Thrills

by K. T. Tomb

  The choice of seating was not lost on either the Duke or Covington, and a knowing smile spread across their faces in turn.

  “You did, indeed,” the Duke responded. “It was a portion of Nora’s night terror and I believe it to be prophetic in nature.”

  “A prophetic night terror?” Andrik asked. “I’d heard of them, but I was also told that they are very rare. In fact, even nightmares and night terrors are extremely rare. I haven’t even had one myself.”

  Andrik had quite a lot more time both as an MI and as an agent of MI-6 under his belt, so he was intrigued by Nora’s experience. As far as he knew, up to that point, MIs experienced sleep that was entirely void of any form of dreaming.

  “The jaingshi are a type of MI found in China and throughout the Orient,” the Duke began. “As I was explaining to Nora, the hopping type found in her dream are next to useless when it comes to dealing with even novice MIs. They are quite devastating for mortals in large numbers, but MIs have nothing to worry about from them. The flying jaingshi, which are similar to the ninja found in the Orient, are something else entirely. However, even at their best, one or two of them are no match for our well-trained MIs. Though you would certainly benefit from being briefed concerning them by August at Branksea before you set off for Shanghai.”

  Andrik and Nora nodded their agreement, but remained quiet, expecting their briefing to begin at any moment.

  “Very well,” the Duke said. “I suppose we should begin our briefing, then. Covington?”

  Alfred Covington cleared his throat as the floor was passed to him by the Duke, paused as he considered where to begin and then spoke in an even tone.

  “Her Majesty has a great deal of interest in Shanghai. It is one of the ports leased to the realm through the Treaty of Nanking, which went into effect ten years ago following what many refer to as the Opium War. The treaty is between Her Majesty and the Qing dynasty, which has been in power since the mid-seventeenth century. Canton, Amoy, Foochowfoo and Ningpo are the other ports that were opened to British trade by the treaty. The other ports are certainly important to Her Majesty, but not on the same level as Shanghai at this moment.”

  “What is the concern with Shanghai?” Nora ventured to ask, though she knew that Covington was sure to fill in more details as he progressed.

  “About three years ago in December, a rebellion began to rise up across China. The rebellion is known as the Taiping Rebellion, which essentially means the Heavenly Kingdom in English. The rebellion is led by a man named Hong Xiuquan, who believes that he is the younger brother of Jesus Christ.”

  Covington paused and smiled as he allowed the statement to sink in.

  “The younger brother of Jesus Christ?” Andrik repeated in the form of a question.

  “Hard to believe, isn’t it?” Covington responded. “It seems that it hasn’t been so hard to accept in China, however. His movement has gained a large following and has taken over Tianjing, which they have established as the capital of their Heavenly Kingdom. Three main branches of these movements have surfaced, most of them forming out of the triads and secret societies of China. Whether or not they all directly support Xiuquan’s claim of being the younger brother of Jesus or not, they are supporting the rebellion against the Qing government, and tend to support a return to the former dynasty; the Ming Dynasty.

  “One of the branches of the rebellion has taken over the municipality and governmental operations located in Shanghai, though they have largely left the concessions of the French, Americans and British unharmed. Though there is not a direct threat to our interests at this point, we are not certain that this will continue to be the case.

  “Her Majesty’s interests, due to the enforcement of the Treaty of Nanking, lie with preserving the status quo, which is the Qing government. We can ill afford any disruption to our trade in any of the five ports, but we are most concerned with Shanghai and we need to know a bit more about the organization, their strength and their intentions for the future of Shanghai.”

  Covington paused a moment to see if Andrik and Nora were following him. Since they presented no questions or points of clarification, he continued.

  “The branch who has overthrown the government positions in Shanghai is known as the Small Sword Society and it is led by a man named Liu Lichuan. We know little about this man as he seems to have been among the ranks of commoners and rose quite quickly into his present position. We need to penetrate his organization and be prepared to do whatever is necessary to strengthen our position with the Qing government to maintain our trade interests as they are.”

  “What exactly are our trade interests in Shanghai specifically and China in general?” Andrik asked. Nora had been considering that very question, but her colleague had beaten her to the asking of it.

  “It is something with which Nora is quite familiar,” Covington replied.

  Nora’s eyebrows rose, not sure what possible trade in China she was familiar with.

  “India is the largest producer of poppies in the world. They are cultivated by their British companies, processed into raw opium and traded across the world. China is one of the most prosperous markets for the sale of our product and the Nanking Treaty has opened up China to the legalization of opium and the subsequent sale of it. Since China is so near to the source, the profit margin for British companies is much higher. Consequently, keeping the market open in China has a significant economic impact on the realm.”

  Chapter Four

  “It is horrible stuff!” Nora exclaimed when she and Andrik were alone at Branksea some hours after their briefing with Covington and the Duke at White Hall. They had returned to Branksea in order to receive further briefing from Sir Augustus John Foster—who insisted on being referred to only as August—concerning the possibility of encountering jaingshi in Shanghai, as well as their capabilities, before they departed on their mission.

