Pain ripped through her right ankle moments before she hit the ground face first. Wrapped around her ankle was a black leather strap from a whip followed straightaway by the Sensei’s firm grip on her arm.
“What the hell?” she shouted at him in anger; irritated for having been caught.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he replied.
The threat of his wrath engulfed her empty stomach.
“Nowhere. I needed the loo. Or am I not permitted to pee in private?” Alex yanked her arm from his grip.
“Pee here.” He pointed to the nearby tree and turned his back.
Unable to avoid it, she squatted behind the tree.
“We need to go. The sun will be up soon,” she commanded as she charged past him toward the stupas stairs. Her first attempt at escaping had failed miserably. Now, she would have to regain her focus and wait for the next opportunity.
As predicted, the gigantic Buddha statue in front of the three stupas lit up like a cosmic nugget of gold just as the sun’s first rays poured down from the skies. A shimmering beacon of light illuminated the glass box positioned at its feet. There was nothing inside the box but a small gold dish with old coins. Perplexed, Alex circled the statue.
“Where is it?” the Sensei asked with more accusation than curiosity in his voice.
“I don’t understand,” Alex replied scratching her head. “It was supposed to show me.”
The trio around her looked as confused as she did. She was confident something was meant to have happened at the Buddha’s feet. But, apart from the box with coins, there was nothing there.
She stood back and stared at the Buddha. A minute later a beam of sunlight shone through the Buddha’s forefinger and thumb and scattered a prism rainbow through the glass box onto the forest floor.
The magnitude and surpassing awe of the rainbow beam was so intense it beamed right across the entire balcony in front of the stupa and through the arches in the railing. It was simply spectacular. In that moment, Alex forgot all about her and Sam’s capture. Instead, excitement surged through her body as a force of adrenaline rushed her to the balcony’s edge.
“The sun’s rays! Where the sun’s rays meet. The thumb and index finger is the traditional teaching pose!”
Without hesitation, she spun around and ran down the avalanche of steps into the forest. Her body thrust forward by the sheer excitement of the chase. She no longer schemed an escape even though there was a considerable distance between herself and her kidnappers behind her. All she thought of was to get to the end of the rainbow before the sun moved out of its position. She ran with the swiftness of a gazelle crisscrossing between the trees, never once taking her eyes off the intense beam of colors.
Out of breath, she arrived at a small clearing surrounded by seven towering trees. Their leaves formed a dense canopy above her head that made way for the arch of colors at precisely the right angle. The precision and engineering with which the trees were positioned were astounding. Still panting she scoured the jungle floor underneath the prism beam. There was nothing but leaves scattered all over the ground. She vigorously brushed away the foliage with her hands. Her fingers hit the hard edges of something below the surface. She yanked her backpack off her back and pulled out her small shovel. Within minutes the steel grey coloring of a stone tablet stared back at her just as the colorful arch disappeared again between the leafy ceiling.
Before she even had a chance to properly inspect the ancient object, she was yanked back by the two younger gang members leaving the sensei to kneel down in front of the tablet. A quick phone call to his boss jerked Alex back to the reality of a treasure hunt under duress. The mobile phone disappeared back into his pocket as he walked over to Alex and briefly instructed his two sidekicks to clear off the rest of the stone.
“Be careful!” Alex yelled remembering the warning of the puzzle.
“Shut up!” the black-eyed man shouted back; his eyes darker than usual.
Alex did as she was instructed as for the warning in the clue echoed through her thoughts. ‘Beware the serpent’s tongue! It is a trap.’ She watched patiently as the two youths raked away more leaves. The stone increased in size and transformed into a dragon spanning at a minimum, eight meters in length. His face looked almost life-like as its scaled body stretched out between the roots of the trees. From its mouth, his forked tongue flicked upwards. Mesmerized, Alex watched as they excavated the serpent.
The Sensei yelled another command to his men who promptly obeyed and started prodding and padding down the dragon’s body. They shouted back an answer before both knelt over the tongue of the dragon which was the only part of its body protruding from the stone.
“No!” Alex shouted off a warning that brought about a firmer grip on her arm. It was blatantly obvious they thought she attempted to deter them from unlocking the next clue.
“You’re hurting me! Let go of my arm! You can’t touch the tongue!” she tried again.
Still, the men ignored her and continued prodding the stone tongue. In a wink of an eye, a loud swooshing sound swept through the air. Alex fell to the ground and covered her head pulling her clinging kidnapper down with her. The sound of two balls bouncing on the ground followed by two louder thuds forced Alex and the black-eyed man to look up. The gruesome sight of his decapitated subordinates lying on the ground left Alex, and her kidnapper horrified.
When mobility finally returned to Alex’s paralyzed limbs, she got up and cautiously walked over to the sleighed bodies next to the stone dragon. An enormous guillotine had ejected itself from the mantel on the dragon’s neck.
The horrendous incident had little to no effect on the black-eyed man’s demeanor. He showed no remorse or emotion of any kind and merely pulled the dismembered corpses and remains under a nearby tree. With his hands on his hips, he then towered over Alex and barked a command at her to carry on.
