leather love seats. Tony was invited into Mr. Yuen's private office where lunch was already set up on a glass bistro table by a window which overlooked the city. They shared a western style meal with steaks and salads and baked potatoes with sour cream. Dessert was a rich chocolate cake with a raspberry filling, topped with French vanilla ice cream.
Yuen's English was impeccable and the two talked through lunch about everything except business. As soon as the dished were cleared away, Tony decided to broach the subject of business.
"Mr. Yuen, lunch was wonderful, but I didn't come this far for lunch. Let's talk about your upcoming shipment and the security that you need for it."
Yuen began to talk at length about being a 'self made' man, about how he was orphaned during the Korean War and how he grew his import/export business from nothing to the multimillion dollar corporation it was today. He told Tony that his competition was jealous and was trying to drive him out of business, thus making the need for security immediately urgent.
Tony let him talk then pulled out his laptop to show the hard numbers he had worked up. "Mr. Yuen, I have to be honest with you." Tony said sounding quite sincere. "You've told me that your shipments are usually valued at around a couple of million dollars. That hardly makes my services worth your while. Most of the shipments we secure and track are worth at least ten million dollars. I'm talking about tanker ships full of oil or diamonds from South Africa."
"Maybe the particular shipment I am thinking about is different from the others, Mr. Almeida." Yuen said mysteriously.
"I'm not sure I understand."
"Perhaps I want to ship something other than collectibles for a change."
"What are you planning to ship, Mr. Yuen?"
"Mr. Almeida, I've done some homework. I know more about you than you think." He paused. "You are no ordinary business man. You used to be a US Marine and then a government agent. Am I right?"
"Yes," Tony agreed.
"Your government let you down, didn't it? They failed to protect your wife and when you had to get her back yourself, they called it treason, didn't they?"
"My history is hardly a secret, Mr. Yuen. The story made all of the major newspapers and newscasts across the United States. I'm sure that you are aware that I was given a full pardon by the President."
"That's right, a pardon. Guilty men are pardoned, Mr. Almeida. Do you believe you were guilty?"
"What I did to save my wife was against the oath I took when I swore to defend my countrymen at all costs. Yes, Mr. Yuen, I never claimed that I wasn't guilty. I just believed that there were extenuating circumstances that the government should have considered before charging me."
"But they ignored those circumstances and they called you a traitor. Did that make you angry, Mr. Almeida?"
"Mr. Yuen, what happened between the US government and me is of no consequence here. I'm a private businessman now and my company is available to provide a service to you. I need you to tell me where and when you are planning to ship in addition to the value of the cargo, so I we can negotiate terms of a contract."
"You never answered my question, Mr. Almeida. Were you angry with the US government?" Yuen lowered his voice so he was almost whispering.
Tony found himself unnerved by the man. "Of course I was angry."
"Are you still angry?" Yuen was still whispering.
"I don't think much about it, Mr. Yuen."
"I bet deep down, you still hate the people who are responsible for pressing the charges, the people who forced you into hiding, the people who thought you should have just let your wife die. I would hate them if I were you." Yuen stood transfixed in front of the window, his hands clenched in rage and drawn up against his chest. He was looking right at Tony but not seeing him. "I understand how much you hate those people," he hissed, "and I'm going to give you a chance to get back at them."
"Mr. Yuen, I really don't understand," Tony started but Yuen interrupted.
"I have friends in the US, Mr. Almeida, friends who, like you and me, are angry with the US government. They live in the US and I would like to provide my friends with some arms to defend themselves from an attack like Waco or Ruby Ridge. They deserve to be able to protect themselves, because the US government can take away their liberties at any time, just like they did to you."
Tony allowed himself to smile a little as if he was just now catching on to the plan. "So you are sending them guns, small arms. Am I right?"
"You are on the right track. The cargo I am sending would attract attention unless it is well hidden or the longshoremen happened to look the other way."
Tony sat with his laptop perched on his legs. "What are you asking me to do, Mr. Yuen?" He asked.
"Here's the deal, Mr. Almeida. I need someone to ship this cargo, broken down into its smallest components of course, into Los Angeles. You know companies that could reasonably hide this much cargo inside their own carriers so it can pass inspection."
"Why can't you ship it among your trinkets? If the components are buried well, no inspector is going to find them."
"I am afraid that my shipments arouse too much suspicion." Yuen sighed.
"Suspicion? Does your government suspect that you are dealing in arms?"
