The Ninja and the Diplomat Read online

  THE NINJA AND THE DIPLOMAT

  (The Chinese Spymaster, volume 2)

  By Hock G. Tjoa

  Copyright, 2015

  Print version published by Createspace

  Cover design by Dawné Dominique,

  www.dawntildushdesigns.com

  From the back cover of the print edition:

  ***COMRADE BRODSKY REPORTS THAT THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC WILL ATTACK ASEAN***

  The Chinese intelligence agency received this message from a trusted asset. He had just completed the sale of MANPADs, manually portable anti-aircraft devices, in Macau.

  His customer was Carlos a.k.a. Hashim. What buy arms for the rebels in the Philippines?

  A logistics manager suspected of stealing from the Chinese Army warehouse is found murdered. The ensuing review of the warehouse inventory shows that a twelve MANPADs and a dozen tactical nuclear devices have been stolen recently.

  A high-ranking foreign ministry official, key to managing a brewing international crisis, is nearly assassinated when he meets with a cousin who lives in Taiwan.

  Urgent deep analysis of all related data spotlights two men, the Boss and the Yakuza. One of them plans to wreak havoc on China.

  PREFACE

  This is a work of fiction. Nothing about it is factual and no person or event is based on anything in “reality.” Any such resemblance is purely coincidental.

  That said, I have tried to present fiction, not fantasy. There are references to real places, countries, practices and institutions. But the descriptions of the Chinese political system or of the debates within it are all fictional.

  This is the second volume in a series, but it is neither a sequel to the first nor a prequel to the third. Among others, Wang, Cai, and Yu appeared in the first volume and may appear in the third.

  A glossary is presented, but I hope it is clear to every reader that while certain items are “real,” like ASEAN or Bangsamoro or kamidana or silat, others like the Central Committee or the Committee on Organization or the CPS are based more on my imagination than on reality. I trust no one is greatly inconvenienced by this.

  GLOSSARY

  ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is made up of a growing number of Southeast Asian countries.

  Bangasamoro, an imagined, self-identified group to which the Moros belong.

  CCP, the Chinese Communist Party

  Central Committee, the main authority in the Chinese Communist Party, it is super-ceded only by its own Political Bureau (Politburo) and the Standing Committee of the Politburo.

  Central Military Commission, wields pivotal authority over Chinese military forces

  Committee on Organization, an important and highly influential committee in the Party as it is responsible for vetting all nominations to middle and high office.

  CPS, the Committee on Public Safety, China’s (fictitious) national security council.

  Commissar, senior commissar, titles that I have imagined for members of the Central Committee and the Politburo, with senior commissar reserved for members of the standing committee.

  Imam, the leader of a mosque

  International Liaison Committee, fictitious committee overseeing Chinese foreign policy

  Kamidana, a private Shinto shrine to a hero or divine spirit

  MFA, the (Chinese) Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

  Moros, the Muslims in the Philippines, especially those on the southern island of Mindanao.

  Old --, a Chinese form of address that emphasizes informality and familiarity

  PRC, People’s Republic of China (Mainland)

  ROC, Republic of China (Taiwan)

  Second Brother (Ma), the traditional form of addressing a man who is the younger of two sons in the (Ma) family. The same principle would apply to any Chinese family.

  Silat, a form of martial arts indigenous to the Malay Peninsula and archipelago. Although its practice predates Islam in Southeast Asia, it is now increasing influenced by Islamic rites and political connections.

  Zhuge Liang, the legendary strategist who conceived of Three Kingdoms coexisting as a watchful détente in the traditionally popular classic the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

  CHARACTERS in order of first appearance

  Kim, a North Korean arms dealer and Chinese intelligence “asset.”

  Viktor, a East European underworld figure.

  Second brother Ma, the acting spymaster.

  Wang, the spymaster, a member of the Chinese politburo and acting chairman of the CPS.

  Zhang, assistant minister in the Finance ministry and its representative to the CPS.

  Yu, deputy minister of Foreign Affairs and member of the CPS. He is the Diplomat in the title.

  Deng, major-general in the army and member of the CPS.

  Wen, deputy commissioner of police and its representative to the CPS. He and Wang are married to sisters named Shu.

  Carlos/Hashim, moro (Filipino muslim) rebel purchaser of arms from Kim.

  Wong (a Cantonese variant of Wang), an undercover policeman investigating the trail of arms from the Kim-Carlos transaction.

  The Ninja makes his first appearance in a minor skirmish with Wong.

  Emilio, Christian Filipino follower of Carlos/Hashim.

  Mariam, half-Chinese Christian Filipino, Emilio’s girlfriend.

  Owyang, current head of analysis at the intelligence agency.

  Gong, head of field operations at the agency.

  Xiao Shu, younger sister Shu, Wang’s wife.

  Chen, a general in the army and an old friend of Wen’s and Wang’s. Not to be confused with Inspector Chen, a much younger man.

