"Like a scorpion," Lamont said.
"Don't you ever quit?" Ronnie said.
"Go," Nick said.
Selena crawled behind Nick, adrenaline pumping through her veins. She felt ten years younger, strong, invulnerable. It was a feeling she lived for, the high that came only in these life and death moments. Crawling over the Egyptian desert, a pistol in her hand, while people tried to kill her, she suddenly thought about the life growing inside her.
Going to make a hell of a story to tell him. Him?
There wasn't much cover except for tumbled pieces of stone and a few low rocks. Shots sounded to her right, where Lamont and Ronnie had engaged the Iranians. The Iranian boat was at the edge of the shore, not far from their zodiac. The man who'd identified himself as Dalir was climbing into it. Two men were pushing the boat out toward the water. Another was lying on the beach, firing three round bursts toward Ronnie and Lamont.
"Cover me," Nick said.
He stood and ran toward the beach. Selena began firing. Dalir started the engine. He saw Nick coming, drew a pistol, and fired. The bullet missed. Nick fired three quick rounds. Dalir screamed and collapsed back into the boat. The men who'd been pushing the boat brought their rifles up. They were silhouetted against the phosphorescent surf, visible in the light of the moon and the stars. The hard, flat sound of four pistols firing at once cracked the night open. One of the men fell back into the water. Bullets sent spurts of sand into the air by Nick's feet and ricocheted off the rocks. Something plucked at his pants.
The slide on his pistol locked open. He dropped the magazine and reached for another as the last Iranian took aim at him. A shot from Selena dropped him. The man fell into the water. His body floated face down, rocking in the movement of the surf.
The night became quiet, except for the sound of the Red Sea lapping against the shore.
Nick released the slide on his pistol. Sudden fatigue embraced him, the arms of an unfriendly lover. He reloaded and chambered a round. He decocked the Sig and holstered it. Then he waded into the surf and grasped the Iranian boat. It was sinking. Someone's bullets had gone through it. He looked inside. Dalir lay on his back, blood staining the water sloshing around the bottom of the boat. His eyes were open, still bright with the aftermath of life. Soon they would cloud over, but it would make no difference. He wasn't going to be looking at anything, ever again.
That one's for you, Rivka.
Nick let the raft go. It started to drift away with Dalir's body inside it. It wouldn't be long before it disappeared under the waves. He walked back to shore. The others gathered around him.
"Our boat's toast," Lamont said. "Looks like the Iranians shot it up. Or maybe we did."
"How's the arm?" Nick asked.
"It's been better. I wouldn't mind a beer about now."
"When we get back to Israel, I'll buy the beers."
"Hope you got a deep pocket."
Ronnie said, "What's next, Kemo Sabe?"
"Now we start walking. It shouldn't take more than a few hours. Let's hope we make it back without getting caught."
As it turned out, it was a false hope.
CHAPTER 41
It was hard to tell what President Corrigan was really thinking, but Elizabeth had no problem at all reading his Chief of Staff. Ellen Cartwright looked as if she were about to have a stroke.
"Your team deliberately disobeyed specific orders from the Israeli authorities to back off. They violated Egyptian territory and damaged an important historical landmark. They destroyed the property of an Israeli businessman, and then killed four Iranian nationals. Now there's an armed standoff between Israeli and Egyptian forces at the site. You are in a world of deep shit, Director."
Elizabeth had been listening to Cartwright rant for the last five minutes. She'd had enough.
"If you really believe what you just said is important, you are even more stupid than I thought."
Cartwright's face turned a darker red. Elizabeth wouldn't have believed it was possible.
"What? What did you say?"
"You heard me. You sound like an idiot. Do I have to point out the religious and historical significance of what they found? The tomb of King David? A gigantic treasure set aside by King Solomon to maintain the Jewish Temple? As to the Iranian nationals, they were agents of Tehran's vicious intelligence service. They'd left my team to die in a truly terrible situation. And what has an Israeli businessman's property got to do with anything? It was the Iranians that shot up his boat, not my team. They did exactly what they were supposed to do, in the way they've been trained to do it. The last I heard, the Israelis are ecstatic about the discovery and very grateful to us because of it."
Cartwright sputtered. "You… you…"
Corrigan seemed amused by the exchange. "That's enough, Ellen. Calm down. Director Harker, what is the status of your team now?"
"They were picked up by the Israelis as they tried to cross the border. They're on their way back. Tel Aviv gave them first-class tickets on El Al. They arrive here later today."
"I want you to assign them to this threat against the Jewish conference."
"That was my intention, sir."
"As you know, the prime minister of Israel will be in attendance. He and I will be jointly addressing the conference on the opening day."
"Are you sure that's wise, Mister President? We know there's a valid threat. With you and the prime minister present, the conference is an extremely attractive target."
"Everywhere I go, I'm a target. The security preparations are extensive. I don't think there's much to fear. Nonetheless, I want to add your resources into the security arrangements. Director Hood is also looking into it, as are the Bureau and Homeland Security. The Director of National Intelligence is your point of contact to the other agencies. I expect you to be a team player. Cowboy tactics may work in Egypt, but they have no place here. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," Elizabeth said.
"Good. Keep the DNI informed."
The meeting was over. As she left the Oval Office, Elizabeth glanced back. Cartwright was staring at her with hatred.
You've made an enemy there. It was worth it, but now you'll have to watch your back.
Back at Project headquarters, Elizabeth went straight for the coffee machine. She poured a cup and settled behind her desk. Stephanie came into the room.
"How did the meeting with the president go?"
"His Chief of Staff is a total ass," Elizabeth said.
"Oh, oh. What did you do?"
"Nothing much, except call her an idiot."
"Elizabeth. You didn't."
"I did. She'd been going on about how the team screwed up. If you listened to her, you'd think Nick and the others were a bunch of wannabe Rambos who went around blowing up archaeological monuments and killing innocent Iranians for fun. Not a word about what the team had accomplished or how much that had lifted our relationship with Israel."
"What did Corrigan say?"
"He's not dumb. He knew she was out of line. I think he wanted to see how I'd handle her."
"That's manipulative as hell."
Elizabeth shrugged. "He's the President. That's what people sitting in the Oval Office do. They manipulate."
"Your cynicism is getting out of hand, Elizabeth."
"I'm not sure it ever was in hand. Not since I started working for the government."
"What's next?" Steph asked.
"The threat to the conference. Corrigan wants us to throw all our resources at it. He also wants us to coordinate it with the other agencies through the DNI. The Bureau, Homeland Security, Langley. He gave me the old team player speech."
"We start getting bogged down with the bureaucracy, nothing useful is going to happen," Stephanie said.