Mike & Karen Ch. 29

Rocket Robin Hood was one of my fave cartoons when I was a kid, and yes, it taught me that even meteors not much larger than a human body had enough atmosphere to allow you to breathe for a bit. Good thing I never had a chance to test the theory.

Fifty coolness points to anyone who gets Alex's 'Koyaanisqatsi' reference.

Like Paige in the last chapter, Margaret and Shana are meant to give a small contrast to the fairy-tale aspect of Alex and Alexa's relationship. It doesn't matter if the incest isn't abusive, it is highly unlikely to ever be accepted and celebrated, even between two sisters who have only ever had one another and are desperately in love. You'll see them around once in a while.

Percy is likely to be a pill when he's around. Settle in and buckle up, he's a real charmer.

Grey Dolphin is a legend from Sheppey, and poor Millie is stuck with it. She'll never stop thanking her older sister, as you can imagine.

Yes, the Verity statue is Ilfracombe is real, and it is a true horror. I think the city council knows it is, and just doesn't have the stones to admit it was an awful mistake. 'The Flensed Preggo of Ilfracombe' probably doesn't have the same ring to it, though, admittedly.

Jenny doesn't think much of people from Tyne. Damn Geordies...

I'd best get ready for the posse's arrival next chapter. Alexa's anxiety may kill her if I don't hurry up. Expect lots of laughter, hugs, tears, and surprises, folks.

Keep your stick on the ice!

Management

***

Saturday afternoon...

Mike was sitting in the basement gym on a bench doing dumbbell curls when his smartwatch buzzed at him. He frowned as he didn't recognize the number, but identified the 613 area code for the national capital of Ottawa. He pressed the button to answer. "Hello?"

"Dr. Michael DeBourne?" came an officious voice.

"This is Mike DeBourne," he confirmed. "How can I help you?"

"This is Secretary Jameson of CSIS," the man said. "You worked with the intelligence branch during your service, correct?"

"E tenebris, lux," Mike said without hesitation. "For a while, yes, although you already know I was more of a combat officer than anything. How can I help you?"

"I was hoping we could discuss matters relating to one Mr. Ping Wei," the secretary said.

"I hear you've arrested him on suspicion of espionage for Beijing," Mike commented. "Hefty charges, certainly."

"We don't arrest foreign nationals or naturalized Canadians without good cause, Major," the man replied, now using Mike's military title. Mike preferred to be called 'doctor', but he wasn't about to quibble. "Given that you worked with him for quite a few years, starting in your sophomore year at university, we are doing due diligence about where he might have gotten his data from that we believe he's been sending to Beijing."

"I've known Ping for over thirty years," Mike insisted. "I am not inclined to believe that he-"

"Mike, you must tell them!" blurted a voice over the call, and Mike recognized it instantly. "You must tell them I would never do this!"

"Oh good, he's there with you," Mike said dryly. "Thanks for telling me."

"Would somebody instruct the suspect's lawyer to tell him to shut up?" the CSIS agent demanded. There was a muffled discussion in the background, mostly in Mandarin, and then silence.

"As I was saying," the agent continued. "Much of what we believe he has passed on has to do with your work in some quantum field, and dealing with something called Cala... Calbi..."

"Calabi-Yau Manifolds," Mike stated, completing the word. "Ping did a lot of work on it too, it wasn't exclusively mine."

"We have reason to believe that he's been passing on research that is considered proprietary to other actors," the man said simply. "And while we consider it highly unlikely, we want to make sure that we don't need to open up investigations into other avenues."

The statement could have been construed as a threat, as well as a hint. Mike suspected it was more of a plea for cooperation than anything else. He'd dealt with these people before, especially during his time in the military. It also wasn't uncommon for agents from Ottawa or other branches to show up when he and Karen were working on something that interested them.

"Secretary Jameson, you wouldn't happen to speak French, would you?" Mike asked, switching to the aforementioned language. "Ping doesn't."

"It's a requirement to speak it fluently, so yes," the man answered. "What can you tell me?"

"I can wrap this up in thirty seconds for you," Mike stated. "You'll just need to put him on speakerphone. I assume he has a Mandarin translator with him?"

"That's his lawyer."

"Ping," Mike began, speaking Mandarin now. "You understand why they've arrested you, yes?"

"They are saying I am a spy!" his associate called back, sounding panicked. "You must stop them! I am innocent!"

"They don't know you like I do," Mike said in a confident voice. "They don't remember how outraged you were when Tienanmen Square happened."

"Yes..." Ping said quietly, maybe somewhat uncertainly.

"They don't understand how strongly you feel about the liberation of Tibet from under the thumb of Beijing," Mike continued. "You know those people deserve to be their own nation."

"I..."

"And it's the same with Xinjiang, of course," the huge man pressed. "The cultural genocide of the Uyghurs always got your blood boiling. Xinjiang belongs to those people, not Beijing. They are a great nation that doesn't need China's permission to exist."

"Michael, I..."

"They didn't seen how sickened you were when Beijing began teaching students that Tienanmen didn't happen, that it was western propaganda," Mike urged. "You know as well as I do what a threat to international peace and order Beijing is. They'll stop at nothing to assert their undeserved dominance in the Pacific. Their intelligence and spy games meant to undermine the freedoms of nations they consider rivals at any cost."

"Please, stop, I-"

"And I know that, without reservation, you wholeheartedly believe in the right of Taiwan to exist as a sovereign nation," Mike said with great conviction. "Nothing is more important to you that. You-"

"Enough!" Ping shrieked over the call, and Mike could hear him stand up. "You will never succeed in defeating us! You were fools with your science and your data! The supremacy of my nation is inevitable! What is done cannot be undone! We have you now!"

There was dead silence on the line for several seconds. Mike finally spoke. "I assume you have everything you need, Secretary Jameson?"

"We'll no doubt be in touch again, Doctor DeBourne, but thank you for your help. You've saved us so much time."

"I'll be around," Mike said, nodding and ending the call before leaning back on the workout bench and sighing heavily. That had been decidedly unpleasant. How had both her and Kar been so blind?

First Alex pulling the wool over my eyes most of last summer, and now one of my closest co-workers for decades turns out to be a collaborator for the most insidious government on earth? I must be losing my touch...

At that moment, Percy went shooting by the door to the gym, cackling as he was chased by an outraged Andrea. Mike just ignored it.

And thus began the littlest reign of terror.

***