Dammit, Caudell hadn’t taken off. The idiot was trying to give them a chance to fool Kadmus that they were on board the copter. The soldiers from the compound would be here in just a few minutes, but they were out of sight now that they’d left the plateau.
If they could get down the rocky path toward those few stunted trees in time, it might work.
Erin was already flying toward those scrubby trees.
And Catherine had asked her if she could function, she thought ruefully.
Erin slipped on the ice, tumbled, fell to her knees, and hit the ground!
For an instant, she didn’t move but then she was on her feet again and running.
They reached the trees just as the helicopter lifted off the ledge.
Shouts!
Shots!
Soldiers appeared at the edge of the plateau and began to run down the slope toward the ledge.
“Come on, we can’t stay here,” Catherine muttered. “We have to get down this road before they stop thinking we might have made it to that helicopter.”
They ran.
The helicopter roared over the heads of Kadmus’s men, then turned and headed toward the side of the mountain.
More shouting.
Catherine glanced over her shoulder.
Oh, God, they were loading the missile launcher.
Caudell showed himself for the briefest moment, then flew again behind the outcropping of the mountain.
A moment later, a missile blew that stony outcropping to bits.
“Enough, Caudell,” Catherine murmured. If he played hide-and-seek any longer, his chances of making it away from the mountain intact were nil.
Erin was looking back, too. “What is he doing?”
“Giving us time. Where’s this village?”
“Straight ahead. But we can’t go through it, or they’ll send word to Kadmus. He has everyone on this mountain terrified.” She nodded at a side path. “That will take us around the village. There’s a cave near there that was used by the monks for prayer vigils over a hundred years ago. Everyone has forgotten about it by now. We should be safe there for a little while.”
“If everyone’s forgotten it, how do you know about it?”
“I was told.” Erin looked at her. “By someone I trust. The cave is there, Catherine.”
Another missile explosion.
Dear God, Catherine hoped desperately that was the mountain being shattered again and not the helicopter. She turned and started down the path that went around the village. “Then let’s go find it.”
* * *
“You’re not going to like this,” Venable said when Hu Chang picked up the phone. “So I’m going to say it fast, then let you explode or offer a suggestion.”
“I will not explode,” Hu Chang said. “You’ve lost Catherine. Does Kadmus have her?”
“I don’t know. She got Erin Sullivan out of the palace, but they weren’t able to make it to the helicopter before all hell broke loose. She told Caudell to get out, and she’d contact him later.”
“But you don’t know if Kadmus captured them or if she’s still trying to get away from him. That is inexcusable.”
“It’s only been an hour. Even if she’s free, if she’s anywhere near Kadmus, she won’t use phone or radio since he could pick up the signal. I’m exploring the situation.”
“Not good enough.”
“You have contacts. Perhaps you can have them put their ear to the ground and get answers.”
“I don’t want answers. I want Catherine back in one piece. I want Erin Sullivan to survive. I want Kadmus dead. Is that understood?”
“Do you think I don’t want that, too? First, we’ve got to find them.”
“You should never have lost them.” Hu Chang was silent, trying to control himself. “You should never have lost Catherine. Now, you will do everything you can to locate her and let me know every step of the way.”
“And what will you do?”
“I will find her.”
“And you’ll return the favor and inform me of any progress you make?”
“Perhaps. If I have use for you. Otherwise, stay out of my way.”
“Dammit, I told you that we’re on the job searching for her.”
“I have little faith in you.”
Venable drew a deep breath. “Look, you’ll need me. Kadmus has a small army. If necessary, I can send a support force into the area.”
“I’ll have my own support force.”
Venable muttered a curse. “Shit. No direct confrontation. You’re not to cause an incident with Beijing.”
“Do you believe China owns Kadmus? I think not. But it would not matter to me. I find it interesting that it matters to you. And that’s why I have little faith in you.” He hung up.
He sat there for a moment, calming the anger and fear. For many years, he had worked on obtaining complete control of mind and body, and he’d had considerable success.
But not where Catherine was concerned. She was the exception to every rule.
Gradually, serenity returned, and he could ponder the options.
Contact Cameron now or wait?
Wait. He’d already told him of the possible problem. He’d get into position for action before he involved him directly. And perhaps Cameron already knew. Hu Chang was never sure about him at any given time. Cameron probably preferred it that way.
But there was one thing he had to do immediately.
He got to his feet and strode out of the study in search of Luke.
DAKSHA, TIBET
The cave was almost inaccessible. It was hidden behind a screen of trees, and once they reached it, they found the opening behind it covered by boulders and smaller rocks. It took Catherine and Erin almost thirty minutes to clear the opening enough to crawl inside the cave.
It smelled of wood rotting in a pile of against the far wall. Other than that, Catherine smelled nothing but the dirt on the floor and the moss on the stones beside the opening. She lit her flashlight and let the beam play around the space. “It’s not as small as I thought from the outside, but those monks wouldn’t have been able to do much more than pray and sleep.” The area was barely eight by twelve, and the roof of the cave was about ten feet high. “Definitely, no group prayers.”
“No,” Erin said. “But it’s safe, isn’t it? No … predators?”
“No, all the predators seem to be on the outside,” Catherine said. “Maybe a few jumping spiders. They’re the only ones that live this high up.”
“Safe…” Erin’s voice was a weak breath of sound. The next instant, she was sliding down the stony wall of the cave and closing her eyes. “I think I’ll let you take care of the spiders. I’m very … tired.”
“Erin?” It occurred to her that Erin had been very slow helping to clear the cave entrance. Catherine dropped to her knees beside her. “You had a fall back there. Were you shot? Hurt?”
“No, I’m just tired.” Erin opened her eyes. “I’ll be fine in a little while.” She tried to smile. “I’m sorry. I’m not as strong as I was before Kadmus started to work on me. It doesn’t take much to exhaust me. I’m glad I was able to keep up.”
“You more than kept up. You were ahead most of the time. You have nothing to be sorry about,” Catherine said. “You told me at the palace that there was nothing seriously wrong with you. Was that a lie?”
“No.” She paused. “I do have a dislocation in my shoulder that’s extremely painful. It slipped out of the socket again when I fell. And the index finger on my right hand is broken. The rest is manageable.”
Catherine felt a surge of anger. Just the matter-of-fact way Erin had mentioned those injuries made the thought of their being inflicted the more terrible. “That son of a bitch. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We were in a hurry. You wanted to know what condition would keep me from being able to help free myself.” She looked her in the eye. “Nothing would have kept me from doing that. If I’d had a broken leg, I would still have made it here. I didn’t have the slightest doubt that I’d hold out until we were safe.”
Catherine grimaced. “I would have had a small doubt or two if I were you. Why were you so certain?”
Erin shrugged. “I don’t know. I just knew I’d do it.”
“Adrenaline?”
“Maybe something like that.” She added quietly, “And, besides, I wouldn’t want to let you down. You seemed very passionate about getting home to your son. I’m sorry that everything went wrong.”