Part 51 (1/2)
”How do you mean?”
She traced the shape of his jaw with her fingers, remembering as she did how he had kissed her in the darkness that first time. ”Well, take the First Emperor, for instance.” ”Ch'in s.h.i.+h Huang Ti?”
”Yes.” She smiled, pleased by his quickness. ”One might say that he was a great man, yet he was also an ogre, an absolute tyrant, who made the lives of those beneath him utterly unbearable. Many millions died simply to glorify his ego, in the fulfilment of his schemes and in the building of his palaces and tomb. In his reign we can identify a number of dominant features: the drive to unify the world he knew - ancient China; the less admirable and yet no weaker drive to burn the history books and rewrite history, again to his own self-glorification. Further, we might note how, in his reign, ego came to outweigh wisdom, such that the man finally thought himself a G.o.d and sought to make himself immortal. In doing so he undid much of the good work he had brought about” ”And?” Daniel turned, snuggling into her, his cheek nuzzling against her breast, against the sensitive bud of her nipple, making her almost want to forget the history lesson and make love to him again. But this was important As important as anything she might teach him.
'Two thousand years later, another great man arose in China. His name was Mao Tse Tung. He ruled a land much greater than his predecessor, the First Emperor; a land with maybe ten times the population. Unlike Ch'in s.h.i.+h Huang Ti, Mao spurned personal adornment He built no great palaces and tombs in his own honour. And yet the pattern of his days was much in accord with those of the Prince of Ch'in, for like the First Emperor, Mao let ego outweigh common sense. He thought himself a kind of G.o.d and one day decreed that men could grow five times the crop that they had previously grown on their land. They warned him, but he would not listen. In a single season he overthrew the wisdom of two thousand years. And, of course, disaster followed. Twenty million died of starvation.” Daniel looked up, intrigued. ”Was Mao a Tang?” Hannah shook her head and smiled. ”No, Daniel. Mao Tse Tung was Ko Ming. A rebel.” ”A rebel?” Daniel laughed with disbelief.
”Oh yes,” she said, serious now. ”Perhaps the greatest rebel the world has ever known. Yet, just like the First Emperor, he sought to burn the books, to bury alive those scholars that opposed him and rewrite history to suit his purposes. Yes, and so in love was he with revolution that he even set his people against one another, to keep rebellion alive. He destroyed the people's love of knowledge and again millions died. And for what? To feed a vain man's ego!” ”And is that the pattern of history?”
She sighed. ”It is. The greater the man, the greater the damage he can do. The finer his purpose - and what finer drive is there than to unify a people and give them stable laws? - the more chance there is of him falling into the pit of h.e.l.l and taking all with him. So it was with the great Tyrant, Tsao Ch'un.” Of Tsao Ch'un even Daniel knew, for Tsao Ch'un had built Chung Kuo from the ruins of the old world. Had unified that world. ”And DeVore ... is he another of this kind?”
”Far from it. DeVore is something new. DeVore is a breaking of that chain. Ch'in s.h.i.+h Huang Ti, Mao Tse Tung and Tsao Ch'un ... they are like spans in a great bridge that crosses time, but DeVore ... with DeVore there is a gap. A breach. Why, I suspect that he isn't even human!”
Daniel sat up, then wriggled round to face her.
”Not a man? Then what is he?”
She reached out to trace the shape of his face with the fingers of her right hand. Her nipples were hard now and looking at the beauty of him she wanted him again. ”I do not know, Daniel. Yet I know he is the end of history. With him the story finally ends.”
For a moment he stared back at her, his eyes on hers, then, noticing her arousal for the first tine, he laughed.
”We should not be talking. Not if time is ending.”
”No,” she said softly. ”No, my love. We should not.”
Da-neel pushed Lin Lao over, then, taking the b.u.t.t of his rifle, smashed Lao's right leg just below the knee.
”Da-neel?”
He met Emtu's eyes and grinned. ”I want him to limp. If s better if he limps.”
She gave a small ”ah” of understanding, then looked back at the slope facing them. For all she knew they were already being watched, but Da-neel said no. From what Lin Lao had spilled to DeVore under torture, the rebels didn't work that way. The faint glow of infrared from camera eyes could be seen from above, so the rebels didn't use them. No, they used camouflage and sophisticated entry gates underground.
