Before he could stand up, it transformed from the feet up. The surprise knocked him on his butt and he sat on the pavement, sprawled in wonder. "Damali?"
"Yeah-and where have you been?" she said, putting one hand on her hip.
Carlos was on his feet in two seconds. "Boo! Girl! It's you!"
They both laughed as he swept her up and whirled her around. The image of the old man's dance grazed his mind and made tears come to his eyes. She was back, whole, and had shape-shifted, no less! Messages and signs had been all around him. He danced a jig with her like she was a rag doll, laughing and squeezing her harder.
"Oh, my God, D-I was so worried, so much went down. The plane crashed, we all got out, angels came, old seers hijacked me to an island-girl, I have to tell you so much stuff-"
"I know, I know," she said, laughing through the tears. "The Council of Queens kicked my butt, read me hard, sent me into the streets, I was lost-you cool-everybody good? Where is everybody anyway?"
"All right, all right," he said, kissing her face and wiping his with sweaty palms. "I'll fill you in as we walk, you tell me all that happened to you and how you did that awesome bird thing in broad daylight-there's this place up the way where we can get some kebabs andshai bi-laban to get a grub on before we head to Meroe. Cool?"
"Wait," she said, picking up her stones and placing them in her robe pocket while laughing. "Before you even tell me about this new jawn, Meroe-you've been in Khartoum how long, and you know the restaurants and can speak Arabic?"
He threaded his arm around her waist. "Girl, you know I've got mad survival skills. Why you gonna front on me and ask me something like that?" He kissed her temple, making her giggle and shake her head, as he gave her a sly wink. "But, uh, my pockets are a little light right through here, baby. I forgot. You got any money?"
"OH, MAN, what I wouldn't give to check into the Hilton." Rider briefly closed his eyes and rubbed his neck as the teams stood in the long customs line within Khartoum Airport's dense throngs of wayfarers. He glanced at Father Patrick and dropped his voice low enough so that only his teammates could hear him. "Can't you make peace with your people and maybe pull some strings in high places?"
"No," the elder cleric said in a testy tone. "As soon as we go wherever we go, I'm no longer willing to bear this crest," he said, motioning to the knights of Templar insignia on his robe. "I am ashamed of that history. How can I not be, now that I've stood on honest hallowed ground and felt the pulse of truth?" He swallowed hard and looked away, angrily, at the airport crowd. "Reading about it is one thing, feeling it through your bones is another. There is genocide happening here, like it has so many places on so many continents. Almost two million people... But no one with power seems to care to intervene. Again, just like always."
"Dude, I hear you," Rider said, going to the older priest to put a steady hand on his shoulder as the other road-weary members of their group tensed for a potential outburst. "I was just joking about the Hilton," Rider said, making his voice low and calm to invite Father Patrick's to do the same. "Not here, though." Rider's eyes met Father Patrick's and the momentary silence between them drowned out the multinational din around them. "We'll discuss all that later."
Father Patrick reluctantly nodded and looked away as Rider dropped his hand from his shoulder.
"If you want to do the Hilton," Dan said very calmly, "we can do that."
The group looked at him.
"Talk to me," Shabazz said in a quiet tone that contained hope.
"The cash is gone, courtesy of the Ethiopian authorities, for our so-called flight expenses-even though that should have only used a third of the bankroll that was in my backpack," he said with an angry sigh. "But, hey. Road taxes, I suppose."
"It's cool, though," Big Mike offered, his huge shoulders sagging from pure exhaustion. "We're alive and not detained on some bogus formality. So, let's get back to the part about the Hilton, that oasis image I have in my mind of hot water, a bed, and some basic, regulation grub."
Dan reached into the sack and unzipped a compartment, producing an array of gold and platinum credit cards like a card dealer's fan. "Good as cash," he said with triumph in his voice. "The way I see it is, we get through customs, find an AMEX counter in the airport, or whatever, do a cash advance. From here, we call the Hilton and make a reservation and get their shuttle to pick us up. That way, we go in a marked van and don't have to take our chances on the street. Then we check in, and me and J.L. can scout for team clothes-again, using credit to conserve the cash we'll need to help grease local police palms if we get into another jam. We eat, we rest, and then we all get in the same space and try to use our seers to lock in on any locations of the missing."
"You'd bettergo , boy," Shabazz said with deep appreciation in his voice. "All right." He smiled and offered Dan his fist to pound, which Dan did with admiration in his eyes. "You just stepped up."
"No doubt," Jose murmured with respect. "That was an awesome move back there with the authorities, too."
CHAPTER TWELVE
"Smooth," Big Mike said quietly. "Professional."
Dan smiled, a rosy tinge entering his cheeks. "Thanks, guys. I've been doing a lot of thinking, ya know. Like, the fact that they saw two extra passports and recognized our girl... maybe our man, might be working to our advantage," he added in a conspiratorial, private tone, and speaking in quasi code while the line inched forward.
Marlene nodded and smiled. "Follow your gut, baby. Finish the thought. Just let it flow."
"The media will broadcast her possible death over a holy site-which makes sense, since she was supposed to be on a religious pilgrimage."
Berkfield stepped in closer. "Our man's mug shot is very recognizable, too. It won't be long before they make a link to him and also show him missing and assumed dead."
"That's where I was going," Dan said, struggling to keep the excitement from raising the level of his voice as he began using his hands to talk. "The compound going up will be added to the news-either wildfire or speculation about our man's past. Either way, it will explain her need to find religion, as well as any explosions from our ammo."
J.L. chuckled. "And the reason we had such tight security, all the high-tech gadgets they may find in the charred rubble is because her lover had some nefarious origins." He shook his head. "You're the man."
"We work it," Berkfield whispered, gaining nods from the group. "Cover our tracks."