Tuk shook his head. "How could they hide a place like this?"

"I don't know. We've heard rumors for years that they were doing this but we never knew how to find them. Even our satellites couldn't pick them up. One theory is that the atmospheric conditions surrounding the Himalayas make it almost impossible to see everything in detail."

Tuk looked at Mike. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. It just took me a while to discover what was really going on here. For a moment, I thought we might really have stumbled upon the actual Shangri-La. But this is most definitely not it."

"So, what do we do now?" Tuk nodded at the pistol. "Is there any way you can put that thing down? It's making me quite nervous."

Mike smiled. "You sure I can trust you, Tuk? I wouldn't want to have to kill you, but I will, if necessary."

Tuk held up his hands. "My plan was to come here, grab a weapon and then find Annja. She's going to need the help."

"So why did you stop?"

Tuk pointed at the computer. "This thing. The red flas.h.i.+ng screen drew my attention."

"As well it should have," Mike said. "This place is entering critical condition."

Tuk frowned. "So, if that's the case, then where is everyone? What happened to all of the people who were here with us yesterday? The parade, the feast? Where are they?"

Mike frowned. "You don't want to know."

"I most certainly do."

Mike sighed. "Get out of the way." He pushed Tuk aside and sat down at the computer. He tapped a few keys on the keyboard and then shoved his chair back away from the screen and pointed.

"There."

Tuk leaned in close, at first unsure of what he was seeing. But then he recoiled in abject horror as the truth became apparent. Scores of bodies piled atop one another lay in a huge pile somewhere.

"Is that what I think it is?"

Mike nodded. "She killed them all. Witnesses, I guess. She kept just enough of her closest, trusted men alive to help her see it through. And then she had all of the bodies disposed of down in those waste tanks underneath this place."

"She dumped them into the nuclear waste?"

"Yeah, the installation is well-s.h.i.+elded-hence, the reason we can stay here and not get infected. But she dumped the bodies down into those tanks for another reason altogether."

"What reason is that?"

Mike's frown only deepened. "Isn't it obvious? Those corpses will upset the balance of the facility. It wasn't designed to handle bodies, only sludge. Those hundreds of dead bodies have thrown off the installation and it's now approaching a disaster."

"You mean?"

Mike nodded. "This entire installation is going to explode in about thirty minutes."

32.

Annja smiled at Vanya. "You know as well as I do that I cannot give up and surrender myself to you."

Vanya frowned. "You're breaking your word? You promised you would surrender if we let the little man go."

"Yeah," Annja said. "I lied about that."

"Then you leave me no choice," Vanya said. She gave a scarcely perceptible nod and Hsu Xiao immediately stepped forward.

Annja had the sword in her hand a split second later. She grinned at Vanya. "Are you sure you're comfortable with the idea of me killing your best and brightest here? Once I'm done with her, there's not going to be anyone left who will be able to stop me from killing you."

Vanya sniffed. "As if it will even get to that point. Hsu Xiao will make quick work of you. I trained her myself."

Annja frowned. Did that mean that Vanya was an elite killer as well?

There was no time to think about it because Hsu Xiao didn't wait. She launched her offensive immediately, rus.h.i.+ng in at Annja, trying to close down the distance between them.

Annja knew the tactic. With her sword, her optimal range was greater than Hsu Xiao's. The Chinese a.s.sa.s.sin needed to be in close to wreak havoc with her claws. And Annja needed to keep her at least six feet away.

Annja dodged the initial attack and cut backward as Hsu Xiao's body shot past. But Hsu Xiao knew what to expect and used her claws to block the sword cut. Then she swept the sword blade up and slashed in at Annja's exposed right shoulder.

Annja felt the claws cut deep into her flesh and grunted back the pain. She felt hot blood cascade down her shoulder. A little deeper, she thought, and those d.a.m.ned claws would have severed muscle.

And that's exactly what Hsu Xiao seemed to be hoping for. If she could take away Annja's ability to hold the sword she wouldn't have to worry about it.

Hsu Xiao launched a series of kicks at Annja's midsection.

Annja stabbed straight out and the point of her sword nicked a line along Hsu Xiao's lead leg, ripping the a.s.sa.s.sin's pants and shredding the top of her thigh. Hsu Xiao let no sound escape her lips and retracted her leg out of range.

But Annja pressed the attack; coming up and lifting the blade high into the air, she chopped down at Hsu Xiao. She saw the momentary spark of fear in her eyes and Annja drove in hard, cutting down.

But then Hsu Xiao rolled away, got to her feet and flicked her wrist. Annja snapped her blade up in front of her, slicing this way and that. She heard the half dozen clangs as the throwing spikes all met the flat of her sword and fell harmlessly to the ground.

Hsu Xiao leaped onto the stone wall and waited for Annja to circle. Then she jumped from the wall to the ground, rolled and came up under Annja's blade as she attempted to cut down. Hsu Xiao raked her claws across Annja's midsection.

Annja felt like a razor had just pa.s.sed over her belly and she let out a gasping breath. Hsu Xiao rolled away again, just out of range. Annja put one hand against her stomach and it came away wet, red and sticky.

She's going to slice me apart, Annja thought. She dropped back and waited for Hsu Xiao to come at her again. But Hsu Xiao only smiled. There was no way she was going to be fooled that easily.

Annja circled the a.s.sa.s.sin slowly. Vanya had backed away-content, it seemed, to let her prodigy take care of business. Annja felt herself growing annoyed with Vanya all the more because of it.

