Order of the Black Sun Box Set 11

by Preston William Child

  “Galen Fitzgerald,” Purdue said, leaning down toward where Wai Lin was sitting. “Know him? Short, ill-tempered bastard with an Irish accent. Sound familiar at all? Ringing any damn bells in your head?”

  Wai Lin smiled again, but her red smile was warped now from the smudge that Nina had made on her lips. It somehow made her look even more malicious, like her giddiness could stretch her grin even further than most human lips could go. She wasn't going to break easy, that much was obvious.

  “I’ve never heard that name before in my life,” Wai Lin maintained happily. “Never before. Not once. Not ever. Never, ever, ever.”

  Purdue's patience was thinning. He already assumed that it was Galen but he wanted to be sure. “Then who told you to come after us?”

  “He didn’t tell me his name,” Wai Lin laughed. “I don’t know it. So you can hit me as much as you want, as much as it makes you happy, but it won’t make any difference because I don’t know the answers that you seek.”

  “You don't know his name?”

  “No,” Wai Lin snickered. “We don’t ask for our clients’ names. They know that. It’s part of why we’ve done such good business.”

  “Business?” August chimed in from behind them, stepping out of the shadows. He came up close, making Purdue a bit uneasy, but his towering shape loomed over Wai Lin threateningly. “Business and clients...so what are you some kind of hired gun then? Mercenaries?”

  Wai Lin nodded. “I served the Triads for many years. I was good at finding people. I always found them. Anyone and everyone that I was supposed to locate. But that grew boring after many years, so I decided to offer my services to others.”

  “And this man who hired you, wanted you to come for us?”

  “He did,” Wai Lin said, staring at Purdue. “He was very, very specific. He wanted it to be you, David Purdue. He had pictures and everything. A lot of pictures. So many angles and places and my, you are a good looking man from any one of those angles. From all directions.”

  Her taunts were grating on Purdue. She was the one being interrogated but she was enjoying it way too much. Somehow she had turned the tables and was the one holding all of the cards again. If they couldn't get a name out of her, then there wasn't much she could actually tell them. Then again, maybe they could figure out some answers from other things she had.

  “You said he gave you pictures...do you still have them?” Purdue asked.

  “I do, yes,” Wai Lin snickered. “They’re right over there.” She nodded toward her little purse which Nina had tossed across the room when they came in. “It's all in there. We really must find out who took the pictures, they’re truly works of art. Quite beautiful.”

  Purdue stepped away from their prisoner and walked over to her purse. He picked it up and rifled through it. It was a small bag so there wasn't much to rummage through before he found the thin stack of photos that were bunched together. He slid them out of the little purse and started to study them over carefully.

  The picture on top of the stack was of him from a short distance away. It was a definitely a recent picture, taken during one of his visits to his rebuilt estate. So Galen was keeping an eye on Purdue’s repaired mansion...that was creepy but made sense for an obsessed stalker like Galen. It was uncomfortable to know that Purdue was being watched even in the comfort of his own home. Though, it was better than Julian Corvus crashing trucks through that house and invading it. At least Galen had the decency to stay a fair distance away and not make himself known.

  Purdue flipped to the next photograph and was startled by it. It was another snapshot of Purdue, but he looked quite a bit different. He was in tattered clothes, had grown his beard out, and looked grimy and miserable. It was from after his money had been taken and his home had been burned to the ground. It was during the period of time where Julian and the Black Sun thought they’d killed him. It seemed so long ago, but it was back when he had nothing to his name and was just a dead man begging for scraps on the streets.

  The strange part was that as far as he knew, Galen hadn't known that Purdue was alive back then. Galen seemed just as shocked as the rest of his enemies when Purdue revealed that he was still alive. Had Galen known the whole time? Had Galen just pretended to be surprised when Purdue was revealed to still be kicking? a Maybe...it was possible that he did all that for show, but how had Galen known? And why didn't he immediately tell Julian back then?

