The Solomon Scroll

CHAPTER 40

On the way in from the airport Nick filled Lamont in on what had happened since he'd left.

"How's Steph doing?"

"Better. Lucas says she spends a lot of time reading."

"This guy Al-Bayati sounds like a real piece of work."

"That he is."

"How's my replacement working out?"

"Diego is all right," Nick said. "He just needs a little seasoning."

Lamont smiled. "I'll bet you're just the one to do it."

Inside Project headquarters, Diego and the others were in Elizabeth's office.

"So you're the new guy," Lamont said.

"And you must be the old guy." Diego held out his hand. "Diego Ramirez."

They shook hands. "Lamont Cameron. Nick said you were with the Rangers?"

"The 75th."

"Getting a little multicultural round here, Nick. All you need now is someone from the Air Force."

"Or the Coast Guard," Nick said.

"Are you through?" Elizabeth asked. "Because if you are, I'd like to start talking about the mission."

"Sorry director," Lamont said. He sat down on the couch, next to Nick and Selena.

Elizabeth sighed. "Sure you are. Sometimes I think nothing ever changes. I'm glad to see you back, Lamont."

"Thanks. I admit, I missed it."

"All right, let's get down to business. Joe has done a little snooping around with the satellite over Ethiopia. He thinks he can put you in the area where that star is marked on Ephram's map."

"Before I start, let me qualify this," Eggleston said. "I'm going on the assumption that the map is accurate and that the star is where it says it is. The only identifying mark in the area is the dot I think is Adigrat. Here's what I came up with using that and the columns as points of reference."

He touched a key on his laptop. A satellite photo of mountainous country appeared on the wall monitor.

"You're looking at the Tigray Region. It covers a big part of northern Ethiopia, including the city of Adigrat. It's sparsely populated. Rugged country, a lot like our Southwest with flat top mesas, high buttes and deep canyons."

The picture zoomed in until they could see the canyons weaving through the mountains. Eggleston zeroed in on one of them.

"This is west of Adigrat. There's nothing in that part of the region except a few abandoned monasteries."

"Monks lived there?" Selena asked.

"Some still do. There's a famous monastery in the area called Debre Damo. It's part way up a cliff. If you want to get in they haul you up on a leather rope."

"I'd love to see what an Ethiopian monastery is like."

"They wouldn't let you in. Men only."

"That figures."

"Anyway, this is what I've come up with."

"It still doesn't give us a specific location," Nick said. "That's a big area."

Eggleston shrugged. "It's the best I can do without more information."

"Did you try Onyx?" Elizabeth asked.

"Onyx?"

"It's a NRO system that uses ground penetrating radar."

NRO stood for National Reconnaissance Office, the Pentagon's satellite surveillance program.

"No, I didn't think of that," Joe said.

"You remember that card I showed you with the satellite and communication codes?"

"Of course. You know I have an eidetic memory."

"Onyx is number sixteen on the card. Use it to scan the target area and see if anything shows up."

"What am I looking for?"

"Some kind of underground structure. A cave or something man-made. If anything is there, Onyx will find it. The latest version is much more powerful than its predecessors."

"What if we can't pin something down with the satellite?" Nick asked.

"Then you'll have to do a ground surveillance and hope for the best. Lamont, how's your Ethiopian these days?"

"Rusty as hell, Director. My grandma made me learn. She was the only one who spoke it. I can get by but that's about it."

"Good enough. Let's see what Joe turns up with the satellites. Nick, go ahead and plan the mission based on what we know. Assume you'll be on the ground for several days. Judging from that countryside, you might have to do some climbing."

"Transport?"

"The Gulfstream will attract too much attention in that part of the world. Take a commercial flight to Addis Ababa and ship your weapons by diplomatic pouch to the embassy. Keep it light, you're not going into a war zone. I'll set it up. You can pick everything up when you get there. From Addis Ababa you'll have to go overland."

"Al-Bayati is still out there. He's been in the middle of everything and he could show up. How do you want us to handle it if he does?"

"You mean rules of engagement?"

Nick nodded.

"What do you think?"

"I think we give him an express ticket to hell."

"Just don't let the Ethiopians catch you," Elizabeth said.