The Cobweb Enigma

Richard D RossThe Cobweb EnigmaA James Macrae Thriller Book 3 First published by Steel Door Publishing 2023Copyright © 2023 by Richard D RossAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.Richard D Ross asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.Richard D Ross has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.Real-world characters are used only in a purely fictional context.All rights reserved.Copyright © 2023 by Richard D RossFirst editionISBN: 978-1-7778601-5-8 This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy Find out more at reedsy.com ‘Observe calmly; secure our position; cope with affairs calmly; hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile; and never claim leadership.’ -Deng Xiaoping Contents Preface 1. Chapter 1 2. Chapter 2 3. Chapter 3 4. Chapter 4 5. Chapter 5 6. Chapter 6 7. Chapter 7 8. Chapter 8 9. Chapter 9 10. Chapter 10 11. Chapter 11 12. Chapter 12 13. Chapter 13 14. Chapter 14 15. Chapter 15 16. Chapter 16 17. Chapter 17 18. Chapter 18 19. Chapter 19 20. Chapter 20 21. Chapter 21 22. Chapter 22 23. Chapter 23 24. Chapter 24 25. Chapter 25 26. Chapter 26 27. Chapter 27 28. Chapter 28 29. Chapter 29 30. Chapter 30 31. Chapter 31 32. Chapter 32 33. Chapter 33 34. Chapter 34 35. Chapter 35 36. Chapter 36 37. Chapter 37 38. Chapter 38 About the Author Also by Richard D Ross PrefaceCharacters Macrae-Claybourne LogisticsJames Macrae – partnerSarah Macrae – wife of JamesChildren of James and Sarah – Mason, Mia and OliviaChris Claybourne – partnerJenny Claybourne – wife of ChrisChildren of Chris and Jenny – Jackson and BaileyMartin Farley – Director Legal AffairsLaura Wesley – Chief Financial OfficerRob Bisset – VP OperationsJanet Rushton – VP ITChad Greening – Director of Sales and MarketingJusuf Kahya – General Manager, Istanbul terminal, TurkeyAngus MacNiel – owner Halifax Port, Nova Scotia, CanadaBryn and Catrin – Sarah Macrae’s parents Macrae Holdings LLCRichard Macrae – Chairman, father of JamesMary Macrae – Richard’s wife, mother of James MI6Jack Fox – Director, MI6Jeremy Hirons – MI6 Special AgentDI Stella Hudson – West Midlands Police, working with MI6 Other CharactersGeneral Wu Shen – Chinese general / Head of MSSPeng Zheng – Chinese Embassy, London – Head of Security (MSS)President Jiang Zemin – Chairman and President of ChinaHuang Genjo – prominent Chinese dissidentLingdao (Colonel Liao Min) – operative of General ShenTang and Jin – military assistants to LingdaoNick Northrop aka William Brocklehurst – mercenary working for General ShenWilfred Stevens – general manager Birmingham Public Works DeptBen Armstrong – Owner Pair-Tree CapitalKevin Tan – Zemin’s trusted agent from his Shanghai cliqueMeili Shabani – PR representative, Shanghai Port Authority 1 Chapter 1 Spring 1996 What was that sound?In the early hours of the morning, Huang Genjo felt his eyes flicker in the cold and damp semi-darkness as his subliminal survival instincts clicked in.Something’s out of the ordinary.Lying on his back on the hard wooden bed frame, he winced as he tried to turn himself over to help decipher the sound trying to penetrate his state of semi-consciousness.Something’s definitely not right.He raised his hand slowly and rubbed his crusted eyes to help his other senses try to comprehend the muffled sound.It sounds like someone’s trying to quietly enter my cell, but there’s no sound of keys clanging? No, can’t be!He froze.To the outside world, the location and presence of the most feared and infamous prison in China doesn’t exist. To those that do know of its existence, just outside Beijing, the separate grey brick-built prison buildings are surrounded by several high walls and electric fences. Foothills to the east rise up behind the entire complex. Multiple steel gates divide the cell blocks from the front gate, while the whole structure is hidden from the road by surrounding orchards, tall birch trees and farmland.After six years of solitary confinement in his tiny prison cell engulfed in the stench of sweat and human waste, Huang only ever heard screams or cries of people in distress after the constant beatings that went on daily. He had no idea who his fellow inmates were. The shrill yelling voices of the guards only used the names of either ‘spy,’ ‘traitor’ or the prisoner’s assigned number. No real names were ever used. All this to demean and depersonalise each one of them. Huang had succumbed after multiple beatings and constant starvation. Such was the shrouded secrecy of the notorious Qincheng jail.As the solid metal door slowly opened in the half light, Huang used his feet on the bedframe to push himself away from the sinister silhouette of a tall heavy-set man filling the doorway. He covered the top of his head in his hands and cowered as close as he could to the far wall of the cell in a foetal position.Oh God! Please! Please! No more questioning!As his eyes adjusted, the man entered the cell, leaned down towards him and put one finger in front of his mouth, making a low-pitched shushing sound. He raised his other hand and indicated for Huang to get up and follow him. Huang stiffened harder and tried to curl himself tighter into a ball, but the man continued to beckon him forward and signalled him to take hold of his hand.I don’t have a choice.In response, Huang stretched out his hand and