Noah Wolf Box Set 2

by David Archer

  She wasn’t disturbed the rest of the day, and finished off the lasagna an hour later, after it had gotten cold. Even cold lasagna was better than no lasagna, she thought, eating it while she watched old reruns of Monty Python.

  Out of boredom, she turned back to the news. There was only one story of interest, about four Americans who had been illegally detained in North Korea, but who had managed to escape and even captured the man who had detained them. According to the story, they were able to overpower a couple of guards and take their weapons, then managed to walk almost 100 miles through hostile territory until they reached the border with South Korea. At that point, they managed to steal a boat and make it across, and then contact the US Embassy there.

  A couple of years before, she might have believed it. She’d learned a few things since then, however; in particular, she learned that when certain agencies pull off rescues and daring missions, they never get credit. Instead, some partially credible story of personal heroism is released, and the news media even acts like they believe it.

  There was nothing else exciting, and she couldn’t even find a movie she wanted to watch, so she finally turned it off and went to bed. It wasn’t very late, but Sarah was beginning to feel depressed. Whenever she got depressed, she sought solace in sleep.

  Morning came, and Chung knocked on her door. “Sarah,” he called through it. “Won’t you come down to breakfast? There is something important I need to discuss with you, and it doesn’t even involve asking you any questions.”

  She was already up and dressed, but had been lying on the bed. She rolled her eyes and let out a deep breath, then forced herself to get up and open the door.

  “What’s for breakfast?” she asked as she stepped out. Chung extended his elbow, but she made a point of not taking it.

  “We are having steamed buns,” he said, “stuffed with lamb. It is a local delicacy, and very good here in the Hong Kong region. I believe you will like it.”

  Sarah said nothing more until they reached the dining room, then allowed him to pull her chair out for her. She sat while the servers put two of the steamed buns on a plate in front of her, and then did the same for Chung.

  “Okay, I’m here,” Sarah said. “What’s so important?”

  He sat across the table and looked at her sadly. “I have been given until the end of today to see results in questioning you,” he said. “If I cannot report that I’m making progress by this evening, I shall be removed. Another interrogator will come, one who is notorious for his excruciating methods. His name is Xiao, and his philosophy is that it is possible to cause terrible pain without truly damaging any part of the body.” He looked down at the plate in front of him. “Sarah, I do not wish to see him inflicting his skills upon you.”

  “Well, you can tell yourself it’s not your fault. And really, it isn’t your fault. I’m the one who’s refusing to talk, right? You tried, I’ll give you that, but I’m not going to give up any information if I can avoid it. It’s just not going to happen.”

  Won’t you? she heard a voice inside herself say. How can you be so certain? You’ve never been tortured, but think about what it might be like. Needles up under your fingernails? Beatings on the soles of your feet? How long can you hold out before you beg them to stop, before you’re willing to say or do anything to bring it to an end? And sooner or later, you’re going to cave in and you know it. Sooner or later, you’re going to tell them anything they want to know, because the pain will reach a point where you’re willing to do or say anything, just so you can beg them to let you die.

  “Sarah, please reconsider,” Chung said. “You can give me little things, things that are not important, but they will tell those above me that I am making progress.”

  “Stop it,” Sarah said. “Do you think I haven’t figured you out? Every little thing I tell you, you find out three other things from it. I’m not giving you anything. Now, shall we eat breakfast together, or shall I just go back to my room?”

  Chung stared at her for another moment, then began eating. When breakfast was finished, he walked her back to her room and stood there as she closed the door in his face.

  * * * * *

  Neil hurried around the smaller man and rushed to Noah.

  “Noah? Are you nuts?”

  “I don’t think so,” Noah said. He stopped beside the ring and carefully handed his gun to Marco, then stripped off his shirt and took off his shoes. He sat down on the edge of the ring to remove his socks, leaving him in only his slacks.

