Kelly Swan sat in the shade of the main tent where the workers came to eat, rest, and replenish their water. She was covered in sand and dirt, and it chafed at her. She wanted a bath and a comfortable bed instead of the thin pallet she'd been assigned.
But she knew that wasn't going to happen for some time.
She also felt naked without a weapon. Especially in the middle of the desert.
Getting into the camp had been easy. After she'd gotten directions in Dunhuang, she'd purchased an Enduro motorcycle and driven to within five miles of the dig. She'd left the motorcycle buried under a tarp that might preserve it if she needed it. She'd buried her weapons just outside of the camp after she'd used them to eliminate Ngai's spies. It would serve as a warning of sorts. She hoped it might even draw Ngai himself.
Then she'd walked into camp and joined the other new arrivals to the dig. She'd worked all day, learning the backbreaking labor involved with searching for relics.
One thing she had discovered was that no one questioned the labor pool as long as they worked. She worked hard both days she'd been in camp, soaking up information every chance she got while carrying buckets of sand away from the open pits where Professor Hu and his handpicked crew worked.
"Miss Lin."
It took Kelly a moment to remember the name she'd borrowed while in the camp. She looked up at Po, the old man who served as chief among the local population that had been brought in from Dunhuang.
"Yes."
"Do you feel well?" Po was thin and heavily wrinkled from the sun. He wore ill-fitting wraparound sunglasses and a Yankees baseball cap that was at least a size too large for him.
"I'm fine," Kelly said.
Po squatted beside her and clapped a bony hand to her forehead.
Kelly kept from breaking his arm through a sheer effort of will.
"You are very warm." Po removed his hand. "Very warm."
"It's very warm outside."
Po grunted, then handed her another bottle of water. "You keep drinking water. It's a long way to hospital if you get sunstroke."
Kelly uncapped the bottle and drank.
The old man smiled at her, then moved on to check the rest of his troops. He had a position on the dig site more as morale booster than as a laborer. He managed people and made sure the things Professor Hu wanted done were done on time.
A young man ran into the tent. "Professor Hu's coming back. He's bringing a body with him."
Instantly, everyone in the tent rushed out to see. Kelly joined them, knowing what to expect. She'd noticed the vultures gathering that morning.
She shaded her eyes with her hand and watched as the camels plodded toward the camp. Professor Hu was in the lead. A body was slung over the saddle pommel.
****
"The professor found two men up in the mountains. One of them is still alive."
Worry gnawed at Kelly's stomach. She'd been certain of the kills two nights ago. She didn't see how one of them could have survived. But there had been something in the cave, some kind of vapor that had made her feel woozy. And she'd been running on so little sleep for so long that she was all but exhausted.
Cautiously, she made her way to the front of the line, staying just behind Po.
Professor Hu, his face running with sweat, commanded his camel to kneel. As the large creature did, he held on to the man in front of him. Blood covered the man's midsection.
"Help me." The professor held on to the man.
Men ran forward to ease his burden.
"Gently. He's still alive. I want to keep him that way." Hu lowered the man to a waiting blanket, then ordered the men to help him lift it. They used the blanket to carry the wounded man into the main tent out of the sun.
Kelly stayed outside while the rest of the group went inside to watch the drama unfold there. She walked to the camel that carried the other man.
There was no doubt of the man's state. The scars left by the vultures marked his fate clearly. Half of his face and one eye had been eaten away. Three fingers of one hand were gone. Huge strips of flesh were missing from his back and legs.
"Do you know him?"
Turning, Kelly was surprised to see that Song, the second in command of the dig, stood beside her. She shook her head. "No. I don't know him."
"Are you sure?" Song stepped closer. "Because for a minute there it looked like you did."
"I've seen dead men before. That's all." Kelly shook her head and tried to look scared. "It's never seemed right."
"I know." Song looked like he might be sick. "Someone murdered this man and tried to kill the other."
"Who?" Kelly knew she had to ask that question. Any normal person would have.
