False Horizon (3 page)

Tuk watched the hotel from beneath the overhang of a small electronics boutique that specialized in global positioning systems and cell phones. He had trailed Annja and the men with her to this hotel with very little effort. When they’d emerged from the Blue Note, it had been an elementary matter to ease into the traffic slipstream and follow them to this destination.

But Tuk was not happy.

As the party had exited the Blue Note, his weathered face had creased and then flushed. He knew the men who escorted Annja Creed. The heavyset man with the goatee was known as Burton and the other man was called Kurtz. They were two of the worst enforcers working for Katmandu’s most illustrious crime syndicate run by Mr. Tsing.

Tuk had worked for Tsing in the past, when his personal circumstances had forced him to take jobs from such despicable people. Tsing’s treatment of Tuk bordered on abusive, and after he had withheld part of Tuk’s payment, the small man resolved never to work for him again, personal finances be damned.

Burton and Kurtz had especially insulted him by tossing him out of his last meeting with Tsing and threatening to kill him if he ever showed his face around there again.

Tuk thought about the miniature folding kukri he carried in his pocket and how he would dearly love to use the knife to end Tsing’s life and that of both Burton and Kurtz, if he was given half a chance to do so. He never used to carry a weapon, preferring instead to rely upon his natural stealth abilities to remove him from harm. When he worked for spies, there was never much danger to him. But working with criminals meant constant danger so Tuk had taken to carrying a smaller version of the curved blade favored by the Gurkhas, the famed Nepali warriors who often served in the British Army.

Why was Annja Creed meeting with Tsing? And just who was the other man with her that Tuk did not recognize? If he read the body language right, and he felt that he did, then Annja and the other man were not going with Burton and Kurtz willingly. Tuk also thought it doubtful that in the short span of time since Annja had left the airport that she had somehow managed to run afoul of Tsing.

That meant the other man must have been responsible.

But how?

Tuk’s brow furrowed as he thought about it. Tsing specialized in any manner of criminal enterprises, but drugs, prostitution and extortion were his favorites. Less lucrative was the loan sharking, but Tuk nodded to himself. Perhaps that was it. If the man was in debt to Tsing, then this would not end well.

Did that also mean that Annja Creed was in danger?

Tuk slid the small cell phone from his pocket and pressed the two on it. The phone dialed a number that did not display on the screen, which Tuk now shielded to keep it from revealing his presence. He put the phone to his ear and waited.

“Yes?”

“The woman—Annja Creed—is at the Fairbanks Hotel.”

“All right.”

“She was brought there under duress.”

“What do you mean?”

Tuk recounted what he had seen and waited for the man on the other end to comment.

“You’re certain of this?”

“I know Tsing,” Tuk said. “He is a worthless criminal who enjoys seeing people suffer.”

“You have history with him?”

“Yes.”

“I would have thought it foolish for anyone to cross you,” the man said.

Tuk inclined his head. “I appreciate your saying that, but it has happened ever since my lack of work with my former employers.”

“Understood.” The man paused. “And you say Tsing has the uppermost floor to himself?”

“It is my understanding that he lives there, yes.”

“You’ve been inside?”

“Never.”

“I need to know what is going on. Is it possible for you to get inside?”

Tuk frowned. This was going a bit further than he normally went. Surveillance was one thing. Actual infiltration was something else entirely. And it meant danger. Especially since Tsing, Burton and Kurtz all knew who he was. If they spotted him…

“I realize this is asking more than you are normally tasked with,” the man said. “But I will make sure you are properly compensated for your efforts. If you can get inside and make sure that Annja Creed is safe, I will pay you an additional fifty percent of your fee.”

Tuk’s heart raced. With that much money he could easily leave this life behind and retire out in the countryside. It was too good not to take the chance. And if he happened to get a shot at Burton or Kurtz, perhaps he could exact a small measure of revenge on them.

As if reading his mind, however, the man continued to speak. “Make sure no one sees you. It is absolutely vital that Annja Creed not know you are watching her. She is incredibly intelligent. Any hint of your involvement will inevitably cause her to start reasoning out my existence in this matter. And at this moment, I cannot afford for her to know I am here. Do you understand?”