His frigid behavior somewhat surprised her. Could these men have this little value for another member of their gang’s life? She didn’t care for them either, but if ever she became more aware of how brutal and callus her kidnappers were, it was then.
Resolving to comply with her abductor’s demands, she recalled the next part of the clue.
Steer clear and follow the map
“We’re looking for a map of some kind,” she offered. “Something that will show us where to go next.”
They leaned over the dragon and inspected the carvings. The man searched fervently alongside her. At that moment, she missed Sam dearly and wondered if he had survived the torture.
“Here!” her hostile associate shouted excitedly as he pointed to the imprints on the dragon’s tail.
Alex noticed the map carved out in the stone. It would lead them through the forest, and she quickly copied it down on her notepad. Closer inspection delivered several routes in the map. She turned it upside down, folded the paper’s corners together and still couldn’t quite ascertain which direction they needed to follow.
“Fire!” she shouted excitedly. “The clue says ‘the fire is your ally; it will light the way.’”
She sat back down next to the dragon’s tail and traced her finger along the lines before digging into her backpack for a packet of matches.
The first match onto the dragon’s tail had no effect. She struck the second match at the tip of the serpent’s tail. Within seconds sparks flew through the air as it lit up the distinct outlines of the route they should take. From under his breath, the black-eyed man rambled off something in Mandarin, which made her smile. It was apparent he had never seen anything like it.
A brief copy of the map onto her notebook and they were set. Alex stared at the diagram. There was one last clue left.
Keep to the center until you reach the clay
Two of the men were dead. She stood a far better chance of escaping now, but she’d have to stall. Once they reached the ‘clay’ — whatever that meant — they would not be able to continue without the second scro
ll’s clues. Since she tried to warn them against the peril of the serpent’s tongue, he trusted her. The black-eyed man would be none the wiser now that he had tasted the rush from an archaeological treasure hunt.
So, for the most part of the day, Alex pretended to follow the map leading them deep into the forest. It was afternoon, and they were several hours’ walk from the Oudong Temple where the van was parked. Alex sat down on the root of a large tree.
“I’m tired. I don’t think the map is accurate,’’ she lied.
“Get up!” the man barked. “We will go back to the van.”
He stared at his mobile and raised it above his head. He had missed his hourly check-in with his boss. The black-eyed man was exactly where Alex wanted him. She jumped up and headed back the way they came. Once they were nearing the van, she stopped.
“I need to pee. Turn around.”
This was her moment. The black-eyed man politely turned his back and continued searching for the mobile’s reception. Alex picked up the fair sized rock she had spotted earlier and whacked him in the back of his head. It wasn’t hard enough to knock him out, and he merely swayed. She struck his head again, and this time the brawny black-eyed man slumped to the ground. Alex wasn’t sure if she killed him. Blood gushed from the second wound to his head. She kicked his side for any sign of life, but there was none. He was dead. Tears of shock threatened to run down her face but she quickly wiped it away and thrust her hands in his pockets in search of the car keys. With the keys in hand she bolted for the car as fast as her legs could carry her.
Chapter Fifteen
With her foot flat on the accelerator, Alex sped back onto the highway toward the city. Trusting only her memory and senses, she looked at her wristwatch. When the kidnappers left the warehouse with her earlier that morning, it was roughly twenty minutes to the Oudong temple. She reduced her pace to what she estimated their speed was.
Her eyes frantically searched for a road that turned off the highway. Recalling the name from the faded sign at the abandoned warehouses, she looked for any pointer signs, but there were none. She pulled the van over to the side of the road. It had to be close. The minibus motored slowly down the road. Up ahead Alex spotted an overgrown dirt road and decided to take a chance at it. The bumpy road brought about some familiarity, but she couldn’t be sure. It was then she became aware of the tall steel pipes from the deserted factory plant next to the warehousing. Her heart leaped out of her throat. This was it! She had found Sam’s location. If only she knew how to get him out. She reduced the van’s speed to a quiet murmur as she rolled closer. If guards were watching the entrance she’d be detected, so she veered off the dirt road and parked under a nearby tree. Hunched over she used the van to hide behind and scouted across at the deserted industrial plant. It was ghostly quiet. The luxury black sedan was no longer parked out front, and there were no signs of any life. She was positive this was the right place but nevertheless searched for the faded name sign. Relieved, she spotted it much further up along the fence.
Sam’s warehouse was about fifty meters ahead of her. She was sure there would be at least two guards patrolling the parameter, but she couldn’t see anyone. Doubt entered her mind over the possibility that they might have moved Sam. She needed to be sure though, and there was no way of knowing without going in.
She’d have to take her chances and make a clear run for it. She can’t risk getting captured now. Apprehension gripped her throat, and her pulse throbbed at her temples. It’s now or never. Scanning the parameter, she set off toward the boundary posts. Her legs felt numb as she sprinted across the thick terrain. Once at the fence, she fell flat onto the ground between the bushes praying no one saw here. She paused and surveyed the area again. Still, there was no sight of anyone. Crawling on her elbows, she reached the entrance gate, which was padlocked from the inside. Not much of a climber she resolved that she would have to squeeze through the gap. Alex wedged her body between the two gateposts. Frazzled by the rattling sound of the heavy chain and padlock against the fence, she bolted across the tarmac and ducked behind the nearby water tanks. Gasping for air, she decided to stay put to make sure she wasn’t heard or seen.
