Empire of the Dragon Read online

  “Damn it, even my small fingers can’t get to the screws!” Sarah said in exasperation. She placed the broken satellite radio on the table’s top and then rubbed her red eyes. “Why don’t they make these things more durable?”

  “You mean boot and heel proof?” Anya asked, and then a smiling Sarah allowed her anger to fade along with the hope of fixing their communications link with Europa.

  “Look, I don’t think these people are a cruel sort. They just don’t trust the world. I can honestly say that we both love men with the same exact attitude about that world.” Anya patted Sarah on the back after she realized that the subject of the men that they loved was still a little hard on her friend. Anya knew why Jack had tried to separate his feelings from Sarah. She knew because, as an ex-Mossad agent, she understood the routine of cleaning up your life just before you went off on a mission there was a high probability you would not return from. Carl had tried the same with her, but she knew the game and would have none of it. Sarah was different, from a very different world of order and study. It was harder to understand the mindset of men like Jack and Carl.

  “I just hate being out of communication. I know these kind people will eventually allow us to leave this place, but we need to update Niles.”

  Anya again smiled. “That’s not why you are trying to fix the radio, dear. You want to know about what our male friends are up to. You’re just afraid of what we’ll discover when we get home; that’s worrying you.”

  Anya was attempting to ease Sarah’s mind but before she could speak more on the matter, she saw a strange sight. Jason and Charlie were standing by the center-most waterfall. They were watching something, or someone, from a distance. It looked as if Crazy Charlie was trying to persuade Ryan to do something. He was tugging at his sleeve and looking very nervous. Anya lightly tapped Sarah on the shoulder and nodded toward the two conspirators. Sarah saw the same thing. Charlie looked reluctant about something, and Ryan determined.

  “This cannot be good,” Sarah said as she replaced the pieces of the broken phone into her back pocket and then stood. “If he’s chasing women again I swear to god, I will write his ass up. He doesn’t know this culture and what they would do to him if he’s caught trying to play playboy pilot with one of these girls.”

  As Sarah stood, they saw the two glance around one last time, and then vanish into the spray of the falls. Sarah and Anya went after them.

  Once the two women made it to the falls, they saw the wet sets of footprints leading beyond the back of the spray of water. Sarah was about to follow when Anya tugged on her sleeve to stop her. She nodded toward the wet footprints. Sarah was confused at first, and then she quickly saw what it was Anya was pointing out. Not only were there the sets of both Charlie and Ryan’s prints, but those of another. The third set was made by someone not wearing shoes. They were about to continue to follow when they heard a commotion in the cave system further back from the falls. It was the sound of Charlie shouting. Then they heard a struggle and they both ran to the sound of commotion.

  “Who are you and why were you spying on us, thief!” came the questioning voice of an angry Ryan.

  “Mister Ryan, you’re scaring him!” said Charlie. “Come on, he’s an old man.”

  Sarah and Anya rounded a bend and that was when they saw that Jason had someone on the cold stone floor and held him by the shoulders. The wild hair of the man covered most of his face, but they could clearly see that the man Ryan and Charlie had cornered was old. Very old. The man held his hands in the air in subjugation as Jason threatened him.

  “Jason!” Sarah said loudly enough that Ellenshaw jumped into the air. “Stop scaring that man!”

  Anya rushed ahead and with a foul look, passed by and around a scared Charlie. She eased Ryan’s hand from the man’s shoulders and that was when she saw the shaking and very frightened gentleman. He was bearded and wore the usual clothing associated with the citizenry of Shangri-La. He had on the white undergarment with the flowing orange robes. His feet were bare, and his hair was even wilder than Charlie’s. She could see the man held what looked like a small necklace. She jumped back when she felt Ryan’s hand shoot past her and snatch the item from the old man’s trembling fingers. Anya angrily shoved Ryan out of the way and assisted the crazed old man to his feet.

  Ryan was about to say something to a very angry Sarah when Charlie attempted to explain.

