In the Orient (10 page)

Archibald had heard the liquid sloshing around inside the flask when Ming shook it, so he thought his reasoning was sound when he asked, “But once we give the Monkey Clone this elixir, we’re as good as dead anyway, right?”

Smiling, Ming replied, “Who say elixir inside?”

“Well, if the elixir isn’t in there, what is?” Willow asked.

“Ming drink much tea while working,” the old alchemist answered with his grin growing larger. “Ming not want to waste precious time, and flask sitting close by.”

Then Ming pointed his boney, crooked finger at Willow and May, saying, “No elixir here. Just tactic to buy time so you can use what I make tonight. Now, time you go get rest.”

In parting, the old alchemist bowed. The famous philosopher of ancient China was once again quoted when Ming said, “Lao Tse also say, ‘Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.’ Now you go and help things flow right way.”

After thanking Ming for all his help, Wu Feng and his three young companions quickly returned to the Vauxhall. Traffic was light on the way back to Victoria Peak. The sun wouldn’t rise until a little after six, so it was still dark when the car came to a stop a block away from Jade Place. Fortunately, Mrs. Chen, Ah-lam, and Kuang Jianguo were all still asleep when May silently opened the front door.

Minutes later, all three of the midnight bandits were back in their beds. They’d previously decided to take the ten o’clock morning ferry to Lantau Island, so while three hours of sleep wasn’t much, it was certainly better than nothing.

Alone and safely nestled behind locked doors, Archibald pulled the soft duvet up to his chin and closed his eyes. At that very moment, his brother was just waking up from a brief, restless sleep. His head slumped forward, Jockabeb was still in the grasp of the devious Monkey Clone, and he was anything but safe.

It was a sultry Sunday morning in Hong Kong. According to the weather forecast, the temperature and humidity was expected to raise the heat index to well over one hundred degrees Fahrenheit by noontime. Worse yet, there wasn’t a trace of wind in the forecast.

Archibald deviated from his normal routine when he arrived in the kitchen that morning, asking Kuang Jianquo for an English breakfast. A short time later, while listlessly dipping his toast into the runny egg yolk in front of him, he looked first at Willow and then at May before asking, “You really think we can pull this off?”

“You mean taking that crazy monkey’s eyes out before he strangles your brother?” Willow replied somewhat indelicately.

“Yeah, that,” he answered.

“Well, I don’t intend to miss,” May quickly interjected in a voice that was as hard and steady as the Rock of Gibraltar. Then she glanced over at Willow, saying, “And I don’t think my friend from New York intends to miss her mark either.”

May rapidly finished her breakfast and then excused herself for some last minute preparations. She first placed Ming’s lethal flying darts into one of the two side pockets of her backpack, and then the old metal flask in the other. After she put a pair of new batteries in her flashlight, she put it in the backpack’s main compartment next to a first aid kit. Finally, she filled two one-liter plastic bottles with very cold water. As she stowed the bottles, she was fairly certain that every drop of water would be consumed before the day was through.

When their air-conditioned taxi dropped the rescue trio in front of the crowded ferry station at a quarter to ten, the heat index had already broken through ninety-five. The moment Archibald opened the taxi door, the heat and humidity hit him like a blast furnace.

The ferry station had no air-conditioning, so there was little relief from the heat when the three teenagers—all wearing walking shorts, T-shirts, baseball caps, and
tennis shoes—walked inside. Now sweating profusely, Archibald pulled Willow aside while May went to the counter to purchase the tickets. Once again he asked if she was sure that one of the two arrows in her hand would be able to take out the Monkey Clone’s eye.

“Don’t worry,” Willow answered reassuringly. “My aim was dead-on when I took out the Ratweil, and it will be just as good when I hold up my half of the bargain by hitting one of the Monkey Clone’s eyes.”

“By the way, have you and May decided which eye you’ll each be aiming for?” Archibald pressed, wanting to make sure that there was no confusion on that critical aspect of the plan.

“Of course,” Willow confirmed, raising her eyebrow as if she couldn’t believe he’d just asked that question. “May has the right eye, and I have the left eye. We talked about that earlier this morning while we were waiting for you to come down to breakfast.”

“Okay, just checking,” Archibald replied somewhat defensively. When he saw that the incredulous look hadn’t left Willow’s face, he threw up his hands, saying, “Hey, I know I’m being a pain, but this is my brother we’re talking about.”

