Chapter Two: Ninety Seconds

leg while pushing a cart. Beyond the freight-yard wall, a black van rolled past. It was identical to the vans outside the medical center. It did not stop. Thirty seconds later, it passed the entrance again. Lin pulled the wafer out, hid the tablet beneath his shirt, and walked toward the opposite exit. The van accelerated. Its side door opened while it was still moving, and two men in ordinary clothes jumped down. “Mr. Lin,” one called. “Doctor Fischer needs his club property returned.” Lin ran. The old injury made one stride shorter than the other. The men gained quickly, shoes crushing loose stones. A sealed wire fence blocked the way ahead. To his left, cargo pallets rose to his chest; to his right, the loading platform had collapsed.