Maya and Jack had climbed onto the balcony just in time. They climbed over the railing and hid in the darkness while Thorne's men searched the alley below. After they left, Jack led Maya through a secret door into a small apartment.
The room smelled of roasted coffee and old paper. Maps were pinned all over the walls.
"Welcome to my hideout," Jack said, finally taking off his jacket. He looked tired, but his smile was still warm.
"I need answers, Jack," Maya said in a firm voice. "You're not just a photographer. You have a weapon, you knew my grandfather, and you're being chased by the same group of people as I am."
Jack sighed and walked to the small kitchen, starting to brew traditional Vietnamese coffee. "You're right. I work for a group that protects cultural heritage. We try to stop people like Marcus Thorne from stealing the history of a country."
He handed Maya a cup of coffee — thick, black and very sweet. "Your grandfather was once our best agent. Years ago, he hid the Green Jade Dragon to protect it from Thorne's gang."
Maya took a sip of coffee. The caffeine made her feel more alert. She looked at the golden key on the table: "And this key?"
"It opens a box in a hidden temple in Da Lat," he explained. "But we have a problem. The map in your diary is encoded. We can't read the directions without a special lens."
Maya smiled with a clever look in her eyes. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small round piece of glass. "Are you talking about this? My grandfather gave it to me as a good-luck charm when I was a little girl."
Jack stared at the glass, then at Maya: "You're amazing, Maya. You've been holding the missing piece all this time!"
For a moment, they stood very close. The tension in the room was no longer only about the mystery. Maya felt her heart racing as Jack reached out to touch the glass.
But at that exact moment, a red laser dot appeared on the wall behind them. It was moving very fast toward Jack's chest. Someone was on the rooftop of the building across with a sniper rifle!
"Get down, Jack!" Maya shouted. A bullet shattered the coffee cup in Maya's hand.
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