White Jade (The PROJECT) Read online

  "It can't weigh more than a couple of hundred pounds. Let's set it down."

  They lifted the lid off and rested it against the crypt. Nick looked in. The First Emperor of China lay on his back, on a golden pillow, wrapped in robes of golden silk embroidered with thousands of pearls. He wore a tall headdress of jade. On his chest lay a heavy disk of white jade, hung on a thick gold chain and inset with a large golden dragon. A small box of white jade was placed at his feet. But it wasn't the box that caught Carter's eye. It was the emperor's face.

  He looked as if he had died yesterday.

  "Jesus," Ronnie leaned over the coffin. "My doctor doesn't look that good and he's a lot younger. He looks like he's sleeping."

  The emperor's face was pear shaped and sallow. Thick black mustaches drooped down on either side of his mouth. His lips were full and his cheeks rounded. There was a hint of cruelty in his features.

  "How did they do this?" Nick said. "It makes the Egyptians look like amateurs."

  "It must be the formula." Selena laid a hand against the Emperor's neck. Soft. Cold as death. "The formula wasn't for living forever. It was for preserving the body. That fits with what I read on the walls."

  Nick reached down and lifted the box from the emperor's feet. Inside was a stoppered bottle of glass, filled with a light green liquid. He held it up. Flecks of golden light danced within the fluid.

  "Anyone want to take a shot at living forever?"

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Charlie Chan put the phone in his pocket. He shuffled papers on his desk and thought about the conversation he'd just had with Colonel Wu. His cubicle was small, in keeping with his status in the FBI's Asian Criminal Enterprise Unit. Mostly he did grunt work, interviewing Chinese speaking immigrants and shop owners, translating odd pieces of information. The last few days there'd been nothing but the most boring assignments. He couldn't see the relevance of what he was working on. Soon it wouldn't matter anymore.

  He was rattled. What if Wu wasn't telling the truth? If there was going to be an attack, Charlie wanted to be far away when it hit. The FBI and everyone else would go into search and destroy mode, looking for any possible connection. He'd always been careful, but you never knew. It was time to get out.

  There was plenty of money in his offshore account, enough to start over, maybe in Hong Kong, where the PRC had a tolerant capitalist policy. He would be back among his own people, where no one made fun of his name. For years he'd listened to jokes about the Chinese detective of black and white movie fame. Well, now the joke would be on them.

  Charlie took the picture of his parents off his desk and put it in his briefcase. He closed the briefcase and stood up just as Zeke Jordan and two other agents came to his cubicle. They blocked the way out.

  "Going somewhere, Charlie?"

  Charlie put on his best number one son smile.

  "Got to interview a shopkeeper in Chinatown. Someone's threatening to break his windows and worse if he doesn't pay up. You know how it is, Zeke. It's hard to get anyone in the Asian community to talk, but this one seems cooperative. I want to get a statement from him."

  Zeke turned to the other agents standing with him. "Get a statement. Charlie's really on it, don't you think, guys?"

  Charlie didn't like the way they were looking at him.

  "Make any phone calls lately, Charlie?"

  "What do you mean? I make calls all day."

  "I meant long distance calls. You know, overseas, maybe even China?"

  "I don't know what you're talking about. What's going on, Zeke?"

  "How are you planning to spend all that money?"

  Charlie felt his chest constrict. How did they know about the money?

  "What money?"

  "The two hundred and fifty thousand or so you've got down in the Caymans."

  "You've got to be mistaken, Zeke. How would I get that much money?"

  "Now that's a real good question, Charlie. Isn't it, boys?"

  "Real good."

  "Charles Chan, I'm taking you into custody under authority of the Patriot Act on suspicion of aiding and abetting a terrorist conspiracy. Hook him up."

  The two agents moved in. One pulled Chan's arms behind his back and handcuffed him. He wasn't gentle about it. The other took Charlie's gun and badge.

  "Hey, take it easy, that hurts. You got this all wrong. I want a lawyer. I've got rights."

  "No lawyers, Charlie. As for rights, traitors still get a few, but I don't remember right now what they are."

