A War Between Spies Chapter 23

There was something interesting about the way Indian people spoke. Even when they were agreeing with something, they tended to shake their heads. Yang Yi was unable to understand one word of the conversation between Kadipur and his co-worker. He almost thought that they were not going to be able to get another car.

Being an Uber driver was not easy in London. In fact, besides London, no other developed city in the world had so few immigrants working as drivers. It was actually a rare sight to see two foreigners working in the same industry in London.

Kadipur thanked his friend. They then climbed into the new car and started driving towards Ryan's house. Kadipur was still unable to calm down. After he had shut the car door and started driving he asked, "What happened? All these years and we have never had a situation! Mr. Jones and Jenny are dead? What exactly are we getting ourselves into?"

Yang Yi replied, "There is a traitor in the team. Someone is looking for the intel we stole from Anthony. Not only do they want it back, they want to eliminate anyone who has seen it."

Kadipur exclaimed furiously, "Anthony? Who am I kidding, who else could it be! But it's just company secrets! Killing us is going too far! If they have proof that we stole from them, why not just sue us or call the police?"

"They do not have the kind of evidence needed for that, not enough to charge us anyway. Killing us would be the easiest solution for them."

Kadipur remained silent for a few seconds, then asked softly, "Is it only for revenge then?"

"No, this is not just about revenge. We probably stole something that could potentially bring trouble to the company's benefactors. Maybe something regarding the source of their income. I am not sure, but it is probably something that they do not want anyone to know."

"But there was not anything like that in the intel we sold!" Kadipur insisted, but Yang Yi only responded with a sigh.

"It does not matter. Right now, we need to find out who the traitor is and leave London. We will have to find a hideout somewhere. There is nothing else we can do except waiting for all of this to be over."

"What happens when we find the traitor?"

Yang Yi was a bit dumbfounded by the question. He answered, stuttering slightly, "Of course... we... we will kill him. I have not... ki... killed anyone before. I... I have also never thought about it… Well, maybe I did... once. Ummm… Do you guys have a better idea?"

Kadipur scratched his head uneasily, "Shit, I need to call my wife. I did not know the situation would be this serious."

Kadipur steered the car with one hand and held his phone in the other. He started to call his wife's number. She picked up but before he could tell her to pack up and leave London with their child, they arrived at Ryan's house.

It was nine at night, but there was no light coming from inside the house. Kadipur parked the car about a hundred meters away. He looked at Yang Yi and asked in a rather terrified voice, "What do we do now?"

Even though he was supposedly the one with the least experience, somehow both Kadipur and Kate were expecting instructions from Yang Yi now. "You two go ring the doorbell. We will do what we did at the station. You two go to the door and I will cover you with the gun from behind."

Kadipur realized that Yang Yi was holding his stomach in pain. He said, "But you are injured. I will do the covering instead."

Yang Yi refused as he waved his hand, "No! I will keep the gun. You take the door, I'll be right behind you." 

Kadipur mustered up as much courage as he could and walked towards Ryan's door. As he arrived at the doorstep, he glanced at Kate, who was standing beside him. He knocked on the door for a bit, but there was no response.

Both of them looked back towards Yang Yi, who was still trying to recover from the experience of being strangled at Jenny's place. Yang Yi walked towards them and asked, "Are there any cameras nearby?"

Kadipur shook his head, "No, there are not. Ryan and I have been good friends for years. This is something I would know."

Yang Yi said, "Call the police!"

"What?"

"Call them. Say that there has been a murder at somebody's house. Let the police open the door. If Ryan is still alive, then we will tell the police it is a prank. If not… at least we do not have to assume the risk of going in ourselves."

Kadipur pushed on the door for a bit. He twisted the doorknob and realized the door was not locked at all. "It is not locked. Do we still call the police?"

"Nevermind the police. Just go in!"

Kate pushed open the door and ran inside without hesitating. Kadipur immediately followed behind her and turned on the lights. They were way too late. Ryan was dead. He was lying on the floor with a box of take-out and his tongue was hanging out of his mouth.