May arrived a minute later waving three round-trip tickets and two one-way tickets in the air. Her positive attitude wasn’t lost on either Archibald or Willow when she said, “Just so we don’t have to wait in line to buy Jockabeb’s and Robert’s return ticket at the Lantau Island ferry building.”

Archibald couldn’t help but again revisit the crucial task of simultaneously burying the flying dart and arrow into the Monkey Clone’s eyes. Looking at May, he said, “When you enter the Monkey Clone’s den, you’ll need to make sure you’re standing to Willow’s left. That way there’s no chance of your flying dart hitting her arrow in midair.”

“Right,” May answered patiently. Then, nodding her head toward the turnstile that led to the ferry’s gangway, she quickly added, “And if we don’t board straight away, it won’t matter where I’m standing because we’ll miss our ferry!”

Gently nudging her boyfriend forward, Willow quickly finished the conversation by saying, “And, my dear Archibald, missing the ferry is definitely not in your game plan!”

As soon as they’d boarded, May suggested that they quickly make their way forward to the bow of the ship. Since the passengers’ lounge was not air-conditioned, she had correctly concluded that the breeze would make seats near the bow the coolest spot on the ship once the ferry was underway.

During the hour-long ride to Lantau Island, Archibald again meticulously reviewed each element of the plan they had discussed with Wu Feng the night before. He then listed some of what he thought might
conceivably go wrong. Finally, he covered their options in case the unexpected did happen.

By the time Lantau Peak came into view, Archibald was sure that everyone knew exactly what to do and when to do it. Since there was no room for error, now all they had to do was to just execute the plan perfectly. However, the carefully constructed plan was almost scuttled the moment Willow walked past a policeman standing at the end of the gangway at the Lantau Island pier.

Seeing the crossbow in one of her hands, and two deadly looking arrows in the other, the officer put up his hand and told Willow to stop. It was only after ten minutes of intense questioning, which at times included May’s helpful intervention, that the officer finally came to believe that the young American tourist was a member of the U.S. Olympic archery team, and that she never went anywhere without her trusted crossbow. Unfortunately, during that time, the bus to the Lantau Peak trailhead came and went.

Rather than wait for another bus to arrive, May hailed a taxi, a very old taxi that didn’t have air-conditioning. Even though Willow was sweating profusely and Archibald’s T-shirt was soaked clear through, by the time they reached the base of Lantau Peak, May looked as fresh as the potted orchid that sat on her dining room table.

The sun was unrelenting as they began to climb the stone steps that wound up the mountainside. In the lead, Archibald extended his hand from the bill of his baseball cap to shade his eyes. As he looked straight up and then
scanned the horizon, disappointment immediately registered on his face. Not a trace of white could be seen anywhere in the light blue sky, and it seem to be getting hotter and more oppressive with each passing minute.

Turning back, he gave May and Willow his assessment, saying, “The good news is that we shouldn’t have any problems finding our white markers with all this sunlight, but the bad news is that we’re going to feel like boiled lobsters by the time we finally get to that opening in the mountain.”

The heat and humidity must have dissuaded many of the weekend hikers from making the trip. The stone steps were much less crowded than the day before, and fewer and fewer people could be seen the farther they climbed.

Every fifteen minutes or so, Archibald stopped so they could rest and pass May’s water bottle. By the second stop, the water was almost as hot as the ambient temperature. Watching Archibald grimace after taking a gulp, May offered a bit of advice.

“Just think of it as tasteless soup,” she began. “Or, if your imagination is really good, you can substitute in egg drop soup, just without the egg drops.”

Taking another swig, Archibald snorted and replied, “Still tastes like hot water to me.” Then he looked up ahead, checked his watch, and predicted that it would be about one o’clock when they reached the place where May had previously left the path.

Archibald’s prediction was fairly accurate when the first piece of white tape came into view. Each piece of
white tape was right where he’d left it the day before, so it wasn’t hard to find the hidden opening in the mountainside.

Standing just outside the narrow crevice, Archibald turned to Willow and said, “It would be nice to have another blue feather right about now.”

Hearing the confusing words Archibald had just spoken, May asked in a puzzled tone, “Why would you want a blue feather?”

“It’s a long story,” Archibald replied soberly. “I’ll tell you about it after we get Jockabeb and Robert out of there.”

“Okay,” May said as she knelt down and transferred the flying darts from the side pocket of her backpack to the back pocket of her walking shorts.

