Annie raised the gun to within inches of KC’s face. “He told me to kill you now, not to wait for the poison to consume you, just end your life right here on the spot.”
“So,” KC said, “why haven’t you? Why not just shoot me and take the compass off my dead body?”
Annie glared at her.
“Because the compass is only one piece of the puzzle,” KC said, answering her own question.
Annie spun KC around, zip-tied her arms behind her back, and pulled the compass from her pocket.
“To save your own ass, you need me as live bait to lure Michael and the other piece of the puzzle here to Beijing,” KC said, “here to you.”
CHAPTER 51
MACAU
The Boeing Business Jet climbed high in the sky. It was the quintessential luxury jet, the largest of the private designs short of a full-body 737. The property of Steven Kelley, the jet had delivered Simon to Macau after picking him up in Rome.
A successful M&A attorney from Boston, Kelley had made his fortune long before he met the son he had given up nearly forty years earlier. Though Michael had been raised by Alex St. Pierre, he was the biological son of Steven Kelley, who had given him up when he was just hours old, upon the death of his birth mother. Unable to care for the child, with no financial means and just one step from the streets, Kelley helped to assure Michael’s placement into a warm, caring family and had watched anonymously from afar as Michael grew up. They had only reconnected two years ago, thanks to Michael’s late wife, Mary, but had formed a bond over that brief time that made it feel as if they had been close for decades.
Busch sat in the deep leather chair and stared at Jon, who sat across from him and Michael.
“The flight’s only two and a half hours,” Simon said as he emerged from the cockpit. “We should be landing by nine.”
“How are we going to find KC in such an enormous city?”
“She’s with Annie,” Jon said.
“That gives me no hope,” Busch said.
“I can find and deal with Annie.”
“And if your ex-employer has tipped her off to your Benedict Arnold?”
“I’ll find her,” Jon said, annoyed at Busch’s questioning. “I promise I’ll help get her back to you.”
“How sick is the colonel?” Michael asked.
“Nosebleeds, headaches—he’s on some serious pain meds. He was adamant about finding that island by tomorrow. While he’d been after his brother for so long, wanting to stop this virus from getting out into the general population, everything changed when his own survival became an issue.”
“And when was KC infected?” Michael asked almost clinically, barring his emotions.
“Four days ago, as she was leaving the States.”
Busch stood up from his seat, his head almost hitting the ceiling as he walked to the back of the plane, doing everything he could to restrain himself.
“Listen, Lucas has no doubt that this antivirus, this treatment that is on that island, will cure him. He’s a meticulous man, his reputation is no-nonsense, and he’s not prone to believing in false hope. The cure is there. We get KC there, she’ll be okay.” There was sincerity in Jon’s voice.
“Can I get you guys a drink?” Simon said as he walked by, Zheng He’s book under his arm.
Michael and Jon shook their heads no as Simon continued to the back of the plane.
“And, Michael,” Jon continued, “I’m sorry. I know it means nothing, but I am.”
Michael stared at Jon, the moment stretching out. Jon got up and headed to a seat near the front of the plane.
Michael stared out the starboard window. The low-lying clouds on the horizon were splashed with pink as he watched the sun begin its climb, emerging from the China Sea.
Despite Jon’s words, despite what Simon had read in Zheng He’s diary, Michael was filled with fear. He had lost his first wife, Mary, to cancer, and it had torn him apart, unable to save her as she withered away. Now KC was sick, but this time he could save her, he could bring her the cure that he couldn’t find for Mary—if Simon was right. But even if they could find the island, who was to say the Phoenix Tears would be there, and could be found? There was no pharmacy on the island, no one you could just call upon arrival to bring it to you. The only thing that gave him any glimmer of hope was that the Dragon Tears existed, someone had taken them from the island, and if the disease was there, then maybe, just maybe, so was the cure.
Michael felt his BlackBerry vibrate from within his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at it to see a new text message coming in.
Michael,
I know you’re coming. 10:00 a.m. The Temple of Heaven. Alone. The map for a life.
Love, Annie
Michael looked down at the accompanying picture. The image of KC was from a car, at nighttime. He could see the blood on her shirt, around her nose, but despite her appearance, despite being held against her will, there was no mistaking the anger in her eyes.
CHAPTER 52
BEIJING
The black Town Car raced through the crowded streets of Beijing, Jon at the wheel, swerving in and out of traffic, knowing the roads as if it were his hometown. The business jet had skidded in fifteen minutes earlier, the Town Car on the tarmac fueled up and waiting for Michael, Busch, Simon, and Jon.
“This is not a good idea,” Busch said from the backseat.
No one responded.
Michael looked at his watch: It was 9:30 in the morning.
Five minutes later, they pulled up to a large park on the south side of the city and pulled to the side of the road. Tourists and locals were coming and going through the main tree-lined entrance.
“I go alone,” Michael said as he tucked an envelope into the inner pocket of his blue blazer.
“Not a chance,” Busch said as he pulled out his gun and slammed in a clip.
“You can’t go,” Jon said to Busch. “Annie has seen a picture of you in your dossier, and with your size and hair color, you stick out.”