Several minutes later and everything was still as quiet as when she had arrived. Her eyes were glued to the warehouse door. Having regained her breath, she readied herself for another quick run to the warehouse. The crackling sound of tires on a dirt road alarmed her. Two cars pulled up to the entrance gate behind her, and she crouched back behind the water tanks. Alex watched as two luxury black cars drove through the gates and parked a mere ten meters in front of her. An Asian chauffeur climbed out of the front car and opened the rear door for another male to step out. He was not Asian and impeccably dressed from head to toe in a black pinstriped suit. His raven hair was tied back into a low ponytail. Beneath it, the tail of a black scorpion tattoo was visible just above his white collar.
Alex held her breath praying for them not to see her. She dared not make a sound. She was too close. Sweat trickled down the outer corner of her brow. Still hunched, her legs quivered uncontrollably. Alarmed by the possibility that the top of her head might be showing she fell on her hands and knees in a crawling position and peered around the tanks.
Out of the second black car, another three male figures appeared and walked over to the man in the black suit. What Alex saw next knocked her wind out. Her eyes didn’t deceive her. There was no mistaking one of the three men’s identities. It was Ollie. A very formal looking Ollie dressed in black pants and a white collared shirt. Alex blinked several times. It looked nothing like the bantering Aussie from the Australian outback she had met before. Alex poked her head further out from behind the tank to see better. She watched as Ollie shook hands with the man in the suit whose authoritative voice cut across the barren industrial site. Alex shut her eyes as she recognized his voice. He was her kidnapper. The man she never saw: the man who ordered Sam’s torture with the clicking of his fingers. The Ringleader.
A wave of nausea engulfed her insides. She always knew there was something off with Ollie. Her instincts had been substantiated. He was one of them. Alex crawled back behind the water tanks and listened to the men exchange pleasantries. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to cry or rush over and knock their lights out. Fighting the urge to be the GI Jane in her head, Alex bit down hard on her lip. Sam was still in there, and she can’t leave here without him. No. She had to get a hold of herself and wait for the right moment to make her next move.
Relieved that the water tanks provided sufficient hiding, she sneaked another look at the group of men. Ollie had his back toward her and there, in the nape of his neck, the image of a black scorpion stared back at her. Alex cursed under her breath. Vile visions of punching his lights out plagued her thoughts. She should have known. This betraying bastard knew their every move. He had been ahead of them all this time, and they walked right into his trap. Alex wiped the sweat from her right eye as she listened in on their conversation. They were talking about the Urn and relishing in the knowledge that — as far as they knew — Alex was out with their men finding it.
That made Alex smile with satisfaction. These corrupt criminals had no idea that at least two of their gang members were dead and that she managed to escape. She was ahead in their wicked little game of chess. Several minutes later the men, including Ollie, got back into their cars and left the site as quickly as they entered. This must have been their rendezvous point. To Alex’s surprise, there were still no guards anywhere near the warehouse. Alex waited a few more minutes just to be sure and ran to the warehouse door. It was locked from the outside with another padlock. She cursed their attention to detail and looked around for something that could break the door open. A rusted metal pole the size of a crowbar lay around the side of the warehouse. She had never needed to break open a lock, but she had seen similar scenes in the movies. It couldn’t be that hard, she thought and pounced on the padlock. Within seconds the inferior latch popped off t
he door, and the chain fell with a loud clang to the floor. If there were, in fact, any guards inside or nearby, they would be sure to come running, so she gripped the make-shift crowbar and lay back against the warehouse wall behind the open door. She was in luck. No one came.
Alex slipped inside the dark storeroom. The beam of sunlight pierced the pitch-black depot. It was completely empty. Gripping the steel rod, she swiftly tippy-toed across to the staircase and briefly paused. The rusty, steel steps creaked under her feet as she cautiously climbed them. At the top of the stairs, the door was closed. Her knuckles were white as she clasped the steel pipe firmer and yanked the door open.
Sam lay on a dirty mattress in the corner of the small room. His hands and feet were tied.
“Sam!” A relieved Alex cried out and rushed to his side. “Are you alone?” she added as she untied the ropes.
The smile on Sam’s swollen face melted her heart.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes, Alex Hunt,” Sam replied wearily. “I knew you’d come for me.”
“Of course I would, silly. Are you ok? Can you walk?”
Sam merely nodded. He was still quite weak and had several cracked ribs.
“We need to get out of here. We don’t have much time,” Alex added as she helped him up and swung his arm over her shoulders.
Sam groaned under the pain in his ribs as they descended the stairs. They barely reached the bottom and spotted two ninja guards running through the open warehouse door. Grateful for the poorly lit room, they huddled under the stairs sending stabs of pain through Sam’s tortured body.
The Alex Hunt Series Page 32