  Lom stepped out of the loose pants and shirt he was wearing to reveal that he was wearing boxing trunks underneath, and spoke rapidly in Thai. The two men who were sparring in the ring stared at him for a moment, then looked at Noah. They both wore expressions of humor as they climbed out of the ring and began taking off their sparring gear.

  Two men hurried toward them, and Noah held out his hands to be wrapped and gloved while Lom did the same. The process took a couple of minutes, and then the pair stepped away. Lom climbed into the ring, and Noah did likewise.

  “A single round is three minutes,” Lom said, “and the match consists of five rounds. Between rounds, we must rest for two minutes before we continue. Do you understand?”

  “I do,” Noah said. “And you’ve lost the wager. Where is she?”

  Lom smiled, as the two who had wrapped them climbed into the ring and offered them each a mouthpiece. “Shall we sweeten the wager? I will tell you now that she is near Hong Kong, but—should you manage to stay on your feet for all five rounds, or even beat me—I will reward you with the precise location.”

  Noah looked him in the eye for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Just tell me one thing,” he said. “Isn’t this going to cause you trouble with Pak?”

  “Mr. Pak is a businessman. As such, he has many who work for him to handle those things which he finds distasteful or mundane. I am one such, and there are others. Because he has placed certain matters under my care and left me to my own devices, he would not be able to continue those matters should anything happen to me.”

  “But won’t the Chinese be displeased with you? For giving me this information?”

  “No. They will be displeased with Mr. Pak. They have never met me, and so they believe that they have been conducting their business with him all along.”

  Noah nodded. “You are a shrewd man, Mr. Lom,” Noah said. “With one move, you’re giving me a reason not to kill you and setting your employer up to be eliminated. I’m guessing you’ll be able to take over his operation?”

  Lom smiled at him, and put the mouthpiece between his teeth. Noah did likewise, and they each went to a corner.

  A bell was struck with a small hammer, and the two moved toward each other. Lom danced lightly on his feet, while Noah stood firmly on his and stared into the man’s eyes.

  The first strike came without warning, a vicious kick by Lom, aimed at Noah’s head. The grin on the older man’s face betrayed his confidence, but Noah merely leaned back, thrusting his knees forward to maintain his balance. The foot passed an inch in front of his face, and Lom had to dance a little more to keep from losing his own balance.

  The other men in the gym began cheering for Lom, and some of them were making derisive noises at Noah, but he ignored them. Lom occupied all of his attention, and he knew that, even if Lom wouldn’t kill, he could easily injure Noah severely.

  At that moment, Noah closed in. Two sharp jabs to Lom’s ribs threw the man even further off kilter, but he recovered almost instantly. Noah hopped backward, as Lom spun around to face him once more.

  Another kick was aimed at Noah’s groin, but he blocked it with his knee and then followed instantly with a kick of his own. Noah was fast, but Lom was faster; the foot that should have caught the man in the belly only flew by, and Lom landed a solid punch into Noah’s thigh.

  The cramp that began at that moment was one of the worst Noah had ever known, but he forced himself to ignore it and bounced back out of reach b
efore Lom could strike again. He began bouncing on the balls of his feet, trying to stay in motion so that he would make a harder target.

  Suddenly, Lom leapt forward and upward, his right foot spiking high into the air as he rose, then suddenly slashing down like an ax. It made contact with Noah’s left shoulder, and the impact was enough to send a shock to his entire body. He spun away as quickly as he could, and narrowly missed another kick that was aimed at his head.

  With great determination, Noah shook off the shock and thrust himself forward. Before Lom could react, he had closed the distance between them and spun, tucking his fists against his chest and extending his elbows straight out. One of them caught Lom on the chin, and the wiry little man went down.

  He was only there for a second, and then flipped back onto his feet. The smile on his face was distorted by the mouthpiece, but Noah could see the excitement in his eyes, as well. They began to circle one another again, and Lom was just about to make another move when the bell rang, and the cheering and shouting began to die down a bit.

  Instantly he stepped back and raised his hands, then turned and went to his corner. Noah did likewise, and found Marco there with a towel, wiping the sweat off his face.

