Ding Wei moved in his chair, which caught the leader's attention. He looked at him with a skeptical glance, that was just as opaque as the behavior the men had displayed so far. 

“Could'n stomach the breakfast.” Xiao Dao hunched over demonstratively and pressed a hand on his flat belly. He doubted it would work, but it was worth a try. After all, he had to do something to get out of here. 

The man opposite him glanced at his wristwatch. Then he nodded to his companion. “Show him where the toilets are.”

Ding Wei waved him off. “I'll be fine.”

“We don't want you to end up puking all over us here. Go on.” The leader made a dismissive gesture with his hand. 

Xiao Dao stood up, one hand on the tabletop, the other over his belly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the worried looks of his friends. 

Ding Wei paid no further attention to them. Instead, he continued to feign pain and dragged himself towards the door. He could feel the men's eyes on the back of his neck. No one said anything. 

The guy at the door grabbed him by the arm and dragged him down the corridor. To avoid arousing suspicion, Xiao Dao refrained from delaying tactics for the time being. Two turns further down the corridor, they reached the toilets. 

“Hurry up in there.”

Ding Wei nodded, disappeared inside and pulled the door shut behind him. 

It was a single cabin, without windows. He discovered a fan on the ceiling. To his left was a plastic bucket. Above it was a washbasin with a bowl of hand soap on the edge. There was a mirror above the basin. Dust stuck to its corners. 

Directly opposite the door was the toilet. A holder with toilet paper hung on the right-hand wall. In the corner he noticed an odour neutralizer for toilets. 

Ding Wei pushed the door shut and shuffled to the sink. He ran his sleeve over the mirror. Flakes of dust flew into his face. It tickled his nose and shortly afterwards his throat. He coughed excessively loudly. Then he simulated choking and spitting noises. Hopefully, the guy outside would hear that. 

Cautiosly, Xiao Dao glanced at the door. It remained closed. He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and took out his knife. Looking back, he wondered why the men hadn't taken it from him. Intentionally, or by chance? Not even the scanner had beeped. Strange. Well, he should be thankful about that.

He quickly grabbed the soap and carved patterns and symbols on all sides. It looked less conspicuous that way. When he had finished, he put the soap back in the bowl and his knife back in its place. He coughed again before turning on the tap. While the water was running, he drew marks in the dust of the mirror's corners. 

Then, he heard a creaking sound at the door. He quickly turned off the tap and turned around. The man looked in. “Are you finished?”

Ding Wei nodded and pushed past him. The other man stopped between the door and the hinge, his gaze fixed on the room. Damn.

“You're not really planning to mess with Monsieur, are you?” Xiao Dao addressed him unceremoniously.

The man turned back, to face him again. He looked at him with an indifferent glance. There was nothing to indicate, what he was thinking.

“He won't hesitate to get rid of anyone who stands between him and Wenjie. In case you don't know. There was also an explosion and a fire at the prison. My father is in hospital.”

With that, he had the man's attention. He stepped back into the hallway and pulled the toilet door shut. “Should we be intimidated by this? Do you want to work with Monsieur? Does your friend know about this?”

Successful diversionary maneuver. With his hands in his jacket pockets, Ding Wei strolled down the corridor towards the meeting room. He tried to look as indifferent as possible. “Wenjie thinks I've switched sides. I don't intend to change that. But if it concerns my father ...” He deliberately paused. 

He stopped abruptly. “I don't intend to get into a fight with Monsieur. It's healthier for all of us. Captain Luo, that name rings a bell, doesn't it? Mr. Luo had an assassination attempt made on him too.”

A diabolical smile appeared on the older man's lips. “He's actually done us a favor.” 

“His survival is still uncertain.” 

The man's face brightened. But only for a brief moment. “Wait a minute. Why did you stop?” He slapped him on the back and urged him on.  

“Are we in such a hurry? It didn't take me half an hour in there. Might as well go up to the transfer.”

The other laughed grimly. “You wanted to stall for time, admit it. The transfer doesn't take place above deck.”

Ding Wei swallowed. Suddenly the air in the corridor became thin. “You have a submarine dock?” That made his tracks useless. 

“What were you thinking? That we'd run the risk of being caught by the water police. You must have left traces at the harbor.”

“Ey, that's not fair,” Xiao Dao blurted out immediately. “We followed your instructions.”

“That's why the courier,” the man stated the matter-of. 

Ding Wei felt hot and cold at the same time. A hand tapped on his shoulder. 

“Don't even try to talk your way out of it. We know what you've done.” He squeezed and leaned towards him. “But of course you had no other choice after you didn't want to blow the whistle.” 

Xiao Dao felt a chill run down his spine. They had seen through her. The fact, they still gave them so much freedom couldn't mean anything good. What kind of game were they playing? He wriggled out of the grip and slapped the hand away. “I talked to Monsieur on the phone, while the food was delivered.” 

“Sure.” 

The guy didn't believe him. His spiteful tone gave that away. And the worst thing was - he was right. 

Fortunately, they reached the meeting room at that moment. The group was already about to leave. So the interrogation had come to an end. But that didn't improve their situation.

The man had not lied. A submarine waited for them. The landing stage was on the deck below them. They used it to lose the police. It would have been too easy. Ding Wei sighed deeply as he entered the airlock.

to be continued ...