“And you’d risk our lives and our nations’ reputations just to save your friend—”
“Yes.” Jack didn’t even blink. The image of Fuzzy’s head in that box flashed through his mind, a friend he hadn’t been able to save.
“That’s some loyalty you have there,” Astro said. “Will you risk all that for me if I get into trouble?”
“I don’t know you that well yet,” Jack said. “I’ll let you know later, if you survive. Now. The prison.”
Vulture unfolded some maps and satellite photos he’d brought from Saudi Intelligence. “The Chinese are keeping Professors Epper and Tanaka at the Xintan Hard Labor Penal Facility, a Grade-4 penitentiary in the remote western region of Sichuan Province.
“Xintan is a special facility reserved for political prisoners and maximum-security inmates. Its prisoners are used to dig the tunnels and high passes for China’s high-altitude train lines, like the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the so- called Roof of the World railway. The Chinese are the best railroad builders on Earth—they’ve built tracks over, under, and through the most mountainous terrain on the planet, many of them connecting the mainland provinces to Tibet.”
At this point, Pooh Bear’s brother, Scimitar, joined in. “They’re using the new railways to flood Tibet with Chinese workers. Trying to wipe out the local population by sheer weight of numbers. It’s a new form of genocide. Genocide by overwhelming immigration.”
Jack assessed Scimitar. He could not have been more unlike his younger brother. Where Pooh Bear was rotund, bearded, and earthy, Scimitar was lean, clean-shaven, and cultured. He had pale blue eyes, olive skin, and an Oxford accent. The classic modern Arabian prince. Jack noticed that he had put China’s railway-building into a political context.
“In any case,” Vulture said, “building the railways is very dangerous work. Many prisoners die doing it and they’re just buried in the concrete. Epper, however, was taken to Xintan because it features an interrogation and debriefing wing.”
“Torture chambers?” West asked.
“Torture chambers,” Vulture said.
“Xintan is notorious for its torture wing,” Astro said. “Fulin Gong devotees, student protesters, Tibetan monks. All have been ‘reeducated,’ as the Chinese put it, at Xintan. The thing is, by virtue of its unusual terrain, Xintan is uniquely positioned to be a perfect interrogation facility. You see, Xintan is built on top of not one but two adjacent mountain peaks known as ‘The Devil’s Horns.’
“Xintan One, the main prison, is located on the primary peak and is entered via a high-altitude railway line that passes directly into the prison via a huge iron gate.”
“Sounds like Auschwitz,” Stretch said.
“Similar, but not entirely,” Astro said. “After dropping off its cargo of new prisoners at the main prison, the railway line continuesall the way through Xintan One, emerging from another gate at the far end. There the railway line crosses a long bridge and arrives at Xintan Two, the smaller wing, the torture wing, situated atop its own peak. The railway enters Xintan Two via a third massive gate and there it ends. Apart from that gate, there is no exit from Xintan Two.”
“Like Auschwitz,” Stretch said again.
“In this respect, yes it is, Jew,” Vulture said.
Sitting nearby, Pooh Bear looked up sharply. “Vulture. I honor you as my brother’s friend. I would ask then that you honor my friend. He is known as Cohen, Archer, or Stretch. You will not call him Jew again.”
Vulture bowed low in apology, again in his slow, calculating way—which bespoke insult as much as it did regret. “I humbly beg your pardon.”
Astro broke the awkward silence with more information: “According to our intelligence, the Chinese also have a chase copter at Xintan in the event someone does escape.”
“What kind of chase copter?” Jack asked, cocking his head.
“A big motherfucking Hind gunship,” Astro said, “the kind of helicopter you don’t mess around with. Captain West, it’s said that the prisoners in Xintan One can hear the screams from the torture victims across the valley in Xintan Two. If there’s one complex in China you don’t want to be in, it’s Xintan Two. No one has ever escaped from it alive.”
“Ever?”
“Ever,” Astro said.
That had been several hours ago.
Now as they entered Chinese airspace, Scimitar charged into West’s office and said: “Huntsman! We just got something from the Americans. NSA intercept. The Chinese are moving your friend Wizard today. In one hour.”
West leaped out of his chair.
The news was bad. Very bad.
Wizard and Tank were being transferred from Xintan Two to Xintan One. From there, they were to be taken by train under armed guard to Wushan. Their presence had been demanded by Colonel Mao Gongli himself.
“What time?” West said, entering the main cabin.
“The train leaves Xintan Two at noon!” Astro called from his seat at a wall console.
“Could they know we’re coming?” Scimitar asked.
West was thinking exactly the same thing.
“It’s certainly possible,” Vulture said. “After Captain West’s rather noisy escape from Australia three days ago and yesterday’s plane crash in Dubai, they could well believe we’re up to something.”
