Page 66 of Old Secrets

Jake waited for me outside of the men’s room, and he returned to my side the instant I emerged. Upon reaching our gate, he waited for an announcement to lean to me and say, “They’re attempting to plant someone on our flight. They’re at ticketing now. They’re going to adjust seating so we’re at the back of the plane and they’re at the front.”

I nodded. Putting us in the back would give the Chinese Inquisition plenty of time to observe at the gate, monitoring for anyone with the aura—or anyone without the aura who behaved the same way as the exposed Greenwich operatives. We’d have an uncomfortable flight, but we’d arrive in Beihai well positioned to deal with any surprises once on the ground.

The real trouble would begin on the final leg of our journey, which would take us to Xigazê Peace Airport. Most flew to Nepal when heading to Mount Everest, but my parents had made it clear that they had their sanctuary on the Tibetan side of the mountain chain and that the actual entry to their domain lurked within smaller mountains, with a cave and tunnel system taking them into the heart of the world.

They did not challenge Mount Everest, at least not while human. They made a point of venturing up every now and then to make certain the souls of the lost climbers would find peace rather than haunt them for any longer than necessary.

We would be taking a smaller plane into Xigazê, and I expected I would need a great deal of tender, loving care to survive the trip. We would be taking the journey mostly alone, with a pair of Fenerec pilots experienced with flying into the region and a few Inquisitors experienced with survival if something went amiss. A commercial flight would take more Inquisitors and some Chinese operatives along with an air witch who would take up my parents’ shape.

My parents would be on a third flight along with Mellisa, Amelia, Bryan, and an entire team.

The airport would have a busy day, although we were making a point of staggering our departures to give any Greenwich operatives on the ground a false sense of security.

My parents’ flight would be diverted due to plane trouble, although their plane would be in perfect working order when they landed.

The Chinese thought they could get away with sliding in one private flight and diverting one to get us all there in a timely fashion without drawing suspicion.

Trouble followed us to Beihai as expected, and they maintained their methodology, following us to our next gate to determine which flight we would be taking next. Once the Greenwich operative, possessing a red aura, left to buy a ticket, Jake and I began the next phase of our plan.

We went to the bathroom, swapped places and clothes with those taking the commercial flight, and had witches change our appearance once again, disguising us as American tourists headed for an adventure deep within Tibet.

Once outside of the bathroom, three more Greenwich operatives made an appearance, and an old man carried the black and red aura of someone directly involved with my aunt’s death. Rather than demand immediate vengeance, my fox observed, memorizing the man’s features. She hunted, but it pleased me she understood she couldn’t hunt in the airport where so many witnesses might become involved.

As planned, the bastards involved with Greenwich focused on the two operatives disguised as my parents, leaving us to slip away to catch our real flight to Xigazê.

If all went to plan, we would arrive first.

Boarding went without incident, and as soon as the pilots were ready, we were given clearance to takeoff.

While the plane was small and cramped, it boasted a large range, although we would land once to refuel at an Inquisition airbase before making the final leg of our trip into Tibet. Once in the air, the pilot turned on the private comm and said, “Rough air is a way of life in Tibet, but it’s nothing we can’t handle. The airport we’re going in is rated for Airbuses, so we’ll be more than fine on that front. It’s not like traveling into Lukla, although it can still be a bit rough.”

According to his accent, we were being flown by an American from New England, although I eliminated Boston as his origin. “You’re American!”

“China called in a few favors, so you have an American flight team for this, although we’ve both worked the Tibet circuit for years. We’re getting long in the tooth, and we’ve been flying since planes were invented. Tibet is a good challenge. I’m Logan, and my co-pilot is Noah. We’re part of a pack in Maine. The rest of the team is a mix of Chinese and American, although everyone speaks English.”

“Small miracles,” Jake stated in an amused tone. “How are we doing on intel?”

“Pretty good. We got the fingerprints lifted off your mate’s phone, and we’re already churning through the databases to see what we can dig up. As soon as the flights to Xigazê are all in the air, the Chinese will start making simultaneous arrests. Communication lines and cell towers will be shut down to Xigazê except for authorized numbers to prevent our ruse from being discovered. Flight internet connections will also be shut down, with the flight crews disabling them as technical difficulties shortly after takeoff to prevent anyone from notifying our targets. Once we are in Xigazê, you will be authorized to use as much force as you’d like. I am carrying your firearms, and you’ll be given them, along with ammunition, upon landing. If we can get one alive, that would be ideal, but our orders are clear; we’re to eliminate anyone with the appropriate auras unless an easy and safe live capture is possible.” Logan made a noise in his throat.

“That doesn’t sound promising.” Jake chuckled. “When I make that sound, it’s because I know I’m about to say something my wife isn’t going to like.”

I snickered at that. “He’s not wrong. What’s wrong, Logan?”

“There is debate about manufacturing a terrorism event to account for the number of deaths. We have a few Inquisition forces already located in Xigazê, and there are a lot of people with the auras in the airport loitering—far more than would normally be in that airport. The city itself has a high number of those involved, too.”

“How many people are we talking about?” I asked, a chill sweeping through me.

“They’re estimating at least a hundred and fifty in the airport, and another three to five hundred in the city. The ones in the city seem to be making preparations to go to the airport, likely to intercept your parents. The number of bodies indicates live capture or mass martyrdom.”

Fucking martyrs. Nothing terrified FBI agents more than the idea of dealing with a martyr, who would happily suicide to take out as many with them when they went. In my career, I’d run into a few martyrs. They’d created the worst tragedies outside of what was experienced in CARD.

Martyrs enjoyed sacrificing children on the altar of their ambitions.

“What about the civilians?”

“The Chinese Inquisition will be doing their best to remove anyone who has not been marked. They will be monitored and taken into custody, questioned, and if they are found to be innocent of connections to Greenwich, they’ll be released,” one of the Chinese men on board stated. “Call me Maurice. I will be your interpreter for the journey, as I can speak numerous Tibetic languages, Cantonese, Mandarin, English, French, and a few others we’re unlikely to encounter. My experience with the Tibetic languages earned me a spot on this trip, however. I can speak twenty of the forms fluently, and I can understand most of the others, as they share similar roots. We will most likely encounter Standard Tibetan and Sherpa, although upon hearing the assignment, I’ve brushed up on a few of the other dialects. Standard Tibetan is typically sufficient to be understood, as many of the linguistic groupings are closely related.”

“Sherpa? You mean like the guides that do the Mount Everest base camp stuff?” I asked.