“We were about to search for her,” J.L. added. “Where did you find her?”
Russell shifted his weight. He wasn’t sure if these guys knew about Jia’s plan to assassinate Master Han. Even though he should warn them, he found himself strangely reluctant to tattle on her. “I’m not sure. Someplace in northern Myanmar.”
J.L.’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Master Han has a camp there.”
Russell shrugged. “He has camps all over.”
“Was Han there?” Rajiv demanded. “Was she trying to kill him?”
So they knew. Russell sighed. “Yes, she tried and came damned close to succeeding.”
J.L. sucked in a hissing breath.
Rajiv grimaced. “I strictly forbade her to go anywhere near Han or his camps.”
J.L. shook his head. “She’s too impetuous. She’ll get herself killed.”
A surge of anger shot through Russell. “At least she’s doing something! She had the courage to go after him, which is more than I can say for the two of you!”
Rajiv’s eyes flashed with anger. “If you know where Han is, tell me and I’ll gladly kill him. I promised Jia I would avenge her family. And since you found her, you must have been near Han, too. Why didn’t you kill him?”
Russell’s jaw shifted as he ground his teeth.
“Do you think we’re doing nothing here?” J.L. glared at him. “In the last two months, we’ve attacked six of Han’s camps and taken his supersoldiers. They’re in the clinic now, being changed back to normal.”
“We’ve whittled Han’s army down to three hundred and twenty,” Rajiv added.
Russell scoffed. “Instead of saving soldiers, we need to kill Han. Once the head is dead, the body will wither away.”
“Then the next time you see Han, call us,” J.L. growled. “We’re on the same side, dammit.”
Russell stepped back to teleport away. “Later.”
“Wait!” J.L. held up a hand. “We need to know more. Is Han still in Myanmar?”
“He left.” Russell scowled. “There’s no telling where he is now. And he had the dragon boy with him.”
“Xiao Fang?” Rajiv asked. “Is he all right?”
“He appeared to be.”
“Let me get you a sat phone,” J.L. said. “The next time you see Han—”
“I have a phone.”
“But the charge—”
“It’s fine.” Russell visualized his underground lair, ready to teleport there. Our secret hideout, the princess had called it. Was it true what she had said? “Is she really a prisoner?”
Rajiv glanced in the direction of the houses next to the courtyard. Jia had disappeared down one of the narrow alleys. “She’s exaggerating. She’s free to go about Tiger Town as she wishes.”
Tiger Town was small. Russell tamped down on the anger that still sizzled inside him. How dare they keep down a fighting spirit like hers?
“If she still wants to visit the were-tigers in Thailand, I’ll teleport her there,” J.L. offered.
Russell snorted. Did the fools think she wanted to babysit? She was probably sharpening her knives right now and planning her escape. She had one thing on her mind—killing Han.
And he needed to beat her to it. Russell teleported away.