Yang Guo and I reacted instinctively.

He threw himself in front of us, his own gun appearing, as if by magic, in his hands, while I grabbed at the scroll in a bunch and retreated with Li ge and Chen Shing.

The man in a dark jacket tutted loudly. "Now that's not a smart move, is it, Miss Alexandra?." He said, smilingly. "I expected better from someone smart enough to figure out the secret of the chamber." He waved at someone outside, the gun still pointed at us.

My stomach dropped to see another man siddle through the opening of the chamber... with the Reverend in his chokehold, a gun at his forehead. I heard Li ge and Chen Shing gasp beside me while Yang Guo's grip on his gun tightened.

"The name's Rodriguez." The foreigner introduced himself genially. "But call me Jake please." He jerked his head at the Reverend smilingly. "As you see, we are at some advantage in the armory department. You have one..." He raised the one in his hand a bit, "We have two."

That smile was so... genuine. He seemed to be a person the world can never cause to lose optimism. If I was to meet him at a restaurant or in the library, I would have found him to be charming. Bright and happy. This was the thief?

"Jake Rodriguez." Yang Guo spoke, and got a nod with another smile.

"Graff diamonds in 2009*...", he continued, "Poppy Flowers by Van Gogh in 2010*... Stolen sculptures from Archaeological Survey of India... Gold medal of Nobel Prize winner Tagore*... Rare books from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh*... Quite an impressive list."

Jake raised the fingers of his free hand in a salute. "Someone did their homework I see." He said. He actually seemed delighted. "It's not often I meet people who know my work."

"I've had a lot of time."

"Studying me obviously."

"What can I say, you created an opportunity for a treasure hunt. I couldn't give it up.."

I was surprised to see Yang Guo smile while speaking. This was so weird. Were they not pointing guns at each other, this could easily have been mistaken as a reunion between two college friends... carrying on a conversation so jovially.

"You aren't any less impressive Mr. Yang." Jake said, "Your steadfast attention to me put a few nuts and bolts in my smooth life." He pouted, making me want to pat his head, then smiled gently. "I really admire you. It takes a high IQ to figure out all the trails. Glad to meet you, though I wish I'd never again."

"The feeling is mutual."

"But pleasant though it is, I must put all the geniality aside for now. I have my attention focused elsewhere at the moment."

The guns hadn't lowered even an inch though. I glanced at the Reverend. He looked calm. An effect of meditation perhaps... Never mind. Focus.

The sensation of being watched made me look back, to see Jack gazing at my hands. I drew back, unconsciously clutching the scroll closer. His eyes twinkled.

"You have an interesting item in your hands, Miss Alex." He said. "The scholar in me is experiencing a great urge to study it. May I?"

"Scholar my ass." I snapped. "You are through and through a thief. You don't deserve any name higher than that."

"Now, now, that's not true. You hurt my sentiments." He pouted again. Heavens. Why did he have to have as handsome a face as that? At that moment he looked like a little child with sad eyes. "It took over a year's worth of research to figure out the secret of this temple, you know. You guys had it handed to you on a plate while I toiled..."

"What do you mean? Wait... back up a bit. How do you know me?"

The smile widened. "I've been a diligent visitor at the Library, Miss." He said. "For quite a while before you joined. You might not have had the time to go through all the books there but I have. At least those that discuss chambers within chambers and hidden mechanisms."

The more he spoke, the greater was the awareness of danger. This wasn't an ordinary man. Yang Guo still had his gun trained on him, watchful. He sensed my uneasiness.

"Jake Rodriguez does his background research thoroughly before any mission." He spoke in my direction.

"I've never seen him though." I said, puzzled, staring at Jake's face. "Don't tell me that the Library is huge. I know that. I still make a tour every day since it's a new place for me. There isn't any area I haven't covered."

"That's because he probably looked like himself." Yang Guo deduced.

"Eh?" What was he saying? But Jake laughed.

"Nobody has any idea what Jake looks like without a disguise. He keeps his personal life separate from business." Yang Guo explained. He dons a different face on each mission. Even now- this isn't his real face."

