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Caldwell and Agent Hsu arrived at The Mansion at No. 10 Shek O Road, HYDRA’s Hong Kong headquarters. The sun had suddenly e out of nowhere, despite the unmistakable chill in the air. Shek O Road oher hand was relatively cool with shadows dang on the asphalt as the hoverbyke glided up to the gates. In the distance, betweerees, Caldwell could make out a white four-storey house that looked like the residence of a reclusive billiohere was nothing about it that said secret anization. At least that’s what Caldwell thought initially.A long winding gravel drive led up to the house, undulating through well-tended greenery. Caldwell could hear the hiss of a sprinkler system. Agent Hsu parked the byke in front of the grilled metal gate, which was sandwiched between two imposing crete pillars. Caldwell noticed the le surveillance cameras, one on each pillar, panning and zooming the eretch of the road and its environs. On closer iion he realized there were several camouflaged cameras in the foliage of the trees above them.
“At night, the camer99ｌib?as automatically switch to night-vision, capturing anything that moves with amazing accuracy,” explained Mei Lin. She hopped off the hoverbyke, which bobbed on its artificial air cushion to adjust for the weight loss. She entered a code on a keypad recessed into one of the pillars. A Plexiglas s slid open and she positioned her fa front of it. She had taken off her helmet and there was no mistaking who she was, a fact that left Caldwell utterly speechless. Her face was much harder now, more angular but she was without doubt the same Mei Lin. A green laser caressed her face. She then placed her hand ihe recess. There was a clid the gates slid open.
Mei Lin remounted, maneuvered the hoverbyke into the pound, and turo watch the gate close. She hadn’t spoken much since she’d delivered the bombshell. Caldwell figured that he had a whole lot of explaining to do but that now was not the time. First things first, there would be time enough for explanations. Caldwell had his suspis that it could all be an elaborate setup. The memories of the girl Mei Lin could be Fouler’s way of ensuring that he cooperated with Agent Hsu and didn’t do a runner. It ossible that he had never met her before and Fouler was just taking advantage of the fact that Caldwell was born in Hong Kong to plant these fake memories. In fact, was he actually born in Hong Kong? There was no way of knowing without hag the Births and Marriages database of the Hong Kong gover. That was easy enough, time permitting. He could also check school records, the Hong Kong Iional School robably still around.
“Ihe building there is a surveillan with a mainframe puter that trols all the cameras, listening devi<samp>９9ｌｉｂ?</samp>ces and security access to rooms in the building. Multiple monitors systematically display the various eye views of the cameras. Any slight movement anywhere on the grounds es up on one of the ss with analysis of the most likely subject based on dimensions and speed. The puter is programmed tnize humanoid shapes in particular,” Mei Lin tinued with her lecture.
“Do you need all this security?”
“Not so far but you ’t be too careful. We are a British agency, I should say Union Agency but we are still very British, operating in a hotbed of illegal and destiivity. When people use the cliché that Hong Kong is East meets West, those in the know are actually talking about spies, eleid otherwise.”
The byke cruised up to the house. The lawn in front of it was immaculate. There were tacked in front of the main door, a hybrid MG and aric Toyota 4X4 SUV. A puter-trolled sprinkler decorated the well-tended lawn with a fiina of mist. Caldwell figured that the i-lookierior hid a veritable fortress. Those shuttered windows were probably bullet proof and the thick oak front door robably lined with reinforced steel. Eleic eyes were everywhere. He spotted at least three cameras on the roof. He doubted whether HQ in London had the same level of security.
“Wele to HQ,” Mei Lin said theatrically as she grabbed a remote trol device from a partment in the hoverbyke’s dashboard and poi at the side of the house. The entire side wall came away to reveal a huge garage with bays for at least ten cars and several motorcycles. There were two black Range Rover 4-wheel drives, a couple of Kawasaki motorcycles and a powerboat and matg Jet Ski on a trailer. What looked like two hoverbykes sat covered with green Tarpaulin.
Mei Lin parked the hoverbyke and they both got off. The lights had e on automatically as soon as they had ehe garage doors closed automatically behind them. Mei Liered another code and another door opehey walked into a kit area. The door shut with several clicks and the sound of heavy bolts ramming home.
