The Beijing Code

By Wes Thomas

As Rachel Watson begins to unravel the secrets of The Beijing Code, she is thrown into a world of international conspiracy and political intrigue. Rachel, a beautiful computer engineer, hired by Stewart Networks to develop an interface between two computer systems in Beijing, uncovers a secret computer code written in a long forgotten language. Teaming with Mark Slater, a covert CIA operative working in China, she begins a search to find the purpose of the code and who created it. While uncovering the details of the conspiracy, she comes face to face with the man responsible for the murder of her only information source for the code. It becomes a battle to the end to expose it before the Chinese secret service can silence her.
There are no secrets, be careful what you say.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wes Thomas
• Release date: Sep 20, 2012
• ISBN: 9780985693947

Wes Thomas

Wes Thomas lives in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin, where he shares his home with his best friend Becky and their two dogs. Wes loves to create art using a variety of styles.

Book preview

Prologue

You Province

Foothills of the Damaqun Shan

People’s Republic of China

Chen Li rested on a boulder-size rock high on a ridge overlooking the city of Zhangjiakou. She could see the lights of the city far below her and the darkness that stretched out through the Sanggan River basin toward Beijing. She had not picked a good night to escape from the complex. A full moon was high above her head and just over the top of the mountain. It helped illuminate the path, but she was not well hidden among the rocks.

Chen Li or Jenny, as she was called by her American counterparts, was still out of breath after climbing a four hundred foot maintenance ladder from the cavern floor. It was attached to the inside of an air duct that supplied fresh air to a subterranean complex hidden under the Great Wall. The labyrinth, known as the GIC or Global Information Center, was the black hole of intelligence and data collection for the People’s Republic of China. The massive, super-secret facility, crammed with endless data systems and computer hardware, was operated by the Ministry of State Security and protected by Tewu, the Chinese Secret Service. She had escaped by seducing one of the guards. The sirens were still silent, which meant they hadn’t found him yet. He was lying in a pool of blood inside an air handler at the base of the air duct with a knife in his throat. At least he wouldn’t need to confess his sins to the general staff’s henchmen.

The mid-summer air was cool, and she rubbed her arms rapidly to remove the goose bumps. In her haste, she had forgotten a jacket. Tonight, the breeze turned cold on her bare skin.

In the valley, the truck lights on the highway proved that she was moving in the right direction. She could see the fighter jets taking off from the Zhangjiakou Air Base in the distance. She didn’t know whether they were trying to find her or just starting their night-time training missions to the coast and back.

On several occasions, she had considered stealing one of the Russian-made fighters and flying it to South Korea. The Sukhoi SU-27 jets were housed in an underground bunker next to the air base, which was connected to the complex by a service tunnel. As a Marine pilot, she already knew the 675 miles across the Yellow Sea were well within the range of the aircraft, even at sea level. Regrettably, the events that unfolded tonight prevented her from using that escape route.

The ultimate plan was to meet Hu Dan and both of them return to the states. As she darted from her console in the GIC, she had sent him a message to meet her at the cleft of the ravine. She still had another twenty yards to go, but her military training taught her to wait and see before she rushed to a rendezvous point. Her senses were already on the verge of exploding as she took another breath.

Are you alright? came a voice from the shadows.

Ah…ah! she screamed, automatically recoiling into a defensive stance.

I saw you come down from the point, but wanted to see if you were being followed, Hu Dan said. He emerged from behind a boulder and stood facing her.

You scared the crap outta me! I thought I was dead, she said grabbing her chest.

We both will be if we don’t get going. This darkness is not going to last forever. What took you so long?

I had some unwanted company. Did you transmit the signal as I asked?

Yes, and it was confirmed. They will pick us up off the coast in forty-eight hours, but we need to get going. I have a car waiting at the base of the hill. Did you get the information we needed about the GIC? Do you have the flash drive?

Yes, it’s all documented and in my pocket. The files are encrypted in case something happens to me. Did you bring any water?

Sure, Hu said. He handed her his plastic bottle. I didn’t know whether you’d show up or not. I was worried you’d be here waiting. It took me longer to get out of the city than I expected, but after sitting on this rock for two hours, at least I know I wasn’t followed. Ready?

Jenny nodded.

After you. Hu turned and pointed toward the valley.

Jenny started down the mountain path and pushed the bottle into Hu’s chest as she passed.

He followed in behind her. They walked quietly for a few minutes until they reached the edge of the plateau.