“Perfectly.”

At that moment, Tuk heard a sudden scream and then a body crashed down across the street into a stand of trees. There was a sickening sound of impact and then nothing more. A few spectators started forward and then Tuk heard someone yell for an ambulance.

“What was that?” the voice on the phone said.

Tuk frowned. “If I know the man, and I do, it would appear that Tsing just had someone thrown off the roof of the hotel.”

“A woman?”

Tuk shook his head. “No. It was a man.”

“The same man who accompanied Annja Creed into the hotel.”

Tuk bit his lip. “I don’t know. It could have been, I suppose, but in the darkness I cannot tell.”

“She could be in danger,” the man said. “It’s vital you determine whether she is or not. If you think her life is in jeopardy, you must call me back as soon as possible.”

“I understand.”

The line disconnected and Tuk slid across the street. Already in the distance, he could hear the approaching sirens.

As he came abreast of the circular drive leading up to the hotel entrance, he paused and then moved to where the body lay. In the midst of the curious onlookers, he drew no attention to himself.

Crumpled in a bloody mangled heap was the body of the man who had just fallen. Tuk looked him over and saw that the pants were not the same color as those worn by the man who had accompanied Annja Creed.

That was good news.

He turned back to the lobby. A steady stream of onlookers was rushing out to see what had caused so much commotion. Entering the lobby now would make him stand out. He waited a few minutes until he saw a bellhop dragging a luggage cart behind him.

That was his chance.

Tuk sidled up next to the cart and walked smoothly into the lobby as if he belonged there. He had often found that confidence helped with his virtual invisibility. The cart also helped hide him behind the garment bags.

Tsing occupied the penthouse and gaining access to that area required a special key in the elevator. Tuk had no such key. That meant he would be forced to take the stairs.

He entered the elevator and pressed the topmost-floor button, holding it down to cause the elevator to run express to his destination. He regarded himself in the mirrored doors and smiled. All that money! It would be his if he could just live long enough to see this assignment finished.

As the numbers flashed by, Tuk thought about the relative peace he would soon enjoy. Long walks would be the greatest exertion he would face, but otherwise, he would leave behind all the congestion and urban decay. And he would be immensely grateful for it.

At last, the top floor came up and the elevator dinged softly before the doors opened. Tuk looked out to either side, but saw no one else in the hallway. He stepped out and let the doors close behind him.

Down the hall he saw the exit sign for the stairwell and headed for it. He hoped that it would also go up to the penthouse and roof. Surely Tsing’s men had used it to throw their unlucky prisoner over the top. Tuk would use it to gain access to the penthouse floor.

He pushed open the door carefully, and listened. As he had hoped, the stairs ran up as well as down. He stepped into the cool stairwell and quietly strode up the steps.

Two flights farther up, he saw an unmarked door and stopped. This was the penthouse level.

A small amount of space showed under the door and Tuk got down on his knees and bent his face until he could see under the crack. He paused and let his eyesight adjust to the darkness on the other side.

As far as he could tell, there was no one in the penthouse hallway.

Tuk raised himself and turned the doorknob slowly.

The door opened and Tuk slid through. He could smell the incense that Tsing always insisted be kept burning. Tuk’s nostrils flared in disgust. He hated everything about Tsing, and his preference for incense and anything vaguely mystical was in direct contrast to his barbaric ways.

But one thing that Tsing insisted on helped Tuk and that was the low light. He faded into the shadows near a potted giant fern next to the massive oak doors and sidled up as close as he dared to the main entryway. This would make for a decent observation post.

How long would he need to stay, though? The man on the phone had told him to make sure Annja Creed was safe. But how could he do that if he was out here? Tuk listened at the door in vain. The heavy wood barred any sound from passing through it. And unlike the stairwell door, there was no such space at the bottom of the entry doors to the penthouse.

Tuk realized with a start that he would have to enter the penthouse itself.

