‘If you say so.’
She dug her nails into his skin. ‘Oh, I do say so. And if you fuck me on this, Kamal and Hassan will be the least of your problems. Understood?’
‘Understood,’ he said as he took a step back. ‘Take me back to shore, and I’ll get started right away. I promise.’
Cobb shook his head. ‘Not quite yet. Before we go anywhere, I need you to do me a favor. You’re not going to like it, but you’re going to do it anyway. After all, my life was endangered in the tunnels, too.’
Sarah didn’t know where Cobb was headed, but she knew that Dade didn’t really have a choice. Cobb wasn’t asking; that much was clear.
‘How can I help?’ Dade replied.
‘I need you to personally introduce me to one of your contacts.’
‘Sure. Which one?’
‘Your pal Hassan.’
Dade laughed. ‘You’re kidding, right?’
Cobb stared at him. ‘Do I look like I’m kidding?’
‘Please don’t take this the wrong way, but fuck you, Jack! It’s not gonna happen! The guy wants me dead!’
‘And I’m offering you a way to get back on his good side,’ Cobb assured him. ‘Take me to see Hassan, and I promise that you’ll survive the meeting.’
48
Dade had asked for a day to arrange a meeting with Hassan.
Cobb had given him an hour.
The way Cobb saw it, he held the better cards and wanted to play them right away. He already knew that Hassan wanted Dade, and he imagined that the crime lord would also be interested in information regarding the men who had destroyed his territory.
Cobb could offer both.
Without time to scout for a new location, Cobb chose a place that he knew well, a building that he and Sarah had explored during their initial rekky of the city.
It was a landmark that every local could find.
Even a hardened criminal like Hassan.
The Citadel of Qaitbay was once an imposing fortress guarding the waters of Alexandria’s Eastern Harbor. Seemingly modeled after an English castle, the towering stronghold provided distant views of approaching invaders. Its thick limestone walls — accentuated by red granite savaged from the site’s previous occupant, the famed Lighthouse of Alexandria — were designed to withstand the fiercest attacks. It was a defensive stalwart, having protected the city for more than four and a half centuries.
Even though the citadel is now meant more for tourists than soldiers, it still evokes a sense of awe. McNutt whistled as he walked along the courtyard that led to the building’s front entrance. The wide enclosure was paved with massive slabs of concrete flanked by lush, green grass. Trees encircled the lawn, and square patches of landscaping served as a contrast to the built-in stone benches that lined the main walkways.
‘Didn’t Robin Hood rescue Maid Marian from this thing?’ he asked as he strolled with a backpack filled with ammo around the grounds. ‘I’m pretty sure he did.’
Garcia, who heard the comment on his headphones, was too preoccupied to laugh. He wasn’t particularly fond of working in the field — not because he was scared of confrontation, but because he didn’t like exposing his electronic arsenal to the elements.
McNutt wasn’t sure what to make of his silence. ‘Is this thing on?’
‘Sorry,’ Garcia said. ‘I’m dealing with some serious glare here.’
‘Relax, Hector. It’s called sunlight. I know you don’t see a lot of it in your mom’s basement, but it can’t hurt you.’
‘Actually, it can,’ Garcia replied from one of the stone benches. ‘You need a high SPF to protect you, or you’re just asking for trouble.’
McNutt instinctively patted the assault rifle that he had tucked under his jacket. ‘If I find trouble, I’ve got something a little better than sunscreen to protect me.’
‘I hope you’re not referring to your intelligence.’
‘Of course not. Don’t be stupid.’
At Cobb’s insistence, the two of them had arrived early, using the yacht’s inflatable Zodiac to reach the harbor before the others. Cobb didn’t want anyone, including Dade, to know that McNutt and Garcia were a part of his team, or else they would lose the element of surprise. To increase their chances of success, they tapped into the citadel’s surveillance system, which allowed Garcia to monitor the entire building from his laptop while McNutt surveyed the building on foot.
As always, Cobb’s team would be linked by comms.
‘Approaching the fort,’ Cobb whispered as he walked a few paces ahead of Sarah and Dade toward the citadel’s front courtyard. ‘Can you hear me?’
‘Audio confirmed,’ Garcia said as he tapped on his keyboard. ‘And let Sarah know that she’s good to go. I can hear her talking.’
‘Will do.’ Cobb gave her a subtle nod before he turned his attention to McNutt. ‘Josh, how are we looking?’
‘Not too bad,’ McNutt said from up ahead. As point man, he would enter the citadel before the others in case Hassan was setting up a trap. ‘I’ve counted five goons so far, and all of them were obvious. Even Hector spotted them.’
Garcia frowned but didn’t comment.
‘What about Hassan?’ Cobb asked.
‘He’s here — somewhere. He showed up about ten minutes ago and went straight inside. Where are you supposed to meet him?’
‘No idea,’ Cobb admitted. ‘Since we picked the place, he got to choose the room. I was kind of hoping Hector could tell us where he is.’
Garcia chimed in. ‘I had him for a while, but this building is really big and really old. There are blind spots all over the place. Whoever put in this system should be shot.’
‘He’s not the one I’m worried about getting shot,’ Cobb admitted.
Garcia kept his eyes glued to the computer screen. ‘With that in mind, I see a potential problem inside the front door. Your giant friend is waiting by the entrance.’
‘Kamal?’ Cobb asked.
‘Yep,’ McNutt said as he walked past the giant and casually glanced around the lobby as if he was a lost tourist trying to get his bearings. ‘Don’t worry. I got him. He’s kind of hard to miss. If he makes a move, I’ll take him out.’
‘Glad to hear it.’ Cobb turned around and glanced at Sarah. Even though she had been talking to Dade the entire time, mostly to distract him, she had been half-listening to Cobb’s conversation with the others. She gave him a subtle nod to let him know that she was aware of Kamal. ‘Okay, we’re coming in.’
‘Still clear,’ McNutt assured him.
But just to be safe, he fingered his trigger.
Cobb entered first, followed by Dade, then Sarah. Unlike the others, Dade wasn’t prepared for the sudden appearance of Kamal, who clogged the lobby with his looming presence. Standing by the castle gate, he seemed more like an ogre than a man.
Dade could almost feel the brute’s hot breath on his face.
And Kamal did little to hide his anger.
For a moment, Dade was worried that Kamal would ignore the others and simply shoot him right there on the steps.
Instead, he motioned for them to follow him.
As they moved deeper inside, Cobb marveled at the stonework and the ingenuity of the building’s design. A central column opened to the sky, with the rooms of the structure built around it. Grated windows on every level allowed for quick communication between the floors. These openings meant that anything shouted from the roof could be heard all the way to the ground — saving valuable seconds in the event of an invasion.
Up ahead, Cobb could see a strange green light radiating from one of the rooms. His mind flashed back to the timers of the bomb packs, and the eerie glow that they had given off in the darkness of the tunnels. The thought reaffirmed why they were here: they had to find out who was responsible for Jasmine’s abduction.