Part 19 (1/2)
The view out our window was spectacular. We were on the top floor, and the town stretched out below us in a confused ma.s.s before sprawling out into the edges of the mountains. The Crossroads were situated in an X-shaped valley. Each leg was about nine miles long, with the bottom two descending into China. Lake Tansai and the big dam built by the Russians was barely visible in the distance. Against the mountains a few miles away was the abandoned military base which had been taken over by Sala Jihan and turned into a fortress. If my brother was still alive he would be in there. The entire mountain around the base was torn open by a gash that could probably be seen from s.p.a.ce. Those were Jihan's mines.
The Glorious Cloud's rooms were small, but clean. Reaper was off taking care of our survey gear that porters had delivered to the hotel.
I felt Jill's arms encircle me from behind. She squeezed me tight and tucked her face against the back of my neck. I could feel her warm breath. ”You okay, honey?” I asked quietly. I had to remember, this was my world. Not hers.
”Yeah, I'm fine. I've just never seen anything like that before.”
I didn't know if she meant the thief getting executed in the street, or the villager's bodies left up as warning signs. Either way, it wasn't a pleasant welcome. ”I know. I warned you about this place. I shouldn't have let you come.”
”I didn't give you a choice. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I'm not going mushy on you. I have to do this. Bob's my family now too, and not only that, I owe those Majestic a.s.sholes.”
”They did ruin your life.”
”I can't say they ruined it anymore now, can I?” She squeezed me tight, as if afraid to let go. ”But they did change it pretty drastically. I have to help you do this, you know that.”
I gently disentangled myself, turned to face her, and took her into my arms. I well and truly loved this woman. ”You really did beat me down over you coming on this job.”
”Yeah, that was like our first real couple fight.” She grinned. ”Unless you count when we first met and you punched me in the stomach.”
”Well, you tried to shoot me first.”
”Fair enough.” She snuggled in closer. ”You know what else? We've been laying low on St. Carl for so long, we've never actually taken a trip before. This is our first vacation together.”
”Hmm . . . Hadn't really thought about that,” I said. ”We should make the best of it.” Then she bit the bottom of my ear. I checked my watch. Exodus could wait.
”Thank you for meeting with me, Mr. Lorenzo.”
”Nice place you've got here. Wasn't this in Raiders of the Lost Ark?”
”I haven't seen that film.” Ibrahim was an Iraqi Kurd. He was about my age, and appeared to be in extremely good shape. His greying hair was kept short, and his dark eyes studied me carefully as I sat across from him. The Exodus operative and I were sitting at a table in the rear of a bar near the hotel. The room was dark, smoky, loud, filled with boisterous drunken Mongolians, and reminded me of a third-world version of the Golden Manatee. ”So, you're the man that freed Michael Valentine?”
”Yeah. That was loads of fun.”
”His reputation is great amongst the men, and having a hero figure along for this sort of operation is good for morale.”
”So Valentine's a hero figure now.”
”You are not familiar with his exploits on our behalf in Mexico?”
”No, and it would be impossible for me to care less.”
”Nonetheless, you have our sincere thanks.” Ibrahim chuckled. ”Shen told me that you were not friends with Valentine, however Shen spoke very highly of your bravery and skills.”
”Shen's here?” I glanced around the bar. I had no doubt there were some other Exodus types hidden among the patrons, but I hadn't seen him, but he was one of the only people I'd ever met who might be as unnoticeable as I was.
”He and Antoine are in The Crossroads. They will be a.s.signed to one of the swords in antic.i.p.ation of our a.s.sault, an a.s.sault which will have better odds of success now, thanks to your actions.”
”Save the flattery, Ibrahim. I know the deal. So, has Ling kissed and made up with your superiors?” I asked with a smirk. ”Invading Montana had to p.i.s.s them off.”
”How did you know that?” Ibrahim was suspicious.
”Ling was motivated. Even if your bosses had told her no, she would've still gone for it. Antoine and Shen would follow her no matter what . . . Chill out. You don't have a leak. I'm good at reading people. It's what I do. Whatever permission Ling had to pull off that stunt wasn't given too freely. Exodus is a low-profile bunch, and that certainly wasn't low profile. You might be happy to have your motivational poster on heroism, but that's a happy bonus is all.”
”You are perceptive,” Ibrahim was nodding. ”Shen also warned me about that.”
