“So why is she doing these terrible things? To get ahead?”
Gabe shoved his plate away. “It’s along those lines, but it’s more complicated. Have you had any experience dealing with Chinese business partners before?”
“No,” Hannah said. “Paragon hasn’t really started a comprehensive marketing campaign there yet.”
Gabe leaned toward me. “Wes? You have some expertise, don’t you?”
“My military foreign-relations background focused on China.” I shrugged. “Ellis and I have both been there several times on assignment, so I know something about the culture.”
Hannah’s jaw dropped. “You don’t tell me anything.”
“It never came up.” I nudged her, then focused back on Gabe. “What were you saying?”
“My theory on Li Na is that she’s after ‘face’—it’s a Chinese sociological concept. In Chinese business, ‘face’ is extremely important. It’s your social and business standing, your social currency, your level of respect, honor, and worth. Respect is crucial in corporate China.”
I put down the offensive tofu, giving up on dinner. “And Li Na insists she has her government’s backing, correct?”
“That’s right.” Gabe nodded. “She’s said repeatedly that she’s helping to invigorate the city of Shenzhen and that her country would never extradite her.”
Hannah leaned forward. “Tell me more about ‘face’—I want to understand exactly what it means.”
“This requires reinforcements.” Gabe went and grabbed three beers from the fridge. Hannah scowled as I opened mine.
“I’m cleared for everything except work,” I reminded her, and winked.
Her face reddened.
Gabe wrapped his fingers tightly around his beer. “When we were looking for ammunition against her, before the closing, I dug a little deeper into Jiàn Innovations. I realized that Li Na’s been making promises for some time about the great things her company’s going to do, and all the prestige they’re going to bring to Shenzhen. To date, she’s failed to follow through. She couldn’t get the patch, and Jiàn’s market reach hasn’t grown much outside of China.”
I took a sip of beer. “She’s getting desperate.”
Gabe looked thoughtful. “Seems like it. She didn’t even try to bargain with Fiona Pace—she just went straight to murder.”
Hannah put her face in her hands, and I wrapped my arm around her. “It’s okay.”
“Sorry,” Gabe said.
“You two don’t have to apologize. Li Na’s the one with blood on her hands.” She peered out from above her fingers. “We need to go after her. I know you don’t want to kill her, but I don’t see how we can extricate ourselves from this situation without making her go away permanently.”
“I agree,” I said. “We need to get rid of her. I’m sure Hannah doesn’t want to hear this right now, but Ellis and I both have the military training perfect for a situation like this.”
“Wes, no.”
I rubbed h
er back. “What you said is true—she needs to be dealt with, once and for all.”
“We’re not risking you and Ellis,” Gabe said. “We have to figure something else out.”
“But while we put it through a committee and try to be ethical and conscientious, Fiona and her girls are grieving the loss of a good man. It’s not right.” Hannah took a sip of beer. “Li Na needs to be dealt with—I’m done being afraid all the time. Screw ethical and conscientious.”
“What are you proposing?” Gabe asked.
“Nothing that involves Wesley or Ellis, that’s for sure.”
I put my hand on hers. “Baby—”
“Don’t ‘baby’ me!” she barked. “You almost died this year. That’s enough risk for me for one lifetime, thank you. We’re moving forward. Not dying.”