He examined the door in front of him. There would be people inside. At least five, he reasoned. Tsing, Burton, Kurtz, Annja Creed and the other man. There might even be more.

Tuk took a breath and examined the lock. He could force his way in, he supposed, but that would simply alert everyone to his presence. And the man on the phone had been most insistent that he remain utterly invisible to Annja Creed.

Tuk wasn’t sure how the woman would be able to piece together Tuk’s presence with the man on the phone, but he knew enough not to question such things. If the man on the phone demanded that Tuk remain invisible, then that was exactly what Tuk would have to do.

But how?

He heard a vague sound and realized almost too late that someone was approaching the door. He slid back behind the large fronds and then heard the telltale click of a lock being disengaged.

The door swung open.

Tuk held his breath.

A solitary figure swept out toward the elevator bank. A woman dressed in a long mandarin-style dress with a slit running up its side revealed a brief flash of skin as she passed the giant fern.

The elevator doors slid open and she stepped inside. In the light of the elevator, Tuk could see the sharp lines of her Han ancestry. She had the look of lethal beauty about her.

The doors closed and Tuk stepped out from behind the fern just as he heard the doors to the penthouse swing shut. A soft gasp of air told him they must have had a delay to their closing to keep them from banging. Hydraulics? It didn’t matter. What did matter was that the pause in their closing gave Tuk the opportunity he needed.

He stepped into the penthouse.

Instantly, he moved to the hall table and sank down to his knees. It was essential he give himself enough time to take in all the ambient sounds of his new environment. If he moved too soon, he would risk being surprised by someone he hadn’t noticed.

But if he took too long, the woman might return at any moment and spot him.

Tuk’s heart thundered in his chest.

His ears perked up. Conversation. It came from a number of voices farther on in the penthouse. Tuk strained all his senses.

With a quick gulp of air, Tuk moved deeper into the penthouse.

Tsing ushered Annja and Mike into a grand living room. Annja could make out a large wraparound leather sofa that faced windows looking out over the city of Katmandu. The pervasive scent of incense hung heavy over the entire penthouse and Annja quickly realized that the sickly sweet smell was too cloying for her.

“Please make yourselves comfortable,” Tsing said. He reclined on the farthest portion of the couch and pulled his feet up under him. “I really don’t want this to be an adversarial relationship. Everyone always makes out so much better when things are nice and civilized, don’t you think?”

Annja raised her eyebrows. “Since when is tossing someone off a roof nice and civilized?”

“It’s not,” Tsing said. “And it’s a reminder that as cordial as I’m being right now, that mood can quickly turn. You’d do well to remember that.”

“Noted,” Annja said. “Now what is this all about? Even if Mike did borrow money from you, he certainly hasn’t reneged on that deal, has he?”

“No,” Tsing replied. “He has not. And, in fact, I fully expect him to repay me as he promised. But that’s not really the issue.”

Mike said nothing so Tsing continued. “What this is about is what he used my money to purchase. And I know full well what it was.”

“What?” Annja asked.

“A map that shows the way to Shangri-La.”

Mike frowned. “How did you find out?”

Tsing smiled. “You might say that I’ve had an almost obsessive interest in locating it for the majority of my life.”

“Really?” Mike said.

“And I know what the rumors are and who has what for sale. As I said, my obsession with the place has led me to have quite the network of contacts.”

Annja shook her head. “If that’s the case, then why didn’t you just buy the map yourself before Mike came to you?”

Tsing shrugged. “Sometimes people can be particular about who they happen to deal with. And I’m afraid that my reputation tends to precede me. I, of course, made overtures to purchase the map earlier. But the seller refused, saying that he would not do business with me.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t end up taking a dive off the roof,” Annja said.

Tsing smiled. “Violence is always a means to an end. But there are often better alternatives. If he would not sell to me, then it was merely a matter of arranging for someone else to buy it. In this case, I made sure that your friend Mike here found out about it.”

Mike frowned. “You baited me?”

“As much as my reputation precedes me, so, too, does yours. You are one of the few professors who have not gone along with the more outlandish theories of where Shangri-La truly is. I have known of you for some time now. I’ve bided my time. Waited. And when you learned about the map, I knew you would come here and seek to buy it.”

