by Ron McGee
But everything changed after the car crash.
A freak accident, they told her. Both her parents killed instantly. She could barely function. Nothing made sense.
And then her uncle showed up. Aung Win was her father’s brother, but the two had grown distant. Lan had not even seen him in over a year. She had always been a little afraid of her uncle. He watched everything with suspicion and disapproval. She didn’t know much about him, really. Only that he was high up in the government and had no other family. He disagreed strongly with her father’s belief that the people of Andakar should be given more freedom and real justice. The brothers argued about it whenever they were together.
When Aung Win told her that she would be coming to live with him in Panai, she didn’t understand at first. She wouldn’t leave her friends, her school, everything she’d ever known. Her uncle tried to be comforting, but she could tell he was annoyed by her protests. In the end, she had no choice. It had already been decided. There was nothing she could do about it.
Lan soon learned that her uncle was a general with Andakar’s feared secret police, the Army Services Intelligence agency. Her new home was a penthouse on the top floor of the Kali Thawar Hotel. The old hotel was now ASI headquarters, its lower floors housing the strategic command center. The suites on the upper floors had been modernized and now provided luxurious apartments for the ASI’s top officers.
From the beginning, Lan and Aung Win had problems. No other kids lived at the Kali Thawar. Lan felt isolated and depressed, lost in this new and unfamiliar place. Her uncle was gone most of the time, leaving her with a caretaker and a teacher who would come to their suite. She was virtually a prisoner in the old hotel.
Eventually, bored and restless, she snuck into her uncle’s study—which was, of course, strictly off-limits—and began to explore. This was her first hint of the horrors that her uncle oversaw in his role as the head of the Internal Security Division. From what she could tell, Aung Win’s job was to spy on the citizens of Andakar and to arrest anyone suspected of working against the military rulers. She discovered photos of torture that made her run to the bathroom and vomit.
Lan realized she was living among monsters. Not just Aung Win, but the entire ASI and the government itself. She finally understood how sheltered her life had been and how tough it was for most people in her country. She thought often of her father’s lectures—how she wished she could hear him go on and on about justice and freedom just one more time! She needed a reason to move on, a purpose. And now she had one.
Inside the walls of the ASI, Lan had access to the country’s most closely guarded secrets. All of the ASI soldiers were men, and no one thought anything of the quiet teenage girl who was always around. It took months of watching her uncle and winning his trust, but she gradually discovered the password to his computer and learned the inner workings of the command center downstairs. Piece by piece, Lan gathered intelligence. She taught herself how to get past the security firewalls on the internet that kept Andakar’s citizens cut off from the rest of the world. She would use the hated spy agency’s own resources against it.
As a child, Lan loved a bedtime story her father told of the monkey and the tiger. The two met in the jungle one day. The tiger put its giant paw on the monkey’s tail, pinning it down. The tiger roared and prepared to take a deadly bite. The monkey knew it was hopeless—the tiger was so much bigger than she was—but she didn’t give up. Instead, she dug down deep and roared right back at the tiger! The tiger had never been roared at before and was quite surprised. For just a moment, he let go of the monkey’s tail. In a flash, the monkey ran away and climbed high into the trees. Lan loved to hear her father do the monkey’s roar. The little monkey’s name was Myat Kaw.
Using the alias Myat Kaw, Lan began to release the secrets she had uncovered. She learned to hide her tracks and watched in disbelief as the information slowly made its way around the world, outraging the public. For months, she had been exposing the corruption at the heart of Andakar’s military rulers. She never set out to be a rebel, but that’s what they called her.
Lan realized it couldn’t last forever. Her uncle was leading the hunt to find Myat Kaw, so she was able to follow the investigation. They were getting close: tracing the blog posts, breaking through her cyber defenses, cracking down on anyone suspected of supporting Myat Kaw. She knew she’d have to leave soon and made plans to escape.
But she’d waited too long.
Five days ago, Lan had entered the large apartment she shared with her uncle to find Aung Win waiting. He was furious, but his anger was cold and quiet.
“You made a mistake,” he told her.
Lan’s survival instincts had kicked in. She instantly adopted a passive, confused expression. What was he talking about?
Aung Win showed her a report he’d received on a dissident they’d arrested several days ago. The ASI techs had analyzed his computer and found a communication between the man and someone inside the Kali Thawar. Aung Win admitted he had become suspicious of Lan and the way she had watched his movements all the time, thinking he didn’t notice. But he couldn’t believe his niece was really capable of betraying him like this.
He had used the dissident’s computer to set a trap. He sent an email with a tracking program expertly hidden in the data. And a response had just been received from one of the offices on the second floor. Aung Win held up a tablet that showed surveillance footage of the office: Lan was right there, sitting at the desk using the computer in a room she had no reason to be in.
Aung Win’s anger erupted violently then. He had taken her in when no one would! He was the only family she had! How could she do this to him?
But over the past year, Lan had become an excellent liar. She pretended she had no idea what he was talking about, insisting she would never do anything to hurt him after all he’d done for her. It killed her to say those words, but she knew she was fighting for her life.
