All eyes turned to the door as ten men, followed by one in a black suit, entered the room. The ten civilian-attired personnel started kicking at the downed men and began removing them from the room, not too gently either, the handcuffed man noticed with pleasure. He also noticed they left his bearded attacker behind because of his sheer size.
The dark-haired man who was still wearing the white coveralls placed the crown of Ramses II back into the crate and then placed the wooden sides and top back on. He faced the man in the black suit as he in turn placed a set of handcuffs on Dr. Hasan Mobbari.
“General, thank you for the cooperation.”
The tall, thin Egyptian pushed Mobbari to the floor until the portly man was on his knees, and then the newcomer held out his hand.
“Knock it off, Jack. We’ve come too far for that kind of formality.” The man looked around at the unconscious men being removed and then over at the air gun Carl was still holding. “Although I must learn where it is you get such fantastic equipment.”
Colonel Jack Collins shook the general’s hand with a smile. “We have an extensive toy box.”
General Hasne Shamakhan, Egyptian Homeland Security, smiled again and then lifted Mobbari to his feet. “Thanks for this, Jack. We’ve been after this scum for quite some time, but we never could gather enough proof.” He looked down at the visibly shaken television star. “This bag of refuse has pulled the wool over our eyes for far too many years. Now, he will pay for his thievery and murder. Is that how you say it—wool over the eyes?”
“Yes. But most times wool is easily stripped away.”
The other man walked over to the chair and the angry prisoner sitting there glaring at the three men looking at him.
“Hey, Henri. What’s up, man?”
“I find it difficult to see how my battering at the hands of these men is worth a few industrial diamonds,” Henri Farbeaux said as he wiggled his hands that were still cuffed behind his back, indicating it would be nice to have them removed. “And the next time there is a change in plan, I would appreciate being informed of such.”
“Oh, you knew all along the deal wasn’t going to turn out like you wanted.” The man leaned close to Farbeaux and whispered so the Egyptians couldn’t hear. “We let you keep the blue diamonds from the displacement machine. Your service to the United States was well rewarded. All that money just for a few whacks to the old jaw, sounds like a hell of a deal to me.” Captain Carl Everett, US Navy, smiled again as he produced a small silver key. “Want out of there?”
Jack smiled at the Egyptian general as Carl and Henri once more began their back-and-forth of mutual hate and respect.
“Thank the president on my behalf, Jack. Now that this is done, I must ask the inevitable question: Why is the US Army taking an interest in foreign antiquities?”
“Let’s just say we were in the region and were asked to help out a friend. Don’t get used to it, though; this was a onetime favor. As for the president, he’s always willing to loan out people like us; it’s his way of keeping us out of trouble at home.” Jack stopped smiling and then looked at an angry Henri Farbeaux. “But I must state it was Henri here who took the biggest chance. By the way, he made your security look rather foolish inside the museum.”
“Yes,” the thin man said as he pushed the antiquities thief toward the open door. “We’ll have to thank Colonel Farbeaux another time for pointing that little flaw out.” The Homeland Security director turned and smiled at the Frenchman as his cuffs were removed. “After today, Colonel, your days of stealing within the borders of my nation are finished. At any rate, thank you for your assistance.” He became as serious as he could in warning. “The next time we will not be so welcoming, grateful, and friendly.”
The three men watched as the general left with his prized prisoner, stepping over the still prone form of the bearded man who had assaulted Henri and who was in the process of being cuffed by one of the Egyptian Homeland Security men.
“Gentlemen,” Farbeaux said, still rubbing his wrists from the chafe the handcuffs had given him, “you have fallen to the lowest order of men. You have taken advantage of my good nature and deep sense of gratitude for my earlier freedom from the American authorities in Brooklyn.”
“Knock it off, Henri. You owed us for those blue diamonds you stole from the Wellsian Doorway. I think a payment worth $17 million is quite sufficient for your services in regard to assisting us in bringing Mr. Everett back from history, and for your expertise in your field of endeavor in recovering the crown of Ramses, and for helping us recover this.” Jack reached into his coveralls and pulled out a small object. It was a large piece of Americana stolen years before from the Smithsonian. Jack held the original surrender note from the pen of Lord General Cornwallis, asking General George Washington for terms of surrender of his British forces at Yorktown during the American Revolution. The old paper was in a plastic case and had been inside the offices of one Hasan Mobbari. Niles Compton and the president of the United States saw no need to explain their real intent to the Egyptian authorities. The president — nor, for that matter, Niles Compton — didn’t care for red tape all that much. This theft of American property was not something to take public.
“I am so pleased to have assisted you in getting that little piece of history back into your hands. The diamonds were still not worth the humiliation of being slapped around by brutes with the IQs of a jackal. You could have also made your appearance somewhat earlier into my torture session.”
Jack laughed and patted Henri on the shoulder as the Frenchman finished rubbing his wrists. “Come on, Henri. We’ll give you a ride out of here. You never know about the Egyptians; they could have a change of heart about allowing you to leave.”
Farbeaux turned away from Jack and faced Carl. “I really don’t like you, Captain.” For emphasis on his words just as the last Egyptian was standing the bearded man up to escort him out, Farbeaux kicked the beast in the groin, doubling the man over. He fell, and then Henri kicked him in the side of his jaw. He then straightened and calmed himself.
“Ah, but I thought we were becoming close friends, Froggy?” Carl said, but his attention was also drawn to the inherent temperament of the Frenchman when it came to vengeance. “Now, we have a plane to catch.”
Colonel Henri Farbeaux turned to face Collins, and then with a wary eye on Carl, he said, “I’m sitting next to you, Colonel.”
3
First Captain Kreshenko stood on the expansive bridge of Peter the Great and faced the window that looked out over the stern. The helipad on the swaying deck looked to be a mile away. Kreshenko frowned just as the giant warship dipped her prow into the heavy seas. He couldn’t imagine what it was like even a hundred miles closer to Tildy. His ship was taking a pounding, and he was nowhere near the killing swirl of the hurricane. He watched through his binoculars as the heavy-lift helicopter, the Mil Mi-26, NATO designation Halo, hovered shakily over the stern. His crewmen were battling the seas, trying to guide the giant helicopter down to the pitching and rolling deck. Thus far, in three attempts, they had come close to crashing the hovering behemoth into the superstructure all three times.
“Are they insane?” Second Captain Dishlakov said as he slammed his fist down upon the reinforced window frame. Both officers watched as the Halo came in for its fourth attempt. “Fools!”
Kreshenko hissed as the huge helicopter’s tail rotor came close to striking the radar boom at the uppermost top of the mast. The tail boom spun crazily, and the captain thought to himself that he was possibly about to lose his ship to a fool’s stunt. He cursed as the Halo finally straightened and then rose once more into the rain-filled black skies.