“Yes, until your adversaries figure out you‘ve got a wall up. Then they’ll try something else.”
The same voice said, “Indeed, but by then we will have accomplished our immediate goal.”
In Farsi, a new, fast-paced voice came over the speaker. Both Rahim and Narsi immediately stood erect, their eyes fixed on the screen. Marcus listened closely, trying to make out the few words he could remember from the language. When the voice stopped, Rahim responded back in Farsi.
When they finished, Marcus glanced up at Rahim then looked directly into the camera. “Rahim, make sure your president understands this. Tell him if Iran continues this path, no one wins. There is no way that a mutually assured annihilation in a nuclear weapons race will ever be won by your country or any nation. It’s genocide. The entire Middle East will be destroyed. Your decisions here will directly involve China, Russia, North Korea, Turkey, Britain, Pakistan, the U.S. and the rest of the card-carrying nuke club. There will be nothing left to fight for.”
Rahim repeated the words in Farsi. There was a long silence and the voice responded in a slower, deliberate tone. When it stopped, Rahim moistened his lips and cleared his throat. “I am to tell you that America and its president are the worst form of hypocrites. He said he will have no further discussion with you about this subject.”
Marcus glanced at Alicia. A vein pulsed in the side of her neck, her eyes red-rimmed. She leaned toward the camera and said, “Paul has done what you wanted. Let Brandi go! Damn you bastards to hell!”
Something was said quickly in Persian. Narsi grabbed Alicia by the hair and pulled her head back. He held a long knife to her throat. Rahim glared at Alicia and shouted, “Enough! Sit on that cot! Do not open your mouth again.” He stared down at Marcus. “Finish the job!”
Marcus worked all night and through the next day, only leaving the chair to use the bathroom. Rahim and Narsi rotated turns sitting at the console next to Marcus while he worked. His eyes burned and his head began pounding. Dusk drifted over Paris and the hotel room again grew darker. Alicia slept periodically, Rahim silencing her each time she spoke. A few minutes after 7:00 p.m., Marcus made his final keystroke, turned to Rahim and said, “It’s finished.” He pointed to the screen. “Here’s the file where I built the software patch before I encoded it and fused it in your operating system.”
Rahim stared at him a moment and sipped cold coffee. “Are you sure the invading worm is no more?”
“I found the worm and stopped it, like I said I would. Your centrifuge motors aren’t in danger now.”
Narsi entered the room and Rahim turned his head toward Alicia for a second. “Take the woman, Mr. Marcus, and leave.” He glanced at the glass funnel on the console. “Remember what I told you we would do to her and her niece if you are not truthful with us.”
“Everything I told you is the truth.”
Narsi reached down to grip Alicia by the forearm. She pulled away and stood. “Don’t touch me!”
Marcus rose slowly from the wooden chair. His back was in knots. “I finished your job at seven p.m. Monday. We expect that Brandi will be released on or before seven p.m. Wednesday.”
“I spoke with our president. He agrees the girl will be released, but not for seven days. He wishes to make certain the job is done. Leave now.”
“That’s bullshit!” Alicia said. “That’s not our agreement. You—”
“Silence woman!” Narsi’s fists clenched at his side, a muscle squirmed like a moth fluttering under the skin below his right eye. His breath reeked of onion and decay.
Rahim’s eyes were hooded and unreadable. Narsi motioned for Marcus and Alicia to follow him to the door.
Marcus said, “We want our phones back, all three. I want to stay in contact with you. Your end of the bargain is not done yet.”
Narsi looked hard at them, his eyes furious. Rahim handed them the cell phones. “Keep Taheera’s phone in the event we need to speak with you.”
Narsi said nothing. He opened the door and gestured for Marcus and Alicia to leave. They walked out into the hall, and he closed the door behind them.
Once in the elevator, Alicia leaned her head back against the wall. She released a pent up breath. “Paul, thank you so much for everything you did.”
“Let’s hope Brandi is freed.”
They walked out into the Paris night. It was clear. The moon, almost full, illuminated the streets. They walked for a block in silence and then Alicia looked over at Marcus. “I’m happy and yet sad. I pray that Brandi will walk free, but somehow I feel we signed a pact with the devil. If removing that worm causes Iran to develop the atomic bomb…what have we done if it leads to a holocaust?”
Marcus was quiet for a moment. “Maybe it won’t come to that.”
“What if those bastards don’t let Brandi go when the deadline’s reached? We can’t even tell anyone. This is so damn weird.”
Marcus said nothing. He watched a car drive slowly by, the driver hidden in the cloak of night, the tap of brakes when the car slowed and then resumed speed. “Alicia, your stuff is still in the trunk of my car.”
“I almost forgot about that.”
“I don’t trust Rahim any farther than I could toss him. And Narsi looks like he loves to play with chemicals. They’re hired psychopaths. I’m sure we’re being watched. My room has two beds, maybe you should bunk there.”
She stopped walking and looked up at him, the radiance of moonlight in her eyes. “Thank you.”
“We’ll get some food back at the hotel.”
“Sounds good. I’m starving.”
Marcus smiled, and they continued walking. He glanced up when a small cloud eased its way in front of the moon. Marcus had no idea that between the cloud and the moon, a satellite camera followed his every move.
SEVENTY-SIX
Marcus sat in a chair in his room, rested his head and listened to the sound of water running while Alicia showered. He thought about what he’d done by finding and neutralizing the Myrtus worm buried deep in the Iranian nuclear operating system.
Exhaustion in his body filled his mind and his thoughts began drifting, the resonance of the shower water fading, and the drone of traffic on the streets retreating like distant drums beyond the strata of the city buildings.
Darkness flooded his conscious mind and images filled his subconscious. Two sparrows flew from a date tree and perched on the cliff near where Marcus sat overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. He watched the sun dissolve into the sea, the breeze cool, and the valley filled with emerald shadows. He felt a strange peace wash over him.
A wind across the valley carried the scent of lavender and almonds floating amidst the remote softness of a flute and a woman’s voice layered beneath the rustle of the date palm fronds. “Marcus, we are fine…live, my love…live…”
“Jen…Jenny, is that you?”
The sun vanished beneath the Mediterranean, and dark settled upon the valley. A moonbeam broke through the boughs of a cedar tree, a shaft of light falling on the granite cliff next to him. Marcus stared at the spot for a few seconds, then he reached for the aged stone. Suddenly, his hand was bathed in creamy white light. He felt a sharp pain in the center of his hand, followed by a throbbing that was soothed in a soft whisper, as if the concealed voice came from ancient sea currents found in the depths of a seashell. ‘The blade itself will unseal it. Bring it forth…deliver its message…then release the spear into the fire of Etna.”
“The fire…where? What fire…?”
“Paul? Paul, are you okay?”