The Project 02 - The Lance

watched. He may lead us to other conspirators. If he does anything to threaten national security you could move in and stop him. Perhaps set up an alternate command to take over NSA if needed, without his knowledge."
    " Give him enough rope?"
    "Yes , sir. If I'm wrong, then no harm done. If I'm right, sooner or later he'll do something that proves it. Then we'd get a chance to find out who else is involved. I'm working on that now."
    "I want you to get to the bottom of this. Carter will be our direct liaison. After today, no one will think it unusual if he is seen with me on occasion. I take it you have a secure location to work from?"
    " Yes, Mr. President. Sir, please don't misunderstand me. Dysart is bound to be observing everything. You must be very careful about the people you choose to confide in. I recommend no contact with Langley regarding our suspicions."
    Nick kept his face neutral. Not many people tell the President of the United States to be careful about what he does or who he should talk to, much less tell him to stay away from the CIA. Harker had balls.
    " You believe CIA is involved?"
    "I don't know , sir. But Langley has leaks. Any involvement with them about Dysart will give everything away."
    " I'll take that under advisement, Director. I appreciate your candor. Keep me informed of any progress, any new information."
    " Yes, sir. Thank you for your trust, Mr. President."
    " You've earned it. One more thing."
    " Yes, sir?"
    " Whoever did this must be revealed for who they are and shown to the world. It is the only thing that can stop what has begun. Work quickly, Director."
    Rice ended the call.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

    Elizabeth, Stephanie and Selena returned to the Project building and cleaned out everything relating to Dysart and Nick's mission. They found the bug on Selena's car and moved it to another vehicle parked nearby, then both cars headed toward Virginia. In Harker's rear view mirror, the gray building housing the Project receded behind them.
    Elizabeth kept checking the mirrors, looking for tails. Nothing stood out. That didn't mean there wasn't someone there. She knew how easy it was to switch cars behind you, follow from in front or from the air, change the look of surveillance in an eye blink, track from the sky, but her intuition was calm.
    T hey turned onto the rural state highway that led toward the safe house. There was still no sign of a tail. Traffic was light. Elizabeth allowed herself a small measure of relaxation.
    "Dysart might make a mistake," Stephanie said.
    " This has to go way beyond Dysart." Elizabeth swerved to avoid a pothole in the road. "War between the Muslims and Israel could go nuclear. Who would want to see that happen?"
    Stephanie mused out loud. " Qui Bene? Who benefits? Not Israel. Not the Muslims either."
    " No one in the Middle East benefits, except the ones who don't want peace," Elizabeth said. "The Islamic fundamentalists would never destroy al-Aqsa. It can't be them."
    "P rofit? War is going to disrupt the financial markets. There could be big profit in that."
    " That's an idea. We could look at the markets in the last six months and see if someone is about to get rich if a war starts up. We can ignore little trades, just look at the big ones. If we see a pattern, perhaps we can track it back to whoever it is that 'commands' Dysart."
    " Yes. 'At your command'. Dysart doesn't strike me as the kind of man who'd take orders from just anyone."
    "Israel could be destroyed, and half of the Middle East with it. That's bigger than money. The Iranians, perhaps? The Syrians? But they're Muslim, too. No way they'd blow up the Mosque."
    They turned into the drive leading up to the house. A minute later they were inside the garage, the door closing behind them.
    Safe.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

    In one of the windowless detention cells below Shin Bet Headquarters, Khalid recited his prayers. Even here, imprisoned by the Jewish occupiers, he could still face Mecca and find the strength that had deserted him earlier. He shuddered, remembering the look in the eyes of the Jew as he whispered the things he would do to Khalid's family. Surely the Jew was a demon, a jinn sent to test him. Allah, the All Compassionate and All Merciful, would forgive Khalid for his cowardice. He rose from his prayers. A metal view slot opened in the steel door of his cell.
    Someone peered in. The slot shut . Khalid heard bolts being drawn, a murmured conversation. He sat down on the bare metal