  “I don’t doubt that it is, Nora,” Andrik responded. He wasn’t nearly as passionate in his response as Nora would have hoped.

  “I nearly destroyed myself completely because of opium, Andrik!” she continued. “Once you are addicted to it, it is impossible to break the habit. I tried to break the habit over and over again. I do not doubt that had Alfred not come along when he did and snatched me away from it, I would still be waking up in Emma’s Opium Emporium and destroying my life further.”

  “I understand Nora, but…”

  “No, you don’t understand!” she returned passionately. “If I had not been rescued from it, it would have killed me. Perhaps it wouldn’t have killed me in months or even years, but it would have worn me down eventually and caused my ultimate demise; a demise that would have been very permanent, mind you.”

  “Look, Nora, I’m not defending opium in any way, but we have to keep in mind what our true mission is all about. It’s not really about the opium, it’s about maintaining the interests of Her Majesty and the Realm. British companies and the government of Her Majesty depend upon the taxes and tariffs related to the opium trade within China. Our duty is to help maintain the status quo, which…” Nora started to interrupt, but he waved her off. “Which has nothing to do with the damaging effects of the product being sold.”

  “I fully understand our duty, Andrik,” Nora snapped, emphasizing the last word and his name with something like a hiss in her tone. “But in a way, I am fighting for its continued legalization, while I ought to be doing everything in my power to make certain that it does not get into the hands of those who might be destroyed by it.”

  Andrik’s eyes narrowed as she made the last statement. “Are you aware that by suggesting that you ought to fight against opium’s legalization, are in direct conflict with Her Majesty’s policies and therefore walking the fine line of treason?”

  “Do you truly believe that I would commit treason?” she growled. She stared into his eyes, fluorescing her own and challenged him to suggest the unthinkable.

  Andrik returned her glare in equal measur
e for a long moment but did not fluoresce as she did. After the moment passed, he responded in a low tone. “No, I do not believe that you would commit treason, but you are going to have to find a way to come to terms between your personal feelings concerning opium and the mission for which we are tasked. To do otherwise might cause significant problems for the success of our mission as well as cost one or the other of us our lives.”

  “I was told that we did not measure the success of our missions,” she returned. Her Irish temper had swelled to the point that she had forgotten about her initial objection to the continued trading of opium and was more intent upon meeting Andrik blow for blow.

  “The success of our missions, which we have discussed on various occasions, has to do with whether or not Her Majesty’s interests are maintained or lost,” Andrik returned. “The success of this mission may be called into question as long as you maintain your personal prejudice concerning the opium and lose sight of the true objective.”

  “Are you suggesting that I might compromise the success of our mission?” she asked. The question was a step down from the suggestion that she might commit treason, but she asked it anyway, wanting to know just how far down the scale she might go before she came across the place where Andrik did not trust her. Why she was pushing it, she did not know, but she felt as though she had to.

  Andrik turned away from her without responding.

  That particular maneuver did little to subdue the ire which had already begun to reach a boiling point inside of her. “Are you not responding because you believe that I will compromise the success of our mission?”

  “No,” he replied in a softer tone. “I am not responding because this discussion is getting us nowhere and there is no point in pursuing it further.”

  “No point in pursuing it further?” she shot back. “I want to know exactly where your trust in me begins and ends.”

  “I trust you completely, Nora,” he said, promptly leaving the room the moment he had finished speaking. From outside the room, he called out one more time. “Our briefing with August is in ten minutes.”

  Nora might have pursued him and continued the discussion, but his parting statement had left her momentarily stunned. By the time she had come up with a proper response, he was nowhere to be seen.

  “Probably turned into a rat,” she muttered.

  She considered hitting or kicking the stone wall but realized that such an action was a bit childish. Perhaps the entire argument had been somewhat childish. After some moments of seething, she began to think more clearly and came to realize that the nightmare had left her on edge and caused her to be a bit more passionate about the opium issue than she might otherwise be. She didn’t like it and it didn’t feel right that their mission was going to help to continue its legalization in China, but she would do her duty when it came to Queen and country. The legalization or banning of opium was a battle for another day; one which she would take up whenever the opportunity presented itself. For the moment, maintaining the trust of MI-6, and even the trust of Andrik, was far more important to her. With a sigh, she pushed her personal feelings aside and prepared herself for the briefing with August.

  As she made her way down the corridor to where she and Andrik were to meet August, she considered what Andrik had said, wondering if he really meant it. Did he really trust her completely or had he made the statement only to escape the argument? She considered reopening the discussion when she arrived in the plush library of the coven leader but did not have the opportunity as Andrik had not yet arrived and August engaged her in a discussion of her recent experience.

  “It is my understanding that you experienced a night terror?” he asked.

  “I did,” she responded. “The Duke believes that it was a combination of my past life experiences mixed with a prophecy about our future mission.”

  “That is interesting indeed,” August responded. “I am intrigued to hear the details, though I suppose I will have to wait until another time. The Duke was quite insistent that I bring you and Andrik up to speed on the various types and attributes of the jaingshi you might encounter in Shanghai.”

