The Forbidden Tomb

47

Dade couldn’t stop thinking about the image of Tarek. It would stay with him for quite some time. ‘What happened to the other one?’

‘The other one?’ Sarah asked.

‘The other goon that chased us. Trust me, Tarek was too dumb to work alone. If he was tracking you to get to me, you can bet that Kamal was there, too.’

‘Kamal who?’

‘Gaz Kamal,’ Dade replied. ‘He’s the uglier, meaner half of the demonic duo.’

‘He was there,’ Cobb assured him. Although he had promised Sarah that she could run the interrogation, he sensed that the conversation was headed in the wrong direction. This was his subtle way to get things back on track. ‘We saw Kamal in the tunnels with six of his men. Seven if you count Tarek.’

‘Wait. What tunnels?’ Dade asked.

Sarah answered. ‘The tunnels beneath the city.’

Dade’s eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. ‘Wait a goddamn minute! That was you? The explosion was you? What in the hell were you thinking? Do you know how many innocent people were killed in the—’

‘Simon,’ she shouted to cut him off, ‘you know damn well that I would never blow up a city. And neither would Jack. We did everything in our power to stop it.’

‘Wait,’ Dade said as he tried to fit the pieces in his head, ‘are you saying that Kamal and Tarek planted the bombs? Why would they do that? That was Hassan’s territory. Do you know how much money he’s going to lose from the blast?’

Sarah shook her head. ‘It wasn’t them, either.’

‘Then I’m really confused.’ Dade clasped his hand behind his head and squeezed the back of his neck. ‘If it wasn’t them and it wasn’t you, who the hell was it?’

Sarah tried to explain. ‘Kamal and Tarek followed us into the tunnels, but someone else followed them. Whoever those guys were, they weren’t messing around. We know they slaughtered at least four of Kamal’s crew, including Tarek himself. They also rigged the tunnels with explosives and collapsed the city block.’

Dade considered the information. He chose to focus on the part of the equation that affected him directly. ‘Do you know if Kamal escaped?’

Sarah nodded. ‘He made it out of the tunnels before the bombs detonated. He might have been swallowed in the rubble, but we have to assume that he’s still alive.’

‘Great,’ he said sarcastically. ‘Glad to hear it.’

‘Believe it or not, it is good news for you,’ Cobb offered.

Dade stared at him. ‘How do you figure?’

‘At least you know what he looks like. I can’t say the same about the bombers.’

Dade shrugged. ‘What does it really matter? It’s not like you’ll be sticking around to deal with them.’

‘Of course we will,’ she said defiantly.

‘No, you won’t,’ Dade argued. ‘We have to get you out of the city as soon as possible. In fact, we need to get you out of the country. I don’t know what you’ve stumbled into, but it’s only going to get worse. Kamal and Hassan will be out for blood, and it’s pretty clear that the other guys don’t give a damn about collateral damage. They were willing to blow up a huge chunk of the city, and I’d be willing to bet that they’re looking for you right now.’

‘Simon,’ she said, ‘you’re not following. We can’t leave the city because the mystery men took a member of our team. We’re not going anywhere until we get her back. And you’re going to help us.’

‘Sarah, I just told you — I’m on the outside looking in. Kamal wants me dead. Hassan wants me tortured. And I have absolutely no idea why anyone would want to blow up a city block. Simply put, I don’t know who you’re looking for.’

‘Listen,’ she shouted, ‘you kept me in the dark about Hassan and his goons. Everything that happened after that — the uninvited guests, the explosion in the city, the disappearance of my friend — it all traces back to your mistake.’

She leaned in closer and whispered in a threatening tone. ‘You might not know who we’re looking for, but you’re damn well going to find out. It’s time to start atoning for your sins, or else I’ll shoot you myself and feed your body to the sharks.’

Cobb watched as a look of panic washed over Dade. His tanned face grew pale. His dark eyes glazed over. His mouth hung open in fear. Cobb had no idea what Sarah had whispered, but it sure as hell was effective.

Dade stammered. ‘I don’t even know where to begin.’

‘We do,’ Cobb said. ‘You can start by looking into the ambulance that the bombers used to escape. We tried to chase it, but it got away from us in the chaos. By the time we caught up to it, the kidnappers were gone and so was our colleague.’

‘Does your colleague have a name?’

