The China Enigma: The Spence Family Chronicles

By J. R. Kepler

At the start of the 21st century the Spence family had successfully accumulated a multi-billion dollar business empire. The family had two sitting U.S. Senators, an ex-CIA Deputy Director now in charge of a highly secretive NSA project, and a 53 year old head of their business empire and family, Zachary Spence,who lived on a sprawling estate north of Liverpool, England. Zach was a top advisor to the British Prime Minister and to British Intelligence agencies, all due to his expertise in the affairs of Hong Kong, Macao, and mainland Communist China since his business entreaty to those locations starting back in the 1970's. A young savant, a brilliant Chinese woman, now a U.S. citizen, and in FBI custody, was about to initiate their family's greatest struggle and throw their family into a spiraling morass of cyber spy-craft, deceit, revenge, and tragedy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Jul 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9781665744362

J. R. Kepler

Mr. Kepler, after a long and distinguished career in the rubber and plastics industry as an advocate of recycled products and recycling methods for those materials, which allowed him to travel the world extensively, retired as President from his most recent company. He finished ‘The Spence Family Chronicles’ in 2018, covering the years 1946 to 1999, and now the third and fourth generation of Spence’s moves on into the new Millennium with his suspenseful new thriller, ‘The China Enigma’. The author owned and published a local newspaper and a history book on the city of Barberton, Ohio while in his twenties after selling his trucking and rubber recycling company which he started at age 19. He attended Colorado State University on a football scholarship and attended Kent State University as well. He has been married for 55 years to his wife Irene and he and his wife enjoy traveling and their family and five grandchildren.

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Copyright © 2023 J. R. Kepler.

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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents,

organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products

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ISBN: 978-1-6657-4435-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-4436-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023909372

Archway Publishing rev. date: 07/11/2023

CONTENTS

The China Enigma

Prologue to The China Enigma

Chapter 1     January, February 2001

Chapter 2     March, April 2001

Chapter 3     May/June 2001

Chapter 4     September 2001

Chapter 5     November/December 2001

Chapter 6     February 2002

Chapter 7     March 2002

Chapter 8     June 2002

Chapter 9     June, 2010

Chapter 10   July, 2010

Chapter 11   January, 2021

Chapter 12   April 2022

About the Author

THE CHINA ENIGMA

At the start of the 21st Century, in the year 2001, The Spence family had successfully accumulated a multi-billion-dollar business empire. The family also had two sitting U.S. Senators, an ex-Deputy Director of the CIA now in charge of a highly secretive NSA project, and a 53-year-old head of their family and business empire living on a large estate north of Liverpool, England, named Zachary Spence. Zach was also a top advisor and participant in The British Secretive Service, following in his deceased father’s footsteps. His expertise in the affairs of mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao had been developed since his business entreaty to those locations starting in the 1970’s as a much younger man, and at the behest of his father. A single Chinese savant, a young Chinese woman, now a U.S. citizen, and in FBI custody, was about to initiate their family’s greatest struggle.

PROLOGUE TO

THE CHINA ENIGMA

1946 to 1999

The history and backstory of some of the main characters in ‘The China Enigma’ are in the book, ‘The Spence Family Chronicles’ which covers the years 1946 to 1999 telling the generational story of Zachary Spence’s family starting with his father’s return home from the second World War. A recap of that story-line and its well-crafted characters can enlighten the reader of The China Enigma as the family heads into the new Millennium in January of 2001, where technology, globalization, and communication go into hyperdrive with unexpected consequences, and terrorism unleashes ‘Big Brother’ on our fundamental liberties and our democracy. As FDR asserted, The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Sam Spence, a young paratrooper returns from the war to Akron, Ohio. After an evening with his high school mentor and teacher, and after giving the man cash for a used car, this teacher/mentor mysteriously disappears. Finding out that gambling debts were owed to factions in Youngstown and Steubenville, Ohio by this man, he tracks down the two men who he assumed killed his mentor. Through a series of events he ends up being befriended by the Steubenville, Ohio mob boss. Sam is given the opportunity to own and run several bars/gambling establishments in the booming factory town of Barberton, Ohio. In time, and with the death of this mob patriarch in Steubenville, Sam inherits some cash and some advice to get out of the business and to pursue building a rubber business with his father-in-law who has developed several patents on rubber equipment. Sam sells the bars and he and his father-in-law pursue the building of a rubber business, with good success, in the Akron, Ohio area, the ‘Rubber Capital of the World’. All of the above taking place in 1946 and 1947.

