lobby bar from which he could take in everything as she entered.
As soon as he had mapped out how it would all unfold, he removed his sterile cell phone and called her at the restaurant.
“Do you know the Hyatt Regency Hotel?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied. “I know it.”
“Ask for the check then. Once you have paid, don’t do anything differently. Just walk to the hotel. Forget the man is there. Don’t look over your shoulder, don’t acknowledge him at all. Understand?”
“Yes, I understand,” she said.
Cheng decided it would be better to keep her on the phone and talk her all the way in. If anything, it would help keep her calm and prevent her from doing something stupid.
It didn’t take long before she announced that she could see the hotel up ahead. Soon after that, she was outside and coming through the front doors. Cheng told her to walk straight to the main elevators, come up to the lobby level, and then take the guest elevators to the fifth floor. He would meet her there in the south stairwell.
Looking over the lobby, he watched as Daiyu arrived and did exactly as he had instructed. He then waited for the FBI agent in order to see what he would do. Cheng had figured the man would park himself on a chair somewhere in the lobby and wait for her to come back down. Cheng was wrong.
Seconds later, the agent arrived, but with two other agents in tow. This was not good. Cheng needed to act fast.
There was no time to wait for the elevator. In fact, the sooner he got out of the lobby, the better. Keeping his head down, he moved to the stairwell, opened the door, and began taking the stairs two and then three at a time.
When he reached Daiyu, he grabbed her by the arm and ordered, “Move. Now. Up. Go!”
On the seventh floor, he steered her out of the stairwell and down the long, carpeted hallway. At an ice machine station, he directed her into the little room, pulled out the clothes he had purchased for her, and said, “Hurry. Put these on.”
Daiyu motioned for him to turn around. Considering how she was dressed and how she had behaved, he wasn’t fooled by her false modesty. “Make it quick,” he stated, turning his back.
When she had dressed in the sweatpants and sweatshirt, he had her tuck her hair up under the Bruins cap and then looked at her. Good enough.
Shoving her other clothes behind the ice machine, he stole a glimpse into the hallway to make sure it was safe. There was no one there.
Taking Daiyu by the wrist, Cheng moved quickly toward the stairwell at the other end of the hall.
When they got there, he opened the door and stepped onto the landing, but his heart caught in his chest. There were voices and the sound of heavy footsteps coming up toward them.
“What is it?” Daiyu asked as he backed out of the stairwell and silently closed the door.
“Trouble.”
They moved even faster now, back toward the stairwell they had originally been in. Cracking the door, Cheng listened and didn’t hear anything. It sounded safe until he heard the squelch from a radio. There was only one thing left to do.
Backing out of the stairwell, he dragged Daiyu behind him, his eyes scanning the wall for what he wanted. When he found the fire alarm, he activated it.
Instantly, strobe lights began flashing and the earsplitting wail of the alarm filled the air. Seconds later, guests began to stick their heads out of their rooms, unsure what to do next. Was there a fire? Was it a mistake?
Turning to Daiyu, Cheng said, “Stay close to me. Don’t say a word and don’t let go of my hand.”
The young woman nodded and Cheng led her back to the stairwell. Before he opened the door, he gave her a final reminder to be as quiet as possible. When she nodded, he opened the door and checked to make sure that whoever had been beneath them with the radio had not yet made it to their floor.
Convinced that it was safe, as long as they went up, he drew her into the stairwell and began climbing.
By the time they reached the tenth floor, hotel guests were already streaming in from the floors above and heading down in a torrent of robes, workout clothes, and pajamas. It was exactly what Cheng wanted. It would be impossible for the FBI agents to