"Commendable." Jake muttered. He really looked like he had met the best people in his life.

"Sad. That was a handsome face." I snapped.

Laughter echoed round the chamber, but I heard a cough from my left. Oops.

I cleared my throat, going a tell tale pink. "Sorry." I muttered.

"I assure you I'm better looking. But enough talk. We can get back to pleasantries later. I have a job to do right now. So Miss Alexandra, librarian from the National Library of China, can you please hand over the scroll so each of us could be on our way?"

Yang Guo stepped right in front of me, shielding me completely. Jake's eyes were trained on Yang Guo, but I could tell that I was being kept in peripheral vision.

What was I supposed to say? No forget it? He was expecting that. As well as we who knew that he wouldn't leave without taking that, in which he had invested months of effort. There was the matter of the Reverend too who still stood, quietly, with the second gun trained on him. In any of the series that I had watched in my life, casualties was what I absolutely detested.

"You really expect me to just hand it over?" Will it be helpful if I kept him talking while Yang Guo thought something up? I hoped to goodness that his mind was whirling.

"I was hoping so Miss." He said, the look on his face, still pleasant.

I sighed. "I was hoping you would pass by just this once." What was I doing, talking stupid. And what was Yang Guo doing? Please just think of a way out of this mess!

"For you, I could have." He winked. "I don't like to turn down beautiful ladies. But you see... This actually might be the last heist of my life. Call it a piece-dé- resistance. Since that scroll is going to change the world."

"You're being so selfish." Chen Shing piped up. Jake glanced at him.

"Of course." He said. "Only a fool would pass by an opportunity like this. Who wouldn't be?"

"We wouldn't." Le ge's voice was low. I could tell he was nervous. But he still spoke up. "If it's what we think it is, do you realize just how much your actions will cost the society? You'll be netting millions. While I don't have a problem with that, the fact remains that the millions are going to come out of the pockets of ordinary people. Many of whom cannot afford costly medicines. You are going to raise the price sky-high."

"That's life, I'm afraid, Mr. Li." Jack spoke. I felt the temperature drop down a little. For the first time, he lost his smile. "My family was one of them, you know."

Li ge went silent at the sneer.

"I had to watch them struggle to survive as I grew up, barely managing to keep their heads floating above the surface. With absolutely no help from outside." Jake continued. "Do you guys even know what that feels like? Nah. You can think big because you didn't have such bad luck. Society didn't give a damn about me and I prefer not to give a damn about it."

"So you are going to create another Jake Rodriguez then?" I asked.

A brief flash of something showed in his eyes. Was that sadness? But the next moment he was back to jovial, leaving me wondering if I was mistaken.

"Told ya. I've stopped giving a damn. I had enough of thinking about others. Selfish is a beautiful word as Stephanie Meyer said." He shrugged. Then he turned totally serious. "We're wasting time and I'm getting impatient. Hand that over."

The situation looked totally hopeless. I was almost crying. It went against my entire being to let go of what my fingers were gripping tight enough to the point of breaking. Please... Who was I praying to?

A thought suddenly struck me. "Jake..." I asked in growing trepidation. He tilted his head in my direction, raising a fine eyebrow in query. "What did you do with the monks outside? And those in the temple?"

"Ah... don't worry about them." He waved. "As of now they're asleep. They're being looked after by my men, so that they don't disturb us."

I shook my head in disgust. But he just blinked in contemplation.

"I guess if I hadn't drugged you guys, my work would have been finished earlier. Ah well. All's well that ends well." He extended his free hand. "We don't want the monk brothers harmed now, do we?" He looked at us, the corners of his lips rising again.

The whole of me was rejecting the very thought of giving it up, and instead, my mind kept suggesting colorful ideas about how to do castrations or dismemberment. Maybe even shave the head off. I did not want to hand it over!

"Alexandra...?"

Yang Guo's voice had me turn eagerly towards him, only to have my hopes fall. His eyes held a sad resignation. What the hell Yang Guo??? Aren't you trained to deal with these kinds of situations?

