Same Disclaimer as before

Chapter 17

April 2009, Beijing

The best lies in the world were those which contained 90 percent or more of the truth and 10 percent or less of untruth. Most of what Sherman had told Ruth during their meeting in her apartment was true, though Sherman did leave out some important details and told a few half truths.

The document which Sherman asked Ruth to decode was made up by Sherman, not the rogue Chinese agent. When Sherman discovered that there was a traitor on his team, he saw an opportunity to turn this to his own advantage. He thought that he could kill two birds with one stone when he put in place a scheme to ferret out the traitor and implicate Ruth in such a way that might end up sending her home. Sherman initially identified a number of suspects and he arranged for each one to be fed a slightly different set of information. By the time he was able to intercept the message before it reached the hands of the teenage courier, he was able to unmask the traitor in question.

Given that the intelligence in the message was bogus, Sherman saw no harm in allowing it to go through to the British or the Americans. If the ship had made it into port in England, he would have arranged for the British immigration authorities to receive a tip-off so that the illegal immigrants would be rounded up. Once they were in custody, Sherman's agents would ensure that the police would receive more hints as to the existence of the document. The storm and the sinking of the containers were elements which Sherman could not have factored in, but in the end, the gods must have been on his side since the relevant container ultimately resurfaced. As it turned out, the forensics experts in England were quite dependable, Sherman thought, as they had no trouble locating the document fairly quickly after they started to examine the body of the teenage boy.

The elaborate ruse of making sure that Ruth handled the document before it was returned to the teenage courier was staged as much for Harry's benefit as it was for Horace's. Sherman knew that spies were naturally suspicious people since they never took anything at face value. It was an occupational hazard. Sherman assumed that if he had simply walked up to Harry and asked him whether he would be interested in taking back one of his former officers who was supposedly dead, Harry might deny all knowledge of the officer in question as he might have become immediately suspicious of Sherman's honesty and intentions. Like a parent trying to make a child eat his greens, Sherman felt that he had to make Harry himself think that it was a good idea to reclaim his supposedly dead officer. That way, Sherman could be sure that Harry would be willing to go the distance to convince the British Government to resurrect Ruth. If Sherman was too upfront with Harry, he ran the risk of Harry being accused by his superiors of colluding with the Chinese and that could scuttle all attempts to have Ruth shipped back to Britain. When Harry took a week before ordering his plane ticket to Hong Kong, Sherman knew that he must have been working things out with his superiors. As soon as Harry booked his ticket, Sherman knew that his plan worked and there was nothing left for him to do.

When Horace first asked Sherman to give protection to Ruth, Sherman was not crazy about the idea though he did like the thought of outsmarting the Algerian assassins. In the end, Sherman indulged in Horace's request in much the same way a parent might have done if his child brought home a bird with a broken wing, though with the benefit of hindsight and given the prevalence of avian flu, he should have just broken the bird's neck and put it out of its misery and not allowed Horace to keep it. More recently, Horace had started to make noises about involving Ruth in their work as a consultant. Horace was looking for ways of bringing Ruth closer to his way of life. There was no way that Sherman would have permitted that to happen.

Sherman had nothing personal against Ruth. Since they placed her in Hong Kong, she had been well behaved and kept a low profile like she was told. Sherman would have liked to have saved Ruth for a more important trade in China's dealings with the British, but as soon as Sherman became aware that Horace was about to stray into dangerous territory, he decided that he had to take Ruth out of Horace's line of sight without further delay. Sherman wanted to make sure that Horace could not miss what he never had.

Sherman knew that he had to find a way to explain to Horace how his favourite toy became repossessed by its former owner. If Horace questioned Sherman as to why he allowed Ruth to encode/decode the document, Sherman could turn to him very innocently and say, but wasn't it you who suggested that we could use her as a consultant on occasion? It would become that much harder for Horace to maintain contact with Ruth once she went elsewhere, especially if she were to work for MI5 again.

