Lo Han slipped the radio into his pocket and gazed at the dock that was still blazing from end to end. There has to be a connection between the men who were assaulted in the prison building and the insane collision of the yacht by the catamaran, he thought. Still ignorant of Pitt's rescue of the doomed immigrants, Han could not bring himself to believe that American law-enforcement agents had sent an undercover team to destroy Qin Shang's operation. He eliminated that thought as unrealistic, considering the situation. That would make them responsible for the murders of Chu Deng and his crew of enforcers, an act not generally conceived by FBI or INS agents. No, if American investigators had the slightest clue of the covert activities taking place on Orion Lake, a tactical assault team would already be swarming over the grounds. It was painfully obvious to Lo Han that this was no professionally planned intrusion by an army of trained agents. It was an operation conducted by one, surely no more than two, men.

But whom were they working for? Who was paying them? Certainly not a competing smuggling operation or one of the established criminal syndicates. They wouldn't be so stupid as to start a territory fight, not while Qin Shang had the backing of the People's Republic of China.

Han's gaze traveled from the burning pier and the sunken ships to the cabin across the lake. He stood there transfixed and recalled the arrogant fisherman who flaunted his catch the day before. He may not be what he seemed. Probably no fisherman or a simple businessman on vacation, Lo Han deduced, and yet he did not act like an agent of the Immigration Service or the FBI. Whatever his motive, the fisherman was Lo Han's only suspect within a hundred miles.

Content that he had eliminated the worst-case scenario, Lo Han began to breathe a little easier. He took his radio and called a name. The voice of Kung Chong answered.

"Are there suspicious sightings of vehicles?" Lo Han asked.

"The roads and skies are empty," Kung Chong assured him.

"Any unusual activity across the lake?"

"Our cameras reveal some movement among the trees behind the cabin but no signs of the occupant inside."

"I want a raid on that cabin. I must know who we're dealing with."

"A raid will take time to organize," said Kung Chong.

"Buy time by sending in a man to sabotage his automobile so he can't escape."

"Should something go wrong, won't we be risking a confrontation with the local law authorities?"

"The last of my worries. If my instincts are correct, the man is dangerous and a threat to our employer who pays us and pays us well."

"Do you wish to terminate him?"

"I believe that to be the safest alternative," Lo Han said, nodding to himself. "Be warned. There must be no mistakes. It is not wise to incur the wrath of Qin Shang."