Pavel turned, a lighted candle in his hand, and looked down at the body floating there between them.
"I don't like it, but it's the only place."
Chen looked about him, astonished. The walls were painted, red and green and yellow, the openings lined with colored tiles. Tiny statues were placed in each of the niches, about which were placed small pieces of paper and the remains of tiny finger candles. It was a shrine. A secret shrine.
"Kuan Yin preserve us!"
Pavel nodded vehemently, then let out another shuddering breath. "How will we anchor him?"
Chen looked about him, then hit upon the best solution. "We'll lift him up. Jam his head and shoulders into one of the niches. That should hold him long enough for us to decide what to do with him."
Pavel looked at him, wide eyed, then swallowed again.
"What are you, Kao Chen? What are you doing here?"
Chen looked down, then decided to tell Pavel the truth. It was that now or kill him, and he didn't think he could kill the boy, even to get DeVore.
"What I am doesn't really matter. But I'm here to get Overseer Bergson. To trap him and bring him to justice. Will you help me, Pavel? Will you help me get the bastard?"
Pavel looked again at the body of the man he had helped to kill, then looked up at Chen again, the candle wavering in his hand, throwing shadows about the tiny space. He smiled and offered his hand. "Okay, Kao Chen. I'll help you."
karr STOOD at the window, looking down at the vast apron of Nanking spaceport, then turned, smiling. "Well, Gen-eral, it seems we must play our final card."
The old man nodded, returning Karr's smile openly. "So it seems. Unless they change their minds. You're prepared?"
Karr nodded. "I know what I have to do."
"Good." Tolonen went across and stood beside Karr, then, unexpectedly, he embraced him. He did not expect to see the big man again.
Karr held Tolonen's upper arms a moment, his smile undiminished. "Don't be sad, General. Remember what you said to me. I'm a winner."
Tolonen sighed, then smiled. "I hope it's so, my friend. Never more than now."
Karr turned his head, looking outward again, watching a craft rise slowly on the far side of the field. The noise reached them a moment later—a deep, rumbling reverberation that went down the register.
"You know, General, I'd love to see their faces. Especially DeVore's." He paused, then, on another tack, added. "Chen has his backup?"
"Of course. The best I could arrange."
Karr turned back. "That's good." He went across and took something from the top of his pack and brought it back across, handing it to Tolonen.
"What's this?"
"For Chen. Just in case."
Tblonen laughed. "So you are human, after all. I was beginning to wonder."
"Oh, yes," Karr answered, his smile fading momentarily. "And I'll tell you this, General. What I'm about to do frightens me. More than anything I've ever done before. But I'll do it. Or die trying."
Tolonen looked at him, admiring him, then bowed his head respectfully.
"Good luck. And may heaven favor you, Shih Karr."
THE JOURNEY to Tbngjiang took Tolonen an hour. Li Shai Tung was waiting for him in his study, the authority on the desk beside him, signed and witnessed—the seven tiny Ywe Lung seals imprinted into the wax in the whiteness on the left-hand side of the document.
"Your man is on his way, Knut?" the T'ang asked, handing Tolonen the parchment, then waving away his secretary.
"He is, Chieh Hsia. We should know by tomorrow evening how things stand."
"And the other matter? The business with DeVore?"
Tolonen smiled. "That will be settled sooner, Chieh Hsia. The agent concerned, Kao Chen, passed vital evidence back through channels yesterday. It has been verified that the suspect, Overseer Bergson is, in reality, the traitor, DeVore."
"Have we arrested the man?"
"I have arranged things already, Chieh Hsia. We will capture the man this evening. Within the next few hours, in fact."
"Good. That, at least, eases my mind." The T'ang sniffed, his expression grave, then got up slowly from his desk. "A great storm is coming, Knut, and we shall have made enemies enough before it blows itself out. DeVore is one I'd rather have in hand, not loose and making mischief for us."
Yes, thought Tolonen. And Berdichev too. But that would have to wait a day or two. Until after Karr had done his stuff. He looked down at the document in his hands, feeling a great sense of pride at being at the center of things this night. He had foreseen this long ago, of course. Had known the day would come when the Seven could no longer sit on their hands and do nothing. Now they would shake Chung Kuo to its roots. Shake it hard, as it needed to be shaken.
Tolonen smiled and then bowed to his T'ang, acknowledging his dismissal; feeling a deep satisfaction at the way things had gone. The days of wuwei—of passive acceptance—were past. The dragon had awakened and had bared its claws.
And now it would strike, its seven heads raised, magnificent, like tigers, making the hsioo jen—the little men—scuttle to their holes and hide, like the vermin that they were.
Yes. They would clean the world of them. And then? His smile broadened. Then summer would come again.
LI SHAI TUNG sat at his desk, brooding. What had he done? What set in motion? He shuddered, disturbed by the implications of his actions.
What if it cracked Chung Kuo itself apart? It was possible. Things were balanced delicately now. Worse, what if it brought it all tumbling down—leveling the levels?
He laughed sourly, then turned at a sound. It was Li Yuan. He was standing in the doorway, his shoes removed, awaiting his father's permission to enter. Li Shai Tung nodded and beckoned his son to him.
"Bitter laughter, Father. Is there something wrong?"
Too wise. Too young to be so old and knowing.
"Nothing. Just a play of words."
Li Yuan bowed, then turned away slightly: a gesture of indirectness his father could read perfectly. It was something difficult. A request of some kind. But awkward. Not easy to ask. Li Shai Tung waited, wondering how Li Yuan would broach the matter. It was an opportunity to study his son: to assess his strengths, his weaknesses.
"I've been much troubled, Father."
Li Yuan had looked up before he spoke. A direct, almost defiant look. He had resolved the matter and chosen to present it with firmness and authority. Yes, the old man thought, Li Yuan would make a fine T'ang. When it was time.
"Is it your dream again, Yuan?"
Li Yuan hesitated, then shook his head.
"Then tell me what it is."
He stood and went across to the pool, then stood there, looking down at the dim shapes moving in the depths of the water, waiting for his son to join him there.
Unexpectedly, Li Yuan came right up to him, then went down onto his knees at his feet, his eyes fixed upon the floor as he made his request.
"I want to ask your permission CD marry, Father."
Li Shai Tung turned sharply, surprised, then laughed and bent down, lifting Li Yuan's face, his hand cupping his son's chin, making him look up at him.
"But you're only twelve, Yuan! There's more than enough time to think of such matters. A good four years or more. I never meant for you to—"
"I know, Father. But I already know what I want. Who I want."
There was such certainty, such fierce certainty, in the words, that the T'ang released his hold and stepped back, his hand stroking his plaited beard thoughtfully. "Go on," he said. "Tell me who it is."
Li Yuan took a deep breath, then answered him. "Fei Yen. I want Fei Yen."
Li Shai Tung stared at his son in disbelief. "Impossible! She was Han's wife, Yuan. You know the law."