As a matter of courtesy, Sherman offered Ruth back to her old employers first. If they wanted her back, Ruth would not need protection from the Chinese anymore and would most likely return to Britain or go elsewhere. If Ruth had declined to leave Horace alone or refused to work on the document, or if for some reason MI5 decided to leave Ruth out in the cold, Sherman would have to activate Plan B which was going to be a little more complicated and a lot more messy. As Harry had surmised correctly at breakfast, accidents could and did happen. That rogue agent on the Chinese side committed suicide in jail whilst awaiting trial. No one would ever know whether he placed the noose around his neck himself, or whether he had help.

After Margaret Thatcher slipped and fell on the steps to the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the British and the Chinese spent the next 10 years or so hammering out the finer details of the handover of Hong Kong by the British back to the Chinese. Sherman participated in those talks as a member of the Chinese team. He saw, first hand, the arrogance of the British delegates who were making all sorts of demands on how China should treat Hong Kong after the change in sovereignty. You changed your Nationality Act so that millions of Hong Kong citizens, born under British rule, would be denied the right to claim British Nationality and right of abode. Then you develop some kind of conscience and start to dictate what Beijing can or cannot do to Hong Kong after the change in sovereignty. How dare you? Hong Kong was like a child who had been fostered out to the British for over 100 years and was now being returned to its biological parent. Did the Brits really think that Beijing would strangle its own child? Come on! Since Sherman knew the British mentality well, he knew with a degree of certainty that once the British knew that the Chinese had information about one of their dirty little secrets, i.e. Ruth, they would take steps to neutralize that situation because they would not let the Chinese use that information as a bargaining chip in any situation. It would be so much easier for the British Government to accede to Harry's request of resurrecting Ruth than face the possibility of an eventual trade with the Chinese.

Sherman was not really interested in blackmailing Harry Pearce. Whilst he disliked the British as a nation, he did have a lot of time for Harry. He may be arrogant, but he is also clever and good at his job. Harry was of little value to the Chinese for the purpose of obtaining intelligence, though he might be of some value for future liaison. Whether or not Harry would lose his job in trying to resurrect Ruth was of no interest to Sherman. Sherman was also not worried that Harry might become angry with him for setting this trap. What is there to be angry about when I simply returned one of your officers to you? Sherman knew that once Ruth had been debriefed, MI5 would find out that the intelligence contained in the encoded document with Ruth's fingerprints had no value, but they would be none the wiser as to why Ruth was set up in this way. There are only two people in the world who know the truth about why the trap was mounted in the first place, myself and Ruth Evershed. I'm sure that Ms. Evershed will never tell. Why would she tell? And if she did tell, who would believe her, and what good would it do her?

As regards any personal relationship between Harry and Ruth, again, Sherman could care less whether or not those two had anything going on although he suspected that there might be something when he learnt of the nature of the latest set of photos which Horace had given Ruth. Sherman was not interested in being any sort of matchmaker. As far as Sherman was concerned, a spook in love was a dangerous spook because it meant that the spook had a chink in his armour and that made him a vulnerable spook. He had to talk to Ruth in order to be sure where things stood between her and Horace. As long as he was sure that Ruth had no designs on Horace, Sherman felt no compunction in setting his trap and getting rid of Ruth.

Sherman hated the comments made by Prince Charles about the Chinese leaders who were present at the handover ceremony in July 1997. Look in the mirror, your royal highness, and you will see a prime example of an old fossil yourself! Sherman made sure that Horace was on the shortlist of those who were earmarked for advancement in the Central Government. In this regard, Sherman knew that he had the support of his friends in the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. They were determined that the next generation of Chinese leaders would look every bit as charismatic as some of the Western leaders, and every one of them would have a Chinese wife on his arm who would give Carla Bruni Sarkozy a run for the money so far as poise and style were concerned.

Horace needs to settle down soon with some nice Chinese girl, one with the right background and connections to ensure his political ascendency, though the likely candidate will not be allowed to have any career ambitions. This woman's sole purpose in life must be to reproduce heirs and look after Horace in every respect. The Chinese population currently stands at 1.5 billion, of which there has to be at least a couple of hundred million women of marriageable age. I cannot believe that out of 100 to 200 million Chinese women, Horace is unable to find a Chinese girl of his dreams!

