The Lost Imperial Seal, page 1
The Lost Imperial Seal
A Sebastian Lee Adventure
C. H. Henry Hsu
Copyright © 2021 C. H. Henry Hsu
All rights reserved
This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
First edition
ASIN: B096V36GFB
Cover design by Megan Minmin C. / FAMGO Design Studio
For my wife Megan,
who supports me every step of the way
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Epilogue
Author’s note
About the author
How to support the author
.
Prologue
In the darkest hour of the night, the moonlight dimmed by thick clouds, eight frogmen moved quietly across the undergrowth on top of a hill.
When they reached the edge of the slope, the leader held up a hand, and all of them came to a halt.
Eight hundred feet below, at the bottom of the hill, stood a steel-fenced storage compound in the gloom. Inside were three large, two-storey tiled roof storehouses arrayed in a U shape. Two on the sides, facing east and west; one main storehouse at the base, facing north. Four hundred feet to the east were four more tiled roof houses, but smaller and one-storey. On the opposite end was a sliding gate; the front entrance of this steel-fenced compound. Aside from these, the immediate vicinity was nothing but dense forest.
“Scout, please report,” the leader said.
“Yes, Captain Guan,” answered the frogman holding a pair of binoculars. “Two soldiers guarding the front gate; one carrying a submachine gun and the other carrying a rifle. A third soldier is patrolling the ground, also carrying a rifle, and has just entered the main storehouse.” He shifted the binoculars to his right. “The dormitories are dark. No light.” He shifted again. “And no sign of anyone guarding the cave vault.”
Captain Guan nodded and turned to his squad. “Remember our objective, brothers. We’ll get in and get out without a single soul ever knowing we were here. Avoid any contact unless it is absolutely the last resort,” he said. “Remember, we’re all on the same side. Any questions?” He scanned his men. No one answered. He took it as a no. “Alright, let’s move out.”
Under the cover of darkness, the eight frogmen crept down the slope in silence.
At four hundred feet, two men split from the squad to set up sniper vantage points on the side of the slope, while the other six men continued their descent. When they neared the eight-foot steel fence, two more men split from the group and took positions in the perimeter. The rest of the men continued and climbed over the steel fence, then dashed into the shadow behind the main storehouse. For the few seconds they were under the moonlight, it revealed the emblem on their uniforms—a white sun inside a blue circle.
After a hand signal from Captain Guan, the four remaining frogmen began moving in single file along the wall, sticking to the shadow, and ran to the east storehouse.
The cave vault was situated between the east storehouse and the dormitories. Since there was no suitable cover outside the cave vault, two frogmen, Sergeant Liu and Corporal Yang positioned themselves under a large cypress tree a hundred feet away. Meanwhile, Captain Guan and Staff Sergeant Ting continued to move towards the cave vault.
When they reached the cave entrance, Staff Sergeant Ting took out a steel wire to pick the double doors. It took him less than a minute. The vault may be resistant to air raids; it was not, however, resistant to lock picking.
Captain Guan turned and gave another signal to Sergeant Liu and Corporal Yang, who were positioned under a cypress tree, then he and Staff Sergeant Ting disappeared into the cave vault.
*
Twenty minutes passed. Besides the occasional breeze and the singing of cicadas, the night was quiet and still.
Sergeant Liu’s focus was beginning to drift away, recalling their briefing before the operation.
“The success of this operation will restore peace and prosperity to the people on this island,” the Director had said.
Their objective was to remove a specific crate from the cave vault and secure it in a new location. Liu didn’t understand the why and the how, but he’d trusted the Director. He heard the Director was educated in the Soviet Union.
Corporal Yang’s string of curses brought Liu back to the present.
An unknown vehicle had just arrived at the front gate of the storage compound. The headlights were blazingly bright, so from where he was, he couldn’t identify the type and the number of passengers.
“What should we do, Sergeant?” Corporal Yang asked nervously.
“Let’s observe first,” Liu answered. “It might only be a transport vehicle.” Although Liu felt nervous himself, he couldn’t show it. One of them must be calm. Or pretend to be.
A few moments later, the sliding gate opened, and the unknown vehicle drove in. As it pulled up to the front of the main storehouse, Sergeant Liu recognized the .50 cal M2 Browning heavy machine gun mounted on its roof. It was an M3A1 Scout Car; a light armoured vehicle the government leased from the U.S. Army.
After the engine shut off, three soldiers climbed out. Liu could see their uniforms differed from the three soldiers guarding the compound, but he couldn’t identify their unit. It was too far and too dark.
The main storehouse door opened. The soldier who had been patrolling inside hurried out to meet the three newcomers.
This is not part of the plan, Sergeant Liu thought. The intel said only three soldiers would be on guard duty tonight. Not six! Who are these three newcomers? He was certain the rest of the squad positioned outside had seen the Scout Car arrive, but he wasn’t certain if Captain Guan and Staff Sergeant Ting had heard the engine while inside the cave vault.
