The Adventures of Indiana Jones and Short Round

4

When their food arrived, Short Round immediately dug in, but Indy and Wu Han let theirs grow cold. Dr. Jones pulled out some sheets of paper from his satchel.

  "Did you get the intel you were looking for?" inquired Wu Han eagerly.

  "It took some digging, but several leads confirm that the ashes were stolen from Peking in 1903, which is why we didn't find the urn there."

  "Shen Ch'un," Wu Han realized. Dr. Jones nodded.

Shorty chewed more slowly as he grew more and more interested in the conversation. He had heard of Shen Chu'un. He lead a gang of bandits on behalf of a secret society looking to overthrow the Manchus in favor of a representative government. At least, that was the rumor on the streets.

  "Word has it that their ship, the Rising Moon, was driven off course and the ashes were lost. Gung Ho told me that he was shown an object similar to my drawing."

He set a worn square of parchment in the center of the table. Shorty sat up straighter to observe the drawing over his bowl. It was a detailed sketch of a tiny vase with a dragon on the lid. Although it was not colored, Short Round guessed that it was made out of jade or some other type of stone.

  "The man who showed it to him lives across the Himalayan Mountains" Indy continued. "He may have Nurhachi, or he can tell us to whom he sold it to. We will need transportation across the Himalayans."

  "I may have connections," Wu Han offered hesitantly. "I will need a few days."

Indy nodded. With Lao Che watching their every move, he wanted a head start, but he wasn't unreasonable.

  "Dr. Jones?"

  "Yeah, kid?" Indiana sighed, waiting for a stream of endless questions about their mission. But the boy asked no questions and only stared pointedly at the window. Indy turned slowly till he was just barely looking out the window from the corner of his eye. A man in a suit was watching them, not bothering to hide his gun.

  "Shit. We need to get out of here," Indy announced before realizing that he cursed in front of a kid. Hopefully, Short Round didn't understand what he said. He probably heard worse on the streets anyway.

The three of them rose from the table and Wu Han placed some money on the table, complete with tip. Indy knew that in order to leave, they had to pass by the man with the gun. He hoped that the crowd of potential witnesses would keep him from attempting to kill them the moment they stepped out of the restaurant. All the same, he put himself between the gun and the kid. Always the bodyguard, Wu Han placed himself between Indy and the gunner.

To their relief, the man didn't shoot, but Dr. Jones did notice the subtle mumbling into a hidden radio, probably a call for reinforcements.

Indiana tried to blend into the crowd, but the tall American stood out like a sore thumb. He gripped Short Round's hand in his own in order to avoid losing him, pulling him along as his strides were too long for Shorty.

The archeologist glanced behind him. Wu Han was following him closely, pushing through the sea of people that threatened to separate them. Gazing past Wu Han, Indy spotted two suited men in pursuit. Though they were also slowed by the crowd, they managed to keep up.

  "Indy, follow me."

Before Indiana could protest, Short Round began to take the lead. He pulled the older man down an alley with Wu Han in tow.

The market stalls gradually became less and less grand, but the crowd of people did not thin. Indy tried to duck beneath the people to hide. This helped the Chinese boy as he pulled them behind a stack of crates full of fruit. The man behind the stall looked at the trio curiously, but said nothing. Peering around, Wu Han nodded to Indy. They were clear.

Then Short Round took Indiana's hand again and pulled him down the narrow alley behind them. It was dark and empty and a perfect place to lay low for awhile.

  "We can't go back to my hotel room," Dr. Jones told Wu Han. "Lao Che will have it watched."

  "We will go to my place," Wu Han offered. "It is not far."

Now it was Wu Han's turn to take the lead. Keeping a sharp eye out, the young man weaved them through the crowd casually to blend in. Indiana kept his head down and his hat over his eyes, though it did little to help him blend in. Short Round followed faithfully, his hand still in the American's larger one. Though he didn't complain, his legs were weary from trying to equal the older men's long strides. As the night grew late, the sea of shoppers was finally beginning to quiet.

Wu Han led them to a small house in Shanghai's International Settlement, which he was able to purchase for himself thanks to the profits from his past adventures with Dr. Indiana Jones. Upon entering it, Wu Han turned on the lights, illuminating his home. It was lightly furnished, but it served as a sanctuary for the endangered archaeologist and their exhausted new friend.

  "We should be safe here," Wu Han declared quietly.

  Indiana nodded his thanks, then removed his fedora. "Lao Che is more onto us than I thought. We need to get to the Himalayans as soon as possible."

  Wu Han agreed. "I will work on that now."

Then his brown eyes left Indy's and moved to the floor. Indiana turned, following his gaze to find Short Round curled up on the rug half asleep. His eyes were barely open in slits, seconds away from unconsciousness.

  "What will we do with him? He knows too much."

  "You don't think he'll spill, do you?" Indiana replied almost defensively. "He's a good kid."

  "You misunderstand." His partner shook his head. "Him helping us puts him in danger with Lao Che. His men saw him with us."

  "Then I guess he'll have to come along."

  "It is dangerous."

  Indiana gazed softly at the small, sleeping form. "His life is already dangerous."

Unwilling to leave the boy on the floor, Indiana picked up the child carefully. He was featherweight and he could feel his bones. The street kid stiffened in his arms as he lowered him onto the worn sofa. Short Round relaxed as the unfamiliar touch left him. Wu Han unfolded a spare blanket and draped it over the child. For the first time since he was alone, Short Round slept soundly.