  Jordan reached into Charlie's jacket pocket and removed the phone.

  "I wonder what we'll find here? Should be some interesting numbers. Take this scumbag downstairs and lock him up. Get him out of my sight."

  All work on the floor stopped as the agents frog-marched Charlie away, struggling and protesting. After a moment the sounds of the office resumed. Jordan went back into the cubicle and sat down at Charlie's desk. He didn't think he'd find anything but he was going to look just the same. He took a few deep breaths.

  Zeke loosened his tie, waiting for his blood pressure to return to normal. He forced himself to sit quietly. His doctor had him on meds but sometimes they didn't seem to have much effect. His wife was always trying to get him to eat salads and take vitamins and lay off the burgers and fries. Rabbit food, he called it, the stuff she served him. There was always McDonald's on the way to work.

  After a few minutes he felt better. A rotten apple like Charlie tainted everything. It made him angry.

  He called for a tech to take the computer and phone in for analysis. During the next hour he went through Charlie's files. He would give Chan a little more time to realize the full implication of his situation and then begin the interrogation. Zeke didn't think Charlie would be much of a challenge. They had him cold, his only hope was to tell what he knew and try to bargain for lighter punishment.

  They were making progress. With Cathy Chen and Chan in custody they had hampered Wu's operations. Jordan knew Wu was back in China, so the big question was whether it would make any real difference.

  He called Director Harker.

  "We've got our mole in custody."

  "Have you begun the interrogation yet?"

  "Not yet. I'm letting him sweat a little. His phone and computer are in the lab now. We had his cubicle bugged and recorded him making a call to Wu. They've probably got the intercept at NSA."

  "What was the number?"

  Jordan gave her Charlie's cell phone number.

  "We didn't hear Wu's end but Chan told him we knew about his plans, so by now Yang knows we're on to him. Should be interesting to see what happens."

  "It might not change anything, but it's got to have Yang worried. Stress causes mistakes. I'm hoping he'll make a few."

  "You get any help from State, yet?"

  "No. As far as they're concerned I should mind my own business and stick to finding second rate terrorists, which is pretty much what they think we do over here. That mostly works to my advantage, but the tradeoff is sometimes people don't take us very seriously. It's State's problem, anyway."

  "I'm beginning to see you do a lot more than analyze possibilities, Director."

  "I'd appreciate your discretion about that. I keep a low profile."

  "Working with you has turned this into the most interesting week I've had around here in years. Low profile works for me. Anything you need from me?"

  "Not at the moment. Let me know what you learn from your mole."

  "I will."

  Jordan flipped the phone shut and put it in his shirt pocket. Time to go talk to Charlie.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  The contents of the bottle swirled and sparkled with dancing glints of gold in the light of the burning bowls. Selena brushed back a loose strand of hair.

  The smell of decay from the sarcophagus was getting stronger. The fresh, life-like tone of the Emperor's face was taking on a bruised look, the color darkening.

  Nick took the bottle and placed it ba
ck in the box. He put the jade box back at the emperor's feet.

  "How about the pictures on the walls, Selena?"

  "I've already got most of it. Just a few more."

  "Make it quick. We're running out of time before someone shows up. Ronnie, let's look around one more time."

  In the workshop they searched through the objects scattered about on the tables. They steered clear of the chest with the uranium ore.

  Selena called out. "Hey, I'm done."

  "All right, let's get out of here."

  "What about the emperor?" said Selena.

  "What about him?"

  They glanced over at the emperor. He wasn't looking good. Pools of putrid fluid were forming in the crypt. When they'd unsealed the lid, the air had started a chemical reaction. Immortality wasn't what it was cracked up to be.

  "Shouldn't we put the lid back on? It seems the right thing to do."

  Ronnie and Nick looked at each other, shrugged, and went over to the crypt. The bones of the face were already showing through the rotting flesh. The stench was terrible. They wrestled the lid on.

  They shouldered their packs.

