Page 57 of Need to Know

The silence between us was a solid wall, frigid, impenetrable. I sat with my head in my hands, the feelings I’d hidden in a deep, dark place in my mind now free to twist like tendrils of brambles, pricking me with every breath, making me bleed. All the anger, fear, loss, and longing made my eyes sting with tears. I felt a familiar hand on my shoulder, and a squeeze. In a softer voice, my dad said,

“Look, I’m sorry son…so, so, sorry that I hurt you, hurt everyone, but I did what I thought was best at the time. When you’re a parent you’ll understand…you do what you’ve gotta do to keep your family safe,” he said mournfully. “I can’t change the past. I keep moving forward, and you’ve gotta do that too.” It bugged me to realize he was right.

So many aspects of my life had gone up in flames in the last few weeks. I’d been sleepwalking, denying uncomfortable realities. This time away with Jack was supposed to turn the page. I’d hoped to become a new man, sexually reawakened, freed from the shackles of my sexless marriage. But there are some things we can’t change…like our DNA. No matter how much pain I felt discovering my dad had lied, I needed to compartmentalize to get through this. I needed to focus on keeping Jack safe.

“I’ve put you in danger and I regret it. I hoped you wouldn’t realize what you had in your pocket and take the card with you when you left on your private jet…so they’d be out of everybody’s clutches.”

“What the hell did you give me?” I asked, my voice softer, resigned.

“The chips are called Téng hú, but I guess you know that by now. They’re a technological marvel, so small and light. They’re made of Kazakium, a rare and expensive metal that has virtually magical properties. In action, they cling to a GPU chip and increase the compute power like nothing I’ve seen before.”

“How do you know about all this tech stuff? You were a petrochemicals engineer.”

“Petrochemicals are a part of all tech manufacturing processes. The CIA saw me as a valuable asset. I was sent to stay with a retired agent who lived on Maui. He trained me in basic tradecraft. I’ve been based in Hawaii living under the name Chris Hurst. I learned to code and hack.”

“How did you get involved with the Chinese?”

“I built up contacts using my cover, remote consulting for tech companies. Around a year ago the CIA heard chatter about the Téng hú chips…and their extraordinary capabilities. They brought me in for Operation: Indigo. The Chinese rarely employ outsiders, but I had specialist skills that were sought after by Huǒhuā Labs. I got a position in the facility in Shanghai, as part of the team developing lower-carbon manufacturing processes. After six months HR finally gave me security clearance to the top-secret development labs to be involved in process simulation. I witnessed testing of Téng hú chips. They truly are remarkable. The CIA wanted me to get at least one chip so that the US could reverse engineer and ensure we were on a level playing field with China. I got hold of a batch of ten, and hid them in the fake bank card. I was supposed to travel to Rome and pass them to my new CIA handler.”

“And why didn’t you do that?”

“Two things happened. First, Huǒhuā discovered the Téng hú was missing. The facility went into lockdown and western employees are the first to be questioned. I’d just finished my shift and managed to get out of there before the front gates closed. I notified my handler that I needed immediate exfil. He told me to head for Shanghai Pudong airport, he’d organize everything. I had a go-bag in my car with money and a few passports. On the way to the airport I checked my phone one last time before destroying it. There was an email from the SODA network informing that my handler was corrupt. He’d organized a side deal.”

“The SODA network?”

“Secure Observation Data Alliance. They’re an anonymous intelligence community. I’ve passed Intel onto them before. They were returning the favour.

“Who was the deal with?”

“Oliver fucking Roux,” Curtis grimaced. “I saw photos of my handler and Roux meeting at his off-shore property, Royal Island in the Bahamas. There was also a decrypted email chain from his ORIGN server, stating what Roux wanted, and that the fee for the Téng hú chips was twenty million dollars in crypto when the handover was complete.”

I shuddered, “Oliver Roux? Jesus! I know him...he’s a friend of my husband. The man’s a dick,” I said of the obnoxious multi-billionaire. He and Erik moved in the same circles, and so he’d attended charity gala events I’d been at with my husband. They’d had a weird relationship, they were friends who behaved like a pair of dogs circling one another, sniffing to decide who was top dog.

“What’s your CIA handler’s name?”

“He was a new guy; I’d never worked with him before, Kirk Rivera. We met just once before the mission.”

“Shit! He was in the room when I was interviewed by the FBI,” I informed. I knew that mofo wasn’t to be trusted.

My dad continued, “Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me. He’s hasn’t delivered on his side of the deal and he’s in a lot of trouble. Oliver Roux doesn’t accept failure. He wants the Téng hú, and he’ll do anything to get them. SODA is very interested in him. Over the past ten years he’s infiltrated the US government through a host of defence contracts, lobbying and bribes. He purchased huge areas of Kazakhstan in a region where the Chinese discovered the only Kazakium deposit in the world. Do you have any idea what would happen if one man with an ego the size of the moon and endless funds got his hands on Téng hú and put them into production for military use? Oliver Roux is a menace, a threat to all of us, no matter your politics,” my father insisted.

“Fuck!”

“Exactly, now you get what’s at stake here! With his version of Téng hú in production Oliver Roux would start a war with China, and I’m not being melodramatic when I say, whoever won would rule the world.”

My dad stood, and a little shakily, he walked toward the open French doors. It was roasting hot day outside, so maybe he needed fresh air? He turned back to me and winced before he continued.

“When I realized what Rivera had done there was no option but to burn my mission. I missed the hand-off, and travelled using a passport with another name. For weeks I’ve been in hiding in SODA safe-houses around Europe.” I couldn’t help but admire what he’d done—how he’d put his life in danger yet again, but this time to save the world from a maniac.

“Paris…you called me in Paris?”

“Yeah, a couple of Chinese students found me at a SODA safe house, they interrogated me, contacted their Ministry of Security, but I escaped. The guy who tried to stab you…he was in a lot of trouble,” he informed. “Your Jack…he’s got fantastic reflexes. You keep him close, y’hear!”

I was a little irritated that my dad thought he had the right to tell me who I should date, but yeah, he was right. Jack belonged by my side.

“There are times in life where you’ve gotta take a stand for what’s right, son. I came to Berlin to find you. Newt, you’re my only hope, you’re the only one I can trust with this!”

****