Crosse motioned carefully toward Rosemont and the others. "Be; fore you go I need something for them."

"All right. Tomorrow I'll ha"

"It must be now." Crosse hardened. "Something special in case I can't get a look at Sinders's copy, I'll have to barter with them!''

"You divulge to no one the source. No one."

"All right."

"Never?"

"Never."

Suslev thought a moment, weighing possibilities. "Tonight one of our agents takes delivery of some top-secret material from the carrier. Eh?"

The Englishman's face lit up. "Perfect! Is that why you came?"

"One reason."

"When and where's the drop?"

Suslev told him, then added, "But I still want copies of everything."

"Of course. Good, that'll do just fine. Rosemont will be really in my debt. How long's your asset been aboard?"

'Two years, at least that's when he was first subverted."

"Does he give you good stuff?"

"Anything off that whore's valuable."

"What's his fee?"

"For this? $2,000. He's not expensive, none of our assets are, except you."

Crosse smiled equally mirthlessly. "Ah, but I'm the best you have in Asia and I've proved my quality fifty times. Up to now I've been doing it practically for love, old chap."

"Your costs, old chap, are the highest we have! We buy the entire NATO battle plan, codes, everything, yearly for less than $8,000."

"Those amateur bastards are ruining our business. It is a business, isn't it?"

"Not to us."

"Balls! You KGB folk are more than well rewarded. Dachas, places in Tiflis, special stores to shop in. Mistresses. But I have to tell you, squeezing money out of your company gets worse yearly. I'll expect a rather large increase for Dry Run and for the AMG matter when it's concluded."

"Talk to them direct. I've no jurisdiction over money."

"Liar."

Suslev laughed. "It's good and safe dealing with a professional. Prositt" He raised his flask and drained it.

Crosse said abruptly, "Please leave angrily. I can feel binoculars!"

At once Suslev began cursing him in Russian, softly but vehemently, then shook a fist in the policeman's face and walked off.

Crosse stared after him.

On the Sha Tin Road Robert Armstrong was looking down at the corpse of John Chen as raincoated police rewrapped it in its blanket, then carried it through the gawking crowds to the waiting ambu lance. Fingerprint experts and others were all around, searching for clues. The rain was falling more heavily now and there was a great deal of mud everywhere.

"Everything's messed up, sir," Sergeant Lee said sourly. "There're footprints but they could be anyone's."

Armstrong nodded and used a handkerchief to dry his face. Many onlookers were behind the crude barriers that had been erected around the area. Passing traffic on the narrow road was slowed and almost jammed, everyone honking irritably. "Keep the men sweeping within a hundred-yard area. Get someone out to the nearest village, someone might have seen something." He left Lee and went over to the police car. He got in, closing the door, and picked up the communicator. "This is Armstrong. Give me Chief Inspector Donald Smyth at East Aberdeen, please." He began to wait, feeling dreadful.

The driver was young and smart and still dry. "The rain's wonderful, isn't it, sir?"

Armstrong looked across sourly. The young man blanched. "Do you smoke?"

"Yes sir." The young man took out his pack and offered it. Armstrong took the pack. "Why don't you join the others? They need a nice smart fellow like yourself to help. Find some clues. Eh?"

"Yes sir." The young man fled into the rain.

Carefully Armstrong took out a cigarette. He contemplated it. Grimly he put it back and the pack into a side pocket. Hunching down into his seat, he muttered, "Sod all cigarettes, sod the rain, sod that smart arse and most of all sod the sodding Werewolves!"

In time the intercom came on crackling, "Chief Inspector Donald Smyth."

"Morning. I'm out at Sha Tin," Armstrong began, and told him what had happened and about finding the body. "We're covering the area but in this rain I don't expect to find anything. When the papers hear about the corpse and the message we'll be swamped. I think we'd better pick up the old amah right now. She's the only lead we have. Do your fellows still have her under surveillance?"

"Oh yes."

"Good. Wait for me, then we'll move in. I want to search her place. Have a team stand by."

"How long will you be?"

Armstrong said, "It'll take me a couple of hours to get there. Traffic's sodded up from here all the way back to the ferry."

"It is here too. All over Aberdeen. But it's not just the rain, old lad. There's about a thousand ghouls gawking at the wreck, then there're more bloody mobs already at the Ho-Pak, the Victoriaa in fact every bloody bank in the vicinity, and I hear there's already about five hundred collecting outside the Vic in Central."

"Christ! My whole miserable bloody life savings're there."

"I told you yesterday to get liquid, old boy!" Armstrong heard the Snake's laugh. "And by the way, if you've any spare cash, sell Struan's short. I hear the Noble House is going to crash."

41 - 8:29 A.M.:.

Claudia picked up a mass of notes and letters and replies from Dunross's out tray and began to leaf through them. Rain and low clouds obscured the view but the temperature was down and very comfortable after the heavy humidity of the last weeks. The antique clock set into a silver gimbal on the mantel chimed 8:30.

One of the phones jangled. She watched it but made no attempt to answer it. It rang on and on then ceased. Sandra Yi, Dunross's secretary, came in with a new batch of documents and mail and refilled the in tray. "The draft of the Par-Con contract's on the top, Elder Sister. Here's his appointments list for today, at least, the ones I know about. Superintendent Kwok called ten minutes ago." She blushed under Claudia's gaze, her chong-sam slit high and tight, her neck collar fashionably high. "He called for the tai-pan, not me, Elder Sister. Would the tai-pan please return his call."

