Shiva (38 page)

Besides, Lopez should be here with their helicopter
at
any moment. Long before the enemy could pin Brandt and the rest down on the roof.

Davidson scanned the other buildings. Yes, they had made excellent time from Africa. Such good time that there was no way that Frellan and the sniper could be here. Except
,
Davidson was pretty darned sure that they
were
here.

He was not going to underestimate the Disciples ever again.

Glare caught his lens. The last rays of a sun about to give up for the night. The air was blustery red and orange as the desert flowed yellow. The Nile sparkled in the dying light as streetlamps flickered on. He would have to switch to night vision soon.

A flare of white caught his attention.

He swung his rifle sixty degrees, surveying the windows in that direction. He scanned across the entire row of offices, then across one, then up a row, tracking that floor. Nothing.

Was he being too hypervigilant? Was his mind interpreting minor input and creating a crisis out of it?

Then the flare shone from a window. Davidson honed in on the light source. His vision blurred for a moment as he adjusted his magnification. Then he wished he hadn
’
t. Snapping his rifle up, Davidson frowned.

Just a man
’
s watch reflecting the late
-
evening sun. A man who was having a rather inappropriate relationship with a coworker. It was situations like this that sniper school just didn
’
t prepare you for.

Shrugging off the image of something the Quran definitely did not condone, Davidson went back to his systematic survey of the area. Then he heard it. A distant buzzing that got closer and closer.

That did not sound like a helicopter.

He slid his rifle around to face the oncoming aircraft.

It was definitely not a helicopter.

The only thing definite about it was that Brandt was going to be
pissed
.

* * *

“
Is that what I think it is?
”
Levont asked.

Brandt jerked the binoculars away from his eyes.
“
If you think it is a crop duster, then
,
yes, it is.
”

Rebecca glanced around the roof.
“
But how are we supposed to…
?
”

That did seem to be the question of the minute. Talli was doing a decent job of keeping the enemy pinned to the office. There was some noise at the roof door, but that was going to take them a few minutes to get past. Which should have been plenty of time for Lopez to land on the roof, scoop them up, then head over and pick up Davidson. It should have been with a helicopter, but
no
.

“
What are we going to do?
”
Rebecca asked.

Time to think like Lopez again. Which meant he had to throw any concern for personal safety out the window. He also had to think about five times faster. Not necessarily better, just faster. However
,
the one thing about Lopez was, he was extremely goal oriented.

If the corporal stole a crop
duster, he had a plan to get them off this roof with a crop duster. It was probably not a good plan or a practical plan, but it was a plan.

Brandt turned to Levont.
“
Do we have any grappling hooks?
”

The point man shook his head.
“
Sorry, Sarge.
”

“
Any repelling gear at all?
”
Brandt asked but already knew the answer.

“
Not a speck.
”

This is what happened when you got kidnapped from your wedding. You weren
’
t exactly pack
ed
for a major mission. The fact they had scraped up as much equipment as they had was pretty impressive. However
,
none of those weapons were going to help them get onto that crop
duster
,
though. Unless
,
of course
,
you counted shooting Lopez out of the sky. Which Brandt wasn
’
t entirely discounting at the moment.

As the crop duster flew closer
,
he wasn
’
t even coming directly over the roof. What was he playing at? The small plane slowed, enough to sputter the twin engines a bit as it flew right past them.

Lopez had the pilot
-
side window open. He thrust his thumb to the rear of the plane.
“
Wire…
”
he yelled, but whatever else he said was snatched by the wind.
“
Next!
”

Then Lopez was past. Only Vakasa
’
s smiling face in the rear window, waving wildly at them
,
kept Brandt from going on one hell of a cursing streak.

* * *

Rebecca spied the large hook on the back of the plane.
“
There!
”
she said
,
pointing at the metal device.

“
There, what?
”
Brandt said as he squinted.

“
I should have realized,
”
she said.
“
The Egyptians covet organic produce and cotton.
”
Off Brandt
’
s
frustrated expression
,
she hurried on.
“
Sorry, it means that
,
about ten years ago
,
they banned crop dusting
,
so the pilots had to get creative on ways to use their planes. From the looks of it
,
this plane had been modified to pull those large advertising banners.
”

Levont backed her up, handing Brandt the binoculars.
“
I think he brought the grappling hook to us.
”

As Lopez banked the plane around for a second pass, Brandt studied the hook. He then scanned the roof. This being a third world country
,
there were no sleek satellite dishes or encased electronics. Rebecca realized that the roof was a veritable maze of antennas and wires.