“Corporal Yang, please let Captain Guan know about the situation,” Liu said. “I will stay and keep watch.”
“Yes, Sergeant. Please be careful.” Yang stayed low and sprinted to the cave vault.
Questions began popping in Liu’s head. Did someone discover the gap in guard rotation outside the cave vault from midnight to dawn? Did someone find out about the operation tonight? Is this a setup?
Liu watched the patrol soldier let two of the newcomers into the main storehouse. As for the third newcomer, he led him towards the direction of the large cypress tree—where Liu was hiding.
Sergeant Liu hurried and raised his M1 rifle to his shoulder. They shouldn’t be able to see me, he told himself, he was well immersed in the shadows. He began to perspire. The M1 became slippery in his hands. Though at this moment, he wished he had a Thompson submachine gun instead. He couldn’t understand why the Director specifically gave a no-automatic weapon order in this operation.
Finger on the trigger, Sergeant Liu zeroed in on the two soldiers as they approached closer and closer. In fact, they had come so close that he could finally identify the uniform on the newcomer.
Fortunately, they continued past the cypress tree without a glance at Liu’s position.
As they headed towards the dormitories, Liu breathed out a sigh of relief. When he looked back at the cave vault, he saw Corporal Yang’s head peeking out of the vault doors. Their eyes met, and Liu gave him a clear signal. Corporal Yang disappeared behind the door for a second, then re-emerged with Captain Guan and Staff Sergeant Ting, carrying a wooden crate.
After the vault doors were locked up again, the three of them carried the crate and scurried back to Liu’s position under the cypress tree. Liu caught a glimpse of the writing on the side of the crate—Palace Museum.
“What’s the situation?” Captain Guan asked Liu.
“Three Garrison Command officers have arrived in an M3A1 Scout Car,” Liu reported. “Two are currently inside the main storehouse. One went towards the dormitories with the patrol.”
Captain Guan muttered a curse. Even within the Armed Forces, there was still a great disdain against the Garrison Command—the government’s secret police who were notorious for conducting illegal imprisonment, torture, and execution on both civilians and soldiers. All without proper trials.
“Let’s hope it’s only a random checkup,” Captain Guan said. “Let’s get out of here.”
They again formed in single file: Corporal Yang covered the front, Captain Guan and Staff Sergeant Ting carried the crate in the middle, and Sergeant Liu covered the rear. They stayed low and cut back to the east storehouse.
They stopped here momentarily to observe their surroundings. The cicadas had stopped singing, but none of them noticed. The only thing on their minds was—one more open field, a quick regroup behind the main storehouse, another climb over the steel fence, and they will be back up the hill.
They began moving again. Corporal Yang stepped out first, followed by Captain Guan and Staff Sergeant Ting, then Sergeant Liu—
“Halt!”
A loud voice suddenly cut through the still of the night.
Sergeant Liu immediately drew his foot back behind the edge of the wall. Corporal Yang dove and made it to the back of the main storehouse. Meanwhile, Captain Guan and Staff Sergeant Ting stood in place, trapped in the middle of the open field.
A uniformed man—a fourth Garrison Command officer—had climbed out from the Scout Car.
“What are you doing out here at this hour?” he shouted again, strolling towards Captain Guan and Staff Sergeant Ting.
Seconds later, the two Garrison Command officers who had gone into the main storehouse, darted out and joined the man.
Captain Guan and Staff Sergeant Ting slowly lowered the crate to the ground and waited for their approach. Liu signalled to Corporal Yang behind the main storehouse to stand down.
The three Garrison Command officers stopped about six feet from Captain Guan and Staff Sergeant Ting. The fourth officer—the one who had shouted—wore the insignia of a major.
“Captain, where is the other soldier?” the major asked, also seeing Captain Guan’s insignia.
“It’s just the two of us, Major,” Captain Guan replied.
“Do not lie to me. I saw another soldier walking ahead of you,” the major said, then motioned to the secret police officer on his right to check.
The officer jogged to the back of the main storehouse. “There’s no one here, Major.”
“Go search.”
“Yes, Major.” The officer disappeared behind the main storehouse.
“What’s in the crate, Captain?” the major asked.
“We have no idea, Major. HQ ordered us to bring it back.”
“At two in the morning?”
“Yes, Major.”
“Where is your transport vehicle?”
“It’s by the dormitories.”
“Aren’t you headed in the wrong direction?”
“Sorry, Major. We wanted to tour around the compound. It’s our first time in Beigou.”
The major’s eyes narrowed. “What’s your name and unit number?”
“I’m—”
Three gunshots suddenly roared behind the main storehouse.
The four men in the middle turned their heads towards the sound, then at once, the major and the secret police officer on his left drew their pistols at Captain Guan and Staff Sergeant Ting.
