Empire of the Dragon Read online

  “That’s two. How many more?” he whispered to himself. He knew the action was a bad idea.

  The two men stood after examining the damaged camera and sensor and both drew from their jackets two of the largest handguns Tram had ever seen before. They started to look closely at the darkened area around them. He made a decision. He suddenly stood and turned for the stairs as stealthily as possible. He grabbed the handrail and started to pull himself up to the first step when he slammed face first into a solid brick wall. The pistol was knocked from his hand and he was grabbed by the collar and lifted free of the concrete step.

  “Что у нас здесь?”

  Van Tram was looking into the most heavily scarred face he had ever seen. The old wounds crisscrossed the brown visage of the man holding him three feet off the step. His words were not recognizable to his ears. The man shook him three times in rapid succession. He again asked his question and again Tram only stared, wide-eyed.

  The English language came from his left, but he failed to see who spoke it.

  “He said, what have we here?”

  The large man turned with Tram still held tightly in his clutches. Tram’s heart skipped a beat when he saw one of the two men sent to find out the problem with their security system. The man reached out and picked up Tram’s pistol from the dirt. The Vietnamese sniper remained silent as if he didn’t understand English.

  “Don’t tell me that the Laotian police has become this brave?” the man said with a smile. “You should have possibly checked with your superiors before snooping around our property, officer.”

  Tram was still too busy looking at the gorilla of a man attempting to strangle him and throw him to the moon in the same action, to really care about what was being said. All he knew at that moment was the fact he had failed miserably at what he was trying to do.

  “Take him to the cages. We’ll inquire as to his curiosity inside.”

  The large man just seemed to tuck Sergeant Tram under his arm as the world once again flooded with light from inside the Russian safehouse.

  Sergeant Van Tram’s mission to save a friend had turned out to be a bust, and now he faced the same fate as the very friend he had been trying to rescue.

  * * *

  Atal Mountains, Mongolia

  Sarah and Anya had decided to try to get a head count of the population of the underground world Charlie Ellenshaw had dubbed, Shangri-La. The task was made easier since every evening meal was done communally. The setting for these meals was a visually stunning sight to the unbeliever. The long tables were set against the backdrop of the four waterfalls that surrounded the city center, with dugout housing in the cliff facing rising up to and over the falls themselves. Sarah thus far had counted over thirty-five families on her side of the divided-up place settings. She glanced at Anya who was in deep conversation with a family of five as she sat next to them. She saw Sarah looking her way and she held up ten fingers. With Sarah’s count, the city seemed to have no less than forty-five separate families living in the underground world.

  “Your count will not be accurate, I’m afraid,” came the familiar voice behind her. Sarah turned and saw the old man, Li Zheng, smiling as he waved a hand. “May I join you and Professor Ellenshaw?”

  Sarah looked at crazy Charlie as he was toying with a small girl child of about four years old with the old ‘pull off the thumb’ trick. The girl was not as confused as Charlie was making out. “Please do,” Sarah said.

  Li Zheng who had changed into orange and white robes, eased in to Sarah’s left. His smile never wavered as both women and men delivered the meal of braised chicken and steamed vegetables. Sarah saw the joy the old man had at being with his small group of citizens. Pitchers of the cleanest water Sarah had ever seen before were added and the citizens of Shangri-La talked and ate. The newcomers were spared little curiosity and were basically ignored. Ignored, except for Jason Ryan, who was wooing some of the older girls at the far end of the third table with fanciful tales of his aviation exploits. That was until he looked up and saw Sarah’s warning look. He was garnering a few angry looks from the fathers of those girls to go along with Sarah’s non-verbal warning.

  Li Zheng saw who Sarah was looking at. His glance over at Ryan, while not angry, seemed ‘knowing’. “I like your young naval aviator. I have known many men such as him. One who thinks his power over women is complete. All the while that very same man is terrorized by rejection. I, and my son, had the same difficulty. But my son, as myself, were taught many lessons about the appropriate way to regard women. May I?”

