作者:

Chapter 39

TheblackhybridRangeRoverexplodedoutofthegatesofTheMansionlikeanenragedbullchargingatamatador.MeiLinhaditguzzlingfuelbecauseitateupmoreroadthatway,sheexplainedtoCaldwell.OnlytheeliteofHongKongcouldaffordtokeephybridsontheroadthesedaysasthetaxonhybridvehicleswasdoublethatofelectricsandbothpetrolanddieselwereseverelyrationedwithpricestomatch.TheyweretryingtohittownbeforelunchtimeasMeiLinreckonedthatwasprobablythebesttimetobreachtheNEXTfacility.Atlunchtimeguardsweredown,awarenesswaslowasstaffconcentratedongettingagoodsquaremealtoseethemthroughtheafternoon.CaldwellandMeiLin,ontheotherhand,wereskippinglunch.

“Yougetaquotaeverymonth.Onceyou’veuseditup,that’sit.Ifyoudon’tuseit,itdoesn’tcarryovertothenextmonth,”sheexplained.

“SimilartotheUnion,exceptthatthehybridtaxisalotmorepunitive.That’sifyoucangetalicense,”Caldwellobservedpensively.

TheRangeRoverscreechedtoahaltasasetoftemporarytrafficlightsturnedred.Asectionofoninglanehadbeenblockedoff.Ayellowelectronicsignwithanamberdotmatrixdisplayonablackbackgroundread“MaintenanceWorksinProgress”.Theywaitedasoningtrafficthreadedroundtheroadworksandglidedpasttheirvehicle.SomeofthedriversstaredattheRangeRoverwonderingwhoonearthcouldaffordtorunahybridwiththeengineidlingatatrafficlight.

Thetemporarytrafficlightturnedamber,thengreen.MeiLinhitthegasandthehugecarinchedforward.TherewasasilverMercedesS-Classelectricintheoppositelane.Thedriverwastappinghishandsonthesteeringwheel.Astheydrovepast,Caldwelltookalookatthedriver.Hisfacewaspartiallyobscuredbytherear-viewmirror.Caldwell’sattentionturnedtothefrontpassenger.Anuglymaskofbatteredfeaturesstaredstraightbackathim.Theeyeswidenedindisbelief,thetwistedmouthanear-perfectzeroofsurprise.ThedisfiguredYakuza’shandswentupandhegesturedwildlyintheirdirection.ItwastheYakuzaheaviesfromtheUnion.

TheRangeRoversurgedforwardleavingthetrafficbehind.Caldwelllookedintherear-viewmirror.ThesilverMercedeswasdoingau-turnandcuttingoffon-ingtraffic.Hornsblarednoisily.MeiLinhadnoticedallthiswithouttakinghereyesofftheroad.Shesenttheacceleratorcrashingthroughthefloorofthevehicle.

TheRangeRoverhuggedthebendlikeagreyhound,thepowerfulenginepurringwiththeeffort.ThesmellofburntrubberfilledtheairasthecarmaneuveredoneofthenumeroushairpinbendsthatplagueddriversonthewindingShekOroads.Caldwellcheckedtherear-viewmirroragain.

“Theyareclosingin,”hewarned.

“Justwhatwedon’tneed.ItakeitthosearethetwoJapaneseyouencounteredinLondon.”

“Oneandthebloodysame,”Caldwellsaidwithexasperation.

Onceagainhecheckedtherear-viewmirror.TheMercedeswasmakingalotofground.TheirRangeRover,eveninfuelmode,wasnomatchforit.LuckilytheRangeRoverwasbuiltlikeatankandwouldgivetheMercedesarunforitsmoneyshouldtheYakuzaattempttorunthemofftheroad.Onthisstretchofroad,withitsbendsanditssheerdrops,itwaspossibletodieinanynumberofwayswithoutanyonenoticing.

“Iknewthiswasabadidea,”MeiLinsaid.

She’dbarelyspokenwhentheMercedesscrapedtheirtail.TheRangeRoversurgedforwardandveereddangerouslytotheoppositelane,barelymissingatwo-doorToyotaelectricgoingtheoppositeway.ThedriveroftheToyotabeepedinangerasthecardisappearedinthedistance.Therewasyetanotherbend,whichMeiLinnegotiatedwiththetightestofmargins.TheRangeRover’sleftsiderolledofftherocksastheMercedesmovedupswiftlytothepassengersideoftheirvehicle.CaldwellglancedsidewaysandsawthedisfiguredJapaneseman’swindowwindingdown.Suddenly,theYakuzawhippedupasubmachinegunandsprayedthebackoftheRangeRoverwithafewbursts.Therewasahollowsoundasthebulletsbouncedoffthebullet-proofbody.

CaldwellandMeiLinduckedinstinctively.Caldwellrecognizedthesoundofthegun.IthadprobablybeenpartofhisearlytrainingatHYDRA.AnewgenerationUzi,madeinIsrael,evolutionoftheoriginaldesignbyMajorUzielGal,developedaftertheArab-IsraeliWarof1948,basedonCzechandSovietsubmachineguns.Theoriginalwas650mmlongwithfoldingstockanda10in.barrel.Itweighed8.2or8.41bandfired600roundsperminute.Thisonecouldprobablyspitoutthousandsofroundswithevengreaterprecision.Caldwelldidnotrecalleverbeingabigfanofmachineguns,allthosebulletsandnocontrol.

