by Rob Jones
Scarlet leaned forward. “Except the Americans no longer have the device.”
“What?”
“The device my colleague has just described was stolen from an American transport vessel a few days ago by a man named Sheng Fang.”
The men on the chopper shared a worried glance.
“We know Sheng. He’s a joke here in Japan – a people smuggler masquerading as a businessman.”
“Well, if he’s a joke it isn't a very funny one,” Scarlet said. “Sheng stole the device, and as I’m sure you’ve already figured out by now, he’s moved it to Tokyo where he plans on destroying the entire city. We don’t know why he chose Tokyo, but we think it might have something to do with an old war vendetta.”
“You’re certain?”
“Of course.”
“So what’s he waiting for?” snarled the sergeant.
“That’s where it gets complicated,” Ryan said.
“Or insane,” said Scarlet. “Depending on how you look at it.”
The soldiers looked confused.
Ryan stepped forward. “Sheng Fang believes he is the reincarnated spirit of Lei Gong, a Chinese mortal who became a deity, more specifically the God of Thunder. He thinks he has located the source of eternal life in the tomb of the Emperor Qin, and when he finds it he will fulfill some kind of ancient prophecy. We believe he is waiting until he has secured the map which leads to the elixir before he orders his people to destroy your capital city.”
Silence, and then the men fell about laughing.
“Immortality? Now I’ve heard everything!”
The sergeant laughed for the longest, until the laughter finally subsided and he wiped the tears from his eyes. Only then when he saw the expression on Scarlet’s face did he realize this was no joke.
“You’re being serious?”
Scarlet nodded. “Of course, darling. I’m always very serious.”
The sergeant was quiet for several minutes. “But I can’t believe it. If Sheng is searching for this elixir, then who is setting the device up here in Tokyo?”
“We don’t know his name, but the device was imported into Japan by an unknown Russian with some kind of connection to Sheng Fang. Our people are still looking into his identity, but we don’t believe he’s going to activate the device. We think that little job has been left to one of Sheng’s underlings, in this case a psychotic assassin who calls herself the Lotus.”
The sergeant shook his head in disbelief as he slowly came to terms with the madness he was hearing. “Then we have no choice but to kill all of them and deactivate this weapon.”
“And that’s the mission,” Ryan said. “We only have until Sheng locates the map, and then you can kiss this whole city goodbye.”
“And probably our lives as well,” said Sophie.
Scarlet checked her gun and looked up at the soldiers. “And make no mistake about it – he will use the device to totally destroy Tokyo and kill millions of people.”
“Not to mention devastating the Japanese economy for decades,” Ryan added.
“And,” Karlsson said, addressing everyone in his California drawl, “the only people in the world who can stop him are sitting on board this helicopter, especially the nerd here, because he’s the only one who can figure out where this device is. At the moment we know only that it’s in the central Tokyo area, the rest we have to figure out as we go.”
Scarlet stared at the sergeant, her face deadly serious. “So not such a nerd after all, it turns out.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
The first Hawke knew about Hart’s terrible fate was when Lea alerted him to it. She had seen the Commodore’s brutal murder and then called out to Joe. He looked back with horror at her body sprawled out on the marble floor of the lobby, but he knew he couldn’t stop.
Having blasted through the men defending the entrance to the mausoleum, he stepped forward with caution. They moved silently along a corridor and emerged in the main part of the mausoleum where the terracotta soldiers were all lined up around the tomb. They entered into the tomb, using the same route Sheng and Luk had taken, and moments later they saw where the Thunder God and his minions had blasted a hole in the back wall of the newly discovered tomb, opening a new pathway into the hidden labyrinth deep beneath the public area.
They moved inside and soon found themselves in a narrow tunnel with sandstone walls and a dusty, sandy floor, illuminated by several fading glow-sticks. Hawke checked the safety was off his gun and calmly looked down the ancient corridor using the remnants of the glow-sticks to see.
