Thunder God

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Later that night Hawke was cruising in a private jet arranged by Sir Richard Eden’s London office. He watched the lights of China gradually fade away as the plane ascended to forty thousand feet and crossed over into the empty plains which stretched into Mongolia to the north. It hadn’t taken Ryan long to work out that anything involving Genghis Khan meant going to Ulan Bator, and they were packed and on the plane within three hours.

But now, his mind raced with problems, worries and deceits. What was Sheng Fang really up to? Yes, he was a dangerous criminal, and his status as one of the richest men in the world made that danger positively lethal. Could he really be diverting millions of dollars into the search for a map that might not even exist?

He was struggling to keep things together. He’d asked Ryan and Sophie to stay at the hotel with Commodore Hart with a view to maintaining the safe HQ they’d established — somewhere they could work on the research undisturbed. It was Lea’s idea, and Sophie in particular had objected at first, keen to get in on the action in Mongolia, but the team decided it was the right thing to do.

That at least was progress, but Hawke’s mind still buzzed with confusion. He still didn’t know who he could trust. Lea Donovan had tried to tell him something about the elusive Sir Richard Eden when she thought they were about to die back in the Greek cave system, but she had backed away from it when she realized Cairo Sloane could hear what she was saying. He thought about that and what Eden himself had told him back on the phone in London. He wondered how close he was to learning the truth.

To make matters worse, he thought he was falling in love with Lea, but she would have to be honest with him if she wanted him to take her seriously and make any kind of commitment. After Hanoi, it hadn’t been easy for Hawke to get close to anyone else, and this was as far as he had gone. And yet… what she was keeping from him was on his mind all the time and he resented the control Eden seemed to have over her.

Then there was the fact that both Cairo and Sophie were lying about their involvement in MI5 and the DGSE. That was another little wrinkle he had to iron out before he could really trust either of them. He wondered once again if Sophie had spoken to Ryan about her true story, and decided he would ask him about it next time there was a moment when they could speak privately. If Ryan could ever pry himself off of his new French lover, that is.

His mind snapped back to the mission. The last thing Ryan had told them was to start at the Genghis Khan Statue Complex just east of the capital. It was a long shot, but there was so little left of the ancient Mongolian Empire it was all he could think of. They kept a small collection of materials relating to the Khanate and it was the best shot they had to get to the bottom of anything to do with the Great Khan.

Now, Cairo was sleeping and Lexi was up front talking with the pilots, no doubt regaling them with tales from her colorful and sordid past. He watched her drape an arm over the first officer. Beside him, Lea’s eyes were closed but he knew she was awake.

He poured a shot of vodka and sank it down in one. He wished it were whisky, but it was all he could find in the on-board drinks cabinet. He looked at Lea again and decided now was as good a time as any to ask her what was really going on.

“What were you going to tell me about Richard Eden, Lea?”

She didn’t flinch and kept her eyes closed.

“When was that?”

“Don’t play games,” he said. “Back in Kefalonia, in the cave system — we were watching the now dearly departed Hugo Zaugg pumping water from the defensive tunnel leading into the vault of Poseidon. You said there was something important you had to tell me about Eden, but then you glanced at Cairo and something made you stop. I’m sure you remember.”

“Of course, but…”

She opened her eyes and faced him for a second before turning away and studying the digital readout that gave the passengers flight information: forty thousand feet, one thousand kilometers per hour.

“What is it you wanted to tell me. Lea? Don’t tell me it’s nothing because Eden’s confirmed to me that something’s up. He says he’ll tell me when all this is over.”

Hawke studied her expression, but she knew better than to give anything away. She kept calm and somehow even managed to yawn.

Finally she spoke. “I shouldn’t have mentioned it back in Greece, and if Eden says he’ll talk to you then so be it.”

“You can’t leave it at that, Lea. This is the second time I’ve risked my life for this guy. I respect you — you know that — and maybe…” he paused. He couldn’t bring himself to say the words I love you to her, not yet. “It’s just that I think I deserve some respect on this.”

