Part 31 (1/2)

”What's the hurry?”

Vanya smiled. ”Let's just say that my power grab relies on something very big and terrible happening so as to start the cracks of unbalance back in Beijing.”

”What the h.e.l.l does that mean? What have you got planned?”

”You no doubt realized that there were very few people still around last night?”

Annja nodded. The place had seemed deserted. ”Yeah, I noticed all right. What about it?”

”They're all dead.”

”You killed them?”

Vanya shrugged. ”They had fulfilled their requirements. Each one of them was contracted to work for a certain amount of time and then they were to be released in order to go back to China proper.”

”All that to sell us on the idea that this was Shangri-La?”

”You still don't get it, do you? This isn't Shangri-La at all. I told you that.”

”I know that. So what is it?”

Vanya stared at Annja. ”Are you going to join us or not?”

”I don't think so.”

Vanya frowned. ”That's truly unfortunate. Very well, then. You leave me no choice but to finish what we've already started.” She glanced at Hsu Xiao. ”Kill her.”

33.

Tuk led Mike back down the corridor. Each man was armed and Tuk felt better about Annja's chances now that there was definitely help on the way. And hopefully, Garin would find his way into the cave and bring reinforcements.

But he knew they couldn't rely on that. Tuk raced along the corridor and then drew up short as they approached the room with the giant Buddha statues. He pointed out the explosives to Mike.

”Vanya has the entire room wired to go up at any time. It's what she used to get us to come out into the open.”

Mike inspected one of the bundles and shook his head. ”This is serious military-grade stuff. How did she ever get her hands on it?”

”I don't know, but Vanya is certainly not all that she seemed last night. She's much more dangerous.”

”I'd guess so, judging from how these were positioned. She had to have help from the military in order to do this.”

Tuk pointed. ”We're almost there.”

Mike nodded. ”All right, how do we play this? Straight-up a.s.sault or do we hold back and make them think we're more than we actually are?”

Tuk frowned. ”I don't know much about military tactics, Mike. Your guess is as good as mine, if not better.”

Mike checked the status of his gun and nodded. ”I say we just shoot them both and be done with it. No sense letting them hang around any longer than necessary. And considering what Vanya is trying to pull here, it'd be better if she was dead.”

Tuk held up his hand. ”Wait, shouldn't we keep her alive so she can stop the installation from exploding?”

”I don't know if she even could,” Mike said. ”Short of fis.h.i.+ng those bodies out of the treatment facility-which would mean exposing ourselves to immense radiation-there's nothing we can do. And when the treatment facility goes, everything else is going boom. This is the last place we want to be.”

”I see.” Tuk frowned. The idea of a nuclear waste treatment plant exploding made his heart ache with the thought of what would happen to the surrounding region.

”I know what you're thinking,” Mike said. ”But it can't be helped. If we had a team who knew what they were doing and had equipment, then maybe. But we don't have any of that. And we'd die trying.”

”I know,” Tuk said. ”It just seems like it's going to result in a terrible environmental catastrophe.”

”It will,” Mike said. ”Absolutely. But we need to find Annja and then get the h.e.l.l out of here or no one is going to be alive to care about the cleanup. And we have to ensure this kind of thing doesn't happen again somewhere else.”

”All right.” Tuk made sure his weapon was ready. ”Let's go and get this done before my heart goes soft.”

”Just remember what Vanya's plans will do to your country and use that to fire yourself up,” Mike said.

Tuk nodded. ”I will.”

Mike stepped forward and then stopped. His voice was a harsh whisper. ”Tuk.”

”Yes?”

”Don't...move...a muscle....”

”What's the matter?”

Mike pointed at the floor. ”There's a trip wire and my foot is resting against it. If I move anything, this whole room will blow up.”

”Are you sure?”

”Trust me. Look at the wire and tell me what's it's connected to. And hurry up about it.”

Tuk carefully followed the line of almost invisible wire across the room to where a large bundle of explosives sat wedged in with a claymore mine. He read the lettering front toward enemy front toward enemy and then retreated back to Mike. He'd seen them before in his intelligence days. and then retreated back to Mike. He'd seen them before in his intelligence days.

”Claymore and an explosive package wedged in with it. The claymore is American.”

Mike frowned. ”It is?”

”Yes.”

Mike nodded. ”All right. I'm going to ease my foot back. But before that, I want you to go into the corridor we just came from. If I do this wrong, one of us has to stay alive and help Annja. Can you do that for me?”

”Sure. I just can't figure out where this could have come from. I ran down this corridor only a few minutes ago in order to get to the trapdoor.”

”It might well have been meant for you,” Mike said. ”Vanya's men could have easily laid this trap in the hope you would hit it on the way out. Did Vanya seem almost willing to let you go earlier?”

Tuk frowned. ”Actually, yes. She didn't put up nearly the fight I thought she would have.”