White Collar: The Nightingale
Chapter twenty-two
"Peter? You alright?"
"Fine." Peter said as he rubbed at his chest. "Just sore from the shot, you got me dead center."
"I wanted to make sure that I got the jacket and not you."
"And I appreciate that." Peter looked Neal over. "How about you? Is that my 'blood' or yours?"
Neal looked down at the shiny stain on his black shirt. Lifting the shirt up he revealed the badly seeping bandage beneath.
"Looks like it's mine."
"You need to go back to the hospital."
"We need to keep on Zhang's tail. I have a spare set of bandages and a clean shirt in the van."
"No..." Peter was interrupted by his cell phone. "Burke, here."
"Peter," Jones greeted "Zhang is moving out of Chinatown, headed towards the Port."
"Already? Damn it. Okay, Neal and I are headed towards you. Call the Port Authority let them know we are probably about to be playing in their backyard."
"What's going on?" Neal asked.
"It looks like Zhang isn't wasting any time, he may have a meet. If we don't close in on him now he might not have the sword much longer, or he might be headed out of the country."
"Then let's go."
Neal followed Peter out the back door and out into the street. He wasn't sure where they had set up the van. In order to keep Zhang from suspecting anything they had set up several blocks away. By the time they got to the van Peter was audibly short of breath. Neal noticed a fine bead of sweat that was forming along his temple.
"Peter, are you sure you're okay?"
"This jacket weights a ton." Peter complained as he undid the velcro that held the vest closed. "Jones, lets move. Don't get too close to Zhang, this is not exactly a stealth vehicle."
"Got it."
Jones started up the van and started towards the docks. Peter worked his way out of the kevlar and accepted the clean shirt that Diana offered him. There was a bright red patch in the middle of his chest that was starting to turn purple from the impact of the bullet through the kevlar. Neal fished out the stuff that he had given to Diana to bring along. Opening his shirt he exposed the blood soaked bandage. He took a deep breath and tore the bandage off. The angry wound dripped blood down his side. Diana snatched one of the gauze pads from the supplies Neal had brought and pressed it against the bleeding.
"Ow." Neal protested.
"Neal, you've broken half these stitches." Diana clucked in disapproval.
"There should be some steri-strips in the first aid kit in here, right?"
Peter handed Diana the small first aid kit and she rummaged through it. Bracing himself against one of the van consoles Neal tried not to wince as Diana cleaned the wounds with some alcohol wipes. Once the blood was under control Neal took some of the steri-strips and worked on closing the exit wound as best as he could while Diana worked on the entrance wound in his back. When they were done Diana helped him wrap his stomach in a long strip gauze.
"Pull it tight, I'm getting tired of ruining my shirts."
"I have to give you credit, Caffrey," Diana said with a hint of admiration "you're tougher than I thought. I always pegged you as the kind of guy who would whine a lot when injured."
"He acts like he's actively dying when he gets a cold." Peter mocked.
"All men do that." Diana chuckled.
Neal smiled as well and pulled on the white shirt he'd brought along. Peter and Diana were momentarily distracted when Jones announced there arrival at the port. Neal turned his back on them and gathered his jacket up off the floor. Peter looked over just as Neal was placing the finishing touches on the knot in his royal blue tie. Despite the fact that it make tying the knot awkward he was keeping his jacket folded over his arm.
"Let me see that jacket." Peter said suddenly.
"What? Why?"
"Just give it to me."
Neal rolled his eyes and handed over his jacket. Peter took it and riffled through all the pockets, physically turned them inside out, before handing it back. The only thing he found was the lock pick set that he had already known about. Neal gave Peter an injured look as he put the jacket back on.
"Satisfied?" Neal huffed.
"The Sapphire Waterfall is still missing and you were alone with that case of jewels."
"For like five seconds." Neal said defensively.
"Long enough."
"I'm hurt, Peter."
"Yeah, right."
Jones pulled the van in behind a warehouse and pulled it to stop. The tracker in the Nightingale had been moving quickly before, but now it slowed to a walk. Peter double checked his gun before securing it in its holster.
"GPS shows Zhang heading into Dock Building 12." Jones announced.
