Same Disclaimer as before
Chapter 8
Of Satellites and Horses
When Adam was shown to the corner of Jools's club where he was sitting, he noticed that Jools appeared to be in conversation with a Chinese gentleman. As soon as the Chinese saw Adam come through the doorway, he got up to leave. He gave Adam a nod on his way out.
Adam recognized the man as Lester Huang from the Chinese embassy. His official title was Cultural Attaché, grade 2, but he was really one of the more senior members of the Chinese Secret Service stationed in London. Adam also noticed that as usual when Jools held court at his club, no one else was permitted to sit in the same room.
Adam accepted a drink from Jools.
"Did you have a pleasant little get together with Mr. Huang?"
"Ah, not just a pretty face, I see. So you recognized my gentleman caller?"
"I wouldn't be good at my job if I didn't know him. Everything alright?" It seemed to Adam that he was suddenly having a lot of dealings with the Chinese in London these past few weeks. The fact that Jools had just spent the afternoon chatting to a senior Chinese spook could not be coincidental.
"Lester and I go back a long way. We met back in Cambridge, not bosom buddies, you know, just recognizing each other by sight. When I was at Cambridge, there were not many Chinese students there, so you tend to notice foreign faces lurking around. I think that he was a few years behind me."
Adam did not come to chew the fat with Jools Siviter over his university days. He wondered how he could break Jools' reverie and get him back on track.
"Do you know, there was a time when I almost ended up being recruited to join the police force in Hong Kong? Luckily, a very nice man from MI6 talked me out of it at the last minute and the rest, as they say, is history. Hong Kong would have been an awful place to work in, all that heat and humidity. I'm a cold weather man myself."
"Does Mr. Huang have anything to do with our investigation into who ordered the hit on Harry?" Adam was not really interested in hearing Jools Siviter's life history or his preference for the environment in which he lived.
"Tsk, tsk. Patience my boy. Daddy was just getting to the juicy part of this story. When it became clear that there was a Chinese connection to this whole debacle, I made some enquiries and by happy coincidence, my friend Lester was able to give me some information." Jools sounded very pleased with himself. "You see, whoever ordered the hit had to have a source of income to fund this little extravagance. There are a number of ways to earn that income," Jools settled in for a long story. He noticed that he now had Adam's interest.
"For some time now, the Chinese have been anxious to get their hands on some US made communications satellites. When you spend as long in Washington as I have, you get to hear about these things. The last lot they purchased under the Clinton Administration are coming to the end of their useful lifespan. The Chinese have always maintained that they use these satellites for civilian purposes, you know, beaming the latest American TV shows into homes covered by a satellite's footprint. But since Washington remains firmly of the view that these satellites can be easily converted for use by the military, for example for spying purposes, Bush wouldn't sign the export licence for the newer satellites."
"Harry is not mixed up in the sale of satellites."
"If you interrupt again, I won't finish the story. You see, there are a small group of people who are all too happy to oblige the Chinese. By this I mean that they would be happy to front companies formed in countries which are friendly to the US. These companies would then be able to secure the necessary export licences for US satellites. As always in the case of these hi-tech gizmos, its always the software that matters, not really the hardware. Once the export licence is issued, the owners can get their hands on the source codes for the software which operates the satellite."
"The French also makes satellites. Why can't the Chinese buy from the French?"
"Not all software are created equal, apparently. Why would you buy a Nokia mobile phone in preference to an Alcatel phone?" Jools thought that Adam ought to know the difference. "Steve Jobs has always said that iPod sales are driven by the user friendliness of the iTunes software rather than the design of these metal cases."
At the mention of iPods, an image arose in Adam's mind of Jools Sivitor walking along the Embankment, complete with iPod and earbud headphones, bopping along to his favourite Wagner piece and playing air conductor at the same time. Adam had to take a quick gulp of his drink in order to stifle the laughter which was threatening to erupt from him.
"I managed to convince Lester to let me know the names of people who have recently offered help to the Chinese in terms of buying satellites. With that list, I have a pretty good idea who ordered the hit on Harry."
"Why would the Chinese be prepared to divulge that information?"
"What is our stock in trade, dear boy? Information, intelligence. We have something the Chinese want and they want a trade. You're not really up with current affairs, are you?"
"Of course I am, that's part of my job." Adam wondered why his abilities were being questioned yet again.
"Then you must know that the Equestrian events for the 2008 Olympics are to be held in Hong Kong, not Beijing where most of the other events will be held."
"Yes, I read something about this, but haven't been able to figure out why. I only have a limited interest in horses. How did we go from satellites to horses?" Where is this conversation going? He better not be leading me up the garden path.
"Horse racing is big business in Hong Kong. On any race day, the aggregate amount bet on the tote board is just a few pennies shy of the lowest amount traded on the local stock exchange. They have two superb racecourses and one of the best teams of vets in the world that specializes in horses. It was a no brainer for the Equestrian events to be held in Hong Kong rather than Beijing. I hear that they have constructed new facilities to accommodate the Equestrian events."
"Yes, I know all about horse racing in Hong Kong but …" Adam was starting to become annoyed again. He would be very cross if he found out that Jools Siviter was leading him on a wild goose, or make that wild horse, chase.
"The Hong Kong police uncovered a plot last year to blow up one of the race tracks in Hong Kong. No harm was done because they apprehended the suspects before they were able to lay down the explosives, but they uncovered maps and timetables etc. With all the recent protests about staging the Olympics in China and the problems with Tibet, the Chinese have every reason to expect trouble at all of the Olympic venues. They think that the plot they uncovered last year was just a dress rehearsal for what the troublemakers might want to do when the Equestrian events are held this August."
"So, that's why the Chinese Secret Service needs our help."
