Free Vital Force by Trevor Scott

yours. Seriously, though, I feel somewhat naked without mine.”
    â€œIf police catch you with one, you won’t see light of day for years. Bad way to learn Chinese. Good way to catch disease.”
    Jake laughed. He had a feeling he was going to like... “What’s your name?”
    â€œChang Su. You can call me Su.”
    â€œIs that what they called you at American university?” he asked her.
    â€œYes.”
    â€œAnd where was that?”
    â€œStanford”
    â€œImpressive. Is that where they recruited you?”
    â€œThey?”
    â€œThe people you work with now.”
    â€œI work for a communications company in Shanghai,” she said convincingly. “I’m scouting Manchuria for cell tower placement.”
    â€œAnd that obviously requires a gun.” Jake smiled at her.
    She hesitated, the wheels of thought processing in her mind. “Your Agency has asked me for a few favors over the past couple of years.”
    â€œWhat’d they have on you? And I’m not with the Agency.”
    â€œYet, here you are with me.”
    â€œYou didn’t answer my question. What’d they have on you?”
    She didn’t want to explain anything to him, it was obvious, but for some reason she said, “I took some things in college. My government forced me. My family was in danger.”
    â€œAh...the old Soviet trick. Work for us or we harm the family. What did you take?”
    â€œDoes it matter?”
    Probably not, he thought. But he was still curious. “Yes, it does. I like to know the person I’m hanging out with, even if she happens to be a double agent.”
    â€œThat’s not fair. You don’t know me.”
    â€œYou work for two countries; that makes you a double agent.”
    Her expression was as if she had just realized this with his words. A tear streaked her face.
    â€œI’m sorry,” he said. “That wasn’t nice.”
    She wiped the tears away and seemed much better in a hurry, as if his words had meant something.
    â€œI was working on software encryption for a class,” she said. “I told my sister in Beijing. She asked for a copy. I didn’t see a problem. I didn’t know she worked for the government. Next thing I know, two Agency men throw me in a big car and talk at me all weekend. After that, I send more things to my sister. Things that don’t work.”
    â€œClassic. Disinformation.”
    â€œI didn’t know.” She shook her head emphatically. “Not until later, when I run the program and see it was bogus. Then I tell my sister.”
    â€œWow.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œThat makes you a triple agent.”
    She shook her head no. “Only two countries.”
    â€œTwo countries; three sets of information. First, the home country expecting you to feed them good stuff. Then the bogus information from the new country passed off as the truth. Then the truth of the bogus info passed on to the original country. In baseball, that’s a triple play. Very rare.”
    â€œYou suck!” Tears streamed down her face again.
    â€œI’m sorry,” he said again, placing his hand on her shoulder. “Listen, can we just start over? Hi, my name is Jake.” He held out his hand for her to shake.
    She sniffled and then laughed. “Su me.” She laughed louder now. “I mean, I’m Su.”
    Jake laughed for the first time in months.

11
    Bend, Oregon
    The brown Ford Taurus pulled to the side of the road behind a Chevy Blazer in a quiet subdivision along the Deschutes River. It was just dark enough to require lights, but Agent Drew Fisher had not turned his on as he followed the Trooper carrying Cliff Johansen and the unknown Asian woman.
    He had parked about a block back from the house owned by Zack Evans, who had been Cliff Johansen’s old college friend at the University of Oregon.
    Fisher had called ahead, and sitting in the Blazer in front