Despite the morning light spilling over the horizon, Hattori Mei felt no warmth in her soul.
Word had made its way to Hattori Mei from Japan even before Xia Lei had even caught wind of it. A group of assassins from Colombia had broken into the old Hattori ancestral home in the dead of night. The fierce exchange of fire between the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Force and Land Defence soldiers against those vile men had managed to take out a few tens of assassins. However, it was in the midst of the chaos that someone had captured her mother, Hattori Wendy. How she was brought away was still a mystery to those involved.
This terrifying news had robbed one night’s sleep away from her.
In the whole of the Hattori clan, her mother was the only relative that she truly acknowledged. She watched heartlessly as Hattori Geppa bled to his death at the borders of India-Pakistan. She mercilessly chose not to warn her father, Hattori Masao, despite being aware of an assassination plot. She was capable of all that but she could never bear to watch her own mother die.
Japanese women had long suffered discrimination in the societal and familial hierarchy. Plus, the fact that she was biracial made things worse. She could only will herself to endure the prejudice and unfair treatment that she had received from other members of the Hattori clan. And in the long tormenting years of her growth, the only one that truly remained by her side was her mother.
Sadly, Hattori Wendy had now fallen into the hands of Xia Lei. If Xia Lei wishes to tighten his grip around her neck, her mother would easily crumble into pieces.
“I’m going to kill you! I swear I’ll kill you! Xia Lei…!” Hattori Mei seethed to no one. Her expressions twisted and morphed into something malicious, something borderline a laugh and a cry. She looked absolutely mental.
Doot doot doot… Doot doot doot…
The landline phone on her office desk rang out of the blue.
Who would call at this hour?
Hattori Mei hesitated briefly before she picked it up. She offered no word, ears plastered to the device as she waited for the other party to speak first.
A man’s voice came booming over the line. “Miss Hattori, can you recognize my voice?”
“Mister Thompson. Of course, I do. Why are you calling so early in the morning? What’s the matter?” If this had occurred before the news, Hattori Mei would’ve entertained Thompson in a heartbeat. But the emotional rollercoaster that has plagued her left her mind in a muddled mess.
“Miss Hattori, I wouldn’t be calling at this hour if it wasn’t anything important.” Thompson continued, “There’s finally some progress on the thing you asked me to look into some time ago.”
“Are you talking about Project Shepherd?” Hattori Mei’s attention was successfully diverted.
“Yes.” Thompson went on, “An expert has found a secret hidden deep in the six statues…” His words died as soon as things were getting interesting.
“What did they find?” Hattori Mei’s patience was growing thin.
“Miss Hattori, I don’t think this is something we can discuss over the line.” Thompson’s tone felt constipated.
“How would you like to talk this out then?” Hattori Mei attempted to probe.
Thompson voiced, “Are you free this noon?”
Hattori Mei replied, “Yes. You can come over around noon and we can grab a bite in the get-go too.”
“No, I’m afraid that won’t work. I’m running tight on time. Please come over to Area 51 instead. We can meet outside the facility,” suggested Thompson.
Hattori Mei was silent, evidently hesitant.
“Miss Hattori?”
“Mister Thompson, going over would take me an hour’s journey. Could you just hint me? I mean what should I prepare for you?” asked Hattori Mei.
This was too obvious of a hint to be considered one. She wished to know what secret Thompson held to decide on its worth and put it into consideration if she should head over to Area 51.
“Are you sure you want me to say it here?”
Hattori Mei pushed on. “Mister Thomspon, all I’m asking for is a hint so I can prepare whatever you need in advance. This call is to prompt a deal, no?”
There was a brief moment of silent reluctance before Thompson relented, “Fine. It’s a secret about the Alloy X. That expert has managed to find a possible link to formulate Alloy X from within the statues.”
“Wait… What?” Hattori Mei was pleasantly surprised.
Thompson reaffirmed, “It’s true. Since you mentioned deals, then I guess I’ll just say it straight. Please bring over five million dollars in cash. I’ll take three million while the expert takes the remaining two million. Remember, cash only. Transactions are too risky.”
“Can’t you give me a few more hints?”
“Miss Hattori, I’ve told you what I can. It is up to your discretion if you wish to come over or not. But I must tell you that the information I hold is highly attractive. Give me a call before you come over so I can prepare it for you as well.” Letting his word fall, Thompson ended the call right away.
The call was already over for a few moments now but Hattori Mei still had her grip tight over the phone. She stood with her back rigid against the side of her office desk. There, she remained motionless for minutes.
She had built a safe fortress here. As long as she remained inside it, she believed that Xia Lei would not be able to penetrate through it. However, once she leaves this place, many factors would lay beyond her control. If she agreed to the deal, the secrets and production of Alloy X would allow Japan to rebrand their status as the best military country in the world. That would, in turn, allow the Hattori clan to thrive at the top of the globe as a superfamily. The temptation was just too difficult to resist.
Should she go or should she not?
She continued to pace back and forth over the dilemma.
Meanwhile, 119, Palm Street.
Thompson placed his mobile phone down. “Mister James, this is the most I can do. I’m not sure if she’d actually come or not.”
Xia Lei was worrying his heart over the matter too. He actually bore no confidence over that. He had listened to the exchange between Hattori Mei and Thompson earlier. While he did not ask Thompson to turn on the loudspeaker, he could hear every word uttered on the other side of the line clear as day. The paranoia and doubt that laced the woman’s voice were too hard to ignore. That had made it difficult to produce correct deductions.
