Chapter 4: Hong Kong
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CHINA, HONG KONG – AIRPORT: 1 JUN 2013
SAH-HIM (OLIVER)
The small passenger plane taxied on the Hong Kong International Airport. It slowly pulled to a stop at a far parking apron. The trainees had been instructed to change into civilian clothing. Their League uniforms, weapons, and gear were stowed in duffle bags in the seats next to them.
Sikiyn, their main instructor, stood in the aisle at the head of the small passenger cabin. "We have arrived in Hong Kong. While we are in public places, you will not refer to the League. You will only refer to your organization, your partner, your family, or your people," Sikiyn said with a grave tone. "No one knows about the League. They would try to destroy balance if they knew. Better to die with the secret than to betray your family. Do you understand?" he asked them seriously.
"Yes, Teacher," they chorused.
The secrecy of the League was one of the points that the priests and priestesses always stressed when teaching some of their classes. This was the first time they would be exposed to the outside world since their instruction had started. Their teachers didn't know how to stress the importance of the secrecy of the League while giving them proper training. It was a delicate balance.
"Very well," Sikiyn continued. "We have several safe houses located within the city of Hong Kong. Each of you will be assigned to one teacher. You will follow their instructions on stealth and infiltration. You will report your surveillance and any issues you encounter to your teacher."
The aircraft door opened and was pulled aside. Sikiyn looked outside and nodded. "Yad Alqadar and Sahalia you are assigned to me," he said. "Collect your gear and exit the craft."
The two trainees named rose and followed Sikiyn out with their gear bags. Another large man stood at the front of the aisle. "Eadatan, Samita, you are assigned to me. Come quickly," he ordered as he collected his own bags and exited the plane. His trainees followed him.
A thin, dark woman rose and took his place. "Aldire, Tayir Alfiniq, you will come with me," she said easily as she collected her large gear bags and left the plane. Her trainees followed her.
A somber, lean man rose and looked at the two remaining trainees. "Sah-him, Dafdae, as you have already guessed, you are my responsibility. Come," he said quietly as he led them outside.
"Place your gear in this vehicle," he ordered as he opened the back of one of the large vans parked beside the plane. He piled his own gear bags inside. They did as instructed and stood back.
He climbed into the driver's seat and had Dafdae sit in the passenger seat. Sah-him took the seat behind the teacher. Once they were all inside, he started the van and drove off. Sah-him noticed that the other vans were already underway as well.
"I am Hisan," their teacher introduced himself. "Tell me how you came to our people. Dafdae," he ordered as he drove through the busy streets of Hong Kong.
Dafdae was awestruck and staring outside. She had not been outside of Nanda Parbat her whole life. "I was raised by the family," she replied. "I have never before left our home in the mountains."
"You were raised in the creche?" Hisan asked thoughtfully.
"I was," Dafdae replied. "I still see my parents. They are assigned to the Spine now."
"Good," Hisan replied. "Then no one in the outside world will know who you are. It will make your stealth and infiltration easier. We will focus on teaching you how to change your manners to appear as different people. This can help you with infiltration and escape. Sah-him."
Sah-him sighed. "The majority of the outside world believes that I am dead," he said quietly. "In my old life, I was known. I was very public. I was the spoiled child of the rich. I was often followed by the press hoping to catch me making a mistake. I was on a yacht with my father when it was sunk in a storm. I survived that wreck on an island. My actions on Lian Yu brought me to the attention of the… our family."
"How well known was your face?" Hisan asked with a frown in concentration.
"In America, I was famous. I don't know about the rest of the world, but my father had holdings around the Pacific Ocean, in Russia, India, and most countries in Europe. The main family business holdings were on the West Coast, primarily, in Starling City," Sah-him replied. "I assume that some of them will be familiar with my features."
"What about Hong Kong?" Hisan asked.
"Our yacht was headed for Hong Kong when it was sunk. QC has offices in this city. I assume that they would have searched for those with my features recently," Sah-him replied.
