Pandora's grave

“Sure about that?” Thomas took her by the shoulders and pulled her to her feet, forcing her to the edge of the stairwell. She cried out in pain and he pressed down harder on the shoulderblade broken by his 9mm slug. “In that case, I’ll shove you over right here and now-leave you as a warning for the next people he sends after me. You get lucky, your partner’s body might even cushion your fall.”

As if on cue, the phone vibrated in his hand. He glanced at the number, then handed the phone to her, nodding as he did so.

She met his gaze, tears rolling down her cheeks. Their eyes locked and Thomas cleared his throat. “Better start deciding how much you really want to die today.”

Another painful moment of indecision came and went, then she flipped open the phone with a sudden gesture, speaking quickly. “The target has been eliminated…”

“Why are you answering Rashid’s phone?” Farouk asked after listening to her report.

A tinge of sadness colored the young woman’s voice as she responded. “Rashid is dead. As they fought he and the American fell from the belfry onto the stairs below.”

Farouk considered that for a moment. “Very well. You have been trained in the use of a rifle. I will be counting on you.”

11:08 A.M.

The Masjid al-Aqsa

“There should be a red wire beneath the black, running in a diagonal from left to right.”

“And there isn’t.” Hamid wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, rocking back on his haunches. The second canister had been secreted in the opposite hall, in a three-foot dead space-same set-up as the first, only five feet from an electric fan pointed toward the assembly hall.

Apparently the intention had been to use the ventilation fans to blow a billowing cloud of bacteria into the crowd of worshipers.

“Okay,” Tex responded. “Then we’re looking for a yellow-coated wire. Have one?”

“Negative, GUNHAND. Any other bright ideas?”

“No,” the Texan replied with a weary sigh. “Hold tight.”

“You’re coming here?”

“No other choice. This sounds like a new one.”

Hamid looked over at the Jordanian bodyguard to see him shaking his head vigorously. “Al-Husayni was very clear. There are to be no unbelievers in the mosque.”

“No dice, GUNHAND, they’re not going to let you in.”

There was a long pause, then Harry came on the network. “We don’t have time to mess with this. Send Abdul back with both canisters. We’ll disarm the second one here. FULLBACK and SWITCHBLADE, continue with your search.”

“Roger that, EAGLE SIX.”

3:16 A.M. Eastern Time

NCS Operations Center

Langley, Virginia

Making coffee was typically not Bernard Kranemeyer’s job. But with the op-center staff running on fumes, he was pitching in with whatever he could. His personal espresso machine was now sitting on the desk of an abandoned workstation and the DCS was sorting diligently through the containers of gourmet coffee he had brought from his office.

That was where he was when Carter found him. “We’ve received a sitrep from Nichols.”

“And?”

“The search is going well-they’ve located two of the four canisters. One of them’s disarmed and they’re working on the other one.”

“Thank God,” Kranemeyer breathed, closing his eyes for a moment. As good as the news was, it came with a chilling reality.

There were less than forty minutes left…

11:19 A.M. Local Time

The Masjid al-Aqsa

It had been days since they had been alone, Hamid mused as he and Davood moved down the stairs to the lower level of al-Aqsa. And the time had not been right.

His face darkened as he thought of the young agent’s treachery. He had sold out his faith for the hope of reward, an unforgivable sin.

At least Hamid had no intention of forgiving it. The Glock seemed to tremble beneath his coat as the pair hustled down the wide limestone steps, entering a vaulted corridor.

“Any ideas on the canister?” Harry asked, watching the surveillance screens. On one, they could see Abdul Ali hurrying back through the main hall of the masjid-on another the forms of Davood and Hamid making their way down a corridor. Worshipers were beginning to flood into the building, in advance of zhurh, the noon prayer.

Tex shook his head. “It sounds like a new design. Won’t know till I’ve had a better look.”

Harry nodded, then motion on one of the screens attracted his eye. The two agents were stopped in a small room, a library, from the look of it. It also looked like they were alone.

He selected the camera on the computer console and zoomed in the camera. Hamid was gesturing angrily at the younger man, who stood with his back to a bookshelf. Something was going on.

“EAGLE SIX to FULLBACK, are we having a problem?”

Without replying, Hamid swung toward the camera, the silenced Glock in his right hand coming into view. A single shot spat from the barrel, smashing into the lens of the camera.