The Lost Scroll of Fudo Shin (26 page)

Jimmy nodded.  He’d balled himself up right before the impact, but his head buzzed.  "What happened to the airbags?"

"I had them removed."

"Remov-?  Why?"

Vanessa shrugged.  "We'd be pinned to our seats otherwise."  She smiled and seemed none the worse for having just been in a head-on collision.  “Right, stay here.  I’ll be back.”

Jimmy grabbed her arm.  “You can’t face them alone.”

“They’re both down from the impact.  I’ll be a moment.”  And then she ducked out of the car.

Jimmy righted himself and rubbed one hand over his face, trying to wipe away the sudden rush of sweat that was cascaded down his skin.  He looked and saw Vanessa bent over one man then the other.  The driver looked the worst of the two, pinned as he was behind the dashboard of the Honda that Vanessa had sent screaming into their car when she crashed into them.

The other man lay some distance away from the Honda.  He rolled over and tried to bring a gun up, but Vanessa delivered a quick kick to his chin and his head snapped back leaving him unconscious.

Jimmy saw her reach down, take the gun away and then come walking back to the car.  But instead of getting in, she walked around to the front and then frowned.

“Better get on out.”

Jimmy unbuckled and hopped out.  When he came around to the front, he whistled.  The front end of the Toyota was demolished.

“Guess we’re not going cruising in this anymore, huh?”

“Nope,” said Vanessa  “But the good news is those two aren’t going anywhere except the hospital.  And their car is completely wrecked.”

“I see you took their gun.”

Vanessa glanced down.  “I’d rather not have this.  Nothing like being in a foreign country carrying a firearm to get you into serious trouble with the local authorities.  But I can’t have us going around unarmed when we’ve obviously acquired a reception party already.”

“So, what now?”

Vanessa walked to the trunk and popped the lid.  “Now, we get our stuff and get out of here before someone calls the cops on us.  I don’t need us being hauled up to answer a lot of questions when we’ve got places to be.”

“Like Thamel.”

“Exactly.”  She handed Jimmy his bag and his hanbo and then slammed the trunk shut.  “Car’s clean anyway.  The papers are a perfect forgery and all that will come up is the owner is someone living in a poor section of town.  Hopefully the police will chalk it up as a theft gone bad and then there was a drag race or something that got those guys injured.”

“They’ll buy that?”

“I have no idea, but most police the world over are looking to do as little paperwork as possible.  Give them an easy excuse that they can believe and they’ll be more inclined to do just that.”

She led him back down the street, more jogging than walking.  Jimmy didn’t have trouble keeping up with her now that he’d been running so much.  Down near the entrance to the street, she pulled him over to the side and checked him out.

“Just a quick once over to make sure we look okay.”

“Can we get a taxi?”

“This time of night in this area, that might be a tad difficult.  This is not the part of town most tourists travel to, so the taxis stay where the business is.”

“So we hoof it.”

“We hoof it for a few blocks.”

Vanessa led them down the street.  Jimmy tried to digest as much as possible.  A lot of construction was going on with big machines parked up for the night.  Large open ditches surrounded by cones and signs along with a large array of heavy steel pipes lined the roads.

“Looks like they’re improving the sewer system out here.  About time,” said Vanessa as they walked.

Jimmy sniffed.  “That’s a good thing.”

“Better than the alternative, that’s for sure.”  Vanessa shrugged.  “But this is still a third world country and much of it still being developed.  A lot of multinational companies come in promising modernization but then fail to deliver.  And the people who end up suffering are those who can least afford to.”

Jimmy shifted his backpack.  “That’s not good.”

“Nature of the world sometimes.”  Vanessa pointed ahead of them where Jimmy could see neon lights.  “There we are.”

“That wasn’t too far.”

“Thamel’s about two miles away from where we are.  We could walk it easily, but I’d rather not be out on the street in the open.”

“But you said we wouldn’t find a taxi.”

“Can’t use a taxi anyway.”

“Why not?”

Vanessa glanced around.  The part of town we’re going to doesn’t exactly have wide streets.  Trying to thread your way down there with a car is a nightmare.  We need something other than a taxi.”

“Bicycles?”

“Not a bad idea if we had access to them.”

Jimmy thumbed over his shoulder.  “I saw some back there would could, uh….borrow.”

“You mean steal?”  

