The Washington Lawyer Read Online Free PDF Page A

one of them to come home with him. Before he uttered the words, Liu’s stern face and harsh voice appeared in his mind. He deflected their advances and went home where he took a cold shower and watched American movies. All the while cursing Liu. He wasn’t having any fun, his job was boring, and he didn’t believe anything he did was helping China, which was why he had originally joined the MSS.
    All of that changed five months ago when Liu was appointed director of the MSS and summoned Xiang to Beijing where he informed him about Operation Trojan Horse. “You and our ambassador in Washington will be the only two in the United States who will know about Operation Trojan Horse. But you will have the critical role in this operation. Extreme secrecy is essential. Trojan Horse is the most important intelligence operation in our country at this time.”
    Xiang had replied, “I’m honored to be a part of it.”
    â€œIf you do a good job in this assignment,” Liu had told Xiang, “the possibilities for you in Beijing are unlimited.”
    Liu had also snarled, “I am concerned that you may be too young and immature for this assignment. But no one else has your knowledge of the United States and the nuances of American life. So I am forced to take a chance on you.”
    â€œI appreciate your confidence.”
    â€œI don’t have confidence. And I will tell you that if you fuck it up, I will personally direct the torture until you beg to die.”
    Xiang was so terrified that he could barely walk out of Liu’s office.
    However, after the next two days of briefing about Operation Trojan Horse and his role, Xiang realized Liu hadn’t been exaggerating. The Operation was critical for China. At thirty-five, Xiang was thrilled to be on the cutting edge of his country’s paramount intelligence operation.
    Seven Days in May ended. Xiang glanced at his wristwatch. It was two fourteen in the morning. He’d order Vertigo and watch it for about the twentieth time. It was his favorite movie of all time. And he knew why. More than the brilliant screenplay and Hitchcock’s mastery of suspense, there was Kim Novak, who reminded Xiang of Kelly Cameron, his one and only love, fourteen years earlier when they were both students at Carnegie Mellon University. He could still remember every detail about the beautiful Kelly. He loved her long blonde hair, her warm smile, her perfectly rounded breasts, the way she walked—and her insatiable desire for sex. Beyond all that, she had a sharp, analytical mind. She challenged him intellectually as no one else had ever done. And she was fun to be with. He had been enraged when Liu had ordered him to break off his relationship with Kelly at the end of their junior year, but he had no choice.
    From time to time over the years he had thought of Googling Kelly. She had been a brilliant computer major, easy to locate. But he had been too frightened to do it. Security officials at the embassy constantly monitored the Internet usage of employees and calls on office phones as well as embassy-supplied cell phones. And Kelly had told him that following graduation, she intended to utilize her computer expertise to enter a career in law enforcement. “I want to do something good for my country to safeguard our democracy.” If it reached Liu that Xiang had been trying to locate Kelly … there would be serious repercussions for Xiang and his parents in China. For only himself, Xiang might have been willing to risk it. But he loved his parents too much to put their lives at risk.
    While Xiang was waiting for the movie to load, one of the cell phones on his desk rang. He recognized the distinctive “Ping … Ping … Ping.” That was the special phone dedicated to calls with Senator Jasper.
    Xiang answered and said, “Yes.”
    He hoped the senator remembered not to identify himself. And he