  They went back the way they'd come, climbing over the pit and past the spear trap to the ledge at the foot of the stairs. Torches still burned in the passage. At the top of the stairs the statue was where they'd left it. Carter took C-4 from his pack and began shaping charges. Ronnie stood guard at the entrance. Selena photographed the garuda.

  He placed the charges to collapse the floor around the stairwell and demolish the main doorway into the temple. He thought about it and placed a few more. The roof might come down, but he wanted to make sure no one else would get in. At the least, the entrance to the chamber would be closed and the stairs filled with rubble. He inserted the detonators and hooked up the timers.

  "All set. I'm giving it ten minutes." He activated the timers.

  They left the torches burning on the floor and stepped out into the daylight. Nick called Harker. As she picked up he heard the noise of trucks grinding up the mountain.

  "Director, we're ready to get out of here."

  "Where are you?"

  "We're just outside the entrance to the building in the center of the ruins. I hear vehicles."

  "All right, I see you on satellite right now. There are four vehicles approaching, three trucks and a command car. You've got company."

  Her voice was distorted, fading in and out. There was a lot of interference from atmospherics.

  "I'm having trouble hearing you. Can you call in a strike?" He waited for the delay.

  "Not without starting World War III. I'll call for extraction. I can see what's happening and let you know what the Chinese are doing, but you've got to handle this yourself."

  In Washington, Elizabeth watched the three members of her team duck back inside the building. On the western edge of the complex, the Chinese convoy halted. Soldiers jumped from the trucks and began to deploy. An officer gestured and pointed. Elizabeth zoomed in. Rank insignia of a Senior Colonel. Wu, she thought.

  "Nick, about thirty bodies plus an officer, I think Wu. They're deploying along the west of the ruins and to the south. They're cutting off access to the valley. Now they're beginning to move into the complex."

  Ronnie and Selena could hear Harker in their headsets. They knew what was happening.

  "Okay, Director. Keep talking. I won't be answering much."

  He looked at his watch. Six minutes until the charges blew. From the archway where he stood he couldn't see any troops over the rubble beyond the courtyard. They still had a little time.

  "We'll go out low and fast to the east," he said. "There's plenty of cover once we're out of the square. Selena, stick close to me, stay low. I'll take the point, Selena in the middle, Ronnie, you bring up the rear."

  They dropped low.

  "All right, let's move. Go!"

  They ran across the open courtyard and behind some large standing stones without getting shot at. His earpiece crackled.

  "Good move, Nick. They're across from you to the west and below to the south. Half of them are moving toward the center, you should see them soon, the others are working their way along the wall."

  The transmission was clearing up.

  A dozen soldiers scrambled over the rubble and ran toward the entrance to the temple. Ronnie tracked them with his weapon. Selena looked worried, but she had her MP-5 ready.

  Quietly, Carter said, "Hold your fire." He laid his hand on her arm. "Remember, short bursts. Try to keep your breath easy." She nodded.

  I can do this, she thought. I can do this.

  More soldiers appeared in the square and fanned out along the perimeter of the courtyard.

  Nick signaled. They moved away from the square, zigzagging between clumps of stone and half standing walls, working eastward. Harker's voice came loud and strong over the link.

  "You are still clear to the east. Soldiers are entering the central building. Wu is on the edge of the square directing them in. There are ten hostiles moving toward your position."

  Carter looked at his watch. Thirty seconds to detonation.

  "Get ready," he said. "When it blows everyone's going to be busy for a few seconds. Make a run for it, over there." He pointed to a gap in the outer wall, thirty yards away.

  Ten seconds. Five. The explosion was big. Maybe he'd used a little more C-4 than he needed. There was no time to look.

  They ran full out. Rocks and chunks of stone from the explosion rained down around them. Ten yards short of the gap the distinctive chatter of Chinese QBZ-95 assault rifles sounded behind them. Chips of stone sprayed around the team as they dove through the opening.

  Swirling black smoke and yellow dust rose high over the courtyard. The tall pyramid roof of the temple was gone. Ronnie was firing, shiny brass cases ratcheting from his H-K and bouncing off the stones. Selena looked stunned. Nick reached around the corner of the gap and fired blindly, risked a glance, fired at a soldier as he tried for cover and brought him down. Ronnie ejected a magazine, jammed another one in.