He tried hard to settle his turbulent mind, but after all that had happened it was still almost impossible. Despite everything he told himself about focusing, he just couldn’t stop thinking about the Commodore. Olivia Hart was one of his oldest friends in the armed forces, and seeing her lifeless body sprawled out on the floor like that had ignited something inside him he hadn’t felt for a long time – pure hatred. The unfamiliar feeling was accompanied by a renewed burning sense of revenge that he hadn’t felt since that day in Hanoi.
He knew Sheng would be made to pay in the most brutal way possible, and at his own hands if he had anything to do with it. It was weak of him, but it was primal, and couldn’t be fought. But he also knew how to move on – how to use adrenalin surges to his advantage, and most of all he knew he couldn’t avenge Hart’s death if he lost his focus now and got himself killed.
Refocused now, he was back in the moment and ready for action. “Han, tell me more about the Five Trials that Jenny Tsao mentioned.”
The Shaolin monk was only a few steps behind Hawke and armed with nothing more than his wits. He had refused point-blank to take a weapon back at the chopper when they landed at the tomb, and that made Hawke thought he might be a little crazy.
“Emperor Qin was a very intelligent man, but like all great, powerful men he was vain and paranoid. That is why he had himself buried among all this magnificence. He had the Map of Immortality buried with him because he never wanted another mortal man to find the source of the elixir...”
“It’s that live and let live attitude I love so much,” whispered Lea, her voice bouncing off the cold stone walls in the eerie silence.
“Not only that, but legend says he made extra sure that no other man would ever get his hands on the map by creating a series of trials based on Wu Xing or the Five Elements. Any man brave enough to enter his tomb would have to pass these trials to secure the map.”
“I feel like I’m in a sodding Indiana Jones movie, Joe,” Lea said.
Hawke smiled. “Fun isn’t it!”
“Not really... if you set off a load of blow darts I’m going jump out of the way and let you handle it, okay?”
“Fine.”
“But that’s not going to happen, right?” Lexi asked, her voice unusually nervous.
“No,” Han said calmly. “This not some stupid movie. The tests devised by the Emperor are dangerous and cunning, and not ridiculous.”
“Hey,” Lea said, “that was not a stupid movie! That was a freaking amazing movie.”
Hawke saw that they were nearing the end of the tunnel and were now faced with a set of smooth steps which descended into almost complete darkness. He struck another glow-stick and tossed it down the stairs where it bounced a few times before settling at the bottom of the steps.
“Down we go again, I guess,” Lea said, looking at Hawke for reassurance.
“We’ll be fine,” Reaper shouted from the rear, his voice rich and heavy in the damp silence. “I want my dinner, so if we hurry this along I would be most grateful, merci bien.”
They descended the second set of steps and found themselves faced with another long corridor, this one at a sharp angle to the first.
“We keep going,” Hawke said firmly, and ordered everyone forward with a hand signal. There was still no sound or sight of Sheng.
Hawke spoke quietly over his shoulder. “Carry on, Han.”
“The Five T
rials are what they say they are – five tests, and they are designed to kill you, not let you pass. In Chinese culture, wu xing, or the five elements – or as they are sometimes called the Five Stages – are very important. They are wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Qin thought protecting himself with the five elements would be lucky – lucky for him, not for us. They are not fair, so don’t be complacent.”
“Well, I don’t know about you guys,” Lea said, “but that’s just what I wanted to I hear.”
They pressed on. Hawke had finally cleared his mind of his ghosts and was now focused on the mission. Ahead of them there was potentially the greatest discovery in the history not only of archaeology, but of all world history. For now, he knew they were sworn to secrecy, but how long could the discovery of immortality really be kept from the world?
As they moved forward through the tunnels, a dark new thought entered his mind. What if they weren’t the first to find out about the map, and to track down the ancient hidden location of the elixir? How could something like that ever have been kept secret for so many millennia? His mind leaped from one conspiracy to the next like stepping stones across a rushing river, each one less stable than the last.
