The Treasure of Lei Fong Wu

Chapter Eighteen

“Would you like to explain why you are stealing a priceless Lei family heirloom?” the General asked as he came shoulder-to-shoulder with his uncle. “I might spare your lives, if the story is good enough.”

“How good would it have to be?” Mal asked curiously.

“Pretty gorram good,” the General conceded after a moment’s thought. “I’m more inclined to shoot you and leave your bodies for the condors, myself.”

Mal thought a moment. “Anything come to mind, Zoe?” he asked after a moment.

“Nothin’ I want to say in front of a clergyman,” she said, coolly.

“Perhaps I might recommend the truth?” Master Lei offered. “It will save you the trouble of thinking up a clumsy lie, and it may well be entertaining enough to save you.”

“Well, the truth,” Mal said, searching for words.

“Let us start with who hired you to steal this thing?”

“What thing?” Zoe asked, blankly.

“The box,” supplied the monk. “The one in your husband’s coat.”

“What box?” She looked over her shoulder at Mal. “You got a box?”

“It was a present,” Mal said. “Thanks,” he said sullenly to Master Lei, “you ruined my surprise.”

“Why’d you steal a box?” she demanded.

“It was pretty. I thought you’d like it.”

“They have a gift shop, you know.”

“And pay those prices?”

“As amusing as the banter is,” Master Lei said, smiling, “We all know that you have the box. And we all know that the box, itself, is worthless.”

“You stole me a worthless box?” Zoe asked, disgusted.

“It didn’t look worthless,” Mal grumbled. “I thought it was pretty.”

“No one in the ‘verse would steal that box for sale on the black market,” General Lei said, “for the simple fact that only a handful of people in the ‘verse knows what it contains. A real criminal would have passed it up in favor of a dozen other items of far greater intrinsic worth.”

“Hey,” Mal said, offended, “We are real criminals! We’re just . . . we’re more of the ‘armed robbery’ type. This shoplifting stuff is a little out o’ our