  Harker's voice came through.

  "Still three in front of you. More coming around from the south. They'll see you in a minute. Extraction team is in the air, ETA sixteen minutes."

  Nick took out a grenade, pulled the clip and the pin, let go of the handle and threw it over the wall. He heard screams as it went off.

  "Ronnie, go!" He pointed and Ronnie took off along the wall for the northeast corner.

  He pulled Selena to her feet. "That way."

  A Chinese soldier came over the wall and clubbed him with his rifle. Carter went down hard, his eyes blurring. Sound stopped. He struggled to move. He watched the Chinese raise his weapon, everything moving in silence and a strange light and slow, fluid motion, the soldier silhouetted against the cloudless sky.

  He thought of Megan.

  Red spots blossomed on the soldier's chest, stitching a neat pattern across his uniform. His eyes opened wide. Blood bright as fire gushed from his mouth and he fell sideways to the ground. Nick stumbled to his feet. Suddenly he could hear again.

  Selena stood ten feet away, looking at the man she'd just killed, her MP-5 held close by her cheek. He watched her face register what she'd done.

  Nick picked up his weapon and grabbed Selena's arm. They ran for the far corner. The ground along the wall was flat for twenty feet or so until it dropped away in a steep slope to the right. They ducked and dodged between piles of fallen stones from the broken walls. Bullets whined and ricocheted all around.

  Ronnie was almost to the corner when a clatter of automatic fire came from behind and he went down. Nick turned and fired, Selena beside him. They brought down the shooter. When they reached Ronnie, they dragged him around the corner.

  His leg was bloody. There were two holes on the back of his uniform, but his body armor had deflected the rounds and kept him alive.

  "Shit," he grunted, face tight with pain.

  "How bad?"

>   "Thigh shot. Probably broken ribs. God damn it!"

  "Selena, cover us. Keep your head down, quick looks, reach around the corner and fire in their general direction."

  She nodded, grim-faced, stuck her H-K around the corner, and began firing short bursts. Nick cut Ronnie's pants leg away. The bullet had gone all the way through, from the back to the front of his thigh. Nick bound him up with a strip of cloth torn from the pants.

  "Looks like it missed the bone and artery, amigo. Think you can stand on one leg?"

  "Yeah."

  Ronnie was pale. Things had just gotten more difficult.

  Harker's voice sounded in his ear.

  "ETA for extraction, eleven minutes. I can see eight hostiles still moving around plus Wu and Choy."

  "Tell them we've got wounded. Tell them to expect ground fire. I'm going to try to get to the northwest corner."

  "Roger that."

  The sky was a dirty yellow color, dust from the explosion drifting everywhere. He knelt by Selena.

  "How's your ammo?"

  "Getting low."

  He gave her another magazine. "We have to get to the next corner. There's a chopper coming. We need to stay alive and knock down a few more of them."

  "How's Ronnie?"

  "We'll have to help him. You're doing great. You help Ronnie, you and he watch the front, I'll cover the rear. Up there." He pointed. "Go!"

  She jumped up and helped Ronnie to his feet. They started toward the far corner, Ronnie hopping on one leg with his arm around Selena's shoulder. Nick risked a look around the wall, ducked back as flying chips cut into his face. He reached around, firing, and saw another enemy soldier collapse.

  Selena and Ronnie had made it to the end of the wall. He caught up with them. They crouched behind a tumble of rock at the corner.

  "ETA six minutes." The voice of the Director was distorted again by atmospherics. "Wu and four others are back at the trucks. Four coming toward you, around the corner."

  "Coming this way." He pointed. "Let them get part way down the wall." They waited, weapons leveled. Four men appeared, running low and hard. Selena and Ronnie and Nick opened up at the same time. The storm of bullets ripped through the soldiers and turned their crisp uniforms into bloody rags. They crumpled and slid down the side of the hill.