False Horizon (18 page)

“No one move, please.”

Annja looked up and gasped as she heard the voice and saw Mr. Tsing striding out into the open pavilion. He paused, looked up at the sky and seemed vaguely annoyed that the sun was out. But he merely adjusted his sunglasses and kept walking ahead.

Behind him came Tuk and—Mike! Annja was so happy she almost forgot to stay still. Then, behind Tuk and Mike came Tsing’s two thugs, Burton and Kurtz. The automatic rifles they held didn’t look the least bit friendly.

Tsing directed Tuk and Mike to one side with Kurtz covering them. He pointed at Burton. “Stand there and cover everyone else, but particularly that woman there.” This last statement was directed at Hsu Xiao. “If anyone moves, kill her first.”

Hsu Xiao glared at Tsing. “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”

“Well, it’s not as though you didn’t try, my dear. After all, that nasty little neurotoxin you put into my glass was something else. A rather spectacular little drug, isn’t it? Unfortunately, I simply wasn’t feeling like a drink, so after you left, I happened to pour it into the large fern in the study. Imagine my surprise when the damned thing toppled and the fronds turned that horrible shade of brown.” He smiled. “Of course, by then you had already departed Katmandu for places unknown—until now. We scoured the city for you, of course. I’m not exactly fond of people who attempt to poison me or want to see me shuffle off this mortal coil.”

Hsu Xiao said nothing, but Annja could feel the rage boiling off of her. She wanted to strike Tsing down badly.

Vanya must have sensed it, too, because she spoke quietly in Chinese to Hsu Xiao and it seemed to at least calm her down somewhat.

Tsing smiled. “I’ll bet you really want to have a go at me right now, don’t you? Make up for all those times I forced myself upon you? All the times you pleaded with me to stop because you didn’t like it and yet I continued because you were mine. All along it must have driven you nearly insane not being able to slice my throat with those ridiculous claws of yours. But you hadn’t yet found out what you needed to know, had you?”

Hsu Xiao said nothing.

Tsing leaned back against the wall and looked at Annja. “You see, Hsu Xiao was a plant. She needed to know if I had any inkling of the location of this place. It was imperative that I didn’t, I imagine. Because if I’d caught wind of it, then I could have taken steps to ensure that that woman there,” he said, pointing at Vanya, “couldn’t go ahead with her plans.”

Annja frowned. “Who exactly are you, Mr. Tsing?”

He smiled. “Me? Why I’m just your average Chinese businessman. That’s all. Nothing special about me.”

Vanya laughed. “Tsing is the resident Chinese intelligence officer in charge of Katmandu. It is his responsibility to report on anything that might jeopardize the control China has over Tibet from this side of the border.”

Tsing shook his head. “Now, really, was it necessary for you to reveal that? I believe she might have readily accepted my other explanation, but no, you had to go and ruin it. Shame.”

“Annja is too intelligent to fall for that. It doesn’t add up.”

Tsing smiled at Annja. “Vanya is upset because I report to the very people she would no doubt like to see removed from power—one way or another. And it was my job to make sure our operations in the area were safe and secure.”

He got up and walked around the courtyard. “Imagine my surprise then when the transponder we placed in the plane we loaned you and Mike started beeping from this very mountain. It was rather amusing, actually. And at first I couldn’t believe it. You see, I’d seen the map, and never imagined that you would find yourselves here rather than the exact position the map shows. But then the universe is a strange thing, isn’t it? And whether through luck or serendipity or what have you, you and Mike, and even that little insignificant speck of dust called Tuk, found yourselves here.”

Annja saw fury blaze across Tuk’s face. “So you knew about this place all along?” she said.

Tsing smiled. “My dear, I helped build this place. It is here because I sought out a special location for us to conceal our activities. My government has been trying for years to come up with a means to dispose of certain elements of our waste. We’ve tried all manner of things and nothing worked.”

“So you came here.”

“We came here because one of our scientists had an idea. He said that if we could harness the heat from the waste and channel is just so, we could turn a frozen landscape into a tropical one. The idea was a bit far-fetched but it grew to gain support and the initiative was launched several years back. It was incredibly expensive, but we thought that if we could achieve what the scientist claimed, we might actually turn this place into a tourist spot.”

