The Cup

CHAPTER 34

The base at Incirlik hadn't changed much since the last time they'd been there. They were met by a man in civilian clothes who introduced himself by his last name, Monell. His eyes were hidden behind old-style aviator sunglasses. He led them to a blue Chevy suburban parked nearby.

Lamont looked around the base as they drove away from the hangers. "Seems kind of busy."

Monell nodded. "It's the war in Syria. They're flying missions all the time."

"Any problems with the Russians?" Nick asked.

"Every day. Most of it doesn't make the press, but there are always incidents. Some hotshot pilot in an SU-35 will come too close. It's only a question of time before something happens. When it does, all bets are off."

"That's an encouraging thought," Selena said, "that some jet jockey just out of adolescence could touch off World War III."

"Let me guess," Nick said. "Langley sent you."

"I work for the DNCS Monroe," Monell said. "I'm supposed to give this to you."

He handed Nick a package. Lucas Monroe was Stephanie's husband and Director of National Clandestine Services at Langley, responsible for CIA's operations in the field.

"He had good things to say about you," Monell said.

"The feeling is mutual."

Nick opened the package. It contained satellite shots, a detailed roadmap of Turkey, plans and photographs of the monastery. Nick took out one of the pictures and looked at it.

"I don't believe this," he said.

Selena looked at him. "Believe what?"

"See this picture of the monastery? That's the building I saw in my dream last night."

"You're kidding."

"I wish I was."

"How could you dream about a building you've never seen?"

"How the hell do I know? Why does my ear itch when the shit is about to hit the fan?"

Monell started to say something and changed his mind.

"What dream?" Ronnie asked.

"I had a dream last night that I was standing in front of the building in this photograph."

He handed the picture to Ronnie.

"That's the monastery?"

"Yep."

"Where I come from, dreams are important. My auntie used to say Spider Woman sends dreams to help us understand something."

"Who's Spider Woman?"

"She's one of our most important benefactors," Ronnie said. "She taught the People how to weave and grow our food. What else was in the dream?"

"There was a voice."

"A voice? What did it say?"

"Pay attention."

"Pay attention? That's all?"

"Yeah. Scared the hell out of me. It was a deep, booming voice, the kind of voice you can't ignore."

"Cool," Lamont said.

"You wouldn't say that if it had been talking to you," Nick said.

"I had a cousin that used to have dreams like that," Monell said.

"You did?"

"Not a lot of dreams, but once in a while this voice would pop up and say something. It was always something important. He had one of those just before he died."

"What happened to him?"

"Well, we'd been planning this trip to the Grand Canyon for a long time. We were getting ready to leave but something turned up and I couldn't make it. The night before he left, he had one of those dreams. The voice told him not to go alone, to stay home. When he told me about it, he laughed it off. The last thing he was going to do was cancel the trip of a lifetime."

"So what happened?"

"He was hiking a secondary trail that leads down from the rim to the bottom of the canyon. It's not used much. He slipped and that was all she wrote."

"He should have listened to his dream," Ronnie said.

"Yeah. I guess so."

Monell didn't say anything after that. They got into the suburban. He drove them to a hangar and stopped by a blue Toyota Highlander with Turkish plates.

"Here's your ride. I'm told it's in pretty good shape. Do any of you speak Turkish?"

"I do," Selena said, "enough to get by."

"You know about baksheesh?"

"Of course."

"Bribes go a long way here," Monell said. "You're going to leave the base by one of our lesser exits. There are guards posted there but it's been taken care of."

He took out a fat envelope and handed it to Nick. It was full of Turkish Lira.

"You'll need this. One lira is worth a little over thirty cents. Thirty-four, the last time I looked." He glanced at his watch. "Time for you to leave. Once you're off the base, you're on your own."

"How about coming back?"

"No problem there. Go to the main gate. You'll be on the list."

They got into the Highlander. Monell led them to the gate in his suburban.

"Keep your eyes open," he said. "There are a lot of angry assholes out there and some of them don't like Americans much."

"We're used to it," Lamont said.

Monell got into his Chevy and headed back onto the base. They stopped at the gate for a brief conversation with the guards and drove away. One of the guards went back into his shack, took out a cell phone and began talking.

In Raqqa, Abdul Haddad had just returned from a public execution, the stoning of a woman accused of adultery. It was important that the leaders of the movement demonstrate support for the rules laid down by the Messenger. Haddad had cast the first stone.

Haddad's intelligence network had been damaged by efforts to destroy the caliphate but it was still effective and widespread. Now one of his agents called him on the encrypted phone.

"Yes."

Haddad listened and asked a question. He ended the conversation as Nawabi came into his office.

"The Americans are in Turkey," Haddad said. "They were seen at the airbase at Incirlik."

"Are they still there?"

"No, but they're being followed. They went east. The relic must still be in Turkey."

"It can't be at Sumela," Nawabi said. "We searched thoroughly."

"Take your men into Turkey and catch up with them. If they find the cup, take it and kill them. If they don't, kill them anyway."