The Emperor's Tomb

The men advanced toward the gray walls, walking toward the open front gate.

“That’s somewhat unexpected,” Pau calmly said.

Men with guns were approaching, and all this man could say was unexpected.

He was concerned.

Greatly.

SEVENTEEN

MALONE ASSESSED THE STARTLING INFORMATION STEPHANIE was providing.

“The Western mind-set,” she said, “is that oil is a fossil fuel. Remember, back in the 1960s, when all the Sinclair gas stations displayed a dinosaur as a trademark? There were TV commercials that showed dinosaurs dying, decaying, and turning into oil. Ask ten people where oil comes from and they all would say dead dinosaurs.”

He recalled the ads she was referring to, and he had to admit that he, too, had been indoctrinated. Oil was a fossil fuel, a finite resource.

“Imagine, Cotton, if oil is infinite. The earth produces it continually, as a renewable resource. The Russians have long believed this.”

“Stephanie, what does any of this have to do with Cassiopeia?”

A chill had crept into the late-afternoon air. Ivan would return shortly, and they would all leave for Antwerp. He must understand the problem before then.

“Ever heard of the Dniepr-Donetsk basin in eastern Ukraine?”

He shook his head.

“In the 1950s the area was abandoned as a prospective place to drill. No potential for oil production was the conclusion of the survey team. We know this because an American well driller, a man named J. F. Kenney, was part of the team that studied the site with the Russians. No source rock for fossil fuels was located there.” She paused. “Today, that basin contains more than 400 million barrels of proven reserves, found deep underground. The man who determined that to be the case is Lev Sokolov. He was a Russian expert on the abiotic theory of oil.”

“How do we know that the survey team in the 1950s wasn’t just wrong, and there was oil there all the time?”

“It happened again. On the Kola Peninsula, in northern Russia. Another place that had no prospect of production—under the fossil fuel theory. Yet the Russians drilled down seven miles and hit methane gas. No one ever believed that methane would be found that deep in granite rock. The fossil fuel theory would never support the finding, but the gas was right where Sokolov predicted.”

“And now Washington is finally interested in all this.”

“With a vengeance. This could change the world balance of power, which explains why Karl Tang is interested. Ivan’s right. Tang’s a threat to us all. If he assumes control of China, the destabilization across the region, across the globe, will be enormous. Especially if he has unlimited oil at his disposal.”

“President Daniels wants Tang stopped?”

“Actually, Cotton, we want him dead.”

He understood the enormity of the statement. America did not officially assassinate people.

But it happened.

“And you’re hoping the Russians do the deed?”

She shrugged. “Enough that I forced myself into their business. Ivan wasn’t happy to see me. Bad enough that Sokolov was alive, he sure did not want us involved.”

“How did he know about me?”

“From those two couriers, is my guess. When the one brought that note to your shop, his men were watching.”

She’d left something out. “And where were you?”

“Watching too. He informed me about your meeting at Tivoli only after you were already on your way there.”

“So you already knew some of what Ivan told you back in the café?”

She nodded. “I did. I figured we’d have a talk.”

“What did you know about Cassiopeia?”

“I had no idea she was being tortured.”

He believed her on that one.

“We’ve done the math, Cotton. If Tang becomes premier, he will undo fifty years of hard-fought diplomacy. He thinks China has been mistreated by everyone and he wants retribution. He’ll reassert Chinese dominance any way and every way he can. Right now, we keep China in line thanks to its foreign energy dependence. We maintain a sixty-day oil reserve, and Japan keeps a hundred. China has barely ten days’ worth. A naval blockade could easily choke the country into submission. Eighty percent of China’s imported oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz or the Strait of Malacca. Those are a long way from China, and we control both.”

“So they behave themselves, knowing what we could do?”

“Something like that, though the threat is never voiced. Bad form, when dealing with the Chinese. They don’t like reminders of weakness.”

He was glad not to be a diplomat.

“If Tang has unlimited oil available to him,” she said, “we’ll lose what little leverage we have. China practically controls the world currency markets now, and they are the number one lender to us. Though we don’t like to admit it, we need China. If Chinese oil wells flow forever, they’ll be able to expand their economy at will, force whatever policies they want, unconcerned about what anyone cares or thinks.”

“Which makes Russia nervous.”

“Enough that they just might take Karl Tang out.”

Okay, he was convinced. This was serious.