  “We were sleeping when we heard someone enter our quarters. I didn’t know what was happening until Mister Ryan shouted, and then before we knew it we were outside chasing the intruder. He stole something from Mister Ryan.”

  Sarah turned angrily to a subdued Jason. “Well, mister wonderful, what did this threat to society steal from you?”

  Ryan held out a set of dog tags on a chain. Sarah immediately understood. Ryan would never have gone after an old man for something as trivial as a set of tags, if it had been his own that is, but Sarah knew he carried a very special set of military I.D. tags. She knew them to be special to him. The set belonged to Ryan’s old flight-leader aboard the U.S.S. Carl Vinson. The pilot was lost in the now famous UFO encounter over the Pacific that eventually led Jason to the Event Group. The friend was killed, and Ryan was given his dog tags after the F-14 Tomcat’s pilot’s body was recovered. They were precious to him. Now she understood why Jason took it personally that someone would attempt to steal them. McIntire just nodded her head that she understood. Instead of haranguing him further, she patted him on the shoulder and then joined Anya and the man she was helping to his feet.

  “I…I…” The old man started to speak but lost his words. Instead his eyes went from Sarah to Anya. He hesitantly reached out and touched first Anya’s, and then Sarah’s shorter hair. Both women exchanged curious looks as the man rubbed their hair and smiled a toothless grin.

  “I am Captain McIntire, this is Major Anya Korvesky. We’re Americans.”

  The old man heard the introduction and then his eyes widened. His hands shot away from both women as he placed his back as far against the wet wall as he could. In the dim light from the softly glowing mineral, they could see that the look was one of more shock than fright. The man, it was finally noticed, was from the west. They could see that at one time he had been a very large individual.

  “I am Professor Charles Hindershot Ellenshaw III,” Charlie said as he stepped forward and held out his hand in greeting.

  “Charlie…Hindershit?”

  Charlie pulled his hand back in terror at the butchery of his name as Ryan laughed. This seemed to break the tension somewhat.

  “Ah, no. Hindershot. You know what, just call me Doc,” Charlie said and once more held out his hand.

  The old man, his eyes darting from one person to the next, finally held out his hand and Charlie vigorously shook it.

  “Why did you steal Mister Ryan’s dog tags?” Ellenshaw asked as the old man shook everyone’s hands with great enthusiasm.

  The old man, instead of saying anything, reached into the folds of his robe, and happily brought out his own set of dog tags. These were far different from the ones Ryan had, or any current form of military I.D. tags. These were round and made of brass and not tin. They were connected to a broken chain. He held them out for Sarah to take. He was smiling and nodding his head as if the offering would explain everything to them. Sarah held them, and then after she saw the toothless smile, leaned into a section of the wet tunnel next to one of the mineral lights and examined his peace offering. Sarah’s look told the others immediately that she was stunned.

  “Douglas Pierce, Major, United States Army Air Corps, serial number 512348789.”

  “Yes, yes, yes, yes, Old ‘Slick Willy’ at your service…yes, that’s right, ‘Slick Willy’!”

  They smiled as the old man clapped his hands together and then did a dancing jig. Charlie looked at Ryan who seemed to understand why the old man’s excitement had flared.

  “He’s crazy,” Ellenshaw whispered.

  �
�No,” Jason said, now feeling absolutely ashamed for chasing and then threatening this man who was now happy as a lark. “His aircraft was called the ‘Slick Willy’. They all named their ships back then, before the war department got all uptight about nose art.”

  “Yes, sir!” The old man stopped rotating as his dance came to a breath-catching halt. He bent at the waist and tried to catch his breath. “Old Slick Willy’s not as young as he used to be,” he said, finally getting his breathing under control.

  “My God,” Anya said. “You’ve been here all of this time?”

  The old man scratched his beard and then his head as he looked the two women over. He first pointed at Sarah and tapped her shoulder. “Captain?” Then his skinny finger jabbed Anya. “Major?”

