Dragon Bones (Red Princess 3)

“You said before that security here is tight enough for you to feel safe. If that’s so, then how do these saboteurs get in?”

“I don’t think they do. I truly believe that our difficulties have had less to do with malicious intent or ‘saboteurs’ than with ineptitude and inexperience. I fault paying people, who’ve never done this kind of work before, a hundred and twenty-two dollars a month for very hard labor. At the same time, I fault us for not realizing that those workers might want to pick up whatever they can find here and sell it for whatever price they can get.”

“Could the All-Patriotic Society be involved?” She circled back just to satisfy herself.

“Look, Xiao Da is a nutcase, but that doesn’t mean his group has anything to do with our problems. The real danger to the dam is large-scale terrorism.”

Stuart, who came from a country that prided itself on religious freedom, wouldn’t understand that China considered the cult a domestic threat. On the other hand….

“Sadly, your country has already learned that religious fanaticism can lead to horrible acts of terrorism,” she reminded him. “What would be the biggest threat here?”

“A bomb. Dams are often targeted during wars for defensive or offensive purposes. If this one ever went, millions of people would die. Which is why the dam is protected by two divisions of soldiers, as well as missile batteries.”

“Have you ever met a man named Wu Huadong?”

“I don’t believe so.”

“Did he ever work here?”

“I don’t know,” Stuart answered in frustration. “I don’t recognize the name, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t worked on the project.”

“Do you have people here who are members of the All-Patriotic Society?” Hulan asked.

“I don’t personally hire the people who work on my crews. As for the others, well, there are about seventy thousand people working here—”

“At the visitors’ center, I read it was twenty thousand,” she said.

“They said it would be twenty thousand when they started. It’s closer to seventy thousand today. They said it would cost ten billion dollars U.S. to build. Later that figure was revised to twenty-four billion, but it will probably be closer to seventy billion by the time it’s done.”

“Let’s get back to the All-Patriotic Society,” she suggested, returning to her original subject.

“You tell me, Inspector. Wouldn’t it be against the law to work here if you were a member of that group?”

“People don’t always tell the truth,” she observed.

Stuart tipped his head in agreement.

“What about foreigners?” Hulan asked. “Is there anyone who might want to stop the project?”

“Where shall I start? Greenpeace? The Sierra Club? International Rivers Network? The National Wildlife Fund? They’re all in an uproar over environmental issues—the species that will be lost, the silting that will eventually clog the dam, and the cesspool that the reservoir will create. Who else? Hell, my government’s National Security Council said that the U.S.—and by extension industrial companies like mine—should steer clear of the project. And what about the bastards over at the U.S. Export-Import Bank who decided they wouldn’t guarantee loans to U.S. companies seeking contracts here? Yeah, there are a lot of people and organizations that don’t want to see the dam completed.”

“But you can still guarantee that it’s safe.”

“Let me put it this way,” Stuart blurted, finally losing his cool, “I don’t think that anything that’s happened with my turbines will put the integrity of the dam in question, but you don’t have to take my word for it. Go ask one of the foreign inspectors.” Sensing a momentary advantage, he pressed on. “Don’t you watch your television news? Haven’t you heard your premier speak of the problems of ‘tofu construction’? He isn’t just talking about those new rattraps along the river they’re moving people to; he’s been talking about the dam. ‘Quality means the life of the Three Gorges Project. The responsibility on your shoulders is heavier than Mount Tai.’ Are you telling me you haven’t heard that?”

“I’ve heard it,” she allowed, “but I’m not so naïve as to think that those workers that you spoke so highly of just a moment ago or even the so-called technically advanced outsiders like yourself can bear the weight of Premier Zhu’s mountain.”

“Do I hear sarcasm, Inspector?” Stuart shot back. “Just who do you think the Chinese will blame if something does happen to the dam? Themselves? Not likely. You’ve got to hand it to Zhu, going against the political tide and speaking out on quality. People listen to him, which is why your government has hired a French company to oversee quality control. They’re outsiders who won’t be as susceptible to bribes as others are within your country.”

“You’re making a lot of money—”

“You bet your ass I am,” he admitted freely, “but that’s not why I’m here.”

“If it’s not the money, then why?”

Stuart looked genuinely surprised by the question, and Hulan realized that all thoughts of Lily had faded from his mind. “It’s the project! My God, woman, don’t you see its magnificence?”

“It’s big….”