The Foo Sheng Key (2013), page 27
He kicked the tin plate behind the door and stepped out into the passageway. He glanced both ways. It was deserted. He closed the cell door. The key was still in the lock, attached to a large ring. He locked the door and turned to find his way out.
"Mister Robert," a voice called in an urgent whisper.
Shelby spun around. The voice came from the next cell. He approached the door. He could see a face pressed against the bars of the window.
"Mister Robert, it is me, Uthu."
"Uthu, what the hell are you doing here?"
The Tibetans face creased into a wide smile. "Can you help me get out?"
“Uthu, I think you’re better off staying here. Where I’m going will bring you nothing but trouble.”
“Please Mister Robert.” Uthu gripped the iron bars on the cell door. “They are going to send me to a work camp. Who will take care of my family if I am not there? Please help me.”
Shelby could see the anguish on the Tibetan’s face. If he was lying he was pretty damn good at it. He looked back at the large iron loop of the key ring still hanging from the cell door. Four large keys hung from the loop. Shelby quickly retrieved it. The cell unlocked with the second key. Shelby pushed open the door and Uthu stepped out.
"Thank you, Mister Robert. I was trying to make my way back to the border. They picked me up on the road and brought me here."
"Well, you can tell me all about it later. Let's try to find a way out of this place."
Uthu emerged from the cell with the blanket from the bed folded in his arms. Shelby looked at it and looked back towards his own cell. It was going to be cold outside. His blanket was covering the tied up guard. It could be enough to fool a casual look through the window, which might give them precious time. He turned and led the way along the passageway.
They emerged on to cross passage, running left and right. Shelby took a guess and turned to the right. A few yards later, a flight of stone steps ran upwards to the floor above. Shelby gave Uthu a sign to stay there. He crept forward and slowly climbed the steps. He poked his head up cautiously as he neared the top. It looked like the main office. It appeared deserted. He let his eyes scan the room, then stopped. Through the central opening beneath one of the desks on the far side of the room, he could see a pair of legs. He quickly moved back down the steps.
"We'll try the other way," he whispered and headed back the way they had come. They passed the passage to the cells and continued on down. At the end was a door. Shelby tried the handle and pulled. It resisted then opened with a high pitched shriek. Shelby held his breath. But no one came looking. He eased the door further open, more steps ran upwards, but this time they led out to the open air. He quickly climbed to the top and peered out. Uthu’s head appeared beside him.
It was dark, but the glow of a few street lamps illuminated a small square surrounded by single story buildings. In the far corner was a security gate, with a barrier in the open position. He could make out the form of a single guard sheltering from the cold in a small sentry box. A couple of trucks and a jeep were parked on the far side of the square. The sound of voices suddenly floated on the night air. Shelby pushed Uthu’s head down out of sight. He poked his own head above the top step. Two men in uniform emerged from a building off to the right. They were chatting to each other as they walked across the square. They moved over towards the trucks and climbed into the one closest to where Shelby and Uthu were hiding. Moments later the engine started. There was a clunk as the driver crashed the gear into reverse and the truck started reversing towards them.
"Come on, quickly." Shelby was up and moving towards the reversing truck, Uthu scuttling behind him. Shelby reached the tailgate as the vehicle came to a stop. He gave Uthu a push up, then he grabbed hold himself and stepped onto the running board. The truck accelerated forward. Shelby had just enough time to clamber over the tailgate and drop down the tarpaulin cover, when they drove out through the open barrier. He peered out at the guard sheltering in his sentry box. It seemed he had no other interest than trying to keep warm. The truck turned left and headed through the town.
"I wonder where we are going," Uthu whispered.
"I don't know, but I don't think we should hang about to find out. This is a troop truck, and the chances are that it's going to pick up some troops. I don’t think we should be here when they get there."
Shelby peered out past the tarpaulin cover, it was late and there were few people on the streets. The truck suddenly slowed as the truck started to turn.
