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She nodded “Okay Let’s go”
They negotiated the final two turns He spotted a splash of light in the tunnel ahead The gash in the library floor They stopped beneath the hole and glanced up three feet
“I’ll go first,” she said
Before he could object, she leaped up, secured a grip, and leveraged herself through the hole
Halfway, she was yanked upward
Aand landed on his feet
He wore the uniforht at Malone
“I believe they want you to come up,” Cassiopeia said from above, “quick and quiet”
TANG STEPPED OUT OF THE CAR THAT HE AND VIKTOR HAD driven from the well site back to the security office They had quickly found their way out of Qin Shi’s subterranean world and fled the fenced enclosure The two dead brothers had been left underground There was little that could be done with their bodies, especially considering the site was now contaminated with mercury vapors
Ni Yong was his immediate concern
He’d had the perfect opportunity inside the tomb—privacy beyond measure—to end the problem
But he’d blown the chance
Or more accurately, Viktor had blown the chance
He kept his displeasure to hiner when the tiht
“Wait out here,” he told Viktor
He stor His clothes were filthy, his hair disheveled, his throat filled with the taste of musty air
The men inside snapped to attention
“In Pit 3, an hour ago, did an old man exit the enclosure?”
The supervisor barked out instructions and anothervideotapes for the relevant time and place He watched as one of thesilent guard, the chariot, the horses, the gash in the earthen wall The vieas an angled shot from what appeared to be an interior roof camera He watched as an olderinto the library chauard One held a gun and was directing Pau to a nearby ladder, where all three climbed to the catwalk Another monitor switched feeds to show the exterior of the Pit 3
He’d not seen Pau Wen in over twenty years, since just before Pau fled the country, but little had changed Still the sah forehead The hair rerayer One of the brothers kept a gun pointed at his prisoner, and Tang watched as they sloalked across the empty plaza
“Where are they going?” he asked
The supervisor nodded to the controller and the feed itched to another camera
“We followed them for a few minutes,” the supervisor said “Then captured this”
Tang saw that Pau and the brothers were now in the car park People were still there, crowding onto tour buses and leaving in vehicles He watched as Pau and the brothers approached a light-colored sedan No one now held a weapon Each of the brothers offered Pau a warm embrace, then all three left in the car
He kept his face expressionless
No one said a word
“Two ed froround room in Pit 3,” he said
The supervisor quickly nodded and snapped his fingers Keyboard taps brought the correct ies onto a monitor
“When the two men you stationed left,” the supervisor said, “I sent two of our men to keep watch”
At least so to do”
The man bowed at the co watched as one of the ed from the library chauard with a gun drawn Of course, if the two brothers had maintained their post Cotton Malone and Cassiopeia Vitt would be dead, and the problem they posed would be solved
“Where are they now?” he asked
“In custody”
“Take me to them”
He turned to leave
The door swung open and Ni Yong barged inside, followed by ten armed men
“In the name of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Co control of this facility”
SIXTY-ONE
CASSIOPEIA SAT WITH HER LEGS PROPPED ON THE TABLE AND watched Cotton He, too, was reclined in one of the s crossed, eyes closed The roo back ium
“Another fine mess we’re in,” he muttered
“At least nobody will know you set one of the greatest archaeological finds of all time on fire”
He opened his eyes “Nobody likes a smart-ass”