  It didn't make sense.

  He kept looking through the pictures and was startled by just how much of a variety was from all kinds of different points in time. There were recent ones during his tenure as leader of the Black Sun. There were ones from a long time ago when, Nina, and Sam Cleave were all just starting to work together more frequently. There were even more from his time being 'dead,' but he still couldn't fathom how Galen had seen him then. Purdue had been being followed and spied on for years, it seemed. The pictures were taken all over the world, from so many of his travels. Whoever was tailing him, had been incredibly skilled at staying hidden. Purdue had no idea at any of those times that he was being monitored and tracked. It was baffling that Galen had been having him followed for so long. It still didn't quite add up.

  His confusion and horror on his face must have been visible because Nina came up and looked over with him, gently scratching his back to sooth him. When she saw some of the pictures though, she gasped herself. “Oh my God.”

  “A bit odd, aye?” Purdue shook his head and showed her more of them. “Apparently I have a very big fan. Or I'm just a magnet for every camera on this planet.”

  Nina took one of the older pictures and looked it over. “This was so long ago. Look at us. Galen was keeping tabs on us even then?”

  “It seems so,” Purdue said. “I always thought he was a bit clingy when we'd cross paths. And obviously I've come to realize just how jealous he was of me but this...I didn't expect him to be this creepy about the whole thing.” Purdue turned back to the bound woman who had been enjoying his discomfort while looking at the pictures.

  “So this client of yours...was he Irish?”

  “I didn't ask.”

  “Did he have an accent!? And Irish accent!?” Purdue was at the end of his patience with Wai Lin.

  “I couldn't tell you,” she said with a grin. “All I can reveal, is that he said you that you were looking for Genghis Khan's bones and that I was ordered to find you and execute you. Oh, and that I should make sure you were aware of what was happening. He wanted me to say your name and tell you that I knew what you were doing. Then my two assistants were going to throw you over the wall. Splat. That was the plan. I hate when things don't work out like you expect.”

  So his theory about the method was right. Part of their job was to get his attention first. That was certainly a Galen move. She might not know if the man who hired her was Irish, but the more he was learning about this whole thing, the more it sounded like something Galen would absolutely do.

  The only part Purdue couldn't understand was that Galen took the time to speak to him in Mongolia just to tell him that they would meet again soon, to let him know that Galen was coming for him. Why send a few hired guns to go finish him off after putting in all of that effort? He could have at least given the task to Oniel. That was the only piece that didn't add up. The whole job sounded petty and cheap enough for Galen, but Purdue couldn't imagine that he would have wanted three random hitmen to be the ones to end Purdue. Galen would’ve wanted that for himself.

  “So what do we do with her?” Nina asked.

  That was an interesting question that was going to have to be considered. Purdue wasn't very comfortable with an execution; but if they let her go, she’d probably report to Galen about everything that happened. He didn't want Galen having that heads up and preferred that Galen was clueless about what had happened to the assigned mercenaries.Then again, it might not even matter. Based on those pictures, they were under extremely heavy surveillance at all times of the day, no matter wh
ere they were. Galen probably already knew exactly what happened and probably even where they were.

  Wai Lin looked up expectantly, like she was daring Purdue to give the order to end her life. She wasn't fooling him; he could see past her smeared crimson smile. He could see the hint of fear in her eyes. She was putting on a pretty good brave face, but it wasn't enough to completely shroud her real feelings. She hadn't expected to lose. She thought that this would be easy probably. All she had to do was just kill a Scotsman on the Great Wall. It should’ve been a simple task—too simple. Why even confront him and not just kill him on the spot? Maybe that was part of the command...it would make sense for Galen? It was typical of him to need to make it known what was about to happen instead of just getting it done. Galen always had to make his presence known.

