Page 26 of The Team (The Milvus Files #3)

“You saved your unit and wore the full blast of an explosion to your back,” Rhett said for the sake of the others. “And someone carried you to safety,” Rhett said, smiling at Chen. “For more than a mile?”

Chen’s grin was wide, and he flexed both arms. “Am strong.”

Yin managed a smile, but it was weak at best. He got teary again.

“She poured my tea and helped me to drink it because I couldn’t,” he said.

“She was so kind and so pretty, and she was a light for me when everything else was dark. She would see me every day. Even on her days off...” He shook his head again, his glassy eyes meeting Rhett’s.

“When she told me her truth... it didn’t matter to me.

It was too late because I loved her already. ”

Rhett got it. He understood.

God, how he understood that.

“I am no traitor,” he whispered, looking at each member of the team in turn. “I love my country. But Jun-mei is not safe. They do not accept her, and I...” He frowned but raised his chin. “I love her more. I choose her. ”

“You requested this position,” Rhett prompted gently. “You asked for Milvus. Why?”

“It was my plan all along,” he said as if that explained everything.

“Your plan?” Jay asked.

Yin raised his chin defiantly, proudly. “To defect.” But then his chin wobbled.

“If I was in Milvus, I could move more freely. Not be questioned, and I could find a place that is safe for her. I could get her out. I didn’t know how.

They took her passport. The police say she doesn’t match their records.

They make her life more difficult than it already is.

She would never hurt anyone.” A tear rolled down his cheek and he scrubbed it away.

“I don’t know why that man took her. To hurt me?

To bring me back to China? I don’t know. ”

“To bring Milvus to China,” Azrael said.

“But why?” Yin asked her. “Believe me, the last person he wants near him right now is me. If I find that man... if he’s hurt her...” He swallowed as if his throat were lined with razors, and he pulled at his hair. “It’s been four days.”

Rhett clapped Yin’s shoulder. “And we’ll help you.”

“Leverage,” Coyote said quietly. “That’s why they took her. To ensure that you do exactly what they want.”

“To manipulate Milvus,” Echo added. “To get us to do what they want.”

“So we can expect Frankston to come at us with demands,” Sid said.

“Probably, yeah,” Jay added.

“Yunho and King will handle that,” Rhett said. “What we need to do is worry about us. We’re good, yeah?” He looked at Yin. “You good? ”

He kind of shrugged, kind of nodded, and got teary again. “Thank you for understanding, for not...”

Chen nudged him. “I tell you they understand, Tao.”

Yin gave Chen a smile, then looked up at Rhett. “No one knows. Only Chen. Not even Zihao.”

“Yeah, I gathered that,” Rhett said. “From the look on his face.”

“He could have me discharged?—”

“Like fuck he can,” Jay said, not exactly quietly. Everyone turned to Jay at his outburst, but Rhett could only smile. “You’re not in the PLA anymore. You’re not a Sea Dragon. You’re Milvus. You can love whoever you damn well want.”

“Unless Zihao does know,” Azrael whispered, “and he initiated your girlfriend’s kidnapping.”

“Zihao?” Rhett asked her.

She shrugged. “It makes sense. Keeps it quiet, saves his reputation and his position in Milvus.”

Rhett could see how that might make sense, but he didn’t buy it.

Chen shook his head. “No.”

Yin looked torn. “I don’t think so. Zihao is a good man. He would expose me and ruin my career, then claim the truth is the only thing our country upholds.”

Chen nodded his agreement, and Rhett sighed. “Yunho said Zihao was clean.” Then looked at Chen and Yin, not even remotely sorry. “I had to ask.”

“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t,” Yin mumbled. He looked tired as hell but also relieved now, as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

“Okay, Yin, how much sleep have you had in the last four days? ”

He dismissed Rhett’s question, but Chen answered for him. “He no sleep. Maybe two hours a night.”

Jesus.

Rhett shook his head. “Yin, you need to sleep before we land. I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. Because when we’re in your country, we will need you at your best, okay?”

His eyes went wide and glanced to where Zihao and King had gone. “They will find information on Jun-mei. Where she is. Captain, I need to know. I must wait to hear, to know where they took her, how she is, if she is okay.”

Rhett softened. It was difficult to be a tough leader when one of his team was clearly hurting, and the truth was, Yin wouldn’t likely be able to sleep until he heard something. “As soon as we hear something. Then you sleep.”

King came back out, slow on his cane, perhaps to give the team a moment to pause their conversation.

