By seven, a Hongqi sedan had found a parking spot along the street. Right opposite them was the one and only Freedom EDM Music Bar. It seemed to be a popular spot for foreigners to relax. This was why despite its location in the heart of the bustling city, the structure of their staff was not complicated, which made things easier to comprehend.
To set their safehouse in the middle of Jingdu city was a cunning move by Yang Shen.
Xia Lei watched the bar’s entrance through the window. Standing in front of it were two blonde waiters with crystal blue eyes. One simple scan through their body showed that they were unarmed. He pushed his left vision further into the establishment, noticing a few drinking foreigners inside. A majority of its patrons were whites with a few black people in the mix. Regardless of its service or customers, everything about the bar looked normal. However, Xia Lei was almost certain that there was an underground structure beneath the property. It was just a pity that he couldn’t see through the ground.
Tang Yuyan picked up the communicator. “Dispatch an agent to scout its interior.”
“Roger.” Tang Bochuan answered.
Soon enough, a casually dressed female agent went into the bar. The agent was young and was blessed with great body proportions. This was the kind of female patron that a bar would love. Gorgeous ladies were magnets which helped drive business. Some bars would even offer good-looking women free drinks for the night. Despite that, the young and pretty female agent was immediately stopped by the two.
Xia Lei locked his left eye to read the exchange between the greeters and the female agent.
“Sorry, miss. This bar is for members only. If you wish to enter, please kindly produce your membership card.” The blonde greeter spoke fluent Chinese, her tone polite and courteous.
The Bureau 101 female agent replied, “Huh? Is that so? Can I just register for one now?”
“To register as a member now is not an issue. However, verification of documents would take time.”
“What? Verification is needed too?”
“Yeah, we’re terribly sorry for the trouble.” The blonde greeter apologized softly.
“What the hell? Ugh, this place sucks. You’re not the only bar along this street anyways.” The female agent feigned anger, swiftly turning away to leave.
In the car, Tang Yuyan furrowed her brows. “There really is something fishy about this place. Bars rarely implement strict membership systems.”
Her analysis was the same as Xia Lei’s judgement after a thorough study of the bar’s interior.
Xia Lei replied, “This place was set in downtown Jingdu to make it look like it has a large customer flow with complex social structure. But in reality, the party has a great amount of control over the place. The lively traffic and complexity of the environment, in turn, provide them with an excellent cover. I’m guessing that Yang Shan and Sperry are beneath this bar. Surveillance is to be expected inside the bar. As soon as our people move in, they’ll be alarmed.”
“I wasn’t expecting this to be so difficult.” Tang Yuyan rubbed her temples. “With the membership system, there’s no way for our agents to enter the bar. Forcing our way in would only create a scene. Yang Shan is sly, would a safehouse he built have secret passages? If he notices us, he would certainly flee. If an intense gunfight were to break out, the mortality rate would be high.”
She made sense. If gunfire were exchanged and turned a large number of civilians into victims, then the operation would be a failure and the agents involved would be punished.
Xia Lei thought about it. “I think I should head inside alone.”
“No way, that’s too dangerous. I won’t allow that.” Tang Yuyan’s gaze was filled to the brim with worry.
Xia Lei offered her a relaxed smile. “It’s just one Yang Shan and Sperry, it’s not that big of a threat to my safety. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’m not trying to force myself through this, I just don’t wish to harm anyone innocent involved in this operation. I’m sure you wouldn’t want this to go south? This is Jingdu, there will be great consequences.”
Tang Yuyan gulped. “But…”
Xia Lei interjected, “There’s no need to talk me out of this. This is settled. I’ll disguise myself as Li Youdun to gain access. Bring your team in after ten minutes.”
“Wait…” Tang Yuyan abruptly met his eyes. “Li Youdun is such a familiar name. What is he to the CIA?”
“He’s an assassin working for the CIA, also the one responsible for killing me. He blended into the Thunder Horse Organization for two things. To steal trade secrets on the new material and to take my life,” answered Xia Lei.
Li Youdun was dead. There was no longer a need for him to continue keeping this a secret. There was no point in doing that. It was only a matter of time until Bureau 101 discovers the truth and when that time comes, Xia Lei would be in a sticky situation while attempting to explain himself. Hence, this was the best time to come clean.
Tang Yuyan fell silent for a moment. “When I visited your office to investigate the spy incident, you tried to stop me from progressing further. You knew who exactly it was, why did you choose not to tell me?”
Xia Lei nodded to confirm her thoughts. “Yes, I’ve known for some time. I have my own reasons for doing so.”
“Is he still in your grasp?” Tang Yuyan questioned.
Xia Lei answered, “How did you think I got a hold of the CIA’s list? Plus, how was I able to find out where the CIA’s Jingdu informant base and safehouse was?”
“You… made a deal with him?”
“That’s right. I gave him his freedom and he gave me what I wanted. I wasn’t planning on doing this initially but the value of that list was enough to exchange more than his life. This is beneficial for the country. Why give up the opportunity?” Xia Lei stared into Tang Yuyan’s eye with unwavering calmness. There was nothing but honesty and sincerity in his gaze.