  Sarah, with a glance toward a smiling and confident Jason, and then with a growing smirk on her face, nodded her head.

  Li Zheng stood from his chair and then closed his eyes. Without looking, he turned toward the first of the four waterfalls near Ryan’s position. He held out his hands, palms up. Then lowered them quickly. “Sometimes it takes a reality check to bring a young man’s thoughts from the gutter.”

  Ryan was paying special attention to a young woman of about twenty when the waterfall directly to Jason’s left acted as if the water flow had been cut off from above the cliff-line. The cessation of falling water took everyone’s attention away from familial conversations as the citizenry understood that something was about to happen.

  Before Jason knew what to think, the water reappeared. Only it wasn’t exactly water. The giant dragon sprang from the dry bed of the falls and sprung down to the tables below. As the girls ran off screaming and laughing, Ryan was frozen at the table. As the water-based image of the giant dragon sprang downward, the maw of the beast opened wide as it plunged onto the main city center. Ryan ducked and screamed as the water giant slammed into him, swallowing him whole as the image of four-foot-long teeth encompassed his small form.

  Sarah smiled as the scream from Jason resounded over the meal. The water dragon slammed into him and knocked him from his seat. Then the water splashed up and rebounded to the small, easy flowing river that circled the city center. Ryan spit out water and then looked around him in near panic as he sat in a small lake of water trying to figure out what it was that just nearly drowned him. Everyone was laughing. Even the once angry fathers of the girls assisted Ryan to his feet with uncontrollable laughter. Giggling girls brought Jason rags to dry off. As for the dragon, it was now a peaceful and light rumbling waterfall once more. Ryan finally shook his head and then sat once more. Sarah could see that the most arduous talent of Ryan’s was now under control. Jason had just learned first hand about the magic of Air Bending. The citizens smiled and applauded as Li Zheng laughed, before sitting once more next to Sarah. Charlie was clapping his hands wildly as he made sure Ryan saw his extreme pleasure at the example made by the Master of Shangri-La.

  “Albeit you may be good at embarrassing strangers, even those who deserve your humorous attention, may I ask Master Zheng, are we guests of your marvelous city, or are we your prisoners?” Sarah asked as she settled in and sampled the chicken.

  Li Zheng poured her some of the fresh water, never losing his smile. “I have not decided yet, Captain McIntire. A few of you may be welcome here.” His eyes wandered over to his right and a smiling Charlie Ellenshaw, then his gaze wandered to another table and the visitors there. “While others may have to stay with us for a while.”

  Sarah knew Li Zheng’s look fell squarely on Jason, Anderson, and Birnbaum.

  “You know, where we work we have heard the legends of Northern China and outer Mongolia for decades. The history of the first sovereign emperor of China never once mentioned he had a half-brother.”

  Li Zheng sipped his water and tasted his chicken. “I dare say you could fill the world’s libraries on what’s not recorded in history books, young lady,” he said as he assisted a small boy in pulling apart a large piece of chicken. He smiled as he finished and looked at Sarah. He held her eyes for the longest time before finishing his statement. “It would seem to me that your organization would have come to that very same con
clusion many years ago.”

  “Now, about my organization. How in the world would a man hidden deep in the wilds of Mongolia know about Department…” she caught herself, “…about my employer?”

  “When I was but a boy, many, many years ago, I met a man not long after the world war…let me clarify that, the first world war,” he saw the stunned look in Sarah’s eyes, but continued, “I had traveled to America with my father to examine choices for college. Princeton was where he graduated from. So, my choices were very nearly limited. My father—”

  “Also named Li Zheng?” Sarah interrupted.

  Again, the wide smile. “Are you accusing my family of not being very imaginative when it comes to naming our offspring, Captain?”

  Sarah only returned the smile.

