Solomon's Gold

CHAPTER 37

The hotel Herzog had picked for Nick could have been on a beach in any tourist destination. Brilliant white walls glittered in the desert sun. Stepped terraces and wide windows overlooked the Gulf of Aqaba, at the tip of the Red Sea. The rooms were pleasant, clean and modern.

Nick stood on the patio outside their room, looking out at the mountains of Jordan on the other side of the Gulf. Selena stood next to him, sipping a glass of orange juice.

"Hell of a strategic location," Nick said. "Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and if you stretch a little bit, Saudi Arabia all come together here."

"It's always been important," Selena said. "It was conquered by King David when it was part of Edom. Solomon's mines were nearby, at Timna."

"Solomon's mines? Gold?"

"No, copper. They still take copper out of there, but most of it is a protected park. It's a big tourist destination."

"I wonder why Solomon didn't hide his treasure there?"

"He probably thought it would be too easy for someone to find it," Selena said.

"Eilat is essential for Israel's survival," Nick said. "Everything comes up through here. Oil, goods, you name it. Every time the Arabs tried to block the sea routes, it started a war. First it was the Suez crisis in '56. Then the Six-Day War in '67."

"Amazing, that Israel survived."

Nick nodded. "They're fighters, the Israelis. You have to hand it to them. They've been at war since 1948. Eilat even has its own independent defense force. It includes pretty much everyone over sixteen who lives here."

"They need one," Selena said. "This is a tempting target for the fundamentalists. Particularly coming from Egypt."

"The Israelis have built an electric fence along the border to keep them out."

"It may keep them out, but it will also keep us from getting into Egypt," Selena said. "How are we going to do it?"

Nick looked at his watch. "I think the only way is from the water. Ronnie and Lamont will be here in a couple of minutes. We'll talk about it then."

Selena leaned on the patio railing. It was a beautiful, winter day. The temperature was in the low seventies. Fluffy wisps of white cloud drifted across a deep blue sky that might have been painted by a Renaissance master. Sunbathers covered the smooth sands of the crowded beach in front of the hotel. The excited cries of children running through the surf drifted up to her.

It was hard to reconcile the scene of relaxed comfort and normal human actions with the constant menace that surrounded this pleasant spot.

"I'm sorry about Rivka," Selena said. "I didn't get a chance to know her, but I can see why you liked her."

"Yeah. I think the two of you would have gotten along fine. I'd love to get my hands on the son of a bitch who sent those people after us."

"We'll probably never know who it was."

Ronnie and Lamont came out onto the patio.

"Man, what a beautiful day," Lamont said. "Makes me want to put on a suit and head for the beach."

"Maybe when we get back," Nick said. "Pull up a couple of chairs. We'll talk out here, in the open."

"You think they might have bugged the room?" Ronnie asked.

"I wouldn't put it past them. Pretty convenient, don't you think? Ari puts us up in this nice hotel, all expenses paid. Who can turn down a deal like that?"

"You have a suspicious mind, Nick," Lamont said. "One of the reasons we get along."

"I want to talk about the target, and about the politics we're mixed up in."

"What politics?" Ronnie asked.

"I talked with Harker earlier. We're skating on thin ice with Corrigan. Harker says that Corrigan's Chief of Staff is out for blood, and we look like a pretty good sacrifice to political correctness and budget control."

"Those people never learn," Lamont said. "What else is new?"

"The best thing that could happen is that we find that damn gold and we don't have to kill anybody to do it."

"Works for me," Ronnie said. He raised his hand and rubbed the back of his neck.

"How are you feeling, Ronnie?" Nick asked.

Ronnie's face was still swollen and bruised from his fall.

"I'm okay. I get headaches once in a while. A couple of aspirin takes care of it."

"You're sure."

"I'm okay, Nick."

"All right."

Nick had a white beach bag by his chair. He reached down into it and took out a map he'd marked with the location of the ruins discovered in the scan. He spread it out in front of them.

"I have satellite shots on my phone, but this is all we need."

He tapped the site of the temple with his finger.

"The scan turned up what was probably Ezion-geber, buried under the sand. Not far away, there's an old Egyptian temple."

He pointed at the map. "It's about twelve miles south of here. There's not much left of it except a floor and a few columns. The scan showed a large space underneath it. Harker thinks that's where the gold may be hidden. The ruins are about a hundred yards from the shore."

"We could rent a zodiac," Lamont said.

"That's what I was thinking," Nick said. "There are a lot of underwater parks and attractions here. A lot of people rent boats. We'll get a boat and say we're going snorkeling. We can rent whatever gear we need. I want to wait until dark to go ashore in Egypt. Unless we run into an Egyptian patrol, we should be able to land and get to the target without interference."

"A patrol would be bad luck," Ronnie said.

"Yeah, it would. If we do, we have to try not to kill them."

"Fat chance of that," Lamont said. "Those guys have to be trigger-happy. Can we get better weapons? All we have are our pistols."

"I asked Harker," Nick said. "No dice."

"What about the Israelis?" Selena asked. "They must have patrol boats out there. They'll spot us."

"Harker can't help us. We're supposed to be minding our own business and the Israelis aren't going to cooperate. We'll stick close to shore and play it by ear. It's not a great plan, but I don't see any alternatives."

"And when we get to the temple?"

"We find a way into the space underneath it," Nick said.

He reached into the bag and took out a baseball sized lump of what looked like cheese-colored putty.

"I kept back some of that Semtex I gave to Herzog. Also the detonator. Just in case."

"You sly old dog, you," Lamont said.

"Easy with the old part, Lamont. If we can't find a way in, we'll blow a hole through that floor. I also kept our climbing gear. We can drop a rope and see what's in there."

"I hope there aren't any spiders," Selena said.