  “Want me to...?” August raised his brow and insinuated killing her. Purdue was once again somewhat disturbed by how quick and how open August was to suggesting doing the deed. It was off-putting to see just how comfortable he continued to be with taking a life, just like how he was with the man he so callously pushed off the top of the Great Wall.

  “No,” Purdue finally countered. “We're not going to kill her.”

  Wai Lin couldn't hide her surprise and was even worse at hiding her relief.

  “Y-y-you're not going to...?”

  “Nope,” Purdue said with a shrug. “It’d be pointless. They already know all about us anyway. We wouldn't accomplish anything but wasting time and wasting a life. We're not the bad guys. The Order of the Black Sun no longer kills people so cavalierly. That's not how we operate. Even when it comes to terrible people like you lot.”

  The bathroom door opened and Yusuke exited. He looked sullen but nodded to them. “The guy was some sort of assassin. He didn't know who was the one that gave him the contract, but he did say it was a man. That was all he knew...oh and apparently they’ve been following you for a long time--”

  “Thank you for all of the valuable information, Yusuke,” Purdue said teasingly. “We got that exact same information from her minutes ago.”

  “Oh,” Yusuke sighed and looked from them to Wai Lin. “And here I thought you were guys were going to be so pleased by my work.”

  “You just need to work on your timing, that's all, aye? That's it. Do that, and you're golden.”

  “Duly noted, fearless leader,” Yusuke uttered and gave a mocking salute. “So...I don't have to kill him in there right? Truth be told, I've never...you know...taken someone out...put them to rest...any of that...” He scratched his hand uncomfortably but then turned to August. “You want to do it for me, big man?”

  August grimaced embarrassingly, like he realized that everyone looked at him as the murderer of the group. In some ways, he kind of was. He was at least the one who was willing to mess people up the most. Still, he shook his head with a resounding no. “Purdue says that we're going to let them go.”

  “Really?” Yusuke looked a little confused but nodded. “Okay, okay. I'll go tell the guy tied up on the toilet the good news.” Yusuke went back into the bathroom.

  Purdue turned back to Wai Lin. “I just want to let you know that if you try coming for us again, this is going to end a whole lot differently. I'm not going to forgive twice, understood? Am I clear?”

  “Very clear,” Wai Lin said. “We won't bother you again. It was a bad job to begin with.” Purdue cut Wai Lin free and she got up. Surprisingly she gave Purdue a peck on the cheek, leaving behind some of her red lipstick. “I appreciate that you let me live. I won’t forget it.”

  She moved to take the pictures back but Purdue held onto them and refused to let them go. “These are mine,” Purdue said. “Consider them payment for not letting August beat you to death.”

  Wai Lin raised her hands in defeat. “Understood. You keep them. And if you see my client, let him know that we’ve no interest in working with him again. This was far more trouble than it was worth to us.”

  Wai Lin and her accomplice left the room, leaving Purdue and his team standing about. Purdue was going back through the pictures trying to figure out just how long Galen had been watching him. It was still unbelievable.

  “I hope that was the right decision,” August suggested. “We're giving them another chance to get back up and hit us harder and faster next time.”

  “It was,” Purdue confirmed. He felt a little anger just over August questioning him about it. August of all people shouldn't have been questioning anyone. He was lucky that he wasn't in handcuffs. He did as Nina advised and tried to keep calm, trying to stay focused on Genghis Khan's tomb. They’d been distracted by Galen enough. They needed to get back to trying to find it. “Tell me again what the transcription of the markings on the bow said.”

  Riley stepped forward. She looked proud to be delivering it again, knowing that she was the one who found it to begin with. “The conqueror rests at the farthest reach, at the end of the red line.”

  Purdue went over it in his mind. He hadn't given that riddle quite as much thought as he would’ve liked. He’d gone to the places that many others had gone looking for Genghis Khan. There were the spots that everyone assumed he would be buried; by his home near the Odon River in Mongolia or some location of some importance like the Great Wall. Those places weren't the farthest reach, that was for sure. The farthest reach...Khan's reach...?