  “The name is more of a title now days. To continue. My father had an old friend who was dying. A man he met while attending Princeton University. He was so ill that only my father was allowed inside his dying room. I, in the meantime, was entertained by this man’s wife. A very nice lady who had stepped into her husband’s business shoes, so to speak. After the meeting with my father and his friend, we left. I chose another venue for my higher education against my father’s wishes. So, that was the last time I ever went to America. Can you guess the name of the friend he visited, Captain McIntire?”

  Sarah thought and then shook her head in the negative.

  “You see, quite of bit of history has been neglected and left to vanish in the winds of time, even in your…” the deep smile again, “…Group.” Again, Li Zheng paused to assist the boy child out of his small chair and then swatted him playfully on the butt as the boy ran to his mother’s arms. “My father and this American man were very close. He conferred with his friend on one last bit of business this friend had to accomplish before he joined his ancestors in the afterlife. Business this man dreamed about for the many years they were together in college.”

  “The Event Group.”

  “You see, you know more about history than even your memory is aware of. It just takes time to think things out.”

  “Your father’s friend was President Woodrow Wilson, and the wife you met was Edith Wilson. The one person the President trusted to run the government when he fell ill.”

  “Rumors surrounding the events in the Ottoman Empire and the finding of that magnificent archeological vessel at Ararat many years before, had haunted Mr. Wilson from the time he learned of that mission in his youth to his dying day. Thus, the charter was finally in place to create an organization that investigated what those history books may or may not say.”

  “Department 5656 of the National Archives.”

  Li Zheng nodded his head as he finished his meal. To Sarah, it was as if that explained everything for her. She was not satisfied.

  “Master Zheng, that doesn’t explain how you know about the present Event Group.”

  He kept smiling, but was mute on the subject, allowing Sarah to think it out for herself.

  “You’ve got a person…,” she returned the smile with an accusing glare, “or persons, inside the Group.”

  “Don’t think unkindly on our motives, Captain. We are always out to protect that which is ours. The way your Group functions, they are one of only two entities on the planet that could cause our little secret to escape these mountains. Now, wouldn’t you seek inside assistance to protect what’s yours?”

  Sarah thought about Jack and what she would do to protect him. She didn’t agree, but she also remained silent on the subject. Instead she asked; “The other Group you speak of?”

  “Ah, the real point is voiced on the subject of why you may never be allowed to leave these mountains.” He lost his smile as he glanced toward the end of the long table as many of the citizenry were standing and assisting in gathering the dishes from the meal after the last item, rice, had been consumed. She also saw the playful way everyone laughed and patted Jason Ryan on his wet back. Li Zheng’s eyes fell on the man posing as Professor Anderson and the large man next to him eating, Professor Birnbaum.

  “The Russian connection?”

  “The Russians. A very old and refined people. It is a pity that the men and women representing them have very little honor. It seems it’s been that way since they were but a tribe of people.” He placed his small arm around Charlie Ellenshaw for a moment and then faced Sarah again. “Secrets about history can be told to men such as this,” He said, indicating Ellenshaw. Charlie smiled, unknowing what the conversation was even about. “Men such as this would go to their deaths in protecting that which needs protecting. Most in your Group are that way. Honorable. Sometimes to a fault. Here I speak of your Colonel Collins and Captain Everett. Many reports tell me that their unbending ways compromise your organization. Honor sometimes can be a…what do you Americans say? Ah, yes, a pain in the ass.”

  Sarah knew exactly what Li Zheng was saying about Jack and Carl, even herself at times. She decided to move off the sore subject of personal thoughts instead.

  “What we found in the sand this morning, this—”

  Li Zheng laughed, cutting off Sarah’s question. “Mineral?”

  “Yes, the mineral. Do you have any idea the potential power source this could give the world?”

  Sarah could see that Li Zheng knew exactly what power was based inside of these mountains. His look never changed.

  “Oh, he knows exactly what benefits the ore could bring to the world. But as always, he thinks he knows best what’s good for the planet,” a voice said behind them. “Arrogance has always run very deep in my bloodline.”

