page28 (1/2)

They seemed startled by his appearance, and one of thee he knew But no translation was required Two policeuns

He knehat they wanted

So he raised his hands

CASSIOPEIA WAITED FOR THE BULLET, BUT ALL SHE FELT WAS A slap of air as the round zooht ear

She heardinto flesh and whirled

Thetoward her with a knife Viktor’s shot had caught him in the chest The body dropped to the marble, trembled as if racked by fever, then went still

“I told you I wasn’t the enemy,” Viktor said

She caught her breath, then hustled down the stairs to the landing “If you work for Tang, who do these men work for?”

Viktor pointed back to the top of the stairs “He was ed “I have no idea”

“You shot your own man?”

“He’s actually Tang’s And would you have preferred to be stabbed?”

She pointed “He said so before you shot him In Chinese I don’t speak it”

“I do”

Her ears perked

“He said, ‘Death to the thief who steals from the master’ ”

MALONE DECIDED TO TRY WHAT HE COULD “THERE’S A WOMAN inside On the third level She needs help”

He wasn’t sure if his English was being understood, as the two police him into custody They didn’t seem to care about anybody else

His arht at his wrists

Too tight, but there was little he could say

CASSIOPEIA FOLLOWED VIKTOR DOWN THE MAIN STAIRCASE, away fro of ash above the was easier, as the smoke seemed confined to the top two stories She heard sirens and spotted flashing eh the s They needed to leave Far too many questions would be asked, and she had no satisfactory answers

“I hope you have an exit plan,” she said

“There’s a way out through the basement I checked”

“How did you find me?”

Wood splintered below and soency Fireh the main entrance

She and Viktor stopped at the first-level landing

Let them pass, he mouthed

She agreed

They abandoned the stairway and retreated into one of the first-floor rooency personnel would be concentrating on the upper stories

A large billiard table provided cover, its green baize decorated with ivory accessories

“You didn’t answer my question,” she whispered “How did you find me?”

He un he still held “If you hadn’t pounded er inside Tang’s idea Chinese intelligence issue We would have left the gun As it e tracked you straight here”

And she already kneho’d sent the archer Pau Wen Death to the thief who steals from the master She’d sensed more to that old man, but had been in too much of a hurry to care

Footfalls rang out Fire axes and hoses

It’s too risky, Viktor mouthed Let’s find another way down

“There’s a back staircase that way” She pointed to their left “I used it to go up”

“Lead the way When they find those bodies, this place is going to be heavy with police”

They scah a series of dim rooms to the stairs and crept down to the basement, careful their soles did not slap the risers A black hallway led into the ht with hasp locks Storage rooested elevated pressure and te supplies—but it had an exit door

“That has to lead up to ground level,” Viktor said

“More likely the side of the building,” she noted “We could be okay there”

The door unlocked from the inside Viktor eased the ht the darkness to life in a rhythmic beat But she heard no sounds froround level

“After you,” Viktor said

She slipped out and savored the cool air They crouched and cli the stairway for cover

At the top they darted to the right, where the street that ran before the e, unnoticed, fro next door

Two meters from the end the path was suddenly blocked