“Goodnight,” she echoed, watching him retreat to his truck.
She slipped inside and locked the door behind her, her lips still tingling.She set her keys in the dish on the table and pulled her jacket off, a silly grin covering her face.
Outside of Thomazeau, Haiti
Liang Wei watched a scrawny chicken dart around a bush, a thick worm clutched in its filthy beak.Its sharp, erratic clucks scratched the air, mingling with the low buzz of flies orbiting a nearby midden heap.
Liang commonly observed squalor and filth here in Haiti.The differences between this despicable island nation and his home province of Fujian seemed infinite.In Fujian, he could at least look forward to cooler winters, and though coastal, the humidity never smothered him.Here, the humid Haitian air pressed against him from all directions, and a trickle of sweat slipped down his back under his linen shirt.The temperature and humidity here never changed, no matter the season, and the near-daily rain squalls only made the air harder to breathe.The water tasted of iron.A variety of insects made themselves at home in all the food.The streets smelled of waste.
Mainly, though, Liang despised the Haitian people and their tolerance for filth.In his mind, he despised them even more than Americans.
Still, the Ministry of State Security had assigned him this mission, and he had a duty to hide his ever-growing contempt while he accomplished his nation’s goals.
He looked across the table at Hao Jun.Hao had started all of the wheels turning with this project.Had made the original contact and hashed out a lot of the deals.
Marie Desalin sat next to Hao, her hand on his thigh, his arm over her shoulders.It took everything in Liang not to sneer at the spectacle.Did Hao play a game with Marie to smooth the process, or did he have real feelings for the woman?Liang couldn’t tell, but he knew if the answer fell to the latter, things could get messy fast.
Jean Desalin approached, lighting a cigar, his French Creole as rough and low as the man’s sweaty dark bulk stood tall.“My friend.Fortune brought you back.”
Liang turned, sizing up the rebel leader.Last time they met, Jean had worn green fatigues and a black beret; today, he wore cotton pants, a loose shirt, and a straw hat that shaded his scarred face.He hardly looked the man to topple Haiti’s current teetering regime.But Liang knew looks deceived.He hated having to look up to meet the man’s eyes.
He had two younger men flanking him, both as tall as the rebel leader.They had hard eyes that looked between him and Hao with suspicion.
“My sons, Henri and Julien.”
Liang stood, and they shook hands.Liang never bowed to any of the Haitians.They would have misinterpreted it as a sign of weakness.Also, he had no respect for them.He mentally toyed with how he could disable and kill Jean and his sons if this meeting went poorly.
Jean’s wife, Daphnée, rolled out a cart of glasses and a pitcher of ice water.The water looked clean, though Liang knew it likely was not.The wife had long dreadlocks, a twist of gray and black hair.It made her look slightly mad.Liang ignored her and kept his voice flat.“Hao confirmed your funding came through.”
“Indeed.”Jean poured water, and everyone settled into metal chairs.“A billionaire unhappy with the US election felt the need to tip the scales.”
Liang nodded, unblinking.“My leadership agrees to your terms—five thousand small arms: 3,000 AK-103 rifles, 1,000 Type 56C carbines, 500 QSZ-193 pistols, 200 QSW-06 suppressed pistols, and 300 Type 69 RPGs.We will provide six extra magazines for all rifles and one extra magazine for all pistols, along with 500,000 rounds of ammunition and 1,000 RPG rounds, including anti-armor and high-explosive rounds.Additionally, we will provide 2,000 Type 67 fragmentation grenades.
“For heavy weapons, we agree to supply you with 100 Type 35 60mm mortars and 1,000 mortar rounds, 2,000 Type 69 anti-personnel mines, and a full complement of Semtex explosives and fuses.All in all, more than enough for your rebels to take Port-au-Prince and maintain power in exchange for our cooperative presence here.”
Jean kept his expression blank and exhaled a huge puff of smoke.But Liang imagined the man could not ignore the excitement and anticipation that danced up his spine.
Henri added, “We need some sniper rifles.”
“You have trained snipers?”Liang knew for a fact they did not, and he probably should not have jabbed the rebel’s son, though he did feel a tiny thrill at the minor loss of face the seemingly innocent remark caused.
Jean grinned a joyless grin.“I pay you to provide the guns.Let me worry about the shooters.”
Liang nodded, struggling not to let his contempt for this useful idiot shine through in his eyes.“I will see what I can do.Fewer than 3,000 AK-103 rifles should make up the difference.”
“Good.”Jean puffed his cigar.“Final price?”
“As we agreed, twenty million US dollars.Ten now, ten on delivery.”Liang’s eyes flicked to a guard shack a hundred yards off, catching the glint of binoculars.“Normal shipping channels are unsuitable.America’s tightened everything.Their constant ‘aid’ to your president’s crumbling regime presents a challenge to our arrangement.”
Jean quickly exhaled a plume of smoke and fanned it away dismissively, as if also fanning away the current president.The sick smell enveloped Liang’s face, making his nostrils flare.
“He’s feeble, clinging to power by licking their American boots and gobbling up their scraps like a dog,” Jean sneered, pulling a phone from his shirt pocket.“Shipping will not present a problem.You don’t even need to come all the way back to Haiti.I have a plan.”He typed, somewhat gracefully given his large hands, then handed the phone over.
Liang entered his bank account details, the screen flashing.His own phone buzzed as the screen confirmed the transfer of ten million US Dollars.He handed the phone back nonchalantly, trying not to make physical contact with the giant again.“Efficient.What do you need from me?”
Jean stood, cigar smoke curling.“Nothing once we have secured the weapons.To get them here, I will need some of your trained people to facilitate the delivery.Your team of ‘military advisers’ who’ve been here for the last few months would do nicely.”
Liang kept his features perfectly schooled.“I will have to discuss changing the scope of our direct military support with my superiors.”He looked directly at Hao.“You know I do not have the authority to give them orders that vary from their current assignment.”
