Baris turned to the woman. 'I shall be below, Madame, interviewing Commander Farouk.' He bowed slightly to the woman and departed. The security officer stayed, but moved a discreet distance away. David was unsure for a moment what to do, but decided that neither woman was any threat to Patrick. He set the metal briefcase down beside the first woman and escorted Baris below.
'Most generals don't bow to their aides and call them 'madame,'' Patrick observed. 'I assume I'm speaking to Madame Susan Salaam, first lady of Egypt?'
'Yes,' Susan Bailey Salaam replied. She motioned to Amina. 'She is Captain Amina Shafik of the Republican Guards, assigned by General Baris as my bodyguard. Shall I assume that I'm speaking to the commander of the American commando team that attacked Samah and destroyed several surface-to-surface rockets, including some with nuclear and biochem warheads?'
'What are you doing here, Mrs. Salaam?'
Susan sighed, then replied, 'Surviving. What are you doing here, Castor? On some sort of crusade to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction? Or do you have some sort of special affinity with Egypt that you would risk your life and those of your team to destroy weapons that were probably not pointed at any American targets?'
'If the destruction of those missiles at Samah helped Egypt, I'm glad,' Patrick replied. 'But I'm not going to play twenty questions with you. Go below and talk with the sailors if you want, or return to your launch.'
'You lost someone close to you, didn't you, Castor?' Susan asked. Patrick did not reply. 'Someone very close to you. I could tell it in your voice, even all electronically fuzzed.' Still no reply. 'You must be hot in that metal suit, Castor. Take it off. I won't hurt you, and I certainly won't report a fellow American soldier to the Egyptian authorities.' Silence. 'At least take off the helmet and let me look at you. You look like a cross between Robocop and Darth Vader-but your voice doesn't sound like either one of those characters.'
Patrick simply had no idea why he did it-he had already ordered her away, and he was on watch, and the navies of at least two countries were within a moment's notice of blowing him to hell. But Patrick hefted the big electromagnetic rail gun in his left hand, unfastened his helmet, and slipped it off.
Unaltered by the electronic visor, he could see that she was even more beautiful. She had let her hair fall to her shoulders in dark, shining cascades; her lips were full and red; her cheekbones high and striking; her neck graceful; her skin smooth and dark, adding to the allure. Her one good right eye widened in pleasant surprise as she studied his face.
'That's much better,' she said in a low but sweet voice. She couldn't believe how young and how innocent he looked-she had expected some grizzled old warhorse. He looked more like a high school teacher than a commando. He didn't look dangerous in the least, although his dark blue eyes were hard to read-this was clearly not his first mission in that getup, she decided, but he looked very much out of place in it. 'Thank you for trusting me.'
'Now you can go.' -
'Won't you tell me your name? And I'll bet it's not Castor. That's your call sign, at least the one you're using on this mission. I've worked with lots of special-ops teams before. I was an intelligence officer in the Air Force-I've briefed dozens of teams from all branches of service before and after they do their thing. I know how you guys operate.'
'Mrs. Salaam, you will-'
'Call me Susan. Please. With my husband gone, there will be hardly anyone I know in this hemisphere that will call me by my first name now. I'll be the Widow Salaam forever, especially around the Mediterranean.'
Patrick hesitated, his words forgotten. He nodded, averting his eyes. 'I'm sorry for your loss, Susan.'
'And I am sorry for yours,' Susan said. 'I am an American, a former Air Force officer, an Egyptian, and a widow-but I am first and foremost a woman. I can tell when someone is suffering. It is more than just a team leader who has lost men under his command in combatyou have lost someone much closer than that.'
It appeared for a moment that he was going to open up to her, but then she saw the hood go over his blue eyes again, and she knew he was not yet ready. She quickly decided to give it up. 'I am so very sorry,' she said. 'You will be permitted to stay on board this ship for as long as you like. If there is any assistance we can provide, don't hesitate to ask. The intelligence services of Egypt are at your command.'
