Covenant

20

The site where Lucy was working is just on the edge of the floodplain.”

Ayeem Khan pointed ahead toward a canyon that sliced through the sandstone cliffs, eroded by the passing of an ancient river. Now parched, Ethan could visualize how the river system would once have streamed from the highlands to spill onto a broad, lush plain.

The Bedouin had parked the jeep inside a nearby wadi, hidden behind an outcrop of rock that marked the turning point in the extinct river’s course and the entrance to the canyon. Deep shadow enveloped them as they moved into its maw, the sheer walls dwarfing them and the air suddenly cool.

“Do not speak loudly,” Ayeem said softly as they moved.

“How much do you know about the security company, MACE?” Ethan whispered.

“They are unpleasant people. They regard us Bedouin as less than human. Our people have been attacked by MACE soldiers for walking their livestock too close to military compounds.”

“Private security companies can work almost entirely without fear of legal action,” Ethan replied.

“How come?” Rachel asked.

“Governments often contract private security firms to undertake menial work such as guarding military sites. Should anything illegal happen, the government can pass the blame onto the security company, who are privately held and thus cannot be prosecuted by the government. The whole thing goes through the civil courts, and the security companies have become wealthy over the years and can afford the best counsel, overwhelming the prosecution. It happened regularly in Iraq after the invasion.”

Ayeem’s voice hissed like a knife through the air as he spoke. “Our people cannot afford to take these companies to court for the things that they have done. It is, how do you say, swept under the carpet? And this area is renowned for people disappearing.”

“This has happened before?” Rachel asked.

“The Negev Desert is as vast as it is mysterious,” Ayeem said. “A number of unwary travelers have disappeared into its wastelands, never to be seen again.”

“Like Lucy?” she asked in dismay. “You think that she’ll never be seen again?”

“Lucy is different,” Ayeem said soothingly. “We have a trail to follow, and it will lead us to her. Be patient.”

Rachel was quiet for a moment, and then noticed something on the ground beside her. She reached down and picked up what looked to Ethan like a small piece of stone.

“Pottery,” she said, examining it as she walked. “Probably been here for a thousand years. I wouldn’t mind betting you’d find worked metals out here if you looked hard enough.”

“How old would they be?” Ethan asked.

“There’s a Chalcolithic copper mine in the Timna Valley in the southern Negev,” Rachel answered, “that was being mined at least six thousand years ago. There are copper axes in museums that are over seven thousand years old in Europe and America. How could man have invented such metallurgy at the same time in so many different places?”

“Silence,” Ayeem whispered, climbing up lithely over loose rubble.

As he followed Ayeem and Rachel, Ethan found himself able to study Rachel for the first time unnoticed.

Rachel was attractive in an unconventional way, he decided. Her long dark hair framed her features perfectly, her skin was as unblemished as fresh snow, and he’d seen enough of her clear green eyes to know that he’d liked whatever he’d seen there. Her knowledge of history and her determination to find her daughter attracted him even further. If the situation had been any different, he might have even considered … An image of Joanna drifted briefly through his mind and silenced his thoughts. A thin trickle of self-loathing dribbled through his guts as he pictured her suffering somewhere, and he pushed himself angrily up the slope.

“Stay low,” Ayeem cautioned, waving them to keep their heads down.

Ethan followed the Bedouin to the lip of the slope, peering over the edge and down onto a broad plain that stretched away beneath a shimmering blanket of heat toward the Dead Sea.

The camp below them consisted of two large khaki tents pitched at the base of the low cliffs amid a scattering of desiccated trees. Beside the tents were parked two Humvees and a small white jeep. On the far side of the camp, six men in black uniforms sat idly on wooden crates playing cards and smoking, assault rifles scattered around them.

“Is this the site?” Ethan asked.

“Yes,” Ayeem confirmed. “Several of us saw Lucy’s camp while we were traveling out on the plains. You could see her lights for miles at night.”

“Probably why she was found so easily.”

Rachel looked at Ethan sharply. “She was hardly expecting to be abducted.”

“Out here, you need to expect just about anything.”

Ethan retrieved a pair of small binoculars from his rucksack and focused them on the camp. He saw shovels, two pickaxes, and a number of buckets scattered on the hot earth near the tent closest to the cliff face.

“Why are they digging?” he asked Ayeem. “They haven’t built entrenchments, and if they’re guarding a perimeter, then why are they camped against the escarpment?”

“I don’t know,” the Bedouin said.

Ethan handed the binoculars to Rachel and pulled a camera from his rucksack. “I’m going down for a look.”

Ayeem gestured to their right.

“There is a narrow track used by foxes and ibex that leads down to the floor of the plain. You must tread carefully.”

“What happens if they find you?” Rachel asked, somewhat concerned.

Ethan checked his camera and then shrugged. “What can they do? Arrest me?”

“If they find you and this is reported back to the Israeli Defense Force, it may stop them from helping us.”

“They’re not helping us,” Ethan said, making for the track. “That’s why we’re here. MACE’s charter is to guard Israeli assets, not dig up the desert while they’re at it.”

“Wait,” Ayeem said, placing an arm gently but firmly on Ethan’s shoulder.

Ethan saw the old man looking out across the desert. There, walking directly toward the camp, a small group of Bedouin men were appearing through the rippling haze. Ethan grinned.

“A distraction, to give us some time,” the Bedouin said.

Before Rachel could protest further, Ethan slipped over the edge of the slope.