The war room at the Capital Military Base was unusually full. The highest military authority in the country was present today.
Men, whose command could move armies, launch missiles, and start a war, were grappling with the new truth they had just learned.
Director Xi and President Fu were also present for the debrief. The Institute had suffered twice in a row and they wanted answers.
"Tell us again, Major Shen" said Huo Jingchuan sharply. "Start from the beginning. How did a leak slip past your team?"
Shen Huajin stood tall before the table, unfazed by the scrutiny. His father, Major General Shen was sweating buckets. But Shen Huajin's nerves were made of steel.
This was already the second round of interrogation. It was obvious these old commanders wanted to make this hard on him. Yet, he hardly flinched.
"At 5 pm this evening, our team noticed a leak. Professor Tonghui, under the guise of mentoring a student, used the student to steal the files and left undetected by the east entrance" he repeated flawlessly
"He just walked out?" General Tang slammed his palm on the table. "None of your soldiers saw him? Stopped him? There were no casualties at that time. What exactly were your men doing?"
"It was indeed our oversight." Shen Huajin admitted without hesitation. "We will conduct a full investigation - question the soldier incharge, and give you a satisfactory response".
He paused briefly before continuing.
"Once we identified the leak, we tracked the files - to an abandoned warehouse. It was flooded. Our team performed the usual safety check and found evidence of an unknown chemical."
Several people around the table shifted. This information was a bit unexpected.
"We took precautions under level 2 exposure risk - and entered the premises. Professor Tonghui and a solider were both inside. We brought them into custody and they are now under observation for possible contamination." summarised Huajin succinctly.
"What were they exposed to?" asked Commander General Tang leaning forward. In his war-time days, Tang was the expert alchemist - excelling in chemical warfare.
Till today, every compound he'd developed was strictly regulated. If they knew what the toxin was, it would be easy to trace access and identify another Black Lotus mole.
Shen Huajin paused. The honest answer was they didn't know. However, he wasn't stupid enough to make such a bald statement in front of these bigshots.
"The labs are still investigating," he admitted carefully. "The toxin was flagged in our safety check - but there was no immediate match".
The silence around the table was heavy. Every single leader immediately understood the implications of that information. Under General Tang's command, the nation developed the most advanced and exhaustive chemical defenses.
To have a toxin not on the list meant it was recently developed. Since when did Black Lotus start chemical warfare - and why didn't they know this sooner?!
General Tang and General Huo exchanged glances. By tacit agreement, they decided to speak of this later.
"Were the files retrieved?" enquired Commander General Gu.
"Replying to Commander General Gu.Negative Sir. We suspect Black Lotus took the files and abandoned their chess piece."
Director Xi closed his eyes in disappointment.
Black Lotus abandoning an informant was nothing new - everytime an informant becomes useless, they are as good as dead.
What worried him was why this chess piece became useless.
A top researcher at Qinghe was a gold mine of information. If he was abandoned it simply meant they had a bigger fish hidden.
Great. Now we are back to square one - guessing who the spy is. .
"You tracked the files once before. Would you be able to trace them again?" asked Commander General Shen urgently, trying to signal his son with his eyes. This isn't going well for you - talk about what went well
Either his son didn't understand his motives or pretended not to understand.
"Replying to Commander General. Negative Sir. Our tech team lost track a couple of hours back. Someone had overwritten the trace with a temporary patch."
Huo Jingchuan's patience finally snapped.
"Major Shen. Do you hear what you are saying?" he roared.
"Thrice this evening, you admitted your mediocrity. One you failed to stop the leak. Two, your soldier failed to take precautions before entering a hazardous zone. Three, you actually allowed your code to be hacked?! This is terrible incompetence. Are you even fit to be a Major?!
"I agree this isn't ideal" interjected Commander General SHen sharply. "As a leader, he failed to teach his soldiers well and should face some punishment. And yet, I also call the individual soldiers who let this slip be accountable as well." he finished grimly.
No way I am letting my son take the rap for this he thought darkly.
"The most urgent thing" interjected Commander Gu, "is to hunt the files back - and strengthen the offensive on Black Lotus."
"What about Researcher Mo?" jumped up President Fu from his chair. "She alone would be a valuable asset to us - we need to identify her too"
"I think it's safe to assume that Black Lotus doesn't have her" surmised General Gu. "If they did - they wouldn't have been interested in the files again. "
General Tang nodded. "Either she guessed there's still a mole and is lying low. Or a third party took her. I will have my team focus on the toxin. That seems reliable angle."
"General Tang, that investigation should fall to Major Shen's team" interjected General Shen furiously. His first preference was always to pave the way for his excellent son.
He's so much more promising than the Huos - one is crazy, the other is absolutely incompetent he thought with savage joy.
"Major Shen needs a chance to make amends too - or is that only allowed for your precious grandson?" he asked, throwing a vicious glance at General Huo.
If General Huo felt slighted by this, he didnt let it show. He wasn't even the one to respond. "Soldier Shen, coordinate with me for further progress. The soldiers in your team who made the mistakes shall be temporarily suspended" ordered General Tang.
