Robert Stanek
End Game
Also by Robert Stanek
Dragons of the Hundred Worlds
Keeper Martin's Tale
Kingdom Alliance
Fields of Honor
Mark of the Dragon
Guardians of the Dragon Realms
The Pieces of the Puzzle
The Cards in the Deck
The Pawns on the Board
The Players in the Game
This Mortal Coil
The Secret of Us
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my writing group, my editors, and my publishers for their many years of support. A writer can’t survive in this business without such wonderful support. I want to personally thank Jeannie Kim, Tom Green, Lisa Johnson, Tony Andover, Frank Martin, Ed & Holly Black, Patrick Gaiman, George Harrison, and Susan Collins for encouraging me and keeping me on track with the writing. Your insights and assistance have always been much appreciated. I also want to thank Will, Jasmine, and Sapphire for always being the first readers to devour my work and come back hungry for more.
World Time
Hawaii Time
Coordinated Universal Time -10:00
Mountain Time
Coordinated Universal Time -07:00
Brussels, Paris & Madrid
Coordinated Universal Time +01:00
Beirut, Cairo & Tripoli
Coordinated Universal Time +02:00
FACT:
The National Cybersecurity Initiative and the NCI Data Center exist, as do the code-named surveillance programs and the secret branches of the NSA and CIA.
All science, technology, literature and historical references are real, including Big Black, D-Wave and quantum computing.
Chapter 1
Ghar Lapsi, the rendezvous point, was three minutes away. As the fast boat slid into the inlet and came ashore, Scott, Edie and four soldiers rushed up the stone path to the landing zone for the incoming chopper, surprising tourists and locals at the popular snorkeling site.
Scott was close enough to Edie to feel the vibration of the phone in her vest pocket. “Hello?” she said, answering. “No other Blakes, you’re sure?” A pause. “Scott? Yes, he’s… Oh, okay, I understand.”
With that she hung up and glanced at Scott, a worried look on her face. “The chief,” she said. “It seems the professor hasn’t been seen or heard from for some time. He was on extended sabbatical since before spring semester and then a research trip through the summer months. They’re contacting known associates to establish a timeline and treating it as a missing person’s to give FBI and Homeland basis for executing searches on his Chicago and NYC properties.” She paused, listening. “The chief wants you to sit with a sketch artist—”
“That’s not going to happen, is it?” Scott said, interrupting. “We’re running out of time and I’m probably the only one who knows what our primary target looks like.”
“That’s it, isn’t it?” Edie asked, looking alarmed. “Blake wants you dead because you can identify him.”
Is that it? Scott wondered. Could it really be that simple? He’d seen Blake only because he’d twice been in places he shouldn’t have been. The first time he’d been in a drunken shore-leave stupor and mistakenly followed Kathy onto the Bardot. The second time he’d jumped into the zodiac at the last minute, going over to the Bardot with Angel, Kathy and Lian on a support call.
The group reached the top of the rise, just as the helicopter was landing. “In, in,” Edie told everyone. “Valletta,” she shouted to the pilot. To Scott, she said, “Ten minutes, a little more maybe. Let’s hope for some answers soon.”
Scott was just about to climb in when he heard a voice calling out from behind him. “Scott, Scott Evers!”
At the sound of the woman’s voice, two of Edie’s team jumped out of the chopper, and leveled their weapons, shouting in a mix of Italian and Maltese, “Fermati! Iwaqqfu! Tieqaf jew i ser rimja!” All of which basically meant: Stop or I’ll shoot!
Scott interceded quickly. “Friendlies,” he shouted, running to meet the two women rushing at him. No sooner had he wrapped his arms around Kathy than Edie wrapped hers around them both, saying, “More than friendlies. Friends.”
“Kathy, Angel,” Scott said, grinning widely. “We’d all but given you up for lost. You don’t know how good it is to see you.”
Kathy’s long black hair was a tangled mess, buffeted by winds from the spinning helicopter blades, and there was a blue tinge to her lips that spoke of a long night exposed to the elements. Shivering and teeth chattering, arms crossed in front of her chest, she pressed into Scott while the chill on her seemed to take away his warmth.
Glancing at Angel, who had been a step behind Kathy and was now midway between him and the helicopter, Scott’s eyes went wide just as Kathy, her lips turned to Scott’s ear, whispered, “Bomb! Run!”
Scott had only a moment to react and did so by grabbing Kathy and Edie and pulling them with him as he twisted away and launched into a run. What followed was something so surreal he thought he was experiencing déjà vu. He heard himself shout a warning, but it was like someone else was saying the words and not him. Then a fireball reached out and licked at his flesh while he spun away and pulled Kathy and Edie with him down the hill.
Tourists and passersby who had only moments earlier been ogling the chopper shouted and shrieked, bolting away. As the onlookers scattered, a second explosion shook heaven and earth as the fuel tanks on the helicopter went up in flames. All Scott could do was wrap his arms around his head and watch Kathy and Edie do the same.
With a sudden crashing thud, chunks of the helicopter came down from the sky and smashed into the ground, increasing the panic of those running for their lives. An eerie stillness followed, broken only by the cries of the dying and the wounded, some of which were bystanders.
Scott’s response was bred into him. While others were running away from the carnage, he found himself on his feet, running toward the flames and the screams. Soon he was assisting victims, dragging others from the wreckage, shouting for assistance. “I need help. Paramedici, ambulanza!”
He saw Edie answer his call, but Kathy could only look on, dazed and stunned. It didn’t matter that no one else responded. He and Edie passed an injured soldier off on a pair of bystanders. “Ghajnuna lilu.” Help him.
They went back into the flames and wreckage. This time when they returned, they passed the injured off to waiting hands. Soon a man and a woman from the crowd volunteered to help. Scott saw others on their cellphones, speaking excitedly.
Chapter 2
A soft-spoken elderly woman reached out to Scott from the crowd. “Aiuto sta arrivando. Polizia e ambulanza,” she said. Help is coming. Police and ambulances.