“We’d bring them back,” protested Jimmy.

Vanessa shook her head.  “Not a chance.  In this country, a lot of people make their living with bicycles.  I’m not about to deprive someone of their means of income in the interest of making it convenient for us.”

“Well, what do you suggest then?”

But Vanessa had already stopped and waved at someone.  Then Jimmy heard the clopping noise and turned.

Vanessa smiled at him.  “Ever ridden in a rickshaw before?”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The old man who pulled the rickshaw sang a cadence as he ran with Vanessa and Jimmy securely tucked in the back with the curtains partially drawn.  The wheels bounced over the potholes and kicked up bits of dust in their wake.  Jimmy glanced at the streets ahead of them and heard the sudden explosion of noise – cars blared their horns as the roads seemed to taper.

Vanessa pointed.  “As you can see, the traffic here is almost legendary.  And the width of the road means maybe one car can get by at a time.”

“Not really worth the effort.”

“Exactly, and yet they still try to drive down here.  The sound of horns is pretty continuous.”

“Great for the ol’ headache.”

Vanessa eyed him.  “You okay?”

“I think so, just got a bit of a head buzz from when we had our little run-in back there.  Unlike you, I'm not exactly used to having head-on collisions.”

Vanessa peered into his eyes but seemed content. “You didn’t hit your head, did you?”

“Nah.”

“All right then.”  She leaned back and kept pointing out local attractions.  “You can see how much more alive this section of town is.”

“Yeah the rest of the city seemed dead.”

“Many of the locals are asleep by ten at night.  They’ve got to wake up early in order to get to work and provide for their families.  Which is why, as much as I can appreciate the notion, borrowing a bicycle wasn’t a good idea.”

Jimmy nodded,  “I wasn’t planning on keeping them, but I get you.”

“Look at the vendors.”

Jimmy saw a wide array of fresh fruit and vegetables for sale from small pushcarts set up along the road leading into Thamel.  Other stores behind had garish neon signs advertising the latest electronic goods, bootleg DVDs, and toys imported from other countries.

“Sort of reminds me of Tokyo.”

“A lot less busy, though.”

Jimmy peered out of the curtain.  “So, where are we headed?”

“You hungry?”

“Starved.”

Vanessa nodded.  “What I thought you’d say.  We’ll get some food in us and then plan out our next move.”

“Goro mentioned a temple in the city.”

Vanessa frowned.  “I’ve been thinking about that, too.  Not sure what he could mean, unless it’s some sort of Buddhist temple that we need to find.”

“What part of the city would it be in, though?”

“I don’t know.  What I do know is we need to find out quickly and then get out of here.  That welcoming party doesn’t do my confidence any good.  We seem to be attracting a fair number of Kotogawa’s goons.  And I don’t particularly like that.”

The rickshaw drew to a stop and Vanessa nudged Jimmy.  “Right, here we go.  We’re here.”

“Where?”

“The Blue Note, of course.  Best home cooking for westerners this side of the Himalayas.”

Jimmy eyed her.  “I take it you’ve been here before?”

Her eyes twinkled.  “Once or twice.”

Jimmy hopped down from the rickshaw and thanked the driver while Vanessa paid him.  Jimmy looked up and saw the blue neon of the restaurant they’d stopped in front of.  But it didn’t look so much like a restaurant as it did a dive bar.

Vanessa stood next to him and grinned.  “Nice place, huh?”

“If you say so.”

She hauled him along and then strode right through the front door, dropped her bags, and spread her arms.  “Smell that food.”

“Vanessa!”

Jimmy watched as a short, bald man waddled up to Vanessa and squeezed her in a bear hug.  Somehow he managed to left her several inches off the floor before finally releasing her.

Vanessa smoothed her shirt down and smiled.  “Tak, how have you been?”

“Where have you been might be the better question?”

Vanessa turned to Jimmy.  “Jimmy, this is Tak, he owns the joint.  Tak, this is my nephew Jimmy.”

“Nephew?  Wow, it has been a long time.”

“It hasn’t been that long,” said Vanessa.  “I’ve just been, you know…busy.”

Tak pumped Jimmy’s hand.  “Very nice to meet you, young master.  Come inside and relax.  You must be hungry.”

Jimmy smirked.  “Starved, actually.”