Tang Yuyan reciprocated the stare. There was a few seconds of silence before she spoke again, “From what you’ve gained, this deal was certainly worth it. But your approach is illegal.”
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“Being a law-abiding citizen will not get the job done.”
“Alright, I can help you cover this up but there will be no next time. If something similar were to happen again, you need to tell me the truth or have me handle it,” warned Tang Yuyan.
“No problem, I.” Xia Lei pulled out his toolbox from the backseat. He opened it and brought out his human face mask.
Five minutes later, Xia Lei had completed his disguise and left the Hongqi car. This was not the first time he had become Li Youdun’s imposter. At this rate, all preparation work was as effortless as breathing.
“Be careful.” Tang Yuyan gently reminded him through the car window.
Xia Lei nodded slightly as acknowledgement before making a beeline for the entrance of Freedom EDM Music Bar. As he strode over, he began to ponder quietly, “I don’t have any membership card on me. If the two greeters stop me, what should I do? Do I just head straight inside? I hope they recognize him here.”
The two blonde greeters were quick to register his presence. In unison, they bowed and welcomed him. “Welcome.”
Xia Lei went past the greeters and made it into the safehouse. From his assumptions earlier, the last one certainly was the case.
As soon as Xia Lei entered the establishment, Tang Yuyan began laying down instructions through her communicator. “All combatants on standby. Calibrate your watches. It is now 7:45 pm, force entry at 7:55 pm. Shoot anyone who stands in your way!”
“Roger!” A wave of responses came ringing through the device.
Inside Freedom EDM Music Bar, Xia Lei made his way to the bar counter and ordered a glass of whisky. He took a seat and waited. After the bartender had placed his order in front of him, Xia Lei made no move to take a sip. This was not a place that he would find safe enough to consume anything.
Two minutes later, a familiar figure emerged from the back corridor of the bar. The man made his way over to Xia Lei.
It was Sperry. He immediately inched closer to Xia Lei’s side and lowered his voice. “Anyone tailing you?”
This question was basically a round-about method of asking, Have you been exposed?
Xia Lei turned to face Sperry. “There are not more than twenty people in the world that are capable of tailing me. Do you think there would be one here?”
Sperry shrugged nonchalantly. “Hey, don’t get so defensive. I was just checking. This is our last stronghold. If we lose this too, it will be difficult to reform our informant base in Jingdu.”
“That’s none of my concern.” Xia Lei snorted. “You brought me here. What’s the issue?”
“Well, of course, it’s something very important.” Sperry began, “Mister Williams wishes to confirm your progress. I’m sure you know what that means.”
Xia Lei scoffed coldly. “Of course I do. If my identity was exposed, I would’ve probably been sitting around in a special cell within China’s Intelligence Department. It will be impossible for me to reach this place. That’s enough, I don’t wish to answer anything else. Bring me to Williams.”
“Follow me.” Sperry led him away from the bar counter and into the back corridor.
Both sides of the corridor were lined with rooms. There were storerooms and VIP rooms. However, none of it was to store alcohol.
Xia Lei quickly concluded his corridor study with the help of his X-ray vision. His heart hummed, “This means that there’s an underground cellar. Yang Shan should be waiting inside. He must’ve turned that place into a temporary informant base.”
They reached the end of the corridor, which happened to be a storeroom for random appliances. Sperry moved to the one corner and rotated a filthy ashtray that was placed on one of the dusty shelves.
Clack! With a soft sound, the entire storeroom began to sink.
This room was an elevator!
The moving elevator came to a halt a few moments later. Sperry turned the doorknob and exited the storeroom. Xia Lei quickly tagged behind him. Contrary to his assumption, it wasn’t an alcohol cellar but a multifunctional space. It had an office area and a training area, which the latter was surprisingly small. On another side of the space was an area for weapons and espionage gadgets.
Under one wall was a desk, where Yang Shan was seated. The man immediately locked gazes on Xia Lei as soon as he emerged out of the elevator, the suspicion burning in his eyes was unmistakable.
To Yang Shan’s side was a wall that hung an impressive row of monitors. All of it showed the surroundings and interior of the Freedom EDM Music Bar along with body scans of the entire street. There was no doubt that the CIA had full control over this entire area!
Other than Yang Shan, there were also six CIA agents in the underground space. There was one Caucasian and five Asians.
Xia Lei’s eyes landed on one of them, his face ringing a bell in his mind. This fella was Li Youdun’s observer.
Typically, informant bases would have ten to fifteen agents. But with Yang Shan and Sperry included, there were not more than eight agents. Their numbers did not even reach the standard minimum. Xia Lei’s heart was confused, “I observed this place. Everyone in the bar seemed normal and definitely not agents. Where are the rest? Why are they hiding?”
Suddenly, the thought triggered a surge of alarm in Xia Lei that seemed to claw for the roof.