"Then you provide a great challenge," Hisan replied thoughtfully. "Your training will focus mainly on stealth and appearing in public places, not as yourself. I have a feeling that you will require this training more than detailed infiltration training. We will cover the basics for infiltration, but we will focus on stealth."
Hisan pulled the van into a small indoor parking space and then he closed the garage door behind the car. "Let us settle into the safe house. Then you will receive your first assignments," Hisan told them as he exited the van.
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CHINA, HONG KONG – LEAGUE SAFE HOUSE, HISAN'S TEAM: 8 JUN 2013
SAH-HIM (OLIVER)
Sah-him had been learning to stalk and track targets while staying hidden. The biggest asset that Sah-him had found was what clothing he was wearing. He found poor, dirty, torn clothing and walked in a slumped posture. Most of the other people in the marketplace would ignore him. Even if he was a blonde, white man in a poor area of Hong Kong.
Sah-him had been learning to stalk various people through public places for the last week. Hisan had taken him to the public market this morning and randomly pointed out an older man with shifty eyes. "Track him for as long as you can. He seems to be wary. It will be a good way to hone your skills," Hisan told him.
"It will be done," Sah-him replied.
The older man had not done much shopping, but he had wandered through the marketplace like he was looking for something or someone. Sah-him kept note of how he remained wary. He finally seemed to relax a bit. He purchased some ice cream and made his way to one of the many exits of the market.
Sah-him watched as a large Asian man pushed him into the back of a store and then departed quickly. Sah-him was able to see that his target had been killed. He moved to examine the body and noticed the man's keys had a flash drive attached.
Sah-him snagged the keys and quickly followed the Asian man who had killed him. He used all of his new skills to follow the man back to an apartment. The Asian man also seemed wary. Behind the closed door, Sah-him could hear the sound of a woman and a child. He identified that the language was not Chinese. Sah-him left the apartment of the Asian man's family and returned to his safe house.
"Sah-him, you have returned earlier than I expected. Were you detected?" Hisan asked.
"No," Sah-him replied. "My target was killed. I followed his killer to his home. I don't know why he was killed. I found this on my target. Perhaps it can give us insight." He held out the keys with the flash drive on them.
"Perhaps," Hisan replied. "I knew the man was wary. Perhaps this will tell us why." He went over to the computer and plugged in the flash drive. He started to scan the documents on the drive. "I want you to continue to follow the killer. See where he leads you." He kept reading the drive.
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CHINA, HONG KONG – LEAGUE SAFE HOUSE, HISAN'S TEAM: 8 JUN 2013
SAH-HIM (OLIVER)
A few hours later, Hisan woke Sah-him. "The older man was not an evil man, but he was not a good man either. The drive holds information he was going to release about a secret government operation. It was under the direction of ARGUS by Director Amanda Waller, but she was not the one to originate this operation. That is clouded by documents. Someone in the US Government sent ARGUS to contract with a man named Fyers," Hisan said in summary.
"Fyers!" Sah-him replied. "Fyers said someone was paying him money to shoot down an airliner."
"Then it was this Fyers that you encountered on Lian Yu," Hisan remarked with a nod. "I had thought it might be. Did he say why he was to take this action?" he asked.
Sah-him closed his eyes and tried to focus on those last few minutes after the painful death of Yao Fei. "Someone was paying him to destabilize the Chinese economy. He made up some bullshit that he would do that by grounding air traffic. I didn't try to argue with him. It was a stupid plan. It never would have worked. My High School economics class had pointed out that economies are more fluid and flexible than people think," Sah-him replied. "There would have been some minor initial damage, but that would quickly have been repaired. Like a cut getting a scab. China would not have bled to death."
"I see," Hisan replied. "This was the evil you stopped without the family?" he asked.
"Yes," Sah-him replied. "It is where I earned my name. I replaced his evil with death with an arrow."
