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David kept his eyes on the youngas he answered, concentrating on his tones like never before “Wo shi niyou” I am your friend, he told them, but he addressed his words solely to the woainst the rocky wall, frozen by fear He unfolded Brian’s map and slowly stepped toward her

“We eh the rooh Xiao Da were there with them

“We don’t want visitors,” the old man said

David didn’t bother to respond He held out the ood—aher child—then to the wouished He reached out his hand The woman shrank another inch or tn the wall, but she had nowhere to go His fingers lightly touched the dirty blanket As gently as possible he pulled the blanket away from the baby’s face The child ake He had blue eyes, and his hair was just beginning to coht fuzz The old blind randchild

David pointed to the symbol for cave on the map The woman averted her face and closed her eyes

“You should go now,” the old man said

Again David spoke to the young woe “Show me the way” Then he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “Brian died protecting you Now you can save someone else”

“The people will know,” she whispered back She held the child out to him

“The people will knoay,” he said

David watched several e woht hireat effort stood up She looked at David, then nodded to the stack of boxes that e area He crossed to it as the woman went to the door He timed his movements to hers As she pulled up the bar, he pulled away the top crate As soon as she opened the door and the sounds of the storrabbed the lantern and the ruyi, and stepped through the dark opening He didn’t look back

HULAN KEPT FLASHING BACK TO THE KNIGHT FACTORY AND THE women who’d died This was an equally volatile situation She didn’t want anyone to get hurt or die asn’t already a lost cause She illing to be left alone with Michael Quon rather than do so a mass movement from the followers in the cavern belohich would only add to the tragedy She would wait for theo home before she e Michael Quon in the intellectual cat-and-ame he’d played with her from the first time they’d spoken in the lobby of the Panda Guesthouse

“You’re no better than the Falun Gong” It was lame, but it was a start

“We’re not as big,” Quon responded agreeably “They have forty million folloide We have half that—all in China But give us another year or two and the Communist Party’s fifty-five million will seem minuscule by comparison”

“You think you can move so quickly?”

“I already have The people have been waiting for someone like ic, qi gong, and—”