  “The farthest reach,” Purdue spoke aloud, trying to let the phrase germinate in his mind. “The farthest reach. The farthest reaches of his empire? Of the Mongol's reach...? How far did they get? The Mongol Empire?”

  “They pushed through a large part of Europe after Genghis Khan's death,” Nina said. “We're talking a fair distance inward on their advance and they might have even gone much further if they didn't withdrawal back to Mongolian when the current Khan died that year.”

  “Which year?” Purdue asked. “And where were they?”

  “1241,” Nina explained. She was fantastic at knowing dates like that for historical events. She could withdrawal them from her brain easily and share them confidently. “And as for where, well...I believe they were somewhere near Hungry when they withdrew. They’d already cut through Russia, Poland, and Germany when they had to go back home.”

  “All because their Khan died? They had to stop?” Riley asked.

  Yusuke took over an explanation. “The leaders all had to be present for the choosing of another Khan. The deaths of Great Khan's had enormous impacts on the empire, as you could probably tell from Genghis Khan's own death.”

  “Exactly,” Nina said. “And that was as far as their advance ever got before the succumbed to infighting and crumbled under their own weight. So if that's the farthest reach that they're talking about...then I suppose we should be going to somewhere around there...somewhere in the Hungarian Planes.”

  “That doesn't make sense,” Purdue spoke up. “Not a lick of sense.”

  “Those are just the facts,” Nina stated with a shrug. “Sometimes evidence doesn’t make sense.”

  “That's not what I mean,” Purdue clarified, waving her off as he took center stage in the middle of the group again. “I'm sure all of your facts were on point, Nina. What doesn't make sense is that the bow talks about Genghis Khan's remains being taken to the farthest reach. So yes, they could mean over in Europe but that doesn't add up to me.”

  “Why not?” Riley asked, looking befuddled by the whole conversation.

  “Because that was over a decade after Khan's death. I imagine they buried his body much earlier than that. Soon after he passed probably.”

  “But that would be the farthest reach...” Nina remarked, obviously not yet seeing the point he was trying to make. “It says that the conqueror is buried at the farthest reach and to follow the red line. That part's obvious, I think. The red line would be the trail of blood that the Mongols left in their wake.”

  “I agree with you there,” Purdue concurred. “But the transcription never specifies that it's the Mongol Empire's reach th
at we're seeking. They got further after Genghis Khan's death, sure, but this bow seems to be talking specifically about Genghis Khan in all regards to me. It's not talking about the reach of the Mongol Empire a decade and a half later. It's referring to Genghis Khan's reach.”

  “What are you saying?” August asked, scratching his head.

  “I'm saying that I think we have the right idea here. I think we're accurate about the farthest reach being the military reach of a conqueror like Khan. I feel like we're accurate about the red line being specifically about bloodshed. I believe we're right on about the riddle...we're just looking at the wrong place. We should be thinking about how far Genghis Khan reached, not his children and grandsons and all the other descendants after him. That would make the most sense to me.”

  “So where would that be?”

  Purdue remembered the stories that Shin Wo had told him, about the legend of Genghis Khan and his many deeds. There was one specific part that stuck in his mind; the last days of the Great Khan and how the circumstances of his death were uncertain. One of the truths that was certain, was his last victory against the Western Xia Empire.

  “Certainly not Europe,” Purdue reiterated. “No, Genghis Khan never got that far. He died during his conquests of China. Most people agree that he perished around the time of the fall of the Western Xia, if I remember right.”

  They all looked to one another uncertainly. Purdue didn't sound entirely confident with his theory, he knew that, but he hoped they at least saw his point. It was a hard decision, though; if they made the wrong choice, then it could take them on a long path leading to nothing but a waste of time. It would be a detour that would probably sap any of the energy they had left. The entire search could hinge on the decision of where they should be going next.