Mission of Honor

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Maria Corneja knew that she should not think when she was tired. At those times, her thoughts were cynical, pessimistic. And that was not what she needed now.

But she could not help herself. She was what she was.

The woman was still perched on the back of the Jeep. The wind was keeping her alert as she looked out at the extraordinary blackness. As vivid as the stars were, their indifference bothered her. They were the same as they had been when apes with no ambition crossed the salt pan. They would be the same when the earth was a dead ball.

So what are we all doing this for? she wondered. The stars will burn, the world will turn, and life will go on, whether we succeed or not. If I were to leave now, nothing would change.

Except for one thing. However impassive the universe was, Maria still had to face herself in the morning. And she wanted to be able to do so with a sense that she had been true to herself. Unfortunately, she was not quite sure what that meant in this case. She did not believe that Leon Seronga was a bad man. As far as she could tell, his tactics had not been excessive. And his ambitions seemed to be moral. Unfortunately, they were also illegal.

Still, she wondered what she would do when it came time. Even though she had worked for Interpol, she had never been a company player. It had always been a question of right versus wrong. Fortunately, Interpol had usually been on the side of right.

Then there was Darrell. He was probably insane with anger, worry, and resentment. Maybe he was even a little proud of her, though that was probably buried deep. She refused to think about any of that. If she let herself be influenced by his emotions, her own would get fired up. This situation did not need more passion. It needed as much calm reason as she could summon.

As Maria's mind probed the blackness, her eyes did the same. She was watching for the arrival of Dhamballa and the Brush Vipers. It was not announced by lights on the horizon but by Seronga's truck speeding up. Within moments, he had pulled alongside the Jeep.

"My group is close by!" Seronga shouted. "They are less than four miles from here, at Lake Septone. We will meet them there."

"Have all the Brush Vipers arrived?" Aideen asked.

"Yes!" Seronga told her. "They are deploying themselves among the rocks around the lake. You might want to pass that along to your superiors. They can inform Gaborone."

"I wouldn't advise that," Battat said. "They might think it was provocative rather than defensive."

Maria knew that it was both. Even if the Brush Vipers did not intend to challenge the choppers, their action suggested they were ready to do so. In Seronga's position, she would have done exactly the same.

The truck pulled in front, and the Jeep followed. Obviously, Seronga was no longer concerned about the Op-Center team leaving. Perhaps he had decided to trust them. Decisions were easy when there were no options.

They reached the lake in less than ten minutes. It was not quite the fortress Maria had pictured. In the glow of the headlights she saw less than a dozen boulders the size of desk chairs. They were clumped here and there where some ancient flood must have deposited them. The lake itself was less than a square mile. It did not appear to be very deep. Maria thought she could see reeds jutting out from the center of the water.

As they neared the lake, the truck driver killed his headlights. Only the parking lights remained on. Aideen did likewise. It was a strange sensation to be moving through near-

absolute darkness. Yet the vastness of the land did not go away. The sounds from the vehicles seemed to travel forever. It was different than a sound that echoed from a group of trees or a canyon wall. It just rolled out and diminished slowly.

The truck stopped. So did the Jeep. Several lanterns were turned on along the lake. People were approaching. Seronga switched on his own flashlight and walked toward them.

Battat sidled up to Maria. Aideen joined them.

"How do you want to handle this?" Battat asked.

"I think that's up to Seronga," Aideen said.

"Shouldn't we be involved in the discussions?" Battat pressed.

"Yes," Maria agreed. "Before they become carved in stone."

She started forward briskly. The other two came after her. As they walked, it occurred to Maria that this was how warring tribes must have approached each other five thousand years before. She could not decide whether it was exciting to be a part of that history or whether it was sad because we had not advanced very much in all those centuries.

As they approached, Maria felt something in the air. It was an extremely low vibration, like the rumble from a subwoofer. It felt as if it were coming from the ground, but that was not the case. The ground was trembling slightly from whatever was causing her to shake.

What was just a hint of motion became more pronounced over the next few seconds. Maria stopped and looked up.

"Do you feel that?" she asked.

Aideen and Battat also stopped.

"I do now," Battat said. "Feels like a tank."

"Not a tank," Maria said.

They heard a low hum. She looked among the stars. Finally, she saw one that was moving.

"A scout," she said. "They sent out scout choppers."

She started running toward the lake.

"Seronga!" Maria shouted.

"I see it!" he shouted back.

"No lights!" he cried even louder. "Everyone shut their lanterns!"

Along the lake, the lanterns snapped off. But as the light in the sky grew larger and the sound became louder, Maria had a feeling they were too late.