"Come on," Shelby pulled Uthu to his feet and bundled him over the tailgate. Shelby followed him. They both hung from the back, their feet on the running board as the truck completed its turn and then dropped to the ground as it accelerated away.
"This way." Shelby darted into an alley with Uthu close behind. Once out of sight, Shelby immediately stopped and looked back out. The tail lights of the truck were disappearing up the hill. There was no sign of anyone else on the street. "I think we’re okay."
Shelby led the way along the alley. They came to a narrow, sloping street with small, single-storey houses built in rough breeze blocks, running along each side. Directly opposite, Shelby could see another alley. He looked each way and then darted across the street. There were no streetlights but a gibbous moon cast a faint twilight, allowing them to see their way.
Along the back of the houses ran a narrow alley. They were about to move on, when something caught his eye, a twinkle in the moonlight.
"Wait," he whispered and Uthu stopped. Shelby walked over and peered into the gloom of the alley. "I think maybe we just caught our first piece of luck."
A dark shape huddled against the wall. As he stepped closer he could see it was covered by a tarpaulin. But the cover had slipped, exposing a single chrome wing mirror that had glinted in the moonlight. Shelby reached out and pulled aside the tarpaulin. It was dark but he could still make it out. It wasn't a fancy Japanese model like he had ridden in the past, but it was still a motorcycle.
Shelby cocked his leg over the bike and settled on to the saddle. He ran his hands across the surface of the fuel tank and felt the round, flat protuberance of the filler cap. He twisted it and removed it. He leaned forward his ear to the filler and swayed the bike gently from side to side. He heard the satisfying slosh of a nearly full tank. He replaced the cap and ran his hands over the rest of the bike.
He knew how to visualise things from feel. He had spent a whole week doing just that on his Special Forces basic training. He felt the outline of a modern ignition key holder. That wasn't a problem. Hot wiring was covered on the first week of the course. Shelby reckoned he could hot wire an A10 tank-buster aircraft if you gave him twenty minutes. The bike would not be a problem.
He pushed the motorcycle off its stand.
“We’ll push it to start with.” Shelby whispered to Uthu. “When we’re clear we’ll start the engine.”
He could see Uthu nod in the moonlight. They made their way through a series of alleys, until they reached the edge of the town. It took him less than a minute to get the bike engine running. Uthu climbed on behind him.
“Are you okay?” Shelby called out above the sound of the engine.
“I am fine.” Uthu shouted into his ear.
Shelby searched for a switch and the headlight beamed a bright shaft of light onto the road in front of them. “Wow, it works.” Shelby grinned and dropped the bike into gear using the foot pedal and let out the clutch lever gently with his fingers. He eased opened the throttle with his other hand, and the bike moved smoothly away. He kept the revs low at first to keep the noise down, but as they moved further away from the town he gradually opened up the throttle and their speed increased. The wind bit like ice into his face but at least they were free, for the moment anyway. Shelby hunched down into the upturned collar of his ski jacket and followed the moonlit trail into the distance.
Washington, D.C.
Major Forbes walked over from the hot dog stand carrying two Styrofoam cups of steaming coffee. Crawford took one, blew on the hot liquid and took a sip. The rain had stopped, and from where he stood on the hill, he could see the Capitol, glistening out across the river.
“I was in an interesting meeting, this morning,” Crawford said, his eyes still gazing into the distance. “The President’s crapping in his pants, and the evil queen is spouting about fucking Armageddon. My old boss, GI Joe, just threw himself on his ceremonial sword and their talking about going cap in hand to the goddamned U.N. They’re a fucking joke.” He took another sip from the rapidly cooling coffee.
Forbes looked across at his boss. “Do we have a problem?”
Crawford shrugged. “Unfortunately, it seems that this encrypted file contains Attila’s whole life history as well as all the other shit.”
“So what are we going to do?”
“I’ll tell you what you’re going do. You’re going to round up some of your best men and get out there. Is that a problem?”
Forbes shook his head. “No problem, I have team about to rotate out of Baghdad.”
