“I know what you mean. I just don’t like it when we’re apart. Actually, I hate it.”
“I don’t like being away either, but…” His voice trailed off as he glanced at the trunk, catching the gaze of the Israeli’s bloodshot eyes. Justin’s eyes inspected the double overhand knots in the rope securing the man’s wrists and ankles. The knots were tight and in their original place. Maybe he won’t even attempt an escape.
“Justin? You’re still there?” Anna’s voice echoed in his ear.
“Yes, yes, I’m here. I was just checking something. Listen, I’ll explain everything when I get home,” he said quickly. “OK?”
Anna sighed. “I just want to be with you,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “Come home safe, will you?”
“I’ll try.”
“OK. When will you call me?”
“I don’t know. Soon, I hope.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Maybe.”
“OK. I’ll let you go now.”
“I love you,” Justin said under breath.
“I love you, too,” Anna replied.
“Well, that wasn’t too bad,” Carrie said as soon as Justin dropped the satellite phone back into his knapsack. “She took it very well.”
“Thanks for the privacy.”
“Hey, we could have stopped the car.”
“No, I don’t want to waste any time. The terrorists already have a head start.”
Justin had instructed Mus’ad to change the direction of their course from west to north and drive toward the Egyptian border. The driver’s face had suddenly lost its color, turning white, as if they had given him a death sentence. He made every effort to change their minds, at one point threatening to quit altogether. Justin did not know if Mus’ad reluctance was intended to be an extortion tactic, in order to press the agents into increasing his payment, or the man was truly afraid of crossing into the land of the Pharaohs.
“Remember to stay off the common routes, Mus’ad,” Justin said to the driver.
“Yes. We are. We’re driving parallel to the trails set by the Tuaregs but making our own path. Unless the terrain is too difficult for that.”
Justin glanced at the sand dunes. They were taller and wider than when they were closer to the valley of the ambush. The landscape resembled a stormy sea with angry waves ripping and peeling in an endless struggle. Lone acacia trees appeared occasionally among hill slopes. Their umbrella-shaped branches were a constant reminder that life was possible even in the deepest, driest parts of the Sahara. Further north, a brownish mountain range was slowly beginning to take shape on the horizon. Its purple round ridges arched from behind a glowing curtain of simmering air.
“That’s Jebel Uweinat.” Mus’ad pointed to where Justin had fixed his gaze.
Justin nodded, still staring at the high mountain rising up right at the border between Egypt, Libya, and Sudan. Jebel Uweinat was the most famous attraction in this part of the desert.
“Yes, and let’s stay away from trails leading there,” Justin said. “The place is crawling with tourists.”
Mus’ad nodded. “And bandits,” he said. “Last week, bandits kidnapped ten Germans while they were touring Gilf al-Kebir in Egypt to visit its prehistoric cave paintings. They were taken across the Libyan border.” Mus’ad gestured to his left toward a shallow valley cutting through the sea of dunes. “Bandits released them only after their families paid a fat ransom.”
“Watch out that we don’t end up in Libya,” Justin said. “I don’t want trouble with their rebels or police, secret or not.”
“Not yet,” Carrie added in English.
Justin nodded at her.
“The borders are not very clear,” Mus’ad complained. “Most of the time, there are no checkpoints, no border guards, no signs at all.”
“Just keep your eyes open and avoid everything that moves,” Justin said in an abrupt tone intended to end the discussion.
Mus’ad got the hint and kept silent, driving upward as they climbed around a steep dune. Black rocky humps the size of camels dotted the surface of the slope.
“You will not have to worry about Libya’s mukhabarat,” Justin whispered as he leaned closer to Carrie. “In Cairo, we part ways.”
“Uh-uh,” Carrie replied in a low voice. “I’m going with you to Tripoli.”
“No, you’re not. One of us has to handle the agent’s transfer. Just be careful with Mossad.”
“I can take care of myself and it can’t be worse than this. At least in Libya we know who the enemy is.”
“Eh, I thought so and see where we are. We sit down for talks with Islamic terrorists and we fight alongside with them and Sudanese gunrunners. And who are we up against? Our greatest friend and ally in the Middle East.”
“We didn’t know some of the attackers were… from that country,” Carrie said. She avoided mentioning the name “Israel,” fearing the driver may pick up the word.
“I’m sure Johnson will come up with a more elaborate official explanation,” Justin said. “Are you confident in handling the transfer?”
“Alone?” Her eyebrows arched and a frown formed on her face.
“With assistance from the Cairo station.” Justin pointed to the north.
“It will depend on who George will give me.”
“Johnson will make him give you whoever you want.” His voice was strong, decisive.
“So this deal, this will be quid pro quo?”
“Yes, something for something. If this man is a field agent, which I’m absolutely sure he is, then they’ll send a team to retrieve him. After they give you the intel about their mission in Sudan, you give them his location.”
“Simple enough,” Carrie said sarcastically.
“Manageable,” Justin replied. “We’ll set it up together as fail-safe as we can. Then you’ll take over.”
“I’m already thinking of places where we can have this exchange meeting.”
“We’ll have to wait for Johnson and for that country’s reply.”
“I’m sure that country won’t like it. We kidnapped and threw their agent in the trunk,” Carrie said in a warning tone.
“Well, I didn’t like it when this man was firing missiles at my head. Everything is fair in war. And what we did saved his life.”
“I just hope they come in peace.”
“So do I,” Justin muttered thoughtfully, “so do I.”
Chapter Nine
Aboard EgyptAir Flight 831 landing at Tripoli International Airport that evening was one Australian citizen. At least, that is how the dark-haired man was identified by his biometric passport, an authentic document issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia. The CIS did not risk any unnecessary exposure by counterfeiting travel documents for their agents. Instead, they secured foreign passports by applying for them through entirely legal ways. Interventions by senior political officials ensured a smooth process through the government offices dealing with such applications.
Jack Schmitt passed his first obstacle, Justin thought as he dropped his Australian passport with that name inside the front pocket of his black jeans. A few hours earlier, an Egyptian Air Force Mi-17 had picked them up at the border with Sudan. They flew to Aswan, a city in the south of Egypt, then took a military plane to Cairo International Airport. George picked up Carrie and the Israeli man while Justin boarded a flight to Tripoli.
He nodded a quick goodbye to the customs officials at the arrivals counter of the International Terminal and began strolling toward the gates, following a large crowd of North Africans. Besides his two Kodak Pro digital cameras hanging around his left shoulder — part of his cover as a travel journalist — Justin had brought a single carry-on suitcase, which he rolled slowly behind him. The luggage was lighter than he pretended it to be, but a slow, relaxed walk allowed him a few extra seconds to observe his surroundings.