the CEO of the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)—the parent company of Sino-Angola Energy—and the personal secretary of President Zhao all sat to her right. To her left were various Party and ministerial deputies from the most powerful state-owned enterprises and government bureaucracies in Beijing.
Chen did not speak. He knew his place. The picture on the screen told him why he had been summoned, as if he didn’t already know. Seventy-eight Chinese nationals slaughtered in Lobito, along with dozens more critically wounded or burned, many of whom weren’t expected to survive.
The questions regarding the Lobito-1 attack came hard and fast from around the table.
“Who is responsible for this atrocity?”
“The NFLA claimed responsibility in social media fifteen minutes after the attack.”
“Who are these bandits?”
“Unknown.”
“Where are they based?”
“Unknown.”
“How many are there?”
“Unknown.”
“How do you plan to find them?”
“I am working all available sources at the moment, and reaching out to new ones as well.”
The oil executive leaned forward, folding his liver-spotted hands.
“The NFLA also claimed credit for my nephew’s death. How did they do it?”
“One of the Novichok ‘Newcomer’ nerve agents the Russians developed.”
“Nerve agent? Like the American VX?”
“Yes, but five to ten times more powerful. Completely disrupts the connection between the brain and muscle tissues, causing, among other symptoms, cardiac arrhythmia and respiratory paralysis. Likely one of the A, B, or C variants. The D is a powder, and no powder was found.”
“How was it administered?”
“Specially treated condoms.”
“Condoms? Nonsense. His wife was infertile.”
“He had been with a woman earlier.”
“A woman? Or a whore?” The CEO of CNOOC turned beet red. Family honor was at stake.
“She was a regular visitor. Quite extraordinary, I’m told. And expensive. Fan Min’s personal security team had checked her out. She carried no weapons that evening. There was no reason to suspect her.”
“Obviously, there was,” the chairwoman said.
Chen dared not shoulder that responsibility. Even a hint of guilt would chum these shark-infested waters. He needed to proceed with extreme caution.
“That is a matter for Fan Min’s security team to evaluate, Madame Chairwoman. We are happy to assist in that evaluation.”
Chen didn’t need to mention that Fan Min’s security team was employed by Sino-Angola Energy, not the Ministry of State Security.
“How do you know it was a poisoned condom?”
“We found an unused one in her purse. Unfortunately, the technician that opened it is now in a coma.”
“You have the whore in custody?”
“We have her corpse at the morgue.”
“You killed her? That was stupid!” the oilman said.
“She was struck and killed in a hit-and-run by a cement truck thirteen minutes after she left Fan Min’s hotel, according to traffic-camera footage we secured.”
“An accident?”
“Highly unlikely.”
The deputy foreign minister interrupted. “If you have traffic-camera footage, you surely have found the truck.”
“The truck was reported stolen eighteen hours earlier. It was found three kilometers north of the city, abandoned and torched. We assume the charred corpse inside is, or was, the driver.”
The oil executive continued. “Why would this whore want to kill my nephew?”
“I doubt that she did.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Too dangerous. Had she not been killed by the truck, she would have died from the toxin that must have secreted through the condoms, according to her toxicology report.”
“You believe she used them without the knowledge they were poisonous?”
“Correct.”
“How would she acquire such murderous devices?”
“We believe someone she trusted—or feared—gave them to her. Logically, that would be her pimp.”
“Who is he?”
“An Australian national. Nothing in our databases indicates he is with any kind of foreign service.”
“He must have a criminal record.”
“Not according to local police records. He paid well for police protection, we surmise.”
“Where is he now?”
“Unknown.”
“Best guess?”
“A shallow grave. But we are checking our sources in Australia.” He turned to the PLA general on his right. “We are formally requesting assistance from Unit 61398 in order to access airline, train, and other foreign travel databases.”
The general smiled broadly and addressed the room. “The Army stands ready to help your ministry clean up this mess.”
Chen stiffened. Another challenge.
“We regret the death of the three PLA soldiers killed before the refinery assault where no security cameras were deployed. In spite of this, we believe our meager efforts will result in the swift capture of their murderers—with your generous assistance.”
The general’s eyes narrowed with Chen’s deftly struck insult. The PLA guards were, in fact, derelict in their duties.
“Why would an Australian pimp want to murder a Chinese oilman?”
“He was likely a cutout for the person or persons who wanted Fan Min dead. He was probably paid a great deal of money to