Firm Resolve by Licia Flynn

Author:Licia Flynn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: international mystery, espionage, romance, adventure, comedy, twist, haunting, lawyers, Middle East, Eurasian, Asian Americans, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Expats, Pacific Northwest, thriller, technothriller, satire, conspiracy, business, politics, geopolitics, Oregon, Africa, Libya, china, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
Publisher: Klar Marketing Communications
Published: 2018-09-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Aaron was back at his office in Guangzhou, where his partner Troy ran a manufacturing facility. He entered the old warehouse, which was filled with fluorescent lighting. Boxes were stacked throughout the dusty room.

“How was Shanghai?” Troy asked. He was an elderly man with deep-seated wrinkles, scars, and white hair. Seated at a rusty desk, he studied intel on an old laptop.

“Great,” Aaron replied, but he looked tired.

“You’ll need to return, soon.”

“Why?”

“We’ve got a new project.”

“That’s great, we need the business,” Aaron admitted while taking a seat opposite of Troy. He grabbed a stack of papers, rifled through them, and said, “Bills are piling up.”

Troy nodded and said, “Our new subject is the wife of a pharmaceutical executive.”

“Okay.”

“Born in Kuwait, Natalia Canaan was living in Kuala Lumpur when she was a teenager.”

“Didn’t you have special assignments there in the late nineties?”

“Yep, in that region. Natalia’s father, Jason Canaan, was an Asian American vet. He was awarded the purple heart after surviving a Viet Cong prisoner of war camp.”

Aaron nodded. “Admirable.”

“Not exactly,” Troy said sternly.

“What do you mean?” Aaron asked while setting the stack of bills aside.

“He was never a hero.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Many of us figured that Jason sacrificed his men to get released by the Viet Cong. He was a shrewd guy and spoke many languages, including theirs.”

“How do you know?” Aaron asked with mild skepticism.

“We never had any hard evidence. It was only circumstantial, but Canaan was always a self-serving bastard.”

“If you say so,” Aaron responded as he got up and walked over to a small table with a microwave and hot-water machine. He made himself some oolong tea.

“The government sent Canaan to Georgetown. He worked briefly as an architect, but then joined the DEA in the eighties. He and his wife worked undercover.”

Aaron listened.

“But they were greedy. It happens to a lot of agents. They get sucked into the lavish expat lifestyle and aren’t satisfied with a government salary.”

“Sure,” Aaron agreed while leaning back in his chair.

“Jason was on the take. He was doing the same stuff in Malaysia that he did in Vietnam.”

“So what happened to him?”

“Jason and his wife were dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night.”

“By the DEA?” Aaron asked.

“Nope, by the opposition. Probably for questioning.”

Aaron nodded and asked, “How do you know?”

“Natalia was left at home. If the goal was to kill them, then they would have killed the entire family in their beds.”

“Okay,” Aaron said while sipping his tea.

“Things didn’t go as planned which is typical. Accidents happen. People get killed.”

“But the girl escaped?”

“Yeah, Natalia got away. The maid sent her to live with her grandparents or something. Someone was supposed to track her down but got sidetracked. Mistakes happen.”

“Why didn’t anyone go after her?”

Troy shrugged and said, “It became too much trouble. The FBI kept an eye on her. She was supposed to go into foster care, but there wasn’t room and she got by on her own. Ultimately, Natalia was the perfect bait for

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