“Scoundrels! Hands up!” The major shouted. “Who are you? Communist spies? Hokkien rebels?”
“Major, we’re just two transport guys,” Captain Guan put his hands up and said calmly.
Behind the east storehouse, Sergeant Liu had also picked up his rifle, ready to fire. Then, in his peripheral vision, he saw the lights from the dormitories begin to turn on one after another. Liu cursed under his breath. His position will be compromised soon; his back was exposed to the dormitories.
Two more gunshots roared behind the main storehouse again. This time followed by a yell.
In that split second, Captain Guan and Staff Sergeant Ting picked up their own rifles at the Garrison Command major and officer.
Both sides immediately cut loose, and no fewer than thirty shots were exchanged. Sergeant Liu had fired too and emptied all eight rounds in his clip.
By the time the shooting was finished, all four men in the middle were lying on the ground.
Sergeant Liu darted out to check on his teammates.
It was a bloody mess. The Garrison Command major and officer were dead. Staff Sergeant Ting too. He’d taken multiple shots in the chest at close range.
Captain Guan was still breathing, but with great difficulty. He had been hit in the shoulder, chest, thigh, and calf.
“I won’t… make it… Sergeant Liu,” Captain Guan said, blood gushing out from his wounds. “You guys… go without me.”
“I’ll carry you, Captain,” Liu said, then immediately a bullet graved the top of his helmet that made him duck. He looked up and saw the two soldiers at the front gate were shooting at him. Then two loud bangs roared behind him from the slope, and the two front gate soldiers dropped dead to the ground.
Then more shots were fired. Liu looked again and saw the two perimeter frogmen had climbed over the fence and were currently engaged in a skirmish with the soldiers flooding out of the dormitories.
“This is an order, Sergeant Liu!” Captain Guan grasped Liu’s uniform, drawing Liu’s attention back. “Finish the mission for your country... Don’t worry, you’ve still got Lieutenant Hou… GO!”
Corporal Yang came running back, breathless. He let out another string of curses when he saw Captain Guan and Staff Sergeant Ting lying on the ground. “We’ve got to go now!” He hunkered down beside Liu. “There must be a mistake in our intel! An entire platoon is here! One squad is closing in from the other side. We will get flanked if we don’t leave now!”
Liu considered it for a moment, then nodded. Together they stooped down to lift the crate. But as soon as they stood, a bullet hit Yang’s head, killing him instantly. Liu immediately sprawled as more bullets whizzed just above his head.
“Take the item out of the crate...” Captain Guan said, gasping with his few remaining breaths. “You won’t make it out alive… carrying the crate by yourself...”
“Y-yes, Captain.”
Staying as low as he could, Sergeant Liu lifted open the cover. Inside was a square-shaped object wrapped inside a golden cloth embroidered with dragons and floral patterns.
Sergeant Liu looked back at Captain Guan, but the captain’s eyes were closed.
Without unwrapping it, Sergeant Liu snatched the object out of the crate, and slipped it into his inside pocket. He was surprised by the smoothness of the golden cloth. In fact, never had he touched a fabric this soft in his life.
Under the cover fire by the two perimeter frogmen, Liu made it back behind the main storehouse. Together, the three of them fell back to the steel fence.
They boosted the first man over. Liu went second. He climbed to the top and lowered his arm to pull the last man up. They made it halfway until a spray of massive bullets struck them.
The last frogman dropped back into the compound, and Liu dropped outside from the top of the fence. In the next instant, they both howled in pain. Liu could see holes in his own right thigh and calf. He strained his neck to look back, and saw the M3A1 Scout Car’s .50 cal M2 Browning heavy machine gun raking around them.
“I’ve got you, brother.” Lieutenant Hou, who was one of the snipers on the slope, rushed out from the foothill to his aid.
Lieutenant Hou propped Liu up, draped his arms over his shoulders, and retreated as fast as they could back up the slope.
The wounded frogman who’d dropped back into the compound, his pain did not last long. Liu heard no fewer than twenty shots fired against the fence seconds later.
Four soldiers attempted to pursue them but were taken out by Corporal Liang, the second frogman sniper positioned on the slope.
The staccato of rifles and machine guns continued to echo through the night as what remained of the squad withdrew back up the hills.
Mission accomplished. But eight men went in, only four men came out alive.
Chapter 1
“Do you ever feel like life is passing by, but you’ve never taken the plunge to experience it?”
I took the plunge. But honestly? If I had known it involved being blindfolded in an empty warehouse and a gun to the back of my head, I would think twice before taking it next time.
I don’t know if the story began in the winter of my senior year, when I overheard the above question from a table of disgruntled middle-aged men at Tim Horton’s back in Toronto, or did it begin six months later, twelve thousand kilometres across the Pacific Ocean, when I had my breakfast in Mei Er Mei in Taiwan on the morning of Mid-Autumn Festival.
