The Kingdom

2

PALEMBANG, SUMATRA

Twenty minutes early for their meeting, Sam and Remi pulled their scooters to a stop beside the hurricane fence bordering Palembang Airport’s private terminal area. As Selma had predicted, they found the tarmac before the hangars crowded with a handful of private planes, all of them either single- or twin-engine prop models. Save one: a Gulfstream G650 jet. At sixty-five million dollars, the G6 was not only the world’s most expensive executive jet but also the fastest, capable of nearly a Mach 1 top speed, with a range of over eight thousand miles and a ceiling of fifty-one thousand feet-ten thousand feet higher than commercial jets.

Given what Selma had discovered about the mysterious Mr. King, the presence of the G6 was of little surprise to Sam and Remi. “King Charlie,” as he was known to his close friends and enemies alike, was currently ranked eleventh on Forbes’s Richest People list, with a net worth of 23.2 billion dollars.

Having started out in 1964 as a sixteen-year-old wildcatter in the oil fields of Texas, King had by the age of twenty-one started his own drilling company, King Oil. By twenty-four, he was a millionaire; by thirty, a billionaire. Through the eighties and nineties, King expanded his empire into mining and banking. According to Forbes, if King spent the rest of his life playing checkers in his penthouse office in Houston, he would still be earning a hundred thousand dollars an hour in interest.

For all that, however, King was in his daily life unostentatious to a fault, often tooling around Houston in his 1968 Chevy pickup and eating at his favorite greasy spoon. And while not quite at the same level as Howard Hughes, he was rumored to be something of a recluse and a stickler for privacy. King was rarely photographed in public, and when he did attend events, whether business or social, he usually did so virtually via webcam.

Remi looked at Sam. “The tail number matches Selma’s research. Unless someone stole King’s jet, it appears the man himself is here.”

“The question is, why?”

In addition to giving them a brief biography of King, Selma had done her best to trace Frank Alton, who, according to his secretary, was out of the country on a job. While she hadn’t heard from him for three days, she was unconcerned; Alton often dropped from communication for a week or two if the job was particularly complex.

They heard a branch snap behind them and turned to find Zhilan Hsu on the other side of the fence only five feet away. Her legs and lower torso were hidden by foliage. She regarded the Fargos with her black eyes for a few seconds, then said, “You are early.” Her tone was slightly less severe than that of a prosecuting attorney.

“And you’re light on your feet,” Remi said.

“I’ve been watching for you.”

Sam said with a half smile, “Didn’t your mother ever tell you it’s not nice to sneak up on people?”

Zhilan’s face remained stoic. “I never knew my mother.”

“I’m sorry-”

“Mr. King is ready to see you now; he must depart promptly at seven-fifty. I will meet you at the gate on the eastern side. Please have your passports ready.”

With that, Zhilan turned, stepped into the bushes, and disappeared.

Eyes narrowed, Remi stared after her. “Okay, it’s official: she’s creepy.”

“Seconded,” Sam said. “Let’s go. King Charlie awaits.”

They pulled their scooters into a spot beside the crossbarred gate and walked up to a small outer building where Zhilan was standing beside a uniformed guard. She stepped forward, collected their passports, and handed them to the guard, who glanced at each before handing them back.

“This way, please,” Zhilan said, and led them around the building, through a pedestrian gate, then to the Gulfstream’s lowered stairs. Zhilan stepped aside and gestured for them to continue on. Once aboard, they found themselves in a small but neatly appointed galley. To the right, through an archway, was the main cabin. The bulkheads were covered in lustrous walnut inlaid with silver teacup-sized Texas Lone Star emblems, the floor in thick burgundy carpet. There were two seating areas, one a grouping of four leather recliner-type seats around a coffee table, the second, aft, a trio of overstuffed settees. The air was crisp and air-conditioned. Faintly, through unseen speakers, came Willie Nelson’s “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.”

“Oh, boy,” Remi muttered.

Somewhere aft, a voice with a Texas twang said, “I think the fancy word for all this is ‘cliche,’ Mizz Fargo, but, heck, I like what I like.”

From one of the backward-facing leather recliners a man rose and turned to face them. He was six foot four, two hundred pounds-nearly half was muscle-with a tan face and thick, carefully styled silver-blond hair. Though Sam and Remi knew Charles King was sixty-two, he looked fifty. He smiled broadly at them; his teeth were square and startlingly white.

“Once Texas gets into your blood,” King said, “it’s near impossible to get it out. Believe me, I’ve had four wives do their damnedest, with no luck.”

Hand outstretched, King strode toward them. He wore blue jeans, a faded powder blue denim shirt, and, to Sam and Remi’s surprise, Nike running shoes rather than cowboy boots.

King didn’t miss their expressions: “Never liked those boots. Uncomfortable as hell, and impractical. Besides, all the horses I got are for racin’, and I ain’t exactly jockey-sized.” He shook Remi’s hand first, then Sam’s. “Thanks so much for comin’. Hope Zee didn’t put you off. She ain’t much for small talk.”

“She’d make a good poker player,” Sam agreed.

