Welcoming his silent encouragement, she proceeded with new vigor.
“He’s not my boyfriend. Give it up. The Golden Urn will never be yours.”
How long she could push her boundaries, she didn’t know, but she would push however much the situation allowed. As long as Sam was still alive and able to fight, she couldn’t back down.
The kidnapper clicked his fingers. From the corner of her eye, she spotted movement in the dark. Moments later, two more ninjas approached pulling a squeaky-wheeled trolley behind them. Once they stood in the light behind Sam, Alex noticed the car battery and bucket on top of the cart. At first, she didn’t quite put the pieces together. Gold and blue sparks scattered through the murky shadows behind Sam. Horror paralyzed her body. Sam looked at her briefly before shutting his eyes and lowering his head to his chest. Tears flooded Alex’s tormented eyes. Shocking prisoners into submission had been a torture method used for thousands of years. In his current condition, Sam would never survive it. It could kill him, and no matter how much she wanted to protect the sacred lost relic, she would never be able to live with herself if they killed him.
Alex drew back several sharp breaths in an attempt to suppress her sobs that threatened to overwhelm her entire body as the masked men threw a bucket of water over Sam’s battered body and tortured him in front of her. She vomited across the floor between her feet and shut her eyes tight. Sam’s agonizing screams bellowed through the empty warehouse before she could no longer stomach it.
“STOP! STOP!” she screamed.
They did, and she heard Sam breathe a massive sigh of relief in response. She cried uncontrollably as she watched his lifeless body dangling from the rafters.
“You can end all of this, Miss Hunt. Tell us where the Urn is,” the man’s voice echoed from the back of the storeroom.
“Sam,” she whispered through her sobs, ignoring the kidnapper’s threats.
“Let him down,” she cried which yielded no reaction whatsoever from the man at the back or his posse.
“I said, LET HIM DOWN!” spelling it out with emphasis.
The man clicked his fingers again, to which his group of puppets promptly responded. She watched as they cut Sam’s rope above his head and left him to slump down onto the wet cement floor like a puppet without a string. A second later they cut the cord from her own hands. Freed from the chair Alex leaped forward and lifted Sam’s head onto her lap. He still didn’t move. She wedged her body in behind his torso to aid the blood flow into his arms and rubbed each arm vigorously. Yet he didn’t wake up. If they murdered Sam, she would hunt them down until the ends of the earth.
“You killed him, you evil bastard!” she screamed. “You killed him!”
Her voice broke off as the tears poured down her cheeks onto Sam’s lifeless face. She didn’t care now anymore. They could kill her too.
“I will NEVER give you what you want! Do you hear me? NEVER! You killed him, and I will die before I ever let your grubby, greedy paws near that Urn!”
The man’s fingers clicked again, and one of his ninjas walked up and launched a bucket of water at Sam’s face, drenching Alex in the process. Sam jerked his head back and drew in a sharp breath.
“Sam! It’s me, Alex. Can you hear me?”
Barely audible he whimpered in response.
“Sam! You’re alive!” drying his face with the bottom of her T-shirt.
“He needs a doctor. You need to get him to the hospital,” Alex demanded.
“Miss Hunt. I told you before. You are in no position to give me any demands. I want the Urn, and you’re going to help me get it. Your boyfriend is alive — for now, but only for as long as you co-operate. So, do we have an understanding or not?”
This time, Alex knew she couldn’t call his bluff. This man, whoever the hell he was meant business and he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted; even if it meant killing Sam.
“If you don’t get a bed and food in here, I won’t help you. I need to see that Sam is taken care of first. Then I’ll help you.”
“That settles it then,” the man said clicking his fingers again after which two of his men picked Sam up and another threw Alex over his shoulders.
“Put me down you imbecile!” Her fists hammered against the thug’s back. “Where are you taking Sam? PUT ME DOWN!”
