Linda Whiddon

Zoe realized she would not win this debate with Sal so Special Agent Zoe Carter did what all good spies do; she retrieved the syringe from her pocket and quickly injected the knock out drug into Sal's neck. Time was of the esence and the plane was fueled and ready to go when she arrived with the unconscious Sal. It took both she and Fred the pilot to get him on the plane. Soon they were airborn heading for Nepal. The journey would be a long and arduous one. Zoe had to deliver the Emerald tablet to His Holiness at the Tashilunpo Monastery in Shigatse as soon as possible; many lives depended on it.Once the plane landed and they passed customs and survived scrutiny from the Chinese border patrol the real journey began crossing over into Nepal. It was soon fraught with danger at every turn. Starting with a near death car accident; followed by a perilous climb to the top of a mountain only to be fortunate enough to escape the jaws of a pride of very hungry snow leopards midway up the mountain. Just when Sal and Zoe thought they were safe  from the beasts they crossed paths with an assasin who wanted the tablet and had no problem killing them for it. A sudden twist of fate kept them from certain death but not without consequences. After turning over the tablet to the Dal Lama they were informed by the holy man that their journey was just beginning and were handed off to a small but powerfully built man named Master Chen who commanded they follow him to his dojo even higher up the mountain.Sal and Zoe looked at each other and wondered if they were being led  into more danger but they realized there was no turning back now; they had to be ready for whatever came next so they left with Master Chen who hollared to them to keep up as he disappeared into the swirling white snow.