But he just held out a hand. "Give the scroll to me." He said. Don't tell me that was resignation in his voice. Beep!! I glared at him.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to receive the scroll from the lady please. I prefer gentle souls." Jake's back to cheerful voice acted as a catalyst, transforming Yang Guo's face from calm to a level of bone chilling fierceness that I couldn't have imagined seeing on his face.

"NO!" He barked, making me jump.

I'm glad that his eyes were fixed on Jake instead of me. I wasn't scared of him, but he might have misunderstood that one moment of thrilling astonishment that, I was sure, had appeared in my eyes.

"You deal with me. Leave her out of this." He bit the words out.

"Dude... Yang Guo... I had a feeling that I was choosing the wrong looks today. I must look like a fool to you."

I was startled for the second time by a facial expression. Jake's whole face changed. In the place of a jovial bright man, stood a true robber, his entire demeanor radiating coldness.

"If you think I'm gonna allow you to get one over me--- approaching with a gun, think again. Either way, you don't seem fit for your profession." He growled, the keen eyes finally allowing us to behold the crazy mean attitude in them.

"Give it here. My patience wears thin. Are you waiting for the usual boring tacky phrases like 'or else' ?"

Yang Guo's hand had reached out to grasp at me, still keeping me behind his frame but an echoing click from the gun in the hands of the man holding the Reverend froze us. The Reverend, who, until now, had been silent, attempted to speak, but a hit from the butt of the revolver silenced him.

"Stop!" I yelled.

There didn't seem to be any way out of the situation. It was either our lives, or the lives of the future human populace. And choosing the second option wasn't going to help the said populace at all. I confess I was so disappointed in Yang Guo. Where the hell had his training gone? He waa the only one among us who was supposed to have any skill.

At that moment, I could only see one path.

"Alright." I said, my voice low to hide the fact that I was terrified. I ignored the gasps that echoed around me. "I'll hand these over." I saw Jake's eyes ease. "But on one condition."

He didn't seem to care much. "Please."

"The Reverend."

I watched as his eyes flicked towards his left. A couple of moments passed in silence, but then he abruptly agreed. "Alright then." He said. "If you'll please walk slowly towards me, I'll let the Reverend walk towards you." I nodded.

"Careful about trying anything though. I don't think I need to warn you. You seem to be a smart girl."

"Miss Alexandra, no..." The Reverend finally spoke up, his worried eyes fixed on my frightened ones.

"I'll trouble you to shut up." Jake minced no words. "Sam, keep the aim straight at his back."

I gently put my hand on Yang Guo's, slowly prying off his fingers that were still gripping my arm, one by one, hoping that it wasn't shaking. If even Yang Guo cannot think up a solution, then there certainly wasn't any hope left. Not only the Reverend, but the monk brothers outside were at the mercy of Jake's men. We didn't have any choice. We couldn't be responsible for lives so pure.

But Yang Guo wouldn't let go. "Alex listen... this isn't the way. Let me deal with him."

"We are outnumbered Yang Guo." I pointed out in a low voice. "At this moment I can't see any way out. Jake's men have the monk brothers outside."

"Listen to me." He spoke urgently, but I shook my head. I knew he was probably planning something, but unless it was implemented instantly, it wasn't of very use. Since the demand had to be met right now.

"You want to listen to your girlfriend, Mr.Yang." Jake spoke up. He extended his hand again, making a slight beckoning gesture. "Step forward Miss Alexandra. As long as you hand that over peacefully, you won't receive even a single scratch. I promise. The moment you hand the scroll over, I'm going to let you walk back to your boyfriend. After all, all I want is the scroll, not bloodshed. We'll be gone and no one will come to harm."

I stepped out from behind Yang Guo. This was the first and last time I held such a miraculous piece of knowledge within my arms. For a scholar, it was excruciating to see it slip out of grasp. One last glance at Le ge and Chen Shing nearly stopped me. They were looking at the scroll in my hands as if it was a precious baby being kidnapped.

