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He turned and was about to ask Viktor another question when a fist slaround, the brightin and out
“Don’t Hit Me Again,” Viktor said, standing over him
He conte this foe, undecided, except that Viktor had just saved their lives and he apparently liked Cassiopeia Both of which bothered him
“Are you two through?” Cassiopeia asked
“I aaze locked on Viktor
“I’m not the enemy,” Viktor said
He rubbed his jaw “Since we have little choice, we’re just going to have to take your word on that Fly us north”
“Where?”
“Xi’an,” Pau said “To the tomb of Qin Shi”
NI STRAINED TO HEAR THE PREMIER’S SOFT VOICE THROUGH the phone
“The time just before and after Mao died was chaotic Politics shifted back and forth between Maois utterly different What that new direction was to be, no one knew Mao hi views, but he was too old and weak to keep them in check”
Though young, Ni re of Four, radical Maoists led by Mao’s wife, had favored tactics such as class struggle, anti-intellectualisalitarianisrowth, stability, education, and pragmatism
“The balance tipped back and forth in the two years before Mao died There were internal struggles, private battles, public purges, even so clai and bitter The scars ran deep Pau Wen and I were there during every battle”
“On whose side?”
“That matters not But the mistakes made then still haunt us This is why the battle for control, between you and Tang, cannot be a public spectacle I will not allow the saain”
The premier sounded like a Confucian
“Deng Xiaoping was, in many ways, worse than Mao,” the pre as it did not call the Party, the govern, regardless of the method—that was his philosophy, and look what happened He allowed us to destroy our country”
He could not argue with that conclusion The scars froulated and unrestrained development loomed everywhere Nowhere had the nation been spared
“We seem doomed,” the preuese came Two hundred years later ere overrun with our own corruption Western troops and gunboats controlled our ports, as ere but a colony of the Western powers That atmosphere of defeat was perfect for the rise of a Mao, someone who told the people exactly what they wanted to hear But co that cae that, but went too fast, too far We were not ready That’s when Pau Wen decided to act He saw an opportunity and dispatched every brother of the Ba into the govern them with but one duty—rise in stature and power No one kneould ed as that person”
“And he has others, not of the Ba, ill follow him”
“Many others His argu Many on the Central Coladly support Tang in his Legalism”
His own advisers had warned of the same probability
“History is a maiden, and you can dress her however you wish,” the preovernanized, thousands of new officials appointed, the past utterly eradicated Pau Wen learned from that chaos With careful skill, for the past three decades, he has directed the brothers of the Ba, including Karl Tang, on a singular course I know that he left the country so he could e that plan”
Ni recalled the recorded phone conversation and told the pre and Pau have parted ways”
“Careful, Minister Eunuchs cannot be trusted”
His nerves were frayed to the breaking point He waited for the premier to offer more, but there was only silence Finally, the old man said, “Minister, I’ve just been told that a helicopter left Lake Dian with four people aboard Three of them, Pau Wen included, swam from the lake”
“Intercept it”
“What would we learn from that?”
He knew the answer Nothing
“Thankfully,” the pre”
He listened
“Xi’an You should head there i else younot even Pau Wen knows to exist”
TANG WAITED AT THE AIRFIELD OUTSIDE LANZHOU THE TERMINAL, a gray ce tall s, cast the char He could not leave until he knew exactly what had happened on Lake Dian If everything went according to plan, Viktor Toers on board his helicopter If that were so, Viktor would not make an oral report Instead a code had been devised whereby asuspicion
He had placed ner, but so far Viktor had performed admirably He’d listened yesterday as past exploits with Cotton Malone and Cassiopeia Vitt had been explained, appreciating how that insight could be used to their advantage He’d agreed with Viktor’s assessratiate himself with Malone and Vitt, to know precisely what the Russians and the A would have to occur
Which hy he’d approved the downing of the fighter