  Both women nodded their heads.

  He smiled as broadly as any of them had ever seen anyone stretch their lips, as he again scratched his head. “The Air Corps has changed a bit; Slick Willy is impressed!” He danced a jig again and the others watched and smiled in the green-tinted light. He stopped and fixed them with a serious look. Then he sidled up to Jason and whispered in a conspirator’s tone. “Does old Curtis know about this? I mean, the man doesn’t like anyone, much less women in uniform.”

  Anya and Sarah smiled. Charlie explained to Ryan. He mouthed the name Jason was searching for in his military memory: 'General Curtis LeMay’. Jason also smiled.

  After everyone realized that the old pilot of the B-29, ‘Slick Willy’ was speaking about General Curtis E. Le May, his old commanding General, Sarah asked the most pertinent question of all. “Do you know what year it is?” as she tried to get the old flier calmed down enough to answer some questions.

  “Of course, I do, madam. Or Captain. It’s…it’s...1973?”

  Everyone exchanged looks but all decided on their own not to comment on the correct year.

  The old man suddenly sat hard onto the cold, stone floor. “One tends to lose track of time here.” His eyes refused to look up into the visitors’ faces.

  “Where is the rest of your flight crew?” Ryan asked, as he slid in beside the ancient bomber pilot.

  His look was one of pain and sorrow, and Jason felt that maybe he shouldn’t have asked. He patted the old man’s leg and then started to stand, but the hands of the old man held him place.

  “The Japs got…got…” He looked up in shattered memory. His eyes filled with tears. He looked from person to person as if guilty of something horrid. “I can’t remember those kids’ names.” His shoulders hunched as he lowered his head and began to weep. Then, just as suddenly, his head popped back up and his eyes were wild. “We were going home. Going home. Going home.” His eyes almost looked as if he were pleading for the newcomers to understand. “Then he betrayed us all.” He placed his thin arms around his knees and started rocking back and forth. “That bastard didn’t give them any choice. None were to be trusted after that.”

  “Who?” Ryan asked, as he placed a far gentler hand on the old man than he had before.

  His head suddenly came up and his eyes were anything but calm. “I gave them my word as an officer in the United States Army Air Corps.” He slammed a weak fist onto his knee. “That son of a bitch, Krensky lied to me, to my crew, and to them,” his finger shot straight out toward the falls and the city beyond. “Lied, lied and lied. He stole away into the night, not caring what became of his friends. He lied, he lied, he lied!”

  The dawning of understanding hit Sarah like a sledgehammer to the face. “The body we found, Captain Everson Krensky, the mineral in his leather pouch. He stole it from here and left these men in Shangri-La.”

  “Master Li Zheng kept you here?” Anya asked, now following Sarah’s logical course.

  “Yes, yes, yes, the ‘Slick Willy’ boys were not to be trusted.” The old man looked so apologetic that the four of them had to look away. “The Master does not trust you either. Be careful of your friends. The ore has a way of confusing the truth here.”

  “We don’t understand,” Sarah said.

  “They sense evil in your company. Very big evil.” His eyes once more became wide. “I hear things when they don’t think I’m listening. They are very smart people. They are hard to fool. They suspect that you are in league with…” He leaned over and from his sitting position whispered, “…Emperor Qin Shi Huang.” His eyes looked around as if he was in danger of being heard by ears that were not friendly.

  “The first Emperor of China?” Charlie asked with a snicker. “He’s been dead for over two thousand years.”

  The old pilot started to laugh. His laughter was loud and looked to be out of control. He stopped suddenly and then fixed them all with a crazed look.

  “Yes, yes, dead. Very dead. There’s only one problem with that.” Again, the eyes went from person to person. He sat down and said nothing.

  “Problem?” Ryan asked.

  Pierce jerked as if shaken from a doze. “He’s coming for Li Zheng. The brothers will collide, and the world will tremble, and millions will die.”