Aung Win wasn’t convinced, but her forceful denials surprised him. He got called away, promising they would finish this when he returned. She would tell him the truth, one way or another. He locked her into her room when he left.
Which was just what Lan wanted. She had a rope stashed outside her window and used it to slide all the way down to the ground. Months of sneaking around the Kali Thawar command center had prepared her for an escape. Within minutes, she made it out of the compound and into the streets of Panai.
If not for John Quinn, she was sure the ASI would have found her within hours—they had eyes everywhere. The American had rescued her, but he’d paid a terrible price.
Now, his son stood in front of her, waiting anxiously for the answer to the question he had just asked.
“Yes,” she told him. “Your father’s alive.”
CHAPTER
32
MOUNT BANA,
ANDAKAR
Ryan tied the hands of one unconscious soldier as Lan bound the feet of the other. His head was swimming with the quick download of information she had given him.
“Shot?” he repeated. “How bad? Is he okay?”
“He’s getting better. It went straight through his leg.”
“Where is he? Take me to him.”
“He needs water,” Lan said. “We both do. Help me get supplies, then we’ll go.”
Ryan didn’t want to wait another second. “I want to see him now.”
But Lan was adamant. “He’s feverish and fighting infection. We ran out of medicine and water yesterday. We need to grab whatever we can find before more soldiers show up.”
Frustrated, Ryan wanted to argue but knew she was right. “Fine—let’s just hurry.”
“Are you out here by yourself?” she asked, dragging one of the soldiers out of sight.
“Why?” Ryan grabbed the other one by the ankles and pulled.
“You just seem young, that’s all.”
“You’re one to talk. You’ve been single-handedly taking on the entire govern
ment.” Ryan was still having trouble believing this teenage girl was the notorious Myat Kaw. Lan wasn’t at all what he expected. She actually looked rather delicate, short and thin with a round face, high cheekbones, and black hair pulled back into a ponytail. But her eyes betrayed the ferocity of a survivor. This girl was a fighter.
“We need to find their jeep,” Lan said, scanning the area. She led the way, cautiously checking around the corner of every temple before moving forward.
“How’d you get hooked up with my dad?” Ryan asked. Lan glanced over, and Ryan could tell she was debating how much to tell him. “I think you can trust me—my dad got shot for you.”
“Sorry. It’s been hard to trust anyone the last few months.” Lan kept moving as she spoke, trying to locate the jeep. “A few weeks ago, things started getting really bad. The ASI was coming after me with everything they had. I knew, eventually, they’d find out who I was. I needed a way out of Andakar. Some supporters put me in touch with this group that helps people like me out of bad situations.”
Ryan nodded. “The ERC.”
“John Quinn contacted me and offered to help. But I thought we still had time. A few days ago, everything went wrong and I had to run. I got word to your dad and then hid out until he could get here.” Lan suddenly pointed. “There!”
The jeep was parked under the outstretched boughs of a banyan tree. They watched from behind a stone wall for a few moments, making sure no one else was around, then moved forward.
“I’ll take the back,” Ryan said. As they searched the jeep, opening bags and searching compartments, he asked, “How did my dad get shot?”
“The ASI agents were always close behind. I think someone in Thanlin must be an informer for them because they were on us almost immediately. We had just made it to the temple grounds when the bullet hit your father. I thought we were dead.”
Ryan stopped searching, looking at her. “What happened?”
“Your dad’s stubborn. He yelled at me, and I finally snapped out of it.” Ryan remembered plenty of times his dad had pushed him in the same way. Lan continued, “We barely made it to the temple. John was about to pass out by that point. And then I couldn’t find the secret entrance the guide told us about. I could hear more soldiers arriving, shouting. They were so close.”
Reliving it, she lapsed into silence. Ryan prodded her, “But you made it.”
“Yeah. I dragged him inside and we were finally safe. We had a first-aid kit and medicine in our packs, so I patched him up the best I could. I’ve given him all the antibiotics. His fever has come down a lot since yesterday.” She held up two canteens. “Water.”
Ryan realized that she had probably saved his father’s life. Of course, his dad would’ve never been here in the first place if not for her. He unzipped a canvas bag, dumping out the ammunition inside. “Here—we can carry everything in this.”
Lan tossed him the canteens and a flashlight she pulled out of the glove compartment. “I don’t think the ASI knows he got shot. The area was crawling with soldiers that night and all the next day. They searched everywhere, but then they all left except for the two we tied up. The rest moved on toward the border. They must think we got away.”
The squawk from a radio startled them both. Lan found it wedged between the front seats, the size of a brick with an antenna sticking out the top. She listened to two voices communicating for a moment, then translated for Ryan. “We’re okay for now. They’re searching on the far side of Mount Bana.”
Ryan felt his stomach clench. “Did they say anything about capturing anyone?”
“No.”
So there was still hope for Tasha. Ryan found a box filled with rations, cans of meat and individual meal bars, and dumped the whole thing into the bag. Lan clipped the soldiers’ radio to her pants as Ryan zipped the canvas bag, slinging it over his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
Their raid complete, Ryan and Lan made their way to the temple with the golden dome. Its walls were covered with elaborate depictions of scenes from the life of the Buddha. Vines covered much of the surface, wrapping across the stone like serpents consuming the ancient structure. Lan ducked into the pitch-black entrance without hesitation, swallowed by the shadows.
