“You could have sent a hit man in to get him.”
“Yes.”
“But he made you an offer you couldn’t refuse.”
“Several offers. Tibet is a difficult country, and Kadmus was useful on occasion.”
“Until he snatched Erin Sullivan. The publicity probably made him too hot for you to handle.”
“It wasn’t the publicity. She’s an American citizen. No one can be allowed to victimize an American citizen.”
And he believed every word he was saying, she realized. He was both cynical and a master manipulator, but he had a code, and he stuck by it. It was the only reason she had been able to work with him all these years. “And is he victimizing her? Why did he kidnap her?”
“We don’t know.” He paused. “We believe she has something he wants. Is he victimizing her? Yes, there have been reports of torture.”
She went still. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“You weren’t ready. You’d have accused me of playing on your sympathy to keep you from being with your son.” He added grimly, “But we’ve got to get her out of Tibet pretty damn quick, or it won’t be in one piece.”
“Unless she gives him what he wants.”
“I don’t believe that’s an option. She’s held out this long.”
She changed the subject. “Where is he keeping her?”
“Utset Province. Daksha Mountain, an ancient palace deep in the mountains. It was taken over by the monks when the local royal family was killed off by a warring neighbor. Kadmus moved in and kicked out the monks a couple years ago. It’s practically inaccessible from the outside.”
“Then how would you get me in?”
“A helicopter that will let you out on the left slope of the mountain. You’d have to climb up to the plateau from there and find your own way into the palace. I can give you a map of the location of Kadmus’s troops within the gates and the outside sentries. There’s a drainage pipe that we thought would be a possible way in, but we’ve crossed that out now.”
“Why?”
Venable didn’t speak for a moment. “A young village boy used it to try to get in to rescue her. He was killed, and the pipe may have been discovered as an entry source.”
She felt sick. “A young boy…”
“So you’ll probably have to climb the compound wall and come in through the roof of the palace.”
“And how am I supposed to get her out?”
“That’s up to you.”
“Thank you.” But she’d probably prefer it that way. Planned exits had a habit of going to hell when you were on the spot. “The helicopter?”
“The pilot can stay in the area if you don’t alert Kadmus’s men. If you do, he has orders to leave. Kadmus has missile launchers.”
“My alternative?”
“There’s a village on the mountain, but it’s controlled by Kadmus. You’ll have to leave the area and head for one of the other mountains. The closest one is Milchang Mountain. Sullivan might know a village that will shelter and hide you until you can get out of the country. Otherwise, you trek across the mountains until you get to a place where we can set down a helicopter.”
“Time?”
“Best-case scenario, you’re in and out in three hours with Sullivan in tow. Worst-case scenario, you’re hiding in the mountains for four to six weeks until we can get to you.”
“It had better be a best-case scenario.” She paused. “How soon can you get me there?”
“You’re going to go?”
“I didn’t say that. How soon?”
“I could have a man pick you up on the dock in three hours. I have a helicopter ready, packed with all the emergency equipment you’ll need at a heliport in town. You’ll be in Utset Province in four hours if the weather holds.”
“Is there a chance it won’t?”
“There’s always that chance. High altitude, misty snow when it’s not a blizzard, freezing temperatures. Kadmus had a reason for establishing his headquarters there.” He added quietly, “And a reason why Erin Sullivan’s chances are going down the tube with every passing day. Are you going to help improve those chances? She deserves it, Catherine.”
“We all deserve it.” But some deserved the chance to survive a little more than others. Erin Sullivan had earned that preference when she had saved all those victims in the earthquake. There was such a thing as payback. “It had better be that best-case scenario, Venable.”
“Yes.”
“And you get me out of here without Hu Chang knowing that I’ve gone, or it’s no deal.”
“No problem.”
“Liar. I can see big problems from start to finish. I’ll be on the dock in three hours.” She hung up.
She was an idiot. She should not be worrying about anything or anyone but her relationship with Luke.
You told me once that being CIA is something like being a soldier. Isn’t it your job?
Yes, it was. She had made the decision which way she wanted her life to go a long time ago. For a person of her background in Hong Kong, there had been only two paths, and she had turned her back on the corruption that would have been the easy choice.