“But how did you know I’d come to you?”

Tsing shrugged. “I know everything about your financial situation. There’s little that cannot be accomplished with a few keystrokes these days. Even here in our rather remote portion of the world, we can still reach out and discover all we need to know. The map was too expensive for you. Yet after you laid eyes on it, I knew you would need financing for it. But you wouldn’t seek help from conventional means. After all, what if it turned out to be a ruse? You would become the laughingstock of your peers. No, you did exactly what I expected you to do. You came to me.”

“And you gave him the money,” Annja said.

“Absolutely.”

“Knowing full well that he would buy the map with it.”

“Yes.”

“And then you would have what you needed.”

Tsing shook his head. “Well, not quite. You see, I am bound by some rather perturbing aspects of my condition. I suffer from a skin ailment that prohibits me from going out into bright light. I dare say that I would make for a poor explorer. As such, the map is not as useful to me as it would be to someone else.”

Mike sighed. “You used me and now you want me to do your dirty work.”

“I want you to use the map to find the fabled location and then report back to me here,” Tsing said.

“What do you hope to gain from that?”

Tsing smiled. Annja noticed the utter whiteness of his polished teeth, even in the dim light. “I am part optimist and part fool believer. If the legends that surround Shangri-La are to be believed, then the place is a utopia of mystical qualities. I may, in fact, travel there by night and eventually find a cure for my condition.”

Annja laughed. “I’ve known people who thought that they could find magical places before. And each time they’ve been sorely disappointed.”

Tsing turned slightly to better face Annja. “And what brings you over here, Annja Creed? Is it just the promise of adventure with an old friend? Or is it something else?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean nothing more than I asked.” Tsing smiled broadly now. “I have long enjoyed watching you on that delightful show. You have so much more…presence than that other rather pitiable woman.”

“Thanks. I like keeping my clothes on, if that’s what you mean.”

“But your reputation also precedes you, doesn’t it?”

“I doubt it.”

“I know, for example, that you are an inherently dangerous woman.”

“Says who?”

“Says any number of witnesses to your rather adept fighting prowess. If rumors are to be believed, and I must admit I’m a bit of a sucker for such tales, then you have quite a formidable manner about you.”

Annja frowned. What else did Tsing know about her? She wasn’t comfortable with the direction the talk was heading. The last thing she needed was Tsing asking about her sword. Had he heard rumors about that, as well?

“This is quite a nice place you’ve got,” she said. “How is it you came to afford it?”

Tsing waved his hand. “A trifling matter not worth much discussion. I simply happened to make a great deal of money and invested in the right places. That’s all.”

Annja raised an eyebrow. “And the government here? How is it you escape their attention?”

“As I mentioned before, violence is only one method to achieving a goal. It is useful at times, yes, but overall it’s a deplorable thing to have to resort to. Often, better outcomes can be had if a little bit of leverage is applied.”

Annja grinned. “And your proximity to Tibet probably doesn’t hurt, either, huh?”

Tsing’s eyes narrowed. “Are you driving at something?”

“Just a theory,” Annja said.

“Care to share it?”

Annja smiled. “Not a chance.” She nodded at Mike. “So, you want Mike and me to find this place using the map he bought.”

“The map
I
bought,” Tsing said. “The money used was mine. I am the map’s rightful owner. You may consider it a loan right now, but it belongs to me.”

“As you say,” Annja said. “So we find this place and then what? We come back and tell you about it and that’s it?”

“Yes.”

“And Mike’s debt of the fifty grand?”

“Forgiven.”

“You’re serious?”

Tsing nodded. “Absolutely. The map is mine and I paid for it. I want only what I cannot achieve on my own. You must locate the exact position of the fabled land and then come back to me. What I do from that point on is no longer any concern of yours. Any attempt to meddle with my affairs after that will be dealt with firmly, if you catch my meaning.”

Mike grunted. “Perfectly.”