Annja’s eyebrows shot up as high as they could go. “You wanted to bring tourists here atop a pile of nuclear waste?”

Tsing chuckled. “I know it seems crazy, but really, look around. You must admit that we did an amazing job building it. Look at the incredible statues. It’s all very convincing. Even the fruit trees are real.”

Annja felt sick at the thought that she’d eaten a peach off of one of them a few hours earlier. Had she known about the nuclear waste, she wouldn’t have been so gung-ho about it.

“The resort itself was obviously designed to help us offset our costs. And we know the lure of Shangri-La is so great that we would draw hundreds of thousands every year. But more importantly, if the technology worked, then we would put it to use in certain other areas of our country where the land is less than optimal for growing food.”

“This is insane,” Annja said. “You’re talking about burying nuclear waste in the ground. The consequences of that would kill thousands.”

Tsing held up his hand. “We are talking about burying it, but not in the manner you think. We don’t just lob it into the soil and be done with it. We plant a containment device that not only keeps the waste from leeching into the soil, but generates and channels incredible energy. Not only does it enable the soil to grow warmer and more fertile, but we also thought we could siphon off some of the heat to help keep houses warm. Imagine being free of oil as a heating implement. The savings alone in that field would amount to hundreds of billions of dollars.”

“But at what cost?” Annja asked.

Tsing smiled. “Well, there’s the rub, as you say. We needed workers to handle it and we would have to swear them to secrecy. The only way to guarantee that they didn’t talk was to move their families in with them. They would work at the resort and reap the benefits.” He frowned. “Speaking of which, where are all the workers?”

Mike cleared his throat. “They’re dead.”

Tsing whirled around. “Dead? How? There were six hundred of them stationed here. How did they die?”

Mike pointed at Vanya. “She had them killed.”

Tsing turned back on Vanya. “You did what? You killed them? My God, woman, there were children with their parents here.”

“Not any longer,” Mike said. “Every last one of them is dead.”

Tsing leaned against the wall. “This is not the news I was hoping to hear.”

Annja shook her head. “I find it difficult believing you, considering you threw a man off the roof the night you met with us.”

Tsing sniffed. “The man I threw off the roof worked for Vanya. He was attempting to penetrate my organization. When we got wind of it, we took care of matters. He was an interloper. Had I known I had not one but two such traitors in my midst, I surely would have delighted in taking care of the other one, as well.”

Hsu Xiao spit in his direction. “You make me sick.”

Tsing laughed. “Yes, well, funny how times change, isn’t it? I can vividly recall you begging me to do some very interesting things to you. Such a dirty little girl you are.” He glanced at Vanya. “I’m assuming you trained her to do that, as well.”

Vanya glared at him. “Hsu Xiao is a true servant of the people.”

“Yes, whatever. Save me the propaganda speeches, would you? It seems to me that we have a few things to clear up here.”

Annja smiled. “This ought to be good.”

Tsing looked at Mike. “Where are the bodies of the workers? They will need a proper burial and my superiors will need to be informed.”

Mike shook his head. “Well, then you’ve got a serious problem.”

“Why is that?”

“Because Einstein over there had the bodies thrown into the treatment facility beneath us.”

Annja thought she saw the color drain from Tsing’s face. “Please tell me that you’re lying.”

“I wish I was, but it’s the truth. Ask Tuk and he’ll confirm it.”

Tsing whirled around and stared at Tuk. “Is it true?”

Tuk, despite his obvious hatred, nodded. “I saw the bodies on the security cameras inside the mountain.”

Tsing turned around and looked back at Vanya. “You did this?”

Vanya smiled. “I did.”

“You know what this will do?”

“Of course.”

Mike nodded. “Yeah, see, that’s the other problem. By my watch, if I was reading those levels right back in the computer room, we’ve got maybe ten minutes before this place starts to melt right into the earth or blow up. Either way, it’s not going to be a good thing.”

Tsing frowned. “I assume there’s no way to stop it?”