"Good," Hisan replied. "I have contacted Dam Dhib. He said that Fyers was a branch of evil. Not the source. He wants us to focus more on the assassin and see if we can track him back to ARGUS. He wants to find that source. That man is now your assignment."
"Gladly, I want to find the source of Fyers' evil," Sah-him replied with an angry glint in his eye.
Hisan looked him over carefully. "Watch only. Do not engage. This man may not be ARGUS," he said in chastisement. "You need more training before engaging with a source of evil."
"I understand," Sah-him replied with resignation.
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CHINA, HONG KONG – MARKET: 9 JUN 2013
SAH-HIM (OLIVER)
The next day, Sah-him tracked the Asian man to a nondescript brick building. He examined the structure, but he could not approach the facility without being detected. It was wired to detect anyone in proximity and monitor their actions. Sah-him made note of all these types of surveillance for his report back to Hisan.
The Asian man left that afternoon with another man. Both men did not look like they were trying to blend. They both wore suits and had neat-cut hair. Both were Asian. Perhaps they didn't need to blend?
Sah-him followed the Asian men to a crowded street in a less-than-reputable area of Hong Kong. It was one of the few areas where their suits would not get a second glance. Neither would his own tattered and torn clothing. Sah-him quickly identified that the two men were following a third man. He was a well-dressed Asian man in a business suit.
The two men Sah-him were following split to track the man. Sah-him continued to follow their mark from a distance. Suddenly, the mark turned and attacked one of the Asian men who had been following him. He threw a stack of baskets down and attempted to get away. The other Asian man hit him with a car. The mark died.
The Asian man that Sah-him had been tracking frantically searched the pockets of the dead mark and yelled at the other man in frustration. They could not find what they were looking for on the mark. The mark was a courier? They were looking for his package.
Sah-him was back at the start of the alley where the mark had thrown the baskets. In the corner of his eye, he noticed a flash of light. He looked and didn't see anything at first. He felt compelled to look closer. Then he made out the shape of the packet the mark had been carrying earlier. The mark had hidden the packet to prevent it's discovery.
The package! Sah-him snapped it up and turned his back on the two men arguing at the other end of the alley. He opened it and found a picture. He pulled out his phone and snapped a photo of both sides of the picture. He returned it to the envelope and dropped it where the two men would find it when they came back to look. He slipped out of the other end of the alley to watch the two men some more. They eventually found the envelope and then returned to the brick building.
Sah-him returned to the safe house. "Hisan, I have two things of import to relay. First, the man I have been following reports to a brick building at this address," he said as he pulled out his phone with a mark on the map for the location of the brick building. "It has too much security for me to attempt to infiltrate with my level of training. The man works for the people in this building."
"What security measure did you notice?" Hisan asked.
"Cameras, distance from other facilities, key card access on the door, lack of windows, and the upper stories of the building are vacant," Sah-him replied.
"Vacant could also mean pressure plates," Hisan remarked. "I will consult with the others and Dam Dhib. No trainee is ready for that kind of infiltration yet."
Sah-him nodded. He agreed that he was not ready for getting into that facility undetected. Not with those kinds of security measures in place. "Second, the man I was following intercepted a courier. The courier was killed. I was able to take pictures of the package contents prior to returning it where the men would find it," Sah-him replied. "I made sure to remain undetected."
"Very good," Hisan commended. "Show me."
Sah-him pulled up the photos.
"Hum," Hisan replied. "Email them to me in full resolution."
Sah-him sent it to him and they moved to the computer. With a few keystrokes, Hisan pulled up the first photo and then opened a photo editor, and played with the lighting settings. A message suddenly appeared. CONTACT LI KUAN HUI.
"What is that?" Sah-him asked in amazement at the sudden appearance of the message.
"Some of the messages we intercept are coded to prevent them from being deciphered," Hisan replied. "This photo was done as steganography. A message inside a picture. To those not authorized, it appears as the photo. To those who know how to decipher them, it shows the message."
