Marauder (Oregon Files 15)

As it drove off, Polk leaned over and asked his wife, “Did you know Lu Yang was ill?”

She shook her head. For ten years, her mother had been married to the Chinese tech mogul, though he didn’t come into his extreme wealth until after they’d divorced. Jin’s ex-stepfather had taken care of her mother, though, and supported Jin from afar, grooming her skills until he could put them to use for his benefit.

“When did he die?” Jin asked Campbell.

“He tragically passed away just a few days ago. More will be explained to you both when we reach Melbourne.”

Jin glanced at Polk and saw a hopeful gaze in his eyes. He knew just as well as she did what that meant.

They were going to a reading of her stepfather’s will.

It took thirty minutes to reach downtown Melbourne, where they stopped in front of one of its glistening towers. An elevator whisked them to the fiftieth floor. Campbell ushered them into a posh conference room, where they had an expansive view of the city skyline. He pushed a button, and wall panels folded back to reveal a huge TV.

“Please,” Campbell said, indicating chairs along the mahogany conference table. A silver pitcher of ice water and some glasses had been set out for them. He handed Jin a remote and a sealed envelope with her name on it. “Once I leave the room, just press play. You’ll be asked for a code, which is contained in that envelope.”

“You’re not reading his will?” Polk asked.

“I’m afraid not. The video will explain everything.”

He nodded and closed the door behind him as he left.

Polk turned to his wife and said, “What’s going on here?”

“Let’s find out.” Jin opened the envelope and found a note card with nothing on it but a sixteen-digit number written by hand. She pressed PLAY on the remote and was prompted to enter the code.

When she did, an image of an elegant office came on the screen. At the center of the screen, seated at a desk, was Lu Yang. Jin felt her breath catch at seeing him, but she quickly saw that he was no longer the stern and strong disciplinarian she remembered.

Instead, his eyes were sunken, his hair was stringy, and the hands tented on the desk were skeletal.

“Hello, April,” Lu said in English with a soft Shanghai accent, sending a jolt down her spine. “Mr. Polk, you must be there, too, as I’d required. We never met in person, but my name is Lu Yang. As you know by now, I am dead.”

Jin reached for Polk’s hand to steady herself.

“I realize the past few years have been difficult for you both, on account of a breach in security that was not of your doing. As you know, one of our operatives turned informant to the Australian Federal Police. He was eliminated before revealing the full extent of my operations in the country, but regrettably disclosed your respective data-gathering activities in the military’s defense technology and intelligence arenas. Up till now, it has forced me to sever communications between us, for everyone’s security. While you may have felt abandoned, that was not actually the case. Your defense attorneys were the best in the land, paid at my expense. And your respective early releases were no fluke. Let’s just say that several members of the parole review board are sitting on thicker wallets today. But that is all in the past. Today, I need you, April. You and your husband are the only ones I can count on to carry out my last wishes.”

“You’re asking a lot, after what we’ve been through,” Jin muttered.

“I realize you may be reluctant to do so,” Lu said as if to answer her. “But you need me as much as I need you. Possibly more. Just five years ago, you were both models of your professions. Mr. Polk was a veteran of the Special Operations Command and a senior analyst in the Department of Defence. And April was Lieutenant Jin, an Intelligence Officer in the Royal Australian Navy, well on her way to attaining flag rank. You were both outstanding undercover operatives, acquiring the latest technological data for my company, and for China. But because those activities were exposed, you were stripped of your titles, fired from your jobs, and spent years in prison. This has left you destitute, with little, perhaps, except your fondness for each other. I intend to remedy that, but require a final request.”

Lu began coughing and paused to take a sip of water, and Polk pointed irritably at the screen. “We know what happened. Are we just here to receive a lecture and another opportunity to get sold down the river?”

Jin put her hand up to quiet him. She wanted to see where this was going.

“Pardon me,” Lu said, putting down the glass. “I have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, you see. I was well on my way to doing something truly epic with my life, but according to what the doctors are telling me, I have only a few weeks left. So I won’t be able to carry out my vision. But you two can. You proved your loyalty during your criminal convictions by not revealing your ties to me. You also have the necessary talents to fulfill my objective. Mr. Polk, aside from your defense analytics, you were an accomplished commando leader, skilled at field tactics and leading men into battle. April, your naval experience gave you expertise in maritime weapons systems and counterintelligence. A perfect combination to make my operation a success.”

Lu smiled. “Perhaps you are thinking, ‘Why would I do anything more for my dying stepfather after what happened?’ Well, let me give you two reasons. One, of course, is to help China take its rightful role as world leader by securing its military might. This you have both aided greatly with your past actions. The second is financial. Your lives and careers in Australia have been ruined. The government confiscated all your assets, including the hard-earned monies you earned from me. They even dissolved your military pensions, leaving you pariahs in your own country. You have few resources, and even fewer prospects ahead of you. But I can remedy your losses and allow you a future beyond your wildest dreams.”

He winced as he lifted a case and placed it on the desk, opened it, and spun it around. It was piled to the brim with American one-hundred-dollar bills.

“This is one million U.S. dollars. I’m giving it to you, both for your past efforts and as an enticement. The lawyers will hand this case to you when you leave this room. You can take the case and run if you like, but we all know that a mere million dollars won’t restore all that you have lost. I’m betting that it will only whet your appetite for what truly lies at the end of the rainbow.”

Lu closed the case again, and Jin glanced at Polk. His eyes were glued to the screen.

“Because if you do as I request, using this case as seed money as well as additional resources I have provided for you to accomplish the task I have laid out, you will receive the rest of my fortune, valued at nine hundred and thirty-eight million U.S. dollars.”

Jin gaped at her husband. They thought their lives were essentially over when they went to prison. Now they were getting a shot at more than they could ever imagine.