“If she doesn’t show up, what do we do?” Thompson asked.
Xia Lei uttered, “There’s no need to worry about that. Tell me how it’s like in Area 51 now and all you know about Project Shepherd.”
Thompson answered, “The Pentagon has increased security levels around Area 51. Even I would need to go through three levels of security checks before I head in. The first check would be an identification check. You’ll require an Area 51 access card to enter. The second security check would be a body search for any prohibited items. The last security check is done via the Tenshin AI system. The system will rectify facial features, bone structure, fingerprints and cornea identification. The system’s accuracy is so high that even identical twin brothers and sisters would not be able to get past it.”
Xia Lei’s heart dropped at that. He was fully aware of what the Tenshin system was capable of. No matter how well-crafted his human face mask was, it would not be enough to fool the artificial intelligence over. Xia Lei couldn’t bear to imagine the consequences if he was detected in Area 51. But to free himself from plaguing doubts and possibly obtain some hints about the ancient alloy box, Xia Lei was determined to enter Area 51. This would be the most dangerous location he ever had to infiltrate.
Thompson continued, “Project Shepherd is conducted by the AE Research Centre located within Area 51. The person in charge is the facility’s head supervisor, Eric. He’s the best biologist this country has to offer. He was the one who suggested the retrieval of the six statues. All of the statues are placed inside the research facility under twenty-four-hour watch and study.”
“What exactly are they trying to understand?”
“They’re trying to learn more about its material and magnetic field. I think there’s a new side project that popped up in the recent days. Something to do with their supernatural powers.”
“Supernatural powers? What does that mean?” Xia Lei’s curiosity was piqued.
Thompson offered him a lopsided smile. “I’m just a soldier so I don’t know much about scientific research. Plus, the AE Research Centre is somewhere we’re prohibited to step foot into. It’s one hell of a hassle to move in and out of that place. I rarely visit there.”
Xia Lei thought for a moment. “Can you show me the phone you use in Area 51?”
Thompson reached into his pockets to produce a custom phone and placed it in Xia Lei’s palms.
Upon closer inspection, it looked like any other rugged phone on the market but its structure was surprisingly primitive. It only offered functions to call, send and receive messages. He toyed with it a little and said, “I’m bringing this in to study for a while. You can retrieve it from the study in five minutes.”
Thompson was a little taken aback. “Mister James, you must remind you to not plant any spy bug or trackers in my phone. If you did, I will not be able to get through Area 51’s security checks.”
Xia Lei chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m not a fool. Come find me after five minutes.”
Thompson nodded and watched his retreating back.
Entering the study, Xia Lei brought out a USB stick that could be fitted directly into the phone’s port and planted Xiao Qian’s mobile version into Thompson’s device.
Five minutes later, Thompson came to meet him in the study as promised. Xia Lei returned him the phone without another word.
Thompson flipped the device around carefully. “Mister James, I hope you did not plant any tapping wires.”
Xia Lei reassured, “I did not. I still hope to work with you. What would I get by doing that? I was just checking your recent contact history.”
Thompson followed, “Mister James, rest assured that I will not sell you out. Doing so would result in my own demise. I am not so foolish.”
Xia Lei smiled. “Glad to hear. Return to Area 51’s military base and wait for Hattori Mei’s call. If she calls you, inform me immediately. If she doesn’t, inform me as well. If she does come, I will pay you twenty million dollars. If she doesn’t, I will pay you five million dollars instead.”
“I’ll return to Area 51 right away.” Thompson’s departure was decided without an ounce of hesitation.
As soon as the older man had left the study, Tsukino Kyoko appeared in the study. “Boss, why are you letting him return to the military base? With him under our watch, we could control him. But the further he is, the lower our control. It’ll be dangerous for us if he decides to betray us all.”
Xia Lei did not offer a straight answer to Tsukino Kyoko’s query. Instead, he swiftly unfolded his laptop and let the display do the talking. A satellite position was showcased on screen.
“You planted a tracker on him?”
Xia Lei shook his head. “No. I merely planted the spyware I programmed inside his phone. It’ll keep an eye on Thompson in our stead. No matter who he calls, I’ll be able to hear him on this end. It’s just a program so it’d definitely get past Area 51’s security check.”
Tsukino Kyoko felt slightly relieved. “Oh, I see. However, I doubt that Hattori Mei will make her presence known at Area 51. She’s the kind of person who wouldn’t expose herself to potential danger even if the risk is slight.”
Xia Lei retorted, “On the contrary, I’m confident that she’ll accept the deal. Japan is positively salivating over the Alloy X and Hattori Mei is more eager than the Americans to get a hold of its production information. It’s only natural to be sceptical of the situation. But as soon as she makes up her mind, she’s bound to appear. I think she’d at least require thirty hours to provide some form of confirmation but when that time comes, I’m afraid that the Mechanic has already presented her mother to us. Right now, we need to select a location and leak Hattori Wendy’s location to the Japanese. Two different locations at the same time. She’d be forced to make a decision.”
“You’re confident that she’ll go rescue her mother?”
“No, I’m sure she’ll go for the deal.” Came Xia Lei’s firm reply.
After all, he was the one who knew Hattori Mei best.