TheblackhybridRangeRoverexplodedoutofthegatesofTheMansionlikeanenragedbullchargingatamatador.MeiLinhaditguzzlingfuelbecauseitateupmoreroadthatway,sheexplainedtoCaldwell.OnlytheeliteofHongKongcouldaffordtokeephybridsontheroadthesedaysasthetaxonhybridvehicleswasdoublethatofelectricsandbothpetrolanddieselwereseverelyrationedwithpricestomatch.TheyweretryingtohittownbeforelunchtimeasMeiLinreckonedthatwasprobablythebesttimetobreachtheNEXTfacility.Atlunchtimeguardsweredown,awarenesswaslowasstaffconcentratedongettingagoodsquaremealtoseethemthroughtheafternoon.CaldwellandMeiLin,ontheotherhand,wereskippinglunch.
“Yougetaquotaeverymonth.Onceyou’veuseditup,that’sit.Ifyoudon’tuseit,itdoesn’tcarryovertothenextmonth,”sheexplained.
“SimilartotheUnion,exceptthatthehybridtaxisalotmorepunitive.That’sifyoucangetalicense,”Caldwellobservedpensively.
TheRangeRoverscreechedtoahaltasasetoftemporarytrafficlightsturnedred.Asectionofoninglanehadbeenblockedoff.Ayellowelectronicsignwithanamberdotmatrixdisplayonablackbackgroundread“MaintenanceWorksinProgress”.Theywaitedasoningtrafficthreadedroundtheroadworksandglidedpasttheirvehicle.SomeofthedriversstaredattheRangeRoverwonderingwhoonearthcouldaffordtorunahybridwiththeengineidlingatatrafficlight.
Thetemporarytrafficlightturnedamber,thengreen.MeiLinhitthegasandthehugecarinchedforward.TherewasasilverMercedesS-Classelectricintheoppositelane.Thedriverwastappinghishandsonthesteeringwheel.Astheydrovepast,Caldwelltookalookatthedriver.Hisfacewaspartiallyobscuredbytherear-viewmirror.Caldwell’sattentionturnedtothefrontpassenger.Anuglymaskofbatteredfeaturesstaredstraightbackathim.Theeyeswidenedindisbelief,thetwistedmouthanear-perfectzeroofsurprise.ThedisfiguredYakuza’shandswentupandhegesturedwildlyintheirdirection.ItwastheYakuzaheaviesfromtheUnion.
TheRangeRoversurgedforwardleavingthetrafficbehind.Caldwelllookedintherear-viewmirror.ThesilverMercedeswasdoingau-turnandcuttingoffon-ingtraffic.Hornsblarednoisily.MeiLinhadnoticedallthiswithouttakinghereyesofftheroad.Shesenttheacceleratorcrashingthroughthefloorofthevehicle.
TheRangeRoverhuggedthebendlikeagreyhound,thepowerfulenginepurringwiththeeffort.ThesmellofburntrubberfilledtheairasthecarmaneuveredoneofthenumeroushairpinbendsthatplagueddriversonthewindingShekOroads.Caldwellcheckedtherear-viewmirroragain.
“Theyareclosingin,”hewarned.
“Justwhatwedon’tneed.ItakeitthosearethetwoJapaneseyouencounteredinLondon.”
“Oneandthebloodysame,”Caldwellsaidwithexasperation.
Onceagainhecheckedtherear-viewmirror.TheMercedeswasmakingalotofground.TheirRangeRover,eveninfuelmode,wasnomatchforit.LuckilytheRangeRoverwasbuiltlikeatankandwouldgivetheMercedesarunforitsmoneyshouldtheYakuzaattempttorunthemofftheroad.Onthisstretchofroad,withitsbendsanditssheerdrops,itwaspossibletodieinanynumberofwayswithoutanyonenoticing.
“Iknewthiswasabadidea,”MeiLinsaid.
She’dbarelyspokenwhentheMercedesscrapedtheirtail.TheRangeRoversurgedforwardandveereddangerouslytotheoppositelane,barelymissingatwo-doorToyotaelectricgoingtheoppositeway.ThedriveroftheToyotabeepedinangerasthecardisappearedinthedistance.Therewasyetanotherbend,whichMeiLinnegotiatedwiththetightestofmargins.TheRangeRover’sleftsiderolledofftherocksastheMercedesmovedupswiftlytothepassengersideoftheirvehicle.CaldwellglancedsidewaysandsawthedisfiguredJapaneseman’swindowwindingdown.Suddenly,theYakuzawhippedupasubmachinegunandsprayedthebackoftheRangeRoverwithafewbursts.Therewasahollowsoundasthebulletsbouncedoffthebullet-proofbody.
CaldwellandMeiLinduckedinstinctively.Caldwellrecognizedthesoundofthegun.IthadprobablybeenpartofhisearlytrainingatHYDRA.AnewgenerationUzi,madeinIsrael,evolutionoftheoriginaldesignbyMajorUzielGal,developedaftertheArab-IsraeliWarof1948,basedonCzechandSovietsubmachineguns.Theoriginalwas650mmlongwithfoldingstockanda10in.barrel.Itweighed8.2or8.41bandfired600roundsperminute.Thisonecouldprobablyspitoutthousandsofroundswithevengreaterprecision.Caldwelldidnotrecalleverbeingabigfanofmachineguns,allthosebulletsandnocontrol.