With its ghostly emptiness and the buzz of jungle insects echoing all around, the place gave Ryan the creeps, but he fought his anxiety and followed.
Inside, shafts of moonlight lit the temple with a pale glow. He was in a huge room, the ground littered with debris. Lan stood in front of a massive, solid wall.
“Help me. It’s heavy.”
Confused, Ryan approached. A sculpture of a man and woman, palms pressed together in prayer, was carved into the stone. They were kneeling on some kind of raised altar engraved with intricate symbols. Lan put both hands on the edge of the altar as if to push it.
“It’s a solid wall,” Ryan said.
“That’s exactly what the king’s guard believed when they came to slaughter the monks that lived here five hundred years ago. They were wrong.” With a grimace, Lan pushed on the altar and, to Ryan’s amazement, it moved. She looked back. “You just gonna stand there?”
Ryan joined her and, together, they pushed. The sculpture was heavy but had been engineered to move smoothly. It pivoted on its axis, revealing a dimly lit tunnel just beyond. When it was wide enough, they slipped through the opening, and then pushed the stone back into place.
The tunnel wasn’t long but it led to a hollowed-out chamber. A battery-powered lantern gave enough light for Ryan to see the crumpled form of his father resting against the far wall.
John Quinn raised his head, looking up in utter disbelief. “Ryan … ?”
“Hey, Dad. You’re not an easy guy to find.”
CHAPTER
33
MOUNT BANA,
ANDAKAR
Seeing his father again, Ryan remembered a time when he must have been around five years old. His dad was about to leave on another of his many trips and Ryan begged him not to go. It was the third time in a month he’d left. When Ryan was little, he had always missed his dad to the point of tears.
John had pulled his son up into his arms and held him close. He smelled like he’d just shaved. “I know it’s hard to be apart,” his father told him. “But the work I do, it’s important. It makes a difference in people’s lives.”
“I don’t care,” Ryan had insisted. “I just want you here.”
“You might not care now. But one day, I hope you will. You know how much I love you, right?”
Begrudgingly, Ryan had nodded.
“And I always come back, don’t I? No one in the world is more important to me than you and your mother. So give me a kiss, and we’ll be back together before you know it.”
Now, Ryan sat next to his dad on the hard, stone floor of the temple. John’s leg was bloody and bandaged, his face filthy. Was this what those trips had always been like? How many times had Ryan come this close to losing his father and never even known it?
“The leg’s healing. It’s just taking time.” John was doing his best to convince Ryan he felt better than he looked.
“You need a hospital,” Ryan said.
“I’ll be okay. Another couple of days of rest and I can travel.” John took a long drink from one of the canteens. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Ryan was confused—it sounded like his dad was mad at him. “You shouldn’t be, either.” Across the chamber, Lan ate quietly, trying to give them privacy. But in this small room, Ryan knew she could hear every word.
“Where’s Mom?” Dad asked.
“I don’t know.”
“She’s not with you?”
Ryan lowered his voice. “She’s been kidnapped. Because of this. Because of her.”
“What?” John’s tone was sharp, not caring that Lan could hear them. “What happened?”
“These guys were following me. Then, they came to the house. I tried to fight them off, but … I wasn’t good enough. They took Mom. They
were from Andakar—the one in charge is called Aung Win.”
“Aung Win is in New York?”
“He was a couple of days ago. You know him?”
But it was Lan who answered. “Aung Win is my uncle. He’s a general in the ASI.”
Ryan’s dad was confused. “He targeted my family, which means he knows who I am. How could he have identified me? We were careful.”
“I did exactly what you told me,” Lan said. “I only used that private chat room you set up, and I never wrote anything down.”
“No one’s blaming you.” John turned to Ryan. “Is Mom okay? Have you talked to her?”
“She was when I left. It’s why I came.” Ryan glanced at Lan, not sure how to continue with her standing right there. Lan understood and moved away, sitting back down against the wall.
“Aung Win wants to trade,” Ryan whispered. “Mom for her. He said we have five days. That’s three days from now.”
“That’s not going to happen,” John said. He tried to stand before Ryan could stop him. “We have to get home.”
“Dad, stop—”
John faltered, grabbing his leg, grimacing in pain. Ryan helped him back down as Lan came over, opening a bottle of pain pills from the medical kit. “Give him these. They’re the last two.”
Ryan helped his father take the pills and sip some water. “We’ll figure it out, Dad. Mom’s gonna be okay.” He said the words but didn’t really believe them.
For several minutes, John leaned his head back against the wall, eyes closed. When he opened them, he looked at Ryan. “You must have a lot of questions.”
“You think?” Ryan was glad to see his dad smile. For a brief moment, it felt almost normal.
“But I have one first,” John said. “How did you even get here?”
“It wasn’t that hard. I just used my new credit card. The one I found with my fake passport in the secret room behind the wall of your study.” Ryan couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice. “And then I tagged along with this really obnoxious woman who showed up on a motorcycle. Turns out, she knew more about my parents than I did.”
