―I know this man.‖ Yusef brushed the quicklime paste off the dead gunman‘s face with the tip of his boot. ―His name‘s Ahmed, he‘s a free-lance assassin who usually works for the Americans or the Russians.‖ He grunted.
―Now and again at the same time.‖
Chalthoum frowned. ―Has he worked for the Egyptians before?‖
Yusef shook his head. ―Not to my knowledge.‖
―You don‘t use him, do you?‖ Soraya was examining what was left of Ahmed‘s face. ―I don‘t remember seeing his name on any of your reports.‖
―I wouldn‘t trust this scum to bring me a disk of bread,‖ Yusef said with a curl of his upper lip. ―In addition to being a professional murderer, he‘s a liar and a thief, always, even when he was a small boy.‖
―Remember,‖ Chalthoum said with a grim look at Soraya, ―I want at least one of them alive.‖
―First things first,‖ she said. ―Let‘s just concentrate on getting out of here alive ourselves.‖
He was still trying without success to brush the odors of quicklime and death off his clothes, but this business allowed Soraya to take the lead—
which, again, was something he deplored. Ever since they‘d arrived in Khartoum something had taken possession of him, a sense of protectiveness toward Soraya that clearly made her uncomfortable. Possibly it was being away from Egypt; he was in unknown territory, after all, and he knew only too well that he was most sure of himself in his own territory.
She heard him call softly to her but resisted the urge to turn and look at him. Instead she moved steadily forward in a semi-crouch until she came to the first courtyard. There were positions to the left and right on either wall where snipers would have an excellent field of view. She fired a shot at each spot in turn, but there was no answering fire. That was it for the shooter‘s .45, so she dropped it and took out the Glock that Yusef had given her. After double-checking that it was loaded she moved out across the expanse of the grim-looking courtyard, keeping to the shadows thrown by the walls. Not once did she look back, trusting that Amun and Yusef were not far behind her and would provide cover if she got into trouble.
Moments later the second, central courtyard, larger and more intimidating than the first, presented itself. Again she fired shots at the likely sniper positions, again without any result.
―There‘s only one more,‖ Yusef said. ―It‘s smaller, but because it‘s at the front there are more places to defend it.‖
Soraya saw at once that he was right, and that no matter what they did they‘d never be able to reach the parapets on either wall without being shot dead.
―What now?‖ she said to Amun.
Before he could think of a reply, Yusef said, ―I have an idea. I knew Ahmed all his life, I think I can imitate his voice.‖ He looked from Chalthoum to Soraya. ―Shall I give it a shot?‖
―I don‘t see how it can hurt,‖ Chalthoum said, but Yusef didn‘t move until Soraya nodded her assent.
Then he brushed by ahead of her and, crouching in the shadowy mouth where the corridor debouched onto the courtyard, he raised his voice. It wasn‘t his voice, but one neither of them had heard before.
―It‘s Ahmed—please, I‘m hurt!‖ Nothing but echoes. He turned to Soraya.
―Quick!‖ he whispered. ―Give me your shirt.‖
―Take mine,‖ Chalthoum said with a glower.
―Hers will be better,‖ Yusef said. ―They‘ll see it‘s the female‘s.‖
Soraya did as he asked, unbuttoning her short-sleeved shirt and handing it over.
―I‘ve killed them!‖ Yusef called in Ahmed‘s voice. ―See here!‖ Soraya‘s shirt fluttered onto the cobbles of the courtyard like a bird settling onto its nest.
―If you‘ve killed them,‖ a voice came from their left, ―come out!‖
―I can‘t,‖ Yusef replied, ―my leg is broken. I‘ve dragged myself this far, but I‘ve fallen and I can‘t take another step! Please, brothers, come fetch me before I bleed to death!‖
For a long time nothing happened. Yusef was about to shout again when Chalthoum cautioned silence.
―Don‘t oversell it,‖ he whispered. ―Be patient now.‖
More time passed, it was difficult to say how much since in their situation time was bent like taffy, minutes seeming like an hour. At length, they discerned movement on their right. Two men could be seen making their way down to the ground. They moved cautiously, keeping their sides toward the mouth of the hallway. The third man—the one who had queried Yusef—was nowhere in sight. Clearly, he was covering them from his hidden position on the left.
Chalthoum motioned silently to Yusef, who lay down and moved slightly so that the two men could see that one leg was drawn up under the other. Soraya and Chalthoum retreated several steps into the gloom.
―There he is!‖ one of the men cried to the man covering them—who was, it appeared, their leader. ―I can see Ahmed! He‘s fallen, just as he said!‖
―I don‘t see any other movement,‖ the leader‘s voice floated down from the parapet. ―Go get him, but make it quick!‖
Running in a semi-crouch, the two men approached Yusef.
―Hold it!‖ their leader said, and they obediently squatted on their hams, their rifles laid across their thighs, their avid eyes on their fallen comrade.
There was movement from the left as the leader abandoned his eyrie, clattering down stone steps to the courtyard.
―Ahmed,‖ one of the men whispered, ―are you all right?‖
―No,‖ said Ahmed. ―The pain in my leg is terrible, it‘s—‖
But he‘d said enough at close range for the other man to move back a pace.
―What is it?‖ his companion said, aiming his rifle into the mouth of the hallway.
―I don‘t think that‘s Ahmed.‖
That was when Chalthoum and Soraya, Glocks firing, moved out on either side of Yusef. The two crouching men were struck immediately, and Chalthoum kicked their weapons away from where they lay sprawled on the ground. The leader, scurrying to find cover where there was none, fired off-balance and Chalthoum went down with a grunt.
Soraya, running, aimed and fired at the leader, but it was Yusef, from his prone position, who shot the leader in the chest. The man spun around and fell. At once Soraya veered toward him.
―Check Amun!‖ she called to Yusef as she stooped, picking up the leader‘s rifle. He was writhing, bleeding from his right side, but he was breathing.
The bullet hadn‘t punctured a lung.
She knelt down beside him. ―Who hired you?‖
The man looked up at her and spat in her face.
A moment later she was joined by the two men. Amun had been shot in the thigh, but the bullet had gone through and the wound, Yusef said, looked clean. He‘d tied off the area above the wound with a makeshift tourniquet made from her shirt.