Part 11 (2/2)

A gravel driveway went round to the front of the house on the far side. The Doctor looked at K9 who was between the two men. 'Are you sure this is the place?'

'Affi' The Doctor clapped a hand over his snout, m.u.f.fling the sound from his speaker mouth.

'Shh! You're supposed to whisper when breaking and entering. Didn't they teach you anything at obedience school?'

'Obedience school negative,' K9 replied at a lower volume.

'Ma.s.sive increase in chronons locally.'

'I imagine there would be...'

Li had little time for this sort of behaviour; it wasn't getting the job done. 'Obviously he thinks this is the right place. Now let's go in and find out whether any of those people from the docks are here.' A deep rumbling and growling started up from the front of the house, and a series of trucks moved along the drive. They all bore the Tsingtao Breweries logo.

The Doctor snapped his fingers 'K9; follow those trucks and keep an eye on them. Off you go.' K9 reversed back into the shrubbery and disappeared off on his own. 'This would be easier if you'd unlock these cuffs.'

'I've lost enough face to you already. Trust has to be earned.' Determined to rea.s.sert his control of the situation, Li circled to the right around the fish pool, dragging the Doctor with him. He didn't get very far before b.u.mping into what felt like a more solid branch. He turned to push it aside and saw that it was in fact a leg. One of three pairs of legs, belonging to grim-faced men who were pointing rifles at them.

The Doctor stood with a disarming grin. 'Ah, you must be the valets. My friend and I were just wondering if you would be kind enough to show us to the lady of the house.'

Li glared at him. 'I'm a police officer ' he brandished their cuffed wrists by way of proof ' and this man is my prisoner. I just want to ask your employer a few questions.'

The Doctor coughed. 'Well, I thought my way was better, but if you want to do things the dull way, then don't blame me if they don't serve the tea on the best china.'

'Look, I'm just doing my job.'

The nearest guard jerked his head towards the front of the house. 'This way. Move.'

Ten.

wok had found the guns to be satisfactory. Vogler had Kbeen an honest dealer after all; it would have been worth using him again. He locked the storeroom door when he left, and almost b.u.mped into a uniformed guard who was crossing the courtyard towards him. The soldier saluted. ' Dai lo Dai lo, we've caught two intruders. The policeman and the gwai lo gwai lo from the Gongpinglu Wharf.' from the Gongpinglu Wharf.'

'The Doctor?' The guard nodded, and Kwok was chilled.

These men were hunting HsienKo, and now they had found her. 'Hold them until I warn HsienKo.' The guard nodded again and ran off. Kwok went back into the house through the kitchens and returned to the dining-room. She wasn't there.

After a few minutes, he found HsienKo taking in the morning air on the balcony outside her suite. He was a little surprised: she usually preferred to relax in a pool she had found some time ago on a journey through the Dragon Paths.

Kwok had been there with her many times and had judged it to be in South America somewhere, but still didn't know exactly where it was. Probably neither did she. 'HsienKo,' he said as impa.s.sively as he could he was still on duty, after all 'the perimeter guards have caught two intruders by the fish pool.

One of them's the policeman who was at the safe house and the docks; the other is the gwai lo gwai lo who was at the docks, the one you called Doctor.' who was at the docks, the one you called Doctor.'

HsienKo turned, a wry look creeping across her face.

'Well, I suppose that explains why the men you sent to the police station failed to return.' She didn't sound too concerned, Kwok noted.

'Was I wrong to send them?' He had thought she would be pleased by his initiative.

'Of course not; there are always such formalities to be observed. Now that those formalities are past, we can get down to business. Bring the intruders to the dining-room; I'll be along in a moment. I have to prepare for a. trip to Hsinking this afternoon.'

'Hsinking?'

'The j.a.panese Twelfth Army is only a few miles north of the Jade Emperor, and I don't want them coming any closer.

At least not until we are in a position to avoid them. The thought occurs that if the officer in charge of strategic planning was out of the way, along with all the written orders, requisitions and intelligence reports...'

'Their advance would be halted until a replacement was found.' Kwok understood perfectly, though he knew that she would not be looking forward to killing. Nor should she. He nodded. 'I'll go. This is not for you '

'He won't obey anyone else quite as well. You know that.

Bring in the intruders.'

He turned to go, wis.h.i.+ng she would let him bear the burden of guilt for what had to be done. 'Wait.' She frowned, looking around oddly as if trying to remember something. 'A box...Spread the word that the men should look out for a large blue box, perhaps the size of a walk-in cupboard. It should be much the same as the police boxes we saw in London yesterday.'

'I don't see why, but all ri' Kwok broke off, recalling his trip through town that morning. 'I've seen a box like that...It was on the Waibaidu bridge; I thought it was odd, because I'd never noticed anything like it there before. I a.s.sumed the Settlement Police had set it up as a little corner of home.'

HsienKo's answering smile almost glowed. 'Excellent!

Send a truck to collect it. I'll want it taken to the Jade Emperor when we go there. How many guards are with the intruders?'

'All the patrols are in threes.'

'Make it five. I don't imagine our guests will be any danger to us, but fewer guards than that would be an insult to the Doctor.'

The Doctor and Li had been thrust unceremoniously into a well-fitted dining-room that might have belonged in some elegant French chateau. Li's gun had been confiscated by the guards and the contents of their pockets had been deposited on a silver platter. The long mahogany table that filled the centre of the room had place settings for up to twelve people, and the silver platter was left at the end nearest the doors. Two impa.s.sive guards stood by the door, while three more blocked the three large bay windows.

Li wasn't used to being in this situation, and wasn't sure how to handle it. All he knew was that he should be the one guarding them. The Doctor dropped into a chair, forcing Li to sit next to him, and rattled the rim of a gla.s.s with a fork.

'Shop!'

The guards ignored him. 'What are you doing?' Li hissed.

The Doctor would shame him by behaving so chaotically.

'Demanding better service, though I think a takeaway might be more rea.s.suring. I mean, if they're going to put us in a dining-room, they might as well feed us.' Li was about to respond with a warning to be quiet, when the door opened and Kwok, accompanied by the green-eyed woman, entered the room. Li was surprised to see that the lithe pockmarked warrior now had a bandaged eye.

The woman's glance barely lit on Li, and rested on the Doctor. She nodded faintly to herself, then turned the movement into a slight bow. 'Please excuse the delay. I am HsienKo, and this is Mr Kwok. I'm very glad you could join us.'

The Doctor jumped to his feet, startling Kwok into reaching for his gun. HsienKo, however, stayed his hand before the weapon was half drawn. 'You must be our hostess. I am very pleased to meet you at last. This is Inspector Li, and I'm th'

'The honour is all mine, Doctor. I trust you're both comfortable?' Li felt a surge of satisfaction, then a rapid chill.

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