It’s really beautiful from up here, don’t you think? Hu said, pausing to look out over the valley. This mountain top is considered one of the most significant places in the history of China. Did you know this area was once the provincial headquarters of the Colonel Protector during the Han Dynasty?

Really? Jenny asked, slowing just slightly.

Yeah, this mountain was a trade center for dealing with the Mongol barbarians, Hu continued. Evidently, it was a major communications point at the time. That’s probably why the People’s Liberation Army put the complex here. It’s just symbolism, pure symbolism.

Right…I’m sure the air base and the Great Wall didn’t have anything to do with it either. Come on. We’ll talk about this in the car, Jenny said, picking up her pace.

Hu shrugged his shoulders and followed.

Whatever, he said, his voice trailing into the darkness.

*****

Forty-eight hours later, the U.S. submarine assigned to pick up two Chinese scientists was called back by PacFleet Command. The day before, the Chinese government reported that a woman had been shot and killed outside the Zhangjiakou Air Base. There was no mention of any other activity.

Chapter 1

Helsinki, Finland

Rachel Watson, a twenty-eight-year-old computer engineer, sat in the lobby of Stewart Networks, the world’s largest telecommunications technology company. She wasn’t completely awake. The flight from Dallas had propelled her to a time zone eight hours ahead of her own. The overnight flight through New York yesterday had landed at 2:30 p.m.; however, her brain had not produced enough melatonin to convince her it was daytime. It was now 9:00 a.m. local time, but her body thought it was still 1:00 a.m. She definitely hadn’t slept enough.

Rachel was known in the IT consulting world as the most advanced, energetic, and resourceful software consultant ever to come out of the Big Four management consulting firms. She had won numerous awards and accolades for her ability to solve computer software problems that no one else could solve. She enjoyed the challenge of her work, almost as much as using her striking beauty to manipulate the men in her life. She had been raised in Texas, the product of a mathematics professor father and a highly successful corporate lawyer mother. She was experienced and polished, but jet lag is not selective.

Rachel’s life had been anything but ordinary. She excelled at everything she attempted, whether playing sports or conquering men’s attention, on or off the field. She was still the only woman in the history of Texas Christian University to lead her college soccer team to two straight NCAA championships while receiving the most votes as the hottest woman on campus and maintaining a 4.0 GPA in computer engineering. She was a rare individual, possessed with uncanny intelligence and exceptional beauty. Today though, she was struggling to keep her mind clear and felt a bit ragged around the edges.

Stewart Networks, known around the world as StewNet, had offices in more than sixty countries, but its world headquarters was moved to Finland when the company bought a competitor. The glass and steel office structure loomed above Rachel as she looked south over the inland waters of the Baltic Sea. From her vantage point, she could see the northern edge of Helsinki and the bridge she had crossed on her taxi ride out from the hotel. The bridge framed the western extent of the bay with StewNet’s building resting on the far northern edge of the water.

The morning was developing into an unusually beautiful day. The sun was now just above the tree line. Although it was early June, the day was extraordinarily bright this early in the Finnish summer. The calm wind allowed the bay to mirror the blue sky as it spread out toward Helsinki. Had it not been for the people scurrying about, she could have closed her eyes and taken a long nap.

Jussi Ruokomäki, the vice president of customer systems, stepped through the double glass doors into the waiting area. He was a bit shocked to see such an attractive woman sitting in the lobby. True, there were many attractive women in Finland, but they typically were not known as the world’s greatest computer engineers. Rachel had been so highly recommended by his counterparts in Stewart’s U.S. subsidiary, he was not sure whether to shake her hand or bow at her feet. Paul Irsch, the chief financial officer of StewNet, Inc., had convinced the global chief information officer there was no one better, so Jussi received a phone call with a strong suggestion to engage her. He had been told she would be used for his project, period.

Although there was no one else sitting in the lobby, Jussi stopped by the reception desk to make sure the gorgeous blond was the software consultant he was supposed to meet.

Excuse me, Jussi said. Are you Rachel Watson?

That’s me, Rachel said. She stood to shake his hand. At five-foot-eight inches, she was a bit shorter than the Finnish man standing in front of her. She smiled politely and stuck out her hand.

Hi, my name is Jussi Ruokomäki. I trust your flight and hotel were satisfactory?

Yes, thank you. Rachel had already been told that the Finns were not known as great conversationalists. She had to watch and make sure her Texas exuberance was checked at the door. The less she said the better off she would be.

