Tuk shook his head. "I wanted to tell you, really, I did."

Annja held up her hand. "We'll discuss it later." She looked at the phone. "Now, who is this exactly?"

Tuk looked at the phone. For a moment, no sound emerged and he wondered if he had hit the speaker b.u.t.ton. Then, at last, he heard the man's voice.

"h.e.l.lo, Annja. It's been a while."

20.

Annja grimaced. She knew the voice on the phone. And it always had a way of popping up when she least wanted it to. "Garin."

"The same."

"What in the world are you doing calling Tuk?" she asked.

"Tuk is working for me. He has been for some time now."

Annja laughed. "Please. What would Tuk ever do for someone like you?"

"You say that like I'm the worst person on the planet, Annja. I might take offense."

"I can think of a few who might be worse," Annja said. "But it's a close race if it makes you feel any better."

"The only reason you don't love me to death is because you've just never understood my agenda." Garin chuckled into the phone. "If you did, there might be hope for us yet."

"Doubtful," Annja said. "We've come out of things at different extremes far too often for me to think there'd ever be a peaceful alliance there. I can't tell you how many times you've made me want to scream."

"I make lots of women scream. Usually they don't complain about it afterwards," he said.

"Don't you wish that was the reason."

"I'd never deny that bedding you would be one of the best experiences in my life. It would be for you, as well, if you'd only give in to what you feel and admit that you love me."

"I most certainly do not." Annja felt her face redden. Despite the fact that she definitely did not love Garin, she was physically attracted to him. She'd never admit it, though. Garin's ego was ma.s.sive already.

"If you insist." Garin paused. "Don't be upset with Tuk. He was only following my orders. And it's not like he betrayed you or anything."

Annja glanced at Tuk. He looked positively embarra.s.sed. Annja sighed and waved it off with her hand. "All right, fine. Whatever. What's he been doing for you, anyway?"

"Keeping track of you."

Annja's eyes flashed back at Tuk with murderous intent. "He's been following me? me? So that's why he was in the airplane. He told me he was a drunk and fell asleep trying to get over a hangover." So that's why he was in the airplane. He told me he was a drunk and fell asleep trying to get over a hangover."

"You were too smart to fall for that, Annja. You never believed it from the moment he told you so stop pretending to be angry now that I've confirmed it. It's unbecoming."

Annja felt her blood pressure rising. She glanced around and then decided that Shangri-La likely didn't have any heavy bags hanging off of trees that she could pummel for a solid hour. "Why has he been following me? What's the big deal?"

"I asked him to look after you so I could make certain you were safe."

"I'm in danger?"

Garin laughed. "Annja, you are very rarely not in danger in that so-called life of yours. Most of the time, I believe you're miraculously lucky to walk down the street without someone dropping a piano on you." He paused. "It amazes me you even manage any type of social life at all."

Annja smirked. "Who said I have one of those?"

"I'm being kind, my dear."

Annja nodded. "You'd better explain yourself, Garin. I'm not liking the way this conversation is headed."

"Tuk's been with you since you landed the other day. I set it up well ahead of time, but it was necessary for me to keep tabs on you. I believe you've stumbled into something that you don't fully understand. And for purposes best known to myself, I find it necessary to make sure you stay safe."

"I thought it was because of my sparkling personality."

"More likely your spectacular a.s.s."

Annja blushed again. "Garin, is there a point to this conversation or is all this just making you feel good about yourself?"

"I just informed Tuk that the woman you saw in Tsing's apartment the other night works for Chinese intelligence."

"Taipei or Beijing? There's a difference."

"Beijing."

"Oh."

"And she is an expert a.s.sa.s.sin. If she's been let loose from her cage, you can bet that it is because there's a major target in play. I have no idea right now who that might be. It could be you. It could be Tuk. It might be someone I don't even know about yet. But considering that she was positioned near Tsing, it's more than likely it's someone involved in your little jaunt to discover Shangri-La."

Annja frowned. She never truly trusted Garin because of all the times he'd conned her in the past. And yet, when he told her certain facts, there did seem to be an element of truth to them. The key with Garin was figuring out which nuggets were true and which ones were bogus.

"All right, so where do we go from here?" she asked.

"I need to see you."

Annja smirked. "Here? You want to come here?"

"That would be optimal, yes."

Annja shook her head. "I can't tell you the first thing about getting here. As far as I know, we could have been taken here in a time machine."

"You weren't," Garin said. "If there was a time machine on this planet, I would know about it."

Annja raised an eyebrow. Was that just one of those things he said in pa.s.sing or was there some truth to that statement? She shook her head. "What I mean to say is, I don't know how we came to be here. I'm sure Tuk will verify this for you."

