American Fuitive (A Novel) by Xingguo Zhang
Synopsis: Ho Renyi is an American software engineer who went to China to find out the secret behind the air disaster that killed Lin Biao, Mao’s successor in 1971. A fortuitous event brought Renyi and two of Lin Biao’s grandnephews together. The three amateur detectives combined their forces. After fighting with armed guards, they acquired a copy of the cockpit voice tape. Overnight, they also became fugitives with Chinese police on their tails. When Renyi's life was in danger, the one person who dared to offer help was none other than the wife of the police chief! When all hope seemed lost and Renyi was about to abandon his mission, a voice came to Renyi’s ear. That voice signaled the start of a much larger battle across China’s vast country. The American fugitive would race with the police across the Yangtze River in heavy storm, escape a manhunt that spanned over a thousand miles, and fly under the radar in China’s sky just as Lin Biao’s pilot did in 1971. Would Renyi finally succeed? How did Lin Biao's plane crashed in Mongolia? What caused the air disaster? Read and find out!
(Sample reading)
Chapter 1 Ho Renyi
It was a rainy February afternoon. Ho Renyi got off from work early to see his dentist. He got into his blue SUV in the parking lot outside of his office. Pretty soon, he was on a highway. The rain turned into a heavy downpour. Renyi had to really focus on the road because he could feel the car was pushed by the wind on a slippery highway. Fortunately, he reached the exit to downtown Oakland without an incident. Fifteen minutes later, he arrived at a building named The Pacific Center. When his SUV entered the parking lot, the wind and rain just stopped.
Out of the SUV, Renyi smelled the fresh air after the rain. He smiled like a boy. Ho Renyi was a handsome man of medium height, close to forty years old. With chiseled cheekbones and hair that curled naturally, he had skin that was a little darker than most Chinese. He was in his standard office attire with light blue sports jacket and beige khakis, except his shoes. He wore a pair of white tennis shoes, which was his compromise between lace-up leather shoes and rain boots on a rainy day. He had played neither tennis nor other sports for a few months because the ground had been wet. If it were ten years ago, he would have gone skiing or pistol shooting in an indoor range, or doing some other wintertime hobbies. But he had been busy lately.
* * * * *
The Pacific Center was located in the Chinatown section of Oakland. It was a three-story building that stood in the middle of a parking lot. The first floor was occupied by many restaurants. The second and third floors were occupied by apparel shops, travel agencies, law offices and clinics. The Wang Dental Clinic was in the middle of the second floor. Dr. Wang was going to give Renyi a deep cleaning. Renyi entered the building through the center entrance. He walked up the stairs, and entered the long hallway on the second floor.
Entering the clinic, Renyi saw Beibei sat behind a counter. With light makeup and beautiful long hair flowing over her shoulders, Beibei radiated the beauty and vivacity of a woman in her mid-twenties. With no one else in the reception area, Renyi sat down on a chair by the door. Beibei pointed to a sheet of paper on the counter and requested, “Please register here.”
Renyi replied, "We are old acquaintances. Is that necessary?"
She smiled and said, "Every patient has to register. That is the rule, and there is no exception."
"You know my name already. Can’t you just fill it for me?" Renyi smiled.
"I can’t," Beibei said loudly.
"You are so mean today!" Renyi said, as he walked over and put his name in the registry.
Dr. Wang entered the reception area from the back. Tall, with short permed curly hair, she asked Renyi, "Is it still raining outside?"
"Just stopped."
"You are very lucky, as always," said Dr. Wang. Her Mandarin had an obvious Shanghai accent.
Renyi smiled smugly. "The rain stopped the moment I got here," he said.
"Rain every day makes one sad, doesn’t it?"
"It’s good! A new layer of fresh snow over the mountains around Lake Tahoe. It would be perfect for skiing this weekend,” insisted Renyi,
"No wonder you are in such a good mood! Sounds like you have lots of free time."
“I was just making a conversation. I wish I had some free time.” Renyi said.
“I hear you are writing a book in your spare time. Is it a biography of Lin Biao?” asked Dr. Wang.
Ho Renyi stood up: “Yes.”
Beibei asked, “who is Lin Biao?”
Renyi walked to the middle of the room: “He used to be vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party. The number two guy in China.”
Dr. Wang smiled: “He was also from Hubei province, a fellow-townsman of Dr. Ho.”
Ho Renyi had a Ph.D. in physics before switching into software industry many years ago.