Free Crane by Jeff Stone Page B

leaving you to die inhis hands, and he's not going to die, either.” She retrieved the chain whip and looped it around Ying's neck. “Let's get moving so we can—”
    Ying cocked his head. “Shhhh …,” he wheezed.
    Hok listened closely. She heard voices from around the corner at the prison entrance.
    “Whew! What a party!” a man said. “The Emperor sure knows how to have a good time!”
    “Yes, indeed,” another man replied. “Too bad we had to come back here—”
    Ying nodded toward the far corner of the room and Hok noticed a door. As they headed for it, Ying whispered in a wet, wheezing voice, “Tonglong will take Malao … to a place we called … the Riverbank Safe House. It's an … old shack … an hour downriver … from the main Kaifeng bridge. It's on … the southern shore … near a willow … with twin trunks.”
    They reached the door and Hok tried the handle. It was locked, but she saw the key was still in the mechanism. She turned it and opened the door. The hinges shrieked.
    “What was that?” one man called out.
    Hok heard footsteps, and she pushed Ying through the doorway.
    “Look!” one of the men cried. “Major Ying is escaping!”
    “Who is that with him?” the other man said. “It's—it's the girl from the wanted poster!”
    Hok slammed the door closed and engaged the lock with the key from the outside. She leaned Yingagainst the side of the building and hurried over to the building's front corner.
    Hok peered out at the main street, trying to decide which way to go. She didn't know. Maybe Ying had an idea. She looked back at him, but he had disappeared, like dragons were rumored to do.
    The two prison guards came barging out of the front entrance, yelling, “SOUND THE ALARMS! THERE'S BEEN A PRISON BREAK!”
    Hok turned and ran.

“Y ou didn't kill him, did you?” HaMo asked.
    “No,” AnGangseh replied. “He is only sssleeping.”
    “Are you sure?” HaMo said. “He hasn't moved in hours.”
    “I am sure,” AnGangseh said. She stepped over Malao's unconscious body and handed a small bottle to HaMo. “This is what put the boy in his current ssstate. It's called Dream Dust, and it is very powerful. I make it myself. Never put the bottle near your face.”
    HaMo cringed and held the bottle at arm's length. “What do you want me to do with it?”
    “If the boy monkey begins to wake up,” AnGangseh said, “sssprinkle a tiny amount of the powder on his upper lip, beneath his nose. A sssingledose now would keep him asleep until late afternoon.”
    “But the sun hasn't even risen yet,” HaMo said.
    “As I sssaid, it is very powerful. That bottle will last you a very long time. Keep the boy drugged, and he won't give you any trouble. Let the effects wear off ssslightly each day, though, ssso that you can feed him and give him sssomething to drink.”
    HaMo nodded, holding up the small bottle. “Thanks.”
    The front door of the safe house swung open and Tonglong stepped inside the single-room shack. He set an oil lamp on a small dusty table.
    “It appears as though we are alone,” Tonglong said, “though it is difficult to see. Clouds have formed over the moon.”
    “I sssense rain,” AnGangseh said.
    “Rain is fine,” HaMo said. “It shouldn't affect our plan.”
    “I agree,” Tonglong said.
    HaMo scratched one of his enormous chins. “What is it we're after again? A scroll?”
    “Yes,” Tonglong said. “A dragon scroll from Cang-zhen Temple.”
    “Neither of you study dragon-style kung fu,” HaMo said. “What are you going to do with it?”
    Tonglong looked at AnGangseh, and AnGangseh nodded.
    “It's a map,” Tonglong said.
    HaMo burst into laughter. “A dragon scroll map from Cangzhen! You believe that old wives’ tale?”
    Tonglong stared at HaMo, and HaMo stopped laughing. “You're serious, aren't you?” HaMo asked.
    “Deadly ssserious,” AnGangseh said.
    “We have reason to believe the story is valid,” Tonglong said.
    “The story