Chapter 28 - Mission Accepted

"So? Will you accept this mission?" the captain asked.

Halia wanted to say no; she didn't want to catch Jackson Wu. Even though they didn't know each other well, it felt like a betrayal on her end. But, she was an officer of the law and he was a criminal. Plus, she was getting the opportunity to work with the SPU: a unit of the police that she had always dreamed of joining. If Jackson didn't do anything wrong, then she had no reason to catch him, right?

At that moment, a thought came to her mind: perhaps, she could convince him to give up on his life of crime...

But, who was she kidding? Who did she think she was? Why would an arms dealer give up on a lucrative business because of her?

Even though she knew this, she still felt like it was worth a try. Perhaps, it was the only way she could save him and repay him for what he had done.

So, Halia stood up and gave the captain a salute, "Mission accepted."

"Welcome to the SPU," the captain said as he saluted back.

...

Just like Dr. Li explained last time, the surgery this time was a lot faster and easier because they didn't have to do anything to Halia except put her to sleep. However, they still had to access the SPU advisor's brain, so that was where most of the time was spent.

The SPU advisor was a former professor of mechanical and chemical engineering. He wasn't actually an officer, rather, he was a contractor that was called in during emergencies when the SPU lacked the skills to identify a weapon or diffuse a high tech bomb. With the advisor's extensive knowledge, Halia definitely had the skills that Jackson desired. But, she still needed to get close to him and sell him her story.

Just like Sara's memories, the advisor's knowledge would disappear in 3 months, but unlike memories, knowledge was immediate.

So, as soon as Halia woke up, the captain walked over to her and handed her a gun. Halia looked down at the gun and smiled. If someone asked her what model this gun was yesterday, she wouldn't of been able to tell them. But now, as though she had done it a million times before, she disassembled the gun with one hand. She then looked at the captain with a surprised smile.

The captain was impressed.

"Let's go meet your handler..."

The captain gave Halia an address and some instructions and told her to go there herself. After all, he couldn't risk being seen with her. It was fine for her to be at the police station since she was a witness for the serial killer case, but it would be too suspicious for the Captain of the SPU to be seen with her.

But, before she left, the captain explained to Halia that her handler didn't know about Dr. Li and his lab, nor did he know that she was just someone with transferred knowledge. The lab was a top secret government-funded project that not many people knew about and they wanted to keep it that way.

So, the handler was told that she was actually a newly graduated cadet from the SPU academy.

Halia didn't worry too much about this. Physically, she wasn't as fit as the actual cadets, but mentally, she was stronger than any of them.

Eventually, her car arrived at a side street, just opposite a neighborhood of hutongs. Beijing was famous for its hutongs: traditional alleyways lined with old courtyard residences. In some of the bigger neighborhoods, it was like a maze where one could easily get lost.

It was a great place for secret meetings because it was quiet, hidden and one could easily lose a tail if they wanted to.

Even Halia got lost trying to find the specific address she was after.

Finally, she stopped outside a big traditional wooden door. She had actually walked past this door a few times, but she didn't look at it properly. Next to the door, was a little leaf carved into the wall and the words "Little Leaf Guesthouse". This was what she had been looking for. She was expecting a big sign, but obviously, her handler didn't pick a place that attracted too much attention. In fact, if one didn't know, they would probably think this place was abandoned. But, Halia knew this was the place she was looking for, so she pushed open the door and walked inside.

The inside was nothing as expected; it was far from abandoned. In fact, it felt like a little hidden paradise. In front of her, on the left, was a reception desk and on the right was an arched doorway which opened up into a beautiful courtyard surrounded by guest rooms

"May I help you?" the receptionist asked.

"Yes, I'm looking for Sean Qin," Halia replied.

The receptionist scanned Halia up and down, "May I ask for your name?"

"It's Halia. Halia Feng."

The receptionist smiled and opened a door, "This way please."