In 1956 and 1957 Sam Spence and his wife have grown their family, and have moved into a larger unit of the brick and mortar ‘Norton Homes’ projects in Barberton that were built to help the housing shortage for returning veterans. The rubber business has grown and prospered, but with the opportunity to purchase Saul Goldstein’s rubber business with world- wide trading contacts, a merger takes place and Sam, his wife Adriana and Saul head to Liverpool, England for the first leg in a multi-country visit.

Through a series of events Sam is approached by British SIS, MI-6 agents to be an operative for intelligence gathering, particularly in the Soviet Union eastern block countries where Sam now has legitimate commercial interests and dealings. His active participation for MI-6, through some bizarre and opportunistic choices, escalates.

In 1968 and 1969 Sam’s family is flourishing, they have moved into a new home, and his son Zach is actively part of their business, which is still growing. Returning to London to attend the funeral of Angus Nesbitt, a key and high-ranking member of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), Sam is asked to handle several operations that he struggles with from a moral standpoint, yet he succumbs to the end justifying the means.

The Patterchevsky business empire, headquartered in England was run by three brothers and Sam has been working, primarily with Boris Patterchevsky, on mutually beneficial business endeavors. With the death of the eldest brother, and with Sam’s MI-6 participation in the death of Felix Patterchevsky, he now, through another series of events, becomes involved in the British government’s wishes to usurp his ailing friend, Boris Patterchevsky, of his holdings. As events progress, it is apparent Sam is going to bring his son Zachary into the intelligence game with him, a request that MI-6 has been asking for, and Sam has been struggling with. The British intelligence community and the government want Sam to partner with them to take control of the Patterchevsky holdings as those companies and its global web are crucial to Britain’s economic interests and considered critical interests for national security reasons. The Patterchevsky companies, through Boris’ brother Felix, are all compromised with his addition of Soviet staffers at the highest levels. If Boris would die, or if the newly acquired information on a KGB assassination attempt on Boris’s life is successful, the companies would end up in the sphere of Soviet influence.

Sam and his family, with the proposed secret backing of the English government through their banks, would take an immense leap in net worth and control of a business empire that started in the 1700’s. The merger of the Patterchevsky holdings and Sam’s U.S. company vault the family into global business dealings, a task that they are somewhat ill prepared for. In 1970 Sam has to engage several embedded Soviet agents within the Patterchevsky holdings, prompted by an off the record quid pro quo arrangement he had agreed to. On a dangerous assignment in Budapest tracking down the controlling KGB agent within the Patterchevsky companies Sam ends up hospitalized, in a coma, in a London hospital. After coming out of it, he agrees to retire from his activities with MI-6, but his son, Zachary continues working for the British, primarily in Hong Kong, China and Macao.

In 1988 in a tragic boating accident, two of the family’s longtime pillars die, lost at sea. And then, Tyler Welch, who sits on the Board of Spence-Witter also dies, setting off a series of intriguing events that Zach deals with. Sam has reintroduced himself into running their worldwide holdings along with Zach, Jeremy Campbell, and his daughter Mary Elizabeth. Zach makes enormous inroads into mainland China affairs through his friend Zhou Yat Sen.

In 1999 Zach reflects on his father’s passing in 1997 at age 72, and his father’s knighthood back in 1989. Zach and his wife have four children, live on the former Patterchevsky estate overlooking the Irish Sea, and deal with two Wall Street Journal investigative reporters who intend to break a story on the massive holdings of their family and put them into the bright lights of the financial mainstream media. Zach’s intentions to allocate much of their wealth to philanthropic endeavors are initiated.

