Dark Zone

80

The stairwell that extended upward from the second floor of the Eiffel Tower was far more exposed than the ones below, and Karr could feel the wind whipping at him as he trotted up the steps. There were five or six men above him, across the opposite pier. A pair of elevator shafts ran through the center of the structure to the top, but only one was being operated. Its car rose slowly past the cluster of painters.

Or supposed painters. Karr still hadn’t seen any paint cans or brushes or other equipment. Just coveralls that could hide quite a bit.

“Stand by for Mr. Rubens,” said Rockman.

“You sound out of breath,” Karr told him as he climbed. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were the one climbing the stairs.”

“Tommy, I’m on the line with the national security adviser.”

“Hello,” said Karr. He quickened his pace as he turned the corner, trying to keep the painters in sight. There were roughly a thousand steps to the top; Karr had gone up about a third of them. The men were two-thirds of the way to the third étage.

It looked to him as if one was taking off his coverall.

“What’s going on?” asked Hadash.

“We’ve just found a formula to damage the top part of the Eiffel Tower using six bombs placed together on one of the main girders,” said Rubens. “We’re going to alert the French authorities. I’d like you to—”

Karr cut him off. “You’d better do it quick,” he said, running up the stairway. “They’re wearing explosive vests under their coveralls. That’s how they got the explosives in.”