'Are you in charge of the Egyptian government now?'
'No,' Susan replied. 'Prime Minister Kalir automatically takes control of the government upon the incapacitation or… or dea… death… of…' Suddenly, Susan broke down in tears. She half turned away from Patrick, sobbing uncontrollably. She realized it was the first time she had wept for her husband.
Susan felt strong hands on her shoulders, and she looked up and saw the armored commando holding her-he had set the big, strange-looking gun down on the deck and was holding her as tenderly as his armored hands would allow. She turned toward him and was surprised to see tears unabashedly flowing down his cheeks as well. She clutched his body, wanting more than anything to touch human flesh, and finally reached up to touch his face and his tears.
'My husband was murdered, butchered in a mosque on one of the holiest days in all of Islam,' Susan said through her sobs. 'I was beside him until I was pulled away by Zuwayy of Libya and Khalid al-Khan, the chief justice of our supreme court. I know they were in on it together. I know they conspired to kill my husband. Only al-Khan had the authority to switch the guards and get the assassins so close to Kamal. I want to see them both pay for what they've done.'
'My… my brother was killed in the attack on Samah,' she heard him say through his tears. 'He sacrificed himself to destroy those missiles. Then… then when the Libyan warships attacked, we abandoned ship-but my wife stayed behind to launch an attack on the Libyan guided missile frigate.'
'Your wifeT Susan asked incredulously. 'You… you lost your brother and your wife on this mission? My God…'
'I believe my wife is still alive-I don't know how or why I know, but she is still alive,' Patrick said. 'I will search every square inch of Libya until I find her.' He raised his right hand and clenched his armored right hand into a fist. 'And I will kill anyone who gets in my way.'
'How… how horrible. How utterly horrible,' Susan breathed. She placed her fingers on his cheek to turn him toward her. 'I wish I could help you, but I can't. I don't know if I have any authority left in this country-I may be as much of a target here as you are in Libya. General Baris may be appointed as the national security adviser to the new president. If the mullahs take control of the government as we fear, he will not only be dismissed, but probably imprisoned or murdered. But as long as we have any authority left in Egypt, you and your men may stay aboard this vessel. But for your own safety, you should leave as soon as possible. If you need help, just ask.'
Patrick thought about Wendy, and he thought about how lonely and isolated he felt standing on this Egyptian war-
ship' in Egyptian waters, surrounded by the Egyptian navy. He had no plan, and his options were rapidly decreasing. There was nothing they could do. 'I understand,' he said. 'All we'll need is a shuttle to shore and access to a landing strip for our transport aircraft. By tonight, we'll be gone.'
'You shall have anything you need.' Susan motioned to the briefcase beside her. 'That briefcase contains data CDs of all the latest intelligence info we have on all of the Mediterranean states. Some of it is only hours old. Photos, field reports, overhead imagery, radio intercepts, everything we could gather. It should help you find your wife and your missing men.' He realized he was still grasping her shoulders, and he started to move them away, but she took his armored gauntlets and held them to her, keeping his hands on her shoulders. 'Thank you for what you've done for Egypt,' she said. 'I'm sorry for the sacrifices you've made for our country.'
'Where will you go now, Susan?'
Susan sighed. 'Go to Cairo to bury my husband.'
'I think that would be very dangerous.'
'I must,' she said. 'It's my last duty as first lady of Egypt. After that, I can start planning my own future.'
'What will you do?'
'I don't know. The United States might be the only place my husband's enemies can't touch me.' She paused, then looked at Patrick. 'And you? Will you go home as well?'
'I don't believe in leaving before the fighting's over,' Patrick replied. 'If my wife is alive, I'll find her. If she's dead, I'll make the Libyans sorry they ever decided to launch those attack planes.'
'What do you intend to do?'
'I can't hope to use overhead imagery to find her, and there are too many bases she could have been taken
