"Okay. I'm convinced" He handed the snapshots back.
"Would you like some tea?"
"I'd love some," he said.
While Lotus prepared the tea, Nick examined the pistol he had taken from the assassin who had killed Lotus's father. It was an Astra Firecat.25 caliber with a blue finish and plastic grips. It had four safeties and could be fired only when the grip safety was depressed. It was a Spanish pistol.
"You like guns?" Lotus asked, placing two cups of tea on the low table in front of him.
"It's possible to become very attached to a gun," he said, putting' the weapon aside. "Especially after it's helped you out of some tough spots. And a gun is not like a woman. It talks only when you want it to talk. When you want it to be silent it is silent."
Lotus lifted her cup of tea and sipped. "It cannot keep you warm on a cold night," she reasoned.
"No. But it can make you feel comfortable just knowing it's nearby when you want it You can trust it; you can't trust a woman."
"You never met a woman you trusted?"
He sipped some tea. "I can't say no to that But women are too damn emotional, and even when you feel you've met one you could trust you still have to be on your guard."
"You can trust me."
"Can I?"
"Yes," she said, almost vehemently. "I want to avenge my father. You must give me that chance."
Nick studied her for the first time. She was slender and virginal-looking, with a slim long throat and black black hair that came down to her shoulders and curled inwards at the ends. Her smooth skin was ivory-tinted. Her lips were full and blood-red and her eyes were dark and almond-shaped. Around her neck was a strand of Mikimoto pearls.
Oriental girls look innocent, virginal, and calm, but underneath that veneer is a passionate nature that would put western women to shame.
Nick couldn't help it; he started to think of Lotus in a sexual way, and his senses tingled with desire.
As if she could read his thoughts, Lotus lowered her eyes like a blushing bride and then raised them again. "You want me?" Her voice was low and husky. Her teeth were tiny pearls.
"Yes. Very much."
She was in his lap and her arms snaked around his neck and her mouth was pressed hard against his. His hands found her small, firm breasts under her clothing.
The bed was firm, sturdy, and it didn't creak.
Later, much later, they talked. Lotus was adamant about helping Nick. Fear had paralyzed her, fear had kept her from helping her father. Now she was angry at herself for her disgraceful behavior. She had to redeem herself. Nick had to give her that chance.
Nick tried to explain. "I'd have to take you into my confidence. I can't afford to do that. Too much is at stake. If you're caught you'll be tortured."
"You're afraid I'll talk?"
"Yes," he answered bluntly.
"Are you here because of the Germans?"
Nick sat up, reached for a cigarette and lit it. "You claim your father didn't tell you any of his secrets and yet you know of the Germans. Are you trying to confuse an old man?"
"You are not old." She touched his arm with slender fingers. "Some of the Germans are my customers," she said without embarrassment They are quartered in the Imperial Palace."
That decided it Nick hated to use her, but it was necessary. And she did want to avenge her father. "Do you know exactly where the Germans stay in the Imperial Palace?"
"Yes. In the left wing, which almost circles the courtyard. Each man has his own bedroom."
"Do you know anything of their leader?" Nick asked.
She took the cigarette from him, puffed at it, handed it back. "I have heard of a man who never smiles because his face is frozen. When my German customers talk of him they have respect in their voices, and sometimes fear."
"Do the Germans talk to you a great deal?"
"When they are drunk. They like to drink. They talk of a new Germany, a more powerful Germany."
Nick killed the cigarette. "You really want to help me?" he asked, studying her face.
"Oh, yes."
"I don't have to tell you of the danger involved."
"I will do anything."
He asked her if she could get him into the Imperial Palace. She nodded her head. It would be a very easy matter.
"Tomorrow night," he said. "Can you make me a costume? A black costume? Something that will blend with the night?"
"Yes. I suppose so. But what is the purpose?"
"You spoke of the man who never smiles. The man with the frozen face. I want to kill him. It is as simple as that."
"Is that your mission?"
"One of my missions, Lotus."
"But how do you know where he will be? How will you know which room is his?"
"That's a chance I'll have to take," Nick said. "If I goof up the mission I won't be losing much. The Germans will know something is amiss when they find their Chinese assassin dead. So I may as well go all out and try to kill our friend with the frozen face."
"If you shoot him, you'll wake the others," she pointed out.
"I have a more subtle weapon than a gun," he said, thinking of the drug in his pen, the drug called Store. If he found Bormann he would inject the drug. When the others found Bormann they would think he was dead and either bury him or cremate him.
"Be careful of Stryker," she warned in a tiny voice.
"Stryker?"
"He is called Captain Stryker. He answers only to their leader. He has been with me once. He is brutal He never drinks. He is not human."
"I'll watch my step," Nick promised. "I'll have to be going soon. I'll see you tomorrow night."
"It is almost dawn."
He laughed. "Then I'll see you tonight."
"You can spare a few more minutes," she said boldly, her fingers tracing patterns on his chest.
Their bodies met and became one.
A cool breeze came through the half-open window and bathed their naked bodies.
They kissed with the final thrust.
Her fingers ran through his hair, feeling his scalp. "It was very nice," she whispered.
Lotus stood by the window and giggled. "I can hear them. They are making love, I think."
Nick was dressed. He walked to her side and put an arm around her waist. "Isn't that rude? Listening to other people making love?"
"I don't think they care. The girl confides in me. She is not ashamed to tell me things. Listen carefully. You can hear them."
Nick scowled. "I don't want to hear them. I'm ashamed of you, Lotus. Would you like it if someone listened to us making love?"
Lotus suddenly covered her mouth with her palm to suppress her giggles and came away from the window. Nick heard a moaning from below the window. He walked away and lit a cigarette. "Is that how you spend your leisure time?"
"Of course not." She pretended to be indignant. "Why should I excuse myself to you? I do not harm anyone. Aren't we all curious to some degree? Aren't there people who look at dirty pictures so they can be stimulated or just out of curiosity? Are they terribly awful people? Don't people listen to other people's private conversations?"
"All your arguments are weak." Nick sat on the bed. "People have a right to privacy."
"You aren't fooling me," she said, sitting down on the bed beside him. "You are just as curious as I am." There was a thoughtful wrinkle in her forehead. "You are an agent for your government. Haven't you ever listened in on someone's conversation? With electric devices?"
"That's something else again. Entirely different." He brushed her arguments aside with a wave of his hand.
"Because you say so?"