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“Mr Stark, we don’t have much tiht, but we et it back to China”

“Don’t worry, Dr Ma,” David assured the archaeologist “I plan on hiring local counsel first thing Mondayyou’ve co, because I think you’ll make a very credible witness when it coet your relics back, including your ruyi”

“Monday may be too late,” Ma said

Ma had been disagreeable and obstreperous since David and Hulan debarked at Bashan Noas pressuring David?

“What’s so critical all of a sudden?”

Ma’s features reist was struggling with so Finally, he said, “I’m not employed by the Cultural Relics Bureau I work for the Ministry of State Security”

That was China’s version of the CIA Hulan had been right that soe about Ma All of his territoriality could now be traced to issues of jurisdiction, clandestine supreuy like Ma had to thi

nk long terood, which meant this had to be very serious

“That’s right,” Ma said as if reading David’s mind, “even Director Ho doesn’t knoho I am or why I’m at Site 518”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I’ve already told you We need your help”

David waited This revelation was co far too easily after all of Ma’s lies and rudeness Ma would have to prove hian to disclose his history with just enough details to show David he was telling the truth

“The ministry I work for looks very far ahead, and the men I work for in particular are far-ahead thinkers When I needed an excuse to be in the States for a long tiy, because no one would ever suspect a graduate student in archaeology of being a spy My supervisors also anticipated that construction on the daical sites, but few anticipated what the foreign interest would be My superiors did, and they were right Stuart Miller, Lily Sinclair, and others all came to me Miller was a particularly fortuitous prize, for obvious reasons He had access to things that we’d love to have”

The auction wasFitzwilliams was already on to Lot 8—a white jade i Dynasty

“Then Brian McCarthy brought in the ruyi,” Ma went on “He never told nized its significance, reater importance As you know, the Ministry of State Security’s concerns are international in scope”