1

January, February 2001

R osalind Spence lazily rocked back in her chair with their newest family member, Samuel Jason Spence, who was bundled in a blanket and safely in her lap. The storm-fed winds off the Irish Sea were buffeting the west side of their mansion on this, the Spence estate, north of Liverpool. Her eldest son, Hans, named after her husband Zach’s grandfather was now nine. Angus, now eight, was named after Zach’s father’s deceased friend, whose estate, just outside of Liverpool proper, they also owned. And Lorena was now six, named after Zach’s grandmother. Roz finally, and forcefully, persuaded her husband to go with adding her father Jason’s name for the newest family member, and he obliged even though it ended up following Samuel as a middle name. The three elder children were downstairs with the nanny, probably, she thought, driving the poor woman crazy. Her husband Zach was in his study making phone calls, and soon he would be preparing for his private jet trip to the States, with weather permitting, out of their estate airfield tomorrow sometime. As Zach had explained to Rosalind, tomorrow evening his brother, Colonel Billy Spence, would be attending the inaugural ball for the new President, George W. Bush at the D.A.R. Constitution Hall, and then the following morning Billy would meet with Zach at their newest building project, a 750,000 square foot building complex in Arlington, Virginia overlooking the Potomac River. Billy’s newest assignment, switching from his CIA post to go with the NSA, obviously had something to do with the long-term lease of over half of the space in that building. Roz, who inquired about the new building project many times, was not privy to any of her husband’s intelligence agency dealings and especially what the NSA was involved with. National Security functions being off limits was the cryptic and unexpanded answer that she would be told, and her husband reinforced that requirement many times over. She and her husband Zach, now 53, had been married in 1971 and their 30 th anniversary planning was already in the talking stages. She often wished they had started their family much sooner, but with the escalation of the Spence-Witter business empire going full bore in the seventies her husband Zach was mired deeply in all aspects of those unbelievably complicated growing pains. During those years Zach was traveling extensively for his father, Samuel, and dead set on not having to deal with a family at that juncture. The seventies passed, as did the eighties, and finally, with her husband Zach’s agreement to put family ahead of his numerous business requirements, they finally began their new start, and so far, Zach had lived up to his promises. None of her doctor’s concerns and warnings regarding her age had transpired, and all of their children were healthy beautiful new additions to their life. She knew in her heart, however, that Samuel Jason would be the last.

Roz had few regrets for the life she found herself immersed within. Her husband was a brilliant and handsome man, wealthy beyond her comprehension, and she was often overwhelmed with her family obligations directing the philanthropic endeavors for the massive funds allocated by her husband. She directed a staff of twelve under her employ and they worked here in the North wing of this mansion on the Irish Sea coast Monday through Fridays, the staff all comfortably domiciled here during the work week and set free on weekends. She had chosen each of them for their knowledge and portfolio of work within different disciplines; the arts, preservations and the environment, humanitarian outreach, health, education, research, and other disciplines allowing her to set objectives and benchmark the benefits for the selective allocation of funds she alone decided upon. This aspect of her life was exciting and fulfilling, but balancing the demands of this with her personal life, young children and her extensively traveled and preoccupied husband, was a worrisome cloud that tugged on her subconscious and her introspective nature. Her best friend, Elana Witter-Revaldo was divorced from her flamboyant husband in Portugal three years ago. Elana was the youngest sister of Adriana Witter-Spence, Zach Spence’s mother. Elana had recently moved into the estate in Liverpool, the former Angus Nesbitt estate now co-owned by Zach Spence and the Witter family, with her two children, Jamie, now 17, and Marguerite, now 15. Elana was a witty, intelligent fifty-eight-year-old mother of two teenagers. She was the glue in the diverse family of Spence’s and the Witter’s and she communicated with most of them on a regular basis, offering well-grounded advice laced with brevity and a large dose of sometimes raucous humor. Her new proximity to Roz, and her friendship with Roz that had grown over the years, developed into a special relationship of intimate trust between the two of them. This allowed Roz to have a sounding board and feedback on any topic without any constraints or judgmental barbs. This also helped her overcome her underlying regret for her and Zach having to live here at the behest of Zach’s now deceased father, Sam Spence. She had always missed being back in Ohio, and enjoying a much simpler life with the comfort of family and old and now distant friends.

