‘We’ll get out, even if we have to go through them.’ He guided her into another passage to the right, looking back as he made the turn. The two men appeared at the end of the side street, having increased their pace to catch up.
‘They’re definitely after us,’ he warned Nina. A television blared from an open window somewhere above. ‘You keep going.’ He released her arm and pushed her onwards.
‘What are you doing?’ she demanded, ignoring the prompt and turning to see him duck into the shadows beside an overflowing garbage bin.
‘I’m going to have words with ’em. Go on, move!’
‘Eddie, no! We need to—’
‘Go!’ With deep reluctance, Nina hurried away into the darkness.
Eddie watched until she turned a corner, then hunched down. Over the sound of the TV he picked out the scuffle of footsteps. Two sets, moving at a brisk jog.
The first man rounded the turn, hesitating as he found that his targets had disappeared. He was ten feet away. Eddie clenched both fists into tight balls, ready to strike.
Whispered words from the leading man to his companion as he caught up, then the former set off again. He reached the bin—
Eddie sprang up, whirling to drive a fist into his pursuer’s face.
It didn’t connect.
The young man dodged reflexively, snapping sideways to avoid the blow. With all his weight behind the swing, Eddie was suddenly unbalanced, having braced himself for an impact that didn’t come. He staggered as he tried to correct for his mistake—
The edge of a palm knifed at the Englishman’s throat.
He glimpsed the pale blur rushing at him, but with one arm outstretched and the other thrown back as a counterweight, all he could do to protect his windpipe was jam his chin down hard against his chest. The blow hit his mouth. He tasted blood.
His attacker’s hand drew back, then whipped at his face again—
The Yorkshireman twisted, taking a painful blow to his jaw — then, with a roar, charged and tackled his opponent.
Both men crashed against the bin, scattering garbage. Eddie pressed his attack, driving a fist into his assailant’s abdomen. It was a hard blow, and even though the other man’s muscles were solid as stone, he still grunted in pain. Eddie shoulder-barged him against the wall, pulling back his arm to deliver another punch—
The edge of a boot slammed against his shin, grinding agonisingly down the bone to knock his leg out from under him. Eddie tried to grab his adversary’s clothing for support, but it was too late. His knee barked against the ground, and he fell.
The man loomed above him, raising a foot to stamp on his face—
‘Chadal!’
The descending boot froze an inch from the tip of Eddie’s nose before swinging away. The attacker drew back, almost standing at attention. The second of the two pursuers came into view, a faint wash of light from a window above revealing concern on the older man’s face.
He reached down. ‘Mr Chase, my apologies. Are you okay?’
Eddie glared at him. ‘Who the fuck are you?’
‘A friend — although I can understand why you wouldn’t believe me. But trust me, I am on your side. Here, let me help you.’
The Yorkshireman ignored the proffered hand and pushed himself upright. ‘What the fuck’s going on?’ he demanded, recognising the man’s accent. ‘You’re Israeli?’
‘Benjamin Falk.’ He tipped his head in greeting before indicating his younger companion. ‘My overzealous associate here is Jared Zane.’
‘Eddie?’ called Nina, peering nervously around the corner. ‘What’s happening? Are you okay?’
Her husband spat out a red glob, forcing himself not to show any discomfort as he straightened his leg and felt a raw pain where Zane’s boot had scraped down it. ‘I’ll live.’
‘Is it safe? Who are these guys?’
‘You are quite safe with us, Dr Wilde,’ said Falk.
She drew back, disconcerted. ‘You know who I am?’
‘Course they know who we are,’ growled Eddie. ‘They know who everyone is. They’re from fucking Mossad.’
‘The Mossad?’ Nina echoed. She knew of the Israeli intelligence agency by fearsome reputation, but had never encountered anyone who worked for it; at least not that she had been aware of.
Zane was surprised to have been identified. ‘How did you know that?’
‘That Krav Maga martial arts bollocks you were doing, I’ve seen it before. I met Mossad agents when I was in the forces. Bunch of arrogant fucking twats.’
The young man scowled at him. ‘What did you say?’
Falk held up a hand. ‘Jared.’ Zane’s offended frown remained, but he made an effort to lower his hackles. ‘We should get back on to the main street, or your bodyguard might miss you when he returns from escorting Miss Sharif to your hotel.’
Nina warily joined her husband as he brushed dirt off his leather jacket. ‘I guess you really do know who we are. So why are you following us?’
The Israelis started back towards the street. Eddie and Nina followed cautiously. ‘You encountered a man named Maximilian Jaekel in Los Angeles,’ said Falk.
‘If by “encountered” you mean “were shot at by”, then yeah,’ she replied.
‘Jaekel was an escaped Nazi, although I’m sure you already know that,’ Falk went on. ‘But the Mossad has an… arrangement with both Interpol and the American government — the British government too,’ he added, glancing at Eddie. ‘The moment his fingerprints were identified, we were alerted. It didn’t seem possible — the dead man appeared far too young. But fingerprints do not lie. So my unit was reactivated to investigate.’
‘Reactivated?’ said Eddie.
Falk nodded. ‘My current role at the Mossad is irrelevant, but I was formerly in charge of the Criminal Sanctions Unit. The reason the CSU had been deactivated was simple: it had run out of criminals to pursue.’
‘War criminals,’ said Nina, realising the unit’s true function. ‘You’re Nazi hunters?’
‘Yes.’ They reached the street and the two Israelis stopped under a light, giving Nina and Eddie their first clear view of the pair. Zane was in his mid twenties, tall and lean in both face and figure, with a neat mane of tight black curls framing his intense features. Falk was a good three decades older, his hair and bristling moustache gone to grey. Despite his age, however, he seemed as fit as his younger companion. ‘The CSU has not had a field operation in almost seven years — until now. As former head of the unit, I was recalled from my other duties.’
‘And him?’ Eddie asked, jerking a thumb at Zane. ‘He doesn’t look like he’d even have finished school seven years ago.’
‘I’ve got personal reasons for wanting to join the CSU for this operation,’ said Zane, dark eyes regarding the Englishman coldly. ‘My family comes from Greece, from Macedonia. Most of them were slaughtered by the Nazis. Jaekel was one of the men responsible. If he survived, others from his SS unit may have too. If they did, I want them to see justice.’
‘Well, can’t argue with you on that one.’
‘So okay, you’re hunting for the rest of these Nazis,’ said Nina. ‘Then why are you following us around Alexandria? And why did you attack Eddie?’
‘He attacked me,’ Zane pointed out brusquely, putting a hand to his stomach where Eddie had punched him.
‘We have been observing you ever since you arrived in Egypt,’ said Falk as the group started walking again. ‘We knew you were coming, so I decided to keep watch on you. Just in case.’
Nina regarded him warily. ‘Just in case of what?’
‘We’re their fucking bait,’ Eddie realised. ‘They think that since one Nazi went after us in LA, another might take a pop at us here — and they want to catch him if he does. That’s it, isn’t it? That’s the only reason you’re keeping an eye on us — to see if someone tries to kill us!’