"I don't believe so. I was caught a couple of years ago underestimating my company's income. You know, the government expects to collect its fair share in taxes. The problem is that their idea of 'fair' and my idea of 'fair' are two different things. I repaid the money with considerable interest, but now they watch everything I sell. They inspect each shipment and place a value on it. I could never get the arms past the screeners."
"I can find you a shipper, Mr. Yuen, and the appropriate port, but it will take me some time. Give me a means to contact you and I'll get back to you in about two weeks."
"You have one week." Tony didn't argue. "Here is the man you will contact." Yuen gave him the business card of a man named Weldon Hutchins with a Los Angeles phone number.
"Mr. Yuen, an operation like this is expensive to arrange." Tony decided it was time to bring up payment in order to maintain his cover. "I'm going to have to pay off my shipper, the longshoremen at the port, ground transport people, that's just the beginning of the list."
"After you leave today, I will transfer a half million dollars into a Swiss bank account. Mr. Hutchins will give you the access codes when you contact him. You can pay off whoever you please. You will receive another half million when the job is complete and the arms are safely in the hands of my people."
Tony laughed. "Don't insult me, Mr. Yuen. This is a five million dollar operation and you know it. I want 2.5 million transferred to the account while I'm sitting here. You will give me the access codes before I leave. The other 2.5 million is due when the arms clear customs."
"Now you insult me, Mr. Almeida. Two and a half million dollars is my final offer. It is not open to negotiation. Take it or leave it, Mr. Almeida, but if you leave it I'm sure that your partner Pedro Cabrera wouldn't argue with a payday that large. My sources tell me that he is, as you Americans say, cash strapped right now."
Yuen had done his homework; he was right. Pedro Cabrera was a consummate business man but his personal finances were usually in shambles. Pedro had two vices: high stakes gambling and beautiful women. He had recently divorced his third wife and each divorce had cost him more than the one before. Between the three wives, he had seven children that Tony could count, but neither Tony nor Juan Rodriguez was sure if that number was correct. According to Juan, he was currently dating a twenty-two year old "lingerie model". Juan was pretty sure that the only place she modeled lingerie was in the hotel rooms of men who were in Buenos Aires on business. Tony knew that Pedro would jump at the chance for what appeared on the surface to be an easy 2.5 million dollars.
"I will transfer $1.5 million into the account now and give you the access codes. The rest will be transferred when the shipment clears customs." He paused. "Make no mistake about this, Mr. Almeida," his voice was barely above a whisper now, "if you try to take the money and run, I will hunt you down and kill you. There is no place on this earth that you will be safe from me."
Tony said nothing. He had met some evil people in his years at CTU, but this man was as evil and frightening as any of them. His mere presence made Tony's skin crawl. He had to work hard to control his breathing and keep his face expressionless as Yuen made the necessary phone calls to transfer the money. All he could think about was home and Michelle and his children. When Michelle said goodbye to him two days ago, she had actually kissed him. It was the first kiss she had initiated in months. She told him she loved him and would miss him. On the phone last night she told him that she couldn't wait for him to come home. She wasn't back to normal by any stretch of the imagination, but she seemed a little happier since he suggested that they go away together.
Yuen completed the transaction and handed Tony a hand written scrap of paper with the access codes to the account. The two shook hands and Yuen offered to have his driver return Tony to his hotel.
Once Tony was gone, Yuen called his chief of security, Jae Song, to his office. "The man who just left my office is an American named Tony Almeida. He presents himself as a business man from Los Angeles." He handed Jae a picture of Tony. "Follow him. I want to know where he goes and at what time, who he meets with, who he sleeps with. I want to know what he eats for breakfast and how many times a day he goes to the bathroom. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir," Jae replied. Yuen was clearly agitated and Jae was afraid of him when he acted this way.
"I gave the driver instructions to make sure he got caught in traffic on the way to the hotel. That should give you plenty of time to get over there and plant some sort of listening device in the room." Jae nodded. "I want reports on my desk every morning by 7 o'clock. Have our people in LA keep an eye on his house and his office. Get listening devices in both of those locations. When he goes back to the United States, I want one of our people there to follow him."
"Should we take any action against him, Sir?"
"Not yet. There is something about this Mr. Almeida that just doesn't add up. He said all the right things but I have a bad feeling about him." Yuen paused. "And as you know, my instincts are usually right."
"Is there anything else, sir?" Jae asked.
"No, that will be all."
Jae Song left Yuen's office with a snappy step. Yuen liked his people to look efficient and Jae didn't want to upset his boss at this particular moment. He hated assignments like this. If he didn't find the evidence against this Mr. Almeida that Yuen was looking for, he would be fired, but if he found what Yuen wanted, the handsome American would soon be dead.