No one mentioned Aegis or the shadow division - given that there were still "outsiders" present. The Shadow Division was classified information, known only to the 4 great Generals. By tacit agreement, they moved to wait.
Just then, the door burst open and a smartly dressed officer under Shen Huajin entered.
It was Shi Meng - the strongest soldier under Shen Huajin's command. She was highly skilled in weapons and tactics and psychological warfare. The Shen-Shi duo, as their comrades fondly called them, were deemed the most formidable team. They had worked closely for more than 5 years now and Shen Huajin trusted Shi Meng absolutely.
So when Shi Meng walked in with purposeful steps and met his eyes, all he did was gently nod - giving her permission to go ahead.
"Leiutenant Shi Meng reporting" said Shi Meng, saluting smartly. "Permission to speak."
General Shen waved casually, motioning her to speak.
"Professor Tonghui has just been cleared by diagnostics and tox labs. Preliminary interrogation is done. He claims 2 masked men attacked first. And they left before we came in." She handed over the interrogation report to General Gu who was closest.
"In my opinion, he's telling the truth - telling us all he can to revenge against Balck Lotus who discarded him." Shi Meng paused here. Every single person in the room could tell she had something more to say.
"Continue Leiutenant" snapped General Huo.
"He wants a security deal." spoke Shi Meng quickly. "He wants us to assure his safety - because Black Lotus will put a price on his head soon. In return, he will give us something about" Shi Meng took a minute to check her notes "Aegis" she said.
That one word hit the room like thunder. The temperature dropped sharply as the generals exchanged glances.
General Huo's gaze narrowed. The outsiders watched on curiously, well aware they had stumbled upon something big, but didn't know what.
"Since when" snarled President Fu. "does our country negotiate with traitors?! If the Black Lotus assassinates him, that's something he deserves" he snorted, unaware of the shift in the room.
Nobody commented on President Fu's rather naive outlook. He had never fought against enemies on the field and didn't understand intelligence warfare.
Sometimes, you need to give a little to make a big win. "Leiutentant Shi, in your evaluation, do you think PRofessor Tonghui is bluffing?" asked General Huo directly.
Shi Meng didn't hesitate. "He believes he has important information," she admitted. "All his psychological cues point to that. How useful that information is for us, I cannot say."
General Huo pinched the bridge of his nose wearily. This operation was spiralling out of control. There's once again rogue operators! And now someone had information about Aegis?!
"Major Shen, submit a 5000 word report and self criticism of what happened today. The soldiers who allowed the leak and foolishly rushed into the warehouse will get a demerit on record. You're both dismissed" snapped Huo Jingchuan.
"Old Fu, Director Xi, we will give you an explanation. Something's come up now" he continued.
As the room rapidly cleared, the tense atmosphere hit freezing point.
"Did you deploy Aegis?" General Shen asked sharply. He knew Huo Jingchuan was fond of playing the hero. Just like him to try and steal the limelight from my son.
"No" replied Huo Jingchuan curtly. "The shadow division awaits the Gu Soldier - after which they would be ready to move. I can vouch that Aegis did not act in this mission" he confirmed.
"Then who's the rogue player?" pounced General Shen. "I say we check up on Aegis - face to face. It's high time we met him anyway. This will clear Aegis of suspicion" said General Shen viciously.
Knowing who Aegis is will give me more leverage, he thought gleefully.
"I will remind General Shen that Aegis was never under suspicion, " said General Huo coldly. "Time and again he has proved his loyalty to us, winning us victories agains Black Lotus with his blood and cunning. In fact, if Aegis had acted earlier, this mission might not have fallen apart" he snarled.
Huo Jingchuan was always circumspect and careful with his words. Today, what he said was tantamount to him criticising his own grandson.
"I say we take the deal" interjected General Tang. "This Shen boy seems competent. Ask them to guard the traitor and extract information. I can also team up with him to trace the chemicals."
"Gu Yunyang returns from mission in 2 days to join the shadow division. I move for them to track down senior Mo and that Han Zheyu" finished Gu Tianrong.
Huo Jingchuan gave his once close friend a deep look. Gu Yunyang was the grandson of the Gu family - the only one in that generation to be a field operative. He knew what it must've cost the Gu family to put their youngest in the front lines of such dangerous missions agian.
But this is a sacrifice I well understand he thought heavily, thinking of how much his son had to give.
Speaking of his family, Huo Jingchuan had a sudden urge to talk to Huo Shen - face to face. Maybe his comrade's suspicion had gotten under his skin. He needed to verify that Huo Shen did not act behind his back.
Even if Huo Shen had helped the mission, Huo Jingchuan could never accept a subordinate going against orders.
If he was exposed to the toxin, there would be signs he thought grimly.
"I agree. Dismissed" he called, and walked out.
Lost in thought, he failed to notice a familiar figure in the isolation ward across the corridor - his grandson pressing a hand against the glass, trying to get his attention.
"Liang Wen" he called when he reached the car. "To the Huo Residence" he ordered.
It was time to settle his doubts - face to face.