the foxes who run the henhouse to rewrite the rules to protect the hens, boss,” Adler said.
Ryan dragged a hand through his hair, obviously frustrated. “Another battle for another day, I suppose.” He took his last sip of cold coffee, the ice tinkling in the bottom of the glass.
“I know you don’t think much of my proboscis, but I still think we should look more closely at Dixon’s family finances.”
“Do you honestly believe a sitting U.S. senator is on the Chinese payroll?” the SecDef asked.
“I won’t use federal resources against an elected official without probable cause,” Ryan said. “Besides the fact it’s not ethical, it’s bad optics. How would it look to the country if I put FBI investigators on the trail of a a likely presidential candidate I’m at odds with politically? Am I clear on this?”
“Clear as rain, boss,” Arnie said. His blue eyes smiled behind his glasses. “But you don’t mind if I ask around a little, do you?”
8
BEIJING, CHINA
Chen Xing hung up his phone.
The traitor was dead.
Such unfortunate news.
As the head of the ultrasecretive International Counterterrorism Division of the Ministry of State Security, Chen was a man to be feared. But he was no fool. Facts were the best weapons in his line of work. The only thing his subordinates need fear was failure. Reporting bad news carried no penalties for the message bearer.
From an intelligence perspective, the death of the treasonous physicist mattered little. Electric batons and ultraviolet-ray shocks had already squeezed everything out of him they could. They had also overwhelmed an undetected heart condition.
The scientist had no network to roll up, no family to exploit. Chen only wanted the scum to live longer so he could suffer more. Nothing was more delightful than to watch a sobbing prisoner concoct fantastical confessions in hopes of stopping torture that had no purpose other than the infliction of pain.
What Chen had discovered was that the sniveling bastard had sold out his country in exchange for the promise of Canadian citizenship and a modest two-story home in a Vancouver suburb.
The physicist’s only mandate was to collect data as opportunity arose, paying the utmost attention to his personal safety. He worked in the Quantum Science Satellite program at the University of Science and Technology in Hefei, passing along invaluable state secrets to the Canadian assistant trade representative, a Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) operative.
His Canadian handler made the mistake of agreeing to a CIA request for specific information regarding a recent test. To Chen’s surprise, an unsolicited text from CHIBI arrived on his encrypted phone, providing the CIA data request along with the physicist’s name, address, and drop-off location—and a proposition.
It was exceedingly rare for a foreign asset to walk in the front door with actionable intelligence. On the other hand, some of the greatest intelligence coups in history happened precisely this way—John Walker, the U.S. Navy chief warrant officer sailor; Aldrich Ames, the CIA operative; Jonathan Pollard, a civilian Navy intelligence analyst; and FBI agent Robert Hanssen all came to mind.
Of course, CHIBI didn’t walk into his office literally; rather, it was a brief, digital introduction and actionable intelligence that proved highly valuable. But Chen found CHIBI’s proposition unpalatable.
Under any other circumstance, Chen would have leaped at the opportunity to continue working with an intelligence gold mine like CHIBI. But CHIBI didn’t want cash—at least, not immediately—or honorifics. Not even an exchange of intel. Chen detected no bitterness in this mysterious person, no ideological motivations for his actions. Ego? No question. Who would have the balls to reach out to the MSS and play such a dangerous game unless they had an inflated ego?
Except, CHIBI’s ego wasn’t inflated. He was as good as he thought he was. Chen’s comrades in Bureau 7 were unable to identify or locate him through digital or other means, which suggested that CHIBI had superb if not insurmountable OPSEC capabilities. Of course, this implied an equally capable offensive threat profile, his technical experts suggested. Prying into CHIBI’s whereabouts further could provoke a damaging counterattack, one that at the moment the MSS would be unable to defend against.
But what to do? Accept CHIBI’s invitation to the auction, or pass?
Chen didn’t believe in rogue intelligence operations. The resources required were too great for an independent organization, let alone an individual, no matter how gifted.
Who would have reached out to him with such an unusual offer other than another intelligence service? He couldn’t imagine it was a Canadian operation. They wouldn’t allow themselves to sacrifice