What if there were people who had always known about the elixir? Over so many centuries they would have formed into a society of men who held this most ancient of secrets and kept its benefits purely for themselves.
He imagined them greedily drinking the life-giving water while millions of people all around the world died before their time, but shook the thought from his mind. If there were such people as that, he wasn’t sure he wanted to meet them, or discover the lengths they would go to in order to keep their secret from the rest of mankind.
“Look at this!” Han said, disturbing his thoughts. Hawke turned to see him gently rubbing his hand over the wall. “These carvings of dragons are similar to those on the cover of the Secret History. I think this is about to get very real.”
Hawke and Lea shared a glance, both silently confiding in the other that this situation could easily get out of hand. Somewhere a few minutes ahead of them, one of the greatest secrets in the history of the world was about to fall into the hands of Sheng Fang and his army of psychopaths.
“We have to move faster,” Hawke said at last. “Reaper, text Scarlet and give her an update – and find out what’s going on in Japan.”
“Got it.”
Lea nodded, and the others stepped forward to join them. Han moved ahead of them, and a moment later he returned with a nervous smile on his face.
“What is it?” Hawke asked.
“I think we just found the first chamber.”
*
As the Sikorsky thundered over Tokyo, Ryan Bale studied geographical maps of the city. Hawke had told him that he’d overheard the Russian talking about not only Tokyo but that he had mentioned the word for water a few times. For the first time the truth dawned on him like the rising sun.
“Oh no,” he sighed. “I don’t think they’re planning an earthquake at all.”
“What the hell are you talking about, boy?”
He turned to Scarlet, his mind awash with ideas and worry. “I’ve been studying the map again and I was thinking about the Russian’s reference to water and St. Petersburg.”
Scarlet’s phone buzzed and she took it from her pocket. She read the message on the screen. “It’s Reap. He says Sheng is inside the hidden tomb and probably through at least the first of the tests. What were you going on about, Ryan?”
Ryan spoke up. “I think they were talking about the massive flooding of the city of St. Petersburg in 1824. It was a tremendous flood that killed tens of thousands of people. If Sheng were to position the device beneath Tokyo Bay, it would cause a tsunami of unimaginable proportions and flood the entire city.”
Scarlet stared at him. “But Tokyo still gets destroyed and millions of people still die, Ryan.”
“Yes, duh. The point is it changes the location of the device. If they wanted to cause an earthquake then they would choose a completely different location to trigger one than they would if they wanted to trigger a tsunami.”
Scarlet sighed. “Bloody hell, Ryan! We haven’t got time for this! You heard Reap’s message – Sheng almost has the sodding map. We haven’t got the luxury of going on a tour of Tokyo while you tick various places off your list. You need to tell us where to go and now, Ryan, and there’s no room for error. The lives of twenty million people are in your hands.”
“But... maybe we could split up?”
“Great idea,” Scarlet said. “Which half of the helicopter do you want, the front or back?”
“Ah.”
“Where’s the device, Ryan?”
Ryan Bale cleared his mind and returned his attention to the map as the military chopper circled over the Tokyo skyline. Slowly, Ryan started to turn a strange greenish color.
“What’s the matter, honey?” Sophie asked.
“Nothing... it’s just that if I choose the wrong location it’s all over for everyone in Tokyo, including us.”
“Better hope you don't fuck up then, eh, boy?” Scarlet underlined her point by tearing open a fresh box of ammo and sliding bullets into her assault rifle.
“I’m not used to the pressure the way you are, Scarlet...”
“That’s Captain Sloane to you.”
“Sorry, I...”
“I’m kidding, Ryan. Sodding hell...” Scarlet shook her head and smiled. “You really are a turnip, but your heart’s in the right place.”
“Thanks, I think.”
Scarlet watched Ryan with a skeptical eye. It was true that the boy had stepped up to the plate and saved Hawke’s backside back in Greece, but she wondered how much that was clouding the former SBS man’s judgment of a young man who was essentially an easily distracted nerd. Not the best person to have around in a deadly combat situation.
