by Fritz Galt
But he decided to say nothing. It was not honorable to raise false hopes when they were all about to die as martyrs.
And they were all martyrs indeed. Each had paid his dues, suffered his heart attacks, and lived graciously with his fame, all for the sake of the Party and their steadfast belief in Chairman Mao’s vision of a united and uncorrupted China. Well, united anyway.
Then his chin felt a wisp of air.
“Hurray!” a man cried out in relief.
One was sobbing. Another was mumbling a prayer.
Yang closed his eyes. That was strange. He didn’t know that anyone on the committee was religious.
Then silence ensued as they waited for further confirmation that the torture was ending.
The water receded quickly at that point, as if a giant plug had been pulled out of the earth’s crust.
Within ten minutes, their armpits were free of the cold water. The members began talking excitedly at once.
“Order!” Yang said.
Then, as they waited to be rescued, they began to do what committees did best. They hashed out a plan by consensus.
“First,” Yang said, “we must stop Liang. He is behind all this. We can’t let him take over all the ministries.”
“I’ll contact my generals in the military,” one said.
“The interior ministry won’t budge without my word.”
“But how are we going to contact anybody?”
“I still have my cell phone,” Yang said. “We just have to get out of this cave.”
The swishing of water followed as all turned to look at him.
A stray, reflected ray of light fell upon his hand holding the precious phone high above his head.
Chapter 33
Brad sat dripping wet on the skids of May’s helicopter, wondering why she had disappeared so confidently into the apocalyptic scene before them.
Your father.
He flicked at a fly buzzing by his left ear.
“Something doesn’t feel right,” he said. “I think I gotta do something.”
“You can squat behind the chopper,” Earl said. “I promise, we won’t watch.”
“I have some paper,” Dr. Yu offered.
Brad stared at the disaster scene still unfolding before him. The army was busy saving lives. No security guard was going to check his clearance if he tried to follow May into the blaze.
He rose to his feet and began to walk across the airfield after her.
“What’s going on? Are you nuts?” Earl said. “You go out there, and you’ll be picked up or blown up for sure.”
Brad hesitated. “I don’t know. I’ve got a bad feeling.”
“Okay, Skywalker,” Earl said, He jogged over and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s grab Yoda here and get going.”
Brad didn’t want to involve them. This wasn’t about them. This was about his girl and Richter. “No. You guys stay here. It’s too dangerous.”
“No way. You go, we all go.”
“I’m feeling better,” Dr. Yu piped up right beside them.
“There. Ya see? Fit as a fiddle,” Earl said. He slung an arm around the old man to support him. “Come on, doc.”
Together, the three marched across the soft grass and advanced on the dam. Brad took the treasured sack of bones off the old man’s hands.
He had May. He had her father. He had the anthropological find of the century. But Liang still had the muscle.
Earl was looking around at the smoke, the river, and the disaster scene before them. “My girl sure knows how to throw a party, huh?” The tremble in his voice hinted at his concern. “I just hope she’s okay.”
“Me too,” Brad said. “Me too.”
Getting out of the cave took some effort by the party elders. The sampans were swamped and floated upside down. However, they worked steadily under the Buddhist statues that had also been given a second lease on life and got two boats righted. Then they frantically began to bail them out.
Finally, Prime Minister Yang and his cohorts could paddle out of the cave. The current carried them to dry land several dozen meters away from the cave entrance.
Yang was free at last. He stood dripping wet among tiny, damp flags that marked what had once been an excavation site. He shivered in the shadow of the mountains. He didn’t know if the water would rise again or how soon they could be rescued. All he knew was that he had to get word to whatever power structure still remained that they were still alive.
With bone cold fingers, he searched the menu on his cell phone and chose the number of General Chen, the Chief of the Southern Command.
“General, this is Yang speaking.”
“Mr. Prime Minister! I’m glad you’re safe.” Chen’s relief was obvious even over the phone. “And the rest of the committee?”
“Fu was swept under. But by some miracle, the rest of us survived.”
The general coughed briefly, but forcefully, as if he were choking. “Sadly, we’ve just received word that our president has expired.”
Prime Minister Yang stared down at the water. His intuition had proven true. The country had lost its mighty leader. The land teetered on the brink of chaos.
“Sir, I must also tell you that a Chinese attack helicopter bombed the Three Gorges Dam. It left a large gash in it for the river to flow through. We are fortunate that casualties were few. However, among the missing are several VIPs.”
“Like who?”
“Two Americans. The scientist named Richter and Michael Jordon, the pop singer.”
“Jackson?”
“No, that’s the coach.”
Whatever. Yang considered the losses. Richter being gone was a blessing for China, and as for the pop star, he hadn’t done anything worthwhile since Dirty Diana. It was President Qian’s death that hit him hardest. As of that moment, he was the acting leader of the People’s Republic of China.
“We’re attempting to locate and shoot down the helicopter,” Chen added.
