"I thought the same thing," his a.s.sistant said. "I inquired and was told that the governor is worried about more unrest in the region."

The far western reaches of China had always been a problem. Eight nations shared its border, the culture far more Muslim and Central Asian than Eastern. To dilute its nearly 90% population of non-Han Chinese, Mao had encouraged immigrations. Subsequent governments, the present one included, continued the policy. Of late, the violent protests against a perceived cultural invasion action had escalated.

"Is that all you could learn?"

"They began to question why I was so interested. I told them that you required a meeting."

An adequate ruse.

"Minister, I have just been informed of something else."

He did not like the change in tone.

"The laboratory in Lanzhou has been attacked. The men there are dead. Lev Sokolov was taken."

SIXTY-FOUR.

Ni stared at Cotton Malone, who stood in the doorway confident and sure. Daring, also, to fly into China unannounced. He'd requested more information on both Malone and Vitt, but nothing had yet been provided. Instead he'd just listened to a report about a mobile phone conversation intercepted a few minutes ago-Karl Tang speaking to Pau Wen.

"You a.s.sured me that I would have a sample. It is imperative to our plan."

"But it is not our plan any longer. You a.s.sumed control. It is now your plan."

"How was this obtained?" he'd asked.

"We are monitoring every phone number Minister Tang currently utilizes."

"Where is Tang?"

"He departed from here in a state helicopter. He has a plane waiting in Xi'an, and a flight pattern west to Kashgar has been filed." He recalled the location Pau had mentioned in the call.

Bao he dian.

"What type of help can you provide?" Ni asked Malone.

"I know where Pau Wen has gone."

Actually, so did he. "And where would that be?"

"The Hall for the Preservation of Harmony."

Malone stepped back into the room, followed by Ni Yong. Clearly, he'd uttered the correct response to the question. Ni had immediately dismissed his aide and gestured for them to return inside. Ca.s.siopeia was still comfortable in the chair, feet propped on the table, but he knew she'd heard him.

"What do you know of this hall?" Ni asked.

He sat. "First things first. We're not your problem."

"I don't know who you are."

"We're here," Ca.s.siopeia said, "because of a four-year-old boy."

And she told Ni Yong the story of Lev Sokolov's son.

The man listened, seemingly with a genuine concern, then said, "It is a problem throughout China. Every day, hundreds of children disappear."

"And what do you do about it?" Malone asked.

Ni eyed him with irritation. "I do nothing. But I agree. Somebody should be doing something."

"We're not spies," Ca.s.siopeia said.

"Maybe not. But you brought Pau Wen, and he is a threat to this country."

"That I believe," Malone said.

"How can you help me?" Ni asked.

"I need my iPhone."

Ni seemed to consider the request, then opened the door and said something in Chinese. A few moments later the phone was lying on the table.

Malone lifted the unit, tapped the screen, and found his photos. "I took this shot in Belgium, while we visited Pau Wen's residence. It's a silk map he had reproduced that he was mighty proud to show us."

A swipe with his finger and Malone slid another picture into view.

"This was taken inside the tomb, atop the plinth where Qin Shi would have lain."

Ni studied the new image. Malone waited for a comment, but the man said nothing. Instead Ni brought the screen closer, switching back and forth between the two pictures. Ni laid the phone down and found his own, hitting one of the SPEED DIAL b.u.t.tons and waiting for the connection to complete. When it did, he barked out commands in Chinese and waited. He offered a few more words, then ended the call.

Malone tried to a.s.sess Ni Yong, recalling what he'd read on the flight from Belgium. From his own experience he knew the Chinese were difficult to read. They practiced, almost as an art form, a strategy of deception, keeping not only their opponents but also their allies on guard. This man, though, was no low-level operative. Instead, he was the head of the most feared inst.i.tution in all China. He could literally topple anyone at any time. Stephanie had told him that the United States considered Ni a political moderate in a nation of fanatics. Far more preferable to Karl Tang as the new leader. The Russians seemed to have a similar belief since they'd apparently ordered Viktor Tomas to look after Ni. But Stephanie had also noted that the State Department feared Ni Yong was not tough enough to master China.

Another Gorbachev, she'd said.

Ni's phone chimed.

He tapped a b.u.t.ton, waited a moment, then studied the screen. "When persons elevate to high office they bring things of value. These personal possessions are theirs alone. So to ensure that there is no misunderstanding as to origin, a photographic record is made by my department."

"So you take with you only what you came with," Malone said.

