Satori

71

NICHOLAI STRUGGLED not to vomit.

Chen screamed and screamed, his body tossed against the chains as Kang sawed the wire back and forth through his testicles, all the time offering advice on how to better vocalize.

“Hum qi,” he coached, using operatic terms. “ ‘Exchange breath’ – slow in, slow out. Now ‘steal breath’ – a sharp intake, please, sudden, fierce. That’s it… very good…”

Nicholai made himself focus on his own breathing. In deep through the nose, force it down into the lower abdomen, hold and store, release… deep through the nose, force it down into the lower abdomen, hold and store, release… hold and store, hold and store, deeply in the abdomen until you can feel it in all your muscles…

He tuned out the sound of Chen’s agony.

“I confess, I confess I confess!” Chen screamed.

But Kang appeared not to hear him and continued “Drawing the Jinghu Bow Across the Strings” until Chen shrieked at a pitch that was scarcely human. He would not stop until Chen demonstrated all the mouth shapes of a proper opera singer: kaikou – open mouth; qichi – level-teeth; houkou – closed mouth; and, finally, cuochun – scooped lips.

Kang pulled the wire out and Chen’s neck dropped. His body went limp. Sweat dripped off his skin onto the concrete floor.

“I am a spy,” Chen said between sobs. “I was part of the conspiracy. I helped him every step of the way.”

“To send arms to rebels in Yunnan?”

“Yes.”

“To murder Chairman Mao?”

“Yes.”

“Who gave you your orders?” Kang asked. “Was it General Liu?”

“Yes, it was General Liu.”

Nicholai knew that Chen would say anything now, agree to anything, to prevent Kang from resuming the torture.

And Kang had revealed more of his strategy.

Remain calm - Kishikawa-sama came to him - and keep your thoughts as clear as a pool. Breathe and store your ki.

Liu is the target, he realized, and you are only a string of stones on the way to that target.

Very well.

Kang turned to him and said, “Now, Mr. Hel, it is your turn.”

He held up the wire.

72

“IT REALLY ISN’T NECESSARY,” Nicholai said. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

Kang smiled. “Admit that you are not ‘Michel Guibert.’ ”

“I admit that I am not Michel Guibert.”

“Admit that you are Nicholai Hel.”

“I admit to being Nicholai Hel.”

“Why did you come to Beijing, Nicholai Hel?”

Nicholai leaned forward in his chair as far as the straps would allow. He looked straight into Kang’s eyes and answered, “I came to Beijing to kill Yuri Voroshenin.”

Kang turned pale.

73

“GET THAT PIG out of here,” Kang ordered. “Wait outside.”

Position on the board changed, Nicholai thought. Not wanting underlings to hear anything that sensitive, Kang has removed those stones for me. Breathe and store your ki. Breathe and store your ki.

The agents unhooked Chen and dragged him out of the room. When the door closed, Kang asked, “You admit that you came to assassinate Voroshenin?”

“Admit it?” Nicholai said. “I proclaim it.”

“Why?”

Nicholai jutted his chin toward the wire in Kang’s hand. “I wish to spare myself needless pain. And I wish to make a deal.”

“You are in no position to make any deal.”

“How do you know?”

Kang waved the wire in front of his face. “I will make you tell me without any ‘deal.’ ”

“Probably,” Nicholai agreed. “But possibly not. You know that I was raised as a Japanese. What is your experience with Japanese under torture? And what if you make a mistake? What if you miscalculate and I die under your ministrations? Then you will never know.”

This is delightful, Kang thought. Exciting. A different script, a departure from the usual. He asked, “Know what?”

“How you can get power over Voroshenin.”

He saw it in Kang’s eye. It was fleeting, but it was there. Power over Voroshenin was a very desirable prize. Kang was desperate to get out from under the Soviet thumb.

Stone moved.

Breathe and store your ki. Breathe and store your ki.

Kang laughed, but the scoff was unconvincing. “And you can tell me how to get Voroshenin under my power.”

Nicholai nodded.

“How?”

“Put down that wire.”

Kang set the wire down. “How?”

“Blackmail.”

“Specifically?”

Nicholai shook his head. “If I tell you, how do I know I walk out of here alive? How do I know I leave China alive?”

“You’ll have my word.”

“You think me a fool.”

Kang nodded toward the wire. “If you make me perform ‘Drawing the Jinghu Bow Across the Strings,’ I promise that you will tell me. As you said, spare yourself that agony. As for your life…”

Breathe and store your ki. Breathe and store your ki. Do not waste effort negotiating over lies. Lull him now, lure him into overconfidence, draw his stones into the trap.

“Yuri Voroshenin,” Nicholai said, “extorted my mother into handing over a considerable fortune, which he placed into various bank accounts and investments. It was quite some time ago, but interest accrues, and Yuri is now an extremely wealthy man. I am sure that he wouldn’t want Beria to hear of it, much less Uncle Joe. Do you have a tape recorder?”

“Of course.”