She looked at Mike. His head was thrown back against the pilot's seat. His eyes were closed. Annja reached out for his neck and put her fingers against his throat. She felt a thready pulse there and exhaled in a rush.

They were alive.

But they both needed help in a bad way. Annja reached for the microphone, but as soon as she tried to key it, she heard nothing. The plane had lost communications in the impact.

Annja took stock. She could move her legs and arms. Aside from the ribs, she seemed okay. Her head had a lump near her temple. She'd probably bashed it on the c.o.c.kpit as the plane hit and that's what caused her to black out.

But otherwise, she was fine.

She brushed some of the snow away from her window and peered out. From what she could see, the plane had hit the side of Dhaulagiri and then slid across and came to rest on a fairly level piece of ground. The right wing, which had been shot off by the second missile, no longer smoked and she saw why. It lay covered in snow and that had helped extinguish any remaining smoldering wires.

Annja frowned. That also meant that there'd be no smoke trail to help rescuers find them.

I need to get out of here, she thought. It was the only way she could get an accurate perspective on their situation.

Annja braced herself for the pain and then grunted as she clambered out of her seat. The pain in her side was tremendous, but she steeled herself and then clawed her way outside of the plane.

As she took her first step, she fell into waist-deep snow. Instantly, she felt the cold smack her hard. Wind whipped around her and bits of snow and ice stung her skin.

She remembered that Mike had seemingly put some more alt.i.tude on even as the plane sank toward the earth. Annja looked around and reasoned that if Dhaulagiri was eight thousand meters high, then they were at least halfway up the mountain.

The air was thin and Annja's lungs struggled to fill themselves with oxygen. Each gasping breath brought more pain in Annja's side.

Then her ears caught a sound.

It was coming from the plane.

She frowned and started back toward it. Maybe Mike had regained consciousness.

But as she neared the c.o.c.kpit, she could see that Mike was still out. She'd need to get a fire going soon if they had any hope of lasting the night.

She heard another sound. It was a moan. But it didn't come from Mike.

Annja steeled herself. Was the person who had shot them out of the sky coming back to finish the job he'd started?

If so, they were going to meet with a very unpleasant Annja Creed. She summoned the mystical sword she'd inherited from Joan of Arc. The sword gleamed in her hands.

"Who's there?" she demanded. "Show yourself!"

The wind whipped up around her. Annja fought off the icy sting and glared toward the plane.

She heard another moan. She struggled to get closer to the plane. As she did, the plane seemed to rock. Again, Annja glanced at Mike to make sure it wasn't him causing the motion.

It wasn't.

Someone else was inside the plane.

Annja's vision swam as she drew closer to the plane. How in the world had someone else gotten on it? How was that possible? Did Tsing hide someone in there?

She swung her sword and cleaved an opening in the back of the wreckage. Like a pinata splitting open under the a.s.sault, the metal sheared under the power of the sword and spilled its contents into the snow.

Annja saw bags tumble out.

And then she saw a tiny man come falling out, as well. He was b.l.o.o.d.y and he looked terrified.

But he was alive.

Annja took a step toward him, felt another wave of pain wash through her and toppled over.

Back into darkness.

9.

The simple fact of his predicament was that Tuk had never ridden on an airplane before. He'd seen plenty of them and he knew what they were and even the basic scientific principles behind them.

But he had never stepped onto one until he'd had the idea to stow away on the plane with Annja Creed and her friend Mike. Any fear he'd felt at the idea was quickly squelched by the promise of reward from the man on the phone. Tuk would again prove himself to the man and hopefully reap an even better reward.

He'd made himself as comfortable as possible after he'd crawled into the plane. His first order of business was to make sure that Annja and Mike were, in fact, still alive. He felt for their pulses and then settled down among the bags, cus.h.i.+oning himself and making sure that the cooler of beverages was closer to the pilot and copilot seats. The last thing he needed was one of them rummaging through the bags and discovering him hidden away.

Once he'd done that, he called the man on the cell phone.

"You're with them now?"

Tuk nodded. "I am in the airplane. They are still unconscious it would appear, but alive."

"Your plan is to go with them?"

Tuk smiled. "You requested I remain with them to make sure the woman stays safe. I intend to fulfill my end of the arrangement as best I am able."

"You're a marvel, my friend. Without a doubt the best I've ever worked with. Are you certain they won't know you're there?"

"They will not. I am secreted in the back with more of the baggage that Tsing's men left for them. I went through the bags. There is a lot of cold weather gear useful for trekking in the mountains. An a.s.sortment of other supplies are in the bags, as well."

"Mountain trekking? Interesting."

"The man known as Mike had a map on him."

The man paused. "The logical a.s.sumption would be that the map shows the location of Shangri-La on it."

"I have examined the map. It does not show anything but rather a series of routes that seem to focus on the middle of the country. Particularly, there are several routes through the Mustang region."

"Mustang?"

"Yes."

"What do you know of that area?"

"Not much. I know there are temples far to the north in Lo Monthang. But otherwise, very little is known about the region. Parts of it are even off-limits to many foreigners."