Roz stared at her sleeping baby, then bent down and picked up the file she had laid next to her chair. It was from one of her gals with a report on the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that hit El Salvador on January 13 of this year. Eight hundred dead and thousands left homeless. There was a list of the known agencies going into relief efforts with the Salvadorans, an estimation of the resources and funds by each of those, an overview of her gal’s expectations for each of those agencies, and a recommendation of funds to donate and the most effective individuals or relief agents who would help those in need without eating up large sums for administrative and other questionable allocations of money to assure the people in need got the benefits. She had trained her people well, and they were realists who did their homework. Theresa, her favorite of the working group, also asked if it was possible to go to ground zero to assess the situational problems that always occur. Zach walked into her room. He bent down and kissed the baby and planted a kiss on Roz. I think I’m all set for my trip. The weather report looks like we’ll be able to depart just after noon tomorrow. What’s that file all about? She gave him a smile, The earthquake in El Salvador--- eight hundred dead as of the last report and thousands, an underreported guess I would surmise, left homeless with all the typical infrastructure and health problems. Theresa wants to know if she can go to ground zero. Zach paused, gathering his thoughts, Roughly six million in population, I think over 25% of the population migrated after the civil war in El Salvador ended in 1992. A lot of gang violence and crime infesting all areas which will probably get magnified in all the chaos of the earthquake problems—I’ll ask brother Billy to see if he can get one of the CIA operatives there to shadow her wherever she roams. That’s if you decide to send her. What about your MI-6 friends—any help there? He smiled, The U.S. exports over two billion in goods per annum and imports over 1.5 billion—mostly agricultural. The Salvadorans get generous U.S. aid every year as the politicos are worried about mass migrations into Mexico and then into the States. The U.S. is likely to have more feet on the ground gathering intelligence and less reluctance to help protect a national aid worker. She smiled knowingly at his encyclopedic responses, I’m going to take the baby up to our room and then go retrieve our kids from Gina—the nanny from hell, spend a little time with them and get them situated for the night. Make sure you see them before you come up to bed. And yes, please see if Billy can do that—I’m going to let her go. Zach flashed her his big smile, O.K. babe. Will do. I have some stuff to finish up in my den, and then I’ll spend some time with the kids.

The winds had settled down and the strong gusts they were experiencing yesterday and last night were now not a concern. The typical arrival of their administrative staff for their weekly duties had been ongoing all morning and Rosalind was talking to Theresa in the North wing. Zach was talking to his brother Billy on the phone, Listen Billy, we’ll be departing in a little over an hour and it’s about a 6- or 7-hour flight to D.C., depending on the headwind conditions. I’ll meet you at the new facility tomorrow around ten in the morning. The apartment I had the contractor design into our Spence-Witter office space is fully furnished so we’ll spend some time together there so no one bothers us. I’ll be staying there for the rest of the week. I heard your people have just about completed their move to the bottom two floors. Yeah Zach, some final touches need to happen but the majority of our equipment and the security setup is in place. I have that preview of the counter-terrorism year 2000 recap from the State Department to brief you on. Zach had forgotten this was on their agenda, Shit, I forgot about that—yeah, yeah—we’ll go over that for your thoughts. Oh, Roz is sending that Theresa gal to El Salvador on the earthquake relief effort. I’m having my pilots take her and then return back to D.C. to pick me up. It’s going to be dicey in El Salvador so see if you folks have an operative they can shake loose to accompany her for about a week. Let me know if not. Billy laughed, I know just the guy, consider it done. I have to go to the inauguration festivities tonight. Taking that Susan gal who’s an aid to our Senator Mary Elizabeth—when’s the last time you spoke to our sister? Now it was time for Zach to laugh, About a month I think—she busts my balls every time we talk. Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow, O.K.? Billy blurted out, Hey, don’t forget to bring that security pass I sent you so the gate guards zip you through. Zach jumped on his helpful attempt, We own the fucking building and I have to worry about that?! Billy laughed, The lease income for those two floors should salve your ego on that—see you tomorrow.

Zach said goodbye to his kids and Roz, threw his briefcase and luggage into the car and drove to the new hangar on the far northwest end of the estate. The pilots, plus two administrative assistants Zach was taking with him, and Theresa were milling about, just inside of the hangar. All right everyone—let’s get this show on the road. They all climbed into the Gulfstream V, and situated themselves in the beautifully arranged and ultra-comfortable passenger area. Theresa leaned forward in her chair, Mr. Spence, how much did this jet cost you? Zach grinned, thinking her social naivety needs worked on, About 36 million I allocated from our Spence-Witter profits last year. Rumor is Mark Cuban paid 40 million for his Gulfstream V in 1999. The Air force, Coast Guard, and Navy all own these birds —I think they’re designated C-37A’s for those applications. They’re dependable aircraft so don’t worry Theresa. We’ll be in the States in about six hours.

