Page 65 of No Time Off

My stomach tightened, but I kept my expression blank as Shi turned toward me, his dark eyes narrowing. “A woman, you say?”

“Yes, a woman,” Maivia repeated annoyed. “A girlfriend, wife, mistress. I don’t know or care. What are we going to do about him and how are we going to find the prime minister? She’s still missing. He probably knows where she is. We should torture him to find out.”

A smug grin curled on Shi’s lips as he stared at me. “Oh, don’t worry, I have plans for him. Specific plans. Plans I will enjoy implementing.”

“But what about the prime minister?” Maivia asked, his voice turning into a whine. “We need to find her. I want her gone. We can’t have the old government regrouping. We need to get rid of her once and for all.”

Shi tore his gaze away from mine to address Maivia. I could see him visibly struggle to keep his temper from flaring. “Relax. The real prime minister has no power here anymore. We have taken care of that. But if you’re wondering, we’ll find her. It’s just a matter of time.” He glanced back at me, his eyes cold. “And while we’re at it, we’ll find anyone who is helping him.”

The threat was implicit in his gaze, and I had to relax my fingers to keep them from tightening into fists behind my back.

“Tell the guards to spread their search for the prime minister to the outer islands. She may have avoided our searches by relocating there. Use your loyalists there to search every possible hiding spot. No one leaves or enters the islands without our permission. If found, bring the prime minister to me—alive. The same goes for the woman who was with him.” He pointed at me. “Get information on her from the customs office and plaster her face on posters everywhere. Say she’s a terrorist wanted for questioning about the assassination attempt on the former prime minister. Anyone who turns her in gets a reward. Add a photo of him, too. Maybe we can get some useful information as to who else might be here with him and what they are doing. Make sure the public knows they are terrorists—the both of them.”

Maivia seemed confused by the request. “This will help us find the prime minister?”

“It will. Everyone else can be collateral damage, for all I care.” He let his gaze linger on me a moment longer before he turned to Maivia and flashed a feral smile. “See? We have everything in hand.”

Maivia swallowed nervously, nodding his head. “Well, what about him? We can’t just let him sit here and not help us find her.”

“He’s mine,” Shi snapped with such ferocity that Maivia stepped backward, looking stunned. Then, realizing how badly he’d lost his composure, Shi tried to speak more calmly.

“What I mean is, don’t worry about him. I intend to extract him personally from the Cook Islands tomorrow afternoon, and you won’t have to worry about him any longer. I’ll take him to China—to an undisclosed location. One of our more discreet facilities. He’ll be…cooperative, given enough time. I’d like to have the woman, too, but he leaves with me tomorrow. I can come back for her, as needed.”

I knew exactly what Beijing would do if given an asset as valuable as me—a man with a deep well of intelligence connections and top knowledge of US cyberwarfare. I’d be tortured until I gave them everything. That was unlikely to happen, though, as the little chip in my body would be activated to prevent just that. By that point, I was certain I’d welcome it.

But I had no intention of letting that happen.

Shi turned his attention back to me, thinking. He spun the coin faster, a metallic blur between his fingers. “Anything you’d like to say to me? Because once we’re on that plane, you won’t have another chance. I might even cripple those hands you rely on so much for hacking.”

Maivia blanched and dropped his gaze, clearly uncomfortable at the sudden turn in the conversation. He spoke a good game about torture, but clearly, he didn’t have the stomach for it.

Shi, too, seemed to sense Maivia’s uneasiness, so he waved a hand at the man. “Leave us. He and I have unfinished business to discuss. Ask Chen, my chief of staff, to get my plane ready to leave tomorrow afternoon. Then find the prime minister you’re still so worried about for some reason. If you can’t or won’t do that, then perhaps I’ll find a new prime minister who can. I want the woman who was with him.” He pointed at Slash. “I’m delaying my flight a few hours, until tomorrow afternoon, so you have time to find and bring her to me.”

“But he can tell us where the prime minister is right now,” Maivia whined.

“She’ll be ours if you do your job and find her,” Shi snapped. “In fact, it would best for you to have forgotten you’ve ever seen this man. Do I make myself clear? For now, do as I say.”

Maivia clamped his mouth shut and then nodded. “Fine.” He turned and left the room, closing the door behind him, clearly unhappy his concerns had not been taken more seriously.

If it wasn’t clear who was running this show before, it certainly was now. Every word, every piece of evidence was ammunition in our arsenal. If Lexi and Manny could hear this, it would make a strong case Beijing was behind this entire operation, justifying international intervention.

But I still needed more.

I forced a grin. “You haven’t changed at all, Shi. Corruption. Threats. Torture. Revenge. It’s all so pedestrian. Still bitter over what happened to your brother?”

Shi whirled around, anger flashing. “My brother? You think this is about my brother? He’s a traitor. He gave up information instead of taking an honorable death. Oh, I’m bitter, all right, but I assure you, that only scratches the surface. You ruined my life, and you’re going to pay for it in ways you never imagined.”

“Apparently, I didn’t ruin it enough,” I replied casually. “I imagined you rotting in a despicable Chinese prison, but instead, your superiors sent you here to the Cook Islands to infiltrate from the inside, using police assistance as a front to launch a coup and install a puppet government answerable only to Beijing. Busy boy. What other grunt work are you involved in these days? It’s been such a long fall from the golden keyboard, hasn’t it, Shi?”

Shi scoffed. “You know nothing. My life is more complicated than you can imagine. Yes, you cost me my status in China and my position in the ministry. They downgraded my clearance, banned me from cutting-edge projects, and kicked me over here to oversee the political and economic capture of several of these miserable island countries. We’re just a little farther along here than in others, but despite the lack of faith in my abilities back in China, I’m now calling the shots behind the scenes in four countries now. These countries think they’re independent, but I’m their opium dealer. Except instead of drugs, I offer money and resources. They’re all addicted. All I ask for is support from them at the appropriate times. Soon, the South Pacific will be a Chinese protectorate. I intend to make my way back to the top once they see my success.” He tapped his temple with his finger. “And now, thanks to the kindness of fate, my life has gottensomuch sweeter.”

Shi stepped closer to me, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “I’m going to find her, you know. And trust me, your worst torture will not be physical.”

It took every ounce of my considerable training and mental fortitude to keep my expression and body relaxed. I imagined every scenario where I jumped out of this chair and snapped his neck, but the bindings around my arms held tight, and rage wouldn’t get me what I wanted.

Shi laughed, not fooled by my calm demeanor. The metal coin spun in the air once more, a flicker of silver passing between his knuckles. He caught the coin between his index and middle fingers with a flourish. “You know, I do this to remind myself that life is just like this coin. It spins, it shifts, and you never know which side will show up. Today, I’m in the Cook Islands. Tomorrow evening, I’ll be back in Beijing, a hero leading you in chains. Oh, fate is a such sweet and fickle woman. And today, she absolutely favors me.”

When I didn’t respond, Shi called out and the guards reentered the office. I didn’t know what he said to them in Chinese, but they eyed me warily and their hands rested on their weapons.

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