“Yes sir, black Mercedes, registered in Wuhan. I have him sir. Would you like me to send tracking to your phone sir?”
“Go ahead.”
The investigator looked at the map on his phone. The car was still near Wuhan, but moving at speed.
“Good, send this to the Team Leader of the Response Unit who is here on site at the lab.”
“Yes sir, stand by.”
The Team Leader picked up his radio to answer the investigator’s call.
“Go ahead.”
“I need you to pick up the driver and occupants of the black Mercedes who will be on your phone’s map locator in a few seconds. Take your team. He is government, but take him into custody. Let me know where you are holding him.”
“Yes sir!”
The corporate cleaning van pulled up and parked a few houses down from the BBQ couple’s house in La Jolla, California that overlooked Windansea Beach. The driver pointed to the flashing red dot on the GPS locator map.
“Two locators… right… there! That’s them.”
Inside the house, Xue Lin’s adoptive parents were having a cocktail while watching a documentary about the sleeping sharks of Mexico. They had been enjoying their retirement in California and had no reason to believe that they would ever be dragged back into the fray of international espionage. Their daughter had been given a new name at the CIA and their familial connection was classified, so almost no-one knew.
The cool winter air blew off the Pacific Ocean. Four Chinese PLA operatives sat uncomfortably inside the van while the Team Leader, sitting on the front passenger side, looked through the thermal imaging scope that he had taken off his rifle to try to scan the house for ‘number of occupants’.
“Drive past slowly so I can get a better angle” he said in Mandarin to the driver.
The van passed by the house slowly. “I show two adults, both sitting in the front room, ground floor.” said the Team Leader, clicking his scope back on to his AR-15 rifle. “Pull over in front of the house and turn off the headlights. Keep the engine running. We’ll see you in four minutes.”
The Team Leader turned to look at the four in the back.
“They are probably not armed, but they are trained, so stay professional. Do not go loud unless they open fire. And if you do have to return fire, make sure to keep one alive. Otherwise, just cuff and bag them.”
The sliding door opened and the team of five silently opened the front gate and approached the front door. The second in line came around and quietly picked the lock and gently swung the front door inward. Not a sound. The team entered the house, floorboards creaking. The couple, both in their mid-fifties were still watching TV. Both of them were startled by the Chinese intruders, but seeing all the barrels pointing at them, the couple slowly raised their hands without getting up.
“Who are YOU guys?” the man in the chair said to the Team Leader. “We didn’t order any food.”
Speaking English the Team Leader replied: “Just get slowly on the floor, face down, hands behind your back.”
Neither of them moved a muscle, except to look at each other.
“DO IT!”
The couple complied and allowed two of the team to zip tie them and put a black bag over each of their heads.
“Honey you really need to vacuum this rug” the husband commented.
The Team Leader yelled “Let’s go!”
The team exited the house quietly and packed into the van, unnoticed by the neighbors. The van’s headlights came back on as the van pulled out and drove away, headed for Highway 805 as the woman calmly threatened never to go to a Chinese buffet again.
Before long, the cleaning van pulled into a back alley in San Diego’s Chinatown. A garage door slid up and the van pulled in.
“Out! Time to renew your passports!”
“I’ve been meaning to do that for ages,” the husband said as they were both bustled out of the van towards what looked like a crude temporary photo studio in the corner.
“OK! smile for the camera, or we have to take another one after pulling fingernail out. Harder to smile then!”
The photographer lined each of them up, still zip-tied, and took their photos for their new American passports which were all but finished in front of the forger at his desk a few meters away.
“Where are we flying to fellas?” asked the wife, after the camera’s flash went off capturing a sweet but momentary smile.
“European holiday. You are meeting up with your daughter, but only if you behave. Otherwise Chinese agent kill her. So you be good. Don’t try to escape. Don’t try to hurt my men. Don’t alert airline staff. Just be good, and everything be fine. You see your daughter again. No problem.”
She looked at her husband, worried now. He returned the look, nodding reassuringly. They both knew how highly trained their daughter had become. Their old case officer, Marcus Roet had kept them in the loop about her training, but they weren’t aware of any postings or missions she’d been given.
