The Exodus Quest

II

'I'm getting you a lawyer,' Augustin yelled out to Claire, hobbling up the steps after her. 'Not a word until he arrives. Understand?' She nodded as she was bundled into the back of the police car, her complexion alarmingly pale. 'I'll be right behind you,' he promised. 'I won't let you out of my sight.' But as the door slammed closed and they began pulling away, he remembered too late that he'd crashed his bike.

Mansoor came to join him. 'Don't worry. It'll sort itself out.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' snarled Augustin. 'You know what it's like here once people get caught up in the system.'

'What are you so worked up about her for? She's one of them, isn't she?'

'No, she's not. She's one of us. She made her choice and she chose us.'

'Yes, but-'

'You have to drive me back to Alexandria. I need to get her out.'

'I can't,' grunted Mansoor. 'This place comes first. You must see that.'

'Bullshit. We already have security. Get on the phone, arrange more if you want. Everything else can wait till morning. It's already waited two thousand years, after all.'

'I'm sorry, my friend.'

'I gave her my word,' protested Augustin. 'I promised I'd stay with her.'

'Yes, but-'

'Please, Mansoor. I've done a lot for Egypt, haven't I?'

'Of course.'

'And for you too.' Mansoor's son was studying medicine at a prestigious university in Paris, thanks in large part to strings pulled by Augustin.

'Yes.'

'And I've never asked you for anything in return before.'

'What are you talking about? You're always asking for things. How about my GPS, that remote-controlled aircraft? Where is that, by the way?'

Augustin waved his quibble aside. 'I'm serious, Mansoor. Claire's not at fault. She's really not. She's behaved well in difficult circumstances. She's risked her whole future to put things right. You saw Farooq. He wants a scapegoat. Someone to interrogate, to bully, to take his anger out on. If he can't find Peterson or Knox, he'll make do with her.'

Mansoor sighed. 'What can I do?'

'Tell him that Claire was a whistleblower, the one who originally contacted the SCA with concerns about Peterson and this dig. Tell him she was the reason Omar and Knox came out here in the first place.'

'He'll never believe me.'

'He doesn't have to. Just as long as he can't prove anything.'

Mansoor grimaced unhappily. 'You really think it'll work?'

'There's only one way to find out.'

'You'll owe me big for this.'

'Yes,' acknowledged Augustin. 'I will.'