The Secret Chamber (24 page)

Kai inhaled deeply.

‘Has General Jian been informed of this?’

‘Not yet, sir. I thought it best to come to you first.’ Xie paused. ‘It was actually Jian himself who declared the reason for the satellite crash. Not one of our technicians, as we were led to believe.’

‘To what end?’

‘We don’t know yet, sir, but I am almost certain there was no satellite in the first place.’

Kai eyes narrowed. ‘If he produced fewer satellites than were originally financed, he would have had to disguise the fact by sabotaging the launch. It would also leave a significant amount of money left over. Have you found any trace of it?’

Xie shook his head. ‘Nothing unusual has passed through his accounts or those of any of his associates. We have gone through the budgets extensively, but can’t find any inconsistencies. If he is moving money out, then it’s being done extremely subtly.’

‘And the surveillance?’

‘Nothing, sir, but I am quite certain Jian would already have suspected that we would be following his movements. We do know his plane stopped en route to Europe in the Lebanon, but have yet to ascertain why.’

Kai stayed lost in thought, his thin arms resting against the sides of the wheelchair. He had always been slow to condemn a man, and the bloody years of the Cultural Revolution and the endless denunciations under Chairman Mao had made him even more circumspect. He knew all too well how whole lives could be swept away on the faintest suspicion, and was not about to make the same mistake again.

Neither was he prepared to throw the entire Goma Project into turmoil at this crucial stage on the basis of Xie’s suspicions, however well founded they might prove. Too much was at stake to risk confronting Jian right now. If indeed he was guilty, then it was something that could be dealt with once the dust had settled, quietly and permanently.

‘The alternative is that Jian is innocent,’ Kai said eventually. ‘And that others are responsible.’

Xie bowed his head. ‘That is of course possible, sir.’

Kai looked over his shoulder to where his host was preparing the ramp to the platform for the wedding speeches. He would be expected to participate soon.

‘The destruction of the satellite was highly embarrassing and I will hold Jian accountable for the loss of face I suffered in front of the other families. But until such time as you provide me with incontrovertible proof, he stays.’

‘Yes, sir.’

Kai pulled back the sleeve of his suit and glanced down at his watch. Despite himself, he felt his pulse quicken. The announcement was due to be made in less than two hours. ChinaCell was going public on the new satellite handsets in
a
long series of worldwide press releases and interviews. The media storm would be frenetic, while the vast warehouses in Guangdong were steadily being depleted of the millions of handsets and laptops they had already produced. Nearly two-thirds of the entire production facilities in Shenzhen had been diverted to this single aim. Never before had China’s equivalent of Silicon Valley been so monopolised.

The products had already left the warehouses, dispatched by a fleet of container ships to the European and American stores, and were due to arrive in three days’ time. The world’s telecommunications would be changed irreparably, and with the resultant sales the Guild would see their fortunes soar. It had been an enormous risk getting each family to invest so heavily, but here they were in the last stages of the Goma Project and everything was finally set.

Nothing could be allowed to disrupt it now.

‘I believe that the General is personally overseeing the final payment in the Congo,’ Kai said.

‘That is correct, sir. He is leaving for Goma tonight and will make the payment there.’

Kai raised his head to stare at Xie through the thick lenses of his glasses.

‘It is a very significant sum and the General is not to be trusted to make such a payment alone. You will go with him, to ensure everything is as it should be. And Xie … I want you to watch him like a hawk.’

‘Go with him? To the Congo, you mean?’ Xie replied, taken by surprise.

The old man didn’t respond but instead jerked his head
sideways
, indicating that Xie should move out of his way. He then slowly wheeled himself forward towards the crowd. The assembled guests quickly got to their feet, applauding loudly as he was wheeled up on to the low platform.

Xie shifted his weight from one foot to the other. ‘The Congo,’ he said to himself, his mouth shaping the words. He had never even been to Africa, and now he was venturing into one of the most dangerous parts to oversee a general he was certain was double-crossing them.