Good. I have a conference room reserved for our meeting. You’ve registered with security?

Rachel nodded.

Fine, then if you will follow me, I’ll show you the way.

Rachel followed behind Jussi as he retraced his steps through the glass doors and down the hall to the conference room.

There were already three people seated at the table as they entered the room. They were engaged in a deep conversation, but quit talking and turned in unison as the door closed. Two were men who looked similar to Jussi: a Nordic physique with sandy-colored hair and pale skin. The third person was a young female who looked to be of Chinese descent.

Without emotion, the group locked on Rachel standing just inside the door. Jussi motioned for her to sit in the closest chair as he walked to the front of the conference room.

Hyvää huomenta, he said in Finnish. "Good morning everyone. First of all, I want to inform you that everything said in this room, and any conversation you may have regarding this topic, is considered highly confidential. You have each signed a personal non-disclosure agreement, and you are on notice that what you say, hear, or discuss must be held in strictest confidence. Any breach of this confidentiality will be punished to the fullest extent under international law. Do you all understand?"

The three people said yes collectively.

That includes you Rachel.

Yes, I understand, Rachel said, as she nodded.

Good. Now with that out of the way, I want the rest of you to meet Rachel Watson, a consultant we’ve brought in from the states. She has been engaged to support us on this project and comes highly recommended, Jussi said, motioning toward Rachel. He turned slightly to look straight at her. I understand you have been on other StewNet projects. Is that right?

Yes, that is correct, Rachel said nodding. We just went live with a new business system for your subsidiary in Dallas, Texas.

Super. Now let me introduce you to the rest of the team. To my left is Harri Siikasmaa.

Hello, Harri said without looking up.

Harri is our sales engineer and our expert on wireless networks. He primarily converts our customers’ requirements into technical specifications.

On my right is Pekka Honkanen. Pekka is our IT expert. The two of you will probably need to have some of the first conversations about this project. Pekka made a small waving gesture with his hand as he looked toward Rachel.

Finally, Jussi continued, as he motioned toward the small, petite woman with short black hair, this is Tong Ning. She is a Chinese national who came to work for StewNet in Beijing, what, eighteen months ago?

Yes, Tong said, as she turned to Rachel and smiled.

Jussi continued. Tong is our business relationship manager for China. She is the go between for our sales organization and the Chinese market. She’s been instrumental in securing leads and translating the request-for-quotes from our Chinese customers. Consequently, Rachel, that’s why you’re here. Tong, will you please give Rachel an overview of our current project?

Sure, no problem, Tong said. "About a year ago, our largest customer, China Mobile Communications Ltd., commonly known as ChiMo, awarded us a contract to build and install a new wireless phone network for the city of Beijing. The contract required us to provide all the telecommunications network equipment, civil engineering, towers and all the connections between the wireless network and, as the contract states, any and all business systems used by ChiMo."

Interesting. So, where do I come in? Rachel questioned.

I’m getting to that. Before we completed the wireless network, ChiMo went live with a new company-wide computer system for financial accounting, customer billing and general business activity very similar to the system StewNet installed in Dallas. Technically, we owe them an interface between the StewNet network we built for them and their new computer system.

Oh, okay. Do you want a two-way communications interface to transfer data and information back and forth between the systems or just a one-way? Rachel probed.

"We had not planned on creating one at all. However, ChiMo informed us that the interface was part of the contract, so this is where you come in. We hired you to design, build, test and install the new interface. Once completed, the wireless network has to feed data to the new computer system to allow for the creation of customer invoices and mandatory reporting to the Ministry of State Security."

Obviously, a one-way will do. What’s the nature of the reporting? Rachel asked quickly.

In short, everything, Jussi said, keeping himself in the conversation. Go ahead; tell her the rest of it, Tong.

Throwing Jussi a befuddled look, Tong continued. The interface must automatically pass mobile call information, such as minutes used, text usage, location and other data information about each customer from the network to the business system. Then the information will be used to calculate the network usage time and create a monthly invoice. I will get you the specifics of what information the Ministry of State Security wants and the layout formats for the reports. It will require some rather detailed documentation and associated summary pages. By the way, the reports must be written in Chinese.

That’s a challenge. I hope you have some way of translating the data and someone to work with me who knows Chinese, Rachel commented.

We do. Well, actually he works for ChiMo, but has been assigned to this project. His name is Hu Dan. You will meet him in Beijing next week, Tong said.

