Berth No. 3 in the Old Port District

The sea breeze swept in from the berths of the Old Port District, carrying the briny stink of the sea and the smell of diesel.

Jin'en parked at the end of the unloading lane outside the port and killed the engine.

The three of them got out.

Broken Rainbow shifted the saber behind her waist to where her left hand could reach it easily. The end of its sheath knocked against the concrete. She glanced down and left it alone.

Porsette stood at the rear of the car, her hood pulled up, its edge low over her eyebrows, her hands in her cloak pockets.

"Berth No. 3 is at the end of this lane." Jin'en crouched beside the front of the car and drew two lines on the ground.

"The sheet-metal shed is on the right of the berth, and the unloading platform is on the left.

"After Old Zheng gets off the boat, he'll either head for the shed or go up onto the platform. Both routes lead out of the port."

"I'll hide behind the platform," Broken Rainbow said.

"I'll take this side of the sheet-metal shed." Jin'en wiped away the lines.

"Porsette, stay behind that old guard booth at the entrance to the lane.

"When you see Old Zheng come out, don't move. Just remember which way he goes.

"If he heads out of the port, open a door beside me. Don't show yourself."

"Okay."

"If Old Zheng brings anyone from Prism off the boat with him, watch first. Don't attack." Jin'en stood.

"If there are too many of them, Broken Rainbow and I will move over to you."

Broken Rainbow was already heading toward the platform. Her bare feet made little noise on the concrete, her saber hung behind her waist, and she walked at an unhurried pace.

Jin'en led Porsette through the unloading lane and crouched on the seaward side of the sheet-metal shed.

Several rows of rusty iron racks stood inside the shed, holding old ropes and loose parts. The end facing the berth was open, offering a view of the boats moored beside the pier.

Sometime after four that afternoon, the boat numbered 07 rounded the breakwater. Fishing nets hung from its bow, and it sat high in the water.

Old Zheng stood on deck, a dingy gray waterproof smock over his jacket and a small black bag in his hand.

The boat pulled up to Berth No. 3, and a sailor aboard threw a mooring rope onto a pier post.

Old Zheng waited for the boat to settle before disembarking. He stood at the edge of the berth and scanned both sides, barely pausing on the sheet-metal shed before heading straight up onto the platform.

Jin'en spread his Spatial Perception as finely as he could. There were two living signatures on the platform: one by the steps toward the outside of the port, the other behind a concrete pillar halfway along the platform.

After going up onto the platform, Old Zheng joined the person behind the concrete pillar and exchanged a few words with him. The sea breeze scattered their voices.

Jin'en stayed still.

About two minutes later, the person by the outer steps moved. Instead of heading into the port, he circled toward the sheet-metal shed.

Broken Rainbow crouched in the platform's shadow, her hand already on her saber hilt.

Jin'en raised a palm in her direction, telling her not to move.

The man rounded the side of the shed, coming within ten meters of where Jin'en crouched. Without looking inside, he took something from his pocket, set it on the outside windowsill, and turned back.

Jin'en waited until he was far away before emerging from beside the shed. A loosely crumpled ball of paper lay on the windowsill.

He picked it up and unfolded it. Wrapped inside was a small piece of stiff paper bearing a single line scrawled in pencil: "Tomorrow afternoon, same place. All the goods."

Jin'en slipped the paper into his pocket.

Porsette leaned halfway out from the entrance to the lane. Jin'en gestured for her to pull back.

Porsette withdrew.

Old Zheng and the person behind the concrete pillar were still talking on the platform, their voices a little louder now. Jin'en faintly heard Old Zheng say, "The line behind us has already been cut. We can't delay things here any longer."

The person behind the concrete pillar replied, but his voice was too low to make out.

A few minutes later, Old Zheng came down from the platform. Rather than heading out of the port, he turned into one of a row of sheet-metal huts on the inner side of the berth.

The person behind the concrete pillar remained on the platform.

Jin'en crouched beside the shed and waited a while longer, but the person on the platform never came down.

He had Porsette circle over from the guard booth, and the three regrouped in the unloading lane.

"Old Zheng didn't take the main gate out of the port," Jin'en said.

"He went into that row of sheet-metal huts inside the berth."

"There's still someone on the platform." Broken Rainbow shifted her saber back from behind her waist. "While I was hiding there, I saw him look toward the road out of the port several times. Looked like he was waiting for someone."

"For someone, or for a signal?" Porsette asked beside them.

Jin'en turned to look at her.

"The person by the outer steps circled over to the shed just now and left a note before going back," Porsette said. "He wasn't there to watch us. He was delivering a message.

