Dragon: Out of the Box (The Girl in the Box Book 37) by Robert J. Crane

Author:Robert J. Crane
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Ostiagard Press
Published: 2019-10-28T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTY

Sienna

“So that's four confirmed,” I said as Holloway finished hanging up the phone. “Five if you want to count that weak one that hung up on you.”

The office was quiet as always, the sound of Holloway's pen scratching along on his list the only sound other than his breathing, which was steady and rhythmic. Slightly elevated, because we were making some progress after hours of pounding the phones and getting little for our trouble.

Still, four kidnappings confirmed out of a list of fifty names wasn't nothing. And we were down to the last five or so each.

“I want more,” Holloway said, eyes fixed on the list. “Every one of these doesn't feel concrete enough.” He looked up at me. “I mean, just what we've discovered about the ones we've confirmed – easy prey, all in the shadows,” he said, sitting back in his chair. “Except your patient zero.” He tapped the list with his finger. “College professor. Why her?”

I did a lean back of my own. “Why any of them? I mean, that's where I break down on this. Why is China – if it is the PRC government – reaching out and conducting a stupid, high-risk kidnapping op in America? And this close to DC, no less?”

Holloway shook his head. “They got a billion people over there. Why do they need fifty more from us?”

That made me wrinkle my nose. “Good question. Their motives aren't usually that murky, are they? I mean, it's not like they move in indecipherable ways.”

He nodded along. “Right. They want to assert themselves in the South China Sea, they built out atolls to function as strike bases to cover the area.”

“They use everything they have at their disposal to block weapons sales to Taiwan,” I said, “because it's a strategic enemy just across the Formosa Strait. Because they think it should be part of them, a rebel province they can't get their hands on.”

“Tibet pisses them off, they send in troops to crush them,” Holloway said. “Xinjiang Muslims make them mad? Stick 'em in concentration camps and sell their damned organs. Dissident pisses you off? Jail them and order their execution with a bullet to the back of the head. Then bill their family for the cost of the bullet. They've even grabbed people off the street in Hong Kong, and that was before they tried to make it formal with that extradition bill.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Yeah, it's pretty straightforward stuff. Brutal, in some cases...but straightforward.”

“This was a little more sly,” I said, staring at the list. “It was calculated, even. Grabbing these people.” I held the list in front of me. “Who were these people to China? Jang-Peters's parents were dissidents. They were at Tiananmen Square and came over afterward to avoid the reprisals. Which were significant, I believe.”

“You think all the rest of them were dissidents, too?”

“I don't know,” I said. “This whole thing is a black box to me. Totally opaque. Is it revenge? If they are dissidents or dissident-linked, it starts to make sense.

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