Lea looked at him and kissed him. “Joe, it’s not for me to say. It wasn't back in Kefalonia and it’s not now. Back then when I started to speak with you I thought I was going to die and I wanted you to know something, but it’s not for me to tell you. It’s much bigger than that. I promise you this, when the time’s right Sir Richard will tell you just as he said he would, but please believe me when I tell you it’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“That’s not good enough, Lea…”

Her face tightened, her old Rangers training kicking in. “It’s going to have to be, Joe, because it’s all you’re getting.”

Hawke saw something in her eyes change. She looked harder, like she had done the first time he’d met her back in London. Sometimes she was a beautiful woman, and other times she was a soldier again. He could forgive her that because once Liz had accused him of something similar — a great bloke one minute and a commando the next, she had said. Yet still the frustration grew in his heart, but he knew he had to trust her. It was all he could do.

“I just thought we had something,” he said. “And that’s not something I ever thought I would say again. Not after Hanoi.”

Lea turned in the sumptuous leather seat and brushed his arm with her hand. “We do have something, Joe. I want it too, but…”

Then Lexi returned from the cabin. “Bad news,” she said. “They just got a radio message from Jason Lao in Hong Kong. Apparently Johnny Chan was found dead in a shikumen lane about an hour ago. He’d been tortured for information and was missing several fingers. He’d been strangled to death. Jason says we should presume he told them everything about us taking the picture.”

“Great,” Lea said. “Sounds like they really went to town on the bastard.”

Lexi raised an eyebrow.

“What?” Lea said. “Did I say something funny?”

“It sounds like they went easy on him if you ask me. You obviously don’t know Sheng’s thug Luk if you think getting strangled to death is as bad as it gets.”

“However dangerous he is,” Hawke said firmly, his voice hardened by the vodka. “He’s up against the SBS now, and I’m in a very bad mood.”

“And the SAS and MI5,” said Scarlet from the back. She had woken up and joined them at the front of the small jet. “That should make up for the SBS, at least.”

Hawke smiled. He appreciated her support but her reference to MI5 only reminded him that she too was lying to him about her involvement with the Secret Intelligence Services.

“How is it that us SBS guys do everything you guys do, and then extra maritime training, and yet you still think you’re harder?”

“Glorified frogmen,” Scarlet said.

Hawke laughed. “Don’t forget the SBS went into World War Two first, with you guys finally joining in five months later…”

Lea changed the subject. “Either way it looks like we’re going to have a real war on our hands if we’re not careful. Remember, no one in the world knows what happened with Zaugg and just how close that nutcase got to the map.”

“Or experimenting with that damned trident,” Hawke said. He wondered where the trident was — maybe in some US underground facility surrounded by men in white coats and a shroud of secrecy.

Lea shuddered. “There was something very weird about that thing.”

Hawke nodded grimly and poured another vodka for himself. He offered some to Lexi who took it and drank straight from the bottle. She wiped her mouth and passed the bottle back to Hawke. “Thanks.”

“You’re… welcome,” he said, glancing at the amount of vodka she had taken without any apparent effect.

“So is this a problem?” Lea said.

“Not at all,” Lexi said. “I learned to drink in the Chinese Navy.”

“I meant Chan,” said Lea, rolling her eyes.

“It’s nothing to worry about,” said Hawke. “Chan didn’t know who we were, our names or anything about us. He couldn’t have given them any information that would put us in jeopardy, not for the time being, anyway — no matter how much they tortured him.”

“If I get my hands on this Luk character he’ll wish he’d never been born,” Scarlet said, and took the bottle from Hawke. “Anyone have a glass? It’s terribly uncouth to drink straight from the bottle, don’t you think, Lexi?”

Lexi made no reply, other than looking daggers at her.

“Certainly sounds like this Sheng character is serious about getting hold of that map,” Lea said.

“Sheng Fang is serious about everything,” said Lexi. “I told you that back in Shanghai. You should always listen to Lexi Zhang. That’s what I say.”