Catalyst (Breakthrough Book 3)(68)
“Find out who was in the system. Use the entire team if you must.”
M0ngol nodded on the other end. He was going to do more than just find him.
Fifteen hours away in his own dark computer lab, Wil Borger had his answer.
His farm of servers had successfully found and tracked the pixel profile of Wei’s car and displayed not just the path of the car, but where it had stopped.
And just like Clay had deduced, it was a small rural hospital.
Borger couldn’t dial the number fast enough. When Clay answered, he almost shouted into the phone. “We have it!”
“Have what?”
“Wei’s destination. And it was his only stop after leaving with the case.”
“Location?”
“Just over four hundred and sixty miles due north of Beijing! In the mountains. Looks like it’s a small hospital for several surrounding towns and villages. I’ll text you the name and coordinates.”
“Nice work, Wil.”
“Listen,” he continued. “There’s also a small airfield about ninety miles further north. It looks usable and would probably allow you to get there faster, but it might be military. Just an FYI.”
“Okay. We’ll stick to the roads then. Should be in Beijing in about twelve hours. I’ll check back in three.”
“Sounds good.”
Clay ended the call and looked at Tang in the driver’s seat. “You need a break?”
“Not yet.” Tang nodded to the satellite phone. “Where we headed?”
“A small hospital about four hundred north of Beijing. We’re looking for General Wei’s daughter.”
Tang raised an eyebrow but kept his eyes on the dark road in front of them. “The intel I got said Wei’s daughter was dead.”
“Yeah. Ours too.”
38
At just past six a.m., Doctor Lee waited patiently by the door while his nurse helped Li Na Wei back into bed. They were both amazed at how quickly her strength was returning after being nearly motionless for three weeks. There was minimal shaking in her legs and her balance was quite good.
The nurse propped a worn pillow behind Li Na’s back, allowing her to sit up straighter. Once she was settled, the nurse straightened the sheets and blanket again before nodding to Lee and leaving the room.
It was far too soon in his opinion, but a pledge was a pledge. If she awakened, Wei wanted his daughter informed immediately. A decision Lee still felt was excessive given the girl’s current state of health. The last thing she needed at the moment was an emotional blow like this.
He sat down on the foot of her bed and leaned forward with a soft look on his face. “You are doing very well, Li Na. Very well. But there are things I need to tell you. Things about your father and things about how you got here.”
“Okay,” she said, peering at him curiously. Her body still felt weak, but her eyes were wide awake.
Lee reached inside his dingy white coat and retrieved an envelope. Without a word, he handed it to Li Na.
She took it in her right hand, examining it, and then turned it over to find a familiar seal on the back. It was her father’s chop. She slid her finger under a loose section and ripped the flap open, breaking the wax seal. Several sheets of paper were folded neatly inside.
Li Na glanced at the doctor nervously as she pulled them out and unfolded the pages. Her father’s handwriting covered both sides of every one.
Beneath the room’s single fluorescent light, and while Dr. Lee waited, Li Na began reading.
When she finished, she was weeping.
“Is this true?”
Lee frowned. “I don’t know what it says.”
“My father is dead?”
The doctor nodded solemnly. “Yes. I’m very sorry, Li Na.”
She covered her eyes with both hands and sobbed. “Why?!”
She knew why. It was all in the letter. Her final days of a deteriorating disease, most of which she was not conscious for. Her father’s depression after losing Li Na’s mother, and his utter devastation at the impending loss of his daughter. His princess.
But unlike many fathers who might be struggling with the same agony, there was something he could do. There was a slight chance that Wei could still save his daughter’s life by giving his own. By sacrificing everything he had, including their family name. Their honor. He wrote about the many memories he had of her as a young girl. The dancing, the smiles, the laughs. And her hugs that made him feel as though there was no one else in the world but them.
He explained that in the final days, those memories were all that enabled him to get out of bed in the morning. To continue on, accompanied only by desperation and the fear that he would run out of time.