Vanya laughed. “Perhaps if you were to go down into the treatment facility and pull every last body from it, it might help ease the tension.”

“You know as well as I do that we cannot enter that facility without the proper equipment,” Tsing shouted.

Mike cleared his throat. “Then it might be a good time to tie up your loose ends and get the hell out of Dodge. I certainly don’t want to hang around here any longer than absolutely necessary.”

Tsing walked over to Burton. He whispered something in his ear and Burton nodded.

The air exploded with two shots that tore into Vanya’s chest. The 7.62 mm rounds ripped her open and she dropped to the ground. Blood pumped out onto the stone floor and Tsing regarded her as if she had been a mere nuisance to him.

“She should have endured far greater pain and misery before I released her to death.” He pointed at Hsu Xiao. “You will suffer for her crimes back in Beijing, I assure you.”

“There is nothing they can do to me that would be worse than the horror of having your seed inside of me,” she said.

Tsing laughed. “No, you see, that’s where you’re wrong. There is a great deal they can do to you that will make you wonder how much better it would be to reside in hell. The men in Beijing are masters of what they do. And they exist for the suffering of people like you who would see our state undermined for the petty purposes of personal grandeur.”

Hsu Xiao fell silent.

Annja looked at Burton and Kurtz. They hadn’t moved or said anything since Tsing’s last order.

Annja spoke up. “So, I guess now would be a good time to leave?”

Tsing shook his head. “I’m afraid not. The last thing I can afford is to have you or anyone else left alive who can tell the world what has happened here.”

“The world’s going to find out, anyway, when this place blows up,” she said.

Tsing shrugged. “They might think they know, but there will be no proof to find. All of the contractors involved in the construction of this facility have already been killed and their remains scattered. There are no notes of the construction that took place. In short, there’s really nothing around that would ever tie the Chinese government to the horrible human tragedy about to befall this place.”

“Someone will find out.”

Tsing shook his head. “I doubt that very much.”

“So, you’re going to kill us?”

Tsing smiled. “Well, what would you do in my place, Annja? Let you all live and go free? Come on now, you’re not that naive and neither is your friend Mike. Even Tuk there knows that he can’t walk away from this one.”

Tsing smiled once more and then turned to Kurtz. “Shoot them.”

But even as Kurtz and Burton both moved to carry out the order, Annja and Hsu Xiao moved at the exact same time. Hsu Xiao unleashed a volley of throwing spikes and Annja had her sword in hand in an instant, cutting down at Kurtz’s exposed arm.

Hsu Xiao’s spikes bit into Burton’s neck, jutting out of his larynx at odd angles. Burton’s weapon swung up, wildly spraying rounds across the pavilion. Hsu Xiao had to dive and roll to avoid being struck by any of them.

Annja’s blade sliced Kurtz’s arm and his trigger hand fell slack, blood spouting and spraying the surrounding area. Kurtz screamed and tried to swing back to punch at Annja, but she sank down and then stabbed right up into Kurtz’s exposed midsection. Her blade sliced Kurtz’s heart in two.

Kurtz grabbed at Annja’s blade and then fell back and off it as Annja got to her feet.

Across the way, Burton clawed at the spikes in his neck, gurgling on the blood that filled his lungs. His fingers scraped at the spikes and then he slumped over and fell, ramming the weapons deeper into his neck.

It happened so quickly that Tsing barely had time to comprehend it. In seconds he’d gone from a position of power to suddenly being drastically outnumbered.

Annja meanwhile had a more immediate threat. Hsu Xiao had gotten off the ground and now stalked her.

“It doesn’t have to end this way,” Annja said.

Hsu Xiao smiled. “I exist to deal out death.”

“You can change.”

Hsu Xiao cast a quick glance at Vanya’s corpse and then shook her head. “No. I can’t. And what would I do without my mistress? I live to serve her whims and I have carried out my orders faithfully, even when they entailed doing horrible things that no one should have to endure.”

“You’ve served her honorably, no doubt,” Annja said. “But let it go now. Think of your family.”

“My family doesn’t know I exist,” said Hsu Xiao. “Vanya raised me from the time I was taken out of the nursery. My mother had triplets and was told only two survived. I was raised in secret to be a tool for her ambitions.”

