will be withdrawn and it won’t be offered again.”
Talal smiled. “You want all of us to surrender to you?”
“Not just to me.”
“Who, then? You were not followed here. We know that for a fact.”
“You’re right. I wasn’t followed here.”
Talal blinked and then looked around. “You speak gibberish. I expected better from you. You are obviously paralyzed with fear.”
“Trust me, it would take a lot more than your fat ass to make me afraid.” Before Talal could respond, Robie added, “I’m just making the offer. It’s up to you to take it or not. Do you refuse?”
“What I think I will do is watch all three of you die, right now.”
“I’ll take that as a no,” said Robie.
“Abdullah, kill him,” said Talal.
Abdullah drew two guns. It only took a moment, but he flipped one pistol to Robie, who used it to shoot three of the men closest to him, including the young man who had first met him. The bullet wound joined the knife wound on his neck as his life ended.
Abdullah fired twice, killing two other guards.
When the other men drew their weapons, Robie emptied his mag at them, grabbed Vance and Julie, and pulled them behind the front landing gear of the jet.
“Cover your ears,” said Robie to them.
“What?” said Vance.
“Just do it. Now.”
“Abdullah!” he shouted and the big man threw himself to the side and slid behind the van.
An instant later the right-side window of the hangar blew open, shattered by massive rounds from a thirty-millimeter chain gun. Next, rifle rounds fired through this opening slammed into the remaining guards. The shots were fired so fast and with such spot-on accuracy that the men had no chance even to fire back. One by one they dropped until the only one left standing was Talal. When two more men appeared at the door of the jet, they were immediately shot. Their bodies fell to the floor, making dull thunks on the cement.
Outside the window the chopper hovered, its thirty-mil chain gun mounted between the front landing gears now silent. It was a stealth aircraft. And the rain had covered any sounds it had made. Until the chain gun had opened up, that is. There were few things on earth that could cover the noise a thirty-mil made.
Shane Connors slid his self-loading sniper rifle off the metal support and kissed the hot barrel, his longtime ritual. He gave Robie a salute from the chopper and then signaled to the pilot. The chopper slowly moved off.
Robie came out from behind the landing gear and approached Talal. Abdullah rose from behind the van and joined him.
Talal gazed at Abdullah in disbelief. “You betrayed me?”
“How do you think we got on to you in the first place, Talal?” said Robie. “And if you can buy off our people, we can buy off yours.”
Robie lifted his gun. Talal stared at him. “So you kill me now?”
“No. It’s out of my hands. I’m sorry.”
“You’re apologizing for not killing me?” Talal said slowly.
The hangar door opened and a gold SUV pulled in. Inside were five men, all in robes. All armed. They got out of the car, lifted Talal up, and carried him to the vehicle. He screamed and tried to break free, but he was a man of little muscle and he soon gave up.
“You’re going back to Saudi Arabia, Talal,” said Robie. “The Americans have officially turned you over to your countrymen. I think you would have preferred the bullet.”
The SUV drove off and Robie beckoned to Vance and Julie.
“There’s a chopper outside that will take us to our ride home,” he said quietly. “And there’s a medical crew on board.”
Vance and Julie crept out from behind the landing gear.
Vance hugged him and said, “I don’t know how you managed all this, Robie. But I’m sure as hell glad you did.”
Julie looked at the departing truck and said, “What will they do to him?”
“There’s no reason for you to waste a second of your life thinking about it.”
“Why did he kill my mom and dad?”
“I promise you that once we make sure you and Agent Vance are okay, and we put a few miles between us and this place and get some food in both your stomachs, I will answer all your questions, okay?”
“Okay, Will,” said Julie.
Robie put one supporting arm around Vance and held his other out to Julie, who took it. They walked over to the waiting helicopter, which had set down in front of the hangar. Within the hour they would