The Interior - Страница 21

Aaron squeezed the Sam doll to show Hulan what he meant, then grinned boyishly. "But Sam's insides are as tough as any hero's." Seeing Hulan's look of bewilderment, he added, "We provide Sam amp; His Friends with a steel wire skeleton. You can bend him into any shape you want." "Don't all stuffed animals have that?"

"Most just have stuffing and don't move at all. Some have articulated limbs but, again, no flexibility."

"I know I've seen stuffed animals that can bend like that."

"Oh sure, cheap things made in Hong Kong. Manufacturers have been running hanger wire through kapok for years. But this is different. Sam can hold his position, he can grasp a weapon, he can sit in a jeep. And that skeleton is guaranteed not to poke through. That means no hurt fingers or injured eyes."

"I see."

But Aaron wasn't done. "Traditionally the toy market has been extraordinarily biased by sex. Girls like Barbie; boys want G.I. Joe. But we have something unique here," he repeated as he continued to twist the figure. "We're able to appeal to girls because Sam amp; His Friends are soft like dolls and we make female characters who conform to modern attitudes of girl power while still maintaining their femininity. At the same time, boys want them and all the accoutrements-the weapons and vehicles-for their practical uses in war and other action scenarios. And it's all because of the steel skeleton. We-I mean Knight International-have patented this technology. It'll have practical applications for toys well into the next century."

"That will translate into lots of money, I suppose."

"Absolutely, Inspector."

"And you still haven't shown her the best part," Sandy interrupted.

Aaron blushed, grinned again, and said, "Sam talks too."

He pressed something on the yellow figure, and it said in a surprisingly tough voice, "Give me a hand here, Cactus." This was followed by: "All's quiet now." Then: "This is Sam. Until next time."

"Sam amp; His Friends come factory-equipped with standard phrases such as these," Aaron explained. "But this is just the beginning. Our deluxe model comes with a microchip that allows kids to program different conversations. We're talking about a fully interactive toy. The technology is still in the early stages and rather expensive-about ninety dollars U.S. for the full package. But in a year or so we'll be able to bring the deluxe models way down in price."

At last Aaron handed the figure back to the Chinese worker. Again he leaned down and softly spoke into her ear.

"Your Mandarin is very good," Hulan observed.

"Thank you. I studied it in college. It was my major, actually. That's how I got the job."

The trio continued down the aisle. On either side of them women applied different features to the faces of the colorful figures. When they came to the end of the row, they turned the corner and came up another aisle, where women packed the figures in boxes. This involved taking clear plastic straps and winding them around the neck, arms, and legs of the figures and tightening them into place on a cardboard backing. On the next aisle women attached various gizmos to the cardboard. Some got combs, brushes, mirrors, and knives. Others got pistols, machine guns, grenades, and miniature backpacks.

At last Hulan and her guides came to the door leading back to the hallway. "May I see where the other women work?"

"I beg your pardon?" Sandy asked.

"You said you have a thousand women working here. I'm guessing they're on the other side of the corridor."

"That's an empty room," Sandy answered, irritation spilling from his mouth like oil running from a bottle.

"Then you won't mind if I see it."

"Actually, our time is up."

"What about the other women who work here?"

"I'm sorry. I can't help you anymore. Aaron and I have a meeting, right, Aaron?"

"Yes, that's so." But the young man couldn't help blushing again.

"Our office will be sorry to hear that you haven't cooperated," Hulan said.

With any Chinese citizen this comment would have been understood for the threat that it was, but Sandy Newheart seemed unimpressed.

"Perhaps on another day you can come again and we'll be properly prepared to receive you." Sandy opened the door and led the way back through the labyrinth of corridors and doors. As they entered the foyer, Jimmy stood, moved his bulky frame around the desk, planted his feet apart, and crossed his arms.

"I'll come back," Hulan said. "But I doubt I'll be calling first. You are guests in my country and you must abide by our rules."

Sandy grimaced as he opened the outside door. "Until our next meeting, then."

