Page 160 - Brokenclaw - John Gardner

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He had been bandaged and treated before he was sent to me. Brokenclaw said

that if I did not keep you alive, he would burn me on your funeral pyre. They
said it was essential for you to be alive.’
‘Very necessary. I prefer to have you alive, Captain Bond.’ They had heard
no door open, yet there was Brokenclaw, standing in the cell-like room. In one
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hand he held the bank draft for five million dollars. ‘I presume this is useless?’
He did not raise his voice and the way he asked sounded as though he thought it
oddly amusing.
‘Quite useless. Just as all your plans are useless now, Mr Lee.’

‘Oh, I don’t think so, Captain Bond. There is time. Incidentally, you haven’t
met the man who was supposed to have been your controller from Beijing. He
arrived a little earlier than expected. May I present General Hung Chow
H’ang.’ He stepped to one side to reveal a short, old man. He was slightly
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stooped, moved slowly and wore a black patch over his left eye.
‘It is interesting to meet you.’ H’ang spoke almost unaccented English and
his voice somehow seemed to belie his age, for it was strong, almost young.
‘You are not unlike my man Argentbright. Interesting. Argentbright-Abelard-

Bond. Who cares about the name? We still have the secrets of the Anglo-
American submarine detection weapon known as Lords, and its antidote, Lords
Day. I can leave now. Be gone within the hour with them. Believe me, Captain
Bond, I can get away quite undetected.’ He gave a little chuckle. ‘Incidentally,

it was my helicopter that brought you down. You are lucky to have survived.
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But it’s for the best. You see, we have to know if your masters have any
information on where we are, also on our Operation Jericho. These two
things, we don’t know. But you’ll tell us.’

‘Not a chance.’ Bond’s voice was stronger.
H’ang did not flinch. Quietly he turned to Lee. ‘Ah, yes, we require Captain
Bond to tell us all things.’
‘It will be done, General. I’m going to see to it personally.’ Lee gave Bond a

courteous little bow. ‘I’m terribly sorry about this, Bond, but we have little
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time for the kind of finesse you would use in an interrogation. Speed, time, as
the lawyers say, are of the essence, though I really don’t think you have a great
deal to tell us. Ding and poor old Frozen Stalk had their eyes on you all the

time, except when you were in the so-called bank, and I’ve had that searched
now, so I know it is empty – no telephones, nothing. A dead drop presumably,
and you just had time to leave some message there, so we will have to put you

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