"Now you've got it. They are reaching out to their counterparts in a number of countries, including us. The British contingent for the Equestrian events is one of the largest teams which will be present. It would not be difficult for someone to slip in, posing as a member of the team. I hear that our team is threatening to bring its own fresh water supply to Hong Kong, you know, to make sure that the horses won't become ill from drinking the local water."
"You can't be serious!"
"Well, I'm told that Cirque du Soleil never leaves home without it, their own fresh water supply, I mean. Imagine how easy it is to slip in something offensive in that kind of baggage. My friend Lester claims that he has evidence that the British contingent is being infiltrated as we speak."
"So you offered MI6 help."
"Yes, and your help, in exchange for information about Harry's little problem, amongst other things. I really don't give a toss if any one were to rain on the Chinese's parade where the Olympics are concerned," Jools snorted. "But you know how this country feels about horses. If the British Equestrian team were implicated in this, the brown stuff is going to hit the fan faster than you can say 'giddy-up'. So, you and your little team should do some digging around and let Six know if you have any useful tidbits to pass to the Chinese. I'll get one of the Six boys to liaise with you." Jools watched as Adam's shoulders sagged at the thought of more work.
"The only name on the list which Lester gave me who had anything to do with Harry is, surprise, surprise, Oliver Mace," Jools went on. "I never knew that that man could hold a grudge for so long, over nothing."
"So it was him." Adam was not really surprised by this revelation. When he agreed to go along with the bring Ruth back campaign, he had rather assumed that Jools had squared things away where Mace was concerned.
"Lester has now been persuaded that it is not really a good idea for the Chinese to be doing business with dear Ollie. So there goes the fat little commission which Ollie was expecting."
"You really think that that's enough to stop him and his friends from trying …" Adam remained unconvinced.
"Ollie now knows that I know, about the hit I mean, and he knows what I can do with that information. I have managed to let slip this information amongst Ollie's other contacts and connections. I'd expect that in future, he's persona non grata as far as a lot of people are concerned. Without funding or income, and without important contacts in Whitehall, little Ollie will have to go back to some of his more unsavoury contacts for future projects. As we all know, Mace has burnt a few bridges in various parts of the world and my guess is that many of his "friends" are unlikely to come to his aid in future. It should only be a matter of time before one of the groups he had double-crossed in the past would catch up with him and settle a few scores."
"So you think that the matter is now closed?"
"I would say do, don't you agree? We've taken it as far as we can. Harry is still alive and thriving, and we've spanked Mace on the bottom. There's really very little else we can do."
"I'll report to Harry as soon as possible."
"Yes, please do, and please give him my regards. I hear that he is receiving wonderful care from that little private nurse of his," Jools said with a loud chuckle. "Given all that has happened these last few months, I don't think he would mind if I refrained from visiting him just now, do you?"
"I'm sure Harry does not mind in the slightest. I will send him your regards."
Adam was not sure how to assess the information he was just given. He wanted to discuss this with Harry as soon as possible. Although Jools was now back, Adam had no idea what was his job title. He knew that Jools had a brief from the Home Office to clean up the various sections of the Service and to rebuild confidence after Cotterdam and Yalta etc., but did he have a proper portfolio? If he was wrong once before about Oliver Mace wanting to take revenge against Harry, could he be wrong again? Adam felt that the only way to be certain was to kill Mace before he was minded to strike again, but would Harry go to those lengths?
As for digging around the British Equestrian team, Adam thought that either Jo or Ros should brush up on their horse riding skills. It might just be necessary to send one of them to Hong Kong to work undercover. He was not sure whether this suggestion would be well received back on the Grid.
After Adam left, Jools poured himself another drink. He did not think that it was relevant to elaborate on how Oliver Mace was able to find out so quickly about Jools's plans to bring Ruth home. Jools discovered something about that nice young man, Jeremy, he had commandeered to help with his paperwork. Jools had overlooked one small detail in Jeremy's background check. Jeremy was good friends, very good friends, with another agent named Ronald. Oliver Mace was Ronald's godfather. Jools assumed that as soon as Jeremy noticed the Ruth Evershed file amongst the files to be processed, calls were made and information passed over. Given the short time available, the Chinese hit team was the only one Mace could assemble. If they had more time, the team which Mace bought might have been able to do a more professional job.
Jools had obviously underestimated the extent of Oliver Mace's hatred of Harry. I guess if you went so far as to cut a man's arm with a piece of broken glass, in full view of other people in the dining room at Mace's club, the enormous loss of face would stay with you for a long, long time. Jools now knew exactly how Mace felt : If you used a supposedly dead woman to bring me down, let me show you how it feels to be really dead. Well, that was a very bad move on Mace's part. It was one thing to be out of Government but still calling in favours granted by old contacts from time to time, it was entirely another matter to be part of a failed plot to order the cold blooded murder of a senior member of the Secret Service over a personal grudge.
Jools also failed to mention to Adam that his watchers had recently reported numerous sightings of Oliver Mace at his solicitors' and stockbrokers' offices. Jools's guess was that Mace was liquidating his assets with a view to decamping from Britain altogether. From this point onwards, Mace would find that his sphere of influence, even in the commercial world, would have significantly diminished. It was probably best for all concerned if Mace were to pitch tent abroad.
Jools had no doubt that Harry would figure out his little miscalculation where Mace was concerned. Harry would now be less inclined to be one of his new best friends, and certainly the size of the favour which he could exact from Harry would diminish considerably. What is it about this Evershed woman that seems to attract murder and mayhem in her wake? Jools asked himself, not for the first time, whatever possessed me to take an interest in her case in the first place? Well, Jools always said that there is no fool like an old, sentimental fool. He promised himself, there and then, that he would never allow himself to be put in that position, as far as affairs of the heart were concerned. Not that Jools Siviter had a heart.
All reviews will be gratefully received.