Brandt
’
s
strong brow furrowed.
“
He really expects us to catch hold of that thing with one of these wires.
”
Then he smiled.
“
Lopez
really
is a genius.
”

That is not exactly how Rebecca would have described it. That hook wasn
’
t all that big. And a lot of those wires didn
’
t seem all that sturdy. But hey
,
she
was
the one
who
’
d
insisted on coming along. There would be no whining.

“
He wants us to do what?
”
Talli said.

Well, except for Talli.

“
Levont?
”
Brandt asked his point man.
“
You up for this?
”

The big man
’
s smile eclipsed the setting sun.
“
Really? I get to go first?
”

Seriously
,
there was something wrong with these men.

“
That
’
s one of the privileges of being a point man,
”
Brandt confirmed.

Levont didn
’
t waste a single moment
.
A
s he slung his rifle, he hacked off a long piece of stiff wire and wrapped it around either wrist, creating a loop to accept Lopez
’
s hook.

As the biplane sputtered again, slowing, saddling up to the roof, Levont rushed over, stepping up onto the side of the thirteen-story building as if he were hopping a curb in New York. He reared back as the plane got close. Once the plane slid by, Levont threw his loop forward and
,
consequently
,
his body weight off the roof.

“
Off the hook!
”
Levont yelled as the wire loop caught, jerking Levont out of thin air, pulling the point man forward. Actually
,
it turned out,
o
n
the hook.

The back of the plane lurched down from the sudden weight. Somehow Lopez not only righted it, but banked into a steep turn. In a feat of muscles over gravity, Levont curled his legs forward, gripping onto the tail of the plane. He unwound the wire, letting it tumble out of the sky as he climbed forward into the plane.

“
See?
”
Brandt said.
“
Totally doable.
”

Rebecca let Talli groan for the both of them.

CHAPTER 15

═══════════
═══════

Giza, Egypt

9:27
p
.
m
.
(
CAT
)

Frellan strode into the office building. His men were already breaking through the door to the roof. He would have been there
,
except he had heard whispers between the men. Ugudo would not confirm them.

The upscale office smelled of iron. Blood. He saw his mother first. Her eyes looked to the heavens, but he doubted she found the absolution she wanted. He cared nothing for her. She had birthed him. That was all. She was weak. She had let her own ambition cloud her judgment. Were they not Moshe
’
s descendants? Did they not have an obligation to fulfill his legacy?

He walked past her without another glance. Then he noted the other body.

His father.

Frellan sank to his knees, cradling his father
’
s head.
“
No,
”
he moaned.
“
No.
”

How could God do this? Punish the righteous and let the likes of Brandt still walk this earth? His father had sacrificed everything for the Disciples. He had left with
his
wife. Not because he had lost his faith
,
but because it had been redoubled by her betrayal. His father had kept track of Nori to be sure she did not tread too close to the
M
essiah.

All of those years living with that witch to die in a foreign office building?

Movement caught his attention. Monnie picked up his mother
’
s burka. The revulsion on her face matched his own. In this
,
the
w
atcher and he were united. The time for grief would be later. His father would understand.

His death must not be in vain.

His death must lead to the Messiah.

It was the path God had chosen.

“
We must be sure they receive a proper burial,
”
Monnie said.

“
For him,
”
Frellan nodded.
“
Not for her.
”

“
What do you want done
,
then?
”

Frellan did not hesitate.
“
Feed her to the street dogs.
”
Rising, he turned to Ugudo.
“
I want on that roof.
”

His second-in-command nodded curtly and rushed from the room.

His mother could be blamed for much, but one man, the man who had the
M
essiah, the man who had precipitated Frellan
’
s father
’
s death
,
was wholly to blame.

And Brandt would pay.

* * *

This
is
taking too long
,
Brandt thought.

Even though Lopez banked as hard and as sharp as he could, the turnaround time was killing them. That roof door just wasn
’
t going to hold much longer. Sure
,
they had Davidson in position, but the kid wouldn
’
t reveal himself until the absolute last second.