White Jade (The PROJECT)

by Lukeman, Alex

  Ronnie and Nick began laughing.

  "What's so funny?" She felt her face reddening.

  "Nothing," Carter said. "Just tension, that's all. Hell, I do too. Pick your restrooms, everyone."

  A few minutes later Ronnie put the vehicle in gear and they turned up the valley.

  The peaks on either side were bigger than the highest mountains in the United States. They were only foothills to the massive giants not far away. The slopes were bare of vegetation and covered with stony debris and boulders. Lifeless rock stretched away in every direction with cold indifference. It was like driving on an alien planet.

  The moon was almost down. The stars blazed incandescent overhead. Nick had never seen so many stars. There were clouds of stars, bright enough to cast shadows on the valley floor. The deep black, star-studded sky seemed to hint at something mysterious just out of reach. Under that sky, with towering, snow-covered peaks gleaming in every direction, it was easy to understand why people living here believed these mountains were the home of gods.

  "How are you doing, Selena?"

  "I've got a headache, but aside from that, good. I'm glad I don't have to hike this right now."

  "Take a hit of oxygen. We don't want to get sick up here. We aren't used to the altitude, but we won't be here very long."

  "I wonder what we're going to find."

  "We'll know soon enough," Ron said. "We're about four klicks from the ruins."

  The Humvee jolted up and down across a rough patch of rocks. A loud crack of breaking metal came from the front. They slewed to the right in a sliding shower of loose rock and dropped down hard onto a low boulder before Ronnie could stop. He killed the engine.

  "What was that?"

  "I don't know," Ronnie said. "Didn't sound good. The steering went."

  They got out. The Humvee was hung up on the rock, the right wheel jutting up in the air. Ronnie got out his flash and looked underneath.

  "Can't see much with all that armor plating." He grasped the tire in his hand. The wheel swung easily back and forth. "It looks like we walk. I think a tie rod or a control arm must have broken."

  "Right, let's get it under cover."

  They pulled the packs out of the back and covered the vehicle with camouflage netting. The Humvee blended into the landscape. Nick's altimeter showed 16,400 feet.

  They shouldered packs and began climbing. They followed a steep draw, detouring around gigantic boulders and falls of rock. The wind was relentless, a freezing, brittle wind. Loose stones rolled like uneven marbles underfoot. Carter kept slipping. His back was on fire. His pack felt like it was full of lead.

  The sky showed signs of dawn. He looked at the others. Selena was sweating in the cold air. Ronnie looked grim.

  "Let's take a break," he said.

  They stopped. He had to do something about the pain. He got out the med kit, took out a couple of pain pills, thought about it and put one back. This wasn't a good place to risk mistakes in judgment.

  Three hours after they'd left the Humvee, they topped the final rise. A cold sun bathed the mountains in brassy, ominous light that offered no comfort from the chill wind. The prospect before them was daunting.

  The ruins covered the crest of the hill in a jumble of stone. The outer walls were twenty feet high, built of flat stones fitted together. They stretched for over a hundred yards in each direction to form an outer square. Tumbled gaps gaped in the walls where stones had fallen. A building topped by a tall, stepped, pyramid-shaped roof dominated the center of the compound.

  Carter pictured attacking those walls on foot with spears and swords and bows and arrows. In its day, the fortress would have been impregnable.

  The silence was immense. The only sound was the constant keening of wind through the ruins.

  The mountain dropped away from where they stood in a sweeping vista of snow-capped mountains and valleys. A waterfall that must have been two thousand feet high dropped straight down to a river winding below along the valley floor. A herd of yaks grazed on the side of a mountain in the distance, thirty or forty tiny black dots. A lone, golden eagle glided past, a thousand feet below.

  Carter had never seen space like that. It wasn't only that the mountains were big. It was the distance around them, the way they forced themselves up into the thin sky. The scale of nature was overwhelming. It made him feel the size of an ant.

  He consulted his GPS and pointed at a spot on one of the satellite photos.

  "We're here, at the southwest corner of the outer walls. These four lines look like streets between buildings. We'll go along this wall and follow one in."

  "They all converge at the center," Selena said, "at the building and the square around it."

  "Isn't the center a big deal in these parts?"

  "Yes. Mt. Kailash, over that way, was supposed to be the center of the world. That building is the center of this complex and the cavern is under it."

  Ronnie spoke up. "Then why don't we start there?"

  Another pre-coded burst let Harker know they had arrived and were proceeding. Carter put the phone back in his pocket and they set out along the west wall. Halfway down, they came to what was left of a gateway. The gate was long gone. A broad uneven avenue of frost-heaved grayish stone led straight toward the building with the pyramid spire at the center.

  They headed in. Standing walls of gray stone and piles of rubble lined the street. Selena pointed out a carving of a giant bird on a tall, weathered column of rock.

  "That's a garuda, same as the book name."

  "What were all these buildings for?"

  "Shops, quarters, stables. This place is a small city."

  The wind moaned through the deserted stones, lifting a thin, gritty dust into the air. Selena paused at a building on the edge of the square. The roof was still intact. She stepped inside, into the ruins of a broad atrium.