Finding a gate was hard. But not so hard as using one. Which was why they'd brought Lin Lao. His retinal print would be their key. Using him, they would walk straight into the heart of the rebel headquarters. Or so they hoped. Da-neel hauled Lin Lao to his feet again and had him walk backwards and forwards a moment, then nodded, satisfied. ”Okay,” he said, ”this is what you say. Tm hurt. Let me in.' You've got that? Nothing more. Tm hurt. Let me in.' And you keep saying it, like you're exhausted and if s the only thing that's in your mind. Right?” Against his will, Lin Lao nodded. ”Okay,” Da-neel said. ”Let me hear it” Lin Lao's mouth opened silently, then, a moment later. ”I hurr ... Lehr mee i.” ”Again.”
”I hurr. Lehr mee i.”
Emtu laughed coldly. ”You think they'll understand that?” Da-neel looked to her. 'If 11 have to do. Besides, if s the retinal pattern that'll convince them. This is Mamma's boy and she wants him back. She'll let him in, don't fear.” ”And then?” Da-neel grinned. ”And then mayhem.”
”I hurr. Lehr mee i.”
Mo Teng looked away from the screen, facing his fellow guard, then shook his head. ”I don't like it, Hun. Something's wrong.” ”But the print matches.”
”Sure, the print matches. But there's something about him. His face. That look in his eyes.”
Hun made a noise of exasperation. ”Yes, because he's hurt! Like he says. Look at him. The poor boy's barely holding himself together!” Mo Teng looked back and shrugged. ”Maybe. But I'd be happier if Emily made this call.”
”Aiyal” Hun shook his head. ”And have him bleed to death?”
”I don't see any blood. Do you?”
”No, but...”
Outside the gate, Lin Lao seemed to shudder, then he fell head first ”Oh, s.h.i.+t!” Mo Heng leaned across and placed his hand on the release pad. Hun smiled and slapped his own, then stood.
”Come on. Lef s give Lao a hand!”
”Not very original,” Emtu said, lowering her lens and looking to Da-neel.
”No, but it works.”
She watched him lift his gun and, as the first of the two figures emerged, fire the bolt It flew straight and true into the dark mouth of the gate, trailing the super-fine ice-wire thread that would cut in two anything that crossed its path, be it rock or flesh.
There was a cry from within the gate. The second man was. .h.i.t Throwing aside the thread-gun, Da-neel lifted his rifle and, taking only a moment to aim, picked off the other guard.
He stood, turning to Emtu with a smile. ”Come. If s open.”
There were gunshots, explosions. Daniel sat bolt upright, then slipped out from beneath the sheets and crossed the room, quickly stepping into his fatigues. He buckled on his gunbelt then straightened up, listening to the distant noises, trying to make out what part of the great underground warren they were coming from.
”Daniel?”
Picking up his gun, he turned, looking across at her.
”Something's happening ...”
”I know. Should I come with you?”
”No. No, I...”
Daniel realised suddenly that it could all be over soon. That in a while he might easily be dead and that would be it Putting his gun down again, he went across and sat beside her, holding her to him, kissing her and stroking her hair, afraid suddenly to leave her. What if someone came while he was gone? He took a handgun from his belt and, quickly checking it was fully loaded, handed it to her.
”In case.”
She nodded. Then, with a final kiss, she pushed him from her. ”Go on, Daniel. Emily will need you.” He grimaced. ”Yes.” Then, ”I love you, you know that?” Hannah smiled. ”I know. Now go. And take care. Take good care, neh?”
Emily stopped and crouched, sniffing the air. The tunnel up ahead of her was dark. The lights had either failed or been shot out From what she could make out there were only a handful of DeVore's men at most, but they were good. They had to be to survive more than ten minutes in this deadly warren.
The air blew cold from the darkness up ahead. Cold but not pure, for there was the stench of cordite and burned flesh.
So at last he's found us, she thought The hour she'd feared was finally upon her. Now it was simple. Kill or be killed. Survive or die. The most brutal of equations. No love in it, and no compa.s.sion. And no deals. At last, no deals. She crept forward, listening for any sound, wis.h.i.+ng now that she had remembered her helmet, knowing that if DeVore's men had infrared they would be able to pick her off like a walking neon sign.
Careless. How unlike her to be so careless.
She stopped. Was that a noise, or had she imagined it? Silence. A long silence, and then... yes, a faint shuffling, as if someone were crawling forward on their knees and elbows. The sound of cloth on stone. Emily raised her gun, meaning to fire, yet even as she did there was a gunshot A bullet whistled past her ear.
She threw herself flat