“Excellent.” Tsing clapped his hands. “And just to make sure there are no hard feelings about all of this, I will even loan you the use of one of my smaller planes. It will, I have no doubt, be of tremendous help to you in your search.”

“I don’t suppose it would do us any good to refuse your kind offer?” Annja asked.

Tsing smiled. “That would be tremendously disrespectful of you to do so. And really, I must insist that you use it. At least I know that you will be in good hands.”

Mike glanced at Annja. She shrugged. “Seems as though we don’t have any choice in the matter.”

“You do have a choice,” Tsing said, “but I’m afraid the other option isn’t nearly as enticing as the one I’ve put before you now.”

“What about Mike and his find? Does he get to tell the world that he found it?”

“And why would he want to do that?” Tsing asked. “Solely for the purpose of self-gratification? I daresay it would be much better for such a place to remain a fabled legend rather than to be overrun with mobs of tourists who would no doubt ruin the magnificence of the place.”

“You’re betting that it really is everything that the legends claim it to be,” Mike said. “We might find it nothing more than a dried-up lake bed. It could have been demolished in an earthquake. There are any number of possibilities.”

“And I’m counting on you to discover exactly what happened,” Tsing said. “All I want is for you to report back to me as to what you find. If you do that and then leave it to me, then we will have concluded our business. Which I’m sure will make you a much happier man than you seem to be at the present time.”

“The sooner we get started, the better,” Mike said.

Tsing nodded. “Shall we have a drink to celebrate our new arrangement? I have the most delicious peach wine.”

Annja held up her hand. “I had a beer earlier. Probably not the best idea to mix them.”

Tsing frowned. “Mike?”

“I guess I’d better. I wouldn’t want to be rude and refuse your kind offer.”

Annja winced. Mike’s tone was both condescending and rude. She saw both henchmen tense briefly before Tsing waved them back down.

“Bring the wine.” He regarded Mike and then spoke simply. “I suppose you cannot be blamed for feeling a sense of betrayal, although you were a bit naive to think that it would be a simple matter dealing with me.”

“I was stupid,” Mike said. “I won’t make the same mistake ever again. Trust me on that.”

“I do. You don’t strike me as someone who suffers failure easily. I would be remiss if I didn’t warn you that trying to double-cross me would be foolish.”

“I gave you my word and I’ll stick to it,” Mike said.

The goateed man brought in a bottle of wine and three glasses. Tsing poured for them all, despite Annja’s earlier refusal. She knew she was expected to drink the wine, as well.

Tsing handed her a glass and then one to Mike. He raised his in a toast and smiled at them. “Here’s to a successful adventure and an outcome we can all live with.”

Mike frowned but raised his glass. Annja did the same. She put the glass to her lips and smelled the sweet wine. It didn’t blend well with the cloying incense in the room. But she took a tentative sip.

Tsing watched her closely. “Do you like it?”

“It’s…different.”

“It’s more of a dessert wine, I know, but I love it so. I can’t imagine relegating it to such a minor role. I prefer it to stand on its own.”

Mike finished his glass and set it down. “Pretty good,” he said.

Tsing refilled his glass. “Have another.”

Annja let more of the wine slide down her throat. It seemed marginally thicker than other wines she’d had in the past. She felt a warm glow come over her and despite herself, she realized she liked the flavor.

Tsing sipped his glass thoughtfully. “This particular vintage comes from a winery down in the southern part of the country. I happen to own it, of course.”

“That must make for a nice discount on your personal supply,” Annja said.

Tsing laughed. “Indeed it does.”

Annja finished her wine. Tsing seemed almost too eager to refill her glass. Annja glanced over at Mike.

Mike had passed out.

She looked back at Tsing. He lifted his glass to her. “I must compliment you on what I perceive to be a rather incredible constitution. Considering your friend is already unconscious, I hardly expected you to last a full glass.”

Annja’s vision swam. “Why?”

Tsing waved her concerns away. “Do not worry. I’m merely taking steps to ensure that you will do as you’ve promised. You won’t be harmed. And tomorrow, you’ll be on your way to finding the mystical kingdom of Shangri-La. For now, sleep well.”