MeiLinsteppedontheaccelerator.ThecarshotforwardaidedbythesuddensteepdescentintotheEasternpartofHongKongknownasChaiWan.Theywerenowonaspiralflyoverwithverylittleinthewayofsidebarrierstokeepacarspinningoutofcontrolontheroad.TheMercedessurgedforwardtoo.ItwasnowsittingrightontheRangeRover’sbumper.MeiLinhitaredbuttonbesidethesteeringwheel.TheRangeRoverpulledawaylikearockettakingoff.Somekindofnitrodeal.

“Wehavetolosethemquickly.Gettingintoagunfightinthecenteroftownisaverybadidea,”MeiLingasped.

TheMercedeswassteppingupthepace.Itssuperiorenginewasrespondingquicklyandefficiently.MeiLinsuddenlyslammedonthebreaks.CaldwellquicklycottonedontoherployashesawtheelectricParkNShopdeliveryvanapproachingintheoppositelane.ShewasbettingthathittingthebreakssuddenlywouldcausethedriveroftheMercedes,toswerveinstinctively.ItwasariskybetastheJapaneseseemedbentonforcingthemofftheroad.ThegiganticskyscrapersthatformedHongKong’sskylinewerealreadyinview.Therusepaidoff.TheYakuzainstinctivelyswervedintotheoppositelaneandploughedheadonintotheParkNShopvehicle.Caldwellfeltthewhiplashtravelallthewayuphisspine.MeiLinhadbeenbetterpreparedforit.HeturnedroundtoseethattheentirenoseoftheMercedeshadbeencrushedunderthefrontofthevan.Therewassmokestreamingfromthefrontofthecar.ThedisfiguredYakuzawasthefirsttostumbleoutofthewreckedcar.Hisfacewascoveredinblood.

TheystayedsilentastheRangeRoverhittheEasternExpresswayandheadedstraightdownintoCentral,bypassingtheshoppingparadiseofCausewayBay,thenightlifeofWanchaiandthebusinessdistrictofAdmiralty.CaldwellandMeiLinbreathedasighofrelief.TenminuteslatertheywerebeingshunteddownwardsbyacreakingcarliftintotheundergroundcarparkofNEXTTower.

MeiLinfoundasecludedparkingspotnotfarfromtheservicelifts.

“Sowhatistheplan?Iwassomehowhopingyou’llbeabletotellmeonthewaydownbutIguesstheYakuzahaveawayofspoilingabriefing,”MeiLinsaid.Shewasstillbreathingheavily.

“NicedrivingMeiLin.Iwouldhavebeentotallyuseless.”

“Notexactlythetimeformodesty.”

“Fairenough.WhatkindofinformationcanyougetwiththisAugmentedRealityunit?”CaldwellaskedpointingatthetinysilverwearableARunitwithmatchingglasses.

“Standarddataonmajorbuildingsandstreets.OccasionallyyougetARsignposts,whichyoucantapformoredetails.IndefaultmodethedataesfromthecentralHongKongGovernmentdatabaseandistransmittedonaprohibitedspectrum.”

“OK,that’sexactlywhatIwasbettingon.Now,ifIrecall,buildingmanagementsystemsinHongKongareallputerizedandhandledbyanindependentpanyundercontract.Right?”

“Correct.KaiShingistheoldestandbiggestone.Alsomanagesmostofthenewerbuildings.”

“Andbuildingmanagementpaniesarenotoriousfornotbeingallthatsecurityconscious,right?”

“True.”

“AndtheytypicallyhaveinteractiveelectronicblueprintsofbuildingsintheirsystemwithanARinterface?”

“Correct.Techniciansusethemwhentheyareperformingmaintenance.That’showtheyknowwhichfloortogotoandwhichsectionoftheceilingorflooringtheyneedtoopenup.Whatareyougettingat?”

“IwantyoutohackKaiShing,makeacopyoftheirblueprintdatabaseandbeamitwirelesslyfromtheRangeRover.”

“Brilliantidea,butoneproblemwiseguy.”

“What?”

“Weareunderground.Thesignalisgoingtobetooweak.”

“Ah,right.You’llhavetoparktheRangeRoveratgroundlevelneartheentrance.Therearelotsofcarsparkedthere.Itisaworkingday.”

“OK.TheARunithassomerudimentarytwo-waymunicationsonapublicfrequency.Wecanusethattomunicate.Iwouldn’tstayonittoolongasanysecurityguards,copsorhamradionerdinthevicinityisgoingtopickupthesignalsoonerorlater.AtanyrateIcanbeamtextmessagestoyoulongwiththeblueprintdata,”shesaid.

“Good.”CaldwellputontheglassesandclippedtheARunittohisbelt.ThedisplayreadNEXTTower,No.8QueensRoad,Central.Thesignalwasweakandlookedlikeitmightdieoutatanymoment.

“Howlongbeforeyou’llbebeaming?”

“Sayfiveminutes.UnlessofcourseitturnsoutthatKaiShingdoesnotmanageNEXTTowerortheyusehardcopyblueprints.Ormyhackingskillsarenotuptopar.”

“Unlikely.ThisisHongKongafterall.It’stechnologyhubextraordinaire.”

“I’dsaytheoddsareonourside.Takecare.”

TherewasalookinhereyesthatwasnottoodifferentfromthelookshehadinhismemorieswhensheboardedthatNo.8busallthoseyearsago.CaldwellsteppedoutoftheRangeRoverandwalkedtowardsthelifts.ThebumperatthebackoftheRangeRoverhadbeenknockedcleanoff.

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