The Project 01 - White Jade

Director Harker's office was. He placed his hand on the biometric scanner outside the door of her office and went in.
    Elizabeth Harker looked up from behind her desk. She was small , with milk-white skin , small , pointed ears and raven black hair. Her eyes were like a cat 's, wide and green . S he looked like an e lf dresse d in black and white , but a kind of elf you wouldn't want to mess with .
    On her desk was a file with his name on it, a silver pen that had belonged to FDR and a picture of the Twin Towers burning on 9/11 . She kept the picture to remind herself of wh y she was there .
    "Have a seat . " Harker opened the file.
    He sat and waited.
    "The shrink says you're fit to go back in the field. Are you?"
    "I'm fine."
    " No more flashbacks?"
    " No."
    Not for three months. He'd thrown out the pills the doctor had given him. They'd flattened everything into a narrow monotone that made him feel like he was living in a fading black and white picture. He didn't think Harker needed to know about the dreams.
    Harker nodded. She made a note in the file and placed it in a drawer .
    A large, flat monitor was mounted on one wall of the office. Harker did something at her desk a nd t h e display came to life with a picture of a n elderly man . His eyes were blue. He looked like the sort of man you'd like for a Grandfather.
    She said, " This is William Connor. He was a very rich man . He was also a personal friend of the President. "
    " Was? "
    " Someone tortured him until he died of a heart attack. They cut off one of his fingers with pruning shears . Then they transferred money from his accounts and tore his home apart. "
    A n electric tension settle d across his shoulders. Cut ting off the finger of an old man made things p ersonal , something he could grab on to. It was better when it was personal. He needed personal. It helped motivate him . Going forth for God and Country didn't work too well for him anymore , n ot since Afghanistan. Not since South America.
    " That's cold. How much money?"
    " A round four hundred million."
    "Why are we getting involved with this? This looks like FBI or Treasury territory."
    " W e intercepted an encrypted satellite transmission last week from the Chinese consulate in San Francisco . There's a Colonel from Chinese Military Intelligence in the consulate named Wu . He pretend s he's a trade official. He called his boss, General Yang. Yang is chief of their MI. Wu told him about a n old book Connor found in Bhutan and Yang ordered him to get the book and Connor's money . The money went to accounts in Macau controlled by Yang. "
    " Chinese MI? Why would they do something as stupid as that? It doesn't make sense. What's in the book? "
    " W e don't know . Connor had a niece who might know . I want to ask her about it. Doctor Connor is coming here today."
    "Doctor?"
    "PhDs in oriental and ancient languages. She's one of the top experts in the country. "
    Carter pictured a n expert PhD niece. S omeone academic looking . M a ybe in a n earth tone baggy suit , with large glasses and gray hair , around fifty .
    Harker said, " The FBI had Wu under routine surveillance . I requested a photo and they sent one over but my gut says t hey ' re holding something back. "
    Nick didn't respond.
    " Zeke Jordan is the liaison . You know him. T alk with him and s ee what you can find out. "
    A voice came from the intercom on Harker ' s desk.
    " Director, Doctor Connor is here . "
    " Escort her up . "
    While they waited, Carter thought about his car and decided to call Triple A and ride back with the tow .

Chapter T hree

    Selena Connor didn't look like a fiftyish, gray-haired professor. It wasn't the way she looked that got Carter's attention , though that would have been enough . I t was the way she came into the room , all contained , taut energy , with the rippling grace of an athlete . She was in her thirties. Her hair was short and reddish blond . H er face was tan from the outdoors . S he had h igh cheekbones and violet eyes. There was a small mole above her lip.
    She wasn't wearing a baggy suit or big glasses . She had on a smooth silk jacket and slacks and a pale blouse that picked up the violet color. In her left hand she carried a black leather computer case.
    Carter stood and Harker introduced him. They all sat down.
    Harker said, " What have you got there? "
    " M y u ncle 's laptop . He 'd never left it with me before. I haven' t looked at it, but I t hought you might want to . " Her voice