  Professor Lee was there with a small woman at his side. Sarah saw that the girl was very much pregnant. She looked to be about ready to pop at any moment. Sarah stood as the woman was embraced by Li Zheng. Obviously, the girl was Lee’s wife and Zheng’s daughter-in-law.

  “Captain McIntire, this is my wife, Mei Sung,” Lee said proudly. “She was also educated in the west. She has a doctorate from M.I.T. Her idol is your Director. She studied the works of Doctor Niles Compton for her thesis into his relativity work as a follow-up to Mr. Einstein’s work.”

  The shy woman half-bowed to Sarah, and she in-turn reached out to stop her from doing so. For Sarah, she would never want another woman to have to bow to her. “Please,” Sarah said as they were joined by Anya, “it’s nice to meet you.” Sarah introduced Anya to Mei Sung.

  “You’ll have to excuse my wife, she has a million questions she would like to ask about Director Compton,” Lee said with a sour look toward his father.

  “I am sure Captain McIntire has a few she would like to ask us also,” Li Zheng said with his ever-present wry smile. “That is what you would call a quid pro quo, I believe.”

  “To tell you the truth, if the questions I ask are going to get my friends killed, or be the cause you won’t let us go, I think I would rather stay ignorant.”

  Anya nudged Sarah, wanting her to ask the questions. Sarah waited for Anya to pick up the questioning. She finally caught on.

  “The world already knows about this place. Well, the mineral and its possibilities at any rate. So, why don’t we start there?”

  “It was my son and his arrogance that has brought this to my people. He refuses to see the wisdom of his ancestors. He knew when I sent him to be a part of your expedition that the results of your cover story for getting here wouldn’t hold.”

  “Father,” Lee said as he pulled his wife in closer. “I did not lead Captain McIntire to a corpse that has been buried since 1945. She recovered the mineral, what was I supposed to do, murder them all?”

  The old man’s silence was somewhat unnerving for Sarah and Anya. Even Charlie caught the last few words of Lee as he joined the group.

  “In my belief, I think you saw the opportunity to bring our world into the present with a marvelous gift to the planet. The exact same argument I had with my father, and the same he had with his father before him. On and on the argument goes throughout the centuries. The yo
ung are always eager to bring the world back from the brink with white magic.”

  “And what is wrong with that?” Sarah asked as Charlie reached out and tried to stay her. A soaking wet Jason Ryan was curious as he also joined them while he finished toweling off. Then Anderson, and then following him, Professor Birnbaum. “We have a chance to bring the world together with this find. Can you imagine the chance we have here for the possibility of going beyond our own solar system?”

  “Its not only that,” Lee’s small wife interrupted, shaking free of her husband’s restraining hand. “I am an engineer,” Mei Sung continued, “there is even far more beneficial properties to the asteroid than that of deep space travel.”

  “What do you mean?” Anya asked when she saw that even her husband Lee frowned at her and her exuberant science background.

  Mei Sung looked happy to speak her piece. Sarah and Anya were starting to suspect that Lee’s wife was also in on Lee’s plot to bring this mineral’s value to the world. But of the possibility of her exposing more than her husband about the true nature of the properties of Dragon’s Fire, was dangerously close to unveiling too much to the strangers.

  “You have only witnessed a small part of what that mineral is capable of.”

  “What mineral are we talking about?” Ryan asked, trying to slap some remaining water from his left ear. Charlie had caught on, but the naval aviator was somewhat slower to get the point.

  “The mineral that can turn flowing water into a giant aviator eating Dragon,” Anya said as Charlie began laughing once more, to Ryan’s chagrin.

  The father, Li Zheng, nodded his balding head at his daughter-in-law for her explanation to continue. “Shall we walk with our guests while you talk, my dear?”

  Without comment, Mei Sung happily took Sarah and Anya by the hand and started walking toward the large civic building in the center of the city, as people went about their night routines with smiles on their faces. Li Zheng and his son waited until all were following and listening. The old man, instead of angry silence toward his only son, placed his arm around the boy as he also listened to the excitement of his daughter by law.