The Khufu Equation (27 page)

The captain playfully took sight of Rita's forehead and, with his free hand, poured juice into a glass from a bottle on the counter immediately behind him.

Telephone call stopped the hand and he put the glass on the, table took a receiver.

"Yes, Khai. Greetings . . . . You already know. Yes. Four of yours, compared to eight of mine. His name is Brett Li. He's been a naval man. I'll be thankful. I have a request, as well. Try not to take him alive. You'll understand. Go on."

Ven glanced at Rita, and in his eyes there was cunning.

"Dear, I have cleft many."

Burst of laughter into his face showed that Rita was afraid of nothing.

"After all I have endured your interrogation is simply a fairy tale to me. So, you want to screw me? Please, go ahead. I'll relax while you do. If I'm supposed to feel anything while you're busy, please let me know."

The captain, enraged, slapped away the glass. It hit the wall and sent the juice to every corner of the room.

"No, darling! You're too drunken and don't understand the reality. You have ten minutes to tell me the truth. Otherwise I'll pass you to the authorities. Once I do that, no one will be able to help you."

"I'm thirsty," said Rita in a capricious way.

Ven Jhun handed her a juice pack. Then, as Rita sipped greedily, he took out a cigarette and lit it.

"Who is this Chinese, and who was the monk? Why did they capture the plane? What was their purpose?" Puffs of smoke curled and billowed toward the ceiling.

Rita, choking with laughter, placed a hand upon her tummy.

"They what? You think they 'captured' the plane? Who put that crap in your ears!?"

Ven jumped up from the chair:

"Stop trying to make a fool of me! Who are they!?"

"I . . . don't . . . know!" Rita shouted, and she slammed the juice packet onto the table. "I didn't know them. They only saved my life. They were talking about some stone, and they were headed for . . . that place . . . Angkor Wat." The name of the place sent the captain into a coughing fit.

"What!?" said Jhun as he fought to clear his throat. "Repeat what you just said!" Suddenly, Rita realized she had found a weak string and repeated every word.

"They're looking for the stone, which has some kind of incredible power. Throughout history, the stone has been surrounded by devilish events . . . ." She paused, and the ensuing space was then filled with smoke from his cigarette. He sat for a moment and pondered her words, sending up smoke rings as he did.

He stood up, leaned over the table and bent in low upon her ear:

"Don't you dare repeat this to anyone. You won't be believed, and what's more, you might spend the rest of your life in a mental hospital for having said it. I'll help you to extricate yourself from all this."

"And the authorities?"

"I am not the last person in the state. If you don't tell anybody about the stone, all accusations against you will be lifted till tomorrow morning. I promise."

"What do you take me for?" said Rita with a grin. "My tongue is like an artist's brush. By evening, all Cambodia will know. We'll begin with an escort to accompany me."

Ven Jhun looked into Rita's eyes and, setting the heavy revolver upon the table, said slowly and quietly, "You have exactly one hour to leave the country."

Mekong Hotel, Campong Thom: 8:00 a.m.

A television with satellite broadcast reception is a real luxury in a country that has been forgotten by God. If one doesn't watch local programs, it detracts from reality and allows one to indulge a kind of euphoria. In observing how other people spoon out life, particularly in the youth-oriented channels that feature fashion and pop culture, and mentally transporting into a strange new reality is like drinking a glass of hempseed milk. For a woman whose youth was spent with a rifle riding behind the neck, dreams of

a cloudless tomorrow were the only way to throw off the burden of the past.

Covered with a sheet on a queen-size bed, Tana was mentally absorbed in the world of magic colors and sounds. The television began to work better after Kreis pounded it with his fist. She was waiting for him while he was in the shower. Amid the accompaniment of modern music, she pondered her relationship with the man. She even thought about him in her sleep. The day before, she had promised to marry him. Today she could repeat it thousands of times but it meant nothing because tomorrow did not exist. It was the outright stubbornness of her beloved, who had dreamt of obtaining the mythical philosopher's stone, would produce nothing of any benefit. Kreis, however, wouldn't listen to her protestations.

An inner voice, like a snake, crept into Tana's bed and wound itself up around her smooth, hot legs.

"Are you sleep-p-ing?"

"No," answered Tana, as if in her thought.

"Why?"

Tana put a hand to her chest and sighed.

"I feel the approach of death."

The snake's hood opened, and with its head the creature began to wave.

"A-a-ah. You know, everyone will be there."

"But I don't want to die. I'm too young for this.

The snake tickled Tana's legs with its tail.

"Don't be sad. Smile. Catch the moments of happiness of this last day."

Mentally, Tana attempted to throw off the snake, but its coils were strong.

"No. I will live my last day exactly as I want."

The snake freed Tana's legs, crept onto her breast and, grandly displaying its hood, hissed:

"And what is life?"

"It's the reverse side of death."

"And what is death?"

Tana became thoughtful.

"It's an exclusive circle. There's no sense in speaking of it."

"No! Death is deliverance from the suffering that overflows in life."

Tana nodded negatively.

"But, I don't suffer . . . ."