“Good, there’s a plane waiting for you at Andrews. I want you and your men on the ground in twenty four hours. The CIA’s man over there is a guy called Braddock. You need to find him. He’s going to lead us to the boy.”
“So what do we do when we find him?”
Crawford smiled and took another sip from his coffee. “First you take a little DNA swab, which I can then use to open the file. I’ll destroy all the nasty bits we don’t want anyone else to see, then I’ll extract the vaccine and save the world.” Crawford tossed the Styrofoam cup into the bushes. “The Secretary of Defence will be begging me to be his running mate.”
“But I thought the CIA had the file?”
Crawford smiled. “Didn’t I tell you? We’re in charge now. The file is with me.”
“And the boy, what do I do with him?”
Crawford looked out across the river. “I’m pretty sure the CIA have their own copy of the file and that makes the boy something of a loose end. So I want you to take him for a helicopter ride. Then drop him in the deepest, darkest hole you can find. Somewhere no one will ever find him.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Mountain caves, Tibet Autonomous Region Jai was wrapped in a large blanket. His clothes were steaming in the heat of the fire. Lhakpa sat across from him, laughing and joking while they waited for their clothes to dry. Suddenly the roar of a helicopter swept over them.
Jai woke up. The fire had gone out and daylight was streaming in through the cave entrance. He heard the sound again, clattering overhead. Jai crept forward and peered out. Some distance away, clear in the daylight, a helicopter buzzed back and forth. He was sure it was the same one.
He let his eyes take in the landscape, all he could not see the night before. Out to his left, thin misty tendrils clung to the cliff face, and beyond a waterfall, white and boiling, plunged into space. Delicate sunbeams danced and floated mystically at his eye level as the sunlight filtered down through the mist. Directly below him was the river. It was a long way down, he was sure he would not have survived a fall that far. Suddenly he remembered, Samba. What had happened to her? She must have fallen all the way. Was there any chance she could have survived?
The murmur of voices floated up from below. He ducked back inside as soldiers came into view. They were scouring both sides of the river bank. The buzz of the helicopter swept in, now very close, as if it was meticulously searching the cliff face. Jai instinctively moved further back into the cave. He was trapped, there was no escape.
The darkness seemed to grow in intensity. Jai struggled desperately to hold on to his master's words. He fumbled for the Zippo in his pocket and flicked it alight. A comforting glow illuminated the tiny cave and Jai felt a slight sense of relief.
The flame went out. Darkness was instant. Jai panicked, flicking desperately at the wheel on the lighter until once more it burst into flame. He cupped his hand around the lighter and held it in close to him. His eyes focused on the tiny yellow flame as if somehow it protected him. It flickered gently, almost extinguished, then burst back to life. His breath caught in his throat as the realisation dawned. His back was to the entrance, yet there was still a breeze coming from the passageway in front of him. He wanted to shout out loud. There was a way out.
His enthusiasm disappeared as quickly as it came. Ahead was darkness and he knew not what else. He stepped forward into the passage, shielding the flame of the lighter with his hand, letting its pale luminosity light his way. He pushed on as quickly as he dare, his shoulders occasionally brushing the cave walls as the passage bent and twisted. He caught something in the distance and stopped, his heart racing like an express train. He wasn’t certain at first, and pushed on, but eventually he stopped again. This time he was sure. He took a deep breath and extinguished the lighter. It was some way ahead and only faintly visible but it was there - daylight.
He moved towards it, no longer needing the lighter to show him the way, one hand constantly in touch with the rock wall. As he got closer the brightness grew. Suddenly he was there, bathed in sunlight. The cave ended abruptly in a solid rock wall. Jai stood looking upwards. The light was coming from way above his head.
Over many millennia, the water from melting snow had drained down the walls, patiently cutting and etching. Jai studied the face of the rock and could see natural handholds and footholds. At this level it looked easy. Jai wondered how he would feel when he was up there.