The men carried both her and Sam up a set of stairs to a small room in the ceiling of the warehouse. Alex watched as they placed Sam on a mattress on the floor and moments later a young timid looking female joined them and knelt next to Sam on the floor. With wide eyes, Alex stared at the young girl who couldn’t have been older than fifteen. She looked fearfully at the guards, and Alex noticed several cut marks and old bruises on her arms and face. She had read of the child trafficking rings operating in the East, and it was nauseatingly evident this teenager was there under duress. Alex couldn’t speak as the reality of her kidnapper’s violent and criminal acts hit her. The youth gently started cleaning Sam’s face and torso with soapy water and a clean towel. Sam let out soft groans as she sponged off his bruised and battered body.
“Sam. It will be ok. You’re going to be ok,” Alex managed to whisper.
Just then another young girl came into the room with a tray of noodle soup and water and proceeded to feed Sam.
Alex wasn’t sure if she should be happy that Sam was being seen to or sad that these poor young girls were subjected to a despicable act of slavery.
Perhaps the ninja with the black eyes couldn’t stomach it either because moments later he pulled Alex by her arm and shoved her toward the steps back down to the main level. They walked past the spot where Sam’s body had been tortured, and Alex glanced at the bloodstained puddle in the middle of the floor.
“Now, Miss Hunt,” the voice came again from the back. “I have kept my side of the bargain now it’s your turn. Where is the Golden Urn?”
Annoyingly the man was right. He did keep his promise in taking care of Sam. There was no escaping this. She would have to comply if they were to ever leave there alive.
“How do I know you won’t kill us after I tell you?” she challenged.
“You don’t. I guess you have no choice but to trust me.”
Alex didn’t answer. In her head, her mind was working overtime to find a way out of this awful ordeal. The truth was that she didn’t know where the Urn was either. All she had was the cipher from the ancient scroll, which would take them somewhere, but not to the final location of the Urn. Without the second scroll, it might be entirely futile.
“I can see you’re not easily convinced, Miss Hunt. So, I’ll make you a deal. You can lead my men, and once you find the Urn, I will give you the address to this location, and you can come back for Dr. Quinn.”
The man’s voice sounded arrogant and filled with deceit, but she was backed into a corner. If she went with him, and somehow managed to escape, she knew she’d be able to find this warehouse on her own to save Sam.
“Fine, but I can’t guarantee anything. Like I said before. There was a second scroll which burnt —“
“Yes, yes, Miss Hunt. So you say. I do happen to also know that you possess somewhat of a reputation for finding lost relics without any maps, so I’ll take my chances. Besides, I think I have made it abundantly clear that Sam will die if you don’t help me find that Urn.”
Alex looked up at the little room where the young girls were attending to Sam’s health. For now Sam was safe. Hopefully he’d recover enough until she comes back for him. She could by him a bit more time until she found a way to escape.
“I need my bag,” she said finally. “And know this, Mister. If you don’t keep your word by letting us go once you have the Urn, I will kill you with my bare hands.”
The man let out a callous laugh.
“Oh, Miss Hunt. You crack me up! I have been chasing relics all around the world longer than what you’ve been breathing oxygen and believe me; I have no intentions of getting caught, ever! Not by you or the au
thorities.”
And with that, he clicked his fingers and Alex’s was dragged out of the warehouse and back into the black van.
Chapter Fourteen
Still nauseated by having witnessed the despicable torture Sam had to endure, Alex sat in the back of the van as it drove off. For the very first time, the man with the black eyes spoke.
“Where do we need to go?”
It surprised Alex that he had a strong Asian accent and his somewhat high-pitched voice didn’t quite resemble his muscular exterior. Alex paused as she recalled the first part of the riddle.
Where the three kings sleep…
The urge to ignore the ninja’s question surged through her veins. She recalled the desperate look in Sam’s eyes. She was out of options. There was no use fighting it any further. She had to comply.
