documents. He was having a difficult time keeping her attention.
'The death toll at Mersa Matruh is… is enormous, Sekhmet,' Baris said tonelessly when he joined Susan on the balcony a few minutes later. 'They fear over eleven thousand perished in the attack. The entire Ramses Corps has been destroyed, and the Amun Fleet lost almost fifty percent of its men and ships, with the fatalities increasing by the hour.'
'Bastards,' she replied woodenly. 'How dare they lay waste to our nation like this?'
'The weapon that detonated at Mersa Matruh was an enhanced-radiation thermonuclear device with an estimated yield of one to two kilotons, or one to two thousand tons of TNT. Everything within two kilometers was hit with a massive dose of radiation that killed them within a few hours, slowly and painfully. I'm sorry.
'In addition, Libyan and Sudanese ground forces have crossed our southern border and have surrounded the entire
Salimah complex,' Baris went on. 'They are obviously ready to stage an attack on the Salimah oil fields, probably within the next few days.'
'Why haven't we searched for survivors at Mersa Matruh yet?' Susan asked. 'Maybe Patrick is alive.'
Aha, Ahmad Baris thought, it was Patrick McLanahan and his commandos that were occupying her mind. Could he be occupying her heart as well…? 'Are you all right, Sekhmet?'
'Fine… just fine.' She went over and sat down on the sofa.
Captain Shafik answered the phone in Susan Bailey Salaam's home office. Her eyes grew wide with surprise, and she gave the phone to General Ahmad Baris-and moments later, his eyes grew wide with shock as well. 'What is it, General?' Susan asked, returning to the living room.
'I just heard from my sources in the Ministry of Defense. Two bases in Libya have just been struck from the air.'
'What? Which ones? Which bases?'
'Zillah and Al-Jawf. Reports say that a number of Libyan aircraft were also shot down,' Baris went on.
'The Americans…?'
'Dr. Kalir has been in contact with the American embassy, and they insist that no American forces are involved.'
'Could it have been some of our air forces?'
'All Egyptian military air forces have been dispersed and brought in toward Cairo to protect the capital,' Baris said. 'But in any case, we don't have that kind of firepower, unless we massed every aircraft in our entire arsenal. Planning an operation of that magnitude would take weeks.'
It was Patrick, she thought. It had to be. He must be alive! But where did he get the support? Where were his air forces? They couldn't possibly be in Egypt-Baris would have known about that. Certainly not in Libya. Israel? Offshore in the Mediterranean Sea somewhere? He might be able to sneak in one large 'baby' aircraft carrier into the area without anyone knowing, but would that carry enough firepower to destroy two Libyan military bases? Impossible… or was it?
'Could it have been McLanahan and his men, General?'
'They must have died in the nuclear explosion,' Baris replied. 'The bunker they were based in was guarded by troops day and night, and all of those troops were killed by the radiation.'
'But they were underground….'
'The radiation kills humans even in bomb shelters,' Baris explained. 'Besides, they were just high-tech infantry forces-even with their fancy suits of armor, they could not have destroyed two Libyan military bases in one night. Only a few nations have that kind of firepower-the United States, Russia, maybe Germany, perhaps Israel. But we certainly should have known something was going to happen. It had to be in retaliation for the explosion at Mersa Matruh-but who could have done it, and why would they not have consulted us?' Susan did not answer. Her eyes were darting back and forth, as if examining the scene of a terrible traffic accident just moments after the crash.
'What are you thinking about, child?'
'Nothing… nothing,' Susan Bailey Salaam said absently. 'Thank you for the information. I need some rest now. Is there anything else?'
'Only to ask you once again-what do you want to do, here, in Egypt?' Baris asked, stepping over and standing beside her. 'We are officially in protective custody, by order of the Supreme Judiciary, but I assure you, we can leave anytime we please-my friends in the Ministry of Defense and the Intelligence Bureau will see to that. The security forces of the Supreme Judiciary are nothing more than Khalid al-Khan's hired goons, easily brushed aside. I have access to aircraft, safe houses, visas, and many friends overseas, especially in the United States.'
'I… I don't know, General,' Susan said. 'I don't want to leave Egypt now, at a time like this, with Libya threatening our very existence almost every day.'
'Why? What are you concerned about, Sekhmet? Our nation is strong, despite Libya's aggression. They never had enough strength to destroy Egypt militarily, with or without nuclear weapons. We will survive.' He paused, looking carefully at Susan; then: 'Or are you concerned more about how you might be looked upon by the people of Egypt if you left?'
'Are you saying that because I'm American, I needn't be concerned about Egypt?' Susan retorted. 'I've lived here for many years, General. I speak Arabic. I consider myself an Egyptian. Are you saying that I'm only concerned about myself and not Egypt?'
'Of course not, Sekhmet,' Baris said. 'What I'm concerned about is that you might put yourself in grave danger by staying, in some misguided notion that you need to stay because this is where your husband is buried… or, yes, because you may think that the people's memory of your late husband or yourself might be tarnished if you left now. Your loyalty for our country is inspiring, Susan, but you are not safe here.'
'What if I were president?'
Finally, the truth comes out, Baris thought-this was the secret she had kept to herself all this time. 'Being president will not relieve you of the danger you faced from Khalid al-Khan and the Muslim Brotherhood,' Baris reminded her. 'You will always be the wife of their political adversary, the wife of the man that Khan conspired to murder in order to form his ideal Islamic government. In fact, I believe you will face even greater dangers, greater pressures.
'The real struggles will be political. You and the National Democratic Party will be blamed for every wrong, every deficiency, and every failure. You will be accused of impeding progress and delivering privileged information to enemies of the state and to anarchists. There are many citizens and government officials who agreed with Khan and were happy to see your husband assassinated-and would happily do the same to you. Your enemies will know your every move-if they want to ambush yoti, they'll know exactly when and where you'll be at all times. You are putting yourself in the lion's jaws, Susan. Why?'
'Because I feel I can do more inside the government than outside,' Susan replied. 'As simply the widow of a dead president or leader of the opposition, I create nothing but background noise. Let me trade on my name and my being a widow. Maybe I can do some good.'
Baris studied his young friend for a few moments. Her words sounded determined, conclusive, and decisive- but he still felt uneasy, uncertain. What else was wrong? What wasn't he noticing?
'I suggest you leave Egypt,' Baris said evenly. 'Once in Italy, or England, or the United States, you can get on all the talk shows and news programs and talk about your vision of Egypt. You can raise money, attract attention to your ideas, and gather support. If you try to do it now, with the nation in chaos and the Libyans threatening to blow the entire country into atoms, your voice will be lost in the cries of confusion and fear-not to mention your life will be in terrible danger, just because of who you are.' He took her hands. 'Think about it, my friend. I am only concerned for your safety now-Egypt can wait, for a little while.'
'I'll think about it.'
'Good.' He kissed her hands, smiled warmly at her, and then departed.
Khalid al-Khan was dead. The government was disorganized, frightened. Egypt was in grave danger. She had to do something….
'They can't pin this on me,' Jadallah Zuwayy said proudly. 'An entire military base destroyed, and they have no idea who did it to them. God, I wish I could have seen it for myself.' Beside him, General Tahir Fazani, his military chief of staff, and Juma Mahmud Hijazi, his foreign minister, looked on with disbelief and fear…
