Parker only had one exam left, due Thursday; a take-home final on the economics of Beijing's oil refineries. She could even get it done and leave for London tonight, if she wanted to. But she wanted a First in the class, not a Second, so she'd put that on the back-burner until tomorrow ( Read more... )

[ Part 1 of 3] [ Part 2 of 3]

Parker waited in another room in the hotel in Jianguomen, under another name. And waited. And waited....

( She was pacing again. And flicking her lighter on and off. )

[Part 1 of 3]

Lyle's anticipated call to the escort service had been diverted to Parker's phone, using the program supplied by Angelo. Miho had been sent to the address Lyle specified.

Now it was just time to wait.

( Elsewhere, a door was opened.... (and cut for cuts and disturbing imagery.) )

"Miss Parker, I appreciate your attempts at bringing this to my attention," said her supervisor-- and Lyle's-- "but the matter has already been dealt with."

"Already been dealt with? If you mean Lyle's screw-ups have been fixed, then yes, they've been dealt with. But these are ongoing difficulties, a pattern of incompetence that hasn't been ( Read more... )

Why the hell didn't she have any white heels that would work? Why did they all have to be open-toe? Maybe she could go shopping, get white heels that would work with a white outfit for Che's funeral.

Maybe she should wear black.

Christ.

Parker sorted through her closet, and then turned and threw a shoe at the wall.

[expecting a phone call, ( Read more... )

The morning English-language newspaper's headline read: Body of Che Ling Lyle Found in Abandoned Quarry. Parker stared at it for a long, long time, then forced herself to read the rest. Emergency call. Disappearance of Che. Male voice, unidentified. Body beaten. Death from internal injuries. Defensive wounds. The police had no leads. Of course ( Read more... )

"Miss Parker? This is Che Lyle. Please call back. I... wish to speak with you. Immediately." -- left at 1:49PM local time.

//"Bejing Emergency Services, what is your emergency?"//
//"Please help me! Send the police! He said he's going to kill me!"//
//"Who's there, ma'am? Where are you?"//
//"I am at 811 Nanking Vale Avenue, a bungalow--"//
( Read more... )

Before she had taken off for Fandom graduation, she'd said some things... not very nice things... that had upset Lyle's new wife, Che. Parker was attempting to make it up to her for that. And, okay, make trouble for Lyle. Birds, stone, new pillows. Shut up. Whieh was why she'd invited the woman out to lunch today. Among other reasons ( Read more... )

Dear Alanna,

I'm in another country again-- China, this time, studying for a semester at Peking University. My internal clock is all haywire, still, the air is full of smoke, the sound of Cantonese mixed with Mandarin is giving me a headache. ( Still love it, though. )