  “That was a pretty neat trick,” Marco said, “with the elbows, there. Where did you learn that?”

  Noah split the mouthpiece out into his gloved hand. “Right then and there,” he said, breathing heavily. “I just thought about what I had that could do the most possible damage, and used it.” Neil popped up on the side of the ring with a bottle of water, and held it for Noah to take a big drink.

  “You caught him off guard,” Neil said. “I don’t think he’ll let you do that again. Better watch out, I think he’s really pissed.”

  “No he’s not,” Noah said, shaking his head. “He’s having more fun than he’s had in years.” He fumbled the mouthpiece back into his mouth and sat there until the bell rang again, then was on his feet and back in the center of the ring in a moment. The cheering began again in earnest.

  Lom came close, and suddenly he bowed. Noah resisted the temptation to try to kick him at that moment, and instead focused on being ready for whatever Lom would do next. He didn’t have to wait long, as the smaller man suddenly leapt straight at him, his fists pistoning into Noah’s rib cage. In the span of only a couple of seconds, Lom managed to land a dozen hard blows, and Noah had to fall back.

  Lom fell back as well, giving Noah a moment to recover. When he stepped forward again, Lom tried to go for the same move once more, but Noah had anticipated and thrown himself into a spinning back kick. His left ankle caught Lom by the neck, and the man was flipped off his feet and onto his back. Noah completed the spin and threw himself downward, his right fist aimed for Lom’s chin, but the man rolled and Noah punched the floor of the ring. Lom’s eyes were wide at the sound of the impact, for he knew that it could easily have broken his jaw.

  Noah bounced back to his feet and kept moving, making himself as difficult a target as possible. He didn’t have any delusions about winning the fight, but he was determined to make it through all five rounds.

  The second round ended, and they went to their corners. Once more Marco wiped his face, while Neil held a water bottle for him. Noah didn’t bother talking, he was too busy trying to breathe in as much air as he could during the respite. When the bell rang, he already had the mouthpiece back in and sprang to his feet.

  Lom ran at him, and Noah spun aside to avoid him, but then he realized his mistake. Lom had not been trying to strike, but merely to get behind him and he suddenly sensed the man behind and slightly above. Something, he knew, was coming down at his head, but there was no time to duck so he threw both arms up to make an X above his neck.

  The downward jumping elbow is one of the most dangerous blows in Muay Thai, and Noah felt the impact as the elbow slashed down into his crossed wrists. Instinctively, he twisted his hands and clasped them together, catching Lom’s arm between them. The move was unexpected, and when he pulled forward and bent at the waist, Lom suddenly found himself flying through the air. He slammed onto the mat on his back, the breath knocked out of him for a moment, but before he could recover Noah bent his own elbow and dropped. The point of his elbow contacted Lom’s solar plexus, and the fight was over.

  The shouting men had suddenly fallen silent, staring in shock at the farang—foreigner—who had beaten one of the greatest fighters Muay Thai had ever known. Lom was a legend in the sport, even though he had never held a major championship; he had instead traveled around Southeast Asia, amassing a small fortune in the officially illegal street fights. Had he ever chosen to, he could probably have won a national or even world championship, but he was content to keep his fame contained while building his wealth. A number of helpers had placed bets on him in every fight, and each took a share of what he won. He was a legend throughout Southeast Asia, and Noah realized he was lucky to be walking away unscathed.

  SEVENTEEN

  The shock of seeing him beaten by a farang delayed the bell for several seconds, but finally it rang when Lom waved a hand in the air. It was a sign of surrender, and acknowledgment that he was beaten. He lay on the mat for a moment longer, looking up at Noah, and then reached a hand up to him. Noah grasped it between both of his hands, because of the gloves, and helped the smaller man to his feet.

  Lom spat out the mouthpiece and looked at Noah with eyes full of wonder. “Should you ever choose to enter the world of Muay Thai,” he said, “I beg of you to let me be your teacher.” He took hold of Noah’s right hand and raised it in the air, then dropped it and walked to the ropes. Noah followed him, and a couple of men began stripping the gloves off of them and unwrapping their hands.

