Xi?ng’s cell lit up. She read the message and turned to Rinchu. “She’s at the front door,” she told Rinchu in Mandarin.

Without replying, Rinchu squeezed the kitchen door open and peeked out. “She appears to be alone,” he replied in Mandarin.

A few minutes later, he returned with an attractive young woman, petite in stature, and in her late twenties.

Xi?ng—pronounced Shyahng—and Rinchu had a specialty. They were part of a clandestine commu...

Rinchu escorted Leanne to the front door of the Qianji Bakery. No words passed between them. She stepped out into the lonely cold and dark quietude of the early night air. She stole a glance behind her and almost begrudgingly mustered up a blink of a smile before she turned right. Her steps, tentative at first, picked up speed as she hailed a taxi. She did not peer back when she entered the cab. When the taxi disappeared behind the heavy veil of the night’s blackness, Rinchu locked the shop do...

The taxi driver was a woman. A wisp of blonde hair peeked out from under her turquoise chiffon belle head covering. Her voice had a slight gravelly tone to it with undertones of cheeriness that encouraged conversation. But when she spoke the element of professional authoritativeness was unmistakeable. 

When Leanne settled into the backseat of the taxi, she could not make out the fullness of the driver’s face, only her blue eyes set in what appeared to be flawless brown skin staring back ...