But not impossible.
He surveyed the dilapidated building and makeshift tomb.
Then he saw them and counted.
Fourteen.
SABRE WONDERED IF HE SHOULD SIMPLY KILL THEM BOTH NOW. Was he close enough to figure the rest out himself? Malone had brought him this far and, exactly as he’d hoped, tapped into his resources to get them from England to Portugal to here.
But he told himself to be patient.
He would never have deciphered the quest himself, much less this quickly. By now the Blue Chair was surely looking for him. The Assembly was in session, so he hoped that would provide a diversion until tomorrow. But he knew how much Hermann wanted to know if this trail seemed promising. He also knew what else the old man was planning and how critical his participation would be over the next week. Three emissaries had been used to negotiate with bin Laden. He’d visit all three, killing two but preserving one.
That person and the library would be his bargaining chips.
But all that assumed there was something here to find.
If not, he’d kill Malone and his ex-wife and hope he could lie his way out of trouble.
MALONE STARED AT ONE SIDE OF THE DILAPIDATED BUILDING. Ten feet up loomed one of the bare openings. He walked around to the other side and spied the other portal at a similar height.
He came back to where McCollum and Pam stood and said, “I think I’ve figured it out. The building’s square, as are those two openings.”
He pointed. “Those two openings are the key.”
“What do you mean?” McCollum said. “Going to be kind of tough to get up there.”
“Not really. Look around.” Boulders and rocks littered the sand. “Notice anything about the rocks?”
Pam stepped over to one and squatted down. He watched as she caressed the sides. “Square. About a foot even all around?”
“I’d say that’s right. Remember the clue.
Pam stood. “Obviously, this quest has a physical part. Not just anyone could reassemble these stones. I assume they’ll provide the boost up to the window?”
He dropped his pack.
So did McCollum, who said, “One way to find out.”
Twenty minutes were needed to gather the fourteen square stones and assemble them into a flat-topped pyramid, six on the bottom, then five, capped by three. If needed, one of the three could be stacked on the remaining two for more height, but Malone estimated the pile was more than tall enough.
He stepped up and balanced himself atop.
McCollum and Pam made sure the tower remained stable.
He gazed through the square opening in the crumbling wall. Through the opposite square, twenty feet away, he spotted mountains half a mile in the distance.
The shrinking building with the battered roof had been deliberately oriented east to west.
This wasn’t a dwelling. No. Like the rose window in Belem, also oriented east to west, it was a compass.
He checked his watch.
In an hour, he’d do just that.
SEVENTY
MARYLAND
7:30 AM
STEPHANIE DROVE THE SUBURBAN THAT PRESIDENT DANIELS had supplied them. He’d also provided two Secret Service revolvers and spare magazines. She wasn’t quite sure what they were headed into, but apparently he wanted them prepared.
“You realize this truck is probably electronically tagged,” Cassiopeia said.
“We can only hope.”
“And you realize that this whole thing is nuts. We don’t have any idea who to trust, including the president of the United States.”
“No question. We’re pawns on the chessboard. But a pawn can take the king, if properly positioned.”
“Stephanie, we’re bait.”
She agreed, but said nothing.
They cruised into a small town about thirty miles north of Washington, one of countless bedroom communities that encircled the capital. Following the directions given to her, she recognized the name of the glass-fronted restaurant nestled beneath a canopy of leafy trees.
Aunt B’s.
One of Larry Daley’s favorite haunts.
She parked and they stepped inside, greeted by the pungent smell of apple-bacon and fried potatoes. A steaming buffet line was being attacked by eager diners. They bypassed the cashier and spotted Daley sitting alone.
“Get some food,” he said. “On me.” A plate heaped with eggs, grits, and a fried pork chop sat before him.
As agreed, Cassiopeia moved to another table where she could watch the room. Stephanie sat with Daley. “No thanks.” She noticed a colorful sign near the buffet line that showed two oversized pink pigs surrounded by the slogan GET YOUR FAT BACK AT AUNT B’S. She pointed. “That why you eat here? To get your fat back.”
“I like the place. Reminds me of my mother’s cooking. I know you find this hard to believe, but I am a person.”
“Why aren’t you running the Billet? You’re in charge now.”
“It’s being handled. We have a more pressing problem.”
“Like saving your ass.”
He sliced his pork chop. “These things are great. You should eat something. You need a little fat back, Stephanie.”
“So nice of you to notice my trim figure. Where’s your girlfriend?”
“I have no idea. I assume she was sleeping with me to see what she could learn. Which was nothing. I was doing the same thing. Again contrary to what you think, I’m not a complete idiot.”
Per Daniels’s suggestion, she’d called Daley two hours before and requested the meeting. He’d eagerly agreed. What bothered her was why Daniels, if he actually wanted her to talk to Daley, had interrupted the encounter at the museum. But she simply added that quandary to the growing list. “We didn’t finish our conversation.”
“Time for a reality check, Stephanie. The stuff you have on me? Keep it. Use it. I don’t care. If I go down, so does the president. Truth be told, I wanted you to find it.”
She found that hard to believe.
“I knew all about your investigation. That whore you sent my way? I’m not that weak. Do you think that’s the first time a woman has tried to learn things on me? I knew you were digging. So I made it easy for you to find what you wanted. But you took your time.”
“Nice try, Larry. But that dog doesn’t hunt here.”
He worked on a combination of eggs and grits. “I know you’re not going to believe any of this. But for once could you forget you hate my guts and just listen?”
That’s why she’d come.
“I’ve been doing some snooping. Lot of crap swirling. Strange stuff. I’m not privy to the inner circle, but I’m