Annja's foot rolled over one of the throwing spikes and she knelt down to grab it. At that moment Hsu Xiao unleashed another volley and one of the spikes embedded itself in the top of Annja's left foot.

Annja grunted. She reached down and yanked it free. A line of blood spilled from the hand-forged iron spike and splattered the ground. She threw the spike back at Hsu Xiao, who just reached out and plucked the spike from the air with hardly any effort. Annja was amazed and frustrated. She's playing with me. Treating me like I'm only a nuisance.

Annja waved her on. "Come on. Let's do this."

Hsu Xiao danced closer and Annja studied her footwork. It seemed like a combination of a drunken style of Kung fu that Annja had once seen combined with a rare version known as Dragon. Her drunken style seemed to be the setup and then Hsu Xiao used the Dragon techniques to close the deal.

Annja knew that Dragon was a truly formidable system. If Hsu Xiao knew Dragon and knew it well, then Annja was definitely going to have her work cut out for her.

Hsu Xiao smiled and her teeth showed for the first time. "I am enjoying myself, Annja Creed. Are you?"

"Having a great time, thanks. How's that cut on your leg?"

"It is nothing of consequence. But you seem a great deal more troubled by the three injuries you are suffering from."

"Hardly worth my time," Annja said.

"She will destroy you, Annja Creed," Vanya said. "But it doesn't have to be this way."

"Oh? What's my alternative? Give up and die, anyway? No, thanks. I'll go down fighting if I go down at all," Annja said.

Vanya called off Hsu Xiao and the Chinese a.s.sa.s.sin backed away, always obedient to her mistress.

"Put your sword down, Annja."

Annja frowned. "No way."

Vanya stepped closer. "It doesn't have to be the end. Perhaps there is another alternative I didn't consider until just a moment ago."

"And what's that?"

"Join us."

Annja heard the words and broke into a grin. Her shoulder throbbed and the injury to her foot ached. Her stomach didn't feel much better. "Join you? For what? So we can all rule China together?"

"If you wish, yes."

"I've already got a country to call my own," Annja said. "And I don't feel the need to take over another nation."

"I'm giving you the opportunity to be a part of something amazing here. Use your sword for us and what we wish to accomplish."

Annja shook her head. "More delusions of grandeur. There's no way your plan is going to work, Vanya."

"It will work. And you'll see that if you join us. I promise to make you a very wealthy woman. Imagine that. Why, you could even afford to get the very best medical care for your friend Mike."

Annja frowned. "Mike's condition is inoperable. The doctors said they couldn't operate for fear of Mike dying."

"Western doctors claim that," Vanya said. "You would be amazed at the advances that we've made in China. A lot can happen when you don't have to answer to a huge government bureaucracy."

"Yeah, what kind of advances?"

"The ability to slow the growth of cancer cells. In some cases, we have been able to permanently arrest cancer growth. If Mike's tumor never gets any larger, he'll be able to live out the full measure of his life in peace and prosperity. And you can make that happen."

"Just by joining my sword to your cause."

"Exactly."

"And what would I have to do?"

"Remove any troubling people from our path. Much the way Hsu Xiao does for me right now."

"So you'd have two a.s.sa.s.sins instead of just one."

"The more, the merrier. Isn't that the saying in the West? With two of you by my side, we can truly take over anything that we want. And we can rule the world as a triumvirate of power."

"I told you before that the sword doesn't make me invulnerable. You've seen yourself how Hsu Xiao was able to injure me."

"She is able to do that because she is the best at what she does. I trained her to be that way." Vanya shrugged. "But others? They would fall before you like the long gra.s.s before a harvesting scythe."

"How poetic," Annja said.

Vanya smiled. "Stow your sarcasm and join our cause, Annja. We have room in our organization for another powerful woman. Join us and see what the future may hold for you."

Annja looked at Hsu Xiao. "And how do you feel about that job offer? You cool with Vanya offering me a place next to you?"

Hsu Xiao smiled. "Whatever my mistress wishes, it is my duty to obey."

Annja frowned. "That's not exactly the warm and cuddly answer I was looking for."

Vanya waved her hand. "Hsu Xiao will do whatever she is told. If that means accepting you into our ranks, then she will do so gladly. I did not raise her to dispute my desires."

Annja nodded. "See? That's kind of what I have a problem with. Maybe it's an authority-figure thing. I just can't seem to get over this idea that following orders blindly without engaging the ol' noggin is a good way to go for me."

"It's the only way for you now, Annja. If you don't agree, then you're leaving me no choice in the matter."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Annja said. "Seems to me that Hsu Xiao and I could team up and just cut you out of the picture entirely. Why share something three ways when a partners.h.i.+p is so much more powerful?"

Vanya shook her head. "You're crazy. Hsu Xiao would never throw her loyalty from me to you. I've done too much to help her. I've taken care of her family-all of her brothers and sisters enjoy a wonderful standard of living in China's new economy thanks to me and the power I exert on their behalf."

"And I'm sure she's grateful for that," Annja said. "But really, no one likes being under anyone's control for too long, do they?"

If Hsu Xiao had any reaction to Annja's words, she wasn't showing it. Vanya glanced at her and then back at Annja. "You're wasting your time."

"Am I?"

"Hsu Xiao will not turn against me. We've come too far together to throw it all away just because you talk a good game."

"Seems to me I'm talking the same game you're trying on me," Annja said. "So who's to say who is better at it than the other."

Vanya looked at her watch. "We're running out of time, Annja. I need your decision."