And besides Erin Sullivan, there was Hu Chang, who would be going after her if Catherine did not. She would not be able to stay on the sidelines and worry about his running up against a bastard like Paul Kadmus.
All right, decision made.
She got to her feet and headed for the shower. She had this evening with Luke, and she would forget everything else and live for the moment. It was how she had always tried to deal with every adversity, and this one might be shaping up to be one nightmare of an adversity.
Just live for the moment and hope for that best-case scenario.
* * *
“Catherine is lighting up my garden tonight,” Chen Lu said to Hu Chang. Her bemused gaze was fixed on Catherine and Luke, who were going down the steps of the terrace to the garden after dinner. “She was tired when she arrived, but she seems to have made a rapid recovery.”
“Perhaps too rapid.” Hu Chang lifted his wine to his lips. “We’ll have to see.”
“You’ll have to see,” Chen Lu said. “I have nothing to do with the complicated relationship you have with Catherine. It sometimes bewilders me, so I prefer to not think about it. You’re the one who analyzes and studies. I just enjoy.”
“I know.” Hu Chang smiled faintly. “That’s a great and wonderful gift. And may you continue to enjoy it for the foreseeable future.”
“I intend to do that.” She laughed as she reached over and touched his hand with affection. “With the help of my friend.” Her gaze returned to Catherine. “That ivory brocade is magnificent on her. I thought I preferred her in color, but that caftan makes her dark hair and gold-olive skin seem to burn in contrast. She’s truly beautiful, isn’t she?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “And you’re right, she seems extremely high-voltage tonight.” He paused. “I’m going away tomorrow morning. Before dinner, I talked to Garret Flannan, your head of security. I told him to put on extra personnel and assign special security to Catherine and Luke while they’re here. They don’t go anywhere alone.” He met Chen Lu’s gaze. “See to it.”
Her smile faded. “Trouble? I suspected as much.” She grimaced. “Tell me I’m not going to have to plant another new garden. I was most upset when you let it be destroyed by that terrible man who came after you, Hu Chang.”
“Just a precaution.” He smiled. “And there will always be terrible, troublesome men who come after me. If you want to avoid the problems I bring to your doorstep, you could always throw me into the streets.”
“Not likely,” Chen Lu said. “I’m not that kind of fool. What’s a paltry garden or two compared to the gift you bring me?”
“You still have no regrets?”
“Not yet.” She was silent a moment. “When I do, I’ll come to you and beg one of those poisons that you sell for so much money.” She lifted her chin and smiled. “Or perhaps for old times’ sake, you’ll give it to me for nothing.”
“Perhaps I will. If I’m still around.”
Her smile faded. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Life moves quickly and changes every minute. One can never be sure.” He rose to his feet. “I have a few preparations to make for my trip. I believe I’ll go and say good night to Catherine and Luke.” He crossed the terrace and started down the steps. “You’ll remember to make sure Flannan does as I told him?”
“Don’t be ridiculous; of course I will.” Her Irish accent deepened with emotion as she added, “And I’m not going to like it one bit if you’re stupid enough to get yourself killed. What would I do without you? I like the idea of a choice.”
“I’ll remember that,” Hu Chang said. “And I’ll do my utmost to oblige.”
* * *
“Hu Chang is coming.” Luke was looking over his shoulder. “I thought I heard his footstep.”
“Heard?” Catherine looked down at him. “He’s yards away, and how would you know it is him?”
“He taught me,” Luke said. “It was fun, like a game. We worked all day in the lab, but after dinner, we would sit outside the shop. He would point to someone in the crowds in front of the other shops or the market and tell me to concentrate, listen to the sound of that person’s footstep so I’d recognize it if I closed my eyes.”
“Why?”
“He said it might be useful.” He shrugged. “Besides, it was fun. It was a puzzle. It took a long time, but I got pretty good at it.”
“And what else did Hu Chang teach you?”
“All kinds of things,” Luke said vaguely. “He knows a lot of stuff. But you know that, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. But he never taught me anything like that.” She turned as Hu Chang caught up with them. “What have you been teaching my son?” She made a face. “Besides creating miracle fertilizers and heaven knows what other concoctions?”