Yang looked back at the cave whence he had just escaped. The chopper had bombed the dam just in time to save their lives. “That pilot is a hero who saved our nation. He deserves a medal.”
“It’s a she, sir. But we’ll see to it.”
“Now listen to me very carefully. I’m ordering you to take Little Liang captive. He’s behind the assassination attempt on the Central Committee and probably his own grandfather.”
“Liang?” It took a moment for the command to sink in. “That is most unfortunate,” Chen said slowly, “as his whereabouts are unknown.”
“Then find him at once and place him under arrest.”
“But sir, until I hear otherwise, he’s still my commanding officer.”
What kind of backward attitude was that? Then, as if the clouds suddenly parted, Yang was given a clear view of the drawbacks of such an authoritarian system of government. There was no room for individual initiative. He was flying in the face of centuries of dynastic rule. Nevertheless, with the president deceased, he had become top dog, an awesome responsibility.
“Very well, General,” he said calmly. “As acting leader, I officially strip Liang Jiaxi of his rank and relieve him of all command. You are to use every available means to apprehend him, but I want him caught alive.”
“Yes, sir. And please stay where you are. We’ll have the coordinates of your phone momentarily and send out a rescue mission.”
“Very good.” Yang held his cell phone up in the air for the eavesdroppers to pinpoint their location.
He was the new leader of China, but he didn’t feel like one. He felt small and wet and lost. Furthermore, he realized right then and there that he didn’t want to be the country’s next leader. Who would ever want such responsibility?
Liang Jiaxi for one. The younger generation. Those who didn’t know any better. He shook his head. The only thing that could ruin his government faster than the ossification of old age was the overzealous ambition of youth.
Brad and crew paused at
the main gate to the dam complex. An ambulance and several police cars sped out, ferrying wounded off the grounds to a makeshift triage staging center just beyond.
All security had been neglected as soldiers and civilians, Chinese and otherwise, helped wounded limp away from the scene of more potential disaster.
“So just exactly where are we going?” Earl asked, as Brad resumed his pace. “And to what purpose, oh mystical one?”
“Search me.”
Brad had no goal and no plan of action. Only his instincts told him that he needed to find Liang and put an end to his brutal takeover.
He drew up in front of a gangway that went down into what appeared to be a bunker complex. There was something important and dire about the place. It reminded him of the stories he’d read of Hitler’s bunker during those last days of the Third Reich.
All of your answers can be found within.
Seek and I shall find?
Ask and it shall be given unto you.
Time flies like an arrow.
And fruit flies like bananas, the voice concluded.
He loved these little philosophical chats. It almost felt like he had no problems weighing upon him and was somehow talking to himself or Earl.
When he, Earl and Sullivan had first driven onto the grounds, he had noticed a guard posted at the door to the bunker. But apparently because of the pandemonium swirling around the site, it was left temporarily vulnerable.
“You want to hide out?” Earl asked.
Brad marched down the ramp that took him fifteen feet below ground level. The others followed. When he pushed against the steel-reinforced door, it swung open.
Wordlessly, they filed into the concrete cave.
Drip. Drip.
The part of Sullivan’s mind that could still master logic knew that he was on the edge. Were it not for the restraints against his body, he would be swaying and rocking like a patient in some asylum.
Drip.
He had to get out of there, soon.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
The door opened and light from the hallway nearly blinded him.
There stood the imposing figure of a man.
Liang was outraged. His dam was crumbling before his very eyes. He needed to kill the closest living thing connected to his enemies.
He broke free of the clinging mob of celebrities that was begging him for his personal intervention on their behalf and fled toward the site’s military complex.
“Sullivan!” he cried as he marched down the ramp. “I know Jade is working for you.” He kicked open the door to the interrogation room. “You’ve screwed with my country’s destiny and tried to destroy my father’s legacy. And for that you will die.”
He lunged into the room, but didn’t notice the three figures already standing behind him in the dark.
He reached for Sullivan’s neck. But a heavy bag of rocks swung down on him and knocked him out cold.
Chapter 34
Slowly, Liang’s mind began to clear. But he could see nothing. He was still immersed in the darkness of the interrogation room.
He fumbled for the light switch. It clicked, but nothing happened. They must have broken the light bulbs.
He lurched toward the door and began to beat his fists against it. But the sound only increased the pain in his head. Through the throbbing, he remembered his cell phone and pulled the sleek instrument from his pocket.
He found the speed dial for General Chen on the illuminated screen and dialed it.
“Chen,” the general answered.
“It’s me. Get somebody down here in the interrogation room to release me at once.”
“Of course, Little Liang. I’ll be down there to relieve you personally.” The general was curt and hung up abruptly.
That was odd. Chen’s use of the nickname “Little Liang” was inappropriate and more than a little disrespectful. Something was going on.
Always have a backup, he thought, and made another phone call.
It was time to call upon his most loyal troops.
