The Project 02 - The Lance

instant Calloway lost his mask of composure. Good, Nick thought. The guy's human after all.
    "Mr. President, someone tried to kill me three times today and a deep cover source of ours was murdered before I could talk with him. Someone breached our security. No one was supposed to know I was here, but Dysart found out. Now he's running NSA and he tried to get Harker to call me off. It adds up to a lot of suspicion."
    " General Dysart took over General Hood's duties because he's in Walter Reed after suffering a stroke."
    "Sir, he'd just completed his annual physical and he was in fine health. How could he have a stroke?"
    " We're going to find out. I've directed his medical team to pursue detailed toxicology studies as well as the usual regimens. In any event, Director Harker was adamant that I am in danger. She said she is working on getting evidence Dysart is involved in a conspiracy."
    "I f something is there Harker will find it, Mr. President."
    " As of now, Carter, you are part of my immediate security detail until I leave Israel. I'm sure the Director can take care of herself. I want you close by and I want you armed."
    T here was only one possible response. "Yes, sir."
    Rice glanced at Calloway. "Okay with you, John?"
    It wasn 't really a request, but it was typical of Rice to include others in decisions he had already made. Calloway was in a tough spot.
    " Of course, sir."
    " Good. Find a place for him to sleep. Put him up with our people. I want him with us tomorrow on the Temple Mount."
    " Yes, sir."
    " Mr. President, may I call Director Harker and tell her of our conversation? I also need to contact Shin Bet."
    " Use your discretion and get some sleep. You'll need it."
    Time to call Harker and Ari and then try to grab a few hours. Maybe he wouldn't dream.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

    M orning in Jerusalem, and the sky was a luminous blue that went on forever. It reminded Nick of New Mexico, the only other place he'd ever seen that kind of unearthly color.
    The President rode with Prime Minister Ascher in the third of five identical armored, black limousines. Flags of Israel and America flew from the front fenders. Nick rode in the car behind the President. It was cool and insulated inside and smelled of new leather and stress. Nick felt trapped. The car was an easy target, armored or not. He looked out through tinted windows at the hostile faces passing by.
    The motorcade rolled between a solid line of Israeli soldiers, through checkpoints manned with armored vehicles and troops carrying the latest Tavor Tar-21 assault rifles. It was a security nightmare, a scene of barely controlled chaos.
    Thousands of protesters pushed against crowd control barriers keeping them from the Mount and from each other. Muslims, Jews, and Christians shouted and waved signs in Hebrew, Arabic and English. The noise was deafening. The crowd moved in a constant, seething motion, a coiled, restless serpent.
    The Waqf had refused to let Rice drop in by helicopter. He would have to walk to the Mount like everyone else. Once out of the vehicles, the President's party was surrounded three deep by a phalanx of Secret Service and Shin Bet. They entered a covered walkway over a wooden bridge that stretched above the Western Wall. The large plaza in front of the Wall was packed with people praying.
    The walkway was lined with more Israeli troops. It led to the Moors Gate, the only entrance for non-Muslims onto the Temple Mount. Carter walked a few steps behind Rice and Prime Minister Ascher. He couldn't help thinking it was heady company for a beat up former Marine. What the hell was he doing here?
    Rice wanted to staunch wounds bleeding since the time of the Crusades. He was going to appeal for reason and new peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel. He'd chosen the Temple Mount to make his speech as an acknowledgement of Islam. Many saw it as a political gimmick at best and defilement at the worst. Nick thought it would have to be a damn good speech, if the uproar around the Mount was any indication of things.
    They entered the Mount and were met by a delegation from the Waqf . A contingent of uniformed Muslim guards assigned to the Muslim Authority stood at attention along the sides of the broad square in front of the Mosque. They wore dark khaki colored uniforms with green flashes and green berets and were unarmed except for batons. The Israeli soldiers kept to the perimeter and were armed to the teeth. Overhead, Israeli