Godin nodded wearily. The events of the past few minutes had drained him. His breathing had grown labored.
'How does that help you?' she asked. 'Even if Trinity works, all they'll have to do is shut it off, right? Or cut power to it?'
'Skow is probably trying to figure out how to do that right now. But he'll fail.'
'My father will bring troops and equipment with him.'
Godin's eyes closed. 'Let me worry about that. With luck, you won't have to shoot anyone. Least of all, American soldiers.'
Geli wanted to scream. The old man didn't realize what forces would soon be arrayed against him. The Containment building looked solid, but Horst Bauer had made short work of much harder targets in his career.
'I must live to see this,' Godin murmured. 'Keep your weapon ready to fire.'
Geli sat on the floor with her back against the wall and pointed her Walther at the door.
CHAPTER 36
JERUSALEM
When I gave my name at the door of the Mossad build¬ing, we were immediately pulled inside and searched. Our money and papers were confiscated. Then we were locked inside a white room containing only a wooden table and three chairs.
A plainclothes officer appeared and asked why we had come. I told him I wanted to speak to the most senior officer of the Mossad. He pressed me for informa¬tion, but I refused to say more. The officer left the room and locked the door behind him.
Forty minutes passed.
Rachel didn't speak. She understood that anything we said would be recorded by hidden microphones. Despite my urgency to reach New Mexico, a preternatural calm settled over me. Rachel seemed to sense this, because she reached out and took my hand as though to draw strength from me.
At last the door opened, and a short man with the leathery skin of a desert warrior walked in and sat behind the table. In his middle fifties, he wore dusty khaki clothes and scarred boots. He had a shock of white hair and the most alert eyes I had ever seen.
'David Tennant,' he said, looking at a file in his hand. 'Physician, author, would-be presidential assassin. You're the most hunted man in America this week. To what do we owe this honor?'
'Are you the chief of the Mossad?'
'I am. Major General Avner Kinski.'
'I thought you would be in Tel Aviv.'
'I was in Bethlehem. There was a bombing early this morning.'
'I'm sorry.'
'Of course.' Kinski gave me a quick, emotionless smile. 'So. Why are you here?'
'I need your help.'
'To do what?'
'I need to get to the U.S. secretly, and as fast as pos¬sible.'
My answer surprised him, and I could tell he was a man not often surprised. 'Why do you want to go back to the United States? You're very unpopular there.'
'That's my business.'
The Mossad chief leaned back in his chair, a bemused look on his face. 'Where exactly do you wish to go?'
'White Sands, New Mexico.'
'Interesting. Are you aware that my government has been asked to take you into custody?'
'I assumed so.'
'My government tries to cooperate with yours whenever possible.'
'But not always. Especially where arms and technol¬ogy are concerned.'
The spymaster sniffed and leaned forward, his eyes challenging me. 'You run from Shin Beth at Hadassah Hospital, yet you run straight into my arms. Why?'
'I knew you would help me.'
Kinski shook his head. 'Maybe you didn't run so straight. Where did you go between Hadassah and here?'
'You'll know soon enough.'
'I'd like to know now.'
'Sorry.'
'Tell me something, Doctor. Is it your intention to kill the U.S. president?'
'Do I look like an assassin to you?'
Kinski shrugged. 'Assassins come in many shapes and sizes. Women. Little boys. Smiling teenagers. You do have the look of a fanatic.'
'I'm not a killer.'
'Yet you have killed. I see that in your eyes.'
'In self-defense.'
The Mossad chief lit a cigarette and drew deeply on it. 'We've strayed from our main business. What makes you think I would fly you secretly to America?'
'I have something you want.'
The dark eyes flickered. 'You're a businessman now?'
'I know how the world works.' I leaned forward. 'There's a secret defense project in America known as Trinity. It's been going on for two years, and in a matter of hours it will produce the most powerful weapon on the face of the earth. I know more about that weapon than any man you're likely to have in your hands for the foreseeable future.'
The Israeli's mouth was hanging slack.
'I see this is not a total surprise to you,' I said. 'I'm one of six people who've had access to every detail of Trinity since its inception. I was appointed to the project by the president. So, you've got two choices. One, you can hold me prisoner and torture me for what I know. But a lot of people know I'm in Israel -including the president-so that could get messy for you. Two, you can fly me to White Sands. If you do that, you can put whatever scientists you want aboard the plane, and I'll tell them all I know about Trinity.' I settled back in my chair. 'That's my offer.'
Gray tendrils of cigarette smoke drifted out of Kinski's mouth. He looked calm, but I knew my words had almost knocked him off his chair.
'Tell me the nature of this weapon, Doctor.'
'Artificial intelligence. Trinity will make the comput¬ers in your most advanced weapons labs as obsolete as canvas biplanes. It will break your most complex codes in seconds. And that's only the beginning. I'm in a hurry, General.'
The spymaster took another drag on his cigarette, then stood and smiled with appreciation. 'You're an audacious man, Doctor.'
'And?'
'You got yourself a plane ticket.'
WHITE SANDS
Five minutes before General Bauer's plane touched down, shooting broke out near the Containment building. The sound of gunfire echoed across the compound, stirring Geli's blood. There was no sound on earth like shots fired in anger.