Colonel Billy Spence and his strikingly beautiful date, Susan, left the DAR inauguration salute to American authors hosted by Laura Bush and arrived at the Washington Convention Center where Dick Cheney, the new Vice-President was hosting a celebration of America’s veterans. After grabbing several drinks, they sat at a table and a stocky dark-haired man reached down and tapped Billy on the shoulder, Colonel Spence, Dick Carrington, FBI---can I have a few moments with you, alone? Billy smiled, Yeah Dick, I remember you. Let’s wander over there for a moment—please excuse us Susan, I’ll be right back. They wandered down a hall and into a men’s room, looking around to make sure no one was inside. Billy leaned against a sink, What’s so important we have to discuss it tonight? Sorry for the interruption man—we have a Charlotte Wei in our custody here, and I’m to turn her over to you tomorrow. She wandered into our San Francisco office a month ago saying her life was in serious danger and the Chinese MSS had her on a hit list. Billy ran his hands through his hair, Why would the Ministry of State Security in China put a hit out on that person, and what does this have to do with me? The man leaned on the sink next to Billy, She claims they forced her to give them intelligence on the computer company she worked for. She advised them she was through with the forced espionage. She recently advised us she is actually the daughter of Zachary Spence, your illustrious brother. The Director pulled me in and told me to turn her over to you as you can probably get more out of her than we have been able to. Billy, grimacing, sternly looked the man in the eyes, If my brother had a daughter—say an illegitimate one—he would have told me. The agent smiled and scratched his chin, Well, consider this—she has a document from a reputable firm saying your brother, the billionaire, is a DNA match—go figure! You can pick her up tomorrow early at our headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Director said to give you everything we have on her so far, and you’re to unwind this bizarre conundrum with your brother—we hear he’s flying in on his private jet tonight. I guess the FBI, and the CIA and NSA can work together—given the right set of circumstances. Billy went to the urinal and looked back to the man while urinating, I’ll pick her up around nine—then I’ll have her with me when I meet Zach in Arlington, and we’ll get this fucking mystery resolved and I’ll turn her back over to you folks. Agent Carrington pulled a hanky out and blew his nose then turned to Billy, Be careful Colonel---I do think the MSS is looking for her and they have agents in town here--as you are, I’m sure, aware of. I’ll see you in the morning—see if you can get her to fill in the blanks on her story for us.

Colonel Billy Spence was considered one of the elite bachelors on every woman’s hit list here in Washington D.C., so this evenings date was no surprise for Susan, who coyly and seductively played Billy to develop his interest in her. When he apologized, cut their evening together short, and dropped her off at her apartment she was not a happy camper. He went to the quiet little pub just down the street from his apartment in Chevy Chase, ordered a double scotch on the rocks, and called his brother Zach who had arrived and was now inspecting his new apartment in their Arlington complex. Billy! I thought you’d be hopping from one event to the next before you finally conquered Mary Elizabeth’s chief of staff! Billy was in no humorous mood and he just blurted it out, The fucking FBI just tracked me down at Cheney’s reception and ordered me to pick up a Charlotte Wei tomorrow at their headquarters—claims she is your daughter! Zach didn’t hesitate, Take it easy Colonel, she’s not my daughter but I am sure she thinks it to be true. What’s the rest of this story? Billy was instantly relieved, They’ll give me their file when I pick her up to meet with you tomorrow, but basically she claims the MSS has a hit out on her—had her handing over intelligence on the company she worked for in San Francisco and she put a stop to it. Zach—they want us to fill in all the blanks on her story and turn her back over to them. Zach paused, Where are you at now? At my favorite pub just down from my apartment. Alone? Unfortunately, yes. Zach laughed, You’ll get another shot at Susan. Why don’t you drive over here and spend the night—I’ll fill in all the blanks I can. You can drive back into the city tomorrow morning to get her. Billy gulped down his scotch before answering, Fucking FBI—OK, I’ll be there in about an hour.