There was nothing to be done. Slowly, I took a step forward, then paused, waiting for Jake. After a moment, at some unknown signal, the man holding the Reverend released him, stepping back, though keeping the gun still carefully aimed. The Reverend looked at me sadly, but I nodded. Slowly, we started walking, step by step towards each other.

It took a long time to meet in the middle, considering that the chamber was barely 15 feet wide. Funny how all kinds of superfluous thoughts would crowd your mind while in a dangerous situation. Instead of looking for ways to escape this predicament, my mind was processing that this was probably the strangest totally silent standoff in history. I was fascinated with the soft footfall my feet made on the stone floor, while walking through the fire range of firearms.

I shook my head slightly, seeing the Reverend open his mouth to speak, jerked my head slightly to indicate to him to walk and continued to step forward. None of them were looking at me. Their eyes fixed on the armed men. I could feel Yang Guo's growing anxiety. I imagined his hand tightening on his gun, keen eyes becoming even keener, alert for any slight shift of Jake's finger on the trigger, while he, in his turn, just waited for even the slightest provocation from Yang Guo's body language.

Who, back in Canada, could have predicted about me walking through a sea of weapons?

Two barely audible footfalls were all that could be heard in that quiet chamber. Not even breathing. They were all suspended in time, just waiting for disaster to happen. And I still went forward, step by careful step, Jake's eyes, still focussed Yang Guo, shining brighter with each. Quite possibly Yang Guo was helplessly staring at Jake as well, behind my back. Though I could feel the palpitating pull I had over him.

No. Keep looking at that gun in the psycho's hand. Don't look away. I'm about to enter his reach. I hope there's a chance to get out too. God willing...

I glanced at the man Jake called Sam- and found him watching the Reverend. Back to Jake... Yang Guo.

Another step forward...

Reverend... Yang Guo... Jake...

Not me.

Not me.......

My foot struck. The room tilted suddenly.

I stumbled, throwing out my hands for balance with a cry.

All the eyes in the room turned, as if in slow-motion, towards the bamboo scroll that rose up up in the air as I fell.

I watched, as if in slow motion, panic dawn in Jake's face, his mouth open.

The next moment, the chamber boomed deafeningly with gunshots.

__________________________________

* Graff diamonds in 2009 - The Graff Diamonds robbery took place on 6 August 2009 when two men posing as customers entered the premises of Graff Diamonds in New Bond Street, London and stole jewellery worth nearly £40 million (US$65 million). It was believed to be the largest ever gems heist in Britain at the time, and the second largest British robbery after the £53 million raid on a Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent, in 2006. The robbers' haul totalled 43 items of jewellery, consisting of rings, bracelets, necklaces and wristwatches. One necklace alone has been reported as being worth more than £3.5m. Britain's previous largest jewellery robbery also took place at Graff's, in 2003.

* Poppy Flowers by Van Gogh in 2010- Poppy Flowers (also known as Vase And Flowers and Vase with Viscaria) is a painting by Vincent van Gogh with an estimated value of US$50 million to $55 million; it was stolen from Cairo's Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum twice; first in 1977 (and recovered after a decade), then again in August 2010 and has yet to be found.

* Gold medal of Nobel Prize winner Tagore =  In 2004, 's 1913 Nobel prize medal was stolen. In 2016, a local singer accused of sheltering the thieves was arrested, but the medal could not be recovered. Interrogation revealed that a Bangladeshi national, along with two Europeans, were involved in the theft. Two replicas, one in gold and one in silver were later presented to Viswa Bharati University by the Swedish government.

* Rare books from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh - One by one, rare books vanished from the library — the Journal of George Washington; a copy of Isaac Newton's "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica" valued at nearly $1 million; an Atlas by a 19th-century German explorer worth $1.2 million. Over a quarter of a century, these printed treasures and hundreds of others were stolen from Pittsburgh's Carnegie Library. And some of them were heading just around the corner. On Monday, Gregory Priore, the former archivist of the Carnegie Library's rare book room, and John Schulman, owner of Caliban Book Shop, pleaded guilty to theft and receiving stolen property for snatching $8 million worth of rare books, maps, folios, and other objects. Schulman also pleaded guilty to forgery.