"Old Zheng arranged it while he was still aboard. After he got off, the person on the platform was responsible for receiving the message. The messenger circled around and left it outside the shed, and Old Zheng knew the information had arrived."

"So Old Zheng went into the hut to wait for a message," Jin'en said.

"Right." Porsette nodded.

"The messenger left as soon as he put the note outside the shed. That means he had other places to go.

"Messengers often make more than one delivery."

Jin'en took the piece of paper from his pocket and glanced at it.

"Tomorrow afternoon, same place. All the goods." He turned it over. "There's writing on the back too."

Just as he turned it over, Broken Rainbow reached out and took it for a look.

"There's a tiny character on the back. Looks like a 'three.'"

Jin'en held the paper close to his eyes. There was indeed a penciled "three" on the back, half the size of the writing on the front, so hastily scrawled that it looked like a last-minute addition.

"Berth No. 3," Porsette said.

"Could also be Warehouse No. 3." Broken Rainbow handed it back. "Warehouse numbers don't necessarily match berth numbers here."

Jin'en pocketed the paper and headed out of the port.

"Let's go back first. Tomorrow we'll see whether the messenger returns."

The three got into the car. As Jin'en started the engine, he glanced toward the port in the rearview mirror.

The person on the platform was still standing beside the concrete pillar, motionless.

On the way back to the manor, Broken Rainbow sat in the passenger seat and Porsette in the back.

After the car turned onto the main road, Broken Rainbow spoke. "When that messenger left the note outside the shed, his hand was steady. He walked away without looking back.

"I've seen plenty of messengers like that. They know when to be quick and when to take their time."

"Old Zheng arranged it while he was aboard," Jin'en said.

"He wasn't alone on that boat. He arranged for the person on the platform receiving messages too.

"Prism's line in the Old Port District involves more than just Old Zheng."

"What about whoever's collecting the goods tomorrow?" Porsette asked from the back.

"We'll see tomorrow." Jin'en turned onto the road halfway up the hill. "Before the afternoon, we'll confirm which hut Old Zheng is in. The messenger will come again tomorrow."

The car pulled into the concealed compartment in the backyard. Broken Rainbow got out first and headed for the hidden door in the side corridor.

Porsette lingered in the car and turned to glance at Jin'en.

"Brother, are we catching whoever comes to collect the goods tomorrow?"

"We watch first." Jin'en killed the engine. "We'll decide once we have a clear picture."

The following afternoon, at Berth No. 3 in the Old Port District.

Jin'en parked on the coastal road outside the port rather than entering the unloading lane.

The three climbed through a gap in the wall along the side of the port and crouched behind an old warehouse opposite the row of sheet-metal huts inside the berth.

Few people were on the platform today. The spot beside the concrete pillar was empty.

There were five or six huts in the row. The one Old Zheng had entered yesterday was near the middle, its door shut, an old bucket sitting outside.

After about twenty minutes, yesterday's messenger approached from the road outside the port, empty-handed. He paused at the hut's door, bent to move the bucket, took something from underneath it, and slipped it into his pocket. Then he straightened and headed toward the platform.

"They leave things under the bucket," Porsette whispered. "He's not delivering a message. He's collecting one."

"Old Zheng himself is the one delivering messages," Jin'en said.

Porsette turned to look at him.

"Yesterday, Old Zheng got off the boat, the messenger circled around to leave the note outside the shed, and Old Zheng went into the hut. He wasn't going there to wait for a message. He was leaving one." Jin'en pressed his Spatial Perception toward the hut. "He left the paper under the bucket yesterday. This man came today to collect Old Zheng's reply."

"So Old Zheng's line involves more than just that person on the platform."

"Right."

The man collecting the message reached the edge of the platform but didn't go onto the pier. He crouched at the edge of the berth, glanced at the water, then stood and headed for the exit outside the port.

Jin'en stood up behind the old warehouse.

"Broken Rainbow, follow the man collecting the message. Don't attack. See where he goes, then report back."

Broken Rainbow nodded and circled around the side of the warehouse.

Jin'en led Porsette toward the huts.

As they reached the side of the row, Old Zheng's door opened. He emerged empty-handed, pulled the door shut, and headed toward the platform.

Jin'en waited until he reached the platform steps before stepping out from beside the huts.

Old Zheng didn't break stride when he saw him, but his shoulders lowered slightly.

"Mandrake." Old Zheng stood at the foot of the steps without retreating. "You were here yesterday."

"I saw your message route." Jin'en stood below the steps, his right hand in his pocket.

"I had someone collect the paper under the bucket today."

Old Zheng fell silent for a beat.

"So you're here to corner me today."

