Free Mouse by Jeff Stone Page B

better conditions. He just hoped they hadn't arrived too late.
    He jumped out of the boat and headed for theenormous warehouse without bothering to say goodbye to Tonglong's men. ShaoShu knew that they would be watching his every move. Or at least as many moves as he would make along the waterfront, which probably wouldn't be many. He was headed around to the back.
    As he circled HaiZhe's facility, keeping to the shadows, ShaoShu began to grow anxious. The perimeter was brightly lit with oil lanterns every few paces, and armed guards patrolled the area in random patterns. There was no rhyme or reason to their movements, which meant no weakness for ShaoShu to exploit. He considered trying the roof, but after climbing a tree and looking around, he found that the roof, too, was swarming with guards. Men were stationed within the various roof peaks, armed with muskets. There was no way he or anyone could get inside there without being noticed. These guards were very different from the soldiers at the fortress.
    As ShaoShu shimmied down the tree, he heard someone approaching. He dove beneath a small evergreen and watched a well-worn path that led to one of the building's back doors.
    An older man came strolling up the path toward the warehouse, carrying a drinking bowl filled with a steaming liquid. ShaoShu smiled. It was LoBak. As LoBak neared his hiding place, ShaoShu whispered,
“Psst!
LoBak! Mr. Medicine Man! Down here! It's me, ShaoShu—Hok's friend!”
    LoBak slowed but did not stop. He kept his eyes fixed straight ahead and whispered out of the corner of his mouth, “Lower your head and cover your face.”
    ShaoShu was about to ask why when LoBak appeared to stumble. ShaoShu ducked as instructed, and the last thing he saw was LoBak twist around and fling the drinking bowl in his direction. ShaoShu bit his lip as the scalding liquid splashed over the evergreen branches onto him. He didn't cry out, though. Not even when the drinking bowl bounced off the side of his head.
    “Oh, dear,” LoBak said loudly to no one in particular. “I shall have to make another batch. Now, where did my drinking bowl go?” He bent down and stuck his face into the tree.
    “What are you doing here?” LoBak asked in a low whisper. “I heard that you were with Tonglong. Come with me. Hok and Ying are hiding at my shop.”
    ShaoShu frowned. “I can't leave. I have to sneak into HaiZhe's warehouse, or Tonglong will kill me.”
    LoBak sighed. “You poor thing. You will never get in there without help. Wait here, I'll be back soon.” He grabbed the drinking bowl and left, calling out to the guards, “I will return shortly. Pass the word to War lord HaiZhe about my spill.”
    Half an hour later, LoBak returned with a rigid basket strapped to his back and a canteen slung around his neck. He set the basket down next to ShaoShu's evergreen tree and removed the lid, whispering, “Hokand Ying send their greetings. I nearly had to threaten their lives to keep them from coming with me. Hok tells me that you can squeeze into tight spaces. Is this true?”
    “Yes.”
    “Excellent. When you hear me cough, climb into the very bottom of this basket.”
    “Okay.”
    LoBak reached into the basket and pulled out a small saw and a large blanket. He carried the items well away from ShaoShu and began to saw a branch from a cypress tree.
    “You there, Medicine Man!” a guard shouted from the rooftop. “What do you think you are doing?”
    LoBak coughed, and ShaoShu scrambled into the basket headfirst. He heard LoBak say, “I am preparing a special treatment for Warlord HaiZhe using his very own trees. Would you like to come down and help?”
    “I cannot, sir,” the guard replied. “I need to remain at my post. Carry on.”
    LoBak did carry on. He cut three branches from the tree and carried them back to the basket. ShaoShu was settled in by then, having twisted and squirmed his body into a tight knot, barely taking up any space at the bottom of the