“Hell, she is a good poker player. Took me for six thousand bucks in ten minutes the first-and last-time we played. Come on in, take a seat. Let’s get you somethin’ to drink. What’ll you have?”

“Bottled water, please,” Remi said, and Sam nodded for the same.

“Zee, if you don’t mind. I’ll have the usual.”

From close behind Sam and Remi, Zhilan said, “Yes, Mr. King.”

They followed him aft to the settee area and sat down. Zhilan was only seconds behind them with a tray. She placed Sam’s and Remi’s waters before them and held out a whiskey-rocks to King. He did not accept the tumbler but simply stared at it. He scowled, glanced at Zhilan, and shook his head. “How many ice cubes in there, honey?”

“Three, Mr. King,” Zhilan said hastily. I’m sorry, I-”

“Don’t give it a second thought, Zee, just plop another one in there, and I’ll be fine.” Zhilan hurried off, and King said, “No matter how many times I tell her, she still forgets sometimes. Jack Daniel’s is a fickle spirit; gotta get the ice just right or it ain’t worth a damn.”

Sam said, “I’ll take your word for it.”

“You’re a wise man, Mr. Fargo.”

“Sam.”

“Suit yourself. Call me Charlie.”

King stared at them, a pleasant smile fixed on his face, until Zhilan returned with his now correctly cubed drink. She stood at his side, waiting as he tasted it. “That’s my girl,” he said. “Run along, now.” To the Fargos: “How goes your dig on that little island? What’s it called?”

“Pulau Legundi,” Sam replied.

“Yeah, that’s right. Some kind of-”

“Mr. King-”

“Charlie.”

“Zhilan Hsu mentioned a friend of ours, Frank Alton. Let’s save the small talk for now; tell us about Frank.”

“You’re also a direct man. You share that quality too, I’m guessin’, Remi?”

Neither of them replied, but Remi gave him a sweet smile.

King shrugged. “Okay, fair enough. I hired Alton a few weeks ago to look into a matter for me. Seems he’s up and disappeared. Poof! Since you two seem to be good at findin’ what ain’t easily found, and you’re friends of his, I thought I’d touch base with you.”

“When did you last hear from him?” Remi asked.

“Ten days ago.”

“Frank tends to be a bit independent when he’s working,” Sam said. “Why do you-”

“Because he was to check in with me every day. That was part of our deal, and he stuck to it until ten days ago.”

“Do you have any reason to think something’s amiss?”

“You mean, aside from him breakin’ his promise to me?” King replied with a hint of annoyance. “Aside from him takin’ my money and disappearin’?”

“For argument’s sake.”

“Well, the part of the world he’s in can be a tad hairy sometimes.”

“And that is?” Remi asked.

“Nepal.”

“Pardon? You said-”

“Yep. Last I heard, he was in Kathmandu. Sort of a backwater burg, but it can be tough if you ain’t got your wits about you.”

Sam asked, “Who else knows about this?”

“A handful of folk.”

“Frank’s wife?”

King shook his head, took a sip of whiskey. He screwed up his face. “Zee!”

Zhilan was at his side five seconds later. “Yes, Mr. King?”

He handed her the tumbler. “Ice is meltin’ too fast. Get rid of it.”

“Yes, Mr. King.”

And then she was gone again.

Scowling, King watched her walk away, then turned back to the Fargos. “Sorry, you were sayin’?”

“Have you told Frank’s wife?”

“Didn’t know he had one. He didn’t give me emergency contact info. Besides, why worry her? For all I know, Alton’s taken up with some Oriental woman and is gallivantin’ around down there on my dime.”

“Frank Alton wouldn’t do that,” Remi said.

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“Have you contacted the Nepalese government?” asked Sam. “Or the American embassy in Kathmandu?”

King gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “Backward, all of ’em. And corrupt-the locals, that is. As for the embassy idea, I considered it, but I ain’t got the months it would take for them to get their butts in gear. I’ve got my own people on the ground there workin’ on another project, but they ain’t got the time to spend on this. And, like I said, you two have got a reputation for findin’ what other folks can’t.”

Sam said, “First of all, Charlie, people aren’t things. Second, hunting for missing persons isn’t our specialty.” King opened his mouth to speak, but Sam raised his hand and went on: “That said, Frank’s a good friend, so of course we’ll go.”

“Fantastic!” King slapped his knee. “Let’s talk nuts and bolts: how much is this gonna cost me?”

Sam grinned. “We’re going to assume you’re kidding.”

“About money? Never.”

“Because he’s a good friend, we’ll foot the bill,” Remi said with a little edge to her voice. “We’ll need all the information you can give us.”

“Zee’s already put together a file. She’ll give it to you on the way out.”

“Give us the condensed version,” Sam said.

“It’s a bit of a wheels-within-wheels situation,” King said. “I hired Alton to hunt down someone who’d disappeared in the same region.”

“Who?”

“My dad. When he first disappeared, I sent a string of folks out to look for him, but nothin’ came of it. It’s like he fell off the face of the earth. When this latest sighting came up, I beat the bushes for the best private eye I could find. Alton came highly recommended.”