Sherman had thousands of agents under his command but he did not treat all of them in the same way. Horace was the special one. There was nothing Sherman would not do in order to protect him and his political future. Sherman had gone to cadre school with Horace's parents where the three of them became best mates. At cadre school, upright members of the Chinese Communist Party were trained in a variety of disciplines and underwent further indoctrination for eventual positions in various levels of Government. Although both Sherman and Horace's father pursued Horace's mother, Ning Jing, when a choice had to be made, she chose Horace's father instead of Sherman who accepted his defeat graciously.

China went through some tumultuous times in the Sixties and Horace's parents separated briefly during the Cultural Revolution when the two of them fell out over ideological differences. He was all for smashing all vestige of China's past, including all the valuable artifacts and antiques in the Forbidden City, whilst she advocated a more moderate approach and wanted to save these invaluable items for future generations. Their separation sent Ning Jing straight into the open arms of Sherman. When the local party secretary found out about the separation (but not the affair with Sherman), he persuaded Ning Jing to return to her husband since divorce was generally frowned upon in those days and especially within party ranks. Shortly after going back to her husband, Horace's mother announced that she was in the family way.

Sherman thought that he could cope with losing this woman back to her husband, but when he heard about the pregnancy, the full extent of his loss and the hurt he felt in relation to the affair manifested itself and for days, he found himself wandering the streets of Beijing aimlessly. He did not eat, sleep or wash. It was as if someone had taken the sim card out of his brain and he was searching desperately for a signal, for some guidance as to how he could carry on living.

When he eventually found himself sitting on the steps of the Monument to the People's Heroes in Tiananmen Square early one morning, he saw the daily flag raising ceremony and heard the national anthem being played. That was when he realized what he had to do, that he would dedicate his life to the service of his country. He promised himself that he would never fall in love again. When you fall in love with someone, you lay yourself open to hurt and disappointment because you can never predict how the other party is going to behave and this meant that you are vulnerable to the whims of others. Sherman did not like any situation over which he could not control.

Sherman never married. It was not so much that he pined for his lost love, it was more that he became distrustful of women in general. Given his proficiency in English and Russian, he applied to the foreign section of the Security Bureau and worked mostly outside China; that way, he could avoid contact with Horace's parents. When Horace was 15 and ready to be shipped overseas for further education, its was his mother who sought out Sherman. Sherman would never forget that meeting.

It was 1984 and as usual, Sherman returned to Beijing in March in order to attend the annual session of the National People's Congress. He was supposed to be on parade and offer assistance when his boss, the Chief of the Security Bureau presented his annual report on the status of the nation's security. Horace's mother, Ning Jing, sent word to Sherman that she would like a meeting. Sherman was intrigued. Its been 15 years of no contact. What does she want now?

"Xiang Wen, how are you?" Ning Jing greeted him as usual by his Chinese name. She was probably the only Chinese person on earth who could greet Sherman in this way and get away with it.

Given Sherman's age and seniority in the Security Bureau, Chinese custom dictated that everyone should greet him by his surname followed by his job title; no one except family and close friends were permitted to address him by his given name. Sherman's Chinese name was Deng Xiang Wen. When he was stationed in the Hong Kong bureau in the Seventies, his Hong Kong colleagues had suggested that he should adopt an English name so that it would make it easier for Westerners to deal with him. They picked "Sherman" as they believed that it was phonetically the closest to his Chinese name; the Cantonese pronounced his name as "Tang Shang Men". Someone also joked that his new English name made him sound like the 'sherman tank'.

"I have a favour to ask of you. My only child, Horace, is now 15 and ready to go overseas for further education."

"How wonderful for you. Congratulations!" Can you believe this woman? 15 years ago you break my heart by carrying another man's child immediately after we separated, and now you want to see me because you want to gloat over your son. I shouldn't have agreed to this meeting!

"I have heard all kinds of horror stories about the children of high ranking cadre misbehaving once they are outside China. They succumb to all the worst influences which the corrupt, bourgeois West has to offer, and lose sight of the revolutionary cause. They get mixed up with drugs and alcohol, not to mention running around with all those loose women." Communism was the only way of life this woman had ever known.

