Chapter 1: Lurking In The Dark:

(Shanghai, China; 1965)

A somewhat cold night in one of China's largest cities. The streets were not too crowded, and businesses received their usual customer service. At InterContinental Shanghai Pudong Hotel, an important international business convention was taking place in the main lounge and about to wrap up for the night. A big, spacious room with golden yellow walls to complement the brown carpeted flooring. A delicate design made from a series of browns and greens throughout the carpeting. There was a stage at the very front of the room where guest speakers came out and did presentations for the visiting businessmen. In the center of the stage was a podium with two plants sitting on each side of it, and blue curtains to complete the setting.

CID agent, Ying Chiang, was on assignment disguised as another businessman to meet his contact. There was important information the contact had that needed to be sent back to MI6 in Great Britain and the CIA in the United States immediately, and Ying had been chosen to go out and retrieve it.

While the rest of the businessmen were at different tables and discussing their work with one another, in the back left corner was Ying by himself facing another man across the tabletop in front of them. The contact had a piece of sheet paper stretched out and was pointing to several things displayed before Ying. The CID agent stood aghast at the information he was hearing and seeing.

"You must be joking." He barely spoke.

"I wish I were, Double Nine-O," the contact said, referring to Ying as his codename. "Dr. Lobster plans on assassinating Chairman Mao and form a coup to overthrow the current government, blaming London for the murder of Mao Zedong. He also wants to gain control over China's money and rob the country of over 2.6 billion American dollars."

"2.6 billion?"

"Affirmative. It is important that you get this information to London at once. The lives of over a million innocent people there depend on it."

Ying bit his lower lip, still confused on one thing: Dr. Lobster was an American. Why would an American want any harm on Great Britain and have the millions of people living there be murdered as consequences of committing an assassination that they had no cause in to begin with? The United States were their Allies for as long as he could remember and had fought two World Wars side by side to take out the enemies of Germany, Italy, and Japan.

"I am not yet satisfied with this information yet," Ying said. "Why would an American want a country they're enemies with to blame one of their Allies for the assassination of China's leader?"

"Dr. Lobster is hoping to pinpoint the blame on MI6's 007 and that the Chinese government will send out assassins to London and have him tortured and slaughtered."

The CID agent's eyes grew in size at the hearing of the great British spy's codename.

"007?! Can he even do such a thing?" He gasped.

"Those are his intentions besides gaining control over all of China." The contact answered quietly.

"But why 007? Surely, there are other people out there greater enemies to China then that man."

"I don't know specifics, but several years ago 007 murdered Dr. Lobster's father when discovered he was selling illegal and sometimes fatal drugs overseas to Brazil. 007 was sent out to South America to find Dr. Lobster's father to stop his foreign affairs with illegal drug trafficking and was successful with his assignment. Whatever 007 did to him, the man died within fifteen seconds."

"So, this is his plan in revenge of his father's death."

"Correct, 990."

"And I am to report all of this to the United States CIA and MI6 in London."

"As quickly as you can. The sooner you do, the less damage Dr. Lobster will cause our country and Great Britain's."

"I will be sure to report this tomorrow morning. I'll come into work before everyone else and radio both MI6 and the CIA first thing."

"Good luck, 990."

Ying gave a slight bow.

"Xièxiè," the agent said, and silently made his way out of the main lounge.

Ying bid the people at the front desk 'goodbye' and made his way out of the hotel into the nightlife of Shanghai. It was calm in the city streets that night. Nothing much was going on besides what people usually did in a big city.

The Chinese agent started making his way to the parking garage to find his car and go home for the evening. Unknown to him, two men all dressed in black with 1940 styled fedoras concealing their faces began to follow silently behind him.

Ying paused once and awhile with his walking, sensing someone was nearby or watching him. He pulled out his pistol and clutched it in his grasp. Hearing no one, he continued with his walk in the parking garage, his gun still in hand's reach. He made his way up several ramps and floors in the building structure, the two mobsters still in tow behind him with stealth.

The CID agent once again took a halt in his walk towards his car, pulled his pistol back out once again, and snapped his head behind him. He scanned the area carefully, making sure no one was following him back to his car.

The two mobsters hid behind one of the cars parked a few lots down the line, completely out of sight.

Ying looked around a little longer, sighed softly, then put his gun back in its holster on his belt. He was beginning to grow on the edge, adrenaline running up and down his spine. He hated having to meet contacts at night. It made him somewhat paranoid once they were over and had to go home alone. He always worried one night someone would find out what he was really doing and track him down back to his house planning to do God knows what to him.

Ying took a few deep breaths in to calm his muscles and tension. Once he felt his body relaxing once again, he turned back to face the front of him and resumed his walk. He had only taken a few steps, when the two mobsters came out from hiding and began to follow their target once again.

After walking up several ramps, the Chinese agent made it to the fifth floor and found his parked vehicle where he had left it. Ying made his way towards his car and began digging in his suit pocket for his keys.

The two men in black silently made their way closer towards Ying.

The young agent was about to put the key in the lock, when one of the mobsters grabbed him by the head and muffled his mouth with a white piece of cloth.

Ying started screaming out in cries for help, but it did no good. The mobster soon bashed him in the back with his fist, sending the man crashing down to the ground. Almost immediately, the second mobster pulled out a knife from his jacket pocket and sent it down with speed at Ying, the other mobster pinning the struggling agent down on the ground. There were only a few cries for help before the young Chinese agent fell silent.

The mobster holding down the now deceased agent looked up at his partner and nodded.

"He's dead," he said, blunt.

"What do we do with him?" The other mobster questioned.

"Take him with us. We'll hide his body out in the suburbs. There's an abandoned shack there I know of. They'll never find him…or won't find him for a while, that is. Help me carry him to the car."

The second mobster nodded, wiped his knife off with a handkerchief, and put both back in his jacket pocket.

Both men picked up Ying's limp body and hurried to their car not too far from where they were currently. Once reaching their vehicle, the first mobster opened the trunk and threw the agent's body inside, then slammed it closed.

The two mobsters got into the car, fastened their seat belts quickly, and drove off silently without another word.