Sexpionage: Oblige the Warlord
Rin Soto
Copyright 2010 by Rin Soto
Smashwords Edition
* * * *
“This whole place smells like sex,” said the field office chief, Crandall. He was standing in the parking lot of Beacon Hill Tower 7, looking toward the garden entrance that led to the apartment building’s front doors.
“It’s just incense,” Grace said, adjusting her bra straps while they waited in line for the guards to admit the evening’s guests. She looked back up the hill toward Lung Cheung road and saw the headlights of the traffic streaming west out of Kowloon Tong. Crandall was trying not to stare at her bountiful cleavage while she was leaning over, smoothing the wrinkles out of her skintight dress but he had to admit that chubby or not she was pretty sexy. She had just the right mixture of spice and wholesomeness to appeal to Lin and buy them the time they’d need to get what they came for.
“How long do you think before I can get started?” Derek was carrying his Western Shield Intelligence tablet under his arm, a plain looking unit that under his fingers was capable of encrypting and decrypting all known codes used in China. He’d been Crandall’s go-to decryptor since his arrival at the Kowloon office three months ago, and he was perfect for the plan WSI had in mind for Lin. The line was starting to move but they were still far enough away from Lin’s men to speak freely.
“Figure two hours for the dinner, then we’ll be breaking off for a private meeting with Lin, maybe forty minutes for that before Grace gets to do her thing. Fifteen to thirty minutes to get the info and then we’re all done. As long as the traffic on Waterloo isn’t too bad we’ll be back at the office by midnight.”
The Beacon Hill tower complex was walled off from the rest of the expensive mansions and apartment buildings, with perimeter patrols, nanobot clouds and sensor nets guarding against any intrusion by the NSSR agitators that had been streaming down from the North. Only the highest placed Kowloon elite lived there, and only Lin had a tower all to himself.
“He’s doing pretty well for a warlord,” Derek said, admiring the expensive cars parked in a long row leading back to the main gates.
“He’s a Commissioner now, not a warlord. For Christ’s sake, do not call him a fucking warlord.”
“Okay, okay,” Derek said, smarting at Crandall’s correction.
“I’m just saying that we’ve put way too much money and time into Lin and this operation to screw things up by insulting him.”
A group of what appeared to be very high-end young prostitutes walked right past the line and were ushered in ahead of the luminaries quietly waiting their turn.
“So what’s the difference between a warlord and a commissioner then?” Derek asked.
“The guards wear suits instead of uniforms,” Grace replied, standing up a bit straighter so she could stick her tits out more. It wouldn’t do for Lin to get distracted by hookers. If she was going to have to sacrifice her dignity to make this operation work she was going to damn sure do it right. She rubbed her face just in front of her ears, activating the tiny earbuds that would allow her to function as a human transceiver for Derek’s terminal. They would be worthless unless she could get into Lin’s bedroom.
“Both of you shut up and smile,” Crandall ordered. He could tolerate Grace’s banter but the young decryptor could be an uptight little prick and what he wanted most right now was for things to go smoothly. There was no reason for Lin to suspect their intentions but if they started making mistakes Grace wouldn’t be the only one getting fucked.
Dinner was well-catered but tedious. Like many of the guests Derek ignored the small-talk and turned his attention to his tablet. To any passerby he would appear to be using standard applications, but he was instead covertly testing the tablet’s connection to Grace’s earbuds. When the magic moment arrived he would activate his own earbuds, establishing a local network connecting both sets of earbuds, the tablet and if all went well the wireless data stream from Lin’s bedroom communications link. Grace’s own nervous system would function as an antenna to boost the signal enough to send audio and the encrypted data downstairs to where Crandall and Derek would be waiting. As long as she kept the warlord occupied for at least fifteen minutes the tablet would be able to map out Lin’s internal network, providing a full slate of targets for the WSI’s hackers. Collecting his secrets would provide far more leverage than they could purchase with their dollars.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” Grace announced, getting up to use the bathroom. She’d seen the waiters start clearing tables on the far end of the room near Lin so dinner would soon be over and it was her last chance to take a break and calm her increasing jitters.