“Hello, old enemy,” Remi muttered.

She and Sam backed up a few more feet.

The Z-9 continued to rise, then pivoted, revealing another fond memory: an open door and a soldier crouched over a mounted machine gun. The Z-9 slid sideways over the clearing and touched down.

“Let’s go, Sam,” Remi said. “We need to hide.”

“Just wait.”

A figure appeared in the doorway.

“Oh, no,” Remi muttered.

They both recognized the lithe, willowy body shape.

Zhilan Hsu.

She stepped down from the doorway. Dangling from her right hand was a compact submachine gun. A moment later two more figures stepped from the doorway to join her. Russell and Marjorie King, also armed with compact submachine guns.

“Behold, the Wonder Twins,” Sam said.

Zhilan turned, said something to them, then stepped to the Z-9’s side door, which opened to reveal a mid-forties Chinese man. Sam withdrew a pair of binoculars from his pack and zoomed in on the pair.

“I think we’ve found King’s Chinese contact,” Sam said. “He’s definitely PLA. Very high ranking, either a colonel or general.”

“Do you see any more soldiers inside?”

“No, just the door gunner. Between him, Zhilan, and the twins, that’s all they need. I don’t know why they haven’t shut down the engine yet, though.”

“How in God’s name did they find us?”

“No idea. Too late to worry about it now.”

The PLA officer and Zhilan shook hands, then he closed the door. The Z-9’s engine rose in pitch, and then the helicopter lifted off. It pivoted so its tail was facing the plateau, then headed off.

“Our odds just improved,” Sam said.

“What’s Zhilan doing?”

Sam focused his binoculars on Zhilan in time to see her pull a cell phone from her jacket pocket. She punched a series of numbers into the keypad, and then she and the twins turned and watched the helicopter recede into the distance.

In a mushroom of orange and red, the Z-9 exploded. Chunks of flaming debris plummeted toward earth and then out of sight.

Sam and Remi couldn’t speak for several seconds. Finally Remi said, “That ruthless-”

“King is tying up loose ends,” Sam said. “He’s probably already shut down his black market fossil operation: the dig site, his transportation system-and now his contact in the government.”

“We’re the last loose ends,” Remi said. “Can we shoot them from here?”

“No chance. Our snub-noses aren’t worth a damn beyond twenty feet or so.”

In the clearing, Zhilan had traded her cell phone for a portable radio. She brought it up to her lips.

Over Sam’s radio they heard, “Do you have him?”

“I have him.” Ajay’s voice.

“Bring him out.”

Sam and Remi looked right. Jack Karna stepped from the tunnel entrance, followed by Ajay. The barrel of his gun was pressed against the base of Karna’s skull. The other hand clutched the collar of his jacket.

Prodded by Ajay, the pair walked halfway to the clearing, then stopped. They were forty feet to Sam and Remi’s right.

“Why, Ajay?” Karna asked.

“I am sorry, Mr. Karna. Truly I am.”

“But why?” Karna repeated. “We’re friends. We’ve known each other for-”

“They came to me in Kathmandu. It’s more money than I would make in ten lifetimes. I can send my children to university, my wife and I can buy a new home. I am sorry. But she gave me her word. None of you will be harmed.”

Karna replied, “She lied to you.” Then louder to Zhilan: “Your spawn I’ve already met a few months ago in Lo Monthang. But I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.”

Zhilan said, “My name is-”

“The Dragon Lady, I know. You’re too late, you realize. This is not the place. The Theurang is not here.”

“You’re lying. Ajay, what do you say?”

“We only started searching, ma’am. Mr. Karna and the Fargos seem sure this is the location of Shangri-La.”

Zhilan said, “Speaking of the Fargos . . . Come out, both of you! Your helicopter is gone! Come out now, help me find the Golden Man and I’ll signal for our transportation. I will land you safely back in Yingkiong. You have my promise.”

“You forget, Dragon Lady, Sam and Remi know you,” Karna said. “Your promise is worthless.”

“You are likely correct,” Zhilan replied. “Mr. and Mrs. Fargo! Come out now or I will kill your friend!”

Remi whispered, “Sam, we’ve got to help him.”

“That’s what she wants,” he replied.

“We can’t just let her-”

“I know, Remi.”

Karna called, “Dragon Lady, they can’t hear you. All this behind me is a temple-a complex so big, it will take months to search. Right now, they probably don’t even know you’re here.”

“They would have heard me on the radio.”

“Not from inside. The reception is nonexistent.”

Zhilan considered this. “Ajay, is that true?”

“About the radios, mostly true. As to the temple, it is vast. They may be unaware of your arrival.”

“Then we’ll have to go find them.” Zhilan said.

“Besides,” Karna added, “if they were watching, they would know what I wanted. I’ve spent my entire life searching for the Theurang. I would rather be dead and have them destroy it than give it to you.”

Zhilan turned toward Russell, who was standing behind her right shoulder, and said something. In one smooth motion, Russell lifted the machine gun to his shoulder.

On an impulse he immediately regretted, Sam shouted, “Jack, duck!”

Russell’s weapon bucked. The left side of Karna’s neck exploded in blood; he crumpled to the ground. Russell fired again, a three-round burst that slammed into Ajay’s chest. He stumbled backward and fell dead.

Zhilan shouted. “They are there! In that tunnel! Go after them!”

Machine guns raised, Russell and Marjorie began sprinting. Behind them, Zhilan began walking toward Karna’s body.

Sam turned and grabbed Remi’s shoulders. “Go! Hide!”

“What about you?”

“Right on your heels.”

Remi spun around and took off down the tunnel in a limp-sprint. Sam raised his .38 and snapped off a round toward Russell and Marjorie. He had no illusion about hitting them, but the gunfire accomplished his goal. Russell and Marjorie split up, each diving behind a nearby boulder.

Sam turned and ran after Remi.

He was only halfway down the tunnel when he heard footsteps at the entrance behind him. “Fast bastards,” Sam muttered, and kept going. Ahead, Remi had reached the end of the tunnel. She darted left into the den.

Bullets ricocheted off the wall to his left. Sam leapt right, bounced off the wall, half turned, saw a pair of headlamp beams bouncing down the tunnel, and fired at them. He turned again, kept running. Five more strides brought him to the den. Remi was crouched beside the near wall.

“Come on-”

From the clearing they heard a gunshot, a pause, then a second gunshot.

Sam took her hand, and they bounded up the ramp. Bullets thudded into the steps behind them. They reached the landing and started up the next flight. Remi’s foot slipped out from under her. She slammed chest first to the ground. She groaned.

“Ribs?” Sam asked.

“Yes . . . Help me up.”

Sam lifted her to her feet, and they climbed the rest of the steps and stopped before the arch that led into the Great Room. Through clenched teeth Remi asked, “Ambush them?”

“We’re outgunned, and they’re not going to charge up the steps. Sit here for a second and catch your breath. I’m going to check the next stairs.”

His left foot had just touched the first step when Remi screamed, “Sam!”

He turned to see Remi stooped over, running through the arch into the Great Room. To the right, a pair of figures appeared on the landing below and began charging up the steps.

“Mistake, Sam,” he muttered.

He fired two shots, but the snub-nose was worthless. Both bullets missed, sparking against the stone behind Russell and Marjorie. They ducked and backpedaled out of sight.