MeiLinsteppedontheaccelerator.ThecarshotforwardaidedbythesuddensteepdescentintotheEasternpartofHongKongknownasChaiWan.Theywerenowonaspiralflyoverwithverylittleinthewayofsidebarrierstokeepacarspinningoutofcontrolontheroad.TheMercedessurgedforwardtoo.ItwasnowsittingrightontheRangeRover’sbumper.MeiLinhitaredbuttonbesidethesteeringwheel.TheRangeRoverpulledawaylikearockettakingoff.Somekindofnitrodeal.
“Wehavetolosethemquickly.Gettingintoagunfightinthecenteroftownisaverybadidea,”MeiLingasped.
TheMercedeswassteppingupthepace.Itssuperiorenginewasrespondingquicklyandefficiently.MeiLinsuddenlyslammedonthebreaks.CaldwellquicklycottonedontoherployashesawtheelectricParkNShopdeliveryvanapproachingintheoppositelane.ShewasbettingthathittingthebreakssuddenlywouldcausethedriveroftheMercedes,toswerveinstinctively.ItwasariskybetastheJapaneseseemedbentonforcingthemofftheroad.ThegiganticskyscrapersthatformedHongKong’sskylinewerealreadyinview.Therusepaidoff.TheYakuzainstinctivelyswervedintotheoppositelaneandploughedheadonintotheParkNShopvehicle.Caldwellfeltthewhiplashtravelallthewayuphisspine.MeiLinhadbeenbetterpreparedforit.HeturnedroundtoseethattheentirenoseoftheMercedeshadbeencrushedunderthefrontofthevan.Therewassmokestreamingfromthefrontofthecar.ThedisfiguredYakuzawasthefirsttostumbleoutofthewreckedcar.Hisfacewascoveredinblood.
TheystayedsilentastheRangeRoverhittheEasternExpresswayandheadedstraightdownintoCentral,bypassingtheshoppingparadiseofCausewayBay,thenightlifeofWanchaiandthebusinessdistrictofAdmiralty.CaldwellandMeiLinbreathedasighofrelief.TenminuteslatertheywerebeingshunteddownwardsbyacreakingcarliftintotheundergroundcarparkofNEXTTower.
MeiLinfoundasecludedparkingspotnotfarfromtheservicelifts.
“Sowhatistheplan?Iwassomehowhopingyou’llbeabletotellmeonthewaydownbutIguesstheYakuzahaveawayofspoilingabriefing,”MeiLinsaid.Shewasstillbreathingheavily.
“NicedrivingMeiLin.Iwouldhavebeentotallyuseless.”
“Notexactlythetimeformodesty.”
“Fairenough.WhatkindofinformationcanyougetwiththisAugmentedRealityunit?”CaldwellaskedpointingatthetinysilverwearableARunitwithmatchingglasses.
“Standarddataonmajorbuildingsandstreets.OccasionallyyougetARsignposts,whichyoucantapformoredetails.IndefaultmodethedataesfromthecentralHongKongGovernmentdatabaseandistransmittedonaprohibitedspectrum.”
“OK,that’sexactlywhatIwasbettingon.Now,ifIrecall,buildingmanagementsystemsinHongKongareallputerizedandhandledbyanindependentpanyundercontract.Right?”
“Correct.KaiShingistheoldestandbiggestone.Alsomanagesmostofthenewerbuildings.”
“Andbuildingmanagementpaniesarenotoriousfornotbeingallthatsecurityconscious,right?”
“True.”
“AndtheytypicallyhaveinteractiveelectronicblueprintsofbuildingsintheirsystemwithanARinterface?”
“Correct.Techniciansusethemwhentheyareperformingmaintenance.That’showtheyknowwhichfloortogotoandwhichsectionoftheceilingorflooringtheyneedtoopenup.Whatareyougettingat?”
“IwantyoutohackKaiShing,makeacopyoftheirblueprintdatabaseandbeamitwirelesslyfromtheRangeRover.”
“Brilliantidea,butoneproblemwiseguy.”
“What?”
“Weareunderground.Thesignalisgoingtobetooweak.”
“Ah,right.You’llhavetoparktheRangeRoveratgroundlevelneartheentrance.Therearelotsofcarsparkedthere.Itisaworkingday.”
“OK.TheARunithassomerudimentarytwo-waymunicationsonapublicfrequency.Wecanusethattomunicate.Iwouldn’tstayonittoolongasanysecurityguards,copsorhamradionerdinthevicinityisgoingtopickupthesignalsoonerorlater.AtanyrateIcanbeamtextmessagestoyoulongwiththeblueprintdata,”shesaid.
“Good.”CaldwellputontheglassesandclippedtheARunittohisbelt.ThedisplayreadNEXTTower,No.8QueensRoad,Central.Thesignalwasweakandlookedlikeitmightdieoutatanymoment.
“Howlongbeforeyou’llbebeaming?”
“Sayfiveminutes.UnlessofcourseitturnsoutthatKaiShingdoesnotmanageNEXTTowerortheyusehardcopyblueprints.Ormyhackingskillsarenotuptopar.”
“Unlikely.ThisisHongKongafterall.It’stechnologyhubextraordinaire.”
“I’dsaytheoddsareonourside.Takecare.”
TherewasalookinhereyesthatwasnottoodifferentfromthelookshehadinhismemorieswhensheboardedthatNo.8busallthoseyearsago.CaldwellsteppedoutoftheRangeRoverandwalkedtowardsthelifts.ThebumperatthebackoftheRangeRoverhadbeenknockedcleanoff.
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