Song sighed. "I don't know." He looked out toward the mountains. "Someone out there. Bandits, maybe."
Professor Hu called for Song from inside the tent. Song looked at her. "It's better not to dwell on something like that."
"I know." Kelly watched him as he turned and went back into the tent. She wondered how long it would be until Ngai discovered his men were dead.
And what he would do.
****
In the back seat of the luxury limousine, Ngai Kuan-Yin studied the belt plaque in his hands. He was fascinated and frustrated by his possession of it. As soon as he'd seen its picture online he'd known what it was and pursued it.
But it didn't tell him as much as he'd hoped. The inscription on the back had only confused him. It contained a lament by the original maker that the owner of the belt plaque was cursed. There was also a prayer that was supposed to offset the evils that would plague each generation.
The limo slowed.
Glancing through the tinted window, Ngai saw that he was at the Old Bank of China. Most of his legitimate business was done in those offices.
The two bodyguards seated in front of him moved into position as the luxury car eased to a stop at the curb. Ji Zi, the head of Ngai's security detail, spoke quickly and quietly over his radio. When he was assured everything was ready, he opened the door and stepped out.
Ngai moved out with his bodyguards. As always, he was aware of the vulnerability of being out in the open. If he had been a different way, he might have been resentful of the lifestyle he maintained.
But he wasn't. He loved what he had. He just wanted more. Especially the fortune his ancestor had bought with his treachery, and ultimately his life.
Ngai's bodyguards swept him by the abbreviated landscaped lawn and into the building. Across the foyer, Ji used the specially coded electronic pass key to open one of the private elevators used by the bank officials.
Just as the doors began to close, a large scarred hand slid between them and held them back. The man who owned the hand was over six feet tall. He was broad and fierce looking, with shoulder-length black hair and magnetic black eyes. His goatee was carefully trimmed.
"Mr. Ngai, I mean you no harm." The man spoke flawless Mandarin.
Ji whipped his pistol from under his jacket and pointed it at the tall man's face.
If the man was afraid, he didn't show it. His black eyes held Ngai's. "I know the secret of the belt plaque."
Ngai made his decision in a heartbeat. With such an announcement, there could be only one response. "Do not shoot him."
Ji never moved his pistol, but he didn't kill the man either.
Ngai studied the man for a moment, taking in the elegant Italian suit that had been custom fitted. "Who are you?"
"Garin Braden." The man smiled, showing perfect teeth. "I think you and I are going to be friends."
"What do you want?"
"To become your partner in your quest to find the City of Thieves."
"How do you know about that place?" Ngai asked.
Garin smiled. "I'm a student of history myself. Particularly when it pertains to treasure." He paused. "Is there some place we can talk?"
"I have an office upstairs."
"That would be ideal." Garin started to step inside the elevator.
Ji shoved him back outside. "The eighth floor. We'll meet you there."
Garin hung on to the elevator doors. Ngai knew that the man was on the verge of snapping, and he thought it would have been interesting to see who prevailed in such a situation. Garin seemed as much a warrior as Ji.
"Take your hand back." Ji flicked open a knife with a serrated blade. "Otherwise I will take your hand from you."
A brief, cold smile crossed Garin's lips. Ngai knew if the man had smiled at him in such a manner that he would feel threatened. The expression was as humorless as a shark's grin.
"The eighth floor then." Garin nodded and removed his hand from the doors. He looked at Ji. "Be glad you're working for Mr. Ngai."
The elevators closed.
"Do you know this man?" Ji didn't put his pistol away. He hid it behind his thigh.
"No." Ngai took out his phone and made a quick call. He said only Garin Braden's name.
Instantly the computer researcher on the other end of the line swung into motion. Before the elevator reached the eighth floor, the researcher knew something of Braden.
"Garin Braden is an entrepreneur from Berlin." The man's voice was calm and precise. "He's worth millions."
"Put together a full background check on him. I want it as soon as it's ready," Ngai said.
Ngai hung up and watched the floor counter. Suspicion and hope warred in his mind. The elevator doors opened.