Spitting blood and staining the snow, Jason managed to get to his knees and then his feet. With no way to put his right elbow back in place, he knew he was in deep trouble. That was his primary hand and now it was useless.
He spit once more and realized that in the last exchange, he'd dropped both his weapons. 'Guess we're back to the old-fashioned way,' he said. 'Sure you don't prefer pistols at ten paces?'
'I enjoy the personal touch of hand-to-hand combat,' Feng said. 'Don't you?'
'Not as much as I once did,' Jason admitted. He began to circle once more, looking for an opening of some kind, any kind that would let him harm this killing machine. Even as Feng tried to close the gap once more, Jason moved away, letting patience be his guide. In truth, he didn't have much left in him and he felt as if the next exchange would end it — one way or the other.
Feng leaped into the air once more and Jason feinted to his left, then moved right. Unable to adjust, Feng landed awkwardly, just enough to put him off balance. Seeing his opportunity, Jason made his move and closed the gap.
Screaming in pain, Jason forced both arms forward, driving his fingers beneath the man's floating ribs on each side. He grabbed them with his remaining strength and yanked as hard as he could. His right hand slipped away, but the left held and he felt the rib break. He released it, then tried to back away, but it was too late.
Truly angry, Feng grabbed his right arm and twisted him around once more. Jason felt the loop of wire slip around his neck, and tighten, cutting off his air supply.
'A very nice move,' Feng hissed in his ear. 'My left lung will be punctured on my next breath.'
Jason tried to reply, but with no air and the wire getting tighter and tighter, he couldn't force out the words. Lights began to swirl in his vision, and he knew it was over.
He heard Feng inhale, then gasp in pain as the broken rib bone turned inward, stabbing into his left lung. It was a shame he didn't manage to get both of them. That might have been enough to change the outcome.
'Goodbye, Mr. Siku,' Feng said, the wire tightening even more. 'You lose.'
'No, he doesn't,' a voice said.
Jason felt Feng's body tense, heard the unmistakable sound of a harpoon gun, and suddenly he was free. He slumped to the ground and rolled. Behind him, Feng stood, staring in horror at the long harpoon sticking out of his shoulder.
Searching the darkness, Jason spotted Tanuk standing nearby. Behind him, lights began to flicker as more and more people became visible. By all appearances, the old man had brought half the village population with him.
Slowly, Jason struggled to his feet. His right arm hung useless at his side, and blood continued to drip from his nose. His throat burned with each breath of icy air he took. Nothing had ever felt quite so good.
'You were saying?' Jason gasped.
Tanuk moved to his side, helping to hold him up.
Feng stared at Jason as though trying to figure out a particularly difficult puzzle, then he began to back away, moving slowly toward the helicopter. 'This is not over, Mr. Siku,' he said. He grasped the harpoon, groaning in pain as it tore muscle and scraped bone, but he managed to get it free. He tossed it on the ground. 'Men like us do not like leaving enemies behind.'
Sinking to his knees, Jason looked at Tanuk. 'Quickly,' he rasped. Blood vessels had been ruptured in his throat, and he spit, trying to clear his airway. 'In the back of the SUV. There's a green metal case, rectangular. Get it for me.'
'Let him go, son,' Tanuk said. 'We need to get you to a hospital.'
Jason shook his head and his eyes blazed. 'Get it now.'
Tanuk moved away, and Jason watched as Feng tried to climb into the Asp. His battered body wasn't cooperating very well, and he had to pull himself inside the helicopter and crawl into the pilot's seat. He rested for a moment, leaning his head back. Jason knew that the rogue agent was losing a lot of blood, but the man was tough as nails. He needed to be stopped, here and now, before he could do any more damage.
He heard a stirring behind him and saw Tanuk and another man carrying the case toward him. Feng began the start-up sequence, and the Asp's nearly silent engines began to cycle. 'Hurry,' he told them.
They set the case on the ground and all of them began to open the latches. Inside, cradled in foam, was a Russian-made Kornet-E antitank weapon. It was the infantry model, which used a laser-guided warhead. In combat, they could be used to penetrate concrete barriers and take out ground units who dug in behind protective shields. Inside the case were three warheads.
Lifting the Kornet out of the foam, Jason got it loaded, but putting it on his shoulder proved to be a bit too much. That collarbone was definitely cracked or broken. 'Help me,' he ordered Tanuk. 'Get it on my shoulder.'
The old man helped him lift it, while in the distance, Feng finished the start-up sequence. The Asp's rotors began to turn, and the blades started to spin rapidly as he prepared to take off. Looking through the glass, he saw what Jason was doing and started to lift off.
Flicking the switch to turn on the laser guidance system, Jason said, 'Get everyone out of the way. I don't want anyone hit with the back blast.'
Tanuk turned and started yelling for everyone to move.
Jason peered through the optic sight, and for a moment, his gaze met Feng's. The Chinese man nodded in acknowledgment, gaining altitude. He was perhaps fifty feet off the ground when Jason fired the rocket.
Using the laser, it tracked a path through the night and slammed into the Asp's cockpit, exploding on impact. The glare was blinding at this range and in the dark, and everyone's eyes began to water as the helicopter crashed to the ground in a burning, ruined heap.
Jason dropped the Kornet, groaning in pain. 'Help me up,' he ordered Tanuk. 'I have to make sure it's finished.'
'No one could survive that,' the old man said. 'No one.'
'I have to be sure,' Jason said. 'Get me there.'
Tanuk helped Jason up and the two of them slowly crossed the snowy field to where the Asp was burning on the ground. Even as they got closer, Jason saw movement near the wreckage and he used his left hand to awkwardly take the Glock out of its holster. Personal my ass, he thought, holding the weapon. I should have just shot him and been done with it.
'There!' Tanuk said, pointing.
Sure enough, burned and horribly injured, Feng was trying to crawl away, using the wreckage as cover. He must have jumped from the Asp milliseconds before the warhead impact. Both of his legs were broken and he was dragging them behind him like broken sticks of wood.
'Feng!' Jason shouted.
The Chinese man rolled onto his back, slowly raising his hands. 'You…win, Mr. Siku,' he said. 'I surrender.'
'You don't understand,' Jason said. 'There are no winners, no losers. Surrender is not an option. You've forgotten what Room 59 was created to do. We keep the world safe from people like you, no matter what the cost.'
'What…will you do, then, Mr. Siku?' he asked, panting for breath. 'Will you become what they made me? A cold-blooded killer of men?'
Jason shook his head and raised the Glock. 'No,' he said quietly. 'I will be more. I will finish the mission you forgot. The mission you walked away from.' He squeezed the trigger three quick times, using the time-honored pattern of two to the chest, one to the head. At this range, even left-handed, he didn't miss.
'And I will help keep this world safe.'
Slowly, he slumped to the ground. The warmth from the burning helicopter wreckage felt nice, and he knew he was drifting away. The last thing he saw before the darkness took him was Tanuk's face, the last words he heard were, 'You can rest now, son.'
Jason woke to the smell of woodsmoke and a scent that reminded him vaguely of cinnamon. He could hear hushed voices nearby, and he slowly opened his eyes. Above him, he saw a wooden roof with all kinds of symbols and signs hung from the rafters.
'He's awake,' a cracked voice said.
Jason turned to see Tanuk and an old woman, her face wrinkled with time and years, move toward him. She