Hulan held his gaze, nodded, then passed through the door to the courtyard. Aware that three sets of eyes were on her, she looked toward the Administration building and held up her arm to get her driver's attention. Waiting for him to pick her up, she once again took in the vast emptiness of the courtyard complex. Where were the signs of life? She expected to see people walking from building to building either on break or moving merchandise, people sitting together for a late lunch, even people sprawled out asleep for xiuxi. How did this company, administered as it was by what appeared to be just three foreign men and a handful of Chinese women, manage to control such a large population of workers? How had Knight ended up out here at all? Most important, what was going on in those other buildings and on the other side of the Assembly wall?

Once the car had turned back onto the expressway, Hulan pulled out her cell phone, punched in David's number, and waited several seconds for the line to connect. If it was 3:00 P.M. here, then it was midnight in Los Angeles. David would be up. She was sure of it.

7

WHEN THE PHONE RANG, DAVID KNEW IT HAD TO BE HULAN. It had been four days since they'd spoken, longer than any time since he'd left Beijing. "Where are you?" he asked. "I've been worried."

"I'm fine."

"I have so much to tell you," he said. She did too, but what he said next made her stories seem unimportant. "I'm coming, Hulan. I'll be in Beijing…" He paused to calculate the time and the dateline, and said, "Day after tomorrow."

"How? What for?"

"I have a job. I'm moving to Beijing."

She heard static on the line; then she asked with deliberation, "Is this the truth?"

He laughed. "Yes! Yes!"

"Oh, David. I can't believe it." Then she asked again, "How?"

He started four days back with Keith's horrible death and what that meant about the triads and the FBI surveillance. He confided in her his concerns about Keith and what he'd read in the paper. Then he told her about going back to his office the day after the funeral…

He'd picked up his voice-mail messages, including one from Keith's sister. "I'm sorry about yesterday," she said. "We're going home today, but

I'd like to talk to you about Keith when you have a chance." She left her home number in Russell, Kansas, then closed with, "I hope you'll call."

At the time he'd had no desire to hear more of her recriminations, so he'd written the number down and put it in his briefcase.

A few minutes later he'd walked down the hall to U.S. Attorney Madeleine Prentice's office. She was blonde, beautiful, smart, and politically astute. Rob Butler, the chief of the Criminal Division, was also there. David had known Rob since law school. They'd played tennis together for years. Like Madeleine, he was a brilliant lawyer. David needed to clear up one aspect of Keith's death before he made any other decisions and hoped now to confirm what Miles had told him after the funeral.

"What can you tell me about the Keith Baxter investigation?" he asked.

"There isn't one," Madeleine responded.

"It was in the paper yesterday," he said.

"Don't believe everything you read in the papers," Rob said. "Haven't you learned that yet?"

David ignored the barb. "He was accused of doing something in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act."

"Bribery?" Madeleine asked.

"I assumed so, but I don't know."

"Well, it's not in our office," Madeleine said. "We haven't had a single Foreign Corrupt Practices case since the statute was written."

"Maybe his name has come up in another matter," Rob suggested.

"But we don't have any bribery cases right now," Madeleine said.

"What about in the Washington office?" David asked.

"Your friend lived in L.A., right? If he was up to something, don't you think Washington would tell us?"

David still didn't know what was bothering Keith, but if Miles said there was nothing to worry about, and Madeleine and Rob verified that, then he could move on-emotionally and perhaps professionally. Except…

"Can I ask something else? Do you think Keith could have been the target the other night and not me? I mean, the Rising Phoenix has had lots of other opportunities. So why now? Could there be some connection between Keith and the triads? He was doing work in China…"

Madeleine sighed. "David, you know what happened that night. Accept it, then put it behind you."

David looked at Rob, who said, "She's right."

David considered, then announced, "Miles Stout has asked me to set up an office in Beijing."

Without hesitation Madeleine asked, "How soon?"

"I'd leave in a couple of days."