  The floor of the atrium was about thirty feet square. Uneven colored tiles formed an elaborate picture on the floor. Lichen grew between the tiles and many of the pieces were missing, but the design was still clear enough.

  At the corners, curled leopards stood guard. In the center, a woman reclined on a low couch with curved ends. She wore a blue robe. She had long, black, curling hair circled by a gold band. Three women in robes of white attended her. One played a flute, another bore a basket of fruit, a third poured wine from a jug. All three had black, curly hair bound with a headband and lifelike eyes made from black and gold tiles. Above the scene, two women rode in a chariot, blond hair streaming behind them. The chariot was pulled by two winged griffins. Above everything flew a large bird.

  "This is Cretan," said Selena. "This is amazing. The one with the wine is pouring from an amphora. It's definitely Minoan. Paintings similar to this were found in a Minoan burial chamber in Northern Crete. The women in the chariot are probably goddesses, maybe escorts to guide the soul to the afterlife."

  "Then the Minoans were here, after all."

  "It looks like it. This style of mosaic art is unique to the Aegean. Either the Minoans or someone who had contact with them had to have done it. Finding this in Tibet is incredible." She took out her camera.

  They came to the edge of the square. The walls of the building at the heart of the complex were eroded from the endless winds, the ancient stone dark and stained. Narrow openings were set along the lower walls and in the roof.

  "This is an early style of Vedic temple architecture," said Selena. "The pyramid roof was typical. I'd guess around 1800 BCE. Maybe a little later."

  "It was a temple?"

  "It must have been. This entire complex is laid out like a mandala, with entrances to the center from the four directions."

  "What's a mandala?" Ronnie rubbed his face with his glove.

  "It's a tool, a picture to help focus your mind. By looking at the picture and meditating on it you develop the ability to enter a spiritual dimension."

  "You believe that?" he said.

  "It seems to work for th
e people who practice with it."

  Carter looked around the broad square, thinking what it must have been like when there were people here.

  "This place was a mandala for real?" He rubbed his ear.

  "That would have been the idea. Everything constructed to remind people of their spiritual nature and the transience of life."

  "Then why are we here looking for something to make you immortal?"

  "Immortality is the payoff in a lot of religions. It just takes different forms for different people. In the East, you get enlightened. In effect you become immortal. In the West, you live forever in heaven."

  "Or hell," he said.

  "I don't believe that," said Selena.

  For the most part, the square was free of debris. They walked toward the building, stopped and stared at the structure.

  Two massive columns held up an arched entry. Above the arch, a great, fierce bird was hewn into the stone. Still visible on each column was the sign of the labrys, the double headed axe of ancient Crete.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Senior Investigator Yao waited in the antechamber of the Minister of State Security. He was nervous. It wasn't a good sign to be kept waiting this long. Unsmiling guards in dress uniform, assault rifles carried at port arms, stood rigid sentry at the entrance to the Minister's office.

  Yao reassured himself. His investigation of General Yang was thorough. You didn't make accusations against someone as powerful as Yang without good reason and better facts. It was a foregone conclusion his report would be difficult to receive and subject to the closest scrutiny. Yao had faith in the system, but this was explosive.

  The Minister's secretary emerged from within. He beckoned Yao forward.

  "The Minister will see you now."

  Yao read nothing in the secretary's tone. Ah, well, the tile was cast. Soon he would know the Minister's thoughts.

  Minister Deng sat behind his desk, writing. The secretary led Yao to the front of the desk and took a seat at a smaller table off to the side. Deng continued writing. Yao stood at attention and forced himself to remain calm. Finally the Minister of State Security for the People's Republic of China capped his pen, set it down and looked up.

  He was not smiling.

  "Senior Investigator Yao. I have read your report." Deng held up a folder on his desk. "You have made serious accusations against General Yang." He looked at Yao as if expecting him to admit this had all been a foolish error.

  "Yes, Minister."

  "General Yang is one of the bulwarks of our military. He has served the people well for many years. You are sure you do not wish to withdraw this report?"

  Yao took a deep breath. "Yes, Minister."

  "I have reviewed your record. You also have distinguished yourself in service to the Party and the people. Whom should I believe in this matter, you or General Yang, if I ask him?"

  "Minister, you should believe me!"

  Deng looked surprised at the boldness of the response. It wasn't often that anyone addressed one of the most powerful men in China with such directness.

  Yao went on. "General Yang is corrupt. More, he is hatching a plot involving the Americans, with the assistance of the Black Societies there."

  "So you say in your report."

  Deng looked at Yao, considered him for a long moment. He gestured to the secretary.

  "Bring Senior Investigator Yao a chair. Block all appointments for the next hour. And bring tea."

  Yao breathed an inward sigh of relief. Until that moment he had not been sure how his report would be received. Now the power of the Ministry would focus on Yang until the truth was revealed. At a nod from the Minister he sat in the chair that had been provided.

  "Tell me the facts of your case, Yao. I wish to hear what may not be found in this report. There is always something."

  Yao relaxed a little more.

  "I became suspicious when I received a report from one of our agents in America. He was observing Colonel Wu and overheard his conversation regarding the American, Connor."