  When they were finished, and both Lom and Noah were dressed again, Lom motioned for them to follow him back into his office. He closed the door behind them and then sat down in his chair once more, motioning for them to take seats in the other chairs in the room.

  “You are very strong,” he began, “and possess the ability to analyze the moves of your opponent far more quickly than most men. I confess that I underestimated you, and I do not make that mistake often. As agreed, I will now give you the precise location of the young woman, but I must also warn you that it will be heavily guarded. I must also warn you that there is no assurance that she will be unhurt.”

  “I understand that,” Noah said.

  He turned to his desk and opened a laptop computer, waited for it to power up, and then called up a browser. A moment later, they were looking at a map of the Hong Kong area, and Lom motioned for Noah to come closer, pointing to the screen.

  “Hong Kong is a special administrative region, SAR,” he said, “which enjoys considerable autonomy compared to the rest of China. A large part of it is situated on Hong Kong Island, much of which is not accessible by automobile. There are large areas that are considered to be parks, especially in the mountainous regions, where automobiles are often prohibited. Here”—he indicated a particular point off Shek O Road, in the southeast corner of the island—“fifty feet off Shek O Road on this path that leads to Hong Kong Trail, Section 7, there is a gate. The path is wide enough at that point for a vehicle, but narrows after it passes the gate. If you go through that gate, you will be on a private drive that leads to the Tung Li Estate. That estate once belonged to Tung Li, who served as a liaison between Hong Kong and China while Hong Kong was under British rule. He passed away in 1989, and his estate was later purchased by the Chinese government. It is considered to be a place of military or government activity, and even its existence is known only to a limited number of people.”

  “So, anything I do there,” Noah said, “could be considered a military action?”

  “Yes. If you are captured or killed there, you run the risk of creating an international incident.” He turned from the computer and looked at Noah. “There is one large house on the estate, completely hidden by trees from any view. It is used primarily as a safe house, but al
so as a place for the detention of foreign agents who are being interrogated. There are many reasons for this, but the simplest one is the most obvious. If the foreign agent were to die, disposal of the body takes place in Hong Kong rather than in Beijing, the seat of government for China.”

  “What else can you tell me about the place?” Noah asked.

  “It is maintained by the Army of the People’s Republic of China. Besides housing more than two-dozen soldiers in barracks rooms in the basement, there are military managers, cooks and orderlies to take care of the house and its occupants. The estate covers thirty hectares, most of which is wooded, and the guards patrol its perimeter and interior. Its only vulnerability is from the south, where the terrain is steep and rocky. The guards are not as diligent there, because some few of them have fallen prey to tigers that roam the area.”

  “Tigers?” Neil asked. “You’re talking about South China Tigers? I thought they were extinct in the wild.”

  Lom smiled. “That is the official statement, yes,” he said. “However, since 1995, there have been more than fifty sightings of tigers on Hong Kong Island, all of them in this particular area. This is probably because of an abundance of prey for them, but it seems to be true that once a tiger has tasted human flesh, it wants more. Game wardens in that area believe the few attacks on humans, including the Chinese soldiers, are the work of only one or two of the Tigers on the island.”

  Noah was leaning forward, studying the map on the screen in front of him. “Mr. Lom,” he said, “I appreciate the information.” He started to rise, but Lom put out a hand and motioned for him to sit once more.

  “Will you perhaps satisfy an old man’s curiosity?” he asked.

  Noah looked at him, his face blank. “In what way?”

  “Pak was ordered to use any means necessary to procure this young woman,” he said, “because the Ministry of State Security received information indicating that she is an agent of an organization from the United States that specializes in assassination. They have been trying for some time to identify one particular agent of that organization, a man known only as Camelot.” Lom looked directly into Noah’s eyes, and there was a sense of calm conviction about him. “Are you that man?”