And it made sense, of course. The Chinese had uranium at home, but there was no such thing as too much weapons-grade material these days. If they could strike a bargain in Malaysia—or promote a revolution that would sweep the present government away, put friendly Reds in charge—then Chairman Mao's disciples would be points ahead. The value of an ore strike would depend on size and easy access, the expense of mining and a dozen other factors Remo had no time to ponder at the moment.
He had managed to identify one set of players in the game, and that would have to do. The placement of at least one ringer on the U.S. team had also been confirmed, but he was short on evidence in that department.
"You've been a great help," Remo said, and chilled the rebel leader with a kick he never saw.
The forest glade was silent, still as death. He knew that when he left, within an hour at the most, a troop of scavengers would home in on the first faint smell of carrion and start to feed.
"Bon appétit," he told the night, and started back toward camp..
"I cant believe they both just disappeared," said Safford Stockwell, staring hard into the fire. "Under the circumstances," Sibu Sandakan reminded him, "it's possible they are unable to respond."
"But both of them? What were they doing out of camp?"
"That's what I'd like to know," said Chalmers, standing well back from the camp fire, with a captured automatic rifle braced against one hip.
"I thought…" Professor Stockwell hesitated, shook his head. "No, it's ridiculous."
"What is it, Doctor?"
"Well, there was a moment," he told Sandakan, "right in the thick of things, when I was almost certain I saw Dr. Ward. He seemed to come out of the jungle over there and run across the camp and out the other side. I must have been mistaken, though. You surely would have seen him, Chalmers."
"I'd have seen him right enough," the hulking Brit replied. "And all I saw were bloody wogs with Rooshian weapons, like this here." He brandished the Kalashnikov for emphasis. "I dropped one of them over there," he boasted, "and may have hit a couple more, besides."
"Of course you did your best," said Stockwell, "but I still can't fathom why they ran away. One gun against so many, and they simply vanished."
"All depends on who's behind the gun," said Chalmers, puffing out his chest. "I'd say they understood they'd met their match."
"But where is Audrey, then?" asked Stockwell in a woeful voice. "I could swear I heard her voice."
"A scream," said Sibu Sandakan. "I heard it, too."
"Outside the camp, it was, just like you said," Pike Chalmers told them. "She had no good reason to go traipsing through the woods that way. The neither of them did."
"My God, what if she was abducted by those men?" Professor Stockwell blurted out.
"Then you can kiss her pretty arse goodbye," said Chalmers.
"We must try to get her back!"
"And follow them, the three of us? Don't make me laugh." The big man caught himself and rushed to qualify the comment. "I could track 'em down, o' course, and try to take 'em by myself, but that's a sucker's game. The two of you would only slow me down, and as for fighting, well… "
His sneer left no doubt as to Pike's assessment of the value his companions would contribute in a killing situation. Neither Sibu Sandakan nor Dr. Stockwell rushed to contradict him, each man conscious of his limitations when it came to playing soldier in the wild.
"But if she's still alive—"
Their guide returned as Dr. Stockwell groped for something more to say. Kuching Kangar had gone to make a rapid circuit of the area, find out if he could pick up any trace of Audrey or the missing herpetologist. A tattered, muddy scarf was dangling from his left hand as he stepped into the firelight, moving closer to the fire.
"That's Audrey's!" Stockwell blurted, pointing with a shaking hand. "Where did you find it?"
"I find in quicksand, that way." As he spoke, Kuching Kangar inclined his head back to the north and east, the general direction of the nearby stream.
"Quicksand?" On Stockwell's lips, the word came close to sounding like a curse.
"No bottom," said the guide. "Sink down, too late."
"Dear God!"
"And what about the other one?" asked Chalmers.
"Nothing," said the guide. "Too many footprints. Dead men all around. Count seven, plus the one you shoot."
"God's truth! I must've hit more than I thought," said Chalmers.
"Only one more shot," Kuching Kangar replied. "The others killed by hand. Find one, back there, up on a tree, with his own rifle sticking through."
"What does it mean?" asked Sibu Sandakan.
"It's rubbish," Chalmers said. "If they were killed that way, it means the bloody wogs were killing one another. Can you make sense out of that?"
"But if he says they were not shot—"
"So, what the hell does he know, looking at a lot of bodies in the dark? He's not a bloody coroner, for Christ's sake."
"Well, there can't be much mistake about a rifle sticking through a man," said Dr. Stockwell.
"I'll believe it when I see it for myself."
"Eight dead men altogether," the professor said. "How many bullets does your rifle hold?"
Chalmers scowled as he said, "I have the Colt, as well."
"Did you fire it?"
Angry color rushed into the big man's cheeks. "All right by me, if you prefer to take this bloody wog's word over mine," he said. "But don't come asking my advice on anything, while you've got Mr. Answers over there."
"Now, see here, Chalmers—"
"We must certainly turn back," said Sibu Sandakan, his firm voice breaking Stockwell's train of thought.
"Turn back?" The very notion seemed to boggle Stockwell's mind. "But why? We're almost there!"
"We've been attacked by rebels, Doctor, and they may come back at any time. Two of our group are missing, one of them apparently without hope of return. It is enough."
"For you, perhaps!" It was the first time Stockwell's tone had risen to this pitch or taken on such grim determination. "I, for one, have not come to this godforsaken place and sacrificed so much to simply turn around and slink home with my tail between my legs. If there is something to be found here, I intend to find it. Audrey would expect no less."
"But surely, Doctor—"