“How about you?” I asked Wang Sichuan. “Who do you think it is?”
He shook his head. All of the engineering corpsmen were new faces. Honestly, it could be anyone. “If I had to guess,” he said, “then it would either be Chen Luohu or Pei Qing. Those two are the most suspicious. But I’d say it’s Pei Qing.”
Wang Sichuan was biased in this respect, but by now I had some doubts about Pei Qing as well. Still, I didn’t want to say them aloud.
For a moment we were silent. Then Ma Zaihai asked, “So what do we do now? The enemy is unknown and we’re still out in the open.”
“I’ve never done counterespionage work before,” I said, “but since we three were all trapped together, it’s obvious that each of us is innocent. If we keep circling around the issue like this—with the enemy hidden and attacking us at every step—we’re dead meat. Since we already know he’s after the film, we’d better grab it first and get out of here. Once we’re back on the surface, we can let our superiors decide the next step.” This suggestion was not only in our own best interest, but in the best interest of the military and even the nation as well. We agreed at once.
“But if it really is as we suspect,” said Wang Sichuan, “then with so few people left in the warehouse, that son of a bitch has probably already got the film.”
“That’s possible,” I said, “but we have to get back and see.” Besides, it was certain that Old Tang and the others were also trying to find their way back there. We had a duty to leave them a message regarding our whereabouts and what we’d learned about the spy. Otherwise they’d probably keep looking for us, sending out teams in all directions. Any deaths that resulted would fall on our shoulders. It made the most sense for one of us to stay behind and wait for Old Tang while the other two grabbed the film and headed for the surface. Who would stay and who would go was a delicate question. For the time being, I decided not to raise it.
The warehouse was our first stop. We had to get there before the spy. For two full hours we passed through the core region of the dam—the workers’ dormitory, cafeteria, and armory, as well as countless control rooms, small-scale workrooms, and bathrooms—winding our way around innumerable corners until, at last, we came upon a staircase. It was an emergency stairwell, extremely narrow and cramped, probably used for evacuation when the caissons weren’t working. After walking up twenty levels, we could hear the sound of wind. We walked another ten and pushed open a thin iron door. We were back atop the dam.
A strong wind rushed into my nose and mouth. The solitary searchlight was still there, the nothingness beyond quiet and profound. After all we’d experienced, it felt strange to see it again. On the other side, the river had already dropped to its lowest point. Everything that had been submerged beneath the floodwater was revealed. We saw a pile of corpse bags the size of a small hill, the giant Shinzan broken between them. The trail it had cut as it crashed down was distinctly visible. Many structures had emerged and a number of lights could be seen shining in the dark. In powering up the searchlight, Ma Zaihai had probably switched these on as well. The river had not dried up completely. Although the water level was extremely low, I could still hear the sound of the current. The dam’s sluice gates were shut, and water retention had begun. Soon it would rise once more.
Ma Zaihai pointed toward a section of the darkness. “The filtration gate is over there. That’s where I left our raft. I tied it real tight, so it should still be there.”
“If we can take that raft to the surface, then consider your wish of becoming a deputy squad leader granted,” I said. And what if the raft is gone? I said to myself. Then we’ll just wade right out of here, even if it means courting death.
There wasn’t much time to think about it. We discussed for a moment how best to reach the warehouse. We decided we should find a ladder and climb down the outer wall. Just as we were about to set out, Ma Zaihai suddenly hissed, “Look over there!”
He hurried over to the river side of the dam. “What is it?” I asked.
“Someone’s there!”
I looked where he was pointing. A flashlight beam was moving swiftly through the darkness. Someone was hurrying across the plank-and-wire walkway.
“Who is it?” asked Wang Sichuan.
Ma Zaihai looked out anxiously. “I don’t know, but he’s heading for the raft.”
“Shit!” We all knew this was bad. One flashlight. One person all on his own. Was it the spy? Had he gotten what he wanted and was he now preparing to make a stealthy exit? There was no time to assess the situation. We had to catch him, regardless of whether he was a friend or an enemy. Before I could say anything, Ma Zaihai and Wang Sichuan had already rushed off and begun climbing down a riverside ladder.
This side of the dam had neither a strong wind nor a bottomless abyss. We flew down the rungs. At the bottom of the dam, the walkway extended in all directions. We couldn’t see where he’d gone. Just as we were hesitating, sharp-eyed Wang Sichuan saw a flashlight beam up ahead, about fifteen hundred feet away.
“After him!” I cried, but he pulled me back.
“We have no weapons. If it is the spy and he’s carrying an automatic rifle, then, head to head, we’re no match for him.”
“So what do we do?” I hurriedly asked.
“We have to take him out in one blow.” Wang Sichuan was very calm as he spoke. “Listen, this isn’t a joke. Our adversary is a spy, a cold-blooded killer. You’re a technical specialist, and Little Ma is an engineering corpsman. Neither of you have real battle experience. This is no time to be rash.”
I was enraged. “What battle have you been in?”
“I may have never been to war, but by five I was riding horses with my dad. By fifteen, my friends and I were heading into the mountains to hunt wolves. When we Mongolians were kids, our games were all life-and-death. You’re just not going to be as strong as us.” He paused to look out at the flashlight beam, then continued: “This is a hunt, and our sole advantage is that it’s three of us against one of him. We’ll have to divide the responsibilities: one person will divert his attention, one will knock his rifle away, and the last will subdue him. Old Wu, being the smallest, will distract him, I’ll take care of knocking his gun away, and then, in that instant, you, Little Ma, will make a surprise attack.”
“But you don’t have a gun,” I said. “How are you going to knock his away?”
Wang Sichuan looked around for something to throw, but there was nothing atop the walkway. He reached into the water and hauled up a thighbone from within one of the submerged gunnysacks. “The Mongolian grasslands are just as empty as here,” he said, “but so long as one’s skills are great, anything can become a weapon.”
Seeing his stance as he hefted the thighbone, I knew he was preparing to throw the bulu. “Why not just smack him across the head with it and knock him over?” I asked.
“Not possible,” he said. “See for yourself.”
Looking over at the swinging beam, I understood what he meant. There wasn’t enough light. All we could see of the person was the area just around his flashlight.
“That’s why you have to make him open fire—so that I know where his gun is.”
I ordinarily had a lot of confidence in his skill, but this was all or nothing. “No way,” I said. “We’re just gambling on your bulu toss. What happens if you miss?”
“Don’t speak such nonsense,” said Wang Sichuan. “Keep hesitating and that son of a bitch will get away. You want to be trapped here forever?”
I looked up. The light beam had stopped moving. I knew we had no choice but to roll the dice. I nodded.