The Risk Agent by Ridley Pearson Read Free Book Online

course.”
    “Waiguoren.”
    “Tall. Hair shaved close. U.S. Consulate credentials.” It was the only person outside of a fellow Rutherford Risk employee whom Knox could imagine talking his way inside and leaving with something like Danner’s laptop computer.
    Still, the man said nothing.
    “Did he sign for it? Is there an inventory of what else was taken?”
    “No one here. No one take anything. No need to sign.”
    “I beg your indulgence,” Knox said, keeping it polite, “but I believe you may be mistaken. You see, Mr. Danner asked me to collect his laptop computer for him. And yet it’s not here. Do you see his laptop computer anywhere?”
    The security man squirmed.
    “If he did not sign for it, did you search the waiguoren?” He hardly paused. “No, I didn’t think so.”
    The man’s lips pursed and his eyes darted about.
    “I mean no disrespect. But you see, my job is complicated by the laptop not being here.”
    “I said this man took nothing.” The man’s voice faltered.
    “My mistake.”
    Now in the elevator, Knox handed over the two hundred yuan. Again, he spoke Shanghainese. “The waiguoren asked you to contact him if someone like me made inquiries.”
    The security man stood stoically.
    “If you want to become further involved with the U.S. Consulate, then go ahead and make that call.” He offered two more hundred-yuan bills. “As for me, I do not wish to be bothered, cousin. My government can make life hard for me. Same as your Party can make life hard for you. Neh?”
    The bills disappeared.
    Knox fixed his gaze onto the man for the rest of the slow elevator ride. The man stared straight ahead at their reflections in the polished metal. Then the doors opened and Knox left the building, his baseball cap brim held low against the eyes of the cameras as he entered the darkening dusk of Shanghai.
    4:50 P.M.
    CHANGNING DISTRICT
    SHANGHAI
    The door to Allan Marquardt’s corner office was flanked by two mahogany desks occupied by efficient-looking twenty-something women with rigid spines and beautiful faces. Though most employees were gone for the weekend, not all had departed. Marquardt was not taking any days off, given the current crisis. Neither were his secretaries.
    Grace checked in with an executive assistant named Selena Ming, who approved her visit and rose to open the office doors for her. Grace squared her shoulders and brushed her hands over her gray suit, double-checked that her collar was peaked properly, and fingered her modest string of pearls. Selena Ming trailed behind her with a steno pad in hand.
    As the door closed behind them, Marquardt rose to greet her.
    Grace wished he hadn’t.
    “Ms. Chu,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you! I’ve heard so much about you!”
    Better, she thought.
    The office was paneled in walnut, with hand-knotted rugs overlaying the parquet flooring. Crowded bookshelves gave it the feel of a private library. In the corner, a gleaming black lacquer tray held cut-glass bottles of colorful liquors and upside-down glasses. She felt as if she’d stepped back into Shanghai at the turn of the twentieth century.
    “What a breathtaking view,” she said, crossing the spacious room and shaking hands with him.
    Marquardt indicated an armchair. It was covered in red raw silk embroidered with hummingbirds. The smell of sandalwood incense hung in the air. Selena Ming delivered green tea and there was five minutes of small talk.
    Finally, Marquardt said, “You have filed a grievance with Human Resources.”
    His executive assistant took shorthand.
    “A minor misunderstanding is all, I assume,” Grace said.
    “You are displeased with your accommodations?”
    “I believe it is nothing. I was informed my residence would include lobby security and workout facilities.”
    “Yes?”
    “In fact, my present accommodations do not.”
    “I am deeply sorry if there has been a misunderstanding,” he said.
    “No misunderstanding. It is in writing.”
    “We