Bogner closed his eyes and the explosion rocked the island. The Covert was ripped apart in a rain of shrapnel. Driver looked away, and that was all Bogner needed. His leg came up, catching Driver in the crotch. The man's scream was lost in the roar of diffused air, and Bogner followed with his best one-two punch. Both of them were on target. Driver dropped the flare gun, staggered backward, regained his footing, and raced for the Quonset hut.
The rest of it was impulse. Bogner picked up Driver's gun, dropped to his knees, took aim. and fired. The flare and Driver arrived at the Quonset hut at the same time. The second explosion on Anxi One that night was almost as big as the first. The building erupted in a ball of flame when the fire got to the aviation fuel stored in the fifty-five-gallon drums.
Bogner did not hear a scream. He heard the indescribable sounds of a building being consumed by fire, and for a few terrible moments it seemed as if the entire atoll was ablaze. The wooden huts went up quickly and the sky for a few reverential seconds turned a nightmarish red.
Bogner dropped the gun and waited for the nausea to pass. Only then did he begin to pick up the pieces. He got to his feet and staggered to the Defender. He found Le unconscious, slumped over the controls. Zebo's pseudo-priest sported a large swelling on his left temple, and a nasty gash that traced down from his ear where Driver had hit him with the barrel of the Hare gun.
Like Bogner's, Le Win Fo's return from the world of darkness to awareness did not come easily. Twice he started to come out of itand twice he slipped back. In a world dimly lighted now only by the array of instruments on the Defender's controls, the only sounds were those of the whirling main rotor and the occasional static crack picked up by the scanner.
Bogner lifted Le Win Fo out of his seat and strapped him into the observer's chair.
The voice transmission from a distant Komisko filtered through. "Shin Seven, this is Shin Two. We have a PiRep logged at 2100 hours. Pilot reports a bright flash of light in quadrant eleven B. Advise."
''This is Danjia control, Shin Seven. Better check it out. Anxi One and Two are in that quadrant. Verify fuel situation."
"Will verify," Shin 2 confirmed. "Fuel adequate."
"They're out there and they're heading this way," Bogner said. "We better get out of here."
"Think you can fly this thing?" Le muttered.
Bogner's blood-smeared face somehow managed a grin. "Now seems like a damn good time to learn."
Tang Ro Ji clawed his way out of his sedative-induced stupor to discover a stage on which he had become the principal player. He pushed himself into a sitting position on the examining table, winced with pain, and propped his back against the wall.
The Dutchman studied him for a moment, walked across the tiny room, and turned up the volume on the small radio. "It is most fortunate that you are awake. You should be aware that…"
Ro Ji could hear it. He recognized the tone and the manner of the newscaster as much as anything. The State Radio had a flat, unemotional way of reporting the news. It droned the carefully worded statements like a dung fly.
"…Haikou authorities continue their search for the man accused of assassinating beloved People's Party Chairman Han Ki Po.
"Tang Ro Ji, a nationalist, five feet eight inches tall, weighing 145 pounds, dark hair and eyes, is reported to be somewhere in the greater Haikou area.
"Tang, thirty-two, is reported to have been wounded by Han's guards last evening during the assault on Chairman Han and is believed to be in need of medical attention.
"As of four o'clock this afternoon, all roads in and out of Haikou were closed. Officials have closed the Haikou People's Airport and ordered the port authority to close the docks. A house-to-house search is being conducted by Haikou police.
"Once again, anyone having any information pertaining to the whereabouts of Tang Ro Ji is instructed to contact police or military officials."
Tang shifted his weight, lit a cigarette, and looked at the Dutchman. "How do they know I am in Haikou, old man? Did you inform them?"
Gosling laughed. He was not easily intimidated. During the course of his sixty-seven years he had known more than one man like Tang. "I am curious," he said. "Are you the one?"
Tang refused to answer. He slipped down from the examining table, reached for his shirt, and started to put it on. The bulky splint made him clumsy. "Did you get the papers and the passports?"
Gosling nodded. "I have them. But under the circumstances they are no good to you. Your likeness is being continually broadcast by state television…"
"Haikou police are fools. They will never find me."
Gosling pulled back the curtain and pointed to the street below. "Tell me, Tang Tang, does that look like the efforts of fools? Already they have centered their search in the Ghengdi."
Tang went to the window and looked out. Two of Quan's men, in uniform, stood on the opposite side of the street. Another was checking the papers of a shopkeeper. All were carrying firearms. Usually they carried only riot batons.
"How do I get out of here?" Tang demanded.
"There is still the matter of money," Gosling reminded him. "Money for, how shall I say it, 'services rendered'?"
Ro Ji reached for his coat and looked through the pockets for the Barkai.
"I took the liberty of removing your gun while you were under sedation. You see, I have experience in matters of this nature."
Tang wheeled and caught the Dutchman with the back of his hand. Gosling staggered backward and Tang pinned him against the wall. "I don't have time for games, old man. You'll get your moneybut right now you're going to tell me if there is another way out of here."
Gosling hesitated, and Tang shoved his arm up against the man's throat. "Now, how do I get out of here?"
"There… there is a door…" Gosling was gasping for air. "… at the end of the hall, one floor up. It is sheltered, concealed from the street."
"Where to then?"
Gosling's face was turning blue. "Gogogo to number six, at the far end of the building. Ask forfor Ramia black manhe'll…"
"How do I know I can trust you?"
With his free hand, Gosling reached inside his coat pocket and produced an envelope. When he handed it to Tang, he pushed the killer's one good hand away. Then he took a deep breath. "The simple truth, my friend, is that you don't knoweither you do or don'tbut then again, you don't have a lot of options, do you?"
"Now," Tang said, stuffing the envelope in his pocket, "what about the woman? Where is she?"
"She is in the next room. But I would advise you to leave her. She will only slow you down."
Tang shoved Gosling to one side, stepped out into the dingy hallway, and opened the door to the room where Shu Li was being detained. The old woman stood up, and he pushed her back on the bed. Then he pointed at Shu Li. "Get her on her feet. We're getting out of here."
The old woman prodded the still-groggy Shu Li until she opened her eyes. Tang grabbed her hand, pulled to her feet, and shoved her toward the door.
Datum: Saturday 0037L, October 11
Bogner towered over the old priest and took his hand. "I am grateful to you and your nephew, Father," he said. "I'm afraid I got a little careless with some the equipment from your chopper out there. I'll see that it's replaced."
Hua bowed. "I am afraid that the passing of years has made it difficult to be of much service to our friends in America." His voice was barely audible.
Le Win Fo took his uncle by the arm and escorted him to his chair. Then he turned back to Bogner. "As they say in your country, what now?"
"I've got to get back to Haikou. There's a bunch of people in Washington that by now are wondering if I've fallen off the ends of the earth. They sent me over to retrieve Schubatis and do what I could to get that Su-39 out of here. They won't be too happy when they learn I botched the assignment on both counts."