"You are lying. You have always suffered: under Pol Pot's regime, after parting with Maksim, and your husband's death. You aren't even able to have children."

"But Maksim is with me now. Let it be the last day in my life, and I'll live it either in sadness or in joy. That is my business."

Tana mentally compressed the snake's head and, taking it by the tail, threw it off.

"Are you sleeping?"

She opened her eyes. Kreis was standing next to the bed."

"I've awakened."

Tana pulled him by the hand and kissed him gently on the lips. Kreis put his arms around the woman and said:

"What's the matter with you? Did you have a nightmare?"

"It was a nightmare, but now everything is okay."

She swam in the depths of his blue eyes as if she were trying to find a piece of her own soul.

"Still, why have you come? The search for the truth of your friend's death is only justification. Do you really need the stone?"

"Don't ask me about that. I don't know why I'm here."

"Have you slept with many women?"

"It doesn't matter. I've always loved you, and I still love only you. That's the truth."

Tana stroked his muscular arm. "You know, I was born in a fishing village not far from here."

The smile on his face told her that he remembered it all.

"I knew, since the first time I saw you."

"I wish we could have gone there. I haven't been there for two years."

"How long?"

She sensed the alarm in his voice and hurried to quiet him.

"For an hour, no more."

Kreis smiled and kissed her softly on the nose.

"Well, hurry up. Take a shower and get dressed."

The moment he saw her rise from the bed, with that fabulously perfect physical image, Kreis knew why he had come here. Twenty-five years past, under the threat of death, he had returned to complete the circle. Immediate decision to rush into the bathroom and tell Tana everything became just a quiet knock at the door. He went to the door and asked:

"Who is it?"

"Hotel service. You've ordered breakfast."

Kreis unlocked the door and immediately met the barrel of a gun. It was right up against his forehead, so there was no choice. Kreis retreated back to the corridor, and a young Khmer entered. He went into the room and sat at the table.

"Hey, punk! Can't you earn a living without violence?" said Kreis, as he gently pushed the barrel to the side and pulled a thick wallet from his back pocket. "You ought to read about Ostap Bender. How much do you need, young man? Three hundred dollars dropped onto the table, but Chen was unimpressed. A blade of grass twitched from one corner of his mouth to the other. He had come for another purpose.

The purpose, however, was to be strong and do what was ordered. His job was to pull the trigger and take the disc. That was all.

"Maybe five hundred? Oh, what the hell. Take it all!" Kreis pronounced with unruffled calm, throwing the wallet onto the floor at Chen's feet. "That's about four thousand."

Chen felt his fingers becoming heavy. The trembling of his knees nearly knocked him down.

"I don't need your money," he said.

"Then, what do you need?" said Kreis, acting surprised.

"I need your life and the life of your woman," said Chen in a whisper, scarcely recognizing his own voice.

"It's the least you can take." Kreis could see the embarrassment on the young man's face and decided it was his moment to have the upper hand. He stepped close to Chen and peered into his left pupil. Now he could feel his breathing. Chen was startled by this, whereupon he stood up and stepped back.

"Don't do that again, or I'll shoot!"

"You don't want to kill anybody, or you would've done it already."

Chen's face was flush and sweaty.

"Shut up!"

"Who are you? Who hired you?" said Kreis, interrogating the boy-man in a soft tone. Chen spat out the blade. The rush of feebleness made him lower the gun and sit down on the floor.

Mitchell poured some water into a glass and handed it to Chen.

"Drink this. You'll feel better."

Chen took a few sips while Kreis took his gun and knelt next to him.

"I am against violence. Tell me who sent you."

"It was my father."

"Who is he?"

"You know him: Ven Jhun. He recognized you because of your eyes."

"Why does he want to kill us?"

"He is afraid that somebody else will recognize you. Yesterday, before you left, I overheard your conversation. After that, my father wanted to get not only your lives but the stone too."

"Isn't the gold I left him enough?"

"The secret place was found by the authorities. My father could carry away only one box.

"Son, I wish evil neither to you or your father."

Tomorrow my woman and I will be far from Cambodia. But I'm sure that won't stop Ven Jhun."

Chen dried his tears.

"What do you offer?

"Listen to me carefully . . . ."

Kreis had just finished tying the knots in the strips of bed sheet, and Tana returned from the bathroom. She saw a man bound and gagged on the bed, and gave a cry of surprise.

"What is this!?"

Kreis smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Hotel service. The boy decided to earn a little something, but he failed. Now, get dressed. We're leaving."

Phnom Penh: 9:00 a.m.

Early that morning, three men near the monastery examined the Toyota. As for their military equipment and uniforms, they represented the federal authorities as a sergeant and two privates. They carried revolvers in their holsters and Chinese-made AKC short-barreled carbines.

The sergeant went around the car checking numbers. The letters and figures in his notebook coincided with those of the car. Being satisfied with it he opened a door and saw the bloody driver's seat.

"Here's some blood. He's somewhere nearby," said the sergeant to his subordinates.

"He couldn't have gone far without being noticed. We have to ask around," said one private.

A spark of anger ignited in the sergeant's eyes.