Authors: Stephen Knight
“You’re clear,” the guard said, switching off the wand and motioning toward the desk. The skinny kid was already on the phone, presumably with someone from Lin Industries.
“I’m glad. I thought you were going to ask me for a date if we kept that up.”
The security guard smiled sourly.
“I know this is San Francisco and all, but for some of us there’s a limit to the brotherly love I’m willing to show, you know?”
“Happy to hear it,” Manning responded casually.
Manning’s appointment was confirmed, and he was issued a temporary identification. He was instructed to wear it in plain sight clipped to the lapel of his coat or jacket at all times, and that he could recover his pistol and baton when he left the premises. His cell phone was returned to him, and the big guard directed him to one of the elevator bays.
“You can catch forty-five by taking one of these elevators here. Once you’re in the elevator bay, someone will buzz you in to the floor itself,” he said.
“Thanks.”
Manning rode the elevator up to the 45th floor, stopping a few times as other people disembarked. One woman, a fat lady with pasty white skin and poorly applied makeup, brushed by him as she exited. Her perfume was thick and cloying, and Manning hoped that it didn’t stick to his coat. Just to be certain, he removed it and draped it over one arm as he exited the elevator himself on the 45th floor.
Another guard, this one wearing a dark blue blazer with the logo of Lin Industries USA on the breast, buzzed him in through the glass doors that led to the office space itself. A matronly-looking Hispanic woman seated behind a broad desk peered at him over her bifocals.
“How can I help you, sir?” she asked, her voice one of professional but distant disdain.
“Jerome Manning. I have a nine o’clock appointment.”
The woman checked her computer screen and her watch.
“You’re a few minutes late.”
“Security held me up.” Manning checked his own watch; it read 8:59
am
. He elected to let the unwarranted criticism pass.
The woman didn’t comment. She directed him to sign the visitor’s ledger.
“Follow Wilson here. Wilson, conference room two, please.”
“Yes, ma’am. Mr. Manning?”
The guard motioned Manning to follow, which he did. He led Manning down a carpeted hallway and after a moment, left him in a small conference room dominated by a cherry wood table and black leather chairs.
“You can wait here,” the guard told him.
“Thanks.”
The guard nodded and stepped outside, closing the door behind him. Manning sighed and slid into one of the expensive leather chairs. He set his coat across the seatback next to him, and leaned back, arms crossed over his chest.
Ten minutes later, during which Manning had entertained himself solely by looking out the window at the goings-on of San Francisco’s business district, the door opened. A tall, almost incredibly wide man stepped inside. He was dressed in a blue suit, and his head looked unusually small when contrasted to the girth of his body and breadth of his shoulders. He had a huge gut, but Manning could tell it wasn’t from a soft living. The thickness of the man’s neck and upper arms attested to that. He held a day planner in one beefy hand.
“Mr. Manning?” The accent was definitely Slavic, if not Russian.
Manning rose to his feet.
“Yes, I’m Manning. I can only presume you’re not James Lin.”
The big man stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He didn’t smile.
“Your presumption is correct. I’m Alexsey Baluyevsky, Mr. Lin’s security chief. Please be seated.” Without offering to shake hands, Baluyevsky pulled out the chair opposite Manning and lowered his bulk into it. Manning sat back down without comment.
“Mr. Manning, I will ask you a series of questions. How you answer them dictates what will happen next. Do you understand?”
“Perfectly, Mr. Baluyevsky.” There hadn’t been a moment when Manning had thought this would be unlike any other hire. He had been brought in for a specific mission, so there was no need to go through the usual banter surrounding a job interview. If Baluyevsky wanted to get right down to it, so did Manning.
“Are there any questions you have for me before we begin?”
“None. You seem to be in a hurry, so I don’t want to slow things down.”
Baluyevsky nodded; apparently, social skills hadn’t been part of the requirement when his job opening went to bid. The big Russian pulled a Cross fountain pen from his jacket pocket, opened the leather-bound day planner and flipped to a page without further preamble.
“You come recommended to use from one of Mr. Lin’s business partners in Japan. You know of whom I speak? This room is secure, it is swept for electronic listening devices every day. You may speak to me freely.”
“I know of whom you speak, but I hadn’t been aware there was a business connection between the two men.”
“Mr. Lin has personal businesses not affiliated with Lin Industries,” Baluyevsky said. “Because of the nature of these endeavors, Mr. Lin cannot be connected to them directly.”
“I understand. I’m surprised Mr. Lin has dealings with people like those who usually employ me.”
“Mr. Manning, have you ever acted in a personal security capacity?” Baluyevsky ignored the opening Manning had set out.
“I have. I’ve operated in a personal security capacity for several individuals, from Afghanistan to Zhuhai City.”
