The Emperor's Tomb by Steve Berry Page A
Authors: Steve Berry
Tags: Fiction, General, Suspense, Thrillers, Suspense fiction, Antiquarian booksellers, china, Kidnapping, Pakistan, Denmark, ransom, Malone; Cotton (Fictitious character), Booksellers and bookselling
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and is using the boy as leverage to obtain Sokolov's cooperation. I am told Sokolov is the person who can explain the lamp's significance."
"Cooperation for what?"
"That is for you to discover."
Though he sensed Pau Wen well knew. "My information network is extensive, especially regarding Tang. When I learned of his interest in the lamp, I came here personally. Yet not a hint of anything you have said has ever come to my attention."
"Which should make you question your staff. Perhaps there is a spy among them? You will have the lamp soon enough. Return home and find Sokolov."
"And what of those eunuchs who surround me? The ones you say I should fear."
"They will show themselves."
"Is Tang also in danger from them?"
"Obviously not."
"How do I know who they are?"
Pau grinned. "Once, we would have a change of voice, an unpleasant falsetto. Beardless, we became soft and fat with little strength. As we aged, that weight shed and deep wrinkles appeared in our faces. The lack of testosterone also manifested itself in odd emotions--we were quick to anger and tears. None of that is true today. Modern supplements mask all side effects, especially if the man is not castrated until adulthood, which is generally the case. Know that it will be nearly impossible, without a visual inspection, for you to know."
"Is Tang after Sokolov?"
Pau nodded. "With all the resources he can muster."
Ni would have to verify everything he'd learned before becoming a convert. "Where is the lamp hidden?"
"Inside the Dries Van Egmond Museum, in Antwerp. It holds a private collection of art and furniture from the 17th and 18th centuries. Cassiopeia Vitt hid the lamp in a boudoir, on the third level, decorated in the Chinese style, that includes some unremarkable Ming porcelain. I have visited there myself. Perhaps she thought it would go unnoticed, at least for a few days. Or if it was noticed, the museum staff would safeguard it. Not a bad decision, considering she had so few options."
Pau telling him the location seemed some verification that the older man was finally being truthful.
"I should go."
"Before you leave," Pau said, "I have one more thing to show you."
He accompanied his host back into the house, following a long corridor to a black lacquered door. On the other side, a wooden staircase wound upward inside a rectangular tower. An open doorway appeared at the top of the stairs. Beyond shone the afternoon light, its warmth allowed in through bare window frames that wrapped all four walls.
"Stay here," Pau said. "Just inside the doorway. That way we won't be visible from outside."
He wondered about the subterfuge.
"If you will glance around the corner," Pau said, "there will be an excellent view of the front drive. Past that, at the highway, you will see a vehicle parked in the woodlands, perhaps half a kilometer away from the main entrance."
He did as instructed, squinting in the bright sunlight and spotting a car, barely visible in the thick trees.
"Careless people," Pau said, behind him. "They work for Tang. They watch this house. Not always. They come and go. But they have been here often the past two days."
"Is that how you suspected Tang would come for the lamp?"
"It seemed logical."
In the distant shadows he saw the front grille of another car brake beside the parked one. Two men exited each car, assault rifles being shouldered.
Fear pricked his spine.
The men advanced toward the gray walls, walking toward the open front gate.
"That's somewhat unexpected," Pau calmly said.
Men with guns were approaching, and all this man could say was unexpected.
He was concerned.
Greatly.
Chapter Seventeen.
MALONE ASSESSED THE STARTLING INFORMATION STEPHANIE was providing.
"The Western mind-set," she said, "is that oil is a fossil fuel. Remember, back in the 1960s, when all the Sinclair gas stations displayed a dinosaur as a trademark? There were TV commercials that showed dinosaurs dying, decaying, and turning into oil. Ask
"Cooperation for what?"
"That is for you to discover."
Though he sensed Pau Wen well knew. "My information network is extensive, especially regarding Tang. When I learned of his interest in the lamp, I came here personally. Yet not a hint of anything you have said has ever come to my attention."
"Which should make you question your staff. Perhaps there is a spy among them? You will have the lamp soon enough. Return home and find Sokolov."
"And what of those eunuchs who surround me? The ones you say I should fear."
"They will show themselves."
"Is Tang also in danger from them?"
"Obviously not."
"How do I know who they are?"
Pau grinned. "Once, we would have a change of voice, an unpleasant falsetto. Beardless, we became soft and fat with little strength. As we aged, that weight shed and deep wrinkles appeared in our faces. The lack of testosterone also manifested itself in odd emotions--we were quick to anger and tears. None of that is true today. Modern supplements mask all side effects, especially if the man is not castrated until adulthood, which is generally the case. Know that it will be nearly impossible, without a visual inspection, for you to know."
"Is Tang after Sokolov?"
Pau nodded. "With all the resources he can muster."
Ni would have to verify everything he'd learned before becoming a convert. "Where is the lamp hidden?"
"Inside the Dries Van Egmond Museum, in Antwerp. It holds a private collection of art and furniture from the 17th and 18th centuries. Cassiopeia Vitt hid the lamp in a boudoir, on the third level, decorated in the Chinese style, that includes some unremarkable Ming porcelain. I have visited there myself. Perhaps she thought it would go unnoticed, at least for a few days. Or if it was noticed, the museum staff would safeguard it. Not a bad decision, considering she had so few options."
Pau telling him the location seemed some verification that the older man was finally being truthful.
"I should go."
"Before you leave," Pau said, "I have one more thing to show you."
He accompanied his host back into the house, following a long corridor to a black lacquered door. On the other side, a wooden staircase wound upward inside a rectangular tower. An open doorway appeared at the top of the stairs. Beyond shone the afternoon light, its warmth allowed in through bare window frames that wrapped all four walls.
"Stay here," Pau said. "Just inside the doorway. That way we won't be visible from outside."
He wondered about the subterfuge.
"If you will glance around the corner," Pau said, "there will be an excellent view of the front drive. Past that, at the highway, you will see a vehicle parked in the woodlands, perhaps half a kilometer away from the main entrance."
He did as instructed, squinting in the bright sunlight and spotting a car, barely visible in the thick trees.
"Careless people," Pau said, behind him. "They work for Tang. They watch this house. Not always. They come and go. But they have been here often the past two days."
"Is that how you suspected Tang would come for the lamp?"
"It seemed logical."
In the distant shadows he saw the front grille of another car brake beside the parked one. Two men exited each car, assault rifles being shouldered.
Fear pricked his spine.
The men advanced toward the gray walls, walking toward the open front gate.
"That's somewhat unexpected," Pau calmly said.
Men with guns were approaching, and all this man could say was unexpected.
He was concerned.
Greatly.
Chapter Seventeen.
MALONE ASSESSED THE STARTLING INFORMATION STEPHANIE was providing.
"The Western mind-set," she said, "is that oil is a fossil fuel. Remember, back in the 1960s, when all the Sinclair gas stations displayed a dinosaur as a trademark? There were TV commercials that showed dinosaurs dying, decaying, and turning into oil. Ask
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