in a country oppressed by terrorism. We cannot delay our work over one missing foreigner who knew damned well that she shouldn’t have been there.”
“What about Gaza?” Ethan insisted. “I have friends there. If you can arrange visas, then we could travel into the Strip and ask around for—”
“That also will not be possible,” Malik cut in with an insincere smile. “Gaza is too dangerous and it would not be politically prudent for us to request a search within the territory.”
Ethan turned to look at Rok, who shook his head.
“We can’t allow you access to the Gazan territories without risking further abductions or political repercussions from their leadership. I’m sorry we can’t help you further.”
Ethan felt a lance of anger pierce his guts.
“You’re not helping, you’re hindering. Lucy’s been missing for over forty-eight hours and we’re running out of time for political niceties. If you’re right and her abductors are trying to affect the peace process, then Lucy only has twenty-four hours to live. Are you willing to act or not?”
The air in the room suddenly felt thick and heavy. Rok set his glass down and stood up, peering at Rachel over the bridge of his nose.
“We will continue to try to resolve this tragedy, but I must ask that for security’s sake you do not inform the media of your daughter’s disappearance.”
Rachel appealed quickly to Ambassador Cutler as Shiloh Rok turned and left the room.
“If anything is heard, you will let me know as soon as possible?”
“Of course,” Cutler promised.
Ethan watched as two young men in smart suits with cropped hair and a military bearing appeared in the doorway and Spencer Malik gestured to them.
“Agents Cooper and Flint here will act as your escort. Obey them at all times. They are here to protect you.”
With that, Malik turned and left the room.
“Brilliant work,” Rachel snapped at Ethan.
“We’re wasting our time,” Ethan said, gesturing to where Rok had been sitting. “He was never going to help us.”
“How the hell do you know?”
“Been here before.”
“And you think that they’re conspiring to ensure that I never find my daughter?”
Ambassador Cutler spoke quietly. “They’re not conspiring. I suspect that they genuinely fear any further abductions from within their borders, or the media uncovering the story and upsetting the peace process with baseless conjecture or accusations.”
Rachel turned to Ethan with a venomous look in her eyes. “So, what’s your next genius move?”
Ethan ignored her sarcasm and thought for a moment.
“We talk to people who knew what Lucy was doing out in the desert, starting with Hans Karowitz. The Negev isn’t entirely devoid of life and Spencer Malik said that Lucy’s dig site was near Masada. If we’re lucky, Karowitz may know something that Shiloh Rok doesn’t.”
Spencer Malik walked outside the embassy and lit a cigarette, watching as a stocky Arab man emerged from a car nearby and approached. The index finger of his left hand was missing, an injury Malik had once been told he’d suffered in the Balkans at the hands of Chechen rebels years before. Now, he wore black leather gloves to conceal the disfigurement.
“I have work for you, Rafael,” Malik said as he walked down the steps.
“Something else that you can’t handle?” Rafael murmured in a soft voice touched with an Arabic lilt.
“Find out what you can about an Ethan Warner,” Malik said, ignoring the jibe. “The name seems familiar to me. Get this guy’s life history as soon as possible and let me know what you find.”
“It shall be done,” Rafael said, glancing at the building behind them. “But why would you be concerned with an American? Byron Stone will consider it a waste of resources and …”
Malik looked down at the Arab as they reached a large black SUV parked nearby, puffing his chest out as he spoke. “Byron Stone pays you to do what I damn well tell you to do. I just saw Ethan Warner insult the Foreign Ministry’s representative. If he’s willing to do that, then he’s likely to cause more trouble. Get on it.”
HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM
GIVAT RAM CAMPUS
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem lay outside the Old City near the district of Rechavia, perched atop Mount Scopus. Ethan guided Rachel around the immense campus using a hastily scribbled set of directions, their MACE escort following, and after retracing his steps more than once finally located the Berman Building.
The Natural History Collections and Institute of Archaeology was enveloped in a hushed atmosphere as Ethan led Rachel through a maze of corridors, Cooper and Flint following in