He hates me so much he’d send hit men after me in Detroit. That he’d reach out to his shady contacts to find me here in Vancouver.

If I’m so important to him, why isn’t he here to come after me himself?

He must have other obligations. Something so important it’s keeping him away.

I message Simone to ask her for her Wi-Fi login and password. She responds immediately with the login. The password comes a minute later. It’s a nonsensical phrase with numbers and capital letters interspersed. She tells me she changes it often, so don’t get too used to it.

Fair enough.

I log on to the internet and, about two hours later, find what I’m looking for. It’s the search I’ve been meaning to do since yesterday’s meeting with Lam and Vidal. The reason I went looking for Simone in the first place is she’s the only one I trust to help me with this particular search. Because of her relapse, I have to do it myself.

Michael Acosta is the poster child for prosperity. He used to be a fundraiser for the Conservative party of Canada but has left politics to pursue his one true love in life: resource extraction.

Bernard Lam picks up the phone on the first ring. We don’t bother with pleasantries. I explain to him what I have on Acosta and his company, Nebula Corp, which isn’t much.

“Don’t worry about it. I have someone looking into Acosta for me,” Lam says.

“Good,” I say. “Have them look into the gold mine in Indonesia that Nebula Corp took over recently. It’s on the island of Lombok.”

“Why that mine in particular?”

I forward him a report.

“Apart from being located in a region that’s prone to earthquakes, landslides, floods, and volcanic eruptions, there’s evidence of terrorist cells creating problems all over Indonesia. And there’s been a certain element of unrest on Lombok for a long time. Violent mobs and organized crime,” I say, after he’s read it and is back on the phone. “Nebula isn’t messing with local police. They’ve got their own security looking after the miners and protecting their property.”

“Unrest sounds bad for business,” says Lam, with the understatement of the day. “You think Dao is there.”

There’s a reason he’s not here hunting me down himself. I’ve killed his lover and his previous employer. He should have no obstacles to exacting his revenge in person because what else is he doing?

He’s doing what soldiers do. He’s working.

“Yes, I think he’s in Indonesia, managing the situation for Acosta.”

“Just like he managed difficult situations for Ray Zhang.”