  Andrik had chosen that exact moment to arrive in the room and August did not delay further. The moment to bring up his earlier comment was lost entirely.

  Chapter Five

  “We do know a little bit more about Liu Lichuan than we passed along to MI-6 before,” Robert Mills began, as Andrik and Nora sat in yet another briefing, though this one was taking place inside the British concession of Shanghai. “This information is thanks to Syun Min, who is more than a little acquainted with the subject at hand.”

  The subject at hand? Nora thought. Are we discussing the latest Victorian fashion or a person? In truth, she hadn’t quite gotten used to the unique vernacular used by members of the agency or those who typically associated with them. Their trip to Shanghai had begun as a rather silent one as she continued to project an icy demeanor at the beginning. Being in her owl form for much of the trip had reignited those deep feelings of unending freedom, which had greatly lightened her mood and melted the ice wall she’d constructed between them. She had never returned to the subject of his declaration of trust and decided to allow actions to prove the truth of his words rather than the words alone.

  For Andrik’s part, he had begun their mission in a business-like manner, just as he had their mission to Crimea. Nora had not returned to her concerns about the portion of their mission which supported the continued legalization of opium and its trade inside China and he certainly wasn’t going to open that Pandora ’s Box again. He’d grown to trust Nora and felt like when pressed, she would set aside her personal feeling and do her duty. It was essential that he trusted her, because she was going to be the main player in the mission in Shanghai, though he had been advised not to go into any detail concerning her role until they were already in Shanghai.

  “Liu Lichuan is reformed man,” Syun Min began, interrupting the thoughts of both Andrik and Nora as he took over the briefing. “That is what many people say about him. He is common man. He used to trade sugar and was very successful trade man. Many say Hong make him leader of Small Sword Society because of his success. I don’t think this.”

  “Why don’t you think this?” Andrik asked, falling victim to repeating the accent of Syun Min.

  “I don’t think this because Small Sword Society is beyond control of Hong,” Syun Min responded. “Small Sword Society is old secret society from Ming Dynasty. Many secret society are formed when Ming Dynasty struggle for control. Li Zicheng is leader of secret society during Ming dynasty like many other, but he different than other society leader because he decide to do something and challenge Chongzhen. He successful with his challenge and declare himself Dashing King, but he only this king for very short time because Mings call on Manchus to help them. Manchus take the throne back from Li Zicheng, but take it for themselves and become Qing Dynasty.

  “Secret societies have joined Heavenly Kingdom for same reason. They are hoping for position and right moment to move in when both Qing and Heavenly Kingdom are weak. Perhaps Liu Lichuan believe he can be next Dynasty, but I don’t think this. I think he is weak man.”

  “Why do you think he is weak?” Nora asked.

  “He is man who smoke much opium. Many say that he is Christian man now, just like Hong and a reform man, but I don’t think this. I think he is weak man and he smoke opium and make his mind and his will weak.”

  The comment struck very close to home with Nora. She, after all, was reformed from being an opium smoker. She knew deep down that she would no longer return to it, but Syun Min’s comment and the night terror she had experienced little more than a week before had placed a seed of doubt in her mind. Was that the real reason why she had fought with Andrik concerning the legalization of opium? Did she fear that she might fall back into the habit, like in her nightmare, or did she truly desire to prevent opium from destroying others? The questions were unsettling on their own, but he
r doubts made the answers far more terrifying.

  “Because Syun Min believes that Liu Lichuan is weak and has a weak mind, we are pretty encouraged about successfully infiltrating the Small Sword Society,” Robert Mills broke in again. He was looking directly at Nora as he made the statement. “We think it will be no trouble for you at all.”

  “For me?” she asked. “Why are you looking at me?”

  “You haven’t briefed her on her role yet?” Mills asked, turning his gaze to Andrik.

  It wasn’t exactly the way that Andrik wanted to introduce Nora’s role into the conversation, but there wasn’t much that he could do about it, so he bent the truth just a bit in order to defer the ire that was sure to come from his Irish colleague. “We weren’t settled on how we were going to carry out the infiltration when we left London. Alfred and the Duke had suggested that you might be the most successful at infiltrating the Small Sword Society, but they had left it up to me… to us, to set up a firmer commitment once we were in Shanghai.”

  “Left it up to you,” she responded. She had caught the subtle change and wasn’t going to let him off the hook. “The decision had already been made, but they left it up to you to tell me. That’s what you meant to say, right?”

  “Nora, I didn’t…” he began.

  “Relax, Andrik,” she grinned. “I think it is a brilliant idea. Maybe you should have claimed it as being yours after all.”

  Then she sobered. “I’m not particularly fond of the fact that you think that I will be successful because Liu Lichuan has a weak mind and is a weak man,” she responded, passing a firm glance from one to the other of the three men in the room. “I prefer to believe that it will be my own well-developed skills which will contribute to my success. So, gentlemen, instead of sitting there with your mouths agape, let’s solidify our plan for getting me inside the Small Sword Society, where I can work my magic.”