Clive Cussler - The Kingdom

“No, that’s fine,” Sam replied with a smile. “Good to meet you.”

“And you, and you. Here, I will take those.”

Thule grabbed their backpacks and gestured with his head toward the terminal building. “My vehicle is this way. Follow, if you will.” He trotted off.

Sam said to Remi, “Very tricky, Mizz Bond.”

“Am I growing paranoid in my advancing age?”

“No,” Sam replied with a smile. “Just more beautiful. Come on, let’s catch up or we’re going to lose our guide.”

After a cursory stop at the customs desk to satisfy what Sam and Remi guessed was Mustang’s firm if tacit belief in its semi-autonomous status, Sam and Remi stepped outside and found Thule at the curb beside a white Toyota Land Cruiser. Judging by the dozens of nearly identical vehicles lining the street, each of which seemed to bear a unique trekking company logo, Toyota was the four-wheeler of choice for the region. Thule smiled at them, shoved the remainder of Sam’s backpack in the Toyota’s cargo area, and slammed shut the hatch.

“I have arranged accommodations for the night,” Thule announced.

“We’re not leaving for Lo Monthang immediately?” Remi asked.

“No, no. Very bad luck to start a journey at this time of day. Better to start tomorrow morning. You will eat and rest and enjoy Jomsom, and then we will depart first thing in the morning. Come, come . . .”

“We’d prefer to leave now,” Sam said, not moving.

Thule paused. He pursed his lips, thinking for a moment, then said, “It is your choice, of course, but the landslide will not be cleared until morning.”

“What landslide?” replied Remi.

“Yes, between here and Kagbeni. We would not get more than a few kilometers up the valley. And then there will be the traffic jam, of course. Many trekkers in Mustang now. Better to wait until morning, yes?” Thule opened one of the Toyota’s rear passenger doors and flourished his arm toward the backseat.

Sam and Remi looked at each other, shrugged, then stepped into the SUV.

After ten minutes of the Toyota winding through the narrow streets, Thule brought it to a stop before a building a few miles southeast of the airstrip. The brown-on-yellow sign read “Moonlight Guest House. Tub Baths-Attached Bathrooms-Common Bathrooms.”

With a smile and a raised eyebrow, Remi said, “It appears bathrooms are the big draw in Jomsom.”

“And monochromatic architecture,” Sam added.

From the front seat Thule said, “Indeed. Jomsom offers the best accommodations in the area.”

He got out, hurried around to Remi’s door, and opened it. He offered his hand to her. She graciously took it and climbed out, followed by Sam.

Thule said, “I will collect your luggage. You go inside. Madame Roja will assist you.”

Five minutes later they were in the Moonlight Guest House’s Royal Executive Suite, complete with a queen bed and a sitting area filled with an assortment of wickeresque lawn furniture. As Madame Roja had promised, their bathroom was in fact attached to their suite.

“I will return for you at eleven o’clock tomorrow morning, yes?” Thule said from the doorway.

“Why so late?” Sam asked.

“The landslide will have-”

“The traffic jam,” Sam finished. “Thanks, Mr. Thule. We’ll see you then.”

Sam shut the door. From the bathroom he heard Remi say, “Sam, look at this.”

He found a wide-eyed Remi standing beside a gigantic copper claw-foot tub. “It’s a Beasley.”

“I think the more common term is ‘bathtub,’ Remi.”

“Very funny. Beasleys are rare, Sam. The last one was made in the late nineteenth century. Do you have any idea what this is worth?”

“No, but something tells me you do.”

“Twelve thousand dollars, give or take. This is a treasure, Sam.”

“And it’s the size of a Studebaker. Don’t even think of trying to fit it into your carry-on.”

Remi tore her eyes from the tub and looked at him mischievously. “It is big, isn’t it?”

Sam returned her smile. “Indeed.”

“Care to be my lifeguard?”

“At your service, madam.”

An hour later, clean and happy and prune-skinned, they settled into the sitting area. Through the balcony windows they could see the peaks on Annapurna in the distance.

Sam checked his phone. “Voice message,” he said. He listened to it, gave Remi a wink, and redialed. Selma’s voice came over the speaker thirty seconds later: “Where are you?”

“In the land of wicker and copper,” Sam replied.

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. Do you have good news for us?”

“Here, hang on.”

A moment later a male voice came on the line. It was Frank Alton. “Sam, Remi . . . I don’t know how you did it, but I owe you my life.”

“Nonsense,” Remi replied. “You saved ours in Bolivia a few times over.”

“Are you okay?” Sam asked.

“A few bumps and bruises, but nothing permanent.”

“Have you seen Judy and the kids?”

“Yes, as soon as I got home.”

Sam said, “Selma, how are things?”

“Absolutely awful,” she replied.

“Glad to hear it.”

Based on a healthy respect of Charles King’s reach, and perhaps a tinge of paranoia, Sam and Remi had instituted the “duress rule”: had Selma or any of them been at gunpoint or otherwise in jeopardy, an answer other than “awful” would have raised the alarm.

Remi said, “Frank, what can you tell us?”

“Not much more than you already know, I’m afraid. Selma’s brought me up to speed. While I agree King’s a snake and he’s not telling the whole truth, I have no proof he was behind my kidnapping. I was knocked out and snatched off the street. I never saw them coming. Can’t tell you where I was held. When I woke up, I was blindfolded until they shoved me out of the van again. When I took the blindfold off, I was standing before the stairs to a Gulfstream jet.”

“Speaking of eerie, did you meet the King twins?”

“Oh, those two. They were waiting for me at the airport. I thought I’d walked into a Tim Burton remake of The Addams Family . I’m guessing they’re the product of King and his Dragon Lady?”

“Yes,” Sam replied. “What’s your take on Lewis King?”

“A hundred-to-one that he’s been dead for decades. I think I was just bait for you two.”

“Our thought as well,” Remi agreed. “We’re still working out the details, but we think it was something to do with an old Himalayan legend.”

“The Golden Man,” replied Frank.

“Right. The Theurang.”

“From what little I was able to gather before I was taken, that’s what Lewis King was after when he disappeared. He was obsessed by it. Whether the thing is real or not, I don’t know.”

“We think it is,” Sam replied. “We’re going to see a man in Lo Monthang tomorrow. With any luck, he’ll be able to shed more light on the mystery.”

KALI GANDAKI GORGE,

DHAWALAGIRI ZONE, NEPAL

For the fourth time in an hour, Basanta Thule brought the Toyota Land Cruiser to a stop, the knobby tires crunching on the gravel that blanketed the valley floor. Above, the sky was a cloudless royal blue. The crisp air was perfectly still.

“More stupas,” Thule announced, pointing out the side window. “There . . . and there. You see.”

“We do,” Sam replied, he and Remi glancing out Sam’s rolled-down window. Shortly after leaving Jomsom that morning, they’d made the mistake of expressing an interest in chortens; since then, Thule had made it his mission to point out each and every one. They’d covered less than two miles so far.

For politeness’s sake, Sam and Remi climbed out, walked around, and took a few pictures. While none of the chortens were taller than a few feet, they were nonetheless impressive-miniature temples painted snow-white sitting atop the ridge lines overlooking the gorge like silent sentries.