As he drove toward the Arlington complex, fighting traffic all the way out of town, Billy’s thoughts turned back to simpler times. Growing up in Barberton, Ohio with three brothers and two sisters, his Mom, Adriana, running their daily lives, his Dad, Sam, and his Grandpa Hans working long hours developing their rubber business and other ventures--- those were happy uncomplicated times. A star athlete at school, he worked part time in his Dad and Grandpa’s factory, always had money in his pocket and a nice car to drive. His best friend Frank Dunbar, who died in Viet Nam, took off for a trip to San Francisco with Billy just before the two of them were to report for basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Billy passed up a full ride football scholarship, and impetuously and without much thought joined the army with Frank. He vividly remembered the day Colonel Recht from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center showed up at Fort Polk. He was the uncle of Terry and Dom Recht who worked with Billy in his Dad’s factory. Billy was transferred to DC under the tutelage and mentorship of Colonel Recht and his entire life was spun off into a new direction, and after years of service, extensive training, and operational forays in a multitude of trouble spots around the globe, he developed a healthy portfolio of accomplishments and a career promoting reputation. Colonel Recht’s death affected him deeply, but by that time, Major Billy Spence was a fixture in the Washington D.C. social scene. He retired a Colonel and thanks to his sister, Senator Mary Elizabeth Stone from Nevada, who was chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he ended up a Deputy Director of the CIA, and then his most recent change to being in charge of a new and highly secretive intelligence gathering operation for the NSA. Everyone liked the free-spirited Billy Spence, his jet-black thick hair now half gray, his unique charisma and charm, his intelligence disciplined with common sense, and people skills always fine-tuned. He danced back and forth between the CIA and NSA with different titles and duties unhindered by whomever was politically in the cat birds’ seat. Unbeknownst to anyone, he long ago, after learning about his father’s service to the Brit’s MI-6 since the fifties, and his brother Zach’s jump into that intelligence realm in the sixties, committed himself to family first as far as world affairs. His Dad, knighted in 1989, was an immensely successful, and a lucky if truth be told, operative for the British Secret Service who, on a quid pro quo basis, helped clean up a burdensome and dangerous proliferation of Soviet agents operating in England, Hong Kong, and the U.S.. For that, the Spence family, secretly backed by the Bank of England, took the reins of the Patterchevsky business empire headquartered in Liverpool, with an enormous leap in the family business, and their personal net worth. Zach, his oldest brother, was the main architect of holding that together, growing it to the point of critical mass where the wealth multiplied making them one of the wealthier families in the world. Two of Zach and Billy’s siblings, Mary Elizabeth Stone and Scott Spence were Senators, she from Nevada and he from S. Carolina. All of these circumstances and history were part and parcel, along with his training and experience, to Billy’s fluidity and longevity in the intelligence community. But his thoughts this evening turned back to this mysterious woman whose existence his brother Zach apparently was aware of but had never cared to share that information with him. Fuck it, he thought, I’ll find out soon enough what complications and baggage she has. He started passing the fencing that enclosed the entire perimeter of this new building and its grounds. At the gatehouse the guard recognized him immediately, saluted and leisurely passed him through. Zach must have called down he thought. He parked at one of the visitor parking lots and went to the front entrance, where all visitors had to pass. The two subterranean floors, where his NSA project was housed, had key card entrances for employees on each end of the building, but once inside, another key card entrance opened to a fully manned and equipped security entranceway. The front entrance for the building’s non-NSA lessees, however, opened to a lobby with a receptionist/security desk. Billy waved to the guard who pointed upstairs, and Billy smiled an acknowledgement to the man and entered the elevator taking it to the top floor. He walked down the long corridor to the large double doors marked with the Spence-Witter logo. He used a different key card to open them and headed back through the exquisitely furnished office space to the double doors that housed the apartment his brother had fashioned. They were unlocked and he walked in.