“That’s bullshit—”
“I’m not risking KC’s life,” Michael said.
“I’ll go,” Simon said. “She’ll never know I’m there.”
Michael shook his head as he opened up the door and stepped out of the car. “No, I need to do this alone.”
“I’m not letting you or KC out of my sight,” Simon said. “So just get over it. Jon can drop me off on the other side of the park. Annie’s eyes will be on you, she’ll never know I’m there.”
“And we’re just supposed to sit here?” Busch asked.
“No,” Jon said.
Michael opened the trunk of the car, reached into his black duffel bag, and pulled out a small black book. He returned to the car and gave it to Busch.
“Time for you to embrace your true calling,” Michael said.
MICHAEL WALKED TWO hundred yards down a tree-lined walkway. The morning crowds had begun to gather, groups of people doing tai chi, tourists walking at half-speed looking around the oasislike park in the city of Beijing.
Michael emerged into a large open courtyard. The Temple of Heaven was in fact a complex of temples and small buildings, with the complex centered on the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. Sitting upon a three-level marble base, the circular structure soared almost 120 feet in the air, capped in a three-tiered blue-tile conical roof, separated by intricately painted bands that were alive with images of dragons and mythical creatures.
Michael ascended the marble stairs, entered the circular temple, and was overwhelmed by the soaring, intricate ceiling. Constructed between 1405 and 1420—the same time as the Forbidden City—the Hall of Prayer was built upon twenty-eight pillars and didn’t contain a single nail but had in fact been built using joints, lathes, interlocking columns, and rafters. The ceiling was a stunning mosaic of artistry that was carried into the immense pillars and columns.
Every spring the emperor would travel several miles from the Forbidden Palace to offer sacrifices
and prayers for strong, healthy crops, a tradition that fell into history with the last emperor.
In the center of the room was a large marble stone, and as Michael saw the small plaque with the English translation on the bottom, he understood why Annie had chosen this location. Known as the Dragon and Phoenix Stone, it was a symbol of harmony, of balance, of life and death.
And then he saw her on the far side of the room by the side door; KC stared back at him but didn’t move. Michael smiled as he approached her. Her face had lost color; he could see exhaustion in her eyes. He looked around for Annie, but saw no sign of her as he arrived at KC’s side.
“You shouldn’t have come,” KC said as she stepped into his embrace.
Michael took KC in his arms, unable to find the words as he pulled her to him, as he held her tight, inhaling her scent, rejoicing in the moment he’d thought would never come again.
“I’m so sorry,” KC said as she hugged him, breathing him in, closing her eyes as the rays of the morning sun poured through the temple.
Michael leaned back, taking her face in his hand, resting his forehead against hers. “Are you okay?” Michael asked.
KC looked up into his eyes and nodded… And Michael knew she was lying; he knew she was sick, that she had been infected. And seeing her condition, his worst fears were realized.
“Did you bring the map?” KC whispered in Michael’s ear.
“It’s in my pocket,” Michael whispered back. “But I’ve no intention of giving it to anyone.”
“She’s worried about you, Michael,” Annie said.
Michael spun around to find Annie standing ten feet behind him, her short black hair and smile sending a chill through his heart. He had only seen her for the briefest of moments back in New York, on the elevator, on the street, when she had committed a cold-blooded murder, and then hours later when he’d watched her image on the iPad as she and KC were talking at the airport.
“What did you do to her?” Michael demanded.
“She’s worried that I’m going to kill you,” Annie said. “Did you bring the book?”
“No,” Michael said. “It’s too fragile, and besides, do you think I’m that foolish?”
“Do you think I’m leaving here without the map?” Annie said.
Michael cast his eyes downward and saw the gun in Annie’s hand, concealed under her jacket.
“You would shoot her?” Michael asked.
“Actually, I truly like her, though I wouldn’t hesitate to kill her to save myself, Michael. She and I are very much alike. It’s funny, you have strong feelings for both of us, but they are opposite feelings. But this gun is not for her. The gun is for you. I told her I’d kill you if you didn’t comply. But if you insist, you can watch me kill her instead.”
Michael stared at Annie.
“May I have the map, please?”
“Why don’t you just get it from Lucas?” Michael said. “He has a copy.”
“I want it from you,” Annie said.
“Going rogue?” Michael asked. “I don’t think he’ll take to that too kindly.”
“I’m not too concerned with what you or he think.”
“I need that compass, Annie,” Michael said.
“And I need the map,” Annie said.
Michael looked at KC, at the exhaustion in her face, his eyes finally returning to Annie. “She’ll die.”
“How about this? You can keep the map and I’ll kill you now, or you can roll the dice, give me the map, and you and she can have a few more days together, be able to say your good-byes.”
“Where’s the compass?”
“For the same reason you didn’t bring the book, I didn’t bring the compass. Great minds think alike, right, Michael? Face it, I own you, just like I own KC, just like I own your friends who are in my hotel room right now, looking for it.”
BUSCH AND JON tore through the hotel suite at the Crown Plaza Beijing, ripping open drawers, closets, flipping mattresses. Jon had known where she was staying; it was in the files at the safe house.