Ni nodded. "When you showed me that image it triggered a memory. In the presidential residence there's a private study used only by the premier. The current occupant decorated the room with items brought when he a.s.sumed office nine years ago. Rosewood furniture, vases, scrolls, inlaid wood screens. I have been inside that room several times."

Ni laid his phone down beside Malone's. Though its screen was smaller than the iPhone's, the image was nonetheless clear.

A silk map.

"This hangs on the wall there."

Malone and Ca.s.siopeia leaned close.

"They're identical," she said.

Malone instantly realized the implications.

"I've admired that map," Ni said. "The premier told me the same thing, as Pau related to you. A reproduction that he had made from an ancient one he admired."

"Tang and Pau are both eunuchs," Malone said. "The Ba."

And what was unspoken hung in the air.

What of the premier?

"I asked," Ni said. "He says that he is no eunuch. He refused the operation."

"You believe him?" Vitt asked.

"I don't know what to believe anymore."

"There's something else," Malone said, motioning to the phones. "Notice the border surrounding the map in the premier's study."

"Chinese numbers," Ni said, pointing to the top left. "Three, four, six, eight, two, five, one, seven."

Malone gently balanced his finger over the character that appeared two up from the left-hand vertical side. "Nine. Up here. On the top row. Two over. Four."

He pointed to his phone and the image from Pau's residence. "They are identical. But check this." He flicked the screen with his finger and revealed the top of the plinth. "Different symbols in different places."

He watched as Ni a.s.sessed the fact. "These are not numbers. They are characters."

The thought seemed to occur to them all at once.

From an ancient one he once saw.

With changes.

"Pau has been in that tomb," Malone said.

"So has the premier," Ni added.

"Is that how those lights got there?" Malone asked.

Ni nodded.

Malone traced two lines in the air above the screen. One down from the four. Another over from the nine.

"It's a grid," he said, "created for their maps. Just like grids used on maps everywhere. They used four and nine. Lucky and unlucky. Pau showed me that in the library chamber. I'm betting that where those lines intersect is important."

He lifted his phone and enlarged the relevant portion of the map. The lines did indeed intersect at a defined point. What had Pau said? A lonely locale in the western mountains. Denoted by three characters.

"I know what those mean," Ni said. "Beside the capital."

"We can't see it on this tiny image on your phone," Malone said. "But if someone looks at the photo you have, I'm betting those same three symbols will be in the same location."

Ni placed another call, and it took only a few moments for the confirmation to be reported.

Dots were connecting in Malone's brain.

Ni's phone chimed again. He lifted the unit, tapped a b.u.t.ton, and read.

Malone caught the consternation on the man's face. He and Ca.s.siopeia listened as Ni explained about a telephone call his people had intercepted just a short while ago, between Tang and Pau.

"There's some sort of division occurring between them," Ni said. "Pau Wen enticed Tang, and now he wants me to come as well. A few years ago we opened a website to allow informants to report corruption electronically. Pau is aware of the site. He made mention of it to me. He sent a message through the site. Inform Minister Ni that I await him in the Hall for the Preservation of Harmony. Much corruption can be located there. Tell Ca.s.siopeia Vitt that what she seeks is there, too."

"The b.a.s.t.a.r.d knew all along where the boy is," she said.

Malone shook his head. "His information network must be top-notch. Pau knows we survived and that you have us."

"Spies," Ni said.

"We have to go there," Ca.s.siopeia said.

"Karl Tang is headed west, as we speak," Ni quietly noted.

"She's right," Malone said. "We have to go."

Ni shook his head. "I can't allow it."

Ca.s.siopeia didn't want to hear that. "Why not? I'm betting you know all about the Ba. You also seem to know quite a bit about Pau Wen. I don't know Karl Tang, but I've had enough experience with him the past few days to know he's dangerous. There's no telling how far this threat stretches. You've got Russia and America worried enough that they're working together to stop them. I know you have a problem with Viktor Tomas, and I'm not excusing what he did with that pilot, but he saved your a.s.s. Now it appears the premier himself may be involved. You don't know us at all, Minister. But we're the most trustworthy allies you've got. This thing is about to end-" She pointed to the map still on Malone's phone screen. "-right there." She checked her watch. "It's nearly seven PM. We need to go."

Ni's expression softened. "There's something that has to happen first. I was informed of it outside, earlier."

Malone waited.

"We found Lev Sokolov. He's on his way here."

SIXTY-FIVE.