  Hu, former head of administration at the intelligence agency.

  Cousin Yu, related to Yu the Diplomat. Their fathers were brothers, warriors on separate sides of the Taiwan Straits, with a vision of eventual reunification.

  Cai, member of the standing committee of the politburo with responsibility for security and party ideology. He has recently been diagnosed with lung cancer and has deputized Wang to act on his behalf while undergoing treatment

  CONTENTS

  From the back cover of the print edition

  Preface

  Glossary

  Characters

  MAP OF THE EASTERN OCEAN

  MAP OF THE SOUTH SEA

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  Extract from The Chinese Spymaster, volume 1

  Extract from The Battle of Chibi

  Extract from Agamemnon Must Die

  THE AUTHOR

  MAP OF THE EASTERN OCEAN

  (The East China Sea)

  By Maximilian Dörrbecker (Chumwa) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

  MAP OF THE SOUTH SEA

  (The South China Sea) U.S. Central Intelligence Agency - Asia Maps — Perry-Castañeda Map Collection: South China Sea (Islands) 1988. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

  CHAPTER 1

  Sunday in Macau

  “Room service.”

  Kim, the North Korean arms dealer, looked at his bodyguard across the ample rosewood and silk chairs in the living room of his suite and mo
tioned with his head for him to get the door.

  “We did not order anything.”

  “Compliments of Viktor.”

  The arms dealer hesitated then nodded. His bodyguard opened the door cautiously and waved a metal detecting wand over the man as he wheeled in a polished wooden cart laden with fruit. A basket of fresh local lychees, grown in carefully chosen orchards within two hundred miles of Macau, sat beside cut-up mangoes from the Philippines on ice; a plate of custard tarts in fluffy pastry shells; truffles exquisitely crafted by the hotel’s own chocolatier; the plum and marzipan crumble that was the establishment’s signature dessert, and the customary bottle of champagne in an ice bucket, Veuve Clicquot Yellow Brut. Viktor knew that to really impress Kim he should have ordered the Cave Privee but there was a limit to his expense account.

  “You really should try the egg tarts. They are better than those in Hong Kong,” purred a heavily accented voice from outside the door. Viktor entered and made himself at home. He gestured for the champagne and took a glass asserting, “No tampering in any of this, I assure you.”

  He breathed in deeply, looked around the room discriminately and nodded with approval. The light floral scent in the room came from real flowers, the aroma of chocolate and butter arose from the truffles, and the furnishings announced not the showy affluence of shirts newly taken out of their wrappings or cars just driven off the show room floor but the well-maintained and self-assured comfort of a high-end but reserved resort.

  The man from room service was a local, so Kim and his bodyguards could assume he was not from Viktor’s “inner circle.” However, Viktor notoriously used gangs of local organized crime. He snatched a knife from the cart and attacked the bodyguard. Even though there was a crazed look in his eyes, suggesting he was under the influence of some drug, he wielded the knife with skill. It was, however, as if a lucky beginner was fighting a hardened professional. The guard had to dodge three or four times before blocking a knife thrust with the metal detector and striking the attacker’s throat. The attacker arched backwards while slashing at the outstretched arm. The guard spun to avoid the knife and caught the attacker by the wrist. He swung the man effortlessly into a wall against which he crashed and lay crumpled.

  As the attacker slumped to the floor, another man moved silently into the doorway. “Was that too easy?” he asked as he raised his silenced Glock 19, the compact version of the ubiquitous hand-gun. He shot at the bodyguard, who sprang at the same instant to relative safety behind the furniture in the living room.

  Kim wasted no time in firing his 9 mm Beretta which he favored over the Glock because of its heft. He did not miss, not even when a second gunman rushed into the room.

  “Your marksmanship has improved greatly,” remarked Viktor as he casually drew his own weapon, “but there are three more of us and we have something…”

  There was a short pause as guns clattered and curses were muttered. A door had opened near the staircase down the hall.

  A shrill whistle blew.

  “Stop! Police. Drop your weapons.”

  The arrival of the police surprised everyone inside and outside the suite of rooms at the quietly stylish hotel that had served as Kim’s base of operations. Even so, he maintained his usual calm facade as Viktor and his crew cursed. The police brought with them the odor of officious authority that blended well with the whiff of sulfur and cordite.

  Within a few minutes, all the attackers and those attacked were taken, separately, into custody.

  Contents

  CHAPTER 2

  Early on a grey, sooty, and acrid Monday morning in Beijing, a muscular yet boyish-looking man in his forties strode heavily towards an open door. It was a waiting room with spartan furnishings that was designed for last minute preparations or quick consultations before a meeting of one of the committees that used the discreet and well-secured building. Located in a moderately busy part of the city, it housed rooms of various sizes for meetings of state and party officials. The man cried out as he neared the door, “Spymaster!”