Tak led them through the throng near the bar and past the end to a small secluded table Jimmy hadn’t even noticed down toward the back of the place.  Tak sat himself in one of the chairs and urged them to sit with him.

“You just get into town?”

Vanessa nodded.  “Had a bit of a welcome party meet us.  Could do with a quick bite to eat before we’re on our way.”

Tak grinned and turned to Jimmy.  “What I love about this woman – she always has a great story to tell.  But no worries, I’ll get you both fed and out of here.  You’re among friends.”  He clapped his hands and the waitress came over with two bottles of beer and what looked like a Coke for Jimmy.  Tak frowned.  “Sorry but you don’t look quite old enough yet.”

Vanessa helped herself to the ice cold beer and Tak held his glass up.  “To old friends.”

“To reliable friends,” said Vanessa.

Jimmy sipped his Coke.  It was obvious that Tak and Vanessa went back a ways and he didn’t want to intrude too much on the reminiscing.

“You want the usual?”

Vanessa smiled.  “That sounds like heaven.”

Tak finished the beer in several large gulps, belched once and then leapt to his feet.  “Coming up.”  He vanished into the shadows of the restaurant, leaving Jimmy alone with Vanessa again.

“He a good guy?”

Vanessa sipped her beer and then took a deep breath.  “Tak’s about as reliable as you can find in skanky rundown third-world joints like this.  Money’s a major motivator for him, but he owes me a favor or two.  I’ve saved his butt more than a few times over the years.”

“Doing what?”

“A guy like Tak doesn’t just run this place.  He’s something of an all-around marketing entrepreneur.  You name it and he can get it for you, as long as the price is right.”

“What kinds of things?  Guns?”

Vanessa nodded.  “Sure.  Guns, narcotics, information even.”

“Doesn’t sound like he’s all that reliable, actually,” said Jimmy.  “I’d imagine if someone waved enough money in front of his face, he’d probably give us up in a heartbeat.”

Vanessa downed her beer and leaned back.  “You are absolutely one hundred percent correct.  He would sell us out in the blink of an eye.  The only thing holding him back, however, is he knows that I have a lot of friends who would come pay him a visit if anything happened to me.”

“So, what are we having for dinner?”

“Chilied chicken and rice.  You like Asian cuisine?”

Jimmy shrugged.  “I’m sure anything will be better than the airplane food.”

Vanessa eyes widened.  “I’m surprised to hear you say that after how much you complimented the flight attendant on her cooking skills.”

Jimmy frowned and took another sip of his Coke.  “I thought we weren’t going to bring that up again.”

“Oh, I never promised that,” laughed Vanessa.  

Jimmy sighed.  “Somehow I knew you were going to say that.”

Vanessa pointed across the restaurant.  “See those guys?  They look like they’re planning some sort of trek on the mountains.  They’ve got a bunch of maps spread out across the tables.”

“Cool,” said Jimmy.  “I’d love to see the mountains.”

“A lot of expeditions get their start right here.  Tak’s known for being able to outfit anyone inside of twenty-four hours with everything from parkas to oxygen bottles, the whole kit you’d need to scale Everest even.”

“And I’m sure he charges a lot for such a service.”

“Well, obviously.  But at least he does manage to get the very best supplies.  He’s acquired himself something of a reputation with the mountain climbers over the years.”

“Unlike his other reputation.”

“I’m sure there are several,” said Vanessa.

Tak reappeared a few moments later with two heaping plates piled high with chicken and rice.  He set the plates down before Vanessa and Jimmy and then brought another beer for Vanessa and another Coke for Jimmy.

“Thank you,” said Jimmy.

“Eat well, young master,” said Tak.  Then he vanished again.  

Jimmy frowned.  “How come he calls me that?”

Vanessa smiled around a bite of food.  “He’s not making a commentary on your martial arts skills, if that’s what you’re thinking.  Young master is just an old world greeting for people your age.”

“Oh.”  Jimmy bit into the chicken and his mouth swam in all the delicate flavors.  “Wow.”

“It’s delicious, isn’t it?”

Jimmy nodded.  “Incredible.”

“Eat well, because I’m not sure when we’ll get another chance like this.”  Vanessa took several mouthfuls of food before nudging Jimmy.  “And keep your eyes open.”

Jimmy stopped eating.  “For what?”

“Anything.”

Jimmy swallowed and then wiped his mouth on a napkin.  “I thought you said this place was safe.”