He abruptly turned back, raised his right hand, and slammed a fist against the elevator button.
The elevator doors opened.
General Lane stepped inside, pressed the button for the first floor, and stood facing the doors, his hands folded over his abdomen and his jaw drawn into an extremely tight line.
The elevator doors closed before him.
Silence returned to the hallway, leaving only the constant low hum of the central air conditioning and the fierce firecracker-like sounds behind the door to the president's office.
They went on for a long time.
Longer than General Lane had expected, longer than his patience could last, longer than a four-star general could bear standing foolishly outside a door.
Fortunately, he had already left.
Inside the office, Yongye reclined against the sofa, both legs propped on the edge of the coffee table, holding an iced Coke he had just taken from the refrigerator. He tilted his head toward the door, and the lazy smile on his lips turned into undisguised satisfaction.
"Your dad left."
Lois straightened up beside the sofa, the hem of her navy-blue skirt suit crumpled above her knees, her long blonde hair spilling loose behind her head, a lingering flush surging in her light brown eyes.
She glanced down at her voice recorder. It had been knocked onto the carpet during their earlier "urgent business," and its red indicator had somehow been switched on, recording a long stretch of explosive material.
She picked it up, switched it off, and set it on the edge of the coffee table. Then she raised her head to look at Yongye's radiant, eminently punchable smile, her lips pressed into an extremely tight line.
"My father..."
Her voice was a little hoarse, its trailing notes carrying a languor even she had not noticed. "He won't