Chapter 9

choose the one

The Boss was a small, thin man with salt-and-pepper hair. He wore a black suit over a silver vest, which assured he would stand out from the others. He stood and stared at the Suits, who had just arrived at the headquarters in Beijing. 

“Everyone to the War Room!” the Boss said sternly. As the Suits filed out of the elevator one by one, Chief looked down at Joe and whispered, “I’ve spent my whole life in this job and I can tell you that we’re all standing on the edge of a cliff right now—the slightest slip, and we’re done.”

“You’ll have no problems with me, Chief,” Joe replied brightly. “I’m afraid of heights.” 

The War Room was a huge conference room on the top floor of the building. Three of the walls were floor-to-ceiling glass and they looked out at the city of Beijing.

With a population of over twenty-one million people, Beijing had nearly three times as many people as New York City. It was a sprawling city, with towering buildings as far as the eye could see, and in the late afternoon on a clear day, it was an awesome sight. 

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