Zihao was behind him, and he appeared mollified. Rhett had to wonder what King had said to him.

Or what information they’d found.

King gave Yin the briefest of smiles and Rhett had to hope that it wasn’t bad news.

Yet.

“We have some information,” King said. “David Ridgeworth, the man who followed Ouston and Lin last night, has been questioned and made a statement. He was under the impression his surveillance work, if we can call it that, was on the record. He claims Frankston ordered him to follow and report back. He has had no contact with Frankston since.”

“He was a decoy,” Jay said .

“We think so,” King said. “To keep you busy while he was leaving the country? To ensure you’d ditch the car, that you wouldn’t go back to your apartment? We don’t know. But we are having your place swept for bugs as we speak.”

Jay sighed. “Fucking hell. Everyone gets to listen to us fuck, but no one has sent me the audio yet? I’m so disappointed.”

Sid, Az, and Coyote chuckled. Echo snorted, Chen was kind of horrified, but Yin half-smiled. Rhett sighed. He ignored Jay, looked at King instead. “Please continue.”

“It also appears Frankston has been sending information to some friends of his,” King said.

“Who?”

“Whoever pays the most. He sent incorrect information to us; he withheld critical information relayed by Yixing pertinent to our mission in Tehran. We believe Yixing realised and went to Depraz. As soon as Gordian and Askarov were taken out of the equation, Frankston shut everything down and prepared to flee the country.”

“That fucking traitor,” Rhett seethed.

“What is he doing in China?” Yin asked. “Who is he meeting?”

King gave a nod and brought up an image on the screen. A still shot taken from CCTV by the looks of it. A man, possibly in his fifties, wearing a long tan coat and sunglasses, getting into the backseat of a black SUV.

It was Zihao who answered. “His name is Wong Bo-chen. A billionaire who made his money selling pharmaceutical and medical equipment. Lives in Hong Kong. Arrived in Shanghai two days ago. We believe Frankston inserted himself as the middleman when Gordian could not.”

Rhett cocked his head, joining the dots. “You think Frankston has the chemical compound recipe to sell?”

“It’s likely,” King said. “He’s selling him something .”

King looked back at the screen and pressed a button to bring up a new image. It was Wong, same coat, same sunglasses. Walking into a building alongside a now-familiar face. The same guy who had met Frankston. The same guy who had kidnapped Jun-mei.

Yin stood up. “That’s him.”

Zihao gave a nod. “His name is Tan Huan. He was a major in the Snow Leopard division. A mean piece of work who decided the private sector was more his style.”

“Snow Leopard?” Coyote asked.

“Police tactical unit,” King said. “China’s elite SWAT team.”

Sid sighed. “Snow Leopards, Sea Dragons. How come they get the cool names?”

Chen gave him a blinding grin and even Zihao gave a flicker of amusement, which was a first.

But Yin’s gaze never left the face on the screen. “So he’s a civilian now,” he mused.

Zihao nodded. “Yes.”

“Good,” Yin whispered.

King shook his head. “He’s amassed his own team of men. All ex-Snow Leopards.”

Yin’s eyes hardened. “Even better.”

Jesus.

The coldness in Yin’s stare and the way he seethed pure rage made Rhett glad he was on their team.

Because this Yin wasn’t the stoic-but-friendly Tao Yin he’d known barely a week.

This was Fù-shé, the pit viper. He’d obviously been given that name for good reason.

Rhett hadn’t seen this side of him, and he was kind of looking forward to seeing him in action.

But if they were going up against a team of mercenaries, they were going to need help.

“What kind of weapons can we get?” Rhett asked.

King smiled and gestured to Zihao. “Courtesy of Director Zihao, who made some calls, and due to the nature of this exercise, we will be landing at a military base and working with the PLA.”

Working with the People’s Liberation Army. With the Chinese military.

One for the record books, that was for sure.

It also meant they’d have transport and a whole bunch of weapons. “Excellent,” Rhett said.

“Any word on Jun-mei?” Yin asked King, purposefully not looking at Zihao.

“All we know is she was taken from her place of employment in an ambulance. We can only assume she was sedated or drugged. Yunho tracked the ambulance as far as his satellite allowed. Access is limited, but believe me, Yunho is doing everything he can. He has the names of the men on Tan’s team and he’s tracking all movements and transactions for the last week.

He’s doing all that he can.” He sighed. “Perhaps when we land, given we will be working in conjunction with the Chinese military, we may be able to request access to satellites and information.” He held Yin’s gaze and nodded with intent. “We will find her.”