In the military, this was known as a ‘rekky’.
It was short for reconnaissance.
Cobb took in the view of the modern city. ‘It doesn’t look like a place that’s seen nearly twenty-five hundred years of renovations, does it?’
Sarah didn’t reply. She simply stood there, transfixed.
All it took was one glance, and Cobb understood her silence. ‘How long has it been?’
She snapped out of her haze. ‘How long has what been?’
‘I’ve seen that stare before. That’s not the look of someone who’s establishing her thoughts for the first time. That’s the look of someone who’s remembering something. You’ve been here before. I’m simply asking how long ago.’
‘Six years,’ she said reluctantly. She turned to face him, her defenses on full display. ‘And no, I don’t want to talk about it.’
‘Is it going to be a problem?’
‘No,’ she insisted.
‘If you say so.’
Cobb didn’t know everything about Sarah, but he knew enough. She had been one of the Central Intelligence Agency’s top assets. In light of her natural abilities — which were off the charts — she had received extensive training in the areas of infiltration and acquisitions. If she had been to Alexandria in her past life, there were two things he knew that no one would ever find: evidence of her visit, and the bodies she left behind.
To lower her defenses, he decided to change the conversation to a neutral subject. ‘You’ll never guess what was here before the citadel was constructed.’
Sarah gave him a funny look. ‘What is this, a history lesson? If I wanted one of those, I’d call Jasmine.’
He smiled. ‘I promise it’s not a lecture. It’s just something I read while we were walking the grounds. I thought it was interesting.’
She didn’t know what to make of Cobb’s sudden interest in playing tour guide. While he rarely gave her the icy stare that he often used with Papineau, he certainly hadn’t earned a reputation for small talk. If this was his way of flirting, then he was clearly out of practice. ‘No, Jack, I have no idea what used to be here.’
‘Centuries ago, this was the site of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. It was a towering structure that stood nearly four hundred feet tall. At the top was a massive furnace, and its flames could be seen for more than fifty miles out to sea. It stood for nearly sixteen hundred years and was considered an absolute marvel of engineering. So much so that historians deemed it one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.’
She glanced behind her and tried to imagine the lighthouse. It must have been a sight to behold for citizens and tourists alike. ‘What happened to it? I imagine a four-hundred-foot pillar is pretty hard to dismantle.’
‘Not for Mother Nature,’ he said. ‘A series of earthquakes destroyed the lighthouse at the turn of the fourteenth century. Some of the lighthouse was reused in the construction of the citadel, but most of it ended up at the bottom of the bay.’ He stared into the blue waters of the harbor, then shifted his gaze to the city beyond. ‘Two thousand years of history are buried out there. We just have to figure out where to start.’
Sarah remained quiet, deep in thought, for nearly a minute before she turned from Cobb and started to walk away. She made it all the way to the end of the stone platform before she cursed under her breath and walked back toward Cobb, who hadn’t budged from his spot along the wall.
‘Fine!’ she blurted.
‘Fine, what?’
‘Fine, I’ll fill you in.’
Cobb smiled. ‘I thought you didn’t want to talk about it.’
‘I don’t want to talk about it, but it’s pretty obvious that you’re going to torture me until I do.’
‘Torture? I didn’t think my story was that bad.’
‘I’m not talking about your story. I’m talking about your no-pressure sales pitch. You know damn well that I worked in this region for several months; otherwise you wouldn’t have invited me on this rekky. Yet in all this time, you haven’t asked for any specifics. Not in Florida. Not on the plane. And not here. Why?’
‘Because it’s none of my business.’
‘It isn’t?’
He shook his head. ‘Your work with the Agency is classified, right? Well, guess what: my past is filled with classified missions, too, and I’m sure as hell not going to tell you about them because it would violate the trust of others. I figure, if you can’t trust your teammates, who can you trust?’
‘Exactly!’
He stared at the waves as they made their way toward the shore. ‘Then again, there are exceptions to every rule…’
‘Such as?’
‘For instance, if my past missions endangered the lives of my current team, then I would man up and tell you what you needed to know — even if I had to break the trust of others. Either that, or I would opt out of the mission entirely.’
‘No, you wouldn’t.’
‘Yes, I would,’ he assured her, ‘because your safety — and the safety of our team — is my number one priority. Why do you think I flew halfway around the world? It certainly wasn’t to eat hummus or to work on my tan. No, I hopped on a plane to figure out the path of least resistance to complete our mission. And just so you know, I brought you along because of your training, not because of your past.’
Cobb paused for effect. ‘That being said, if you knew something about this city that you’re keeping from me, I’d be more than upset — I’d be disappointed.’
‘In that case, there’s someone you need to meet.’
‘A colleague?’
She shook her head. ‘Not exactly.’
9
Sarah sat at the far end of the bar, alone, sipping what appeared to be her third vodka tonic. To the untrained eye, it was nothing more than a single woman getting a head start on a group of friends who were sure to arrive at any moment. But for those in the know, it was a specific set of protocols that had been established long ago.
She wasn’t in this tavern because she liked the décor or because it was the easiest place to park. Sarah had sought out this particular place because it was a gateway — a monitored location where she could arrange a meeting with a local contact.
Or at least it used to be, many years ago.
After placing her order she had taken a seat on the farthest stool, the one closest to the back door. If she had been given anything other than club soda with a twist of lime, she would have known that the bartender was not aware of her request and the protocols had changed. That would have forced her to make contact through other means.
Fortunately, Sarah’s drink was non-alcoholic.
Now all she had to do was wait.
After nearly an hour, she was tempted to leave because she had told Cobb, who was monitoring the tavern from across the street, that this rendezvous would take no more than thirty minutes, and she imagined his patience was wearing thin. They had agreed that her plan would never work if he sat next to her, but they had never discussed their window of opportunity.
She looked at her watch.
She knew that window was closing.
‘Hey, sugar,’ a voice said from behind. It was spoken in English, with the curious accent of someone who had been raised in the South but educated in New England.
Sarah turned and greeted her companion with a hug. ‘Simon, it’s about damn time. I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show.’
‘Great to see you, too,’ he said with a laugh. ‘I would’ve made it sooner, but it’s not like I was sitting at home, waiting for you to show up after six years. No, I was out doing some sightseeing today — checking out the local sites like the Citadel of Qaitbay. Great place, interesting view.’