Love Is for Tomorrow Read Online Free Page B

said.
    “By whom?” He got out his phone and dialed Chen’s number .
    “None of us,” she said.
    “Send them back!” Zhou ordered. He had to be the first to know. And if it was Chen, he had his own lines of questions that had to be asked.
    “ Lao ban ,” Mei Ling bowed and pulled out her own phone.
    No one answered on Chen’s line. He ended the call and pressed the doorbell again.
    He looked back at his armed men and signaled them to form up at the door.
    “We’re going in.”
    The men complied without hesitation. One of them hefted a door-ram to the height of the lock.
    “Step back please,” another said to Zhou.
    Zhou gave him a questioning look but said nothing.
    The ram cracked against the door. It shuddered and bulged. With two more blows the door swung open a gap.
    The classical music of Tchaikovsky flowed out of the apartment.
    Zhou checked his watch and pulled his own gun from its holster. He leaned against the doorframe, aware that the expensive material of his suit might rip if he wasn’t careful.
    A hand held him back.
    “ Lao ban . Let me go in first, for your own safety,” the man said.  
    Zhou thought about Chen . He remembered playing mahjong with him, having one Baijiu too many on business meetings and driving home together. He didn’t want to believe that Chen had done anything to betray him.
    Zhou shook his head. “No, it should be me.”
    He loaded his gun, though it felt strange in his hands. The slide stuck more than he remembered. It was rarely used and needed oiling.
    “Don’t worry, I still haven’t forgotten how to use it,” he said.  
    He slid into the open gap.
    Zhou stretched his hand out behind him and motioned with his fingers.
    “Light. Give me your light.”
    The security officer complied.
    Zhou put the flashlight under his gun and propped the muzzle on his wrist. Then he stepped into the hall. The lights inside were dimmed, but enough to see. Only the dark corners concerned Zhou.
    “ Xiao Chen?” Zhou called out while walking slowly towards the music.
    Zhou stole down the hall and into the living room where the music played. He saw Chen lying spread-eagle on the floor, his back broken through a shattered glass table. Blood stained the carpet underneath.
    “ Xiao Chen!”
    Zhou ran over to the body and knelt beside it. He grabbed Chen’s shoulders and shook him.
    Zhou’s bodyguards swarmed into the adjoining rooms, sweeping through every corner.
    Mei Ling approached.
    “ Lao ban ,” she said. “Fingerprints, you might take care not to touch him.”
    Zhou nodded and stood. He looked around. The TV was on, on low volume. An unfinished drink stood on a tray next to the couch. Chen was still in his business suit, the white shirt now crimson with blood.
    The security detail returned and formed a loose ring around the dead man. Their arms were crossed and their heads bowed.
    “ Lao ban .”
    Mei Ling beckoned him over with a troubled look toward her tablet screen. She kept her voice low. It was apparently nothing she wanted his bodyguards to hear.
    “It seems your deceased friend received a considerable amount of banking transactions from untraceable sources during the last couple of weeks.  It was right after we went public with our new technology.”
    Zhou felt his face and heart darken.
    “How much?”
    “Two million dollars.”
    He glanced over to the dead body of his friend and crouched down again. He could not believe the confirmation of what he thought was impossible. Zhou grabbed the man at the collar of his shirt. White heat spread in his chest like a glowing ember.  He felt sick.
    “Why have you done this to me?” he screamed. “Why?”  
     
     

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    CAPITAL OF SPIES
     
    “When you set out to take Vienna, take Vienna.” - Napoleon Bonaparte
 
    Hallstatt, Austria
     
    Curved roads led Antoine past lakes and mountains. The pedal pushed to the floorboard, his Audi A7 shot through a tunnel and was spit out into the green heart of