Then Sophie turned to Ryan and said: “Maybe when all this is over we could spend a few days here – I mean restaurants and sightseeing rather than black-technology earthquake devices and maniacs with machine guns. That’s not so romantic, you know?”
“You like romance, huh?” said Karlsson. He leaned forward in the chopper and snuggled up to Sophie.
“Yes, and I'm with Ryan, so why don’t you go take a cold shower and leave me the fuck alone?”
Scarlet’s laugh was involuntary and explosive. “Ouch!”
“Yeah,” said Ryan with somewhat less authority. “She’s with me, you ridiculous human protein-shake.”
“Hey!” Karlsson said. “Don’t blame a guy for trying. It was that accent of yours honey... enough to drive any red-blooded man crazy. And just imagining you two in bed together is all wrong.”
“All right, that’s enough,” Scarlet said, taking back command of things. “I’m running this unit and we’re not getting personal. We have a job to do, so it’s time everyone focused.”
“She’s right,” Sophie said, scowling at Karlsson. And gripping Ryan’s hand tighter.
Everyone nodded. It was clear, and suddenly the atmosphere in the helicopter had changed from excited levity to grim determination.
As an experienced SAS soldier, Scarlet had been on the receiving end of more than a few briefings like this, and so she had no problem gauging the correct tone to deliver one of her own. Not only were the lives of countless millions resting on a knife-edge that only she could rescue them from, but there was her reputation with Sir Richard Eden to consider as well, and it was not something she thought about lightly.
“So where are we going, Ryan?” Scarlet asked.
“Like I said, it’s got to be in one of two places. Either in Akihabara if they’re planning an earthquake – that’s the city’s shopping and entertainment district – also known as Electric Town, or...”
“What is it?” Sophie asked, leaning closer and resting her hand gently on his knee.
“Or, they’re going to put it in the Tokyo Bay Aqua Line.”
&n
bsp; Yakamoto’s eyes darted over to Ryan, a look of grim terror on his face. “If you are right, this will be totally catastrophic...”
“I am right,” Ryan said with confidence. “It’s the tsunami! They’re planning a tsunami! Sergeant Yakamoto, tell the pilot to go to the Aqua Line straight away.”
“But if you’re wrong...” Scarlet said.
“If I’m wrong we’re all dead.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
The first chamber was larger than they had expected and they detected a further subtle incline as they walked into it. Hawke led the others into the chamber and wondered how far ahead Sheng had managed to get since they’d arrived.
As they moved further into the chamber they realized it was actually an enormous natural cavern that Qin had cleverly used as part of his five trials. Below them the ground fell away to reveal a deep fissure in the earth around a hundred feet deep. At the bottom they were able to make out a sea of sharpened wooden spikes pointing up at them menacingly. The only way across was by an ancient wooden bridge that the word rickety barely managed to describe.
“Trial by Wood,” Han said. “This is Qin’s first test – based, as I say, on the Chinese philosophy of the five elements. The first step, or state is wood, as you can see.”
“And what are the others again?” Hawke asked.
“The normal progression is described as the mutual generation, which is wood, fire, earth, metal and then water, but...”
“But what, Han?”
“There is another progression – the order of the mutual overcoming. This is wood, earth, water, fire and metal. I suspect we can expect Qin to have used this order.”
“I could be at home right now, you realize,” Lea sighed. “Instead I’m about to get sodding razor blades flung at me or some such arsing nightmare.”
Han clenched his jaw. “We must have the nerve to cross this underground canyon on the bridge, Lea. After that, there are only four more... arsing nightmares between us and the map.”
“And if we fall or the bridge gives way, then there’s a few hundred razor-sharp punji stakes down there waiting for us to impale ourselves on,” Hawke said, frowning. They looked down at the fresh corpse of one of Sheng’s men, skewered on one of the stakes like a kebab.