The Exodus Quest

FIFTY-THREE
I

Nasser was wheezing hard by the time he brought the rope back up to Khaled and Faisal at the top of the cliff.

'Abdullah?' asked Faisal.

'No,' said Nasser.

Faisal looked sickened. 'It's over,' he said. 'We're finished.'

'What are you talking about?'

'What do you think I'm talking about? Abdullah's dead. How are we going to explain this?'

'We say we got worried after that policeman visited with his story about mysterious foreigner voices,' scowled Khaled. 'We say we decided to go out searching for them ourselves. Abdullah slipped and fell. A tragedy, but not our fault. It's that policeman's fault for feeding us false information.'

'No one will believe that.'

'You listen to me, you snivelling little coward,' shouted Khaled. 'We see this through. We see this through together. You understand?'

'Yes.'

'Yes, what?'

'Yes, sir.'

'That's better.' Khaled glared back and forth between Faisal and Nasser, then looped the rope around the rock once more, thinking about how to make best use of his limited resources. No way could he trust Faisal up here alone; he'd run like the coward he was the first chance he got. 'Nasser, you stay here. Guard our backs. Faisal, you come down with me.'

'But I-'

Khaled pressed the muzzle of his Walther against Faisal's cheek. 'You do exactly as you're damned well ordered,' he yelled. 'Am I clear?'

'Yes, sir.'