A Asian woman in her late forties stood there waiting. She ainfully slim and was wearing a thin dress of exquisite black silk, which flowed downwards in one dramatic sweep. She wore her hair in a tight bun, smoothed back from her delicate forehead. Her eyes were made up like the heroine of a lavish ese opera.
“Welr. Caldwell. We have heard a lot about you,” she said gracefully as she ushered them in. She gave Mei Lin a solemn wink and the agent blushed openly.
“Thank you,”
“Mr. De Witte is in his study. I suggest that you pop in and say hello as we are flying to Japan later today.”
“Sounds good.”
The middle-aged woman moved gracefully like a ballet dancer. She must have beeremely beautiful in her day. But now her face, which was beginning to capitulate to the ravages of time, bore a look of extreme sadness. Something about her made Caldwell think about geisha. They walked through a long narrow paneled corridor. The quaint woman stopped in front of De Wittes office. The gold plate on the door said Briate, Head of Operations. The woman’s trim fingers rapped on the door.
“e in,” a thick British at bellowed. The woman signaled for<s>9９ｌib?</s> them to gh a silently. Caldwell followed Mei Lin into the office. De Witte, who hysically larger than life, stood up and offered his hand.
“Good to see you Cad. I trust you had a good flight.” There was a flash of white teeth, the eyes trying a bit too hard to be jovial.
“I was doped up for most of it,” Caldwell said simply.
“Indeed. Please sit down. Mei Lin.” De Witte gestured for them to take seats in what looked like plusher HYDRA leathers sofas with ese characteristics. There was something distinctly Asian about the design. Caldwell gave De Witte the once over. There was the satisfied air of a pampered ial fat cat about him. Caldwell wasn’t sure if the old boy look was a front for something altogether more sinister but he had thought this species of humanity had long goinct. His immense desk was covered with antique objets d’art and the walls were decorated with ese paintings and some fine-looking Japaana.
De Witte was dressed in an immaculate gray Saville Row suit and a pink Van Heusen striped shirt with a white collar. He was a big man with a strong fad deep-set eyes whianded a certain degree of respect. He looked like he was hitting his mid fifties. His hair, where he had it, was thin and blonde, resembling wisps of straw. Despite the delicate features there was an edge to him that suggested ex-military British aristocracy, the type that got into the higher ranks of the army based purely on li duly bailed out, out of sheer boredom.
“I heard you used to be one of us,” De Witte said, smiling a devilish smile. His deeply tanned face kled at the eyes. Mei Lin frow De Witte and looked at Caldwell.
“In a previous life.”
“Well, good to have you back. It’s not often that one of ours leaves the ao e back. HYDRA doesn’t take too kindly tal sons.”
“Guess I am the exception.”
“Yes indeed.”
Caldwell noticed from the er of his eye, the momentary expression of disapproval on Mei Lins face. He made a mental hat Mei Lin did not think much of De Witte.
Caldwell waited for De Witte to tinue.
“Well, HYDRA Hong Kong is predominantly a researd intelligefit. We report on developments in things such as nanoteology, artificial intelligeneural works aronic warfare. We don’t really do the kind of hands-on iigative work that you do. What should I call it, er, hag?” He said it with that arrogant British twang that unicated exactly what he thought of it. “Having said that, we have enough evidehat something worthy of this kind of mission is going on and it appears the skills I gather you have are more appropriate.”
“So what do you know?”
“We know that some of the greatest minds in New a are w on top secret projects for the PLA. This is especially true in the area of nanoteology and artificial intelligence. We’ve been monit and trying to analyze related data flows around the New a cyberspace hubs more closely. To put it suctly, retly a lot of data has been going in and none ing out suggesting that a signifit number of people were accessing cyberspace from another work sug data in but nothing was happening the other way round. Now, that doesn’t make sense uhere was another work busy replig all the data in cyberspace for some, I dare say, subterfuge purpose.
“Have you tried booby trapping the data so that you know at which point it disappears into this other work?”