“Oudong Temple. We need to go to the three stupas.”
The driver accelerated. Twenty minutes later they stopped and, to further emphasize their power over her, abruptly pulled Alex from the van.
As usual, the temple was flooded with tourists. Alex looked at her hands that were still tied. She looked a mess. Her clothes were dirty and her T-shirt stained with Sam’s blood.
“I need to clean up first. Unless of course, you want the tourists to see that I’m being held captive? Oh, and another thing. Your ninja suits are kind of giving it away too. You might want to consider changing into something a bit more appropriate for the occasion.”
The three ninja kidnappers stopped. It was evident that the one with the black eyes was in charge when the other two looked at him for their orders. She had backed them into a corner. Removing their masks would expose their identities. He shoved her back into the van and tossed her backpack and a bottle of water onto the floor next to her before shutting the door.
When Alex stepped out of the van five minutes later the three ninja’s had removed their masks and changed their black shirts to more casual T-shirts. At the back of their necks, all three of them had the distinctive black scorpion tattoo. Without their uniforms, it was the only thing uniting them. Although they were all three Asian, they looked remarkably different. The man with the black eyes appeared slightly older with a scanty beard and mustache. A large tattoo of a tiger covered his entire right arm, and a red dragon decorated the other. With his mask off, his black eyes looked less pronounced against his thin lips that naturally curled up into a smile; even though he wasn’t smiling at all.
The other two appeared to be at least ten years his junior. Their faces were clean and youthful and their arms clear from any tattoos. Alex was aware that tiger tattoos were the markings of the champion ring fighters that dominated the martial arts fight clubs across Asia. The red dragon was usually awarded only to the sensei, which confirmed her suspicions that the black-eyed man was in fact in charge.
Aware that Alex was sizing them up, the sensei lifted his shirt to reveal his .45 semi-automatic pistol that was tucked in his waistband.
She slung her backpack over her shoulder and started walking toward the flight of steps. If she were to successfully escape today, she’d have to create the perfect opportunity to disappear into the crowds. Perhaps she could disunite the trio; divide and conquer, as it were.
“Is your boss not joining us? Leaving you to do his dirty work for him, is he?” She provoked.
They didn’t comment. Instead, Alex felt a strong hand between her shoulders when the black-eyed man shoved her forward. He might have had a mouth that hinted on a smile, but this man was far from pleasant. Annoyed with herself she headed up the multitude of steps to the stupas against the hill.
Halfway up her abductor stopped her.
“What are we looking for?”
It was evident he didn’t want them to be too integrated with the crowds and lose control of the situation.
Alex took a sip of water and answered him mockingly.
“I’ll let you know when I know.”
Her cocky answer didn’t fly. The black-eyed man pulled his gun from his waist, grabbed her by the arm and shoved it in her ribcage.
“Just because my boss isn’t here, doesn’t mean you can mess with me, woman.”
As if his grip on her arm and the gun in her side wasn’t warning enough, he spat on the floor next to her; proving just how little respect he had for her. In an instant, Alex’s bravery dissipated into a ball of dread inside her body. They might need her alive, but she could think of a million things he could do to hurt her without having to kill her. He had proven his loyalty to his puppet master already. She jerked her arm from his grip and looked him square in the eyes.
“I wasn’t messing with you. I don’t know what we’re looking for. The riddle said,
Where the sun’s rays meet.
As it stands, it could be anywhere. Problem is, it’s in the middle of the day, and the sun’s rays are everywhere. The clue could just as well mean at first light or at sunset. It’s impossible to know what time of day the sun is expected to hit at the exact point we’re meant to be.”
She stormed off up the stairs aware of him right behind her. This brute might have thought he had the upper hand, but she would not allow him to intimidate her. She needed to remain sharp and focused on getting as close as possible to the Urn and grabbing the first opportunity to escape. She told the truth. There was no way of knowing what to look for. Once at the top, she would have a bird’s eye view of the surrounds, and with any luck, she would spot something that revealed which direction to take.
