Chapter 50: I am a Billionaire...I am a Spy

Being real with people is the most effective way of gaining their trust. If they spot a fake, you've lost all hope and it's time to move along to another mark. A fake interest is something like "oh neat" or "that sounds cool" (it's ok to say these types of things but don't repeat them over and over). It's always important to interject with relativity "so that's kind of like..." or "that reminds me of..." "is that related to..." things like this, making associations, connecting ideas. This keeps the conversation going. Never ever say "that's weird" "I've never heard of that before" or anything that has to potential to shut down the flow of a conversation and lead to awkwardness or silence.

Once contact and trust are established, it's time to start planning ahead and execute with the best of your knowledge and skills. Always find options for what you're doing. And, lastly, as what I've learned which stick on my mind, "Don't get caught."

We've been transported back to our hotel suite after a month of training which made us conclude that we were truly submerged into spy jobs. My relationship with Oliver deepened as time went by like his father Mike Luna. Our bonding was meant for the job and we exchanged ideas as long as we had time to discuss.

Oliver always reminded me of my chore to check the laptop for every report coming from my business managers who handled the organizations; from the whole of the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines. Oliver too has his own personal laptop. But I regularly checked emails coming from my family, especially the children. They have grown up already and each had its own way of dealing with the future.

Ayah Isabel nurtured our children with dignity and respect. Five of them really made it to the top of their careers; Anne Rose Gonzales Fernando worked for American Company, Kent Ian Gonzales Fernando, a Philippine Senator, John Philip Gonzales Fernando, an Engineer, Danny Robert Gonzales Fernando, a true-bloodied businessman and Christine Mae Gonzales Fernando, an actress-model.

While my two children from Danielle Gustilo; Shaira Gustilo Fernando and Marco Gustilo Fernando Jr had their own lives to tread. I never heard of them ever since I visited the Philippines. I slept while reminiscing the past with my children, I missed them so much.

After two days of resting in our hotel suite, I received a call from CIA HQ that I have a couple of weeks of training from the HQ, meet some CIA agents, and review other facets of the operations.

We went to the CIA HQ at Langley for training on how to penetrate Shanghai where the cyber warfare espionage came from and as what the Americans predicted. From the past decade, China developed a modern way of penetrating the internet by gathering enormous data of some large and medium corporations around the world. In a report to Congress, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission stated that "China's government, the Chinese Communist Party, and Chinese individuals and organizations continue to hack into American computer systems and networks as well as those of foreign entities and governments."China is actively pursuing cyber capabilities with a focus on the ex-filtration of information, some of which could be of strategic or military utility. Chinese commercial espionage is as much a state‐sponsored activity as its military and civilian operations. The Chinese government supports commercial espionage as a necessary economic activity to help create Chinese commercial advantage and strategic success in the 21st century. Beijing has at its disposal an army of computer hackers, immigrants (residents in target countries), intelligence operatives, scientists, and students.

We accepted our mission called "Tzechi" through the Philippine representative, Jose Villanueva, best friend of the Philippine President. He's a member of the senate who had the courage to support this operation. Even though there were people who opposed this project, still, the majority of the senate approved a Bill for this purpose because the stance of the Chinese government to the West Philippine Sea was escalating tension.

Oliver and I studied our paths on how to penetrate Shanghai with our resources at hand while incorporating the CIA method of infiltrating inside the enemy territory. We devised flowcharts in which Oliver Luna could aid my disguise and help me complete my mission. His participation depends on my prowess to initiate and carry out other jobs in my command. More than that, he's a backup for whatever I am doing for the rest of this mission.

For almost a week, we integrated ourselves to focus on our forthcoming mission while staying inside our hotel suite. We derived a final plan for execution and reported back to CIA HQ at Langley.

In the conference room, I discussed my plans, every facet of the mission, every detail of what I could make this endeavor a success and, went through with my own insights for delivering positive feedback for the outcome of the mission. Oliver too, declared his willingness to be paired by accompanying me to China as my confidante. Besides, we had a handler inside the Chinese Territory who could guide and provide us with helpful information to complete my mission.

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We traveled back to Dubai City for initiating the planned mission. Within a month of preparation, I concluded that it was time to begin the strategies in which we can get hold of entering China. But something went wrong when one day Oliver told me about his Chinese girlfriend.

"Marc, you know, our mission is China...and I told Janet Liang about...well, I'm going to China together with you to put up a restaurant business. And, since she has knowledge of the place...she suggested helping us out or a partner for this endeavor. I tried to dissuade her but insisted all the way. Do you want to meet her? You know I loved her so much, Marco."

I looked Oliver in his eyes for a minute which proved to me that he was telling the truth. Nothing seemed extraordinary but the natural feeling he showed to me, was confirmed by his willingness to be with this girl. I weighed things within my instinct if this girl can be an asset to our mission. But the fact remains that Oliver could not divulge our jobs, and she won't know about our mission.

"Okay Oliver, I feel you...and willing to be with her all along in China, I think we could use her for other facets of our operations. You know that...we're undercover and we need success. Our country needs us for this matter. I'll keep this secret...this is between the three of us, okay? Call her and schedule the meeting."

"Okay Marc, I'll dial it now."

Even when Oliver won't tell me about Janet Liang I anticipated this thing in advance. I can use her for sure. She's Chinese and her family lives in Shanghai. They had businesses scattered all over China; Hongkong, Macau, Dandong, and Beijing. I am sure that Janet Liang can help us in China.

Even the Koreans had a presence in China through the restaurant business. As our CIA trainers told us, North Korea's global network of state-run restaurants, most in China, are dens of espionage and sites of operations involving tens of thousands of overseas North Koreans who send the regime in Pyongyang more than $100 million in hard currency annually.

In Asia alone, the U.S. government has identified 60 restaurants ranging from Nepal to Cambodia to Dandong, China – located along the Yalu River separating China from North Korea.

Additionally, North Korea has dispatched up to 40,000 guest workers abroad. The workers are forced to live in slave-like conditions and provide a large portion of their funds to the communist government.

North Korea's restaurants have become important sources of currency. The restaurants make annual payments to Pyongyang of between $10,000 and $30,000. From the 60 restaurants in Asia—including 44 in China, one each in Bangladesh, Burma, Malaysia, Nepal, Indonesia, and Laos, and five each in Cambodia and Vietnam—up to $1.8 million is remitted to Pyongyang.

All North Korean foreign intelligence stations were directed to procure their own funds. The Reconnaissance General Bureau has been using its North Korean restaurants in Beijing to finance its operations.

The North Koreans operate 11 restaurants in the Chinese capital; six in Shanghai and six in Dandong near North Korea. Many of the restaurants feature a traditional cold noodle dish and include song and dance numbers by North Korean waitresses and singers who intelligence officials say are also trained in the black arts of intelligence seduction.

The restaurant network is controlled by the North Korean military's General Reconnaissance Bureau—specifically, Bureau 39, which is in charge of gathering hard currency for the regime. The Bureau is part of North Korea's vast political police and intelligence system designed to keep the totalitarian communist regime of a ruler in power.

The restaurants also have been linked to money laundering operations and other illicit activities by North Korea, whose agents in the past have been implicated in illegal drug trafficking.

Another mission of the restaurants is to spy on South Korean travelers who frequent the restaurants. Defectors say waitresses at the eateries are trained in intelligence gathering with an emphasis on prying corporate secrets from business travelers.

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