"He did. Regardless, I need to get there. So I've instructed Tuk to figure it out and then call me back."

"Where are you now?"

"Jomsom. I'm close. But for all I know, the a.s.sa.s.sin could be closer."

"Great."

Garin paused. "Listen to me, Annja. I know that we haven't always seen eye to eye in the past. I understand that my motivations may not coincide with your own. Despite that fact, I am being very serious when I tell you that there is something going on here that I don't fully understand."

"All right."

"Tuk tells me you were shot down by a missile. Is that right?"

Annja nodded. "I'm no expert but we definitely took rocket fire yesterday."

"Any idea what kind?"

"None. First we knew about it we were flying over a snowfield near Dhaulagiri. Mike threw the plane into all sorts of maneuvers and it missed us. We swept back to land at Jomsom to try to figure out who might be shooting at us and then got nailed by the second missile."

"You shouldn't have turned back."

"We were on a direct course to cross the Tibetan border. The alternative didn't look so good, y'know?"

"You think it was shoulder-fired?"

Annja frowned. "Again, I don't know. We didn't see a thing down there except a snow-white blanket. It could have been an emplacement. It might have been fired from someone's shoulder if they were well camouflaged. I just can't say."

"Very well." Garin paused. "Take care of yourself, Annja. Just because you're in a supposed utopian world, don't forget that there's a very real world back out here. And sometimes those two worlds can get crossed. When they do, bad things can happen."

"I'll see you if Tuk manages to figure out a way to get you here," she said.

"Keep things to yourself, Annja. Don't be so trusting-even when you're there."

"I understand."

The phone went dead in her hand. Tuk bounded over.

"Annja, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mislead you. But I didn't think I was doing anything bad. Garin, as you call him, seemed most concerned about your safety and welfare. I didn't think it was wrong what I was doing."

Annja looked at him. "I know. How did he manage to find you anyway?"

Tuk frowned. "In my old life I worked for intelligence services operating in Katmandu. I was a tracker. I freelanced for them all and did my job very well. But then things changed and the world of espionage was not what it used to be with all its modern technology. I was forced to seek employment with criminals and thugs, the likes of which I have hated from the start. When Garin found me, it made my heart leap at the chance to once again do some good work."

"And he paid well, didn't he?"

"Extremely so. All I wanted was enough to retire on. I wanted to buy a home in the countryside and leave my former existence behind."

Annja smiled. "I can't blame you for that, Tuk. I just wish you'd been honest with me from the get-go."

"I had my orders, Annja. I hope you can understand. Part of what made me such a great tracker was my obedience to mission parameters."

"Yeah, I understand. I don't like it, but I understand."

Tuk chewed his lip for a moment. "Did you listen to what Garin had to say?"

"I did."

"And what do you think about it?"

"I'm not sure yet. Garin sometimes says things that aren't wholly factual."

"He lies?"

Annja smiled. "Hate to burst your bubble about your employer, pal, but yeah, he's been known to lie before. He's lied a lot to me personally."

Tuk frowned. "That is unfortunate."

"But who knows," Annja said. "He could be completely honest right now about this thing. You just never really know with Garin until all the cards are on the table and you can see what he's got." She smirked. "Even then I wouldn't buy into everything. Garin's been known to have a few extra aces up his sleeve."

"He sounds like a most interesting man."

"Something like that." Annja glanced back at the party. "What do you think of this notion that the Chinese are involved here somehow?"

"I don't know what to think. But I saw that woman Garin mentioned. And she terrified me."

"So you think she's capable of being what Garin said she was?"

Tuk nodded fiercely. "I was in Tsing's penthouse the night you and Mike were there, as well."

"You were? How did you manage that feat?"

Tuk shrugged but Annja could see the little man was proud of what he'd accomplished. "I managed to infiltrate the apartment successfully in order to keep an eye on you."

"Oh, yeah? And what would you have done if Mike and I were in danger?"

Tuk frowned. "Honestly, I have no idea."

Annja laughed a little. "So you saw this woman?"

"She had stepped out of the apartment and that enabled my entrance. I was caught unaware when she returned. But whereas most people will walk right by my hiding spots and be none the wiser, she seemed to sense my presence there in the darkness. Her eyes pierced the night and seemed to stare right into my soul. And I shall never forget the image of her fingernails. They looked like claws or blades. She struck fear into my very soul."

Annja nodded. "Great. Sounds like just the kind of woman I could have a beer with."

"That," Tuk said, "is something I doubt very much."

"I'm being sarcastic."