Hey Zach, whatever it is you’re drinking, make me one! Zach’s back was to him, standing at a nicely stocked bar. I’m having a double Crown Royal on the rocks-- Great to see you Billy. Zach spun around and handed one of the glasses to Billy, Cheers brother! Billy acknowledged the drink and took a sip, looking around the apartment, Wow, what a pad. Zach laughed, Two bedrooms with spacious bathrooms, wall to wall windows with automatic blinds, a gas fireplace, three TV’s, a great sound system, my old mahogany desk over in that corner, large comfortable chairs and a large sofa arrangement, and a small kitchen with great appliances. Not to mention a well-stocked bar. You can move in here, if you like, but always keep one of the bedrooms empty for my occasional visits. Billy grinned, I don’t know if I’d like living so close to my project down below—but my current apartment lease runs out in two months—I’ll check to see if the offer still stands then—OK? Zach smiled, It will. I brought Jeff and Rick with me on this trip and Theresa and put them up in the Hilton. Billy finished his drink, I’ve got a guy in El Salvador lined up to watch over that Theresa gal. What do Rick and Jeff do for you? Zach grabbed his empty glass and headed toward the bar for refills, A little bit of everything, from bodyguards to business issues they are well trained in diverse fields of interest. In fact, tomorrow they’ll be finishing up the details on the rest of the leases for this building. They’ve got a conservative legal foundation group in the bag for some nice square footage, and an accounting firm should put us at capacity. Good thing—this was quite an expensive investment. Zach reloaded Billy’s drink at the bar, Here’s another drink, pull up a chair.

Zach took a swig of his drink, collecting his thoughts, You’ll be with me tomorrow when I go over everything with that girl—well, I’m sure she’s around 30 now, so that woman, Charlotte. Liu Wei was old Tyler Welch’s comprador in Macau, and Liu and Tyler bought that baby who was Charlotte, from Madam Chuntao who was Charlotte’s mothers Madam. Charlotte’s mothers name was Sofia, the Black Jade, and she was exquisitely beautiful. Jim Campbell, our active head of security for the company back then had made arrangements and paid four grand for four hours of her time on a specific afternoon, so he and our CIA friend in Hong Kong, Jason Yablonski, could take care of the business Dad had asked them to do. I did in fact end up having sex with her. I guess Charlotte must have found the DNA papers I gave Liu saying I was the father. I did that so Liu and his sister, who raised Charlotte, would feel more comfortable moving to the States knowing I would not harm my own daughter. Anyway, that was the thinking behind this mess. I have the correct DNA assessment, and in fact she is not mine. Billy almost choked on his drink and then got out his laugh, Jesus Zach, what a tangled web we weave—and all that horseshit—what was the task Dad had those other two do while you were fucking Charlotte Wei’s mother--the Black Jade? Zach paused, An embedded Soviet spy was running the show at the Patterchevsky companies there in Hong Kong—it was my first trip there-- and he was dealt with—I don’t want to go into details. Billy shook his head, So he was one of the Soviets Dad had agreed to deal with for MI-6 and the British politicos at the time? Zach finished his drink, Yup, you got it. Hey, let’s cover that report you mentioned this morning—the State Department preliminary paper from the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism. Billy grabbed his briefcase which also had a clean pair of underwear and a toothbrush in it. It’s pretty concise, 423 terrorist attacks in 2000. 405 persons killed and 791 wounded. Everything is on the increase from 1999. In those numbers are the seventeen US sailors who died in the attack on the USS Cole on 12 of October in the Yemeni port of Aden. It also says here that in December new indictments were issued in connection with the bombings in 1998 at two US embassies in East Africa. They charged five men—Saif Adel, Mushin Musa Matwelli Atwah, Ahmed Mohamed Hamed Ali, and two others in connection with the bombing attacks in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, and that brought the total to 22 people charged. I think 13 are still fugitives, including a wired in Saudi named Osama Bin Laden. In May a Scottish court will preside over the trial of the two Libyans accused of bombing the Pan Am flight 103 in 1988. That’s basically all the highlights I gathered from the report—there’s much more detail if you want it? Zach yawned, Naw, I’m butt tired –it’s been a long day with the flight and all. Let’s call it a night. OK? Billy looked at his older brother. Yeah fine. Zach, Dad was OK with all of the nasty shit he had to do? Zach put his arm around Billy, He never flinched when it came to his moral compass, but he did tell me he was sorry it had to be done, not sorry for doing it. Billy grinned, Sounds just like our Pop’s typical advice---- Grandpa Hans would have had half a dozen caveats to that. Now it was Zach’s turn to laugh, Yeah, I really miss them both. By the way, our British counter-terrorist folks and Foreign Service have a very similar summary of the terrorism threat going into this year. I’ve already been privy to that report. Get some sleep, and I’ll see you in the morning.

