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“And what does that mean?”
The pre honest with me You know precisely what that means”
Few lights burned inside and the building’s air-conditioning had chilled the interior to a winter’s feel
He’d made his move Now he awaited a response
“A eunuch cannot be trusted,” the premier said “They are inherently dishonest They destroyed dynasty after dynasty with their treachery”
“I don’t need a history lesson”
“Perhaps you do When the First Emperor died, his chief eunuch conspired to have the eldest son, the chosen heir, co Second E that he, himself, fron lasted only four years Everything Qin Shi fought to create—what millions died to achieve—disappeared within three years of his death And all because of a eunuch That pariah is still recalled by history as ‘a man who could confidently describe a deer as a horse’ ”
He could not care less “I need to know about Pau Wen and your contacts with him”
The older man’s eyes narrowed, but no rebuke came “Pau Wen likewise can confidently describe a deer as a horse”
He could not argue with that observation
They continued ahead, a steady click of the lacquered cane off the marble floor accompanied by the shuffle of leather soles
“Decades ago,” the old ether We both became disenchanted with Mao”
The pre to assehts, soht be unpleasant
“The Cultural Revolution was an awful tin, the bourgeois We thought all of it right, all of it necessary But it was insanity, and it all happened for nothing In the end, the strong dragon proved no match for the local snake”
He nodded at the ancient saying
“China changed,” the preovernment didn’t”
He had to ask, “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because, Minister, I fear you will not win your co”
FORTY-THREE
HALONG BAY
MALONE SHOOK HIS HEAD AT THE UP-WING TWIN-ENGINE amphibian, a Twin Bee, built like a tank with rivets, hefty struts, and thick walls of sheet metal painted red and white Its hull rested in the calm water like a boat
“Your way into China,” Ivan said
“You can’t be serious,” Cassiopeia said “They’ll blow us out of the sky”
The Russian shook his head “It never happens before”
Ivan unfolded a , and rested a pudgy finger with dirty nails atop Halong Bay He then traced a line to the northwest, straight across northern Vietna at the city of Kun, in Yunnan province, 500 miles away
“You have clear passage from here to border,” Ivan said
“Apparently you and the Vietnamese are asshole buddies”
Ivan shrugged “They have no choice”
Malone smiled
“Lakes everywhere, south of Kun Plenty of places to land unnoticed”
“And what do we do once we’re there?” Malone asked
“We can take the train north to Xi’an,” Pau said “A few hours From there we can bus out to the terra-cotta warrior site”
Malone wasn’t i about flying 500 miles into a closed country, with a et the wrong idea”
“I will provide pilot,” Ivan said, “who can handle controls”