They were brothers.
So King powered straight into the building, no matter the consequences.
He plunged into darkness, went to the end of the corridor, and listened hard.
He thought he heard a creak to his left.
He turned that way, surged forward a few steps, and threw the door open.
He came face to face with Utsav.
17
The guide was suspended from the wooden rafters by his belt, his face dark blue.
His body swung gently in the muddy light.
King paused in the doorway, watching, thinking.
On the outside, as stoic as always.
On the inside, strangely hollow.
He’d seen so much death in his life. He’d caused most of it himself. What was one more body to add to the count?
But something about this one set his nerves on edge, made him shiver involuntarily. He quietly stepped back and closed the door and put his hands on his hips and turned—
Slater almost walked straight into him.
Their switchblades came up in mutual anticipation, but as soon as they recognised each other in the semi-darkness they relaxed.
Slater said, ‘You okay?’
‘Yeah. I’m not hurt.’
‘No, I mean … you look like you’re about to throw up.’
‘I might.’
‘Why?’
King jerked a thumb toward the closed door. ‘Our guide’s in there.’
‘Did you kill him?’
‘Didn’t have to.’
Slater let the words sink in.
He stood there, chewing his bottom lip, figuring out how to respond.
Eventually, he said, ‘How’d he do it?’
‘His belt.’
‘Damn.’
‘Are you genuinely disappointed?’
‘Only because I wanted answers.’
‘Me too, buddy.’
‘How many did you handle?’
‘Ten. Plus the driver.’
‘Jesus Christ.’
‘You?’
‘Four. Plus the guide. But he handled himself, I guess.’
‘That’s a sizeable force.’
‘They were amateurs.’
‘Doesn’t matter what they were. They tried to kill us all the same.’
‘Who are they?’
‘If I had to guess … they’re the desperate. I’m not about to feel sorry for them, but I doubt there’s much motivation in their heads besides instant gratification. It’s the same everywhere, not just here. All you need to do is find those with nothing left to live for. Who think they’re just a cog in a machine and that life is passing them by. Offer them a life-changing sum of money to stick a knife in someone’s back and they’ll do it without blinking.’
‘Did you leave any of yours alive?’
‘A few. They’ll be concussed, though.’
‘We could quiz them.’
‘They won’t speak English.’
‘You sure about that?’
‘On the off chance they do, we won’t get any information out of them. You think they know details?’
Slater turned on his heel and walked away.
King watched him leave, flabbergasted.
‘What are you—?’
‘Follow me,’ Slater said.
They made it to the dining area, now seemingly brighter as the murkiness outside intensified. Under the artificial glow they stared down at the three men Slater had incapacitated.
One was dead, the other was bleeding out, and the third was still twitching in unconsciousness.
Slater said, ‘Look closely at them.’
King looked closely.
It only confirmed his prior suspicions.
All three were small men, almost certainly Nepali, with slim builds and old faded clothes. They wore a mixture of plaid shirts and sweaters made of thin scratchy wool, and pants made of coarse fabric. They were locals.
Slater said, ‘You really think Parker’s bodyguard is behind this?’
‘Why would this exclude Perry?’
‘The connections. Seems he has a grip on every trekking company in Kathmandu if he’s the mastermind.’
‘Not really,’ King said. ‘You ever thought about how many trekking companies there are in that city? We need to speak to Violetta. Maybe she went through the same organisation that Parker did.’
‘She wouldn’t have. Unless she’s stupid.’
King didn’t bite. He was too deep in thought.
He said, ‘It does make it less likely, though. I’ll give you that.’
‘What do we do now?’
‘Keep driving.’
‘You think that’s the best idea, given…?’
He didn’t finish the sentence. He just gestured to the hostiles he’d mauled.
King thought harder.
Then he said, ‘I don’t see why not. If it’s the porter, then we’re either wrapped up in something larger than we thought and not safe anywhere, or we’re in the clear. There’s a fair chance that was the entirety of the forces he had available. Might be smooth sailing from here on out.’
‘I doubt that very much.’
‘Based on what?’
‘Almost every operation we’ve ever been on.’
‘Correlation isn’t causation—’
‘Yeah, yeah,’ Slater said. ‘I know. But honestly, when has it ever been smooth sailing?’
‘Noted.’
‘I think we should wait to see what Violetta has to say.’
‘Are you getting cold feet?’
‘If we make it to Phaplu, we might as well paint a target on our backs. Utsav and the driver both knew where they were taking us. They’ll have something in place for contingencies.’
‘Or they planned on overwhelming us with fourteen men right here,’ King said. ‘They didn’t know who we were, exactly. They just knew we were trouble.’
Slater said, ‘Your call.’
‘We keep going.’
‘Because of a hunch?’
‘Because of the girl,’ King said. ‘She’s still missing. No matter who’s behind it. Clock’s ticking.’
Slater nodded. ‘I guess that’s all it comes down to, right?’
‘What do we do with these guys?’
‘Leave them. Let them fend for themselves. The survivors won’t follow us. Not after what we did to them. Not after the headaches they’ll wake up with.’
King nodded. ‘Okay. Guess that covers it. Let’s go.’
As calm as if they’d just finished lunch, they left the teahouse, walked past the dead or semi-conscious attackers dotted across the grass, and climbed back into the original jeep. King got behind the wheel, and Slater took the passenger seat. They slammed their doors and King threw it in reverse and crept back down the road. They stayed quiet the whole way out of the village, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of a second assault.
There was nothing.
Desolation.
Silence.
Wind.
Cloud.
King spun the jeep around and mounted the same steadily ascending trail, leaving the village behind.
‘Guess we’re on our own for the rest of the drive,’ Slater said. ‘Hope there aren’t an abundance of forks in the road.’
King said, ‘I doubt that. But just to be sure…’
He reached back with one hand and fished the satellite phone