"To ask you something," Jin'en said.

"That person on the platform, the one talking to you there yesterday. Is he with Prism, or did you hire him?"

Old Zheng looked at him for two seconds.

"He's with Prism," Old Zheng said.

"For this line in the Old Port District, Prism left him on the platform to watch the boat. I transport the goods. He watches me.

"If I don't return on time, he moves everything off the boat."

"What's on the boat?"

"Copies of the negatives and files. You took the ones I had, but there was another set aboard. Not much, but enough for Prism to check its records."

"The boat's still here."

"It is, but the stuff isn't aboard anymore."

Old Zheng tilted his head. "After I got off yesterday, the person on the platform took the copies off the boat and left them in the hut. This person collecting my message today came for the copies."

Jin'en said nothing.

"If you stopped him, the copies are still in the hut," Old Zheng said.

"If you'd come a moment later, those copies would have left the port with him today."

Jin'en glanced toward the platform. The spot beside the concrete pillar was empty. Yesterday's man hadn't come.

"The person on the platform didn't come today."

"He doesn't need to," Old Zheng said.

"Once the copies were collected, he'd pull out. With him gone, I'm the only one left on this line in the Old Port District."

Broken Rainbow circled back from the road outside the port, her bare feet moving quickly over the concrete, and stopped beside Jin'en.

"The man collecting the message went to the bus stop outside the port, boarded a bus, and headed toward the Miguel District. I followed him to the bus stop sign, then came back."

Jin'en briefly relayed what Old Zheng had said.

After listening, Broken Rainbow unwound the braided cord from her wrist and looped it once.

"The copies are still in the hut." Broken Rainbow glanced toward Old Zheng's hut. "The door's locked. How are you getting in?"

"It isn't locked," Old Zheng spoke up beside them.

"I just came out."

Jin'en pushed the door open and looked inside.

There was little inside the hut: an old table, two chairs, and a canvas bag in the corner, its zipper half-open, the corner of a kraft-paper envelope showing through.

Jin'en picked up the bag, unzipped it, and looked inside. It held a few sheets of paper and a small roll of negatives.

"That's all?"

"That's all." Old Zheng stood in the doorway.

"There weren't many copies. Prism only kept one set of basic records to check against."

Jin'en zipped the bag shut and set it on the table.

"With the person on the platform gone, you're the only one left on this line in the Old Port District." Jin'en turned to face Old Zheng. "Once Prism's Old Port District line is cut, where's the next contact point?"

"I don't know," Old Zheng said.

"I transport goods. I only handle the boat and cargo. The person on the platform knew where the contact point was. With him gone, this line is severed completely."

Broken Rainbow leaned against the doorframe and wound the braided cord back around her wrist.

"He's telling the truth," she said.

"With the person on the platform gone, Old Zheng has nothing left."

Jin'en picked up the canvas bag and handed it to Broken Rainbow. "Take the copies back. Let Old Zheng go."

Old Zheng didn't move.

"You're not keeping me?"

"No use keeping you." Jin'en stepped out of the hut. "Prism's Old Port District line is cut whether you run or not. The person on the platform is gone, and you no longer have the copies. Prism won't use you again."

Old Zheng stood in the doorway, looked at Jin'en for two seconds, then headed toward the platform without another word.

Jin'en and Broken Rainbow climbed through the gap in the port's side wall and returned to the car.

Porsette was waiting for them inside. When the canvas bag came through the window, she took it, opened it, and looked inside.

"Negatives and a few sheets of paper." She put everything back in the bag. "Do they match the batch Old Zheng had?"

"They match." Jin'en started the car. "There aren't many copies. Prism only kept the basic records for checking. The Old Port District line is cut."

The car turned onto the road back. In the passenger seat, Broken Rainbow looped the braided cord twice around her fingers.

"After the person on the platform pulled out, he took a bus toward the Miguel District," Broken Rainbow said.

"He pulled back toward Miguel District. Prism still has a line there."

"We haven't moved on those three names under Miguel District in the notebook yet." Jin'en turned the car onto the gravel road halfway up the mountain.

"With the Old Port District line cut off, those three in Miguel District won't wait too long."

The car stopped at the mansion's back entrance.

Broken Rainbow got out first, carrying the canvas tote, and headed for the concealed door in the side corridor.

Porsette got out on the other side and stood beside the car, in no hurry to leave.

"Brother, when do we move on those three names in Miguel District?"

"Tomorrow." Jin'en locked the car and headed toward the concealed door. "First, find out which area they're operating in.

"With the Old Port District line cut off, if Prism's three in Miguel District are still keeping watch, they won't move from their hideout."