  Thus, the customary reflections of his chief were interrupted. Spymaster Wang, now in his mid-fifties but still slim and fit, dressed in his customary Mao suit and carrying himself with a hint of a military bearing, replied, “Second brother Ma, remember that you are the acting spymaster now. How can I help you?”

  Ma, in a Western suit, somehow looked rumpled next to his chief. He was also half a head shorter and his muscular body was not doing as well in fighting “middle age spread” as the older man, something he amiably attributed to his genes. He had started in the intelligence agency when Wang was himself acting spymaster and had risen through the ranks in just two decades by making himself available for every emergency and dropping anything personal to respond whenever duty called. He was thorough in doing the due diligence for every operation to which he had been assigned and compassionate towards all his fellow agents, mourning those who were killed in action, visiting those wounded, and providing quiet aid and comfort to those traumatized by the violence they had to perform. Above all he maintained an indefatigable sense of humor. The spymaster had not thought twice in making Ma his deputy.

  Wang was currently acting Chairman of the Committee on Public Safety (CPS) due to the sudden illness of Senior Commissar Cai, so addressed because he was a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo. The latter had succumbed, at least temporarily, to his habit of chain-smoking for the last four decades, in quiet defiance of all medical warnings. The spymaster had also been pressed into service, at the suggestion of the senior commissar, in all the other committees that he sat on.

  Ma, the deputy chief of the intelligence agency, now the acting head, had arrived for their customary meeting prior to that of the CPS. He declared, “We just received this intelligence flash and I do not know how best to proceed.”

  Wang brought his focus to Ma’s uneasiness and compared it to his own feelings. Was his own confidence a symptom of arrogance? Or was it perhaps because he had, for decades now, viewed the security of China as his personal mission and thought of these meetings as extensions of his personal quest? He reflected on his own uneasiness in other committees, especially the ones that he now attended in Senior Commissar Cai’s place. Perhaps his feeling was like Ma’s and signified that his assistant had yet to feel fully empowered in his role in maintaining national security. The younger man still wrestled with the details and paperwork, but it was more than that. He concluded that the deputy was struggling to find himself under the burden of keeping China safe.

  “Some tea, Old Ma?” asked Wang, addressing him with a term of familiarity.

  “Yes, please,” replied the younger man. “Here, you can read for yourself.”

  ***COMRADE BRODSKY REPORTS THE PRC WILL ATTEMPT AN ATTACK ON ASEAN IN THE NEAR FUTURE***

  Wang simply looked up at Ma and raised an eyebrow.

  “This makes no sense!” asserted the acting spymaster. “His information has always been very good. But why would he turn in news about what China is trying to do and why would we be trying to do something so insane?”

  Wang remained silent, waiting as Ma continued to pour out his frustrations. “My understanding of affairs in that part of the world is that China is trying to improve relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. So how can he say we will attempt any kind of a strike?”

  “Where did he send this message from?”

  “Macau. We received the message late on Saturday; I’m sorry for not putting it in your briefing package for today but it was misrouted and Owyang’s people only discovered it late on Sunday. She brought it to me a few minutes ago. Kim was located in Macau a week ago as he is on our universal watch-list. But he has not responded to our inquiries and I have not yet communicated with the unit involved in maintaining surveillance on him.”

  “You are not ready to report this to the CPS,” declared Wang flatly.

  Ma nodded in agreement. He remembered what his chief had always told
the team at the intelligence agency: Never present a problem without also presenting possible solutions. “Naturally we will continue trying to contact Kim and will be in touch today with the unit responsible for keeping a tail on him. Meanwhile, the analysis department has not found any possible angle that would reveal the meaning of the message.”

  “Who else have you discussed this with?” asked Wang, speculating on Ma’s private contacts with friends or former schoolmates in the army, the police force, or the foreign ministry.

  Ma plunged into a quick report. “Owyang, the head of analysis has instructed her department to go through both official channels and any of their personal contacts to find out what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) might know. We have asked all assets in Southeast Asia for an update on ‘unusual activities.’ We are also making a list of all ASEAN events in the works and hope to read those tea leaves. We certainly do not expect to learn that there has been a radical change in China’s foreign policy that might explain such a bizarre alert.”

  Wang nodded encouragingly, so Ma continued. “ASEAN has half a dozen meetings at staff and working levels and two at ministerial levels scheduled for this year. The ministerial level meetings are a gathering of foreign ministers in the Philippines in two months and a hoped-for summit of prime ministers in Vietnam at the end of the year. We have alerted our operatives in both countries. Those in the Philippines have been told they are to treat all information they gather as urgent.”

  “I suspect that the agency must present a brief at the CPS by next week,” said Wang. “Perhaps more shoes will fall by then. Is there anything you would like me to do?”

  “Can I go back to being just an agent?” responded Ma with a flash of his usual good humor. Then he added, “Actually, as you are still officially Kim’s handler, would you please see if you can help us locate and debrief him?”