The Project 02 - The Lance

ledge bolted to the wall that served as table, chair and bunk and waited. Khalid was passive. He knew it was futile to think of physical resistance. He swallowed and thought of his family, and prepared to be interrogated.
    Ín'sh'allah. As God wills.
    The man who entered the cell wore an army uniform. He closed the door behind him. His face was bland, almost featureless, almost kind. He held a covered box in his left hand.
    " You are hungry?" the man said.
    Khalid shrugged, ready for a blow, a lie, a trick. There was no trusting these Israeli dogs. The man's Arabic was fluent, with a hint of an accent.
    " You have been helpful," the man said. "I've brought something to show our appreciation." He reached into the box with his right hand.
    The silenced pistol spat once and a small, dark hole appeared in Khalid's forehead. He never felt the second shot that entered his ear.
    The Visitor replaced the pistol in the box . He lifted Khalid's body onto the narrow bunk and turned his face to the wall. Anyone looking in would see a sleeping prisoner. The Visitor left the cell and closed the door, bolting it after him. Five minutes later he had disappeared into the crowds on the street outside. Another soldier, hurrying to his appointment with the god of war.
    Back in his apartment, the Visitor made a call.
    " It's done."
    "Good. Your time there is finished." A brief silence. "You failed with the agent."
    "It was unavoidable. I lost three people. He is a worthy adversary."
    "It doesn't matter. Return to Washington. Call when you are settled."
    T he Visitor could hear an opera playing in the background, something by Wagner.
    " Yes."
    The Visitor broke the connection, smashed the phone with his heel. He began packing. When he was done, he sat on the edge of the bed. He closed his eyes, his mind soaring to a summer meadow high in the Bavarian Alps.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

    At Andrews, Rice ordered the Secret Service to provide Nick with transportation. They gave him a shiny black Suburban with armor reinforced doors and wheels, tinted bullet proof glass and a Remington pump twelve gauge set upright between the front seats. The vehicle was fast, too. He watched for anyone following and took a circuitous route around the city. When he was sure no one was behind, he headed for the safe house.
    He pulled into the garage and went inside. Ronnie and Selena were at the kitchen table. Ronnie was flashing cards filled with diagrams and data at Selena, teaching her to store essential information in her mind with only a brief look.
    " Hey, Mr. TV personality himself. Welcome home, Nick." Ronnie put the cards on the table.
    " TV Personality?"
    Selena said, "You've been on the news all day. The networks can't get enough of you jumping into that hole and protecting the President. Over here, you're a hero. In the Mid East, you're a murderer. You've even been hung in effigy. They've made a martyr out of the man who tried to shoot you and Rice."
    Nick felt a headache starting. Harker and Stephanie came into the room. Director Harker wore casual sweats. The outfit was black and white, if not up to her usual standard of elegance. She looked tired, more frayed around the edges than he'd ever seen before.
    " Nick, I know you just got here, but we need to go over what we've found out."
    " You mean Dysart?"
    " That and more. Let's sit down."
    The silver pen came out and Harker began tapping. The sound echoed in his head like a ball ratcheting around a pinball machine.
    " Dysart mentioned Antarctica in his emails. A German research station in Antarctica burned to the ground two nights ago. The fire was set with phosphorous grenades and all personnel were shot and killed. A plane landed and took off around the time of the raid. The German government has sealed the whole thing off and clamped the lid down on inquiries."
    " If they aren't talking, how come we know about it?"
    " Stephanie hacked into Berlin's intelligence network looking for reaction to the Jerusalem bombing. She found the Antarctica reports."
    Steph made a mock curtsey.
    Nick rubbed his forehead, then the back of his neck. The headache was kicking in big time. "What's got them going?"
    " Nazis."
    " Nazis? As in Hitler, swastikas, all that stuff? How do Nazis come into it?"
    "T wo scientists found an old bunker complex in the mountains the day before the station was attacked. No one knew it was there. They discovered a radio station, barracks, generators and crates marked with swastikas. They