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“Mr. Stark, we don’t have much time. I don’t know if it’s in my power to save the ruyi tonight, but we must get it back to China.”
“Don’t worry, Dr. Ma,” David assured the archaeologist. “I plan on hiring local counsel first thing Monday morning to begin litigation. It’s a good thing you’ve come out to Hong Kong, because I think you’ll make a very credible witness when it comes time to identify your missing artifacts in court. We’ll get your relics back, including your ruyi.”
“Monday may be too late,” Ma said.
Ma had been disagreeable and obstreperous since David and Hulan debarked at Bashan. Now he was pressuring David?
“What’s so critical all of a sudden?”
Ma’s features remained unreadable, but David could see that the archaeologist was struggling with something. Finally, he said, “I’m not employed by the Cultural Relics Bureau. I work for the Ministry of State Security.”
That was China’s version of the CIA. Hulan had been right that something was strange about Ma. All of his territoriality could now be traced to issues of jurisdiction, clandestine supremacy, and personal safety. A black-world guy like Ma had to thi
nk long term. Once his cover was blown, it was blown for good, which meant this had to be very serious.
“That’s right,” Ma said as if reading David’s mind, “even Director Ho doesn’t know who I am or why I’m at Site 518.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I’ve already told you. We need your help.”
David waited. This revelation was coming far too easily after all of Ma’s lies and rudeness. Ma would have to prove himself. He seemed to understand this and began to disclose his history with just enough details to show David he was telling the truth.
“The ministry I work for looks very far ahead, and the men I work for in particular are far-ahead thinkers. When I needed an excuse to be in the States for a long time, my superiors ordered me to study archaeology, because no one would ever suspect a graduate student in archaeology of being a spy. My supervisors also anticipated that construction on the dam would come to pass. Everyone knew about the archaeological sites, but few anticipated what the foreign interest would be. My superiors did, and they were right. Stuart Miller, Lily Sinclair, and others all came to me. Miller was a particularly fortuitous prize, for obvious reasons. He had access to things that we’d love to have.”
The auction was moving along. Fitzwilliams was already on to Lot 8—a white jade imperial seal from the Qing Dynasty.
“Then Brian McCarthy brought in the ruyi,” Ma went on. “He never told me where he found it, but once he showed it to me and I recognized its significance, my position at Site 518 took on even greater importance. As you know, the Ministry of State Security’s concerns are international in scope.”
“Why didn’t you say something before? Why didn’t you ask for Inspector Liu’s help?”
“I am told you are an intelligent man, Attorney Stark, but you’re not appreciating the game here. Your wife was sent by her handlers to find the ruyi. They’re hoping to use it to strengthen their position in the government. And there are other factions who want it too. I’m asking for your help because you’re an American. You understand that the wrong power in the wrong hands could be detrimental to world stability. I hope you will put aside personal loyalties and do the right thing.”
But David wasn’t understanding anything. He’d seen Hulan get her assignment. There was no covert operation that he knew of, or was there? Would Vice Minister Zai have knowingly sent Hulan into danger again after everything she’d been through? And if so, would she have kept it a secret from David? A far more likely scenario was that Ma wasn’t telling the full truth. But what could be so important about the ruyi that Ma would be tempted to confide in David at any level, bring up global dangers, and suggest that Hulan was working for a secret entity within the government?
“Complete your job, Attorney Stark. Retrieve the ruyi. Deliver it to me. Inspector Liu is in over her head,” he reiterated. “By helping me, you may be saving her.”
David stared at Ma, calculating. “Why me? Why now?”
A grim smile twisted Ma’s lips. “I’m giving you an opportunity to help China. Now you’d better get in there and see what you can do.” Then, not for the first time, Ma turned his back on David and walked away.
HULAN AND MICHAEL GOT BACK TO TOWN ABOUT SIX. HE LEFT HER on a street corner, saying he was going to continue his walk, so she went on alone to the Panda Guesthouse. Michael had been right. She felt refreshed and ready for this interview. She dropped off her umbrella, then went to Angela’s room. Hulan said she had a few more questions, and Angela motioned her inside. She plopped down on the bed, tucked her bare feet under her, and regarded Hulan intently.
“Why did you lie to me about when you came to China?” Hulan asked.
“What do you mean?” Angela’s eyes were bright with the knowledge that she’d been caught.
“You left Seattle before your brother died. You lied to Captain Hom. In China, lies are considered criminal offenses.”
Angela stared at Hulan with that ridiculous naïveté that was such a weak trait of Americans.
“Your brother is dead. The fact that you’ve deliberately chosen not to be honest doesn’t look good.”
“You can’t believe I hurt him!” Angela’s features crumpled, but the routine had worn thin.
“Miss McCarthy, you’re far from any consulate or embassy. Either you can tell me the truth right now or I can have Captain Hom put you in jail until you decide to be more forthcoming.”
“I thought you were nice,” Angela said reproachfully.