As he looked around the room, he took in the pinnacle of Shanghai’s society, complete with spectacular dresses and ritualised table settings, collections of jewellery and polite small talk. With just one sentence, Kai had changed everything. In a matter of hours, he would be stepping off the plane into Africa’s black heart.

‘
LUCA
!’

Bear stood over him, both hands twisted into the neck of his T-shirt. Each time she screamed his name, she lifted his whole head off the ground, her mouth so close that it nearly touched his cheek. Letting his head drop back into the mud, she slapped him hard across the face, the force of the blow stinging her hand.

‘Luca! Wake up!’

He moaned, blinking a couple of times as he slowly opened his eyes. Bear’s face filled his entire vision. She was leaning right over him, cradling his head in her hands.

‘Come on, Luca! Get to your feet.’

Tugging backwards with all her strength, she pulled Luca’s torso clear of the ground, but his head lolled backwards. He raised his right hand, vaguely trying to fend her off, but Bear slapped him again.

‘Luca!’

His eyes settled on hers, then slowly drifted closed again,
the
effort just too much. Bear lifted her face up towards the sky, shouting in frustration. She could see the helicopter hovering above them now, the wash from its rotors shaking the high branches of the canopy. Leaves slowly floated down from the sky, twirling in the beams of light before gently settling on the forest floor.

The helicopter banked round in a wide turn as it continued its search. Bear caught glimpses as it passed gaps in the canopy, but here the forest was too dense for the pilots to see anything clearly. For now, at least, they were safe.

She had been trying to wake Luca for over two minutes. Time seemed to drag in rhythm with each beat of the helicopter’s rotors, the precious seconds wasting away while Luca lay unconscious on the ground. She stared into his eyes. His pupils were wide from concussion and it might take him hours to regain his senses fully. One more minute, she whispered to herself. One more minute, then she would have to leave him.

‘Wake up!’ Bear shouted again. ‘You’ve got to get up and rescue Joshua. Remember Joshua!’

The name seemed to spark something in Luca’s memory and he blinked again, trying to raise his head.

‘That’s it. Joshua,’ Bear repeated. ‘Get up and help him.’

Luca grabbed her arm, pulling himself up with surprising strength. He groaned, his right arm moving down to his ribcage.

‘Where is … Joshua?’ he murmured.

‘He’s this way,’ she said, pointing away from the inselberg. ‘But we have to hurry to catch him.’

Luca’s eyes moved in the direction she was pointing, then he shuffled forward unsteadily. After only a couple of paces, he collapsed on to his knees. Bear rushed to him, stopping him from toppling all the way to the ground, but strained under his deadweight. After a moment, she managed to adjust her footing and get him up again. As Luca stood there swaying, she glanced back down at her watch. The minute was up. It was time to decide.

‘Shit,’ she breathed, her thighs straining from supporting his weight. She had to make a decision. And do it
now
. Every rational part of her brain screamed for her to duck out from under his arm and sprint off into the jungle, to put as much distance between her and the LRA as possible. But something held her back and she stood there, fighting every instinct to flee.

Just as she went to move, Luca’s right fist pressed down on her shoulder, holding her still, as if he had sensed what she was thinking. He held her tight, the power of his grip unbelievably strong.

‘You lead me,’ he said. ‘I can move if you lead me.’

They pressed on, the sounds of the helicopter receding with each minute that passed. Occasionally, they would hear the engine change pitch and the noise come closer, but then it dipped again, fading into the background hum of the forest. Luca was moving faster now. He still held on to Bear’s shoulder, following her lead like a blind man, but his steps were less erratic and clumsy. She could hear his breath in her ear and feel the sweat on the palm of his hand. There
was
something almost comforting about his proximity, as if in all this chaos they were one entity, not two, trying to break free from the endless forest.

They had been going for about twenty minutes, forcing their way through acres of young saplings, when Luca suddenly spoke.