“You said ‘latest sighting,’” Remi observed. “What does that mean?”

“Since my dad disappeared, there’ve been rumors of him popping up from time to time: a dozen or so times in the seventies, four times in the eighties-”

Sam interrupted. “Charlie, exactly how long has your father been missing?”

“Thirty-eight years. He disappeared in 1973.”

Lewis “Bully” King, Charles explained, was something of an Indiana Jones type, but long before the movies came out: an archaeologist who spent eleven months out of the year in the field; a globe-trotting academic who’d visited more countries than most people knew existed. What exactly his father was doing when he disappeared, Charles King didn’t know.

“Who was he affiliated with?” Remi asked.

“Not sure what you mean.”

“Did he work for a university or museum? Perhaps a foundation?”

“Nope. He was a square peg, my pop. Didn’t go for all that stuff.”

“How did he fund his expeditions?”

King offered them an aw-shucks smile. “He had a generous and gullible donor. To be fair, though, he never asked for much: five thousand here and there. Workin’ alone, he didn’t have much overhead, and he knew how to live cheap. Most of the places he traveled, you could live for a few bucks a day.”

“Did he have a home?”

“A little place in Monterey. I never sold it. Never did anything with it, in fact. It’s still mostly the way it was when he went missin’. And, yeah, I know what you’re gonna ask. Back in ’seventy-three I had some people go through his house lookin’ for clues, but they didn’t find nothin’. You’re welcome to look for yourselves, though. Zee’ll get you the info.”

“Did Frank go there?”

“No, he didn’t think it’d be worth it.”

“Tell us about the latest sighting,” Sam said.

“About six weeks ago a National Geographic crew was doing some spread on an old city out there-Lo Manta somethin’ or another-”

“Lo Monthang,” Remi offered.

“Yeah, that’s the place. Used to be the capital of Mustang.”

Like most people, King pronounced the name as he would the horse.

“It’s pronounced Moos-tong,” Remi replied. “It was also known as the Kingdom of Lo, before it was absorbed by Nepal in the eighteenth century.”

“Whatever you say. Never did like that sort of stuff. Fell kind of far from the tree, I guess. Anyway, in one of the photos they took there’s this guy in the background. A dead ringer for my dad-or at least how I think he’d look after nearly forty years.”

“That’s not much to go on,” Sam said.

“It’s all I’ve got. Still wanna take a crack at it?”

“Of course we do.”

Sam and Remi stood up to leave. They shook hands all around. “Zee’s got my contact info in there. You’ll be giving her updates. Let me know what you find. I’d appreciate regular reports. Good huntin’, Fargos.”

Charles King stood in the doorway of his Gulfstream and watched the Fargos return through the gate, mount their scooters, then disappear down the road. Zhilan Hsu came walking back through the gate, trotted up the plane’s stairs, and stopped in front of King.

“I do not like them,” she said.

“And why is that?”

“They do not show you enough respect.”

“I can do without that, darlin’. Just as long as they live up to their reputation. From what I’ve read, those two have a real knack for this kind of thing.”

“And if they go beyond what we ask of them?”

“Well, hell, that’s why I’ve got you, ain’t it?”

“Yes, Mr. King. Shall I go there now?”

“No, let’s let things unfold natural-like. Get Russ on the horn, will ya?”

King walked aft and dropped into one of the recliners with a grunt. A minute later Zhilan’s voice came over the intercom. “I have him ready for you, Mr. King. Please stand by.”

King waited for the warbled squelch that told him the satellite line was open. “Russ, you there?”

“I’m here.”

“How’s the dig goin’?”

“On track. Had some problems with a local making a fuss, but we took care of him. Marjorie’s in the pit right now, cracking the whip.”

“I’ll bet she is! She’s a pistol. Just keep a sharp eye out for them inspectors. They ain’t supposed to show up outta the blue. I’m paying outta my ears as it is. Anything extra I’m takin’ outta your salary.”

“I’ve got it under control.”

“Good. Now, tell me somethin’ good. Find anything juicy?”

“Not yet. But we came across some trace fossils that our expert says are promising.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve heard that before. You forgettin’ about that con man in Perth?”

“No, sir.”

“The one who told you he had one of them Malagasy dwarf hippo fossils? He was supposed to be an expert too.”

“And I handled him, didn’t I?”

King paused. His scowl faded, and he chuckled. “That, you did. But listen up, son. I want one of them Calico whatchamacallits. A real one.”

“Chalicotherium,” Russ corrected.

“I don’t give a damn what it’s called! Latin! God save me. Just get me one! I already told that no-good Don Mayfield I got one comin’, and I got a space all ready for it. We clear?”

“Yes, sir, we’re clear.”

“Okay, then. New business: just met with our newest recruits. Sharp operators, the both of ’em. I imagine they ain’t gonna waste much time. With any luck, they’ll probably have a poke around the Monterey place, then head your way. I’ll let you know when they’re in the air.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Make sure you keep a tight leash on ’em, you hear me? If they get away from you, I’ll have your hide.”