“Not that kind of woman. More like a partner. A coworker.”
“Did we ever get around to talking about why you’re in Macau in the first place?” Millie asked.
“I think that’s what Arrow Donaldson is trying to find out. Maybe you can ask him.”
“I’m more interested in this woman.”
“How progressive of you,” Teddy said.
“Aside from conning me into helping you once or twice, your reputation isn’t that of a man who works well with others.”
“Others aren’t usually as highly trained as I am.”
“How well-trained does a movie producer need to be exactly?”
“I think this conversation is veering off course. I just wanted to thank whoever in your organization brought my plight to the attention of Arrow Donaldson, and let you know that he doesn’t trust the U.S. delegation to provide proper security for Li Feng. He’s asked me to keep an eye on her.”
“Good luck with that,” Millie said. “There’s already been one attempt on her life, and I’m almost certain Arrow is the one who ordered it. He gave me a decoy instead of the real Li Feng — and then he killed her.”
“There’s a gangster named Sonny Ma that everyone in Macau seems to believe is behind all of the bad things happening. Maybe he tried to kill her thinking it was the real Li Feng.”
“Keep in touch about what you learn from your new friend Arrow Donaldson,” Millie said. Then she hung up.
Teddy was growing more impressed with that young woman even as she exasperated him more and more with her bravado and spunk.
As he browsed the room service menu looking for something that sounded good to eat as a recharge meal, Teddy thought of Dale Gai. Teddy still felt guilty about leaving jail without her and needed to eat so he could do something about it. He ordered a steak, medium rare, and fries, then went the bathroom to put together another disguise while he waited for it to be delivered.
The third time Teddy entered the Macau police station he had the leathery look of a veteran troublemaker and the ponytail of a man lost in time. Billy Barnett hadn’t gotten very far with the police, so Teddy was giving Atticus Hackman, civil rights attorney and professional savior, a try. He had to wander around for several minutes before someone pointed him toward a small glassed-in booth with a chubby young man in a uniform, different from the police officers’ uniforms, stuffed inside.
“I need to talk to Dale Gai,” Teddy said.
“We don’t have anyone here by that name.”
“She’s not an employee. She was arrested earlier today.”
“We don’t have anyone here by that name,” the young man said again.
It was a rote response, and a lie at that. Someone had told this kid to fend off anyone looking for Dale Gai, no matter what he heard or who was asking. Teddy knew he wasn’t going to get any further at the police station, so he took the opportunity to look around the station and scope out the setup. He made some mental notes and left, knowing how he would get Dale back.
46
Quentin was on his way back to D.C. and Millie felt like she could finally get back to business. She had genuinely loved seeing him. The time they spent together was amazing and heartfelt, but it was better for their relationship if they kept work separate from private matters.
She was about to leave the Macau Business Aviation Center when through the giant window she spotted a plane she recognized landing on the airstrip. It was the twin to the CIA chartered plane she’d arrived in. Her curiosity turned to cautious optimism when she recognized the man deplaning: Lance Cabot, the director of the CIA.
“Welcome to Macau, boss. Here to offer me a promotion?” she asked, trying to grab at him and push him off to the side so no one saw him. “Who knows you’re here?”
“It’s good to see you, too, Ms. Martindale.”
She knew he wasn’t there for banter or to check on her progress; he was there about the dead woman. The dead woman she still had no answer for.
“I’m working on getting to the bottom of what happened. I’m absolutely certain Arrow Donaldson was behind that women’s murder. If we can prove that, then—”
“We don’t investigate murders. We gather information and present that information, unbiased, to those above us who make the hard decisions about this country,” Lance said.
“We had an agreement that when I arrived in Macau, security for Li Feng would be transferred to my team. Arrow Donaldson reneged on that agreement.”
“You may not believe this, but I really do respect your enthusiasm for this job. That’s rare in our line of work and it’s refreshing.”
“I’m a part of this team, a real part of this team, not the mascot. You wouldn’t have put me anywhere near Arrow Donaldson if you weren’t confident in my abilities on some level.”
“I just wish you were more ambitious when someone needs to be sent to Siberia.”
“Didn’t the Agency once steal a bunch of Russian helicopters, run up a five-million-dollar bar bill, and then accidentally blow up an oil pipeline in Siberia?”
“It wasn’t accidental. And how do you know about that?”
“I’m happy to sign up for stealing helicopters anywhere you want to send me.”
“Where’s the congressional delegation that was looking into this? I should probably make an appearance and do my government-funded schmoozing.”
“Still at their hotel, last I know. Li Feng’s testimony is supposed to happen at the consulate in Hong Kong where they have secure facilities. But as far as I know Arrow is the only one who’s gone over to Hong Kong since I’ve been here.”
“Did he take Li Feng with him?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t been able to talk to her yet.”
“Go talk to the delegates and see what they think. See if you can talk them into taking you to Hong Kong early to see what Arrow’s up to.”
“They will. Trust me.”
“I’ve got some other business to attend to in town, but I’ll be here to offer support from the top if you need it, or to stay in the shadows if you don’t.”
“That’s helpful and creepy. Wonderful,” Millie said.
47
Teddy didn’t trust a single word that came out of Arrow Donaldson’s mouth; he suspected Arrow felt the same way about him. As long as they both kept up the illusion that they were working with each other, there was always the chance that it could net a benefit for Teddy. It also gave him an opportunity to keep tabs on Arrow without looking too conspicuous.
But Dale Gai didn’t have the luxury of waiting around while Teddy played games with Arrow. She might have already been swept away to some kind of prison camp where Teddy wouldn’t be able to save her without making an international incident out of it. But he wasn’t going to rest until he’d made every effort he could to prove that he wouldn’t leave her behind.
When he returned to Stone Barrington’s suite, he called the festival organizers and asked if they could spare a local actress for him to use for some promo work. Jee Go showed up fifteen minutes later at Teddy’s door, took his money, and let him disguise her without questions. He told her very little about what was going to happen, because he wanted her surprise and confusion to be genuine. His only preparatory comment was “You’re going to have to trust me.”
When they arrived at the police station, Teddy checked through his pockets to make sure he had everything he needed. Then he grabbed his decoy by the arm and dragged her to the information desk.
Teddy was happy to see that someone was behind the desk other than the fat young man who’d been there the last time. That was the first, and most important, roadblock to bypass for Teddy’s plan to work. He was suddenly feeling much more confident in his success and that fed his performance for the surrounding audience of officers and bystanders.