"But I hope you talked to Honorable Young Stallion at length, Younger Sister, and swooned and sighed marvelously?" Claudia replied in Cantonese, then switched to English without noticing it, still leafing through all the notes as she talked, stacking them into two different piles. "After all, he really should be gobbled up and safely in the family before some Mealy Mouth from another clan catches him."

"Oh yes. I've also lit five candles in five different temples."

"I hope on your time and not company's time."

"Oh very yes." They laughed. "But we do have a date tomorrow for dinner."

"Excellent! Be demure, dress conservatively, but go without a bra like Orlanda."

"Oh, then it was true! Oh oh do you think I should?" Sandra Yi was shocked.

"For young Brian, yes." Claudia chuckled. "He has a nose that one!"

"My fortune-teller said this was going to be a wonderful year for me. Terrible about the fire wasn't it?"

"Yes." Claudia checked the appointment list. Linbar in a few minutes, Sir Luis Basilic at 8:45. "When Sir Luis arrives p"

"Sir Luis's waiting in my office now. He knows he's early I've given him coffee and the morning papers." Sandra Yi's face became apprehensive. "What's going to happen at ten?"

"The stock market opens," Claudia told her crisply and handed her the larger stack. "You deal with this lot, Sandra. Oh and here, he's canceled a couple of board meetings and lunch but I'll deal with those." Both looked up as Dunross came in.

"Morning," he said. His face was graver than before, the bruises enhancing his ruggedness.

Sandra Yi said prettily, "Everyone's so happy you weren't hurt, tai-pan."

"Thank you."

She left. He noticed her walk, then Claudia's look. Some of his gravity left him. "Nothing like a pretty bird. Is there?"

Claudia laughed. "While you were out your private phone rang twice." This was his unlisted phone that, by rule, he alone picked up, the number given only to family and a handful of special people.

"Oh, thank you. Cancel everything between now and noon except Linbar, old Sir Luis Basilio and the bank. Make sure everything's VIP for Penn and Miss Kathy. Gavallan's taking her to the airport. First get Tightest Tung on the phone. Also Lando Mata ask if I can see him today, preferably at 10:20 at the Coffee Place. You saw my note about Zep?"

"Yes, terrible. I'll take care of everything. The governor's aide called: will you be at the noon meeting?"

"Yes." Dunross picked up a phone and dialed as Claudia left, closing the door behind her.

"Penn? You wanted me?"

"Oh Ian, yes, but I didn't phone, is that what you mean?"

"I thought it was you on the private line."

"No, but oh I'm ever so pleased you called. I heard about the fire on the early news and Ia I wasn't sure if I'd dreamed it or not that you'd come back last night. Ia I was quite worried, sorry. Ah Tat said you'd left early but I don't trust that old hag she wanders sometimes. Sorry. Was it awful?"

"No. Not bad actually." He told her about it briefly. Now that he knew everything was all right with her he wanted to get off the phone. "I'll give you a blow-by-blow when I pick you up for the airport. I checked OR the flight and it'll leave on timea" His intercom buzzed. "Hang on a moment, Penna Yes, Claudia?"

"Superintendent Kwok on line two. He says it's important."

"All right. Sorry, Penn, got to go, I'll pick you up in good time for your flight. 'Bye, darlinga Anything else, Claudia?"

"Bill Foster's plane from Sydney's delayed another hour. Mr. Havergill and Johnjohn will see you at 9:30. I called to confirm. I hear they've been at the bank since six this morning."

Dunross's uneasiness grew. He had been trying to talk to Havergill since 3:00 P.M. yesterday but the deputy chairman had not been available and last night was not the time. "That's not good. There was a crowd already outside the bank when I came in at 7:30."

"The Vic won't fail, will it?"

He heard the anxiety in her voice. "If they do we're all up the spout." He stabbed line two. "Hi, Brian, what's up?" Brian Kwok told him about John Chen.

"Jesus Christ, poor John! After giving them the ransom money last night I thoughta what bastards! He's been dead some days?"

"Yes. At least three."

"The bastards" Have you told Phillip or Dianne?"

"No, not yet. I wanted to tell you first."

"You want me to call them? Phillip's at home now. After the payoff last night I told him to miss the eight o'clock morning meeting. I'll call him now."

"No, Ian, that's my job. Sorry to bring bad news but I thought you should know about John."

"Yesa yes, old chum, thanks. Listen, I've a do at the governor's around seven but that'll be through by 10:30. Would you like a drink or a late snack?"

"Yes. Good idea. How about the Quance Bar at the Mandarin?"

"10:45?".

"Good. By the way, I've left word for your tai-tai to go straight through Immigration. Sorry to bring bad news. 'Bye."

Dunross put down the phone, got up and stared out of the window. The intercom buzzed but he did not hear it. "Poor bugger!" he muttered. "What a bloody waste!"

There was a discreet knock, then the door opened a fraction. Claudia said, "Excuse me, tai-pan,Lando hIata on line two."

Dunross sat on the edge of his desk. "Hello Lando, can we meet at 10:20?"

"Yes, yes of course. I heard about Zeppelin. Awful! I just got out with my own life! Damned fire! Still, we got out, eh? Joss!"

"Have you been in touch with Tightfist yet?"

"Yes. He's arriving on the next ferry."

"Good. Lando, I may need you to back me today."

"But Ian, we went through that last night. I thought I ma"

"Yes. But I want your backing today." Dunross's voice had hardened.