“To concentrate and use his six senses.” He nodded at Luke. “Or any others that he might discover. I detest wasting a skill. He’s exceptionally good at focusing.”
“I was telling him that you never taught me anything like that.”
“You were my friend, not my apprentice. One must let a friend decide for themselves.” He said to Luke, “Though sometimes an apprentice can become a friend as long as the respect remains. We will consider that possibility when I return.”
Catherine stiffened. “You’re leaving?”
“Not until morning. I only came to say good night.”
She tried to hide her relief. “But I’ll see you in the morning?”
He nodded. “It will be early. About four, I think.”
“But I’ll be able to talk to you.”
He smiled faintly. “Talk. Not persuade.” He glanced back at Luke. “You will guard her?”
Luke frowned. “If you think I should.”
“Always,” Hu Chang said. “It is your duty and your privilege.” He turned away. “Sleep well.” The next moment, he was walking away from them.
She wanted to go after him. She felt sad … and wrong. She had never lied to him even by omission.
Luke was watching him, too. “You said he wouldn’t go.”
She nodded. “And I meant it. He won’t be leaving you, Luke.”
“But he just said that—”
“It will be all right.” She started back toward the palace. “I told you, I’ll take care of it.”
* * *
Two hours later, spray mist was striking Catherine’s cheeks as Agent Les Caudell guided the speedboat through the harbor. He was a small, fiftyish man with gray-streaked hair and compact, muscular body who hadn’t smiled once since he’d picked her up fifteen minutes ago.
“Is everything ready? When I called Venable back, he said that you’d also be flying the helicopter.” Catherine’s gaze was fixed on the lights of the city in the distance. “I want to be out of Hong Kong within the hour.”
“You’re in a hurry. You won’t be so eager once we cross into Tibet,” Caudell said dryly. “That area where I’m going to drop you is hell on Earth. Just substitute ice for flames.”
“You’re familiar with it? Good.”
“As familiar as I can be. I’ve been assigned to Kadmus for six years.”
“What do you know about him?”
“Not much. He likes it that way. He makes sure that the villagers don’t talk to outsiders.”
“How?”
“They disappear, and when they’re found, they lack body parts.”
“That would be effective. Who’s Kadmus’s chief enforcer?”
“They come and go. Kadmus has a nasty temper. At the moment it’s Peter Brasden, a South African mercenary. I asked Venable to e-mail you photos of both Kadmus and Brasden. Brasden walks very carefully around Kadmus, but he likes power, too, and might be lured to sell him out.”
“I don’t intend to be around long enough to lure him to do anything. Venable said that my best bet would be to get into the palace through the roof. Is the roof guarded?”
“No, but you’ll have a hell of a time getting through the guards in the courtyard. Brasden keeps them in tip-top shape, and he doesn’t tolerate carelessness. He knows it could be his neck if he did.”
“Where does Kadmus keep Erin Sullivan?”
“She’s allowed the run of the place, but he’s given her quarters in the south wing.”
“Run of the place? Are we sure that she’s a prisoner?”
“We’re sure,” he said grimly. “I think he likes the idea of making her feel that no matter what she does, she’s totally in his power. She tried to escape twice and paid a high price.”
“How do you know?” She gazed at him shrewdly, then guessed. “You bribe someone in the palace. Can he help me?”
“No, I wouldn’t ask him. I’ve worked too hard to establish a connection.” He added, “But I can give you a map of the palace and the times the guard changes.”
“Don’t be too generous,” she said sarcastically. “How much will a map of the palace help me?”
“Very little. It’s kind of a small palace. Only nine or ten rooms and scantily furnished. Kadmus would probably be more comfortable evicting the monks from the bigger monastery on Milchang, the next mountain over, but he likes the idea of living in that moth-eaten grandeur.” He gave her a cool glance. “And I’m giving you what I can afford to give. I’m not sacrificing one contact and certainly not my life to make it easy for you. Venable thinks you’re some super-duper agent who can whisk down and pull Sullivan out of that hellhole. You’re a legend here in Hong Kong, but legends die just like anyone else.”
She stared at him in surprise. “You’re angry. Why?”
He was silent, then finally said, “It’s stupid sending you in alone. A Special Forces team might have a chance. You’re going to get her killed.”