"Do you know why?"

"I've heard tell that the government is very sensitive to the fact that the Tibetan border is close. They don't want to risk offending the Chinese who occupy that region."

"That makes sense," the man said. "Still, I wonder..." His voice trailed off. Tuk left him to this thoughts and waited.

Finally, the man seemed to come to a decision. "You will stay with them when they fly up to the region?"

"I will."

"Excellent. I will be in touch. Let me know the moment you have any more information to share. You've done an incredible job."

Tuk beamed. "Thank you."

The line went dead and Tuk looked out of the back window. Dawn was starting to break across the eastern horizon. And from the front of the plane, he caught movement. The woman-Annja-was beginning to stir. The drug was wearing off and, very soon, they would both be awake.

Tuk tried to quell the sudden fear that stirred in the pit of his stomach. The prospect of flying now reared its head. Tuk did not fear many things in life, even given his diminutive stature.

But flying?

He shrank down among the bags and waited for the terror to begin.

WHEN M MIKE BROUGHT the plane down at Jomsom, Tuk had a brief moment to take a breath. The flight up to the northwest had been terribly frightening. And yet, there had been something else that stirred within him-a sense of adventure and excitement. Tuk had labored so long for the spies of the world, that being on his own operation now thrilled him like nothing else had in his life. No wonder, he supposed, certain people actually flocked to the intelligence world. the plane down at Jomsom, Tuk had a brief moment to take a breath. The flight up to the northwest had been terribly frightening. And yet, there had been something else that stirred within him-a sense of adventure and excitement. Tuk had labored so long for the spies of the world, that being on his own operation now thrilled him like nothing else had in his life. No wonder, he supposed, certain people actually flocked to the intelligence world.

He stretched his legs in the back of the plane and luxuriated in getting some blood flowing back into his limbs. He could overhear Annja and Mike talking outside of the plane and knew they would be back inside soon.

But he needed a drink.

Dare he risk it?

His parched lips begged for mercy and he crept forward in the plane like a shadow. With one hand on the cooler top, he reached in and removed a single bottle of water from within. He scurried back to his hiding place and drank the water. The cold liquid rejuvenated him and helped still his beating heart.

He let out an involuntary sigh of relief when Mike and Annja jumped back on to the plane. Mike caught the movement.

Tuk froze as Mike questioned Annja about it.

If they stopped to look in the back, he would be discovered!

His heart thundered in his chest. Perhaps there was a better way to make a living. Tuk knew that Annja and Mike wouldn't do him harm, but the prospect of discovery set his nerves on edge.

But Mike ignored his instinct and got the plane airborne. In the back of the plane, Tuk felt the water he'd just sucked down loll about his insides. Twice he had to bite back the surge of bile in his throat.

And the worst was yet to come.

After they'd climbed to a staggering height, Tuk felt his ears pop. The roar of the engines made his ears hurt and he buried his head down amid the bags. Then, without warning, Mike threw the plane all over the sky, twisting it this way and that. The engines whined in protest, but complied with Mike's directions.

Tuk and the bags in back, however, slid and tumbled everywhere. Tuk halfway expected Annja to turn and look back only to see Tuk's arms and legs akimbo as he sprawled from one side of the plane to the other while Mike engaged in his acrobatics.

But she didn't.

Gradually, Mike leveled the plane and Tuk gathered the bags about him again, trying his best to wedge them in around him so he could be reasonably secure. The last thing he wanted was to have to go through that again.

He caught snippets of conversation.

A missile?

Tuk gulped. Now he was facing the very real threat of being shot out of the sky, all because he'd had the brilliant idea to stow away on this plane.

He saw the dreamy visions of his retirement life evaporating before his eyes. This will teach me to get myself into these situations, he thought.

That was when he happened to look out the right side of the plane just as the second missile struck and exploded. Tuk jerked back reflexively as the explosion sheared the right wing off just short of the engine. Smoke and fire erupted and he heard the barrage of alarms sound inside the plane.

Annja and Mike shouted at each other. The plane started to spin and, from the sinking sensation, Tuk knew they were going down.

He grabbed at the cell phone in his pocket. Secrecy be d.a.m.ned, he had to let the man on the phone know what was happening. With his fingers a quivering mess, he managed to press the two and hold it long enough for the speed dial to kick in.

After what seemed an eternity, during which time Tuk had to close his eyes to keep from pa.s.sing out, someone answered the phone.

"What's going on?"

"We've been shot down over the mountains! A missile!" Tuk whispered.

"Where are you?" The man's voice betrayed no real sense of emotion and Tuk realized that, as a professional, he knew exactly what he was supposed to do in this situation.

Tuk steeled himself. "We are north of Jomsom. The closest mountain is Dhaulagiri. I think we are going to crash there."

"Is anyone hurt at this moment?"

"Not that I can tell."

"All right, listen to me very carefully. You will most likely go unconscious when you crash. As soon as you regain consciousness, try the cell phone and see if you can reach me."

"I will."

"Stay with the plane if it's possible. I will find you. I promise."

Tuk gulped. "I am scared."