May was busy supervising the rescue operation at the base of the dam when a young officer came striding up to her. She recognized him as an adjutant assigned to Liang’s command, but thought nothing of it until he paused and slipped her a cell phone.
“Commander Yu May Hua, an important call for you,” he said.
“Hao.” Okay. A foreboding feeling settled in her gut. “Yes?” she said into the phone.
“Hello, my butterfly.”
“I am not your butterfly!” May screamed back into the phone.
“Be cautious, beautiful one. I have someone here who may suffer should I lose my temper.”
“Liar! You can’t touch my father anymore.”
“Oh, I think I can. You see, he’s right here, along with your puppy dog.”
May stared at the officer who had handed her the phone, but his face remained expressionless. Liang was most probably lying in order to force her into doing something foolish.
“Put one of them on the phone if you want to convince me,” she challenged him.
“I’m afraid that’s impossible, as they are both unconscious. Come to the lower level security rooms in Block A if you want to see them alive again. And come alone,” he added.
He cut her off before she could respond.
May shot the underling a look and considered disciplinary action. There wasn’t time, so she kept the guy’s phone. There was no need for him to give Liang an update.
The clamor of alarms and wail of sirens directed her attention back to her bigger responsibility. It was her duty to try and help rescue people who floated away in the swift current or were trapped beneath concrete that continued to crumble away.
Still, she shouldn’t have left Brad, Earl and her father unprotected in the middle of the military airfield. And there would be more bloodshed that day, if Liang found them.
She signaled a passing military jeep. Fortunately, the soldier driving it recognized her despite her feminine clothes and came screeching to a halt. She threw the cell phone under a back tire, ordered him out, and jumped behind the steering wheel. The phone crushed to pieces as she peeled rubber and headed for the airfield, leaving the astonished driver behind.
In her rearview mirror, she saw Liang’s young adjutant bum a cell phone off the driver and place a call.
All the more reason to reach Brad and her father fast and take them far away.
Brad and the group strode briskly across the grass to put distance between them and Liang in the underground complex.
“Man,” Brad said between gasps for breath. “I bet he’s going to be seeing stars when he wakes up.”
Within minutes, General Chen’s men would be arriving to take Liang away from the bunker and to serve up some military justice on the bastard.
“I only hope I didn’t break anything, in this bag, that is.” He hoisted Dr. Yu’s bag of bones high into the air.
Sullivan still looked shaky as he took in his newfound freedom. “I expect the general will speed up what is destined to be a very short life for him.”
Brad studied the CIA man more closely. There was no visible damage to Sullivan’s person, yet from the deep creases of anguish in his face, he looked like he had just dragged himself through a minefield.
“You okay?” he asked. “You look a little wiped out.”
“Yes. I’m feeling better. But it’s good you came along when you did. By the way, how did you find me in that maze?”
Brad considered telling the long saga of the drugs and the voice in his head.
Earl jumped in. “We could tell you,” he said. “But you wouldn’t believe it. Bradley here used the Force to find you. Didn’t even know what we were looking for at the time, far as I could tell.”
Brad sought a way to divert attention away from his embarrassingly inexplicable abilities. He gazed across the field. They were heading in the general direction of the hangar with the two airplanes.
“Well, I’
m more than a little grateful to all of you,” Sullivan concluded. “Dr. Yu, I presume?” He formally introduced himself to the tiny man who leaned on Earl’s arm as he hobbled along.
“Any enemy of Liang is certainly a friend of mine,” the old man said, and offered his free hand in a friendly shake.
Just then, Brad heard the unmistakable squeak of a vehicle with poor suspension bouncing across the field toward them.
Earl spun around and adjusted his crooked glasses. “Hey comrades. We’ve got company. Anyone for defensive positions?”
Brad paused to examine the approaching jeep. “Relax, Eagle-eye. It’s May.”
“Hey, your years of watching babes from a distance must have really honed your vision.”
“You might have maintained decent eyesight yourself, if not for the decades of self-abuse,” Brad razzed back.
May pulled alongside the foursome, quickly jumped out, and hugged her father.
“Never will I leave you again,” she vowed, and cast a sideways glance at Brad. “But come. We must Scooby-doo. Liang will most certainly have our whereabouts.”
“But you don’t understand,” Brad said. “We left Liang all safe and cozy in one of your many dungeons.”
May stared at him in bewilderment. “I was just talking to Liang on the phone.”
Brad scratched his head. How could Liang have gotten hold of a phone? Yet from the wild look and fear in May’s eyes, he could tell that she wasn’t making it up.
“Unfortunate, you left him his cell phone.”
“Fudge Ducker,” Earl said. “I knew we should have picked his pockets.”
Liang would surely train his sights on them first thing. Boy were they lucky May had a jeep.
Brad shoved the scientist into the front seat next to May. Then the three Americans piled into the back seat.
There he sat, cradling the bones in between Sullivan and Earl.
Remember the plane, came the voice from inside his head.
