Thunder God

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

On their way out to the Jeeps, Scarlet, Hart and Karlsson were a few paces ahead of Lexi, Ryan and Sophie when a familiar face stepped into view at the end of the corridor.

It was Vincent Reno, known to the wider world as Reaper.

Scarlet frowned and put her hands on her hips. “About time you turned up, you lazy French bastard.”

“Better a lazy French bastard than a cold English cow.”

For a second they stared at each other, and then laughed and embraced for a few moments before the former French Foreign Legion paratrooper pushed her away and pulled a cigarette from a crumpled packet in his back pocket. “Don’t get too close to me, I’m easily turned on. Who is this?”

“Brad Karlsson, CIA.”

They shook hands and Reaper struck a match on his belt, ready to light the cigarette.

A man in Chinese military fatigues stepped up to the bear-like Frenchman. “Hey! No smoking here!” He took the cigarette from Reaper’s mouth with a scowl and took it away.

Reaper pinned the man to the wall by his neck and slowly retrieved the cigarette, put it in his mouth and lit it up. “Lucky I’m in a good mood today, oui?”

Scarlet and Karlsson laughed, but Reaper was still scowling as they took their seats in the vehicles. “So your message said Hawke had been captured?”

“Yes, in Beijing.” Scarlet’s voice was low, and measured. She was in control again. “A surprise attack in a house they were in. It belonged to a professor who was translating the secret chapter for us. She was killed in the attack.”

Reaper sighed. “Too bad. At least he’ll owe me one when I save him though.”

Scarlet smirked at the thought. “I was thinking the same thing. Not like him to get caught out like that. He’s been out of the game for too long. Maybe time to get him back inside.”

“What do you mean?”

“Forget it,” Scarlet said. “Let’s get going.” She turned to Ryan as the Jeeps raced toward the airport.

After a few moment of contemplation, Reaper turned to Ryan. “I hear this Sheng guy is looking for the same thing Zaugg wanted?”

Ryan nodded. “Pretty much, only he’s getting much closer than Zaugg ever did. He’s playing with fire…”

“What do you mean?”

“Why would anyone with immortal power feel the need to create a map that leads to the location of their power? If such a thing ever fell into the wrong hands then you could lose access to that source and die, or any number of terrible things. So at the moment there are still more questions than answers.”

“Which is always the way,” Sophie said, tying her hair back. “Always the way…”

When Hawke landed, a host of serious men and women were on the tarmac to meet Sheng Fang, some of them in business suits and others in military fatigues. Han was dragged out first and taken away by two men in fatigues and the Lotus. She looked like she was relishing her work, and looking forward to torturing the monk for as much information as she could get.

Hawke and Lea’s welcoming committee consisted of a dozen men in camos with assault rifles.

“I see our reputation precedes us,” Lea said, frowning.

“I’m more worried about Han. Now they have him, they not only have the missing chapter that’s tattooed on his back but all the knowledge Jenny Tsao gave him before they killed her in the raid. I know I can take whatever interrogation shit they throw at me, and maybe you too, but Han… he’s a monk for God’s sake.”

“I wouldn’t bet on him cracking,” Lea said. “He seems pretty tough to me — look at the way you told me he let his own sister die before breaking his sacred vows not to reveal the location of the missing chapter. Don't get much tougher than that, Joe. Could you do it?”

Hawke made no reply. He knew he couldn’t answer without disappointing her. If he said yes he would look like a cold-hearted robot, and if he said no he would look weak, the kind of guy you couldn’t trust in a combat situation, or at a time like this.

He felt a heavy whack in between his shoulder blades — the universal signal to get moving, he thought, and trudged slowly down the steps of the small jet. He had no idea what Sheng had in store for him, but if it involved Mr Luk it wasn’t going to be pretty.

Scarlet saw the airport first as the Jeep raced along the highway to its west. Moments later they were being ushered inside a single-story building guarded at the door by two men with guns.

“They must be expecting you, Scarlet,” Reaper said.

“That’s good. I like to be expected. It gives them time to get frightened.”

Reaper laughed and shook his head. “What planet are you really from, Sloane?”

“Planet Nutbar,” Ryan said.

“Don’t be like that, boy. We both know you’d still strip for me if I snapped my fingers.”

“In your wildest dreams, crackerjack.”

“Exactly my thoughts,” Sophie said, glaring at Scarlet and moving closer to Ryan. “You should learn to treat Ryan with more respect. He only gets naked when I snap my fingers, right, Rye?”

Ryan blushed a little and was saved by the bell when a grim man in military fatigues told them to wait inside until Jason Lao arrived, but that didn’t stop Scarlet winking at him as she walked toward the water cooler.