The Enemy Within by John W. Mefford

Author:John W. Mefford [Mefford, John W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: action thriller, spy thriller, espionage thriller
Published: 2023-06-07T16:00:00+00:00

28

Northern Kowloon

The cab’s engine rumbled while Mei and I observed from the back seat—just one block south of the apartment building where we believed Su was being held. Da Ye tossed his cigarette butt on the ground and rubbed it out under his foot, then he clapped the old man he was talking to on the back and headed our way.

“I hope he got the information we need without setting off alarm bells,” Mei said.

“Let’s watch the old guy, see if he walks off or makes a phone call.”

The driver’s-side door opened, and Da Ye slipped in behind the wheel. “Drive,” I told him, keeping my focus on the old man on the sidewalk.

“We are leaving? Why?” Mei asked.

“Someone could be watching. We don’t want them to get even an inkling that we’re staking out the area.”

Da Ye pulled away from the curb. The old man who Da Ye had spoken to leaned down, scratched the ears of his dog—what looked like a Pug—and strolled down the sidewalk. A normal sight, if it weren’t the middle of the night.

Mei pulled herself closer to the front seat. “What did you find out, Da Ye?”

“As Americans say, it is a crazy-ass hairball,” he said before dragging a hand down his face.

“What do you mean?”

“The apartment, the neighborhood—very dangerous.”

“Y2K?” I asked.

A stiff nod. “Ruthless. They are like savages, most of them. Many are young and have been brainwashed into a brutal reality no normal person can comprehend. He said the members believe their so-called business and livelihoods are at risk, and they will do anything, including killing people, to protect it.”

Mei and I locked eyes. I hoped she finally understood what we were dealing with. I put a hand on the front seat. “Did the old guy mention seeing anyone matching Su’s description?”

He stopped at a red light and swung his elbow over the seat, turning toward us. “He walks his dog at all hours of the night. Apparently, both dog and owner have hip issues and cannot be in one position too long. That is how I connected with him. I have joint problems too. Anyway, he said he saw a minivan stop in the alley behind the building. Four men were carrying someone out of the car and through the back door of the building. That person had a black sack over their head.”

Mei didn’t gasp or cry out. She was all business, locked in as though she didn’t have a personal connection to this operation. But she did, in the worst way.

“The building is what... twenty-five, thirty floors?” I asked, looking through the back window for a quick second. “We need to find out which apartment Su is in. If we can’t get that info, then we’ll need some type of cover to walk the building and try to figure it out ourselves.”

Da Ye hit the gas, and we took a right turn, the building in question looming to our right just below the blanket of fog. “The building is thirty-two floors.

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