He looked back into the darkness. He knew there was no way back that way. He took a breath and started to climb. The sunlight made it easy to see, it helped him find his next handhold, and the next place to put his foot. He moved slowly, pausing each time he found a larger outcrop to rest his legs. The top was becoming tantalisingly close, until finally it could see the last ten feet. He stared into the mouth of the chimney where the walls narrowed to as wide as Jai's arm span. And hope seeped away like water down a drain. The rainfall and melted snow over those same millennia had worn the walls smooth as glass.
Jai stood, clinging on to the rock wall, now feeling the stress on his legs and his knees beginning to waver. He knew he had to push on or start back down. He had minutes to decide. He pushed himself upwards, thrusting his upper body into the chimney. He pushed his back hard up against the smooth wall pushing out with his hands. Then with one foot firmly on an outcrop below, lifted his other leg and thrust his foot hard against the far wall. He took a breath, then exerting all of his strength, took all his weight with his back pushed against the wall behind him, he lifted his other leg and jammed his foot against the far wall. There he was, like a plug in a hole. He looked down. He wasn't sure if he could get back down from here, apart from the direct route. He looked up to the hole above him and the bright blue sky beyond. This was the only way.
He edged his way upwards, moving each of his feet a small distance at a time, then with his arms firmly against the walls, he shuffled his back a few more inches closer to the top. Ten minutes later he had covered half the distance and his thighs shrieked with burning pain. The throb of his knee was lost far below his current pain threshold.
He felt he could just about reach out and touch the top, but a moment's release of his grip on the walls and he would be gone into the darkness. So he waited, inching his way higher. Five minutes later his leg muscles were screaming and beginning to shake. He knew he could not go another five. It was now or never.
He made a final push with his legs and his arms, shuffling his back as high up the wall as he could. He reached out for the top and his left foot slipped. He lunged for the lip inches above him, his fingers scrabbling at the rock as his right leg went into terminal vibration. His fingers locked on to something just as his leg gave way and he was left swinging in the void. He knew he had only enough energy for one final effort. He took a deep breath and pulled hard with his arms and heaved himself up into the sunlight.
He lay there in the sunshine, like a landed fish on the rock rim, his feet still dangling into space. Carefully he edged himself forward to lay out on the flat rock, letting the morning sunlight dance across his face. He had no idea what the rest of his journey had in store for him, but at this moment being alive was the greatest feeling in the world.
People’s Armed Police Garrison, Xigaze Province His name was Fai Hung. He was a lance corporal, the highest rank left in the garrison. Which left him in charge and ultimately responsible. He stood at the door of the cell shaking his head, while two of his men untied Woo, who was still lying dazed on the bunk.
“What happened?” He yelled. “Where is the American?”
Woo looked at him with befuddled eyes, Hung could see he was still groggy from whatever the American had hit him with. He knew that Woo was a half wit even when he was at his best. He would get no sense from him. He had to face it, the American had gone and it was left to him to explain it to Colonel Feng when he returned.
He turned his head to one side as he heard a noise in the distance. It was coming from outside, through the barred window, and suddenly his insides turned to liquid as he realised what he was hearing. His legs were suddenly weak and he felt strangely light headed. The noise grew into the clatter of the helicopter landing in the parade ground. Colonel Feng had returned. Hung struggled for breath, his body was sweating despite the outside chill. He was sure he was having a heart attack. He silently prayed that it would take him before Colonel Feng got here.
Colonel Feng sat alone in the commandant’s office, a glass of whisky on the desk in front of him, the opened bottle standing beside it, and contemplated the disaster. He could not see any way out of it this time. The boy was still missing. The little bastard was out there somewhere, in that god awful wilderness, prancing about in the snow and thumbing his nose at him. And now to add to that, the American was also gone, skipped off out of this supposedly secure police station and away into the night, while the fools who were supposed to be guarding him looked on. He was fervently hoping that putting a bullet through the brain of the half wit that had let him go, and that of his superior, would cheer him up. But he doubted it.
