Operation Barracuda (2005)

Lambert nodded. "Okay. Keep me informed, will you? I know you have to report to your own people but I'd appreciate it if you kept me in the loop."

"I'll do that, Colonel."

"Is that all?"

"I think so. For now."

Lambert stood and held out his hand. "Thanks. You're doing a fine job."

Kehoe got up and shook the colonel's hand. "Thank you. I'll be in touch." He turned and left the office. Colonel Lambert sat, feeling satisfied that some progress was being made. He might not like the FBI doing the job but at least this Kehoe was actually doingthe job. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing after all.

On to other things. He pressed the intercom button. "Have Ms. Grimsdottir come to my office, please."

He then turned to his in-box and picked up a memorandum from Frances Coen that confirmed Sam Fisher's safe arrival in Hong Kong. Contact had been made with Mason Hendricks, and Fisher would be following a lead that might involve Chinese Triads.

What goes around, comes around,Lambert thought. Could Mike Wu be involved in the Professor Jeinsen business?

He then opened A

There was a tentative knock on his door. "Come in."

A

"You wished to see me, Colonel?" she asked.

"Sit down, A

"Nice. Hawaii, you know."

"Sorry I had to end it early."

"No, actually I'm happy that you did. I'm glad to be back."

"Good. As you know, we've lost Carly."

Grimsdottir lifted her chin and said, "She was very good. I'm sorry that she . . . well, I'm sorry about what happened, sir."

"We all are." He cleared his throat and came to the point. "Are you ready to resume your responsibilities?"

"Of course."

"You'll need to get up to speed very quickly. You've missed out on a number of developments within the organization."

"Let's do it."

Lambert looked into her eyes and saw that there was absolutely no fear. Total self-confidence.

"Let's do," he replied.

MIKEWu, aka Mike Chan, passed a sign telling him that Oklahoma City was twenty miles away. He needed to find a place to stop and rest before he had an accident. Wu hadn't slept a wink since he had shot Carly St. John and left Washington, D.C. Now, two days on, he was feeling the effects of sleep deprivation and too much caffeine. He was jittery, not thinking clearly, and had a massive headache.

Before leaving the D.C. area he had parked his blue 2002 Honda Accord alongside a green one that was in front of an apartment building blocks away from his own. Armed with a screwdriver, he switched license plates on the two cars in less than a minute, and then headed west on I-70. He picked up I-81 to take him down through the Appalachian Mountains and Virginia. The highway joined I-40 in Te

He passed a sign for a motel located off the next exit. Good. Out of the way and cheap. Just what the doctor ordered. Wu couldn't wait to get there. He'd have a shower, drop into the bed, and catch five or six hours. And then--

Damn!In the rearview mirror he saw a police car right behind him, lights flashing. Where did he come from? Wu looked at his speedometer and saw that he was doing ninety-three miles per hour. In his haste to reach the motel, he had become careless. Up to that point he had been so good at driving safely and staying within speed limits so as not to attract attention. Now this.

Wu pulled the car over to the shoulder and stopped. The patrol car, an Oklahoma State Police vehicle, moved up behind him. The officer sat in his car making a note and doing the routine call-in with the license plate number.

Shit.It's going to be reported stolen. What should he do? Think quickly!

In his sleep-deprived, anxious state, Mike Wu did what he thought was the only solution possible. He reached under the seat and grabbed the Smith & Wesson SW1911. Wu sca

The officer got out of the patrol car and walked toward him. Wu lowered the window and smiled at the man.

"Hello, Officer," he said. "I know, I was speeding. Sorry about that."

"Step out of the car, sir," the patrolman said.

"I have my license right here . . ."

"Please step out of the car, sir," the man repeated.

"Okay, if you say so." Wu pointed the pistol out the window and squeezed the trigger. The bullet caught the patrolman in the chest, propelling him backward to the road. Wu opened the car door, stepped out, and aimed the gun at the policeman's forehead. The patrolman, gasping for air, shook his head and attempted to cry out.

Wu squeezed the trigger a second time, got back into his car, and drove off, leaving the dead man at the side of the road in front of the police vehicle. He decided that the best thing to do next was to go ahead with his plan to stop at the motel and get some sleep. The police would be looking for him, all right, but they wouldn't expect him to be so close, set up in a fleabag motel. He'd simply make sure the car was out of sight. Later, after he was rested, Wu would steal another car and continue his journey to freedom.

14

Ifind the Purple Queen nightclub easily enough. The place is huge, more like the size of a theater. This area of Kowloon, Tsim Sha Tsui East, is a major center for nightlife in Hong Kong. All around me I see not only these ritzy hostess clubs like the Purple Queen, but also karaoke bars, disco clubs, restaurants, and even leftover British-style pubs. The neon is mesmerizing and you can feel excitement in the air. Kowloon after sundown rivals anything Las Vegas has to offer. It's difficult to believe this is now a Communist-controlled land.

Two large Sikhs stand outside the front doors ready to intimidate anyone they think might not be desirable clientele. I'm dressed in my uniform because I'd like this to be purely a reco