”Good. So we won't waste any time blowing smoke up each other's a.s.ses. Has there been any sign of my brother?” Behind me there was a crash as two Mongolians got into a fight. The topless dancing girl was knocked off her table.
Ibrahim shook his head. ”Sadly, no. I can show you where he was attacked after speaking with Ling, the market overlooking the arena, but there has been no sign since. My people have been listening, but no one has spoken. Ling was the last person he was with, before he was captured near the fighting pits. I'm sorry.” He must have seen my face darken, and attempted to change the subject. ”After what Shen told me about you, I am glad that you and your people are here to join us.”
”Listen, I think you and your folks are doing a good thing. Killing slavers is like killing c.o.c.kroaches, but just so we're on the same page, I'm here for my brother. Nothing personal, I'm not the joining type. I'm going to meet with this Jihan a.s.shole, see what we can find out, and go from there. If my brother's dead, I'm going home, but I'll pa.s.s on any intelligence I can gather just on the general principle that I don't like a.s.shole warlords.”
”I understand. The path that G.o.d has chosen for me is not for every man, but nonetheless, I appreciate your offer. And if your brother is still alive and being held in the fortress or in the mines . . .”
”Then, I'll gladly help you stack the bodies so deep they'll call it Great Wall of China, the Sequel.”
Ibrahim laughed and struck the table. ”Excellent, my brother!” He raised his cup of tea, I raised my drink. ”To killing a.s.sholes!” It was good to see that not every team commander in Exodus was as intense as Ling.
”So what can you tell me about the situation? A lot of things have changed since I was here last.”
”When Big Eddie died, there was a battle for control of The Crossroads. Whoever controls this place runs Central Asia. The Russian Mafia and the Triads lost a lot of men, as did the other factions that joined in. It was chaos. A situation which Exodus loved. While The Crossroads was unavailable, the evil which feeds upon this place was stymied. It was a glorious, but for all too short time. By the way, thank you for killing such a terrible man.”
”Yeah, I'm all about making the world a better place.”
Ibrahim swirled his tea and studied it. ”Then after a few months of fighting, a new group arrived here. A man had taken the name of Sala Jihan, the Pale Man. Are you familiar with the old tales?”
”A little. Mostly campfire stories to scare little kids. Eat your vegetables or the Pale Man will come and get you, that kind of c.r.a.p.”
”Yes, the Pale Man supposedly terrorized this land a thousand years ago. Born of human mother and sired by the devil, he reigned with blood and fire. His slave armies crushed everything in their path.” Ibrahim paused to take a drink. ”He was a force of incredible evil. Finally, he was defeated by a great Mongol prince and imprisoned deep beneath the earth, but the local tribes maintain a tradition. There is a prophecy that someday he will return and reclaim his throne of blood.”
I laughed. ”Don't tell me you think this is the same guy?”
Ibrahim smirked. ”No, of course not, but I think we are dealing with a very talented and evil man, who took the name of someone the locals are already terrified of and used that to his own advantage. In the many years I've been in the Order, I've never seen a man such as this. His people came into this valley, and within three days he had utterly defeated the Mafia and the Triads. He impaled many of them on stakes in front of their houses, declared peace, and moved into the old base on the mountain. He's gotten the money flowing again, so the other factions are happy . . . for now.”
”Think we could use that for our advantage?”
Ibrahim shrugged. ”With as many spies as there are in this place, I'm hesitant to approach anyone. Certainly one faction would love to take Jihan's place, but as they say, it is the nail that sticks up that gets hammered down. Big Eddie's old faction, now called the Montalban Exchange after his real ident.i.ty became known, seems like the most likely candidate to attempt a coup. It is led by one of Eddie's former lieutenants. They have a reputation for ruthlessness. Frankly, I don't care who takes over afterward, but Jihan must die. In the last year, he has systematically enslaved tens of thousands.”
”You're exaggerating.”
”Some things I do not joke about, my friend.” Ibrahim reached into his s.h.i.+rt and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. It was a map of Asia. There were hundreds of red dots scattered around the map. ”Each of those dots is, or was, a village. Jihan contacts the local governments, finds out who the troublemakers are, and then makes them go away. The Chinese hate the northern Uyghur minority for example, so should one of their villages be raided, they do not care.”
”That's a lot of dots.”
”The youngest men are taken into his army and brainwashed as child soldiers. You will see them around town. Their faces are disfigured with a branding iron. He keeps a garrison at his base and uses them as guards over the mines. Do not let the fact they are slaves cause you to underestimate them.”