“We’ve tried everything we know. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t be res to these kinds of low-level tactics. We tend to be big picture people.”
“Well now you don’t even have a postage stamp of a picture,” Caldwell offered. The arrogant fat cat was beginning to get on his nerves.
“Let’s see if you turn that around,” De Witte said abruptly.
He was about to dismiss them when one of the many t.elephones on his desk rang suddenly. He picked up the receiver.
“Hello,” he said cautiously. There was a long pause.
“When did this happen?”
“Are you sure it was her? And she has the sole?” There was another longish pause.
“Thanks. Follow her every move and don’t let her out of yht. I will get back to you with specifistrus.” De Witte replaced the ha slowly and looked at Mei Lin and then at Caldwell. They were both leaning forward in their seats.
“Diane Joplin, the dead Ameri professor’s daughter, has been tracked down by our associates in Japan. Apparently her father’s credit chip has popped up in a hotel database in Shinjuku, The Keio Plaza Inter-tial,” De Witte announced.
“We better notify Fouler,” Mei Lin said at length. “The girl could be in danger.”
De Witte’s almost child-like fingers started typing away on a keyboard, oer at a time. Caldwell looked around the office. There was very little emphasis on high teology. This De Witte character was obviously some kind of Luddite.
“Fouler is already on his way to Tokyo,” De Witte said staring at his puter s.
“I wonder what she is doing in Japan?” Caldwell asked. The question was directed at nobody in particular.
“Probably some empt to avehe death of her father. A suicide mission if she actually tries to go ahead with it. As it happens, I am off to Japan on a long overdue family vacation. I am sure we’ll see that no harm es to her and the sole doe></a>sn’t get into the wrong hands. By the way, do you mind if I see what it looks like?”
Caldwell opened his knapsad pulled out the black sole. He placed it ote’s desk and watched as De Witte’s eyes popped wide open. His hands emerged from below his desk to caress the sole.
“Impressive, impressive. This is not teology. It is a work of art. I am somewhat of a colleyself.”
“Yes, still o figure out how the hell the thing works. Definitely state-of-the-art. No doubt about that. I figure once we get it on that work it will do much more than just look pretty.”
“It sure looks like the real deal,” De Witte said, still eying the sole.
“Well, from what I’ve seen this thing do so far, we may be just chipping away at the tip of the iceberg with this thing. You see these smooth sides? They are so smooth they are hiding these really tiny gaps where all the layers meet. A number of physical figurations might be possible.”
“Why make a sole so intricate just to access some secret work. It doesn’t make sehere must be something else,” De Witte pondered.
“This is what I think. The sole wasn’t made specifically to access the secret a work. It was built to access awork and Yamamoto got wind of this and got his hands ohink of the power and how much certain people would pay to get their hands on it.”
“Indeed,” said De Witte ponderously. “I suggest you get crag tomorrow on this work. Mei Lin will give you everything you need.”
“Excellent.” Mei Lin and Caldwell stood up to leave.
De Witte pressed the inter on his desk. Caldwell heard it sound in a distant part of the house like fading memories of an elusive dream.
“Yes sir,” a sad female voiswered.
“Show Mr. Caldwell to his suite and have some clothes sent up to the house. Will smart casual do?” he asked.
“I’ve worn worse,” Caldwell said. While they were waitite was curiously silent. Caldwell noticed that he had exquisitely manicured fingernails, which he was examining like a fussy beauti. A few seds later, the woman who had opehe door walked in carrying a large red leather-bound diary.
“Mei Lin, I take it you are staying in your usual suite in the house?” De Witte asked.
“Yes,” Mei Lin said simply, glang at Caldwell.
“Well, I’ll be back from Japan in a week. Hope you have something crete by then,” De Witte said, rising from his desk. Caldwell couldn’t help but think the Brit was not deliberately trying to annoy. He was just one of those people that couldn’t help but grate the nerves. Caldwell nodded, picked up the sole and the knapsad they walked out of De Witte’s office. Just for the hell of it Caldwell looked back to see what the HYDRA man to. De Witte seemed rapt in thought. His milky blue eyes were firmly focused on his prized katana colle.
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