In a mixture of disgust and regret, Kadipur covered his face and screamed, "Ryan! He is dead! Murdered!"

Yang Yi walked towards the corpse and scanned the area around it thoroughly. Then, he stated, "This box here was his dinner. The killer was waiting for him to come home. There is a receipt here that says seven-twenty. That is the time when his food was delivered. It is also the time when we arrived back at home."

Kate nodded in confirmation and Yang Yi started checking Ryan's neck. Kate asked, "What do you see?"

"Someone strangled him with a thin wire. Look, there are more than ten scars on his neck. Somebody must have been trying to get him to talk. I am not sure if Ryan gave them what they wanted. If he did, he did not give it to them easily. Another thing, more than one person did this to him."   

Kadipur was shaking in a cold sweat, "What do we do? More than one hitman is looking for us..."

"We will leave and find Wales. No, we should find Daniel first. Maybe we can save him."

"But Wales lives nearby. His place is only five minutes from here."

Yang Yi scratched his head, then said, "But... I think Wales is more likely to be the traitor in this situation. If we go find him first, we will have to decide what to do quickly. If he is alive, should we just try to subdue him?"

Kate said coolly, "You were the one who said Wales was just a suspect."

Yang Yi stopped for a second and said, "Fine, if he is dead, then he is not the traitor. But if he is alive, then… then we improvise!"

The three returned to the car. They got in and Kadipur pointed at a house not far down the street. He said, "Look. Wales's house is just over there."

Since they were close to discovering the traitor's identity, Yang Yi took out the old-fashioned pistol and stated anxiously, "If Wales does not cooperate, Kate, you have to take him down, or I will be forced to shoot him. Be ready. I do not want to use this thing."

Kadipur was a bit skeptical, "Could Wales be the traitor? He would have left if he is. If… I do not know anything anymore. Get out of the car. I will do the knocking!"

Kadipur walked in front, Kate and Yang Yi followed behind him. Yang Yi readied the gun and Kate was prepared to fight. Kadipur reached his hand out to knock, but he was too scared to make a sound. The knock was too soft.

"Louder!" Yang Yi commanded as he gestured at Kadipur. He would obviously need to use more force. Kadipur knocked again, but this time it was a bit too loud. There was no one answering either way.

Yang Yi clenched his teeth as he looked around, "We will enter by force! Go through the windows if you can. Do either of you know how to pick a lock?"

Kadipur grabbed the door handle. Kate tightened her fist and prepared to run in.

The door opened loosely without any resistance though. The three expected Wales to have left his house by now. They turned on the light and walked in. It was almost like nobody had invaded the house.

All the furniture was sitting neatly in their proper places. At least the living room appeared as though no one had been inside the house. Yang Yi walked further inside and discovered three corpses lying on the floor.

Yang Yi was sure now that Wales was the traitor and said, "We should go check the bedroom and other places. We will not split up. We need to protect each other."

The three walked towards the bedroom. Yang Yi opened the door and switched on the light. Kadipur dropped to his knees and screamed in agony. Wales was not the traitor. He was dead and it was clear that his end was a painful one. All the nails were pulled off and his body was showing several traces of interrogation. His body was tied to a chair and his expression stiffened in agony. It was clear that Wales was also subjected to a long period of torture,just like Jenny.

Wales was not the traitor. Yang Yi was not and Kate was the least likely culprit. Only Kadipur and Daniel were left as suspects now. Yang Yi held the gun and turned it towards Kadipur. He swallowed for a bit and asked in a threatening voice, "Where have you been today?"

Kadipur staggered two steps back until he was against the wall. He did not look at the gun directly. He stretched his arms out in front of him and said, "You plan to kill me? No! It was not me, I swear! It is not me!!" 

The only suspects left were Kadipur and Daniel, but after being with Kadipur, Yang Yi thought that the chance for the traitor to be him was the slimmest. He sheathed his gun and exclaimed sorrowfully, "Then Daniel is the only one left…"

Chapter end