“Go home, then,” Annja said. “Find your family. Tell them who you are.”

Hsu Xiao shook her head. “I will never be permitted to live. I know too much and my connection to Vanya means I will be branded an enemy of the state. My life is forfeit.”

Tsing sneered. “She’s right. And once I get back I will see to it that she and her entire family are put to death.”

Annja was about to say something when Tuk kicked Tsing’s legs out from behind him and then clocked him on the head. Tsing sank to the stone floor unconscious. Tuk frowned. “He talks too much.”

Annja kept her eyes on Hsu Xiao. “What if Tsing doesn’t survive? There would be no one left to tell the government what happened here. You could make up any story you wish and they would never know.”

Hsu Xiao shook her head. “It’s not possible. I know what my future holds and I know what I have to do.”

“But—”

As Annja started to protest, Hsu Xiao was already rushing at her. She cut and slashed and hacked at Annja, driving her back toward the grand staircase. Annja struggled to endure the assault, surprised that despite Hsu Xiao’s injury she was still incredibly strong.

“Dammit, it doesn’t have to be like this!”

Hsu Xiao smiled. “It does. I will die, Annja Creed, but first I will see to it that you die, as well. My mistress would have wanted it that way.”

Annja felt the stairs beneath her feet and fell away, tumbling down them. The treads bit into her spine as she rolled. Annja willed the sword away before it toppled from her hands. She concentrated on tightening up into a ball as much as possible. If she could just minimize the impact to her body, when she came to rest at the bottom, she’d be okay.

But she hadn’t counted on the steps being so sharp. The treads cut at her and she knew she was bleeding everywhere. When the bottom rushed up to greet her at long last, Annja unfolded with blood running from her arms, legs, back and head.

Hsu Xiao followed her down the stairs and landed gracefully at the bottom none the worse for wear.

Annja summoned the sword to her hands. “You mean to end this?” she asked.

Hsu Xiao nodded.

“Then let’s do it.” Annja frowned.

Hsu Xiao ran at her and Annja cut up, trying to take the offensive. But Hsu Xiao came in close and knee-locked Annja. Driving her own knee against Annja’s, she swept Annja’s leg out and she collapsed onto the ground.

Annja pivoted and backfisted Hsu Xiao in the stomach. Hsu Xiao grunted and staggered away.

Annja got to her feet and brought the sword up in front of her, charging forward to cut down again and again at Hsu Xiao’s exposed body. But as she brought her last cut straight down, Hsu Xiao brought her claws together and stopped the blade.

Annja was shocked. She’d never known anything that could stand up to a direct cut from her sword. It was then she realized that Hsu Xiao didn’t have regular fingernails at all. She had metal claws like some movie character.

Worse, her claws had edges everywhere instead of just on one side.

Hsu Xiao flicked them at Annja and she felt one of them score a line across her face.

Blood streamed down her cheek.

Hsu Xiao pushed off against the sword blade and then kicked Annja again in the stomach. Annja rolled over backward, keeping a hold on the sword, but also smarting from the impact of the kick.

Annja immediately lashed out with her own kick and Hsu Xiao blocked it by bringing her leg up so it bent at the knee. Annja felt the kick slide off, but used the momentum to try to close some of the distance.

She did so and shot an elbow into Hsu Xiao’s midsection. The assassin grunted and then thrust her hand at Annja’s trachea. The shot scored a hit and Annja felt herself gagging and choking at the same time. She willed her throat to stop convulsing and prayed it wouldn’t swell up.

Hsu Xiao raked her claws back and tried to catch Annja, but Annja had already started to duck and the claws only sliced through where her hair had been seconds earlier.

Annja pivoted on the ground and tried to sweep Hsu Xiao’s legs out from under her, but the woman leaped into the air and then came down, aiming her heels at Annja’s exposed knee. Annja saw the attack coming and, at the last possible second, curled her leg to avoid the incapacitating blow.

Hsu Xiao cut down and Annja barely had enough time to bring the sword up to block the shots. Hsu Xiao’s claws clattered off the steel of the blade and Annja tried a halfhearted stab at Hsu Xiao’s midsection.