‘The boys,’ he said in a low voice. ‘What happened to Abasi?’

Bear didn’t turn her head. ‘Neither of them made it.’

There was a pause, with just the slapping sound of their feet dragging through the undergrowth.

‘What kind of people gun down a boy with a spear?’ Luca whispered.

Bear felt him start to slow, lost to the horror. She ignored him, trying to force the last image of Abasi out of her mind. They had to be practical, work in numbers not emotions. She guessed that they would have at least two hours on the LRA patrol because they still had to descend all the way to the stream to get around the inselberg. It also sounded as if the helicopter had either given up or was too low on fuel to continue searching, and had returned to its base. They had a head start, but it wasn’t much.

They trudged on for a few more paces, the undergrowth thinning as they began to climb a slight rise.

‘He was just a kid,’ Luca whispered again, slowing to a walk. ‘What kind of people …’

‘Stop it!’ Bear screamed, swivelling round and pushing him back with the palms of her hands. ‘Stop thinking that way!’

Luca stared at her.

‘They’re dead. You got it?
Dead
. We have to move on.’

‘Can’t I just have a moment …’

‘No! No, you can’t!’ Bear shouted, shoving him once again and forcing him to take a step backwards.

‘What’s wrong with you?’ she blazed, levelling a finger at his chest. ‘Why don’t you understand and harden the fuck up? This isn’t the West. No more, “I’m sorry for him … I’m sorry for her.” This is Africa, and no one gives a shit what you feel!’

Luca just stood there, too shocked to respond. Bear turned away from him, scraping her hair back from her face with such force that a few strands caught in the webbing of her fingers.

‘Millions of people have died horrible deaths in the Congo,’ she continued. ‘Millions! And not a single other person cares. So why the hell should we?’

Luca glowered at her.

‘Because that’s the only thing that makes us different,’ he snapped. ‘Stop talking to me like I’ve never seen death before. Like I’m some kind of fucking tourist.’

‘That’s exactly what you are out here – a tourist. You know
nothing
about any of this.’

Luca’s eyes grew cold as he stared at her.

‘You think you know all about death just because you’ve seen it? Well, I’ve crossed that line.’ His voice shook with anger. ‘You don’t just move on and forget the whole thing. It doesn’t work that way. Their faces stay with you, staring at you above their open mouths …’ Luca fell silent. He
could
see the avalanche again and the faces of the men he’d killed tumbling through the wall of snow and ice.

‘So what is it with you?’ he continued. ‘Seen one too many wars to give a shit about a couple of kids?’

‘Screw you,’ Bear spat, folding her arms across her chest. ‘You don’t know anything about me.’

The wound on her shoulder had opened again, sending a trickle of blood down into her filthy vest. She didn’t even notice.

‘I care about surviving,’ she said, her voice dropping to a hiss. ‘That’s it. I’m not here for you, the pygmies, or anyone else.’

‘Yeah, that’s what you said from the beginning. At least I know where you stand.’

They stood glowering at each other for a moment longer, before Bear glanced down at her watch. Without another word, she turned in the direction they were headed and sprinted off. Luca let her run ahead for a few paces then broke into a run himself, following in her footsteps.

They heard the low roll of thunder as night drew on. Soon came the rain, the droplets beating against the leaves high above their heads before finally reaching them. As the night grew blacker, the rain grew worse, bending the broad leaves of the forest under its weight and turning the ground into grim tar-coloured mud. It oozed over their leather boots, reaching their knees in the deepest places.

Neither Bear nor Luca had said a word to each other since they had resumed running. They stopped when they
passed
one of the water vines, but even then only rested for a matter of seconds, drinking quickly and without speaking. As every hour passed, each had quickened their pace, progressively trying to outdo the other. Although naturally stronger, Luca had been suffering from what he suspected were two cracked ribs, and as the day dragged on the pain worsened. He tried to block it out, focusing on the next step, then the next, never thinking about how long they had been running or what lay ahead.