within was terrifying. It certainly justified for him the risk he was taking by conducting this unauthorized mission.
“She’s meeting with someone, sir,” Ari was saying.
Ben-Neser felt the phantom pain of his missing arm as he always did when he was nervous. If anything went wrong, the ramification would be catastrophic. He had to bring this off without a hitch.
“Recognize him?” he asked Ari.
“Big. Rugged with a beard. Looks American.”
American? Ben-Neser wondered to himself. The last thing he needed here was just that sort of complication.
“Do we move in?” Ari asked.
“No,” Ben-Neser said from his position by the window of the apartment, choking down the urge to rub the arm that was no longer there. “Where are you?”
“Shop featuring plumbing fixtures diagonally across the street from Evira.”
“Hold your position. I’m coming down.”
McCracken continued to gaze across the table at the woman whose age had shrunk by upwards of forty years. She returned his gawking stare with an admiring one of her own while she continued to pick at the stray patches of theatrical makeup stuck on her flesh.
“I’m sorry this was necessary,” she said.
“And just what are you referring to, the disguise or the taking of my son?”
“Both, I guess. The boy’s fine. Better than fine. He’s safe.”
“Safe from whom?”
“My enemies are now your enemies.”
“Arab?”
“As well as Israeli. What we’re facing here doesn’t discriminate. You’ll find we have extraordinarily few allies, perhaps just each other.”
“Then how about you deliver Matthew back to Reading School to prove your good faith?”
She looked at him almost sadly. “I can’t do that. You know I can’t.”
“Look, lady, the hag I was talking to a few minutes ago and Fett built a pretty good case. If this bit about Rasin and his weapon are true, then I’m on your side already.”
“Like you were on the side of the French, of the British, even the Americans?” she shot back at him. “I know you better than you think. The side you start out on may not be the side you end up on, depending on the dictates of your conscience. You think I don’t approve of those traits?” she added, more softly, voice laced with admiration. “They are precisely what persuaded me that you were the only one left for me to work with now that my own network has been compromised.”
“Then you also know my word is my bond. Let the boy go. I’ll work with you.”
“I can’t. I made promises, gave assurances. Can’t you see that?”
“What I see every time I close my eyes is what a pair of killers did to John Neville.”
“I don’t condone the actions of butchers.”
“But you used them, didn’t you? Cut the bullshit, lady. If you’re so fond of the way I operate, you must have figured out you’re already working in a bigger ballgame.”
She looked hurt. What little light reached her face told Blaine she was thirty at most and probably younger. Her features were more European than Arabic. She had skin that was soft and smooth, and high cheekbones that complemented an angular chin and large round eyes. Her complexion looked more tanned than naturally bronze.
“Let’s get to the point, Evira,” Blaine resumed. “Let’s get to Rasin. How’d you find out about the existence of this superweapon?”
“I’ve had agents planted within his group for sometime.”
“Arabs?”
“Seventeen percent of Israel’s citizens are Arabs, but they’re Israelis first. This is their nation, too. And as their numbers have grown they have been accepted as part of the nation.” She paused. “By most of the nation anyway. Rasin has seized upon the reality of their growing influence, along with the possible formation of a Palestinian state on the West Bank, and used them to spread his message of hate. His cause has fostered a dangerous, militant faction. He has become enamored of the power it has provided him. Fanaticism is a powerful
“She’s meeting with someone, sir,” Ari was saying.
Ben-Neser felt the phantom pain of his missing arm as he always did when he was nervous. If anything went wrong, the ramification would be catastrophic. He had to bring this off without a hitch.
“Recognize him?” he asked Ari.
“Big. Rugged with a beard. Looks American.”
American? Ben-Neser wondered to himself. The last thing he needed here was just that sort of complication.
“Do we move in?” Ari asked.
“No,” Ben-Neser said from his position by the window of the apartment, choking down the urge to rub the arm that was no longer there. “Where are you?”
“Shop featuring plumbing fixtures diagonally across the street from Evira.”
“Hold your position. I’m coming down.”
McCracken continued to gaze across the table at the woman whose age had shrunk by upwards of forty years. She returned his gawking stare with an admiring one of her own while she continued to pick at the stray patches of theatrical makeup stuck on her flesh.
“I’m sorry this was necessary,” she said.
“And just what are you referring to, the disguise or the taking of my son?”
“Both, I guess. The boy’s fine. Better than fine. He’s safe.”
“Safe from whom?”
“My enemies are now your enemies.”
“Arab?”
“As well as Israeli. What we’re facing here doesn’t discriminate. You’ll find we have extraordinarily few allies, perhaps just each other.”
“Then how about you deliver Matthew back to Reading School to prove your good faith?”
She looked at him almost sadly. “I can’t do that. You know I can’t.”
“Look, lady, the hag I was talking to a few minutes ago and Fett built a pretty good case. If this bit about Rasin and his weapon are true, then I’m on your side already.”
“Like you were on the side of the French, of the British, even the Americans?” she shot back at him. “I know you better than you think. The side you start out on may not be the side you end up on, depending on the dictates of your conscience. You think I don’t approve of those traits?” she added, more softly, voice laced with admiration. “They are precisely what persuaded me that you were the only one left for me to work with now that my own network has been compromised.”
“Then you also know my word is my bond. Let the boy go. I’ll work with you.”
“I can’t. I made promises, gave assurances. Can’t you see that?”
“What I see every time I close my eyes is what a pair of killers did to John Neville.”
“I don’t condone the actions of butchers.”
“But you used them, didn’t you? Cut the bullshit, lady. If you’re so fond of the way I operate, you must have figured out you’re already working in a bigger ballgame.”
She looked hurt. What little light reached her face told Blaine she was thirty at most and probably younger. Her features were more European than Arabic. She had skin that was soft and smooth, and high cheekbones that complemented an angular chin and large round eyes. Her complexion looked more tanned than naturally bronze.
“Let’s get to the point, Evira,” Blaine resumed. “Let’s get to Rasin. How’d you find out about the existence of this superweapon?”
“I’ve had agents planted within his group for sometime.”
“Arabs?”
“Seventeen percent of Israel’s citizens are Arabs, but they’re Israelis first. This is their nation, too. And as their numbers have grown they have been accepted as part of the nation.” She paused. “By most of the nation anyway. Rasin has seized upon the reality of their growing influence, along with the possible formation of a Palestinian state on the West Bank, and used them to spread his message of hate. His cause has fostered a dangerous, militant faction. He has become enamored of the power it has provided him. Fanaticism is a powerful
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