“Representing legitimate interests,” Baluyevsky stated.
“With the exception of Afghanistan, yes. That was part of the mission I was assigned during my time with Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.”
“In Afghanistan, you served as a captain with U.S. Army Special Forces, 1st Special Forces Group. You developed alliances with several Afghan warlords, and pressed them to assist the United States in attacking both Taliban and Al Qaeda strongholds, correct?”
“That is correct.” Manning wasn’t surprised that Lin’s people had done their homework, but was surprised to discover they had determined his final duty posting while with the Army.
“You also refused to further assist one warlord on moral grounds, and personally eliminated another, correct?”
“That would be classified.”
Baluyevsky smiled slightly and leaned back in his seat. He looked at Manning directly for a long moment.
“I also killed warlords,” he said after a time. “I too served in Afghanistan.”
“Russian Spetsnaz, I would presume.”
“Yes. Afghanistan...we would have won there, if not for your country’s interference.”
Manning shrugged, indifferent to the argument being presented.
“I didn’t join the Army until the mid-eighties, so that was mostly before my time.”
Baluyevsky grunted, and Manning wondered if he was bothered by Manning rebuffing his attempt at bonding.
“In the course of your employment with Mr. Lin’s partners, you’ve also eliminated fourteen competitors throughout Asia, mostly in Taiwan, China, and Japan. This impresses Mr. Lin, for he knows it’s difficult for a foreigner to conduct these activities and remain anonymous in those countries.”
Manning remained silent.
Baluyevsky waved toward the ceiling.
“I can assure you that this room is clean. We have already had a person in Mr. Lin’s employ give his personal attestation toward your skills. These are skills that Mr. Lin is highly interested in. You may speak freely, please.”
“Pardon me if I choose discretion at this time,” Manning replied. “After all, we don’t exactly know each other.”
“I see. I still have questions. Do you need to know the reasons for these ‘missions’, as you call them?” Baluyevsky asked.
“Not necessarily, unless the knowledge increases my chances of getting closer to the target.”
“And do you have any rules for accepting an engagement?”
“Principals and their immediate associates only. No women, no children, no family, no torture,” Manning said immediately. “Those are non-negotiable requirements from my end.”
Baluyevsky nodded automatically.
“Have you ever killed innocents?”
Manning remained silent again.
“As what recently happened in Japan, perhaps,” Baluyevsky continued.
Manning grimaced inwardly.
Wow, bad news travels fast.
Baluyevsky grunted when Manning neither confirmed nor denied the incident. His blue eyes locked with Manning’s.
“Regardless, I can see that what happened bothers you,” Baluyevsky said. “I can understand this. But these things do happen to men like us, from time to time. Yes?”
“Apparently,” Manning conceded.
Baluyevsky turned the page in his day planner. Manning glimpsed a gold Rolex Daytona on his thick wrist. It was the only jewelry he wore.
“Can you eliminate someone before they have become a verified threat?” he asked.
“How do you mean?”
Baluyevsky looked at Manning directly.
“If you feel someone intends to use lethal force against your client, will you neutralize that individual before they can act?”
Manning considered it.
“That’s a wide-open question. But if the threat is something I deem severe, then yes, I would neutralize it...though not necessarily by lethal means.”
“So you would allow an assailant another opportunity then,” Baluyevsky judged.
“Not at all. But I would presume that I’ll be of no use to Mr. Lin if I keep plugging anyone who comes near him, especially since it wouldn’t be very long until I’m in jail,” Manning said. “And I’m also quite certain that Mr. Lin isn’t interested in any more attention than he’s already received.”
“Will you use lethal techniques in a questionable situation?”
“Didn’t you just ask that question?”
“Indulge me.”
“I have used lethal force in circumstances where it looked like they weren’t warranted, and it later came to light that my actions were the correct ones. Every situation’s dynamic, and that’s the best answer I can give you.”
“I understand.” Baluyevsky closed his day planner without writing a single note and rose to his feet. “Please wait here.”
With that, he was gone, closing the door behind him.
Manning sighed softly and leaned back in his chair.
A few moments later, the door opened. This time, it was a polished, elderly Chinese man stepped into the room. His gait was quick, and his movements were sharp. He emanated an air of power and wealth, mirrored by his expensive gray double-breasted suit and immaculately-shined shoes that likely cost as much as a decent car. James Lin had finally made his grand entrance. Manning rose to his feet immediately.
“
Manning xiansheng, ni zhidao wo shi shui ma?
” he asked, after he had closed the door.
Mister Manning, do you know who I am?
“
Shi de.
”
“I rarely have the opportunity to speak to a foreigner in my native tongue,” Lin continued. It was a lie, Manning knew; there were thousands of foreign businessmen who spoke Mandarin. “May we continue our discussion in Mandarin?” he finished.