It was nearly noon when Billy returned with Charlotte Wei. Zach’s administrative assistants slash bodyguards, Rick and Jeff, had both left with their respective guests who had finalized the lease agreements this morning. Zach just assumed they were now gone for the day and their afternoon would be filled up with a business lunch and way too many drinks. When Billy walked into the Spence-Witter office Zach was on the phone, and he motioned to Billy that he was almost finished. The young woman was strikingly beautiful, and Zach had a quick flashback to the striking ‘Black Jade’ and the afternoon he spent with her on his first trip to Hong Kong. He hung up the phone, Hi Colonel Spence, and welcome Charlotte. Let’s retire back into the apartment and we’ll talk there. Billy motioned for Charlotte to follow his brother and he talked over her as they walked, his eyes focused on her beautiful rear end, Sorry I took so long Zach, I had to listen to the FBI guys and then the traffic was horrible. No problem, grab a seat on the sofa, does anyone care for a cocktail, or something without alcohol in it this early in the day? Charlotte nervously sat and asked for a vodka tonic, Billy for a Jack and coke. Zach prepared the drinks, and a Glenmorangie on ice with water for himself, put them on a tray and served them, his eyes on Charlotte the entire time. He sat in the leather chair across from them and sat the tray on the ground. Charlotte Wei, you are as beautiful as your mother Sofia was at about your same age. May I initially clear up something with you to get us engaged in your situation at hand and a possible solution to that? She blushingly acknowledged with a nod and Zach continued. I’ll be blunt and to the point, it’s best that way. When that old and extremely wealthy, and connected British trader and entrepreneur, Tyler Welch died—in bed with a young girl—his nephew, J. B. Welch inherited control of his companies headquartered in Macau. JB worked for us and he and I decided to start the process of combining the Spence-Witter investment banking and trading empire in Hong Kong with Tyler’s. Old Tyler’s comprador, Liu Wei and his sister, who raised you after they bought you from Madam Chuntao, were your loving acting parents as far as you knew—I believe they told you that Tyler and Liu’s sister, your Mama-San had an affair and you were the love child stemming from that. The drug trade that Liu put together—and he and Tyler benefited from over the decades and kept a couple of generations of folks in Hong Kong and Macau chasing the dragon-- was under intense scrutiny by mainland China and the MSS. Liu also used his and Tyler’s casino in Macau to entertain the whales and administrative heads from mainland China, often forgiving debts to keep his drug cartel in play. China’s party interest in cleaning up the drug problem before they took control of Hong Kong from the Brits resulted in an MSS directive that put all three of you at risk. Her eyes widened and her heart was pounding—too much to assimilate and this man Zach who she thought was her biological father, seemed to have no compassionate investment in her whatsoever. Zach looked directly into her eyes, Are you with me so far? She nodded, expressionless and disappointed, and he continued. "It seems old Tyler and Liu were holding you, like hole cards in a poker game, to deal with my business entreaties into the Hong Kong, Macau, and mainland China business landscape. I had your, my, and your biological mother’s DNA tested. I am not your father. But, fighting fire with fire, I had the results sent to me showing both ways. JB and I had to convince Liu and his sister to take you and move to the States where you had attended university at such a young age. Your I.Q. puts you in the genius category, and those two—Liu and his sister, were at an age where you were the most important aspect of pride and achievement in their lives. But the MSS was at a point where you would all be dealt with, one way or another. When Tyler instructed Liu to send you to Japan on company business to help him sort out his problem investments, the MSS had an operative named Kang Yun who arranged a social meeting with you, and he became your first male sexual partner. You and your mother, the one who raised you, Liu’s sister, spoke often and your pillow talk with Kang was being reported back to his handler at the MSS headquarters in Beijing. I assumed that Liu Wei would have a terrible time giving up what he and Tyler had built over decades, but the threat from the MSS was real. I assumed that getting him to agree to what JB and I demanded, and getting him to pull up stakes at his age and move to the United States was a problem. Right or wrong, I gave him the false results showing that I was your biological father, assuming on my part that his intense pride in you and concern for your welfare would be eased thinking that as your father, I would not lead you all into a trap. I believe we treated you all fairly, and we compensated your family generously for his half of the casino, and the proceeds from his estate in Macau. The CIA assisted