The Spy Devils by Joe Goldberg (top rated books of all time .TXT) 📕

“Excellent. Goodbye, Peter.”

“What?”

The call ended. Peter’s eyes fixated on his phone.

Who would call him about this? Should he tell MacBride? Is this a setup by Jessup to see if he would break his NDA? Chapel?

Peter looked at the yellow legal pad with the red lines on it. He knew when that call came he was answering it on the first ring.

He stood, picked up his backpack, and thought of one more question.

What the hell was this all about?

17

Recruitment

Shanghai, China

The successful recruitment of U.S. businessman George MacLean by Minister Chen of the Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Guójiā Ānquánbù, the Chinese Ministry of State Security, started when MacLean was hired by Kirkwood two years ago.

MacLean, Chief Financial Officer, Kirkwood Technologies, had been instrumental in the financial success of an alphabet soup of tech companies. AMD. HP. IBM. 3M. The fifty-seven-year-old MacLean’s everlasting cherub pink face was incongruous with his deep Texas nasal twang.

And MacLean loved to eat. Specifically, McDonald’s Big Macs and fries. His body shape was categorized politely as a “fat snowman.” Not so politely as “Obese walrus.”

But underestimating MacLean based upon his appearance was a terrible mistake. Knowing that obese stereotypes led people to think of him as just a jolly fat man, MacLean used his size as a smoke screen to hide a shrewd and brilliant business mind. During negotiations, he always found the right moment. When his counterpart misjudged him, he would strike. He won. They lost.

What he had managed to keep hidden was his all-consuming penchant for gambling. Stud poker, to be precise. It was a habit he started early in life. A few dollars during weekend-long marathon games with high school friends. His skills were honed during his undergraduate and graduate years at the University of Texas-Austin.

He moved on, riding the humpback of his salary and stock options, win or lose, to the luxury tables in The Bellagio in Las Vegas, Monaco’s Hotel de Paris and Casino de Monte, The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, among some.

MacLean was a “whale,” both figuratively and literally—a category above those known as a “high roller.” A whale wagered large amounts of money, win or lose, and was treated lavishly by the ultra-competitive casinos. MacLean liked swimming with whales. The lifestyle. The attention.

But he was drowning.

He was unaware that his financial issues had placed him on an MSS watchlist of corporate targets of interest. The list of names included those with access to U.S. trade secrets or employed at MSS-targeted U.S. companies. If recruited, they could be leveraged to obtain proprietary corporate information, government plans, or classified technologies.

The more common name for it was economic espionage.

Penetrating Kirkwood, the American technology giant had been a priority for Chinese intelligence for years. They were an engineering colossus, with countless patents and secret government contracts. MacLean was an opportunity for success. He was worth the effort.

MacLean saw nothing inappropriate when he received a message in his LinkedIn account from Professor Zhan, the Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, the SASS, a Chinese think tank and research institution. He was asking if the Kirkwood CFO could find space in his busy schedule to travel to Shanghai. They were eager for him to address the SASS faculty and students on corporate finance topics.

They would cover his expenses, plus an additional thirty-five thousand dollars as a speaker’s fee—to start.

This request did not seem unusual. MacLean had visited China many times over his career. He felt he had a grasp of their culture and their need to remain competitive after a century of the West ruling the globe. Wasn’t a strong China a good thing? Having a closer, personally profitable relationship was a win-win, right?

After a week of wining, dining, and prostitutes, the pitch took place on MacLean’s last evening in China. Instead of large dinner parties, or receptions in his honor, Professor Zhan suggested they dine alone.

Actually, not entirely alone. After they sat at a secluded corner table in the dimly lit restaurant, Professor Zhan suddenly stood and bowed. MacLean turned to see a man about his age, dressed perfectly in a dark suit, white shirt, and striped tie. He had black-and-gray hair combed from left to right. The corners of his thin-lipped mouth briefly held a smile.

“Nínhǎo! Hello! It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” the man said, at first bowing, then extending his hand.

MacLean heaved his body to a standing position as he finished chewing his piece of crispy duck.

“Hello,” he replied, looking at the professor.

“George, I was asked to make time for this man to talk to you.” Professor Zhan gathered up his phone and offered his seat to the man.

The man sat in the chair vacated by Professor Zhan. “Let me introduce myself. I am Deputy Minister Chen. I am very pleased to meet you at last.”

“Really? That is very flattering. What did you want to meet about?” MacLean tried to find something in the face that could spark some recollection.

“I will honor you with being direct. We have several separate, but related efforts, you and I. We both want good relationships between our countries. You want to maximize the success of your company. True?”

MacLean rolled his body back against the back of his chair and considered the man.

“True. I—I can’t argue with that,” he agreed, stifling a burp in his throat.

“I will continue to be direct. Does your employer know of your financial situation? What would happen to you if they knew? Or if it were to appear in the media?

“What do you mean? I—that is ridiculous.” MacLean started to stand.

“Mr. MacLean, please sit,” Chen said politely, but firmly. “I can help you.”

MacLean sat back down. The chair creaked.

“Good. Let me explain my comments. China wants to advance its manufacturing technology and be globally competitive soon. Greater access to the China market would help your firm and you. I want you to go back to America and obtain information to meet that goal. In return, we will pay you. Generously. Regularly. You