  “You’re not making a whole lot of sense here, Major,” Sarah said.

  “I see it was a mistake to allow you the freedom to roam the city,” came a voice from the dark. They all turned, and Major Pierce screamed out a hoarse cry, and then jumped up and ran off further into the tunnel behind the falls.

  “You kept that man a prisoner for all of these years?” Sarah asked angrily.

  “We prefer the term, guest.”

  The young professor Lee stepped from the shadows and confronted the four.

  “I’m sure you would. We like the more accurate term of prisoner. Where are the rest of that man’s flight crew?” Sarah asked as she stepped forward toward Lee who held his ground.

  “Captain McIntire, the man is ninety-two years old. Where do you think the rest of his crew is?” Lee shook his head. “You understand nothing. We thought you would be more informed because you work for a man the Master holds in high regard in your Director Compton. He has obviously made a mistake.”

  “What does Major Pierce mean when he says that Emperor Qin Shi Huang is coming for a man that’s been dead for over two centuries?” Sarah persisted, no longer taking Lee nor his people at face value.

  “This day has been coming for precisely that long, young lady.”

  They turned and saw that Master Li Zheng was standing by the far wall. His son turned, and half-bowed to his father.

  “What’s coming?” Ellenshaw asked, not willing to put his theory on the line just yet.

  “The day I have warned about since the beginning. He now knows exactly where we are, and he is coming. There is now nothing we can do about it. For two thousand years we have avoided this confrontation. We will now be forced to go to war, and the world will suffer for it.”

  “You’re him, aren’t you?” Charlie asked with incredulity etched on his face.

  “Him?” Ryan asked.

  “You didn’t tell us the truth, did you?” Charlie said as he stepped closer to the father and son. “You’re him. You’re the real, and very much original, Li Zheng, aren’t you?”

  Silence from the two men.

  “What are you suggesting, Charlie?” Sarah asked, confused as ever.

  “The first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, wasn’t interested in the power of the mineral for its military value. It is a historically documented fact that he was possessed with the possibility of immortality. That’s why his tomb was filled with Terracotta soldiers. He was preparing for a life beyond his own death, which if he had the mineral only his brother possessed, he wouldn’t need protection in the afterlife, because he would live forever, just like his half-brother, Master Li Zheng. Oh, he knew the asteroid could give him the power of Air Bending like his brother and his followers, but that wasn’t his main interest was it, Master Zheng?”

  “I told you not to underestimate Professor Ellenshaw. My wife told you his work in Cryptozoology was beyond reproach,” the young Professor Lee said to his fathe
r. For his part, Ellenshaw smiled and nodded that, yes, indeed he was exceptional.

  “Immortality is the sole reason for keeping the mineral secret. Not its power, but its life-extending properties.” He looked from Sarah to Anya, and then to a skeptical Ryan. “This whole community has been subjected to this wonderous material.”

  “Are you even more crazy than we thought, Doc?” Jason asked with his suspicious eyes going from Lee to his father.

  “I do not deny my mental disposition in your description, Mister Ryan. However, I do not hear any denials coming from that part of the cave. You are the half-brother of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  With that one-word answer, the world had suddenly changed for the members of the Event Group.

  This was not the Shangri-La of myth and legend. This was a city of immortals, and they may have unwittingly led a not-so-dead ancient Emperor straight to his prize.

  * * *

  Six Miles Away

  Master Chief Jenks pulled on the aluminum shard pinning the Air Force commando to the left fuselage. As hard as he could pull, he found the resistance was just too great. The boy stopped screaming as Jenks reached behind the injured man and felt around. The aluminum had bent after piercing the commando’s liver. Jenks knew he would have to straighten the bent piece before he could pull the young air commando free. He removed his hand and focused on the boy’s eyes which were closed in pain.

  “I’m not hurting you on purpose, airman. But I have to straighten out the aluminum that went straight through you.” Jenks watched the boy’s eyes flutter open and a grim determination filled his blue eyes.