"Do many organizations use this type of coded message?" Sah-him asked thoughtfully.
Hisan smiled. "Too many organizations think they are clever by using this type of message," he said. "It is fairly common. We cannot determine who commissioned the courier from by this alone." He gave a gentle pat to his student. "But I have been monitoring the your target's home and researching the names I have learned. The man you are following is Maseo Yamashiro. He is married to Tatsu Yamashiro. They have a son, Akio. They are Japanese."
"Maseo," Sah-him repeated to help cement the name in his memory.
"Continue to follow Maseo, Sah-him," Hasin ordered.
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CHINA, HONG KONG – CONSTRUCTION SITE: 15 JUN 2013
SAH-HIM (OLIVER)
Sah-him followed Maseo for a week before he finally received any additional information. On that day Maseo was told to report to a different location. It was a building under construction. Near the top of the derelict building, an Asian man was bound to a chair and gagged.
From his perch out of sight from the others, Sah-him could tell that most of the other men despised what was going to happen. Maseo arrived with a short black woman. An American.
"Maseo, we are making progress," the woman strode with authority across the empty floor. Most of the other men stayed back and tried to hide their distaste for the woman. Sah-him noted their reactions. She pulled into an arrogant stance in front of the bound Asian man. "I want you to meet Li Kuan Hui. I want to know everything he knows about why he was supposed to meet China White," she demanded.
"Yes, Waller," Maseo said with a tired tone. He sounded resigned to following this woman.
"I left you all your tools," Waller said with a smirk. "I expect to work late with the new intelligence."
"Of course," Maseo replied as he started towards the table behind the captive Asian man. The man started to get terrified.
Waller strode out of the floor holding Li Kuan Hui.
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CHINA, HONG KONG – ARGUS BUILDING: 15 JUN 2013
SAH-HIM (OLIVER)
Maseo's interrogation and torture of Li Kuan Hui was bloody and intensive. Sah-him could see that Maseo inflicted the maximum amount of pain with the minimum amount of damage. It ensured that Hui's answers were as complete and truthful as he could make them. Most of his answers even matched the answers he had given during the interrogation portion of the session.
In short, Sah-him learned that Li Kuan Hui was to inform Chien Na Wei, or China White as she was also known, of the location of the Omega Virus. It was a super-virus that had been accidentally created in the laboratory at BTHK Biotech. One vial of the virus could wipe out an entire city within one day. The Triad, with Chien Na Wei taking point, wanted to profit from the sale of this bioweapon.
Sah-him waited until he watched Maseo enter the brick building before, he called Hisan.
"Sah-him? Why are you calling?" Hisan asked.
"Because this report cannot wait," Sah-him told him. "The Triad is attempting to acquire a biological weapon to sell. One vial can destroy an entire city. It is called the Omega Virus. It is at BTHK Biotech. I will complete the rest of the report later."
"Where are you?" Hisan asked.
"At the brick building. The one we think is an outpost for ARGUS," Sah-him reported. "Maseo is making his report. They will move tonight. I will continue to follow him."
"Good," Hisan replied. "I will have the family follow the Triad and infiltrate the facility at BTHK Biotech."
"The Triad have Chien Na Wei, or China White, leading for this project," Sah-him relayed.
"That will narrow down our search," Hisan relayed. "Report when you need to be relieved," he said before he hung up the phone.
The ARGUS team finally moved four hours later. They returned from BTHK Biotech empty-handed. Sah-him was lucky to overhear that the vial had been stolen from the lab before they arrived. He only assumed that it was his own people that stole it.
When Sah-him returned to the safe house that night, he learned that they had not moved on the facility yet. The Triad had the virus. They infiltrated the facility and got all the digital records they could find on the virus. They discovered that a vaccine was being made. Dam Dhib ordered mass production to begin immediately.
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