"Well, you can't prevent the young from being stupid and making some mistakes along the way." Funny you should mention 'loose women'. Weren't you one yourself, where I was concerned? Then again, I'm not being fair. As far as I know, I am the only other man you had been with, apart from your husband.

"I was wondering, since we need to appoint a guardian for Horace, would you take up this role? I know that you spend a lot of time at the United Nations in New York … Neither my husband nor I will be granted permission to travel abroad to help him settle down in boarding school, or to look in on him from time to time."

"I can't possibly take on such a serious responsibility. My work takes up all of my time. I have to travel constantly. I wouldn't know how to handle a teenager. I'm sure you know of other more qualified persons."

"I should tell you that my husband is very much against sending Horace outside of China for further education. He thinks that everything Horace has to learn is available right here in this country. I disagree, of course. He needs to learn from the West in order to defeat these people at their own game. My husband only agreed to let Horace go as long as the right guardian is appointed for him. He has indicated that he would accept you as the boy's guardian. Horace is a good boy and shouldn't give you any trouble. He just needs a firm guiding hand. Please, Xiang Wen, I wouldn't ask if I had an alternative."

"I'm sorry, but I must decline …" Sherman was starting to get really annoyed. How dare you to ask this of me, after what we went through all those years ago? He had heard of instances where couples separated but still remained on friendly terms. That concept did not exist in Sherman's books. He then noticed that Ning Jing had started to tear up. I'll never understand women, why would you weep over something like this? Look, woman, don't try your tears on me, it won't work.

"You have to do this, please …. he's … your … son …"

Sherman was stunned. "You cannot be serious! This is ridiculous!"

She looked serious and shook her head very slowly. "Would I lie about something like this?"

"Why didn't you tell me before? How dare you keep this from me for so long?" If Sherman thought that he had gotten the art of looking cool down to perfection, he was sadly mistaken because at that moment, he was red in the face and veins were popping on the side of his head. He was ready to kill someone.

"I didn't have a choice. If you had not run away from this country so quickly and stayed away for so many years, I might have tried to tell you. But after a while, it didn't seem to matter anymore. You have every right to be angry with me, but please don't take your anger out on the boy. He is completely innocent and should not be made to suffer the consequences of a mistake made by an older generation."

A mistake? Is that all I am to you? Sherman could remember all those nights during their short affair when they could not have enough of each other's body, and now, that experience was described to him as a mistake. Why did I have to make that stupid remark earlier about people making mistakes in their youth? If only he had a gun within reach, he would have used it, on her.

"Does he know?"

"No, neither Horace nor my husband knows about this, and this is the way it has to be." She wanted to explain her earlier comment about the 'mistake' made by an older generation. She wanted to tell him that it was not really a mistake in the sense that she loved him less, but she felt that nothing she could say at that moment would be taken in the right way by Sherman.

Your husband knows, he must know, otherwise he wouldn't have pre-approved my appointment as the boy's guardian. Given the circumstances, Sherman did not think that he had a choice but to agree to act as Horace's guardian. He did not doubt that Ning Jing might have fabricated the connection between him and the boy. He knew her well enough to know that she would not have made this disclosure except for worry and concern over her only child who was about to go wandering around the Western world, a world which she knew nothing about.

When Sherman met the boy, he liked him immediately because Horace looked like the male version of his mother in her younger days. After the shock of the disclosure she made had worn off, Sherman had to admit to himself that he could not really hate this woman. When Sherman and Horace arrived in New York, Sherman immediately arranged for Horace's DNA to be tested and confirmed that the boy was indeed his own flesh and blood.

Horace just assumed that Sherman was like a Chinese godfather to him. Sherman enrolled him in one of the most exclusive boarding schools on the East Coast. The boy must start to make the right sort of friends at school for future networking purposes. Sherman helped him settle down in the US and took him out each and every weekend he was allowed to leave school grounds. He advised him on what courses to take, which universities to apply to, and generally, how to interact with his Western classmates. Horace greatly admired Sherman's skills as a spy and as soon as he was done collecting degrees from both sides of the Atlantic, he signed up for the Security Bureau so that he could follow in Sherman's footsteps.

Horace was the only person that Sherman was capable of loving. Horace was the chink in Sherman's armour.

One more chapter to go and we're done.

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