Bound by the Red Thread

A ringing phone interrupted him, and everyone turned to Brody. “I need to take this. Neptune can brief you all on the information we found. I’ll be in my office if you need anything. Ms. Swafford, please feel free to contact me.” He gestured to the man sitting across the table from Nicole. Nicole thought he’d been introduced as Monty or something like that. He had a laptop in front of him. Then left the room closing the door softly behind him.

Darrall went over the information she’d given to Ian that had been shared with them. When he finished recapping everything, he nodded to Nicole. “Is there anything you’d like to add or change. Something that maybe you remembered since your talk with Ian?”

“No, that’s pretty much all I know. I know it’s not a lot, considering I lived with the man for so many years, but I can’t think of anything else that might be helpful.”

“Even the tiniest fact might be something we can use—I suggest you keep a notebook, and if something comes to mind, just jot it down.” The man Brody had referred to as Neptune had been typing on a laptop, while Darrall had been speaking. He glanced up and smiled at Nicole. “Anything you think of, please let us know.”

Monty appeared to be about forty years old. He had dark-brown hair and the kindest-looking blue eyes. Darrall and the rest of the team were now focused on him.

“Monty Hardgrave is our resident computer geek. He’s been working with Egghead doing some tracking and research. I’ll let him explain what information they’ve found so far.”

Darrall sat down, and Monty typed furiously on the device in front of him. “This is the complex where we believe your husband and son are staying.”

“Ex-husband,” Nicole swiftly interjected. “Jin filed for divorce before he took Clifton out of the country. He had the divorce finalized in China, therefore, I can’t get into the country as his wife, and I cannot get a visa.”

Monty scribbled on the notepad beside him as did several of the other men. “Let me check into that. I’m not sure that it’s legal here.”

“From what I’ve been told by more than one lawyer, it is, but you may have better contacts,” Nicole said bitterly.

The black-haired man at the end of the table stood. He watched her with eyes so dark they appeared black. “I have contacts with the consulate. They’ll give me the straight story. I’m Paul Chu, also known as Brain, Ms. Swafford. I’ll do everything in my power to help you get your son back.”

“Thank you, Paul. I appreciate everything you and your team are doing.”

He smiled and resumed his seat. Nicole focused her attention back on Monty. He looked like something was frustrating him. A couple of minutes later there was a knock at the door.

“Come,” Darrall said, standing.

Brody Evans strode back into the room and straight towards Monty. “Neptune, what’s up, man?” The two whispered rapidly for a few seconds with Brody taking the laptop and typing something on it. Suddenly a screen appeared behind him with the Trident Security logo displayed.

Brody typed a few more things on the device, and a picture of a huge house with several outbuildings appeared. “Thanks, Egghead,” Monty said.

“Those codes are only good for four hours. If you need longer, I’ll give you access again,” Brody said as he left the room.

They take security seriously here, Nicole thought to herself as she stared at the screen.

Monty started explaining what each building was, and where he thought Clifton was staying within the complex. Then he closed his laptop and looked at Darrall.

Darrall continued, “We’re going to try to force them to return your son legally first. Paul here is going to work with the ambassador and his contacts within the Chinese government. If that doesn’t work, we’ll come up with another plan. I know you may think you’ve exhausted all these avenues, but we need to try this first, then we’ll see what else we need to do. While we’re waiting for the red tape to clear, we’ll be checking our other options, so that we are ready to go if more needs to be done. We will do whatever is necessary to return your son safely.”

They talked for a few minutes longer before the meeting broke up. Monty explained how he and Egghead had obtained the information and what it meant to their investigation. As a summary, Darrall confirmed he had the correct numbers to reach Nicole and promised to be in touch in a few days.

All of the men except for one filed out of the room. “Ms. Swafford?” the last man said.

“Yes,” she answered stopping where she was and waiting for the man to come to her.

“I’m Paul Shu,” he said, reintroducing himself as they stood by the door.

“Yes, Mr. Shu?” Nicole took a step towards him.

“I was wondering if you would be interested in coming to lunch with me. I have some questions I’d like to ask you.” He stopped just inside the door.

“Sure. Are the other guys…?” Nicole looked around.

“They’re off to another meeting. This would be just you and me. Is that okay?” He opened the door and they stepped into the hallway and began to move towards the exit.

When they reached the lobby, there was a woman standing there, talking to the receptionist. As she turned Nicole recognized who she was.

“Oh my! You’re her!” The receptionist stood, and the other woman looked curiously at Nicole. “I’m so sorry,” Nicole stammered. “I love your books.”