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ZHANG DAIYU NEVER got the chance to make the call. The rattle of machine gunfire cut through the still night, and one of our rear tires burst as it was shredded by bullets. Another volley took out the other back tire. The van shuddered as it settled on the wheel rims.
Desperation makes people dangerous. I knew what lay in store for us if we were captured. I leapt from the cabin and was confronted by one of the men I’d seen open the container doors for Liu. He was the one with bare forearms, sporting the distinctive triple-dragon tattoo. A couple of inches shorter than me, he was well-built with a face twisted in anger and hatred.
He shouted something and brandished his gun at me, but I knew I was dead if I surrendered so kept moving toward him. He was as surprised as any man who waves a weapon around expecting people to do what they are told.
He fired a warning shot above my head and the crack of the report set my ears ringing. It didn’t slow me down. I rushed at him. He tried to clock me with the butt of the QBZ-95 assault rifle, but he was too slow. I got my hands on the gun and yanked hard.
The sudden movement caused him to pull the trigger. Muzzle fire flared as a volley of bullets sliced through the air by his face. He stepped back instinctively and let go of the weapon. I took firm hold, flipped it round and thrust the butt into his face, knocking him down and out.
I ran round the van to see two more gunmen forcing Zhang Daiyu into the back of one of the BMW X5s, which had parked just on our tail. I couldn’t open fire for fear of hitting her and one man took advantage of my hesitation. He pointed his gun at me and pulled the trigger.
I stepped back behind the tail of the van as a volley of bullets rattled and whined through the air where I had been standing.
I heard a screech of tires and saw the BMW shoot backwards, aiming for the gates. It swung round violently. The wheels spun, fighting for purchase, before they bit into the asphalt and sent the powerful vehicle into the container yard.
I knew I had to move fast because once Liu had his hands on Zhang Daiyu, I suspected he would kill either her or Shang Li. He only needed one of them to coerce me into obeying him.
I slung the QBZ-95 over my shoulder and ran at the chain-link fence. I hauled myself up and over, ignoring the pain as barbed wire cut into me at the top, and dropped into the container yard.
I could see the BMW reverse and start to race along the service road, passing behind the stacks of containers so it was only ever visible for an instant. I couldn’t let them reach Liu Bao before I got to him. So I dropped to one knee, pulled the gun from my shoulder, and took aim.
It made a poor long-range weapon, but the rapid fire meant my aim didn’t have to be perfect. I just had to ensure I didn’t hit Zhang Daiyu in the back of the car. I pointed the muzzle at a gap between the containers, just ahead of the BMW, and as the car raced into sight, I squeezed the trigger and tracked the air just in front of the vehicle. Bullets chewed the ground around the wheels, and a few struck the front driver’s side tire, which burst.
I didn’t wait to watch the crash but was on my feet as the BMW veered out of control, sprinting by the time it hit the closest stack of containers. I was breathing heavily and my legs were burning when I saw one of Zhang Daiyu’s captors drag her from the back and set off on foot. They were followed by a man I recognized; the same one who had planted the bombs in the Private Beijing office.
This was the guy who had been trying to kill us since the day we first visited David Zhou in prison.
I was spurred on by the sight of him. He’d got the better of me twice. Not this time. I raced through the container yard, bouncing off the high metal stacks as I sprinted further into the maze. It was a hot and humid evening and I was sweating by the time I got a clear line of sight on the container Liu Bao had entered.
Two of his men stood by the doors, guns raised. I shot them before they could open fire, rapid burst for each. The first wentdown yelling, caught in the leg, and the second was hit in the chest and fell silently.
I saw Liu Bao come racing out. He shot wildly in my direction before trying to close the doors.
Fortune had smiled on me. The men I’d shot had both fallen in front of the container, blocking the doors and preventing Liu from sealing himself inside.
Zhang Daiyu and her two captors were about thirty yards to my right, but I was going to beat them to the container. I opened fire on Liu and hit the door nearest to me. The barrage of sparking, ricocheting bullets had the desired effect and forced him inside.
The assassin shot at me from my right, but I couldn’t return fire for fear of hitting Zhang Daiyu. I was almost at my target. Ignoring the volley of shots chasing my heels, I rounded the nearest door and found Liu Bao waiting for me, gun raised. Behind him I saw Shang Li tied to a chair.
Liu hadn’t counted on my momentum or the fury I felt. I kept sprinting forward and barreled into him, knocking him flat.
His weapon fell to the ground and discharged. The bullet ricocheted off the roof of the steel container and hit Liu in the right thigh, which set him crying out in agony.
I aimed the barrel of my gun at his head and turned to see the assassin and his accomplice dragging Zhang Daiyu into view.
“Any false move and your boss dies,” I told them, and meant every word of it.
CHAPTER 71
WE STAYED THERE, me panting heavily, the assassin and his accomplice gauging me, trying to figure out if they could take me down before I killed Liu. He lay with his hands clamped above the hole in his thigh, eyeing me with hatred. Zhang Daiyu looked defiant. I glanced over my shoulder to see Shang Li, disheveled, dirty, and slick with sweat. I felt immense relief to be reunited with the friend I’d feared dead. He looked as though he’d been beaten and battered by days of captivity, but he was alive.
I kept my gun on Liu. The assassin who’d bested me twice was alternating between targeting me and menacing Zhang Daiyu, while his accomplice kept his gun trained solely on me. Their wounded colleague in the doorway was still crying out in agony, adding to an extremely tense situation.
Time seemed to slow as we faced down each other. My perception became heightened as adrenaline surged through mybody. The assassin’s fingers curled around the trigger, and his accomplice developed a tic in his right eyelid. I noticed Liu Bao looking pointedly at his men, doubtless trying to communicate something. The longer this went on, the worse my odds.
I needed to break the deadlock.
I waited until the assassin swung his gun on me then brought my own round to shoot his accomplice. The man went down as a volley of bullets hit him in the gut.