‘Of course she does,’ Cobb said, ‘but I’ll be damned if I’m going to tell it to you. So far, you’ve proven to be the least reliable asset I’ve ever worked with. Prove your worth, then we’ll see if we can trust you with her name.’

Although Dade had plenty of reasons to help their cause, Cobb figured it couldn’t hurt to mention that they were looking for a woman. After all, it was the guilt Dade felt from losing a bunch of young girls to the sex trade business that had made him feel indebted to Sarah to begin with, so Cobb decided to use the fact to his advantage.

‘What do you know about the ambulance?’ Dade asked.

Cobb showed him a picture of the vehicle on his phone. ‘Standard issue Volkswagen for Egyptian Emergency Services.’

Dade was familiar with it. ‘Probably stolen in the chaos after the explosion.’

‘I’m not so sure,’ Cobb explained. ‘The driver was wearing a paramedic’s uniform, and his partner was calmly looking through the victims. I could be wrong, but I think they had this planned in advance. Maybe not the kidnapping, but at least the idea to use an ambulance to evacuate injured colleagues from the scene.’

Sarah reached into her bag and handed a street map to Dade. It traced the route of Cobb and McNutt’s pursuit through the city. ‘We need you to reach out to every source you have. Start with those along these streets. Find out if anyone saw anything in the last few days. Maybe someone caught a glimpse of the vehicle or recognized a face. And if you have any clients with surveillance cameras along the route, pull that footage whether they want you to or not. Don’t take no for an answer.’

Dade nodded in understanding.

‘Seriously,’ she stressed, ‘I don’t care if you have to burn every bridge you’ve built in this city to get the information that we need. This is a matter of life or death.’

‘I get it,’ Dade assured her. ‘I’ll start checking right away. Or at least I could have if you hadn’t hurled my phone into the Mediterranean.’

‘When did I do that?’ she asked innocently.

Though it had appeared as if she had tossed his phone into the water, she had actually palmed the device and had thrown a burner phone instead. The sleight of hand not only grabbed Dade’s attention, it had given Cobb the opportunity to hack into his phone.

Using a program that Garcia had given to him before they left, Cobb had secretly copied the phone’s contents — contacts, pictures, texts, and so on — without ever touching the device. Before terminating the wireless connection, Cobb had also inserted a next-generation GPS virus into his phone. Even a surveillance expert like Dade would never notice the tracker because it wasn’t an actual bug. It was merely a line of code that would force his phone to send out a continuous signal for Garcia to follow.

‘Here you go,’ she said as she handed the phone to Dade. ‘I know how much you depend on this thing. It would have been cruel to throw it into the sea.’

Dade grinned at the turn of events. ‘You sneaky devil! That’s the Sarah I remember from six years ago. I’m glad she’s still in there, somewhere, under that rough exterior.’

Sarah laughed as she squeezed his shoulder. ‘Don’t worry, Simon. I’m the same ol’ Sarah from back in the day. Always have been, always will be.’

‘Glad to hear it!’

She leaned in closer and whispered, ‘But here’s the thing. The sweet girl that you remember is the fake Sarah. The real Sarah is the angry one.’

‘If you say so.’

She dug her nails into his skin. ‘Oh, I do say so. And if you fuck me on this, Kamal and Hassan will be the least of your problems. Understood?’

‘Understood,’ he said as he took a step back. ‘Take me back to shore, and I’ll get started right away. I promise.’

Cobb shook his head. ‘Not quite yet. Before we go anywhere, I need you to do me a favor. You’re not going to like it, but you’re going to do it anyway. After all, my life was endangered in the tunnels, too.’

Sarah didn’t know where Cobb was headed, but she knew that Dade didn’t really have a choice. Cobb wasn’t asking; that much was clear.

‘How can I help?’ Dade replied.

‘I need you to personally introduce me to one of your contacts.’

‘Sure. Which one?’

‘Your pal Hassan.’

Dade laughed. ‘You’re kidding, right?’

Cobb stared at him. ‘Do I look like I’m kidding?’

‘Please don’t take this the wrong way, but fuck you, Jack! It’s not gonna happen! The guy wants me dead!’

‘And I’m offering you a way to get back on his good side,’ Cobb assured him. ‘Take me to see Hassan, and I promise that you’ll survive the meeting.’