“Kadmus has your photo,” Beecham said.
“I know. Brasden got it. I’ll take care of it.”
“Brasden has started showing it in the villages in Yorshoi region. Will he get your name there?”
“Probably. The villagers are simple people. I said I’ll take care of it, Beecham.”
“Will we have to do an erasure?”
“A minor one, perhaps. I’ll let you know.”
“Kadmus is getting too close to you. The committee is becoming troubled.”
“There are two solutions to that problem. Let me get rid of Kadmus.” He paused. “Or get rid of me.”
“Cameron.”
“It’s very logical.”
“I told you that long term, Kadmus is of value to us.” He added, “And there’s no way the committee would ever let you go. You’re one of us. Sometimes, I think you’re the best of us.”
“Then listen to me. I can’t pussyfoot around to keep from killing Kadmus. Now the CIA is involved, and they could take him out in a way that would not be as private as I’d like. Go back and tell them that they have to rethink advance strategy.”
“I’ll do what I can.” He was silent. “It’s the first time you’ve ever allowed a photo be taken of you, Cameron.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“Kadmus would call it a mistake.”
“Was it?”
“No, it was a choice. I needed to get that helicopter safely away. It was important to me.”
“Are you too involved?”
“Yes, but I’ll make it right. Anything else, Beecham?”
“No, I just wanted you to know that a photo was taken.” He added, “And to ask if we could help in any way.”
“I’ll let you know. Thanks.” He hung up.
It was only a matter of days, perhaps hours, before Brasden would have his name. Not that it would do him much good. The erasure of his identity had been too complete and a name would be of little value. But it would give Kadmus a sense of power and confidence, and that would furnish the impetus for him to go forward more quickly.
Adjust.
Go first to Yorshoi and make sure that Brasden wasn’t doing damage to those villagers. After that, he should go into hiding for a time. Let Ling and the CIA handle Erin for a while. That would be the safe, approved thing to do.
Would he do it?
Hell, no.
* * *
This damn Google search was not only painstaking, it was frustrating.
Catherine rubbed her blurry eyes and closed them for a moment. The frustrating part was the fact that Erin was sitting three rows ahead of her and could answer all the questions for which she was searching if she only would. Catherine had spent over two hours on the lotus search, and she hadn’t seen anything that was in the least helpful.
Lightning had not struck.
She opened her eyes. Get back to it. Find a clue. Find a path. Find something that she could bring to Erin and throw at her and see her reaction.
She flipped to the new page.
It was halfway down on the third page.
She had almost skipped over it.
She couldn’t breathe as she clicked on the link.
Her gaze raked the page while she frantically made notes.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered.
* * *
Two hours later Catherine pushed away the computer and reached for the phone. She noticed her hand was shaking. Calm down, the excitement was too extreme. She couldn’t be sure that she was coming anywhere close to the truth.
The idea could be completely bizarre. No, it
was
completely bizarre. But that didn’t mean that it couldn’t have some basis in truth. If the necklace was the key, then this was one answer.
Lightning had struck, and she had to follow it to ground zero.
But first, she had to try to connect the dots. She quickly dialed Venable. “Erin’s safe. We’re on our way to San Francisco,” she said when he picked up. “But Kadmus isn’t out of the picture. We’re still going to have trouble with him.”
“As long as Erin Sullivan is safe and back in the U.S., our job is officially over. Good job, Catherine.”
“I told you, it’s not over. I’m not going to have Kadmus pick her up and haul her back to Tibet for more fun and games. We have to take him out.”
“Give me her location, and I’ll have someone keep an eye on her.”
“That’s not good enough. Kadmus is motivated, and he’ll never stop. He has a damn bloody army at his disposal. The only way I can stop him is to find out what’s driving him and stage a trap or ambush.”
He was silent. “I don’t want this to drag on and on, Catherine. When Sullivan gets off that plane, she’s no longer our problem.”
“She’s
my
problem.” She drew a deep breath. “But I’ll try to wrap it up as soon as I can. But I need some information from you, and I need it quick. You said that Kadmus was pretty wealthy and had several legitimate business enterprises in Tibet as well as all the loot he made from criminal activities.”