  "Your report says that several hundred million dollars stolen from Connor were transferred to Yang and back again to America."

  "Yes, Minister, that is correct. The accounts in America are controlled by the Black Societies. That increased my concern."

  "It has increased my concern as well. What is the current status of your investigation? What is being done?"

  "General Yang is being observed at all times and his communications have been intercepted and recorded for several days. Wu has returned to Beijing and is under surveillance. Wu's sergeant arrived home yesterday and I have agents following him.

  "We recorded calls from Yang to the officers and officials listed in my report. Each call contained a phrase I believe was code to alert these men in some way. Minister, this is more than a case of corruption. General Yang is hatching a plot against the Party and has enlisted the aid of the Triads in America to accomplish whatever he is planning."

  Deng sipped his tea. "The Triads back the Nationalist revisionists. We tolerate them because they stick to their criminal activities and don't interfere in politics. If Yang is enlisting their aid, it must have subversive meaning."

  "That was my thought, Minister."

  "In your report you mention a book Yang wished to secure. Do you have any further knowledge of this?"

  "No, Minister. But I am looking into it. The key to that riddle lies in America. My agents are seeking more information, but as yet I have nothing to report." He paused. "Sir, to the Americans all Chinese appear the same. Whatever the Triads do, it will reflect on all of us. We will lose face before the world if their actions are public."

  Deng nodded. "You have been thorough, Comrade Yao. When I first saw your report, I was skeptical. I wanted to see you to get a feeling for the man who wrote it."

  Minister Deng looked at Yao. What he saw there seemed to satisfy him. He made up his mind.

  "You have convinced me Yang is a danger. What do you suggest? Should we arrest him, do you think?"

  Yao was shocked and pleased that the Minister would ask his advice on such a delicate matter.

  "That, of course, is your decision, Minister. Since you ask for my opinion, I suggest waiting a little longer, until we get a better picture of what Yang is planning. I have ordered surveillance on all members of the White Jade Society and the others Yang contacted. All of their communications are being monitored."

  "These men are honored leaders of our military and some of our most critical government ministries."

  "Yes, Minister. That is what concerns me."

  "You think all these men are conspiring against the Party?"

  Yao became flushed, thinking about traitors.

  "Yes, Minister, I do. Reactionary elements are always seeking to undermine the good of our society. If they are men of high rank and standing, their betrayal is that much worse. They must be rooted out, no matter who they are."

  Deng nodded his approval. "That is correct. You have full authority to pursue this investigation as you see best. You have so far been discrete. See that you continue to be so. Keep me informed."

  The meeting was over. Yao stood. "Thank you for your confidence, Minister. Your trust is not misplaced."

  Deng dismissed Yao with a wave of his hand and waited until he was out the door. Then he turned to his secretary.

  "Establish surveillance on him. Sometimes it is necessary to watch the watcher. I want to know what he is doing."

  "Yes, Minister."

  Deng thought about the conversation. Then he picked up the phone and placed a call to the President and Chairman of the People's Republic.

  Chapter Forty

  "This is the same as you find in Crete."

  Selena looked up at the symbol of the double axe carved on the pillars outside the temple.

  "This is what the book was talking about. I never thought I would see it in this part of the world."

  "It's a long way from the Aegean Sea."
r />   The interior of the building was in gloom. There was something large in the middle of the chamber, a shape Carter couldn't quite make out.

  "What more does the book say, Selena? Are there further directions?"

  "After the part about the labrys there's a warning. Don't go in there, bad things will happen and only the initiated can pass. Pretty standard stuff."

  "That would be priests?"

  "Priests or cult members. There may be traps to prevent intruders from getting very far. The book warns that the pursuit of life will lead to death. Very dramatic."

  "Yeah, and not very helpful." Ronnie looked up at the steep pyramid roof rising into the cold Tibetan sky.

  "The text says only those who see the vision of the great bird will be able to pass. That's pretty much it, from what I've been able to translate."

  Carter looked at the axes on the entrance columns and the garuda carved over the entrance. "The vision of the great bird. Must be referring to the garuda again. What does that mean?"

  "It could be anything. The words could refer to spiritual vision. Or not."

  They stepped into the temple. The pyramid ceiling had gaps and looked like it might be ready to fall at any moment. The floor was set with smooth, dressed stone. It was quiet and freezing cold. They clicked on their lights. Double-headed axes carved in stone lined the walls all the way around the room, spaced about ten feet apart and roughly the same height from the floor.

  Dominating the center of the room was a towering statue of the garuda, standing almost thirty feet high. There were traces of color where it had been painted in red, yellow and silver. Radiating outward from the base were four deep channels cut into the floor. Carter thought they might mark the four directions. A quick glance at his GPS confirmed it. The head of the bird faced east, toward the direction of the rising sun.

  The detail on the statue was carved with a master's skill. Every feather of the great wings looked ready to ripple in the wind. A huge serpent writhed in agony beneath its claws. The fearsome beak gaped open and the bird sat half back on its haunches, wings spread wide, head tilted back, ready to lift into the air. It looked alive. It looked dangerous.