"Three hundred dollars. He wanted more."
"Of course he did." Nick took out the money. "Give it to him."
The Egyptian's smile grew wider at the site of the money. He took it and gestured at the boat.
"I am Captain Ahmed. Please, this way."
They followed him onto the boat. A boy thirteen or fourteen years old came out of the cabin.
"My son Mohammed," the captain said. "Please, be comfortable. He will bring coffee."
Five minutes later, they left the harbor. A police car pulled up at the far end of the pier as they cleared the breakwater.
Mohammed brought a tray loaded with three glasses set in filigreed metal holders and a large brass pot with a long, narrow spout. He set the tray down and placed a glass before each of them. With casual ease he moved the pot up and down, sending the scalding coffee pouring in a perfect stream into the glasses.
"Why do they do that?" Ronnie asked.
"Do what?" Selena asked.
"Pour the coffee from way up high like that."
"It helps cool it down so you can drink it."
"I thought it was just for show," Nick said.
The sea was calm. With only a light chop, it was a perfect evening for a cruise. Under different circumstances it would have been a pleasant outing. Nick walked to the stern and took out his phone. The propeller turned and vibrated under his feet.
"Director. We're away from the harbor."
Elizabeth and Stephanie were in Elizabeth's office, looking at a moving green dot on the wall monitor that marked Nick's position.
"I have your GPS marker," she said. "I need you to get farther away from shore. As far as possible in the next hour."
"All right. What do you have in mind?"
"Someone will pick you up. I'm working on it."
"That doesn't sound very encouraging," Nick said.
"You're going to have to live with it. What happened?"
"Two people came after us. I guess it was the Russians. They tried to take Selena. They hit her with a Taser and were getting away when I stopped them."
"They're dead?"
"One of them is. The other was a woman who ducked away as soon as the shooting started. We had to get out of there in a hurry. There was no time to go back to the room. You won't believe what Selena found."
"Nothing would surprise me about this mission," Elizabeth said.
"She thinks she's found Atlantis."
The call was on speaker. He heard Stephanie gasp in the background.
"Now I'm surprised," Elizabeth said.
"I'm not sure how long I can keep this boat out here."
"You were a Marine. Find a way."
"Aye, aye, Director."
Harker disconnected. Nick went back to the others.
"What did she say?" Ronnie asked.
"She's working on it. Someone will pick us up."
Ronnie looked out at the empty ocean. "In what?"
They sat drinking coffee and watching the sunset.
Selena gripped her glass in both hands.
"How are you doing?" Nick asked her.
"I've had it. I can't do this anymore."
"What?"
"You heard what I said. I'm not going to do this anymore. I'll see this mission through but after that, I'm done. Getting tasered is the last straw. Enough is enough."
The Egyptian captain interrupted.
"We go back now."
"We want to stay out a while longer," Nick said.
"No, is dark now. We go back."
"How about another three hundred dollars for a few more hours?"
"American?"
Nick took the bills out of his wallet. Another three hundred dollars was irresistible. They disappeared into the captain's pocket.
"Two hours. No more. Then we go back."
He climbed back up into the pilothouse.
"What if we need more than two hours?" Ronnie asked.
"I'll make him an offer he can't refuse."
Two hours later the sea was still empty. The captain was giving them dark looks from the bridge.
"We're going to have to persuade him to stay out longer," Nick said.
"He's beginning to worry that something isn't right," Selena said.
"We can't go back to the harbor. The cops will be waiting. I'll call Harker again."
Nick took out his phone.
Ronnie pointed off the port bow. "I don't think you need to talk to her," he said. "Our ride is here."
The dark sail of a submarine broke the surface of the sea fifty yards away, a primal shape rising like Jonah's whale from the deep. Phosphorescent water cascaded in streams off the long, rounded hull as the deck appeared. A hatch opened high on the side of the sail.
"Lamont ought to be here. He'd love this," Ronnie said.
An officer appeared at the hatch with a bullhorn. He looked down at Nick standing by the railing of the boat. His amplified voice echoed over the water.
"Are you Carter?"
Nick cupped his hands and yelled across the gap. "Present. Am I glad to see you."
"Standby."
"Looks like we're leaving in style," Ronnie said.
"I wonder how Elizabeth pulled this off," Selena said.
Captain Ahmed and his son stood open-mouthed on the bridge, gazing at the apparition.
Nick looked at the enormous shape holding position by their tiny boat. Sailors had appeared on deck. They lowered a zodiac into the water.
"I don't know how she did it," Nick said, "but I think we're going to hear about it when we get back."
CHAPTER 27
Alexei Vysotsky listened to Valentina's report. The connection from Egypt was fair at best.
"One of Volkov's agents is dead," Valentina said.
"What happened?".
"Rostov and her companion went after the Americans inside their hotel. There was a lot of shooting. Rostov got away."
"The Americans?"
"Gone. They got out fast, without taking anything with them. I got into their room before the police. I have a laptop computer and notes my sister made. She was working on a translation."
"Do you know where they went?"
"No. They'll be as far away from here as possible. It's bad for business when people get shot in the hotel. The Egyptians are angry."
"It will be difficult for them to escape. Come home."
My sister is in trouble.
"I should stay here," Valentina said. "We have to know if the Egyptians catch them."
"There are others who can do that, Captain Antipov. You have your orders." Vysotsky hung up.
The bottle of vodka was on his desk, next to an empty glass. He poured a drink. The night outside his window was clear and hot. The overworked air-conditioning in the building strained against the humidity of a Moscow summer. Alexei's uniform jacket was draped on the back of a chair. He'd unbuttoned his collar. A fan on his desk blew warm air over him, but it didn't help much.
He considered what Valentina had told him. Volkov had overstepped himself again. Alexei thought about how he could use what had happened against the FSB director.
The Egyptians were lax in many ways, but their security service was professional and efficient. It wouldn't take long to discover that the dead body in their hotel was a Russian agent. Once they made the connection, the Egyptian government would call in Moscow's ambassador and lodge a strong protest. It was the kind of incident that threatened relations.
The Federation was negotiating with Cairo for a multibillion dollar weapons purchase. The French and Americans were offering their own wares at the same time. Even the Chinese were angling for a sale. The Egyptians had plenty of options to choose from. Volkov's indiscretion could sabotage the deal. Even if it didn't, Cairo would drive a harder bargain as a result.
President Orlov was going to be unhappy with Volkov. The thought made Alexei smile. It was never a good thing when Vladimir Orlov was unhappy with you.