"Do we have any idea what we're walking in on?"
"Um...no." Jones admited
"Did you get a hold of the Port Authority?" Peter asked.
"They said they can have Agents here in ten minutes."
"Coordinate them to surround the building, but have them hold position. We need to get eyes on Zhang and make sure we're not stepping into a hornet's nest."
"I can pick the back door." Neal offered.
"Okay, Neal and I will get inside and get a better idea of what is going on."
"Try not to be seen." Diana suggested.
"Hopefully Zhang will be feeling a little cocky with me 'dead'."
"Good luck."
Peter tested the two way radio in his shirt sleeve that was connected to his ear piece before stepping out of the van. Neal stayed close by his side as they made their way through the empty shipping port. This portion of the vast shipping yard was shut down tonight because there were no active cargo ship at its dock. Lines of containers, fork lifts, and larger machinery gave plenty of places to hide and ambush.
Neal stopped Peter and pointed out two men standing guard outside the main entrance to the large dock building. Peter nodded and pointed out an alternate route to circle the building. Staying in the shadows they made their way to an unguarded side door. Peter stood watch while Neal worked the lock open. Once he triggered the lock Neal looked up to Peter and found that he was pressing his hand against his chest.
"Peter?" Neal whispered in concern.
"I'm fine. Let's go."
Neal wasn't fully convinced, but he wasn't sure what he could do about it. Once inside they took a moment to get their bearings. The building was a vast warehouse with a maze of shipping containers that formed corridors. All the containers were locked with a heavy chain and pad lock. Neal sniffed at the foul scent in the air trying to identify it.
"What is that?" Neal asked quietly. "Smells like kinda like the subway."
"Urine." Peter said confidently. "Neal, unlock one of these containers...quietly."
Neal nodded and went to the nearest container. Picking the lock quietly was not a problem. The problem came when it was time to remove the chain from the door. Working together they were able to loosen the chain enough to open the container door a few inches without making much sound. Peter had Neal stand to the side as he pulled out a small flashlight. Peering into the pitch black container Peter quickly flashed the light on and off.
Peter's breath hissed across his teeth at the quick view he had gotten. Neal gave him a puzzled look as Peter closed the door once more and quietly replaced the lock. Peter reached into his jacket and drew out his gun.
"Peter, what's going on? What's in there?"
"'Spring'." Peter sighed.
"What?"
"Young women."
"There are people in these boxes?" Neal asked in horror.
"Ssshh." Peter reminded Neal to be quiet. "The containers are holding cells so that they can be brought overseas in large groups, and then sold a few at a time so that no one notices a large influx."
"That's what Tachi meant by 'selling spring'."
"Exactly. I had no idea the problem was this large. There could be hundreds of captives here."
"Hsing was one of these women." Neal said sadly.
"Jones," Peter whispered into the receiver "how many men do you have out there."
"Fifteen, all in position."
"Everyone hold, see how quickly you can get more men here, but make sure they get here quietly. This whole place is probably rigged to burn down to the concrete to destroy the 'evidence'. Get the fire department on stand by, but don't have them approach to the point where they can be seen. We need to be sure that we can take down Zhang and whoever he is meeting here quickly. Make sure everyone stays out of sight and wait for my signal."
"I'll see what I can do about back up. The rest of us are ready to move in at your word."
Peter paused, stuck in thought for a moment. Neal glanced at the container maze and tried to guess how many lives were at stake. Peter was breathing heavily, but Neal realized that his own heart was racing painfully as well.
"What are we going to do?" Neal asked.
"With this many lives at stake I think we need to just let Zhang conduct his business and go. The more players we can get to leave the better chance we have of getting everyone out of here alive."
"Zhang might disappear after whatever he's doing here."
"I'd rather lose him than see this place become a burning death trap."
"Agreed."
"I'll have Jones stand dow..."
Peter stopped when they suddenly heard male voices. The commotion was coming from the center of the container maze. The conversation was too muted by echoing off the metal containers to be understood at this distance. Neal jolted when there was a sudden high pitched cry of panic.
"Peter, that's Hsing voice..."