Beyond the open doors he spotted Pau Wen strolling through the courtyard, headed his way.
“I have to go.”
He ended the call and hid the phone.
The older man entered the room and asked, “Have you enjoyed another look at my wonders?”
“I’m more interested in the lamp.”
Pau had given the artifact to one of his men upon their arrival. “I’m afraid it was scarred from the fire, and the liquid it contained is gone.”
“I want to take it back to China.”
“Of course, Minister. You may have it. I only ask that you keep it from Karl Tang. I also have some disturbing news.”
He waited.
“Tang conducted a virtual meeting with members of the Ba a few hours ago. Quite a gathering, I’m told. They are preparing for their final assault.”
He decided he’d had enough of accepting what this man said on blind faith. “Where is Tang?”
Pau appraised him with a curious glare. “A test, Minister? To see if I speak with authority?” The older man paused. “All right. I understand your skepticism, though after what happened at the museum I had hoped we were making progress. But it is good to be cautious. It will keep you alive much longer.”
“You haven’t answered the question.”
“He’s at an oil exploration site, in northern Gansu.”
Exactly what his aide had reported.
“Did I pass?”
“What assault has begun?”
Pau smiled, pleased at knowing he’d been right. “The Ba is again alive, after decades of self-imposed sleep.”
“I’m leaving for home.”
Pau nodded. “The lamp is packaged and ready.”
“And you still have no idea of its significance?”
Pau shook his head. “Only that Minister Tang and Cassiopeia Vitt both wanted it. There is writing on the outside. Perhaps it’s significant. Surely you have experts who can interpret it for you.”
He did, but this old man was lying and he knew it. No matter. A war awaited him in China, and he was wasting time. He did need to know, “What happened at the museum?”
“Three bodies were removed. I assume one of those was my brother. Miss Vitt and two other men were brought out by the authorities.”
“What will happen now?”
“For you, Minister? Nothing. For me, it means Cassiopeia Vitt will be returning here.”
“How do you know that?”
“Years of experience.”
He was tired of this man’s pedantics, knowing now that the dull face and clever words were a mask for a callous, calculating mind. Pau was an expatriate who’d obviously interjected himself, once again, into Chinese politics. But Pau was in Belgium, a long way from the fight. A nonplayer. He was curious, though, on one point. “What will you do when Vitt returns?”
“Perhaps it’s better you not know, Minister.”
He agreed.
Perhaps it was.
THIRTY-FIVE
MALONE RUBBED HIS WRISTS AND ALLOWED THE CIRCULATION to return. The police had bound them too hard. Perhaps they were pissed about the museum, thinking him the culprit? But they were wrong. The culprit was standing a few feet away beside his new benefactor.
“You told me you worked for Karl Tang and the Chinese,” Cassiopeia said to Viktor.
“I do. But I’m there because of the Russians.”
Malone shook his head. “Same as in Central Asia. Working for us, them, then us, then them. Hell, I don’t see how you keep it straight.”
“I’m a talented individual,” Viktor said, adding a smile. “I’ve even worked for her.” And he pointed at Stephanie.
Stephanie shrugged. “I used him on a couple of freelance assignments. Say what you want, but he does a good job.”
“Last time, he almost got us killed,” Malone pointed out. “I went in there blind, thinking he was on our side.”
“I was,” Viktor added.
“Is good agent,” Ivan said. “Is close to Karl Tang, right where we want him.”
Which explained how Ivan had such square-on intelligence about what was happening to Cassiopeia. But Malone had to ask, “What did you need us for?”
“Tang involved you,” Viktor said. “I told him to leave you alone.”
Ivan shook his head. “I not ask Stephanie to get in my business. Her idea, not mine. I hire Viktor for job. He do job well.”
“Sokolov’s son is the important thing,” Cassiopeia said. “He’s why I’m here. And I need to get going.”
Stephanie grabbed Cassiopeia’s arm. “Like hell. Look around you. There’s a museum burning to the ground, three men are dead. And by the way, which one of you killed them?”
Malone raised his hand. “I shot one. But I was being nice.”
“Meaning you shot him after you set him on fire?” Stephanie asked.
He shrugged. “Call me crazy, but it’s the kind of guy I am.”
“Viktor killed the other two,” Cassiopeia added.
Malone heard the gratitude in her voice, which bothered him.
“What of this lamp?” Ivan asked Cassiopeia. “Do you find it?”
“I had it, but it’s gone,” Malone said.
He told them what happened in the garden. Ivan seemed agitated—things apparently weren’t going according to plan.
“Must have the lamp,” the Russian declared. “We need to know who is the man in garden.”
“It’s not hard,” Cassiopeia said. “The archer, that thief in the garden, they were Pau Wen’s men. He has the lamp. Again.”
“How do you know that?” Stephanie asked.
Cassiopeia repeated what the archer had said.
Ivan faced Malone. “When it falls does lamp stay together?”
“The thing was made of bronze. It was fine. But I used the oil inside to take care of the man I killed.”
Ivan’s brow creased. “Oil is gone?”
He nodded. “Burned up.”
“Then we are all in trouble. Karl Tang not want the lamp. He want oil inside.”
TANG WATCHED DAWN BREAK TO THE EAST, THE FIRST SHAFTS of sunlight brightening the sky from violet, to salmon, to blue. His helicopter was rising into the early-morning air, their destination Lanzhou, four hundred kilometers to the west, but still inside Gansu province.
He felt invigorated.
The conversation with Pau Wen had gone well. Another element completed. Now it was time to deal with Lev Sokolov.
What that man knew could well determine all of their futures.
“IT’S YOUR OWN FAULT,” MALONE SAID TO IVAN. “IF YOU’D TOLD us the truth, that wouldn’t have happened.”
“Why is that particular oil so critical?” Stephanie asked, and Malone heard the interest in her voice.
Ivan shook his head. “Is important. To Tang. To Sokolov. To us.”
“Why?”
A broad smile creased the Russian’s pudgy cheeks. “Oil is from long ago. Direct sample from the earth. It stays in tomb for over two thousand years. Then it stays in lamp till tonight.”
“How do you know that?” Malone asked.
“We only know,” Viktor said, “what Karl Tang said. He told me the lamp was removed from an excavation by Pau Wen back in the 1970s and has stayed in Pau’s possession ever since. The dragon’s mouth was sealed with beeswax.”
Malone nodded. “Until the fire. Which your men started.”
“Against my wishes,” Viktor said.
“That’s not what you told them when you arrived. You said to get the gasoline, just in case.”
“Ever heard of playing a part?” Viktor asked. “Tang ordered us to retrieve the lamp and mask any evidence we were there. If we got in and out cleanly, then there would have been no need. Of course, I had no idea that we were going to have this wonderful reunion.”
Malone saw the defeat on Cassiopeia’s face.
“Sokolov’s son is gone,” she said to him. “No oil. No lamp.”
“But none of this makes sense,” he said.
“We need to pay Pau a visit.”
He nodded. “I agree. But we also need some rest. You look like you’re about to drop. I’m tired, too.”
“That little boy is depending on me.”
He saw resolve re-form in Cassiopeia’s eyes.
“I will make contact with Pau,” Ivan said.