As Busch entered the bathroom, he heard a moan and turned to find a woman bound and gagged on the floor of the shower. He quickly leaned down, tore the zip ties from her wrists, and removed the rag from her mouth. She was bruised, incoherent, barely awake. Busch picked her up, carried her to the bed, and laid her upon the mattress.
“It’s okay,” he whispered.
“Shit,” Jon said as he saw the woman.
“She’s going to kill KC,” the woman said as she softly wept.
“Don’t worry, KC’s in good hands.”
“She said she’d kill me and anyone who enters this room.”
“Believe me, no one is going to kill any of us,” Busch said as he turned to Jon.
“Were you their guide?” Jon asked.
“Yes. I’m Jenna.”
“You’re safe now,” Jon said as he turned back to Busch. “We don’t have much time.”
“What if she had the compass with her?” Busch said. He turned back to Jenna. “Did you see the compass?”
She shook her head.
“There is no way she brought it with her to her meeting with Michael. She wouldn’t risk losing it,” Jon said.
“Instead, she left it in the hotel room?” Busch asked.
“Where else in China could she possibly hide it?” Jon said.
“There’s a room safe,” Jenna said, “behind the media cabinet. I heard her use it.”
Busch turned and opened the media cabinet, ran his hands around the edges, looking, and noticed a small hinge on the stereo shelf. He gave it a gentle tug and the entire shelf swung out to reveal a room safe, two feet square, with a keypad. Busch pulled out the small black book Michael had given him; he scanned several pages until he found the name of the room safe. It would be his first attempt at safecracking; he couldn’t help thinking that this was the last thing he’d ever thought he’d be doing when he retired from the police force.
He quickly punched in the numbers of the override code and the door swung open. There was nothing but a single white envelope. And it was addressed to Jon.
“So she knew you’d be with us?” Busch asked suspiciously as he handed him the envelope.
Jon ignored the comment, opened the letter, and quickly read it:
I have the compass, tucked away and safe. Kill them.
Annie
“SO, IF I give you the map and you locate the island, how are you going to get there?” Michael asked Annie as they stood near the rear wall of the temple.
“Annie,” KC said, “let’s do it together. If we pool our talents and resources we can both walk away with another day.”
Annie looked at KC, and the moment hung in the air.
“If you make a mistake,” Michael said, “if Lucas catches you, he’ll kill you.”
“I’ll be dead in days anyway. I want my life in my own hands, I want to control my future. I will not leave it up to anyone, especially those who wish me dead. I know what I’m doing.”
And in a single motion, Annie pulled her gun, swiped her leg around, knocking Michael against the red wall, and drove the barrel into his cheek.
“Give me the map,” Annie said, leaning into Michael, speaking in hushed tones.
KC looked at Michael, her eyes pleading. He subtly shook his head no.
Several tourists began to notice Annie and her gun, and silently began to move toward the doors, while others were staring up at the magnificent ceiling.
“I won’t ask again,” Annie said, pressing the gun into Michael’s cheek as she flexed her trigger finger.
KC raised her hands to calm Annie, turned to Michael, and slipped her right hand into his pocket, pulling out the envelope. “I won’t let her kill you.”
“Don’t,” Michael said as he looked at her.
“I’m sorry,” KC said, and she handed the envelope to Annie.
“Open it,” Annie demanded as she continued to hold the gun on Michael.
&nb
sp; KC tore open the envelope and drew out a large Xerox copy of the map, holding it up for Annie’s inspection.
Annie studied it, her eyes racing over the images, and she finally snatched it from KC’s hands.
But she left the gun pressed to Michael’s cheek.
“We had a deal,” KC said.
“I can’t risk you trying to stop me.”
A gun suddenly came to rest on the back of Annie’s head. “We haven’t had the pleasure.” Simon stood behind her. “Please lower your—”
Without a word, Annie fired her gun… into the wall behind Michael, the explosive report echoing about the high ceiling.
The temple erupted in mayhem. The tourist crowd quickly scattered as if running from fire; there were no screams, just hushed whispers and racing feet as everyone moved for the doors, running for their lives.
And with all the confusion, no one noticed Annie, who had folded into their midst, disappearing with the map into the morning.
JON PULLED UP in the black Town Car. Busch hopped out and opened the door for KC.
“Hey, Paul,” KC said, as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
“Hey, little lady,” Busch said as he wrapped her in his large arms.
“Here to save me again?” KC smiled as she nearly disappeared in his embrace.
“When Michael mentioned China, I said, hey, that’s on my bucket list, you mind if I tag along?”
“Who’s this?” KC said as she looked at Jon in the driver’s seat.
“Jon,” Michael said, waving his hand between them, “KC.”
“Hi,” Jon said, as he opened his door and leaned out.
Busch released KC and held up Annie’s letter. “Jon-boy here was supposed to kill us.”
“I figured I had to find a way into your good graces,” Jon smiled.
“I don’t know if you’re there yet,” Busch said, laughing, “but not shooting me is a step in the right direction.”
KC smiled and melted back into Michael’s arms. “Listen, there is something I need to tell you.”
Michael looked at her, “I know… we’re going to take care of you.”
The Thieves of Legend Page 33