Echo Six: Black Ops 7 - Tibetan Fury
Dalai Lama fled from persecution. The palace is very beautiful, with three hundred and seventy-four rooms, and the gardens are famous. It is a holy place to most Tibetans."
    "The Chinese left it alone?"
    "They did a lot of damage during the invasion, but it was repaired a few years ago, when they were trying to improve their image in the eyes of the world. It makes little difference to the Dalai Lama. He's still unable to return."
    "They'd kill him?"
    She gave him a cynical glance. "There's little doubt he'd meet with an accident. Or maybe they'd copy the Russians and poison him with polonium. One way or the other, they wouldn't allow him to live if he ever tried to come back. He is the symbol of free Tibet."
    He nodded. Like most people, he had a great deal of sympathy for the plight of the Tibetans, ever since the Chinese invasion. Their treatment at the hands of the Chinese legions had shocked the world, and continued to do so. Since Chairman Mao's horde had crossed the border, they'd subjected the peace-loving nation to a campaign of slaughter and ethnic cleansing. Yet the world looked on and did nothing. Except continue to buy cheap Chinese consumer goods.
    It was a surprising place, and he found himself fascinated by her knowledge. And more. He wanted to know more about this enigmatic girl. Tibetan American, Buddhist nun, CIA operative.
    What is she? Who is she?
    He chatted quietly to her as they walked.
    “What made you decide to leave the nunnery here in Tibet? Did you have problems?”
    She grimaced. “The Chinese invaded our living quarters early one morning, just as we were about to go to prayer. It was chaos; they herded some of the nuns into a basement storeroom and raped them. Some protested and were shot. Others were sent to labor camps. It was a terrible time. I was lucky. I managed to escape.”
    He stared at her. The way she spoke her voice altered, as if there was some dark place in her soul she preferred not to explore.
    She took a breath and went on, “They had a cordon of armed troops surrounding the building, but I slipped through a window and almost got away when a soldier stopped me. He pointed his rifle at me and ordered me to remove my clothes.”
    “How did you get away?”
    They walked on through the snow, and at first he thought she’d declined to answer. She looked sideways at him, and her expression was troubled.
    “Something, some instinct, I don't know what it was, made me do it. When it all started, I grabbed a knife, the one I used for cutting vegetables. I had hidden it under my robe, and when he grabbed me, I pretended to obey him." Her expression was taut, "He began to unfasten his pants. When he looked away, I brought out the knife, and I killed him.”
    He saw her lips move in a silent prayer. He knew what it would have cost her, a Buddhist nun. The sin above all sins.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Yes. I escaped over the border into Nepal. From there, I went to the American Embassy, and they repatriated me, as technically I'm an American citizen. That's when I applied to join CIA, to fight back.”
    “What about the Chinese? Were there any repercussions? I mean, for what they did to the nuns?”
    She smiled, but there was no humor. "Oh, there were repercussions. They pronounced a sentence of death on me.”
    “On you! You mean it's still in force?"
    "If they arrest me, they will execute me."
    "Yet you still came back. Why?"
    "Because it's my job, and CIA ordered me to do it. And because of..." she stopped, "because of Tenzin Davaika. He needed me."
    He knew she'd been about to say something else. What? She'd tell him when she was ready. He shook his head at the horrors these people endured. He'd never understand what motivated deeply religious people. Something about her reminded him of Nava, the Jewish girl he'd loved and lost. Then he smiled to himself, recognizing the similarity.
    Am I always doomed to meet desirable girls who spend their lives pursuing some crazy religious

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