He pulled the thumb drive and went back into the kitchen, putting it in the microwave and watching it spark on the rotisserie. A good night’s sleep. That’s what he needed. Then it would be time to get off his ass and help figure this thing out.

21

21

Beijing
China

Kaito Yoshima pulled open the pantry door and began yanking shelves out, strewing canned goods and cleaning products across the floor. Randi had her back against the wall next to the kitchen’s entrance and was watching the front door as it slowly buckled under the force of the battering ram.

“Anytime now would be good, Kaito!”

“Patience, Randi. I’m going as quickly as I can.”

She glanced at the gun in her hand and let out a long, frustrated breath. What exactly was it she thought she was going to do with that weapon? She was one of the CIA’s top operatives, and as such there was no way in hell she could start shooting at Chinese authorities. If she got caught and identified there was no telling what kind of damage it could do to the delicate relationship between the two countries. Reluctantly, she stuffed it back in her purse along with all the other deadly toys she couldn’t use.

The helicopter could still be heard hovering outside the barricaded windows but at least it had stopped shooting. On a less positive note, a chunk of door frame about the size of a basketball had been dislodged and a man’s arm was already through it feeling around for the interior locks. The temptation to wing him and slow down the assault was almost unbearable. Just a nick above the elbow…

“Kaito—” she said, but then fell silent when she turned. The back of the cabinet was on the floor, and in its place was a dark shaft bisected by a single vertical cable.

“You son of a bitch!” she shouted, running to the cabinet. “If you’ve left me—”

“Be calm, Randi. I’m here.”

The voice echoed a bit but when she looked down into the shaft, she saw him hanging from a climbing harness only a few feet below floor level.

“They used this to transport construction materials when the structure was being built,” Yoshima said. “Unfortunately, it’s small enough that the only way this has a chance of working is for you to stand on my shoulders.”

She reached down and twisted the heel on her shoe, unlocking the mechanism that held it on and then repeating the process on the other foot. She’d have to remember to send the machinist who’d done the modifications a nice bonus. If she lived that long.

Randi grabbed a kitchen towel to protect her hands from the thin metal cable and stepped onto Yoshima’s shoulders. The front door finally gave way, followed immediately by excited shouts and the sound of combat boots running in their direction.