“That’s right.”
“Will you e-mail me the list of those legit investments right away?”
“I could do that.” He added curiously, “Why?”
“I’m not sure. It may be nothing, or it may be an answer. How quick can you get it to me?”
“Thirty minutes.”
“Good. Do it.” That sounded too curt and she didn’t want him to drag his feet because he was annoyed with her. Besides, he was doing this against his will. “Thanks, Venable.”
“You’re welcome,” he said dryly. He hung up.
She leaned back in her seat.
Thirty minutes.
It was going to be a long thirty minutes.
“Your eyes are brilliant, your cheeks are flushed.” Hu Chang was coming down the aisle toward her. “I believe I’m perceiving signs of success.” He stopped and looked down at her. “I thought it might be so. It was interesting watching you work these last hours. Would you like to share it with me?”
“No. You weren’t overly cooperative about sharing everything with me. You made me dive in and work all the details out for myself. I may feel generous after I finish putting everything together.” She made a face at him. “Or I may not.”
“I hope you will,” he said. “And you might consider why I was not eager for you to learn too much. I knew I probably could not keep you from tearing away all the veils, but there was the slightest chance…”
“You were protecting Cameron.”
“No, I was protecting you,” he said soberly. The next instant, he had turned and was walking back up the aisle to his seat.
She stared after him. The excitement of the previous moment was gone, quenched by Hu Chang’s uncharacteristic gravity. There was no question of his sincerity and she felt a sudden chill.
She moved her shoulders to shake it off. Was he protecting her from Cameron? The path she was following might very well lead to a confrontation with him.
She couldn’t worry about it now. She wasn’t going to stop until she’d solved all the puzzles and answered all the questions. Then she’d deal with Cameron and Kadmus and anyone else who would prove a threat to Erin.
She just wished Venable would hurry with that information so that she could begin.
Her e-mail alert tinged softly forty minutes later. She hurriedly accessed Venable’s message. Not really a message. Just a fairly long list of companies in which Kadmus had an interest. She went over the list of names quickly. She didn’t recognize most of them. They were Chinese and Indian, no English or American. She wasn’t even sure that she’d find the connection for which she was looking. Kadmus was boldly arrogant but he still might have decided to go undercover with this particular investment. She started checking addresses for each company.
She stopped at the fourth company from the bottom.
Yunnan Province. She had run across that location in the last Google lotus research she’d gone through.
She quickly typed in the name of the Chinese company in Yunnan Province.
She inhaled sharply. Her heart leaped to her throat.
Bingo.
* * *
“His name is Cameron,” Brasden said as he got off the helicopter and strode over to Kadmus. “I couldn’t get a first name. Hell, maybe that is his first name. But I don’t think so. Those villagers said that name Cameron as if it stood alone, as if
he
stood alone. They were friendly at first and then closed up the more I questioned them. No one seemed to know anything much about him. Some people thought he was a journalist, others thought he might be a spy from Beijing. Most of them only knew he was just a Westerner who moved in and out of the villages throughout Tibet.”
“Did he hire guides?”
Brasden shook his head. “No guides. He visited several monasteries, but I thought you wouldn’t want the monks disturbed until you were ready to move on them. It tends to cause a lot of outrage among the people when the monks are targeted. I left a few men to watch the monasteries and see if anyone of his description showed up at any of them.”
“No, I’m not ready yet to go after them.” He’d had his own experience with those damn religious fanatics when he’d kicked them out of Daksha. They’d clung to the villagers and caused him nothing but trouble. He’d rather go after Cameron at a place easier for him to control. “Keep on searching. You have a name. That should help.”
“I also have the name of the pilot who delivered them to Hong Kong. George Tashdon. They transferred to another flight at a private airport outside the city.”
“Going where?”
“I’m still working on it.” He held up his hand. “I know the name of that pilot, too. Jack Sen. Be patient. I’ll have it all for you within a few days.” He paused. “Don’t you think I deserve a reward?”
Kadmus’s gaze narrowed on Brasden. “What do you have in mind?”
