Pang's Visit
He came to the office on a Tuesday in mid-March.
Lin was in his small inner office reviewing the quarterly tracking schedule. Wei Lin'er knocked.
"Section Chief. Section Chief Pang is here. He says — he wishes to speak to you."
"Pang."
"Yes."
"Show him in."
#
Pang sat across from him.
He looked — tired. The relaxed quality from June was gone. He was — in a slightly rumpled suit. There was — a small line of tension across his forehead.
He said: "Lin. I won't take long. I have one thing to ask."
"Yes."
"Have you — at any point — passed material to Wen Qiao that originated in my advisory office."
Lin looked at him.
He said: "No."
"You're sure."
"I am sure. I have — never in my life — read any material from your advisory office. I have — never received any document that originated there. Whatever passed to Wen Qiao from any source about you, it did not — come from me."
Pang sat for a long moment.
He said: "Someone is — using my name. Yesterday a regional press outlet ran a story attributing — quotes — to me that I never gave. The quotes characterize the Mayor's framework as — overstepping appropriate municipal authority. The quotes are — not subtle. They sound — like a man positioning to mount a comeback.
"I did not give those quotes. I did not — speak to any journalist this week. Yet the quotes appear under what is presented as — informed sourcing within my advisory office.
"I believe — someone in my orbit is — fabricating the quotes and distributing them. The someone wants the Mayor's office to believe I am — building a coalition. The someone wants — the Mayor to act against me. The someone wants — the resulting fight."
"Why come to me."
"Because — Wen Qiao's paper will, in the next forty-eight hours, almost certainly run a follow-up. The follow-up will — likely include — versions of the fabricated quotes. If your paper runs them, they enter the formal record. The Mayor will — read them. He will — believe them."
Lin watched Pang's face.
He said: "Why is this — my problem."
Pang looked at him steadily.
"Because — if I am — pulled into a fight with the Mayor on the basis of fabricated quotes, the fight will draw in many people, including — your unit. The unit's authority depends on — the Mayor's continuing trust. If the Mayor becomes preoccupied with a comeback he believes is real, he will — over time — pay less attention to your unit's reports. The unit will — quietly become less effective.
"Beyond that. If the fabricator succeeds in producing the fight, the fabricator will — emerge as a useful instrument to whoever is paying for the fabrication. That whoever is — by my read of the patterns — Bai's network. The network you exposed last week. They are — moving against me as a way to — recover from the Liang exposure. They are — using me to take the heat."
A pause.
"I am asking you — to use whatever channel you have to Wen Qiao to — request that her paper not run the follow-up. Or — at minimum — request that her paper verify the quotes through me directly before publishing. I cannot — make this request myself. A senior cadre in my position cannot — be observed asking a journalist to spike a story. The request must — come through you."
Lin sat for a long moment.
He said: "Section Chief Pang. I understand what you are asking. I want to understand — one thing. Why should I believe you."
Pang said: "Because — I have nothing to gain by lying to you on this point. If I were actually mounting a comeback, I would — want the quotes to run. They would build my visibility. They would signal — to my potential allies — that I was active again. The fact that I am — asking you to suppress them is — itself — evidence that I do not want them to run.
"If you do not believe me — you will not act. The story will run. The fight will begin. I will be — pulled into something I do not want, on the basis of words I did not speak. Your unit's effectiveness will be — gradually diminished. Bai's network will — recover.
"If you do believe me — you act. The story does not run. The fabrication is — frustrated. Bai's network's recovery operation fails. Your unit continues at full effectiveness.
"Either way — I cannot prove I am telling you the truth. I am — relying on your judgment."
Lin watched him.
He said: "Wait here."
#
He went to the corridor. He walked to a quiet alcove. He called Lao Wei.
"Pang is in my office. He says someone is fabricating quotes attributed to him. He's asking me to suppress Wen Qiao's follow-up story."
A pause on the line.
Lao Wei said: "Is the fabrication consistent with — what we already suspected about Bai's network's recovery operation."
"Yes."
"Then he is — likely telling the truth."
"What do I do."
"Suppress the story. But do it carefully. Wen Qiao's paper has — published one significant piece based on your sourcing in the past two weeks. They will — be reluctant to suppress a follow-up that builds on the same line. You will need to — give them something else in exchange."
"What."
"Tell Wen Qiao — that the fabricated quotes are part of Bai's network's recovery operation. Tell her — that running them will assist the network. Tell her — that her paper will receive — within forty-eight hours — a different story that more directly serves their interests in this matter. The different story will be — about the operational connection between Bai's network and the Western Industrial Park fire. We have — additional photographs. We will provide them."
"Do we?"
"We will. Tonight. I will — make some calls. By tomorrow morning we will have — material. Wen Qiao's paper will have — a substantive story to run instead of the fabricated quotes. Both sides win."
"And Pang — you trust him."
"Conditionally. He is — telling the truth this time, I believe. That does not mean he is — your friend. It means he is — currently aligned with you against a common adversary. The alignment is — temporary."
"Yes."
#
He went back to his office.
Pang was — exactly where he had been. He had not — moved.
Lin said: "Section Chief Pang. I will — make the call. Wen Qiao's paper will not run the follow-up. They will run — a different story instead. The different story will — make use of materials we will provide them."
Pang's face — for the first time since he arrived — eased slightly.
He said: "Thank you, Lin."
"You owe me — one specific thing in return."
"Yes."
"In the next year, when I need — information from your advisory office — about something specific I will name at the time — you will provide it. Without question. Without — qualification. The information will be — within your authority to share. I will not ask anything inappropriate. But — I will ask, and you will answer."
Pang looked at him for a long moment.
He said: "Agreed."
"That is the price."
"Yes."
Pang stood. He extended his hand.
Lin shook it.
Pang said: "You are — different from what I expected, Lin. When I hired you in August. I had thought — you would be — a useful clerk for two years. I had not — predicted this conversation."
"Yes."
"Walk safely."
He left.
#
Wen Qiao's paper did not run the follow-up.
Two days later, they ran a different story — about Bai's network's transport company, the holding company structure, and the operational connections between Bai's office and three separate construction sites in the province where similar "incidents" had occurred in the past eighteen months.
The story was — devastating. It implicated Bai's network in operational sabotage at a pattern level. It produced — at the provincial level — a formal inquiry into Bai's office.
The inquiry would, over six months, ultimately produce — Vice-Governor Bai's quiet transfer to a less powerful position.
The fabricated quotes about Pang were — never published.
The recovery operation failed.
#
That evening, in the apartment, Su Wanyin said:
"Pang."
"Yes."
"Do you trust him."
"Conditionally. For the moment. As long as our interests align."
"And — afterwards."
"I — do not know. He may revert. He may — having survived this with my help — actually reform. Or he may simply — wait until the situation changes again."
"You owe him — nothing."
"He owes me one piece of information when I ask."
"That is — useful."
"Yes."
She — almost smiled.
"You are — building a — different kind of network than my father's, Lin Zhaoxu."
"How is it different."
"My father's network was — built on shared values. Yours is — built on shared interests, momentarily aligned. Both are — useful. Different in texture."
"Which is more durable."
She thought.
She said: "My father's, in the long run. Yours, in the short. The trick is — to know which you have, in any given person, at any given time."
"Yes."
She kissed him.
She said: "Sleep. You look tired."
He slept.
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