Lethal Circuit by Lars Guignard

appeared to originate from a residential development far from the center of town. It was this transmission which interested Huang because to date there was no record of the use of such a device at that locale. And though Huang had no hard proof that the American was behind the transmission, absent any other leads he was well aware that he’d be foolish to ignore the matter. And so, without further ado, Huang hurried into his Ministry issued sedan, commanding his subordinates to follow.
    •   •   •
    A N ELEVATOR CARRIED Kate and Michael up to Chen’s fifth-story apartment. Upon reaching the top floor, Kate led Michael past two doors to apartment 534. Kate knocked at the door, but as expected there was no answer. There appeared to be no peepholes in the doors, so there was little chance of being seen by a neighbor. Still, she covered her hand with her sleeve and reached up to loosen the light bulb in the wall mounted sconce. The darkness afforded her the privacy to pull out a simple lock pick which she held between her teeth. She then handed Michael a pair of latex gloves which he stared at for a moment before pulling on. Kate followed suit, pulling on her own gloves before going to work with the lock pick, the only real sound the noise of traffic on the expressway behind them. Less than five seconds later, they were in.
    It was darker inside than out. Glock in one hand, Maglite in the other, Kate immediately checked for a security system, but found none. The wall where such a keypad was generally mounted was bare. Kate then shut the door behind them leaving Michael to stare into the full height decorative mirror at the end of the corridor. Kate put a finger to her mouth and motioned with the Glock. Michael realized that she was about to clear the area and didn’t presume to follow. Instead he stood at the ready, listening to Kate move through the rooms. There weren’t many of them and it didn’t take long. By the time Michael had estimated that the apartment probably consisted of a galley style kitchen, living room, two bedrooms, and two baths, she was back.
    “Nobody here.”
    “Probably why he has that big mirror. So he doesn’t get lonely.”
    “It’s a feng shui thing,” Kate said. “The Chinese don’t like dead ends. They trap Sha Chi.”
    “Sha who?”
    “Sha Chi. Bad energy.”
    “From the vibe I’m getting the mirror didn’t work.”
    Michael continued down the hall into the living room. Even in the shadows, everything about the place screamed bachelor pad. A shiny black leather couch did time alongside two jade end tables and a fake electric fire burning in the hearth. The walls were covered in gaudy prints, Chinese landscapes and the like, a set of beaded curtains covering what looked like a sliding glass door to the balcony. The curtains were printed in a tropical beach scene, a scantily clad woman bent longingly over a mai tai. The illustration was so evocative, Michael could have sworn that the woman was gyrating, the palms ruffling in the breeze above her. It took Michael a moment to realize that the woman actually was moving, a breeze blowing at the long strands of beads.
    “I thought you checked the place.”
    “I did. The sliding door is locked.”
    “Then why’s island girl hulaing?”
    Kate put a finger to her lips and moved silently toward the sliding glass door, Glock at the ready. As she tried the door Michael could clearly see it was latched from the inside. Keeping her Maglite low, she flashed it outside onto the balcony, circumscribing an arc around the apartment before she stopped cold.
    Kate mouthed a single word. “Window.”
    Michael followed the beam of light to the wall behind the couch. There was a window all right. And it was open. Michael hadn’t seen it at first because it was hidden behind a printed pull down blind, but now with the breeze ruffling the blind, there was no mistaking it. It was small, probably two by two, with an oxidized aluminum frame and the