“Just a small cut of the pie that you’re trying to devour all by yourself. Who is Cameron to you? Tell me, and I’ll serve him up to you with all the fixings.”
Who was Cameron to him? He was the answer. The guide to everything he’d always wanted to be. If he had Cameron, he could force him to make all the dreams of power come true.
“I’ll consider it.” Kadmus moved toward his jeep. “Find out where Jack Sen is taking them. Cameron won’t risk leaving them on their own. Follow Erin and Ling, and we have a chance of finding Cameron.”
I have your name, Cameron. I know what you look like. I know you have a weakness for Erin Sullivan.
I’ve got you in my sights, Cameron.
CHAPTER
11
“How are you doing?” Catherine sat down in the seat next to Erin. “Whenever I looked up from working, you were always snoozing.” She set her computer on the table between the seats. “Best thing for you, of course.”
“I’m doing fine,” Erin said quietly. “These long flights can be exhausting, but I’ve always been able to sleep on them. From the time I became a journalist, I’ve always considered that a blessing.” She paused. “But evidently you didn’t choose to sleep on this one.” She glanced down at Catherine’s computer. “The one or two times I looked back at you, I saw you pounding those computer keys.” Her gaze rose to Catherine’s face. “And now you’re here and smiling at me and about to pounce. Just what were you doing back there?”
“I was doing searches on the little information that I’ve been given and trying to make educated guesses.” She added, “And ‘pounce’ is a word you use about an enemy. I’m not your enemy. I’ll never be your enemy. You must have a good reason for keeping me in the dark, but I can’t stay there. It’s not my nature. I had to find a way to let light into the darkness.”
Erin stiffened. “And how did you do that?”
Catherine took a deep breath, then threw it at her. “Shambhala.”
Erin’s eyes flickered. Her lips tightened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
But there had been a definite response, Catherine thought. Erin knew the word, and it had been a shock to her coming from Catherine.
“I’m talking about a place that’s said to be a hidden paradise that was supposed to be the center of wisdom in the highlands of central Asia. Its inhabitants’ prime goal in life was to store power and knowledge and prepare the way to start life over after the outer world had destroyed itself. Its existence has been rumored for thousands of years in the myths of India, China, and even Europe.”
“Really?”
“You haven’t heard about it? That’s strange when you’ve been living intimately with the people of Tibet. Shambhala is an essential part of their culture.”
“I’m a journalist, not a historian.”
“I think you do know about it. But I’m not going to try to make you betray yourself or your word or whatever.” She smiled. “That would be pouncing. Instead, I’ll tell you how I came around to finding Shambhala.” She gestured to Erin’s necklace. “I thought that could be the key, so I googled eight-sided lotus and spent hours trying to find a clue.”
Erin’s hand tightened around her pendant. “A clue to this Shambhala?”
“I didn’t know anything about Shambhala. Oh, I might have heard a reference to it sometime or other, but it wasn’t on my radar. Until I finally found a reference to an eight-sided lotus that connected it to Shambhala.” She slowly shook her head. “It blew me away.”
“Why? You said yourself this place is only a myth.”
“I said that it was said to be a myth. What if it actually existed?”
“Then it would have been discovered and debunked decades ago.”
“Would it?”
“People are always hunting for hidden treasures or lost cities like Atlantis. Do they find them? No, because they don’t exist. And because of modern technology and satellites, there’s no place to hide any longer.”
“Perhaps.”
“No perhaps,” she said firmly. “Anything else is the stuff of Indiana Jones or
Tomb Raider
movies.”
“It’s strange you should mention movies.” She smiled. “Though the one that could pertain to Shambhala wasn’t that recent. It was a vintage classic.
Lost Horizon.
It was based on a novel by James Hilton and was all about a perfect place called Shangri-La. Where people only wished to live in peace. I’m sure you’ve heard of that particular myth.”
“Of course, I even saw the movie on late-night TV.”
“Hilton modeled his hidden city of Shangri-La on Shambhala. He borrowed some of his material from the memoirs of Abbe Huc and other Catholic missionaries who explored Tibet and the culture of the lamas in the nineteenth century.”