he caught sight of Watson standing up, then leaving her office and marching toward his.
Fung’s heart started galloping again. What should he do? Confess everything? Smash her in the face and run? He wished he had a knife somewhere close. He’d slit his own throat and—
“Lawrence?”
Fung feigned surprise. Her phone was in her hand, and her face was troubled.
“Oh, Amanda. Hi. What’s up?”
“Sorry to bother you, but something’s come up. I gotta leave the office for a while. Do you mind holding down the fort while I’m gone?”
“Oh, sure. No problem. I’m here for the duration. This coding is kicking my ass.”
She smiled. “I’m sure you’ll work it out. You always do. And thanks.”
“Everything okay? Anything I can do?”
“No, just something going on with my bank account. I just got a text. I think I’ve been hacked.”
“Oh, shit. Really? That sucks big-time.”
“I’m sure it will be fine. But I need to get over there right now.”
“Yeah, sure. Go. I’m here, no worries. Call me if you need anything.”
Watson turned and marched toward the elevators. After the doors closed, his phone vibrated again.
Shit. Did CHIBI have video access around here? And how did he . . . ?
Fung suddenly felt utterly and completely trapped. If CHIBI could manipulate Watson like that, he surely could do the same to him. And that was the point of that little demonstration, wasn’t it?
Despair fell on him like a cold, wet blanket.
He read CHIBI’s text.
So here is what I need.
Fung memorized the details. He’d never heard of the NFLA before, or Lobito-1, and Angola was only a crossword puzzle answer to him. But the task was clear and he thought he might have a way to grab the data quickly. He hoped so. He’d never seen CHIBI so anxious.
And that made CHIBI extremely dangerous.
57
GDYNIA, POLAND
Jack and Liliana pulled away from the curb and headed for Gdańsk. Liliana stole a glance at her rearview mirror.
“Problem?” Jack asked.
“A man in a black Mercedes sedan has followed us since we left Gage’s office.”
Jack checked the passenger sideview mirror. “Can’t see it.”
“About eight cars back now, right lane. I think I know the man.”
“Not in a good way, I take it.”
“His name is Goralski. Ex-ABW. A real bone-breaker. Tossed out for taking bribes from a local Mafioso, or at least, suspected of doing so. It was never proven. My partner, Jerzy, always suspected him of being connected to our case, but he could never prove how.”
“And now he’s following us. Interesting. What can you tell me about the case you and Jerzy were working?”
“Our informants told us that a new heroin pipeline has opened up from China to Afghanistan and then to Poland, where it gets redistributed around the rest of Europe. We still don’t know who or how or where, but the Germans were chasing a possible tie-in to OstBank.”
“What kind of tie-in?”
“OstBank might have been part of an investment group building chemical factories in China.”
“And the German BKA agent got knocked off chasing that tie-in. And now Jerzy—”
“It wasn’t an accident. I’m sure of it now.”
“And this clown in the Mercedes starts following us from the meeting with Gage, and Gage is connected to OstBank, and he’s investing in warehouses and distribution.”
Liliana shot Jack a look, as if seeing him for the first time. “You’re not a financial analyst, are you?”
“What are you talking about? Of course I am. Call Hendley Associates if you don’t believe me.”
She slammed the turn signal, preparing to cut across two lanes of traffic to get to the next turn.
“What are you doing?” Jack asked.
“I’m going to grab this bastard and kick him in the balls until he tells me why he tried to kill Jerzy.”
“Whoa, wait a second. Let’s think this through.”
“There’s nothing to think through.”
“Sure there is. You don’t have any actual proof, and wrecking him might feel good in the moment, but it might kill our chance to blow this whole thing up.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
“What would Jerzy want you to do? Get revenge or solve his case?”
She shot Jack a withering glance. But behind the furious blue eyes, Jack saw something click.
“Fine. His balls are safe, for now.”
“Give me a second.” Jack pulled out his phone and did a map search.
They rode along the three-lane road in silence for a few minutes. Liliana decided to take the slower, more direct route toward the center of Gdańsk, near where Gage’s port warehouse was located. Near the Baltic, the air was colder but still pleasant. The closer they got to