After he had reviewed the plan in his head one last time, Archibald described the key steps in the order they would be taken, first saying, “When we get to where the Monkey Clone has Jockabeb trapped, I’ll go in first with the flashlight and the metal flask. I’ll move to the far wall and keep the light shining on the Monkey Clone’s face. I want you two to position yourselves against the wall directly across from me.”

Seeing nods from both of his teammates, he continued to describe their individual assignments. “May, you need to always face the Monkey Clone so that the flying darts in your back pocket can’t be seen. Willow, you have to do the same, and make sure you keep your crossbow and arrows hidden behind your back until
you’re ready to shoot. You’ll both be in the dark, so that should help.

“Even though May will be doing all of the talking, I’ll divert the Monkey Clone’s attention back to me right before it’s time for the two of you to strike. At that point, you’ll have to move fast when I give you the signal.”

“Tell us again what you plan to do with the flask?” Willow asked. And just to be sure there was no confusion on the signal, she added, “And you probably should repeat the signal one more time.”

Taking a deep breath, Archibald gave his answer even though he knew he might end up improvising depending on what the Monkey Clone did. “I’ve thought a lot about what I could do with the flask,” he began, “and I think it’s best if we try to trade Jockabeb for it. I don’t think the Monkey Clone will buy it, but it’s worth a try.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” May agreed. But then she added, “And I’m also pretty sure that the Monkey Clone won’t give up his human bargaining chip until the elixir works its magic. Alright, if the Monkey Clone says no to you, what happens then?”

“We play it by ear,” Archibald answered honestly.

“Okay, and one more time, the signal?” Willow again asked.

Archibald was very precise when he repeated the all-important signal, saying, “At some point, and it will probably be sooner rather than later, I’m going to shout, ‘Nito, Vito.’ The Monkey Clone won’t have any idea what those words mean, but I know it will look right at
me when I scream them. That will give you time to draw your weapons without being seen. Willow, then you’ll yell ‘Samu’ to get the Monkey Clone’s attention. When that ugly head turns toward the two of you, you’ll have a clear shot at both eyes. That’s when you fire away.”

When May asked Archibald if “Nito, Vito, Samu” was Latin, Willow tried unsuccessfully to suppress a smile, but didn’t say a word.

“I don’t know what language it is,” Archibald replied honestly, “but trust me, those words will be just right.”

“Do they mean ‘Die, Worthless Monkey,’ or something like that?” May asked with a twinkle in her eye.

“Yeah, something like that,” Archibald replied, avoiding Willow’s eyes. Then, just to make sure there was no last minute confusion, he once again told the girls that the flying dart and arrow had to go airborne right after Willow yelled ‘Samu.’ Then he repeated, “And remember, May, you’re on Willow’s left. Okay, is everything clear?”

“Clear,” Willow said.

“Crystal clear,” May confirmed, handing the flashlight and old flask to Archibald before hiding her backpack in the bushes.

The instant Archibald squeezed through the slender fissure in the rocky cliff and entered the dark passageway that would lead to the Monkey Clone’s dungeon, the temperature dropped about thirty degrees. His
sweat-soaked T-shirt suddenly felt cold and clammy on his skin, adding to the discomfort he was already feeling about the upcoming confrontation—an extremely dangerous confrontation that would either free his brother, or prematurely end four young lives, together with that of Robert Liu, if he hadn’t already passed away.

“Do you think Robert is still alive?” Willow asked nervously.

Offering some hope, May replied, “He may not look it, but my father says he’s tough as nails. Still, that gash in his head looked serious, and he was bleeding quite a bit. I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.”

“You’re right,” Archibald said over his shoulder, “What we do will depend on what kind of shape Robert is in, so we’ll just have to stay flexible.”

As they quietly approached the end of the passageway and the rock wall behind which their destiny would soon play out, a faint sound broke the silence. Chilling grunting and shrieking could be heard coming through the dark hole in the wall, a sure sign that the Monkey Clone knew they’d returned.

“Foon ying wui loi,” echoed out from the dark.

The moment May translated the words as “welcome back,” Archibald said in a hushed voice, “Alright, I’m going in. May, you follow me, then Willow.”

When May and Willow silently nodded their heads, Archibald shimmied his way into the hole and disappeared into the darkness on the other side. When
he entered hands first onto the floor of the Monkey Clone’s dungeon, the noise abruptly stopped.