As her emotions ran rampant with a jumble of fear and excitement she mulled the next part of the clue in her head.
The guardian of the ancient world sits at their feet
To her knowledge, both Greece and Rome had always referred to themselves as the ancient worlds, but in fact, the Chinese regarded themselves as having had the longest continuous civilization in the world. In all probability, the Chinese capital had been the most powerful economic center in the ancient world, attracting Western traders to buy and sell silk by the multitudes. It made perfect sense that the clue referred to the ‘ancient world’ being China.
Alex knew they would soon reach the top of the fourth stupa, which would still be taped off and guarded. Based off of her recent visit granting her access using the Commissioner-General’s letter, the guards on duty might not hesitate to let her pass. It was very likely that Roshi might be preparing the temple already. She couldn’t endanger anyone else’s life, least of all the monks’. Once they reached the row of three stupas halfway up the stairs, she stopped and pushed her way through the photo-snapping tourists to the Eastern railing. Her entourage remained close on her heels and masterfully managed to avoid being photographed. From up high the view was as breathtaking as she recalled when she and Sam were there. Thousands of trees spread their foliage like umbrellas over the expansive hills below. Her eyes frantically searched the jungle for anything that could resemble ‘the guardian of the world’ but noticed nothing. The intense sun casted rays of light everywhere.
“What are we waiting for?” the man with the black eyes asked quietly. “Hurry up. My boss is not a patient man.”
“I told you. I don’t have the foggiest idea what we’re looking for. I’m trying to find something called ‘the guardian of the ancient world’. It has to be something that’s of Chinese origin.”
She recognized the path where they followed Roshi toward the secret tunnel but quickly diverted the ninja’s attention by walking to the opposite side of the stupa. The secret tunnel could be her escape route if she managed to get away from them long enough without compromising the safety of the monks inside.
The three kidnappers flanked her like bodyguards around a celebrity; never once letting her out of their sight.
“There’s nothing here. I told your boss. We need the second scroll. We’re trying to find a needle in a haystack here.”
She stalled; trying to buy Sam extra time to recover before she went back for him. She purposefully left out the �
��sits at their feet’ part of the clue. She had already figured out that the ‘guardian of the ancient world’ was the giant statue of Buddha behind her, but she dared not reveal it just yet. Her father always said deciphering clues was her strength. Somehow her mind connected the dots before anyone else could.
She walked along the railing that wrapped around the three stupas all the while pretending to still be scouting. By now it was late afternoon and so far as her kidnappers were concerned, nowhere close to finding the Urn. She sensed they were becoming more agitated by the minute. She had an advantage, which she had all intentions of exploiting for as long as possible. Sam needed to sufficiently build up his strength if they were to escape this unscathed.
Gradually the busloads of tourists departed one by one as night fell.
“We’re going to have to sleep over tonight. I guess that the clue will be revealed at first light when the sun’s rays point it out. At least that’s what I make of the clue.”
Alex didn’t wait for them to agree and headed down the steps back toward the van.
The night was not a peaceful one. Alex found her every move being watched. With her locked in the back of the van, the kidnappers took shifts patrolling the bus throughout the night. At 4am the monks’ morning bell chimed ever so faintly through the crisp morning air. Sunrise would be around 5.30am. If her hunch were correct, the sun’s rays would fall on the enormous Buddha in front of the three stupas.
She listened for the rustling sounds of the guards’ feet outside but heard none. Is it possible they fell asleep? Surely men of such discipline would be alert at all times? She pushed open the door to see the youngest of the three kidnappers had fallen asleep under a nearby tree. Alex froze as she spotted him and listened out for the other two who were nowhere to be seen. This might be her chance to escape to the tunnel. She should reach the path within five minutes and then it would be clear running to the hidden entrance.
The Alex Hunt Series Page 31