OK, so I’m going to need to learn all I can about your networks, how you store information, in what form, and how to get to the data, Rachel said after a short pause.

That is the reason Harri and Pekka are here, Jussi said, as he nodded toward the two men. Between them, they know everything you need to learn. You’ll spend the rest of this week here and will fly out to Beijing on Saturday night. That will give you all day Sunday to prepare for your meeting with Mr. Dan. Tong will fill you in on all the particulars, but our project manager is a man named Dong Bo. He will meet with you once you get to our Beijing office.

That’s one name I can spell, Rachel said. She was trying to lighten the mood in the room. It didn’t help.

Yes, right, Jussi said without smiling. Between these three, they should be able to give you all the information you will need. You’ve got three days to learn the details. From what I’ve been told, that should be ample time. It will have to be; we go live on a new project in Washington D.C. in just over a month. If you have any other questions, let me know.

One additional question, Rachel said as Jussi reached for the conference room door.

Yes? Jussi asked.

How much time do I have to write and test the interface?

Four weeks, starting next Monday. Is that enough time?

Rachel smiled. It will have to be.

Chapter 2

Beijing,

People’s Republic of China

Wu Wie was a bit nervous. He sat in his office at the Chinese headquarters of Stewart Networks waiting for his visitor. It had been more than twenty years since he had seen his old friend. It was 9:00 p.m., and the building was deserted. Only a handful of janitorial staff scurried around as he watched the lights of the city continue to grow. Summer was in full bloom, and the days were getting increasingly hot. Fortunately, his employer believed in comfort and had designed the building with air conditioning, which kept his office cool and free from the suffocating smog.

There was a loud knock at the door, but before Wu could answer, a small woman in a gray uniform opened the door and entered the room.

Are you Dr.Wie? the woman asked.

Yes.

Please stand. His Excellency, Yang Peng will see you now.

Wu stood up from behind his desk and walked to the space between the desk and his visitor’s chair. He didn’t know entirely what to expect since, until now, all his communication with the Ministry of State Security had been by encrypted email.

Without knocking, Yang Peng stepped through the open door. He was about the same size as Wu but looked much older. He motioned for the woman to leave. She abruptly left them alone, closing the door behind her.

Hello, my friend. How are you? It has been a very, very long time, Yang said. He extended his hand and walked toward Wu.

Fine, I think, and yes, it has been too long, Wu shook the extended hand. Please, sit. May I offer you some tea?

That would be excellent, Yang replied. I see you have fulfilled your dreams we discussed many years ago. You have reached a point of security and respect within this western organization. I have followed you closely since our days as students in the U.S. when we studied under the direction of Dr. Clarke. Do you still remember the computer language he taught us back then?

"I never forget anything. You should know that. Actually, I didn’t think you would remember our time together. We were fresh out of the university and eager to please. I have used my education in computer engineering to bring honor to China. You, to further our political strength. We have done well. What brings you here tonight, Honorable Minister?" Wu said, sliding a tea cup across the table between them.

I need you to manage a situation. My contact at Tewu has informed me that StewNet has hired a software consultant who arrived in Helsinki yesterday and will be arriving in Beijing within a week. She will have access to all your systems. You must make sure that she doesn’t interrupt our plans. I want you to take personal responsibility to see to it.

I understand, Wu said.

Just in case, we must take precautions. In less than six weeks, your company will complete the installation of a wireless network for the U.S. government. According to our sources, the president and his cabinet are ready to use the top secret network you have built for them. We cannot allow this to fail.

Yes, you are correct, Wu said stirring his tea.

Are the Trojans in place, and can we depend on you to enact the message when the time is right? Peng asked, raising his cup.

The Trojan program is hidden deep within the software application and will lay dormant until I activate it. As with the ancient story of the Trojan War, the contents of the gift will not be as it seems, Wu thought.

Wu cleared his throat. "The code is known to no one but me, and, of course, Dr. Clarke. How can this consultant do anything? I have spent the last ten years preparing for this

Reviews for The Beijing Code

[bemislibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rachel Watson leaves home for a challenging job in Beijing, China to create an interface so the two largest telecommunications networks can communicate. It isn't long before she discovers the networks are being used to spy on the United States. Her investigation into high tech espionage leaves her vulnerable and on the run, with logistics manager Mark Slater, from the Chinese government.Fast paced action thriller.