Afternoon.
One o'clock.
In a taxi outside the National Museum compound, Dong Xuebin said "International Airport" in English as soon as he got in. The driver did not understand, so Dong Xuebin gestured like an airplane with his hands. Only then did the driver get it and step on the gas toward the airport. Dong Xuebin sat in the back seat with his eyes closed, resting. Once they turned off the street, he casually slipped a hand into his coat and felt the Bodhisattva Statue and Sesshu's Splashed Ink Landscape.
Ring, ring, ring. His phone rang.
Dong Xuebin answered. "Hello, Old Qian."
"Xuebin, the signal must be bad where you are, right? I tried calling several times just now and couldn't get through," said the deputy director of Sixth Division.
"Maybe. I was dealing with something just now. Uh, the return ticket..."
"Director Xu got it sorted out for you, but it was too rushed, so we couldn't get one for a little after two. There's a flight scheduled to depart at 3:05. Is that okay?"
"That works. Thanks so much."
"No need, haha. Everything's been handled. You can board directly with your documents."
"Okay. Sorry for troubling you and Director Xu. I'll treat you to dinner when I get back."
"Haha, sure. I'm going to fleece you good when the time comes."
After hanging up, Dong Xuebin raised his wrist and looked at his watch, only to find it bare. Then he remembered that he had left the Patek Philippe in a parking lot outside Capital Airport along with the Mercedes Business. Valuable items like that had to be declared at customs, and Dong Xuebin had not brought it because he wanted to avoid the hassle. He checked the time on his phone. It was just past one. He