Sweat poured off both of them. All of Annja’s injuries stung from the sweat and salt rubbing with the blood and exposed skin. Hsu Xiao seemed to be running on fumes but her attacks never wavered.

She came at Annja, slashing with her claws at Annja’s abdomen once more. Annja pivoted out of the way and used the pommel of the sword to backhand Hsu Xiao by the temple. She struck but the pommel only grazed Hsu Xiao. The assassin tumbled past and tucked herself into a roll.

Annja chased and cut down but then Hsu Xiao stopped herself and shot a donkey kick into Annja’s body, catching Annja under the ribs. Annja felt the two previously injured ribs crack again and she cried out in pain.

Hsu Xiao recovered and then lunged at Annja, her claws already unfurling and aiming right at Annja’s face. Annja ducked back and the claws arced through the space where her head had just been.

Annja brought the sword up and tried to once again stab into Hsu Xiao’s midsection, but the assassin merely spun and the blade cut nothing but air.

This is getting ridiculous, Annja thought. I need to find a way to finish this thing once and for all. I haven’t got much energy left and time is running out.

By Annja’s estimate, they had perhaps five minutes until the entire installation blew up.

She had to end this battle.

Hsu Xiao delivered two sharp hand strikes to Annja’s collarbones and Annja felt the jarring impact like it was a concussion grenade. She slumped with the strikes and Hsu Xiao followed up by kneeing Annja in the face.

Annja heard her nose crack and a fresh river of blood flowed down her face.

“You’re finished, Annja Creed,” Hsu Xiao said through clenched teeth. “Give up now and I will kill you painlessly.”

“I don’t know how to give up,” Annja said. She cut back at Hsu Xiao and, this time, the point of her sword caught the lithe assassin near the ribs. Annja twisted the blade but Hsu Xiao had corrected her position and the blade cut no more.

Hsu Xiao danced away but Annja could see that she’d struck a solid cut. Blood was spreading on Hsu Xiao’s shirt.

Annja pressed the attack, cutting out from the side, trying to cleave Hsu Xiao in two with the blow. Hsu Xiao ducked the blow and then tripped Annja as she passed.

Annja sprawled onto the ground and the sword clattered away.

In an instant, Hsu Xiao was atop Annja. Annja flipped over and faced Hsu Xiao. The Chinese assassin raked at Annja’s face again and again.

Annja blocked the strikes and punched up into Hsu Xiao’s face, scoring a direct hit on her nose. Hsu Xiao’s face opened up and blood covered them both.

Annja kicked her hips up, trying to dislodge Hsu Xiao but the woman would not allow herself to be bucked off. Instead, she brought one of her claws under Annja’s ear, nearly nicking it off in the melee.

Annja grimaced and used her elbows again to strike at Hsu Xiao’s temple. She scored once and Hsu Xiao rolled clear.

Annja got to her feet, wobbling from the loss of blood.

Hsu Xiao also seemed unsteady, but her claws still gleamed in places that weren’t covered with Annja’s blood.

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Annja said.

Hsu Xiao smirked. “You’re begging for mercy now? I wouldn’t have thought you were the type.”

“I’m not,” Annja said. “I’m giving you the chance to give up and stay alive.”

Hsu Xiao shook her head. “We’re too far into this. It has to end here and now.”

Annja shook her head. “I don’t want to have to kill you.”

Hsu Xiao shrugged. “Then you’re in trouble. Because I desperately want to kill you.”

Annja frowned. “So be it.”

Hsu Xiao rushed at Annja and Annja summoned the sword into her hands. The distance was almost too tight, but Annja managed to wedge the blade up and in so the point was aimed right at Hsu Xiao’s heart as she came screaming back in one last time.

The tip of the sword slid into her chest and through her heart.

Instantly all the strength drained from the assassin’s body and Hsu Xiao collapsed against Annja’s chest, the blade jutting out through her back.

For a moment, Annja could have sworn she felt the pulsing tremor of two heartbeats. But then she realized it was only her own, echoing back from the body of her rival.